The Aftermath: What Remains?

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Interesting and thought-provoking questions, mark/Helen! Unfortunately, I haven't the time to answer at length - I just spent almost an hour catching up with the newest forum reading and must go hem the skirt of my Arwen-style dress so that I can pack it for going to Birmingham this week to attend 'Tolkien 2005' - where, incidentally, I will be meeting several BDers! Do you think LotR has changed my life in any way?

[Lalwendë]

Well of course my life has changed in a big way due to LotR! But I wouldn't say it had very much to do with the films on my part. I've always had the same obsession, and found the 'Downs only due to looking up something about my own surname.

The films have given me the chance to get to know a few more fans though, as they've prompted so many out of the closet, and I've also seen some new people get into Tolkien through seeing the films, which can only be a good thing. I have noticed that there is a lot more non-film merchandise available, such as sets of prints, Tolkien-inspired crafts and so on, and I always struggled to find anything interesting like this before the films. And for years I wanted a One Ring and now you can get them for all kinds of prices on e-bay. Of course, there is also all the film merchandise which I've found myself greedily consuming, from the nice (the Green Dragon beer mug) to the gloriously tacky (wind-up Gollums).

Encaitare - I was always a dork! But now it's cool to be a geek, and I find myself having 'geek matches' with colleagues, to see who's the biggest nerd. Before the films this would certainly not have been cool, but now all the geeks have crept out of the closet and to be dangerously obsessed with something like Tolkien is merely an eccentricity to those not 'in the know' and deadly cool to those who share your tendencies.

[Boromir88]

A big change for me and the best things the movie did for me was restoring my passion for LOTR. If it wasn't for the movies I honestly don't see myself being here and ever finding the 'Downs. I don't even see myself rereading the books unless I happened to be cleaning out my basement (which wouldn't have happened if I didn't see the movies and go "Hey, I have these books"). Need to say that the books were a little raggedy and so I decided to get the new edition out with all three books combined and the Black Rider for the cover.

I remember my dad first getting them and then giving them to me to read. But, after one time I just kind of forgot about them and let them slip out of knowledge. The movies restored my passion and for that I'm grateful, if it wasn't for the movies I don't see myself being where I am today.

Are there movie-related things that you wish you had done, that you never quite got around to? How much do you regret the missed opportunity?

I think the biggest one would be wanting to visit New Zealand, but I don't see that happening in the near future.

Have you maintained any LOTR-related hobbies, habits, or traditions that you didn't have before the movie came out?

Painting and collecting them game-workshop miniatures. Getting the LOTR set that came out after the movies, and I still find myself doing that today.

Are you "so over" something LOTR-movie related?

I actually still find myself tracking some of the actors. Now, a lot of them have sort of slipped away like Elijah Wood, Sean Astin (though he is in some TV series), and so forth, but there's still some I continually find to see what movies they're going to be in.

The most would have to be Sean Bean (what a surprise huh?) His performance in LOTR mesmorized me, and I guess this could be another change. Before the movies I had not disliked Boromir but he surely was not my favorite, and never really thought twice about him. Bean delivered a great performance and I try to see what movies he's in and he still is performing great. I still haven't seen The Island yet, where I hear he does his normal good guy/bad guy role. I am waiting for Flightplan to come out, not just for Mr. Bean but the movie sounds really good and thrilling. Sean was in Troy with Orlando as well, though his role is minor he makes the best of it. And if you haven't seen National Treasure I would suggest it, just for seeing Sean Bean's performance.

Another one I continue to look at is Chris Lee who is just amazing. 88 years old and he's still acting. He has stunned me for years and he continues. One of the only good actors in the new Star Wars Episodes.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Bean delivered a great performance and I try to see what movies he's in and he still is performing great.

Have you seen When Saturday Comes? I would say that only the keenest Bean fan would like that. But I did get a new appreciation for him after watching the films, as he put in one of the best performances, and previously I just thought of him as a TV actor who occasionally got a good role! He's also in Equilibrium by the way, in a small role though.

I always loved Chris Lee, right from when I was a child and I'd watch the old horror films with my dad, but seeing him in LotR made me remember how good an actor he is and I went and got a new copy of his best film (The Wicker Man).

I think the films also enabled me to shake off the image of Bernard Hill as Yosser Hughes, well, just a little bit anyway.

One thing I hadn't thought about is that the films actually got me into enjoying going to the cinema again. I proved to myself that I could sit still for three hours without smoking, but I still don;t like a busy screening!