LOTR fandom meme

[dreamflower]

Got this one from thunderatiger!

The character I first fell in love with: Bilbo. I read The Hobbit just one day before I began Fellowship, and I adored Bilbo!
The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Boromir
The character everyone else loves that I don't: Ummm...there are several I don't love, most of them in the Bad GuyTM category, but I don't think everyone else loves them. Maybe some of the First Age Elves. I don't have much use for the Feanorians.
The character I love that everyone else hates: Tom Bombadil
The character I'd want to be like: Esmeralda Brandybuck. I know it's sheer fanon, but anyone who reared a hobbit as terrific as Merry, and had a hand in shaping Frodo and Pippin as well, had to be awesome.
The character I'd slap: Denethor. How dare he not appreciate how terrific a son he has in Faramir? Not to mention being rude to Pippin...
Favorite LotR movie adaptation: There were several, but I'd have to say the whole Breaking of the Fellowship sequence was awesome, most especially the death of Boromir. And in the EE, when Pippin gave Gandalf a drink of water...
Least favorite LotR movie adaptation: Again, several. But I guess top of the list was gutting Merry and Pippin's backstory and the Conspiracy, followed closely by the Gollum/Sam/lembas-"go home Sam" sequence...
Favorite unsolved Tolkien mystery: The origins of hobbits
Least favorite unsolved Tolkien mystery: blue Wizards; wish he'd either left them out altogether or given us some hint as to what happened to them.
Five favorite characters: Bilbo. Frodo. Sam. Merry. Pippin.
Five least favorite characters: Denethor. Bill Ferny. The Witch-King. Lotho. Ted Sandyman. Especially Ted Sandyman.
Which character I am most like: Well, the way I tend to blather-- Ioreth, I suppose.
My deep, dark fandom secret: I am currently trying very hard to shoo away a particulary persistent and rather vicious Harry Potter bunny...does anyone know of an effective bunny repellent? Or would anyone like to adopt the little pest? I'd really prefer to concentrate on my hobbits...

Comments

[gamgeefest.livejournal.com]

I am currently trying very hard to shoo away a particulary persistent and rather vicious Harry Potter bunny...does anyone know of an effective bunny repellent?

Expelliarmis! (Again probably butchering the spelling.) ;)

[shirebound]

I love those two scenes you chose as favorites. And Boromir's death was so beautifully done, I can't even bear to watch it.

Awwww, Pippin and Gandalf. All their scenes together were wonderful.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

Your challenge is to write a fic in which Denethor, Bill Ferny, Lotho, Ted, and Witch-King are all in the same room...:D :D :D

(kidding!)

[ansostuff.livejournal.com]

I agree with you in a lot of this! And now I want to watch the movies again and read the book. I saw most of FOTR not long and I want to continue.

[thunderatiger.livejournal.com]

Esmeralda Brandybuck. I know it's sheer fanon, but anyone who reared a hobbit as terrific as Merry, and had a hand in shaping Frodo and Pippin as well, had to be awesome.

You know, Merry just kept trying and trying to jump onto mine. He almost unseated Dain as character I'd like to be, he almost passed Celeborn to get onto the favorites, and he almost shoved Aragorn out the door for character I first fell in love with. So while he doesn't actually appear on my list anywhere, he's probably the character that tried to get in on most of the favorite questions. Definitely a "terrific" hobbit, as you point out.

Again, several. But I guess top of the list was gutting Merry and Pippin's backstory and the Conspiracy, followed closely by the Gollum/Sam/lembas-"go home Sam" sequence...

Oooo, that last one makes me shiver, too! Gyah! And I definitely missed not seeing the Conspiracy, too.

Out of curiosity, if PJ had attempted to include the Conspiracy, how do you think it might have been managed? He really shortened up the time between Bilbo's departure and Frodo's, which doesn't leave much room for a Conspiracy. Do you think the time between departures should have been lengthened to accommodate it? Or do you think there might have been another way to work it in?

[dreamflower]

I'm not surprised that Merry kept trying to intrude! He's a most persistent hobbit!

As to how PJ could have incorporated the Conspiracy? I actually wrote that in a fic for last year's "Fix the Movies" challenge:

Interlude in Buckland

It's not quite perfect, but at least it makes Merry and Pippin look a bit less like gormless idiots and a little more like fond cousins with more than a little intelligence.

[dreamflower]

Yes, you should! You should definitely get in touch with your "inner hobbit" again, LOL!

I still adore that icon!

[dreamflower]

Auggghh!!! *runs away flailing* LOL!

[dreamflower]

I actually cried when I saw that scene, and I am not one of the world's natural movie-cryers. And whenever I see it again, I start holding my breath and clenching my fists.

There were several cool EE moments with Pippin, but that one with him pouring out the water for Gandalf touched me so much. It captured his innate combination of thoughtfulness, good manners, and affection for Gandalf perfectly.

[dreamflower]

I hope it worked.

[elandulin.livejournal.com]

I like it! Probably 10 minutes on film, if getting ready and setting the trail was a montage. I'm going to mentally insert all that from now on! :)

[dreamflower]

Well, as I said, it's not perfect. But considering how the timeline was screwed up, it was the best I could do.

I'm glad you think it would actually fit into the movie! I do think the preparations could have easily been done as a montage!

[thunderatiger.livejournal.com]

I thought of that story after I posted the comment. I'd forgotten you wrote it and started kicking myself. Ah well. You'll have to forgive my forgetful mind. It's been a crazy week. Anyway, that story definitely fills the gap nicely. But I was actually curious to know if you thought the full Conspiracy could have made an appearance in the movies. Not just a partial conspiracy cleverly slipped in sideways, but the whole thing. Do you think it would have been possible to maintain a much faster timeline but keep the Conspiracy alive? Maybe have Merry organize it much earlier, say, before Bilbo left? Or would there have been sufficient cause for him to do so?

[dreamflower]

It could have been, I think. You'd have to posit the following things:
1. At least a year between Bilbo's leaving and Frodo's.
2. Merry knowing about the invisibility power of the Ring and that Frodo has it.
3. Merry, Pippin and Sam suspecting that Frodo might decide to vanish the same way.

All those factors would actually mean that the Conspiracy could have worked just as it did in canon, with the exception of how quickly Frodo left after Gandalf's revelations. If all that had been going on, it would definitely explain what happened in my "movie fix" and explain why all *three* of them eavesdropped. If they'd been conspiring all along to go with Frodo, Gandalf's reappearance would certainly alert them that something was up.

Of course, none of that explains why Gandalf thought he could get to Bree before the hobbits did after he made a detour to Isengard...

I've wracked my brain trying to think up a fix for *that* one!

[thunderatiger.livejournal.com]

It could have been, I think. You'd have to posit the following things:
1. At least a year between Bilbo's leaving and Frodo's.
2. Merry knowing about the invisibility power of the Ring and that Frodo has it.
3. Merry, Pippin and Sam suspecting that Frodo might decide to vanish the same way.

You know, I think all of this could have been pulled off. #2 seems to me the most difficult to explain in the course of a movie. Bilbo's sudden vanishing sans wizardly flash could easily confirm or give rise to any suspicions Merry might have, but I'm wondering how he would know that Bilbo gave the Ring to Frodo. Or maybe that could be easy, too. Lobelia would just have to wander by again at the opportune moment for Merry to catch Frodo vanishing the same way he caught Bilbo. After that, we insert your gapfiller and the Conspiracy is back in business.

All right, that's it. Next time, you write the movie. :)

Of course, none of that explains why Gandalf thought he could get to Bree before the hobbits did after he made a detour to Isengard...

Yeesh. The best I can come up with is that Gandalf meant for Frodo and company to stay in Bree for a while and that he didn't actually expect to get there ahead of them but rather expected to catch up with him there.

Either that or Gandalf's horse is REALLY fast.