August 12, 2003

Parody and Tolkien
Elfowitz

I'd just like to say that I did not dislike Bored of the Rings but didn't find it anywhere near as funny as I had thought it would be. If I'm crying with laughter at what I'm reading or watching then I don't care if it's appropriate or not. I agree with Tiniowien about one of those secret diaries. The gay humour about Aragorn and Legolas is funny if it's one line but not if it's an entire script - totally boring. It's impossible to dismiss the homoerotic joke thing completely though given that even Peter Jackson has done a gag reel with Orlando, Viggo and Ian McKellen. I’ll wait to see what this is like before I pass comment (if it ever comes out, pardon the pun) but if it’s funny – why not? The full interview with Orlando Bloom about this is at

http://orlandomultimedia.net/news2003/july/news07032003e.html

Now I disagree with some people about them not thinking that Gollum at the MTV movie awards was appropriate. I thought it was hysterical and at the end of the day, I think we’re all intelligent enough to make the distinction between Gollum the serious character in Lord of the Rings and Gollum the foul mouthed award recipient. All of us on here love Lord of the Rings and for myself I think it’s probably the greatest book of all time and it will be the greatest movie of all time. If it has taken a movie to get people interested or even a foul mouthed Gollum, then I think it is justified. Obviously Christopher Tolkien wouldn’t approve but then he doesn’t even approve of the films themselves so no surprises there. As for his father – well Tolkien himself was far from the stuffy Don that many imagine and could often be seen at the King’s Arms pub in Oxford drinking. Christopher Lee actually knew Tolkien and had Tolkien’s approval for playing the role of Gandalf should it ever be made into a film. Would Tolkien have approved of Gollum at the MTV awards? Maybe not but he was aware of the commercial possibilities of Lord of the Rings and talked to Christopher Lee about them. What I think would have made Tolkien happy is that his story had brought so much pleasure to so many people and if Gollum’s appearance at the MTV movie awards means that more people will get into the films and even read the book, then that is a good thing.