NaNoJouMo: Revisiting Middle Earth
I have one more post to make on media consumption for the time being. I've been listening to the Middle Earth saga on tape. (And yes, I'm literally listening to cassette tapes. They really are the best way to listen to audio books.) I finished The Hobbit a week or two ago. Serendipitously, Mark Oshiro (of Mark Reads and Mark Watches) started reading The Hobbit shortly after I finished, so I'm enjoying reading his posts with the story still very fresh in my mind. It really is a series of little adventures along the way of a long journey, and there were a lot of twists and turns in the plot that I'd forgotten about.
Now I'm on The Fellowship of the Ring, and I swear, I almost forgot how good this story is. I love, love, love the characters so much, especially Frodo, Sam, and Aragorn. I was (and am) a big fan of the films, and so the visual representations from the films-from the set designs to the actors-are firmly fixed in my mind, probably more so than for any other book-film combo I've enjoyed, even Harry Potter. It's too bad that the section with the Old Forest, Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, and the Barrow Wights wouldn't fit in the film. I don't blame Peter Jackson in the least for cutting it, but it would really have been nice to have seen those things come to life on film as well, especially Tom and Goldberry.
To fill the gap, I've picked actors to represent the missing roles of Tom and Goldberry.
The role of Tom requires someone whimsical and able to sing, yet still in possession of the gravitas that a creature as old and wise and invincible as Tom would need to have. I picture a bearded Jim Broadbent (Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge and Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter films) in the role.
Goldberry has to be beautiful and blonde (or capable of pulling off blonde), but since, like Tom, she is unendingly Old and Wise, she can't be an ingenue. The role would be best filled by a former ingenue-type who still possesses ageless beauty and grace. I picture Robin Wright (Buttercup in The Princess Bride and Jenny in Forrest Gump) in the role.
Who would you cast to play Tom and Goldberry?
In other news, I went to church today at Bethany Community Church for the second time (the first was in October, before I got sick), and I think I'm going to stick with this church. The sermon was on the relationship between science and faith, and the way the pastor approached the topic made me feel I could be comfortable with this church. It was a good sign when he opened with this quote from St. Augustine:
If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe those books in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falsehoods and on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? (Follow the link for the full quote.)
BCC has a Thursday night “Early Career” group that I'm going to try to go to this week. Here's hoping I can make some friends there!
Joie
Now I'm on The Fellowship of the Ring, and I swear, I almost forgot how good this story is. I love, love, love the characters so much, especially Frodo, Sam, and Aragorn. I was (and am) a big fan of the films, and so the visual representations from the films-from the set designs to the actors-are firmly fixed in my mind, probably more so than for any other book-film combo I've enjoyed, even Harry Potter. It's too bad that the section with the Old Forest, Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, and the Barrow Wights wouldn't fit in the film. I don't blame Peter Jackson in the least for cutting it, but it would really have been nice to have seen those things come to life on film as well, especially Tom and Goldberry.
To fill the gap, I've picked actors to represent the missing roles of Tom and Goldberry.
The role of Tom requires someone whimsical and able to sing, yet still in possession of the gravitas that a creature as old and wise and invincible as Tom would need to have. I picture a bearded Jim Broadbent (Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge and Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter films) in the role.
Goldberry has to be beautiful and blonde (or capable of pulling off blonde), but since, like Tom, she is unendingly Old and Wise, she can't be an ingenue. The role would be best filled by a former ingenue-type who still possesses ageless beauty and grace. I picture Robin Wright (Buttercup in The Princess Bride and Jenny in Forrest Gump) in the role.
Who would you cast to play Tom and Goldberry?
In other news, I went to church today at Bethany Community Church for the second time (the first was in October, before I got sick), and I think I'm going to stick with this church. The sermon was on the relationship between science and faith, and the way the pastor approached the topic made me feel I could be comfortable with this church. It was a good sign when he opened with this quote from St. Augustine:
If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe those books in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falsehoods and on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? (Follow the link for the full quote.)
BCC has a Thursday night “Early Career” group that I'm going to try to go to this week. Here's hoping I can make some friends there!
Joie