-- To make a pun demonstrates the highest understanding of a language
Re:Broad I Guess...
by
LucidityZero
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
The REAL problem with the trailers was showing Gandalf in it! I have read the books many times myself, but most of my friends have not. All of them were asking, "Does Gandalf come back?" after the first movie ended. I lied and told them, "No." to make it more exciting for them, but instead they ruin my whole plan in the trailers!
Was this not given any foresight?
-- Sig.i>
Re:Broad I Guess...
by
Spy+Hunter
·
· Score: 5, Informative
For a Linux player that can play these Sorensen files (finally), along with practically every other movie file format in existence, head here:
Re:Broad I Guess...
by
trotski
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Spoilers?!?
If you haven't read the book, you shouldn't see the movie. So if some of this stuff is a spoiler to you YOU DESERVE IT I've said this a thousand times... watching this movie without reading the books will RUIN the experience. Don't miss out on some of the greatest literature of the 20th century, read the book(s) now before it's too late!
--
"Entropy is the bad-guy, and he is everywhere"
Re:Broad I Guess...
by
Lemmy+Caution
·
· Score: 5, Funny
Gee, you don't think the fact that Ian Mckellen has second billing in the film might be a bit of a tip-off?
Re:Broad I Guess...
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 5, Funny
Sauron compels them to ruin your plans, for his own evil purposes, you poor lying bastard.
Re:Broad I Guess...
by
wheany
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
watching this movie without reading the books will RUIN the experience.
No, it seems reading the books will ruin the movie experience. The most vocal whiners have been people who have read the books. I was going to read the books after seeing the first movie, but then I read all the whining and nit-picking from people that had read the books and thought I don't want to become like that.
I do not know about that. I prefer to read the book after having seen the movie so I do not ruin the movie and the book.
Though I've had this fail for 2 movies/books. The movie "Silence of the Lambs" was better than the book. Ninth gate was a stripped down version of "The Club Dumas" by Arturo Perez-Reverte. If you saw the movie first, the book was a disappointment. If you read the book first, the movie was a major disappointment.
-- "Only one thing, is impossible for god: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." Mark Twain
That's what I used on my brother, who asked the question (even though he claims he was "reading the books") after the ending of "Fellowship of the Rings."
Except he caught that I was mincing words and then asked "what about Gandalf?" So... oh well.
-- You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
I disagree. My sister, an English Lit. snob, had
never read the books because she thought they
were just pulpy fantasy books for geeks. I took
her to see Fellowship. She immediately asked to
borrow the first book, and now she's geeking out
over the trilogy in a way that puts me to shame.
Example: She wants to get in touch with her "inner
elf" by learning Elvish.
Seriously, she used to make fun of people like
this. And it was the movie that paved the way.
If you haven't read the book, you shouldn't see the movie. So if some of this stuff is a spoiler to you YOU DESERVE IT I've said this a thousand times... watching this movie without reading the books will RUIN the experience. Don't miss out on some of the greatest literature of the 20th century, read the book(s) now before it's too late!
The Lord of the Rings was, at its time, groundbreaking and innovative. But it was still badly written and poorly designed.
The climax of the entire story happens less than halfway through the final book, and is done via the predestined actions of a minor character. Most of the really good parts happen off camera-; rather than actually capturing them in prose, Tolkien decided to simply suggest them--thus making each person imagine them by themself.
Yes, it was groundbreaking. Yes, I wouldn't have either my favorite genre or my favorite game without it. But it was hardly among "the greatest literature of the 20th century." Most important maybe, but not "greatest."
"There was a lot missing in the movie from the book."
Assuming it is true that "the most vocal whiners have been people who have read the books," it's silly to assume that reading the books will turn you into a vocal whiner (or will turn you into anything)... unless you're a whiny, nitpicking asshole by nature, in which case I'd agree with you. Stay away from the long, complicated words and stick with the nice pretty images instead.:)
-- "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
Frame by Frame Analysis
by
Grip3n
·
· Score: 5, Informative
Oops, nearly forgot the frame by frame analysis link of the preview:
You'd prefer maybe a news about a site with news about a guy who used linux for something?
--
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Gollum Song Video
by
Grip3n
·
· Score: 5, Informative
For those of you who are interested, here is a link to the Gollum Song Video. This song will be played at the end of The Two Towers during the credits. Its really creepy, starring Emiliana Torrini for the voice. It's extremely well done and makes you feel a deep sense of pity for the tortured soul that is Gollum. (There are no spoilers in this video, just recycled images from already released previews).
-- To make a pun demonstrates the highest understanding of a language
Re:Gollum Song Video
by
geekoid
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
"here are no spoilers in this video, just recycled images from already released previews" which have enough spoiler in them them selves.
I know people who have not read the books, so putting that charater in the trailer was poor judgment.
Yes most people have read the books, but thay already know, its the few who havent seen it that the trailer should be geared to.
-- The Kruger Dunning explains most post on/. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
Re:Gollum Song Video
by
Lemmy+Caution
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Most adult film goers don't care that much about spoilers. I assume that people go to films for reasons other than to see punch lines and surprises. If otherwise, they'd best not discuss films or books or any narratives with me at all. The only exception to that is the true plot twist, a la Crying Game. As Andrew O'Hehir says:
Actually, my view is that the spoiler obsession, born of the Internet's fan-geek culture, is the enemy of real criticism, real discussion and maybe even real thought, but that's a subject for another time.
Most great works have nothing to do with avoiding prior knowledge. News flash: in Hamlet, he kills his uncle and his Mom, and dies. MacBeth dies. Oedipus sleeps with his mum and kills his Pa, goes crazy and kills himself.
If you think in any way that I've ruined those stories for you, you're mad. If you think that most people who went to see the original plays didn't know those stories ahead of time, you're also mad.
In a journey, you largely know where you are going and the route you will take. It's a matter of enjoying, not "knowing," the route that matters.
In a journey, you largely know where you are going and the route you will take. It's a matter of enjoying, not "knowing," the route that matters.
You may know a general idea behind the story (crime thriller: cop solves mystery; romantic comedy: at-odds couple finally falls in love; etc.), but the surprises along the way can turn a well-known idea into a wonderful story (LA Confidential; When Harry Met Sally). I personally prefer to know as little as possible about a story before I experience it (be it a movie, book, whatever). Just because you don't care about whether you know the entire story doesn't mean that other people don't or shouldn't care. I didn't know dick about Hamlet the first time I saw it, and I'm glad -- if I'd known they were all going to die in the end, it would have taken all the shock out of it. Do I think everyone should feel this way? Of course not; that's your thing.:)
Anyway, the entire point of this thread was that he was making readers aware what level of spoiler info there was in the linked material. If you don't care about spoilers, then you don't have to heed the warning, but don't go insulting those who like surprises in their entertainment.
-- "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
In other news: newspapers (even in their electronic form) occasionally cover information about recent events or happenings
best way to see it for free...not just for TTT
by
sahidrajar
·
· Score: 3, Informative
(This works at AMC theaters:)...Go to the theater the day before the movie opens, prod an usher into telling you where the employee screening is. Slip into the theater after the movie starts, and keep to yourself. Most employees don't know each other, and no one questions a person that isn't causing a problem
-- What makes a man want to be a mouse? (Python's Flying Circus)
International Release Dates
by
Grip3n
·
· Score: 5, Informative
Slashdot receives a wide range of visitors from every country. Therefore, here's an international list of release dates in each country TTT will be showing (believe it or not, TTT just doesn't come out on Dec. 18):
-- To make a pun demonstrates the highest understanding of a language
Re:International Release Dates
by
macshit
·
· Score: 2
So can someone tell me, why is Japan always the last place on earth to get these movies (by over a month in the case of LOTR TTT; better than 6 months I suppose...)?
Sucks.
-- We live, as we dream -- alone....
Re:International Release Dates
by
zulux
·
· Score: 5, Funny
So can someone tell me, why is Japan always the last place on earth to get these movies (by over a month in the case of LOTR TTT; better than 6 months I suppose...)?
It's revenge. Revenge for Japan getting all the cool toys years before we do.
I still can buy a Toshiba Libretto without spending an arm and a leg.
--
Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.
About the movie (no spoilers)
by
DeafDumbBlind
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
caught a press preview this week:
1) much more action than the first one 2) less dramatic/emotinal slowdown. 3) Golum is the best done CGI character to date.
can't wait to see it again
--
Jesus used to be my co-pilot, but we crashed in the mountains and I had to eat him.
Re:About the movie (no spoilers)
by
DunbarTheInept
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
The problem with your analysis is that even in the original book form The Two Towers had more action and less development than Fellowship Of The Ring, so it's premature to blame this on "less Tolkien, more dumbed down Hollywood" especially when you haven't seen it yet. If this movie had an equal amount of slow melodrama as the first did, then THAT would be a departure from what Tolkien wrote.
--
Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.
Re:About the movie (no spoilers)
by
TC+(WC)
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Actually... I was reading in Time (?) at the barber's that Jackson thinks, while it's still the stame story, that this upcoming movie is the least faithful of the three. He thinks, however, that it makes it a better movie than it would otherwise be.
I'm going to this movie opening night and I'm very excited I saw an ent in a preview the other day and I'm excited, though anytime I see lord of the rings now I keep thinking about the MTV video awards version with jack black
"Elron:do you have the ring. Jack Black:yes, I have the ring, see thing is last night me and my buddies had a little too much meed, and ug we ended up at the piercing parlor, and uh long story short ~drops pants~ Boromir:it is a gift. jack black:your damn right it's a gift, it's called a prince albert, and it's MY PRECIOUS"
Would explain a thing or two.
by
WasterDave
·
· Score: 4, Funny
So that's where all our international bandwidth has gone,/. strikes again.
Yeah, let's see. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings starting in 1940. I guess it reflects British immigration worries in 1950.
Tolkien's main characters are white. Why? It's a British epic story, set in Britain 7,000 some odd years ago. The "bad guys" are not actually humans, but orcs. That hardly constitutes racism.
Tolkien was contacted in 1938 by a German publisher interested in translating and printing a German edition of The Hobbit. Tolkien wrote a letter to his publisher expressing outrage at the idea that Jewish heritage might be a prerequisite for a German edition and didn't want to give proof he wasn't Jewish (although he did happen to have proof).
Since it was really his publisher who had to decide the issue, Tolkien wrote two letters, one politer and the other refusing to give proof of lack of Jewish heritage. Since the politer one still exists, it seems the more angry one got sent to the German publisher. Good for Unwin-Allen. These are letters 28 and 29.
Personally I should be inclined to refuse to give any Bestätigung [confirmation] (although it happens that I can), and let a German translation go hang. In any case I should object strongly to any such declaration appearing in print. I do not regard the (probably) absence of all Jewish blood as necessarily honourable; and I have many Jewish friends, and should regret giving any colour to the notion that I subscribed to the wholly pernicious and unscientific race-doctrine.
Re:my sister...
by
pVoid
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
My litterature teacher once told me a very interesting anecdote:
He said one day, he was visiting an old castle in France (made to be a museum), and as he was standing on a balcony, someone said "this is where so and so (from Balzac's novels) used to live". To which my teacher replied "you know, that person is ficticious", and the guy's answer was "what, you think the life of a real person from 200 years ago is anywhere nearly as interesting?"
My point is, there are many arguments about Tolkien's stories about how... lame they are or what not. But LoTR is just a part in a masterpiece that Tolkien dedicated his whole life to. He was a great author, among the Greats, and it's not to be taken lightly. Middle Earth is a complete realm from creation to the present. For all intents and purposes, this place actually existed. The details he put into this are astonishing.
As Tolkien himself says, he created Middle Earth because he felt the lack of a good Mythology that had a Celtic feel. He wanted something a-la Scandinavian, Greek, or Egyptian mythology, but for his homeland. And so, he friggin went ahead and created one. Take it as such: LoTR is a Myth of old. Like David and Goliath, or whatever...
Btw, I saw the first movie, and saw the trailer for the second, and I'm creaming my jeans (as filthy critic would say). But I must also add that they are only a shadow of the books.
opening night of Nemisis, bring a lightsaber and look confused.
-- "Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
Super-Hero Prime Minister
by
coloth
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
The prime minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, is showing off her country, as featured in the LOTR movies, by jetboating, ice-picking, rappelling into sinkholes, and overall doing some incredible things for a head of state.
Re:my sister...
by
Old+Wolf
·
· Score: 2, Informative
It was, if Peter Jackson is a guy, and the production of LOTR is a something
Don't forget the "hate speech" link
by
jerde
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
So, um... get this:
Naming this movie "The Two Towers" is hate speech, according to the folks at www.twotowersprotest.org.
Why?
You insensitive clod, it's because "The Two Towers" somehow reminds us of the World Trade Center towers. (Never mind that the towers never went by that name. They were the "Twin Towers" in some circles. I never heard "Two Towers")
I can't find any references to protests about the title of "K19: Widowmaker" -- talk about an insensitive title!
Sigh.
I'm wandering even farther off topic, please excuse me:
My grandfather just passed away, and he was cremated. Garrison Keillor, in his "News from Lake Wobegon" tonight on the Prairie Home Companion radio show, told an extended joke about a grandma who would take "grandpa" (an urn) down off the shelf around christmas time, so he could spend time with the family. Think about it -- this can be quite funny, all the odd situations that go on with an urn in the picture.
Obviously, I had rather mixed feelings hearing this, given my family's recent loss.
But should I be mad at Keillor for telling this joke? Is it in poor taste?
I'm willing to say of course not! Humor, art, literature, movies talk about stuff that happens in life.
You could try to restrict the content of art forms so as not to offend anybody... but you'd never succeed.
This two towers thing is JUST A COINCIDENCE, and not to obvious a one at that. It never even ocurred to me until I'd read about this protest.
Stop to consider that sometimes protests like this just make the whole situation worse.
Off the soapbox... sorry for the rant...
(Go out and enjoy the movie!!! I got my tickets already.:)
- Peter
-- INsigNIFICANT
Re:Don't forget the "hate speech" link
by
nickclarke
·
· Score: 2, Informative
from the FAQ:
We believe that Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema's actions are in fact hate speech. The movie is intentionally being named The Two Towers in order to capitalize on the tragedy of September 11. Clearly, you cannot deny the fact that this falls under hate speech. We believe that if they will not willingly change the name, the government should step in to stop the movie's production or to force a name change.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the second book named 'The Two Towers' - Therefore, the movie is intentionally being named 'The Two Towers' because that was the name of the book its based on. That has nothing to do with capitalising on the tragedy. Are they going to try and get the name of the book changed as well?
Re:Don't forget the "hate speech" link
by
sckeener
·
· Score: 2
Yeah, no one in the DFW area does the dress up thing. I found that out the hard way last year...
-- This is my digital signature. 10011011001
Sleep and Map of Middle Earth/NZ
by
AndroidCat
·
· Score: 3, Informative
When I went to the map of locations I looked for the dot marked "Author's house". You'd have to be a Samurai Cat fan to understand. Or.. Let's see, good art, no maps, hurm no luck. Ah well, good down to the local shop and buy one. (Don't just flip through it to see the maps or you will be Banned For Life!)
Oh yeah, the sleep part - knew I was forgetting something.
-- One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Everyone else is posting links and karma whoring(one, the other, or even both) so I'll join them!
Slashdot.org has links to an article, plus comments with links to other sites giving even more information on LOTR:TTT.
Slashdot comes in one size and is _not_ quicktime! Sorry!
It's out... On Kazaa!
by
Alien+Venom
·
· Score: 3, Funny
It's already out on KaZaA, I saw it!
It was a 200k executable file -- file compresion has gone so far these days!:P
Not just plot spoilers, visual spoilers too!
by
Polyphemis
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Chill out, man. While I do agree that the book should be read first, it should be noted that the movie isn't a perfect translation from the book. For FOTR, the whole love story was practically squat in the book, there was no Lurtz, Frodo wasn't the one that found the password, etc. I realize those aren't huge plot points but there are a lot of departures from the book.
And apart from that, there's simply the whole visual aspect of things being spoiled. I don't recall seeing that huge, badassed 3D Balrog in the book, for example. Obvious, but I think that it's a pretty good point. I've been trying to minimize my exposure to this movie, PARTICULARLY with the Ents, just so I can behold their total coolness on the big screen. That'd still be just as much a spoiler as if I hadn't read the book.
Your real point is still quite valid though. Any self-respecting human that hasn't read LOTR yet should buy a copy immediately:)
I'm Gimli and I'm a fuckin' dwarf
Killin' motherfuckers from the south to the north
That's not Mirkwood I'm chopping with my battle axe
And I'm on an orc stampede like Shadowfax
I think things like this need to be encouraged as much as possible. They have an MP3 download. And they also sample the immortal Ballad of Bilbo Baggins by Leonard Nimoy.
On Kazaa! Lord of the rings watches you
by
Syncdata
·
· Score: 2
And it only contained 15 trojan horses! Wow! What a deal!
-- "Inattention makes clowns of us all" -Bean
Re:On Kazaa! Lord of the rings watches you
by
gl4ss
·
· Score: 2
lotr: trojan edition.
with hercules and all your other favourite ancient greek heros.
hades makes one bad ass sauron.
-- world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Re:On Kazaa! Lord of the rings watches you
by
Codifex+Maximus
·
· Score: 2
Herakles? He wasn't in the Trodian war.
Try Akileos, Aias, Paris, Oddysseos, etc...
-- Codifex Maximus ~
In search of... a shorter sig.
There's daily coverage on stuff.co.nz as well
by
Karora
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Stuff also has daily coverage. This is the site for the major Wellington newspaper, The Dominion Post, (among others) and Wellington's really where the major LOTR action has been in New Zealand, especially since it's where Peter Jackson lives.
...heellpppp! I've been captured by little green penguins!
How come Grauman's Chinese Theatre is not showing?
by
antdude
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Does anyone know why the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre (aka Mann's Chinese), in Hollywood, CA, is not showing LOTR movie? Same thing happened with the last movie. Yet, it is currently showing Star Trek: Nemesis. The theatre did show last two Star Wars movies. This theater is a perfect place for LOTR movies and big revenues. This calendar of events does not show this movie listed.:(
-- Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Real Link (Oops, mangled the tag last time)
by
tunah
·
· Score: 4, Funny
Re:Real Link (Oops, mangled the tag last time)
by
Fishstick
·
· Score: 2
Ohm that is classic! Completely forgot about that one. I remember John Stewart said something like that when they showed that on the Daily Show.
I also remember Bush's sound bite from that as well (Think he was looking across the DMZ at NK at the time, right?)
something like "I don't need these binoculars to see that they are evil!"
--
There is much cruelty in the universe, John. Yeah, we seem to have the tour map.
American English?
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Most of the actors are either English Acting Knights, New Zealanders, Australians or Brits. The Americans that ARE in the film put on Brit accents. Where does the "American English" come in exactly?
For best results: Books, then movies.
by
Admiral+Burrito
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
If I read it before then I will probably not like the movie as much, how could it match my own imagination??
I wouldn't worry too much about that. I've read the books several times before watching the movie, and I would say that Peter Jackson et al did very well in bringing the book to life. Sure the movie has lots of things missing, and the occasional thing done not very well, but all in all a good job that even surpassed my imagination in some places.
I think the book touched me emotionally far more than the movie ever could. Tolkien's writing gives a supernatural splendor to the the most common things, contrasted against the looming darkness. The movie made me gawk at the amazing visuals.:) Book, then movie, and neither will take away from the other.
After reading the trilogy and watching all three movies (after they're released of course), go and read the Silmarillion. Read it more than once - the style of writing is very matter-of-fact, which makes for hard reading, but the second time is easier. It is truely epic, and if you manage to follow it you'll look at the story in the Lord of the Rings with a new perspective.
At the top of this and every page on/. right below the logo it says "news for nerds" I think that is sufficient to explain why anything about TTT (no matter how trivial) is front page news that matters (to nerds).
I have been a great fan of LOTR since the first American release of the books in the 60's; my wife actually has the first edition - she had it imported from England when she was a teenager after reading WH Auden's original review.
We had both thought that doing justice to this on film was impossible and were viewing the Peter Jackson effort as likely to be a great flop.
How glad we are that we were wrong. These films are magnificent and capture the greatest story of the 20th century. We have watched FOTR several times now, and are amazed how well it has held up.
I cannot wait until we can put all 3 films on a dvd changer and let them run consecutively.
I consider the Silmarillion the best of the lot. Instead of just one story spanning three books (albeit a great one), you have dozens that feel just as detailed in a single volume. Tolkien combines most of the major mythologies to bring this one to us, and he does an amazing job. Don't stop with the Silmarillion, though, go on the Unfinished Tales and the rest. There are another dozen or so books published from his journals, and they contain a lot of unpublished parts to each, and earlier versions (Strider was a hobbit named Trotter). After reading the Silmarillion et al. you gain a whole new understanding of the events of the Third Age (Hobbit, LotR). LotR becomes a whole lot more impressive once you know the events that lead up to it.
I really hate to spoil a thing like the lens-cap photo, but accuracy has always been more important to me than anything else.
For those who haven't already seen the link, here is a link to a site which describes night-vision binoculars of the type Bush is using in the photo. Executive Summary: The photo looks funny, but Bush is doing nothing wrong.
I like a good chance to mock Bush Jr. as much as the next guy, but it has to at least be fair.
Silmarillion, then LotR again
by
XNormal
·
· Score: 2
Reading LotR again after reading the Silmarillion is a very different experience. You suddenly spot lots of references and everything fits into a bigger scheme.
Highly recommended.
--
Stop worrying about the risks of nuclear power and start worrying about the risks of not using nuclear power.
Minor Nit: Tolkien HATED allegory
by
FreeUser
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Yeah, let's see. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings starting in 1940. I guess it reflects British immigration worries in 1950.
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic here or not (apologies if you were), but...
Tolkien would likely take great offense at this characterization, were he alive and able to hear (read) it. He truly disliked, one could perhaps even say DESPISED, allegory, and emphatically stated time and time again that his mythos was in no way allegorical about any of the political, social, or economic conditions of the time. It was intended as a MYTHOS drawing upon the rich historical and cultural heritage of Britain, and unlike so many novels of the era, had ABSOLUTELY NO MESSAGE with respect to current potitics, economics, or social commentary WHATSOEVER.
Other than that, I think you post is dead on (and find the tidbit you bring up about German translation very interesting).
I've already seen The Two Towers as part of a special screening for Electronic Arts employees. I submitted the following review to/., but it was rejected:
Two words: Fucking awesome.
--
Ryan T. Sammartino "Ancora imparo"
Brazilian Line Parties
by
Nasheer
·
· Score: 3, Informative
And if there are any Brazilian Tolkien fans who read./, don't forget to have a look at the scheduled Line Parties for Brazil.
And going farther, if there is any Tolkien Fan who reads/. AND lives in Recife, I'll see you at the Multiplex Tacaruna Line Party. For the ones who live in the South Zone, there is one party at the Multiplex Recife.
I'll be there dressed as a Dark Night (No, this is not a joke. I did the same Jan, 1st, in the release of Fellowship Of the Ring.)
-- -
Please, ignore everything written above.
Re:How come Grauman's Chinese Theatre is not showi
by
Dirtside
·
· Score: 2
Most likely it's just a business matter between the companies involved. Mann Theatres owns the Chinese, and the Mann Village theater in Westwood (just off-campus from UCLA), and TTT will be showing there. Maybe they figured that Nemesis would be a big enough draw to justify having it at the Chinese this week, since their other big-ticket theater (the Village) would have TTT. (They were wrong; Nemesis did poorly this weekend, but if you could predict that in advance, you'd be smarter than every other person who ever worked in the entertainment industry...)
So it did poorly; why not dump it for TTT? Alas, the contracts between theaters and studios usually require that first-run movies show for two to four weeks minimum, and that commitment is usually made several weeks, if not months, in advance. Nemesis opened on Friday; there's no way it could be bumped for TTT by the following Wednesday, no matter how poorly it did.
Granted, it would be a great experience to see it there, but I personally prefer the Village. (The sound is louder, for one thing.:))
-- "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
He was a great author, among the Greats, and it's not to be taken lightly. Middle Earth is a complete realm from creation to the present. For all intents and purposes, this place actually existed. The details he put into this are astonishing.
There is still one reason not to take it as seriously as you would take real history: Real history is internally consistent, and Middle Earth's history is not (or at least, it does not have to be, and it seems unlikely that there are no contradictions anywhere within its telling). Yes, there are contradictions in our known history, but aside from positing violations of the laws of physics, we assume that we have inaccurate information, not that some author made an error which we have to ignore.
We want to learn from history, to avoid making the same mistakes; learning from fictional histories is harder, because you won't necessarily have to worry about making mistakes that might not be able to happen in real life. This is not to diminish Tolkien's literary achievements, of course; I've read and loved LOTR just as many others have. But though LOTR is often more interesting than real history, I don't think LOTR could or should take the place of real history. Yes, it's not to be taken lightly, if you want a complete view of western civilization, but it must be remembered what place in that civilization it holds.
-- "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
Slashdot Mirror
For the new LOTR:TTT Trailer seen on TV with MAJOR SPOILERS (ents, winged nazgul, ending of Battle of Helms Deep), head here (quicktime):
Large Size
Medium Size
Small Size
To make a pun demonstrates the highest understanding of a language
Oops, nearly forgot the frame by frame analysis link of the preview:
Frame by Frame
To make a pun demonstrates the highest understanding of a language
You'd prefer maybe a news about a site with news about a guy who used linux for something?
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
For those of you who are interested, here is a link to the Gollum Song Video. This song will be played at the end of The Two Towers during the credits. Its really creepy, starring Emiliana Torrini for the voice. It's extremely well done and makes you feel a deep sense of pity for the tortured soul that is Gollum. (There are no spoilers in this video, just recycled images from already released previews).
Large (11.8mb)
Med (2.2mb)
Small (970k)
(Note: these are in Quicktime)
To make a pun demonstrates the highest understanding of a language
In other news: newspapers (even in their electronic form) occasionally cover information about recent events or happenings
(This works at AMC theaters :)...Go to the theater the day before the movie opens, prod an usher into telling you where the employee screening is. Slip into the theater after the movie starts, and keep to yourself. Most employees don't know each other, and no one questions a person that isn't causing a problem
Here are some places around the web for more TTT info/media:
http://www.darthscreencapture.com/LOTR/ttt.html: Trailers and previews.
The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers Official Movie Site: The name says it all.\
TheOneRing.net(TM)| Lord of the Rings Movie News and Rumors: Very useful news site.
TolkienMovies.com - Lord of the Rings Movie News, Rumors, Photos: Alot of available stuff, but nicely colated.
Hope that helps...
What makes a man want to be a mouse? (Python's Flying Circus)
Slashdot receives a wide range of visitors from every country. Therefore, here's an international list of release dates in each country TTT will be showing (believe it or not, TTT just doesn't come out on Dec. 18):
Release Dates
To make a pun demonstrates the highest understanding of a language
caught a press preview this week:
1) much more action than the first one
2) less dramatic/emotinal slowdown.
3) Golum is the best done CGI character to date.
can't wait to see it again
Jesus used to be my co-pilot, but we crashed in the mountains and I had to eat him.
I'm going to this movie opening night and I'm very excited I saw an ent in a preview the other day and I'm excited, though anytime I see lord of the rings now I keep thinking about the MTV video awards version with jack black
"Elron:do you have the ring. Jack Black:yes, I have the ring, see thing is last night me and my buddies had a little too much meed, and ug we ended up at the piercing parlor, and uh long story short ~drops pants~ Boromir:it is a gift. jack black:your damn right it's a gift, it's called a prince albert, and it's MY PRECIOUS"
So that's where all our international bandwidth has gone, /. strikes again.
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
Yeah, let's see. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings starting in 1940. I guess it reflects British immigration worries in 1950.
Tolkien's main characters are white. Why? It's a British epic story, set in Britain 7,000 some odd years ago. The "bad guys" are not actually humans, but orcs. That hardly constitutes racism.
Tolkien was contacted in 1938 by a German publisher interested in translating and printing a German edition of The Hobbit. Tolkien wrote a letter to his publisher expressing outrage at the idea that Jewish heritage might be a prerequisite for a German edition and didn't want to give proof he wasn't Jewish (although he did happen to have proof).
Since it was really his publisher who had to decide the issue, Tolkien wrote two letters, one politer and the other refusing to give proof of lack of Jewish heritage. Since the politer one still exists, it seems the more angry one got sent to the German publisher. Good for Unwin-Allen. These are letters 28 and 29.
Personally I should be inclined to refuse to give any Bestätigung [confirmation] (although it happens that I can), and let a German translation go hang. In any case I should object strongly to any such declaration appearing in print. I do not regard the (probably) absence of all Jewish blood as necessarily honourable; and I have many Jewish friends, and should regret giving any colour to the notion that I subscribed to the wholly pernicious and unscientific race-doctrine.
He said one day, he was visiting an old castle in France (made to be a museum), and as he was standing on a balcony, someone said "this is where so and so (from Balzac's novels) used to live". To which my teacher replied "you know, that person is ficticious", and the guy's answer was "what, you think the life of a real person from 200 years ago is anywhere nearly as interesting?"
My point is, there are many arguments about Tolkien's stories about how... lame they are or what not. But LoTR is just a part in a masterpiece that Tolkien dedicated his whole life to. He was a great author, among the Greats, and it's not to be taken lightly. Middle Earth is a complete realm from creation to the present. For all intents and purposes, this place actually existed. The details he put into this are astonishing.
As Tolkien himself says, he created Middle Earth because he felt the lack of a good Mythology that had a Celtic feel. He wanted something a-la Scandinavian, Greek, or Egyptian mythology, but for his homeland. And so, he friggin went ahead and created one. Take it as such: LoTR is a Myth of old. Like David and Goliath, or whatever...
Btw, I saw the first movie, and saw the trailer for the second, and I'm creaming my jeans (as filthy critic would say). But I must also add that they are only a shadow of the books.
opening night of Nemisis, bring a lightsaber and look confused.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
The prime minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, is showing off her country, as featured in the LOTR movies, by jetboating, ice-picking, rappelling into sinkholes, and overall doing some incredible things for a head of state.
Makes George Bush look sedentary!
(article)
Machines take me by surprise with great frequency. -A. Turing
Man, you guys need wedgies. I will be a kickass movie but you will get what's coming to you if I see you in costumes outside the theater.
- Health, Fitness, and Weight Loss News
It was, if Peter Jackson is a guy, and the production of LOTR is a something
So, um... get this:
:)
Naming this movie "The Two Towers" is hate speech, according to the folks at www.twotowersprotest.org.
Why?
You insensitive clod, it's because "The Two Towers" somehow reminds us of the World Trade Center towers. (Never mind that the towers never went by that name. They were the "Twin Towers" in some circles. I never heard "Two Towers")
I can't find any references to protests about the title of "K19: Widowmaker" -- talk about an insensitive title!
Sigh.
I'm wandering even farther off topic, please excuse me:
My grandfather just passed away, and he was cremated. Garrison Keillor, in his "News from Lake Wobegon" tonight on the Prairie Home Companion radio show, told an extended joke about a grandma who would take "grandpa" (an urn) down off the shelf around christmas time, so he could spend time with the family. Think about it -- this can be quite funny, all the odd situations that go on with an urn in the picture.
Obviously, I had rather mixed feelings hearing this, given my family's recent loss.
But should I be mad at Keillor for telling this joke? Is it in poor taste?
I'm willing to say of course not! Humor, art, literature, movies talk about stuff that happens in life.
You could try to restrict the content of art forms so as not to offend anybody... but you'd never succeed.
This two towers thing is JUST A COINCIDENCE, and not to obvious a one at that. It never even ocurred to me until I'd read about this protest.
Stop to consider that sometimes protests like this just make the whole situation worse.
Off the soapbox... sorry for the rant...
(Go out and enjoy the movie!!! I got my tickets already.
- Peter
INsigNIFICANT
Yeah, no one in the DFW area does the dress up thing. I found that out the hard way last year...
This is my digital signature. 10011011001
Oh yeah, the sleep part - knew I was forgetting something.
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Everyone else is posting links and karma whoring(one, the other, or even both) so I'll join them!
Slashdot.org has links to an article, plus comments with links to other sites giving even more information on LOTR:TTT.
Slashdot comes in one size and is _not_ quicktime! Sorry!
It's already out on KaZaA, I saw it! It was a 200k executable file -- file compresion has gone so far these days! :P
Chill out, man. While I do agree that the book should be read first, it should be noted that the movie isn't a perfect translation from the book. For FOTR, the whole love story was practically squat in the book, there was no Lurtz, Frodo wasn't the one that found the password, etc. I realize those aren't huge plot points but there are a lot of departures from the book.
:)
And apart from that, there's simply the whole visual aspect of things being spoiled. I don't recall seeing that huge, badassed 3D Balrog in the book, for example. Obvious, but I think that it's a pretty good point. I've been trying to minimize my exposure to this movie, PARTICULARLY with the Ents, just so I can behold their total coolness on the big screen. That'd still be just as much a spoiler as if I hadn't read the book.
Your real point is still quite valid though. Any self-respecting human that hasn't read LOTR yet should buy a copy immediately
I'm Gimli and I'm a fuckin' dwarf
Killin' motherfuckers from the south to the north
That's not Mirkwood I'm chopping with my battle axe
And I'm on an orc stampede like Shadowfax
I think things like this need to be encouraged as much as possible. They have an MP3 download. And they also sample the immortal Ballad of Bilbo Baggins by Leonard Nimoy.
And it only contained 15 trojan horses! Wow! What a deal!
"Inattention makes clowns of us all" -Bean
Check out this cool map :-)
Does anyone know why the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre (aka Mann's Chinese), in Hollywood, CA, is not showing LOTR movie? Same thing happened with the last movie. Yet, it is currently showing Star Trek: Nemesis. The theatre did show last two Star Wars movies. This theater is a perfect place for LOTR movies and big revenues. This calendar of events does not show this movie listed. :(
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
http://www.captionmachine.com/?p=132&c=1
Free Java games for your phone: Tontie, Sokoban
Most of the actors are either English Acting Knights, New Zealanders, Australians or Brits. The Americans that ARE in the film put on Brit accents. Where does the "American English" come in exactly?
I wouldn't worry too much about that. I've read the books several times before watching the movie, and I would say that Peter Jackson et al did very well in bringing the book to life. Sure the movie has lots of things missing, and the occasional thing done not very well, but all in all a good job that even surpassed my imagination in some places.
I think the book touched me emotionally far more than the movie ever could. Tolkien's writing gives a supernatural splendor to the the most common things, contrasted against the looming darkness. The movie made me gawk at the amazing visuals. :) Book, then movie, and neither will take away from the other.
After reading the trilogy and watching all three movies (after they're released of course), go and read the Silmarillion. Read it more than once - the style of writing is very matter-of-fact, which makes for hard reading, but the second time is easier. It is truely epic, and if you manage to follow it you'll look at the story in the Lord of the Rings with a new perspective.
At the top of this and every page on /. right below the logo it says "news for nerds" I think that is sufficient to explain why anything about TTT (no matter how trivial) is front page news that matters (to nerds).
It's a nerd thing, you wouldn't understand.
funniest shit I heard in ages.
NO CARRIER
I have been a great fan of LOTR since the first American release of the books in the 60's; my wife actually has the first edition - she had it imported from England when she was a teenager after reading WH Auden's original review.
We had both thought that doing justice to this on film was impossible and were viewing the Peter Jackson effort as likely to be a great flop.
How glad we are that we were wrong. These films are magnificent and capture the greatest story of the 20th century. We have watched FOTR several times now, and are amazed how well it has held up.
I cannot wait until we can put all 3 films on a dvd changer and let them run consecutively.
I consider the Silmarillion the best of the lot. Instead of just one story spanning three books (albeit a great one), you have dozens that feel just as detailed in a single volume. Tolkien combines most of the major mythologies to bring this one to us, and he does an amazing job. Don't stop with the Silmarillion, though, go on the Unfinished Tales and the rest. There are another dozen or so books published from his journals, and they contain a lot of unpublished parts to each, and earlier versions (Strider was a hobbit named Trotter). After reading the Silmarillion et al. you gain a whole new understanding of the events of the Third Age (Hobbit, LotR). LotR becomes a whole lot more impressive once you know the events that lead up to it.
GL
I really hate to spoil a thing like the lens-cap photo, but accuracy has always been more important to me than anything else.
For those who haven't already seen the link, here is a link to a site which describes night-vision binoculars of the type Bush is using in the photo. Executive Summary: The photo looks funny, but Bush is doing nothing wrong.
I like a good chance to mock Bush Jr. as much as the next guy, but it has to at least be fair.
Reading LotR again after reading the Silmarillion is a very different experience. You suddenly spot lots of references and everything fits into a bigger scheme.
Highly recommended.
Stop worrying about the risks of nuclear power and start worrying about the risks of not using nuclear power.
Yeah, let's see. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings starting in 1940. I guess it reflects British immigration worries in 1950.
...
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic here or not (apologies if you were), but
Tolkien would likely take great offense at this characterization, were he alive and able to hear (read) it. He truly disliked, one could perhaps even say DESPISED, allegory, and emphatically stated time and time again that his mythos was in no way allegorical about any of the political, social, or economic conditions of the time. It was intended as a MYTHOS drawing upon the rich historical and cultural heritage of Britain, and unlike so many novels of the era, had ABSOLUTELY NO MESSAGE with respect to current potitics, economics, or social commentary WHATSOEVER.
Other than that, I think you post is dead on (and find the tidbit you bring up about German translation very interesting).
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
Surely you ment Funny!
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
Now I'm being even more naive, but why would he use those in the daytime?
Free Java games for your phone: Tontie, Sokoban
My girlfriend worked at the LOTR exhibit in Toronto.
I'll be seeing the movie on Monday.
Bwahahahahaha!
I'll probably post to stories on Tuesday to ruin the movie for you all.
-... ---
Two words: Fucking awesome.
Ryan T. Sammartino
"Ancora imparo"
And if there are any Brazilian Tolkien fans who read ./, don't forget to have a look at the scheduled Line Parties for Brazil.
/. AND lives in Recife, I'll see you at the Multiplex Tacaruna Line Party. For the ones who live in the South Zone, there is one party at the Multiplex Recife.
And going farther, if there is any Tolkien Fan who reads
I'll be there dressed as a Dark Night (No, this is not a joke. I did the same Jan, 1st, in the release of Fellowship Of the Ring.)
- Please, ignore everything written above.
Most likely it's just a business matter between the companies involved. Mann Theatres owns the Chinese, and the Mann Village theater in Westwood (just off-campus from UCLA), and TTT will be showing there. Maybe they figured that Nemesis would be a big enough draw to justify having it at the Chinese this week, since their other big-ticket theater (the Village) would have TTT. (They were wrong; Nemesis did poorly this weekend, but if you could predict that in advance, you'd be smarter than every other person who ever worked in the entertainment industry...)
:))
So it did poorly; why not dump it for TTT? Alas, the contracts between theaters and studios usually require that first-run movies show for two to four weeks minimum, and that commitment is usually made several weeks, if not months, in advance. Nemesis opened on Friday; there's no way it could be bumped for TTT by the following Wednesday, no matter how poorly it did.
Granted, it would be a great experience to see it there, but I personally prefer the Village. (The sound is louder, for one thing.
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
We want to learn from history, to avoid making the same mistakes; learning from fictional histories is harder, because you won't necessarily have to worry about making mistakes that might not be able to happen in real life. This is not to diminish Tolkien's literary achievements, of course; I've read and loved LOTR just as many others have. But though LOTR is often more interesting than real history, I don't think LOTR could or should take the place of real history. Yes, it's not to be taken lightly, if you want a complete view of western civilization, but it must be remembered what place in that civilization it holds.
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased