[HCIsland]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> If they had done six 3 hour films, my friends and I would have gone to see them more than just one time. I think that there are many more "books first" Tolkien fans out there than people realize. I also think that movie goers aren't quite as stupid as Hollywood thinks. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I'm sorry Darkside, but there isn't enough fans of any book to warrent this kind of money devoted to a film solely for them. The truth is, not nearly the number of people read novels as watch movies. The film had to reach towards those that have not read the books or have only a passing familiarity with them.<P>I'm not asking anyone to love (or even like these films) but you've got to realize that this was the best you were going to get unless CG develops to the point that something of this scale can be attempted on a very limited budget and thus can shoot for a small, target audience.<P>By the way, I don't think enjoyment of these films relates to intelligence.<P>H.C.