March 19, 2004

Various Random Responses (vrr)
Bob Praz

I know I'm a little late on the subject, but I figure it's better late than never. Personally I found that having read the books before seeing the movies was a great advantage. The story and the world of the books are far broader in scale and scope than the movies. So knowing the books already allowed me to watch the movie and fit every character, event, and place in a larger context. The films leave out a lot of details, but I could still imagine all the scope beyond the four corners of the screen because I knew there was so much more; otherwise, without reading the books, all you see is what is shown on the screen and nothing more.
I don’t know if you guys know what I mean, but that’s the way it felt for me.

As for the cast’s upcoming projects, some of you may know that Elijah is co-starring in the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (don’t ask me where the title comes from), and - more importantly, in my opinion - Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean are both playing in Troy, a movie adaptation of the Iliad, the story of the Trojan wars, which I’m really excited to see (hopefully it won’t end up being overrated). Naturally, Orlando is starring in a whole bunch of other upcoming movies, including Pirates of the Carribean 2 (yes, already) and another film about the crusades. I think David Wenham is also starring in Van Helsing, which is about a man hunting Dracula (not quite as excited about that one). Pretty much all the actors are playing in one or several movies, but a lot of them are small, independent films that we probably don’t hear much about. Anyhow, that’s all I know.

PS: Ringers rule. And, yes, I do think we are among some of the more generally educated fan legions in the world, because, as Ian McKellen (I think) said, all of us have read the great novel, and to go through that requires some level of intelligence, whereas the requirements for watching a TV show or a movie can be somewhat less. Although hopefully the movies won’t turn Ringers into the stereotypical movie/TV fandom.

PPS: Don’t get me wrong, though, I’m a fan, though not necessarily a fanatic, of Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and the Matrix (sequels included). And no, I am not the ultimate geek.