In Reply to Merka
Mark W.G.R.

You're certainly not alone in really looking forward to this movie. Rather than working these past few weeks and months I've spent so much time on-line just surfing LOTR info, lol. This is the most I've ever looked forward to a movie in my life. But something so sacred as this saga generally is, there will always be many people that will seemingly nitpick to the Nth Degree, me included. It is as if our personal vision of the books has been placed under the control of one man, and we're all frantically worrying and fretting that he's going to remain faithful to that vision. It's pre-release hysteria at its most intense, in a way.

But like I've said in other comments, not everything can be as it was in the book. Firstly it would end up being about 24 hours long (not that I'd complain!) And secondly for the pure purpose of book to screen adaptation, which invariably has to have alterations, edits and amendments simply to satisfy a motion picture format.

Regretfully other things such as the 'political correctness' issue has to be carefully dealt with due to possible modern day interpretations by those not familiar with Tolkien's work. Bombadil for example would indeed be viewed as a forest hippy who'd had one too many wild mushrooms, if you get my meaning. Certain elements of Frodo and Sam's relationship -if filmed like the books' portrayal- would receive allocations of homosexual allegory. I'm also afraid there will be no en masse pipe weed smoking sessions either, lol.

What ever happens, I for one have to put my hands up and say: 'Fantastic'! Lord of the Rings is finally coming to the screen, and I can't wait to see it....