Brits Only Restrictions/LOTR raves

[selah_1977]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at y..., "heathernmoore" <heathernmoore at y...> wrote:
> What is *not* beside the point, however is that I really doubt 
the "Brits Only" restriction is going to survive all seven films. It 
might go as far as POA, but by the time we get all the way to movie 8 
(assuming 2 movies for GoF), we'll have seen non-Brits cast.

I think that in order to get the best possible actors, they need to 
expand their horizons a bit.  Otherwise, the Harry Potter franchise 
will suffer.  Imagine if LOTR: FOTR had restricted casting in the 
same way.

I am not saying that all the leads and mains should not have been 
British.  They should and I am glad that they are.  But consider 
Thandie Newton, a British actress, who played the title role in Toni 
Morrison's *Beloved*.  Newton, the product of a British dad and 
Zimbabwean mother, admitted that she knew next to nothing about 
American slavery and African-American history... so she did 
research.  Her passion for her craft made her want to learn.

The fact that so many of the LOTR actors immersed themselves in 
Middle-Earth lore SHOWED.  But only imagine if they had restricted 
all casting in the same manner that the HP movies are doing... and 
yes, they very well could have done this.  But they did not.  It 
seems as if they chose actors who respected the story that Tolkien 
had to tell, and good on them.

THIS is what makes a movie great... and that's why LOTR towered over 
Harry Potter in my opinion.  Don't get me wrong; I'm one of those who 
gets bogged down in the middle of Tolkien and I adore JKR's gift and 
the story-world she has created.  

I was a little disappointed the first time I saw HP.  It took three 
viewings before I was comfortable with Columbus' vision.  But LOTR: 
FOTR swept me away the very first time.

I'm one of those annoying emotional people who likes to be "moved".  
The HP movie didn't really do that for me.  There are parts in the 
Harry Potter books where I get goosebumps, where I gasp, where tears 
fall onto the pages.  None of that happened in the movie.  I was 
expecting to cry during the Mirror of Erised scene the first time 
around and instead felt numb.

FOTR did all that and more.  I felt that the acting had heart.  
Nothing felt contrived.  Talk about suspension of disbelief... I was 
in Middle-Earth for three hours and that's all there was to it.  And 
three hours wasn't enough.  Given adequate time for intermission 
(bathroom and water), I think I could have sat through the entire 
trilogy last night after a full day of teaching!

Elijah Wood's Frodo was tremendous, and Sean Astin's Sam *was* the 
ever-faithful Sam.  I cried during the Rivendell scene when the 
Fellowship was established.  And every time I saw Ian McKellen as 
Gandalf, I kept saying to myself "Why couldn't he have been 
Dumbledore?"  I always saw Gandalf as being more like what Richard 
Harris did with Dumbledore in the HP movie.

All of the actors were their roles.  I loved Liv Tyler as Arwen, Cate 
Blanchett did a pretty decent job as Galadriel... and as 
Strider/Aragorn is my favorite character from the books (yes, I admit 
it--I love those classic hero-types!), I think Mortensen did a fine 
job and I hereby demand him for Sirius in the PoA movie.  :-D 

I mean, what can you complain about?  Sets were tremendous, so was 
cinematography, CGI, costuming, makeup... there *were* no major holes 
IMO.

All in all, it was an almost spiritual experience for me.  If it was 
a bit serious at times, I don't fault Jackson--Tolkien's tone *is* 
serious.  FOTR was a lot more lighthearted than I really expected it 
to be.  OTOH, the HP movie should have been funnier than it was.  I 
say that without malice... goodness knows I love the HP series just 
as much as anyone around here does.

I am glad that Christmas vacation is here so I can delve back into 
the trilogy (haven't read it for a decade!  Whoo-hoo!) and perhaps 
even begin the companion volumes and hop onto a listserv or two to 
read what LOTR die-hards had to say.  I also plan to go see it again 
and again.  

Whoever said that this movie trilogy is our generation's Star Wars is 
absolutely correct.  There simply is no comparison to HP:PS/SS.  I am 
not comparing scope, aims, themes, etc., but whether or not each 
movie accomplished its implicit goals.  LOTR: FOTR--yes.  HP:PS/SS--
no.

--Ebony AKA AngieJ