October 1, 2002

Re: Why I Strongly Disliked the First Movie
Lem

Calm. Down. While I know that everyone has their own view of the movie and that some people liked it more than others, I think it can be fairly stated that PJ deserves at least a little more credit than u care to give him. For one thing, most of the character development and the Lothlorien gift-giving scene had to be cut out so the movie wouldn't be too long. PJ said he was sorry to do this, and seemed sincere, too. And you know, he didn't have to go to so much effort to try and please the Tolkien fans. Many of the costume designers and other staff were great Tolkien fans and knew quite a bit about his works, and I'm sure PJ would not ignore their knowledge, but would ask for their advice when uncertain about something.

Also, while the script and casting weren't perfect, there is no need to go ripping every sentence apart (although I do agree that Arwen's "If you want him, come and claim him line" was tacky and shouldn't have beenin the movie).

I just wanted to point out that PJ did a rather good job considering how hard it must be to put a literary classic into film form, and you must realize that not everything will be as you would wish it to be.

Thanks.

PS I hope TTT won't be too far from the book.