Post Christmas/Gathering thoughts
So, Christmas is over, and what did my darling daughter give me? Tickets to Howard Shore's LOTR symphony in Montreal (box seats, yet!) AND (I know it pained her to do this) an Elijah Wood calendar she designed and printed herself. And now she's recovering from having her wisdom teeth removed, and planning our next visit to the theatre. As she pointed out to me, we've only seen ROTK three times! We're behind schedule. God, have I mentioned how much I love her geeky enthusiasm?
My Christmas gift to myself was attending TORn's Gathering in Toronto, and revelling in all things Tolkien and movie-related.
There's nothing finer in life than hanging out with fellow fans for the movie event of the year. And the fact that some of those fans were my favourite authors, archivists and Frodo-lovers made it even better.
Best of all was the people I met. You know who you are. :) Spending an afternoon discussing slash in general, and Frodo and Sam in particular. "Haldir and Gil-Galad Live": Craig Parker and Mark Ferguson's charming, irreverent and hysterically funny interaction with the audience and each other. Daniel Timmins's Legacy of The Lord of the Rings. Someone find this film a distributor! "Land of the Rings: A Tour of New Zealand" from a Canadian point of view. Bruce Hopkins holding his own against a group of Tolkien scholars. You rock, Bruce! Best Frodo costume ever, courtesy of rosiethehobbit.
Problems? Elf snobs. Apparently people who admire Men, Dwarves and Hobbits are crass and uncultured. It appears some people attended to prove to the rest of us that Jackson is a hack, and Tolkien is a god. Someone shoot me if I EVER aspire to be a Tolkien "expert." The majority of those I met were humourless, pedantic and sucked the life right out of the event. One feels they would have preferred that NO movies had been made of the professor's "great work" - because God forbid anyone should be crass enough to put words onscreen, and thus ruin a future generation's enjoyment of the books. "The Films vs the Books", which pitted Bruce Hopkins against a crew of Tolkien experts who were determined to list all the many reasons why the films lacked the grandeur of the books, which I thought was both unfair and uncivil in the extreme. Get Peter or Philippa or Fran up there if you want to debate that - don't put an actor who had a minor role in the films on the spot and ask him to defend and explain every decision Jackson made. And as for the professor who criticized Elijah Wood because he looks too much like Michelangelo's David? Fuck you. Nowhere is it written that hobbits have to look like trolls.
All in all, though, I wouldn't have traded it for anything. And I'll say it again: I have the best kid in the world.
My Christmas gift to myself was attending TORn's Gathering in Toronto, and revelling in all things Tolkien and movie-related.
There's nothing finer in life than hanging out with fellow fans for the movie event of the year. And the fact that some of those fans were my favourite authors, archivists and Frodo-lovers made it even better.
Best of all was the people I met. You know who you are. :) Spending an afternoon discussing slash in general, and Frodo and Sam in particular. "Haldir and Gil-Galad Live": Craig Parker and Mark Ferguson's charming, irreverent and hysterically funny interaction with the audience and each other. Daniel Timmins's Legacy of The Lord of the Rings. Someone find this film a distributor! "Land of the Rings: A Tour of New Zealand" from a Canadian point of view. Bruce Hopkins holding his own against a group of Tolkien scholars. You rock, Bruce! Best Frodo costume ever, courtesy of rosiethehobbit.
Problems? Elf snobs. Apparently people who admire Men, Dwarves and Hobbits are crass and uncultured. It appears some people attended to prove to the rest of us that Jackson is a hack, and Tolkien is a god. Someone shoot me if I EVER aspire to be a Tolkien "expert." The majority of those I met were humourless, pedantic and sucked the life right out of the event. One feels they would have preferred that NO movies had been made of the professor's "great work" - because God forbid anyone should be crass enough to put words onscreen, and thus ruin a future generation's enjoyment of the books. "The Films vs the Books", which pitted Bruce Hopkins against a crew of Tolkien experts who were determined to list all the many reasons why the films lacked the grandeur of the books, which I thought was both unfair and uncivil in the extreme. Get Peter or Philippa or Fran up there if you want to debate that - don't put an actor who had a minor role in the films on the spot and ask him to defend and explain every decision Jackson made. And as for the professor who criticized Elijah Wood because he looks too much like Michelangelo's David? Fuck you. Nowhere is it written that hobbits have to look like trolls.
All in all, though, I wouldn't have traded it for anything. And I'll say it again: I have the best kid in the world.