You be the Director

[Lotesse]

I have an idea. What if you could have helped PJ direct the films, inputting your own knowledge and personal understanding of the books and of the story's premise? As co-director, you could choose what characters from the books would be depicted, and how they'd be played, (add new actors for new portrayals; i.e. who'd play Tom Bombadil, or, how could Eomer or Faramir have been developed differently, etcetera? This is the kind of stuff I think about while I'm busy procrastinating my day away...

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

I'd have kept the Grey Company and the Son's of Elrond. I think that showing that there was more than one of Aragorn's kind. This would also show more depth to Aragorn's charcter.

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

i would have done it exactly as the books, and included the hobbit, and made it an immensely long film, with everything preserved as it should have been

[Lotesse]

YES!!! That would, of course, be utterly fantastic, but what studio would back and budget such an enormous undertaking? Of all the stuff I dis PJ for, I gotta give him props for managing to fit in what he did into reasonably lengthed film segments, although it's infuriating that he wasted so much precious film-time on stuff like useless lines ("They're coming", with the far off drum beats growing closer in the minesa of Moria, or pretty much anything given to poor Peter Pan-I mean, Legolas to say). I'd make the Orcs more faceted, more interesting and unique, less cartoonish, more genuinely gritty-evil, etcetera. Their get-ups were pretty well done, except for Gothmog (wtf?!) but they were portrayed as far too easy to figure out and to annihilate.
I'd leave the Ents as is, but I would give the whole Ents-in-Fangorn incident at least 15-20 minutes, and tell their story complete with their living arrangements. Hey, speaking of Ents, not to get off topic, but is there anyone out there who thinks maybe some of the lost Entwives wandered up north and were kicking it in the forests around the Shire and Grey Havens area?

[Manveru]

thats one of the great mysteries of life. but isnt 'old man willow' actually an 'old man'? i guess he could just be a really manly entwife

[Lotesse]

Old man willow ... perhaps "he" was, like you say, a manly entwife, like-maybe she was tremendously cranky because it had been so long since she'd, er, "been with" an Ent, plus she had no idea where all her other entwife friends had taken off to, so all she could think of to do to pass the time was to pick on whomever happened to pass by... Tolkien himself says mysteriously that even he doesn't know where the entwives ended up going, or what became of them. It's fun to think about, anyway.

[Lotesse]

--to Telcondar, re: sugg. to keep the Grey Company & the Sons of Elrond---
Who do you think, actor-wise, might be good to play Halbarand? Elladan and Elrohir were twins; can you think of someone to play them? I'd love to see what you think..Thanx!

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

No, sorry. I don't really know very many actors but maybe someone like Clive Owen for Halbarad but for the Son's of Elrond I haven't got a clue.

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

with a little camera trickery, a younger gary oldman could play the sons of elrond, and halbarad could be played by alan rickman

[Lotesse]

What do you think about edward norton, rather than gary oldman?

[Lotesse]

o.k., THIS I gotta say--I would give the right characters THEIR REAL LINES!!!

[Manveru]

the twins who played those ghost guys in matrix reloaded could play the sons of elrond

[Lotesse]

That's a good idea...
Now, for the crown--Aragorn's crown did NOT look like the PJ movie crown in my mind's eye. That movie crown was ugly-what, stainless steel and bronze-plate was the best they could come up with after all the beautiful, detailed, amazing work they did on all the other props and costumes?? Come on!

to quote the book, "...an ancient crown. It was shaped like the helms of the guards of the Citadel, save that it was loftier, and it was all white, and the wings at either side were wrought of pearl and silver in the likeness of the wings of a sea-bird, for it was the emblem of kings who came over the Sea; and seven gems of adamant were set in the circlet, and upon its summit was set a single jewel the light of which went up like a flame." - fromRotK ch. 5

Not exactly stainless steel.

[Snowdog]

I'd put Glorfindel back in the story and get Arwen out of riding around in the wild. Or maybe bring in one of the sons of Elrond or Halbarad to take Glorfindels place, and further develop the Grey Company. A band of tall, dark, and handsome mysterious horsemen would surely draw the attention of the swooners.

[durinsbane2244]

well, to begin, i would slowly and viciously burn orlando bloom and shoot elijah wood on the spot, continuing,

i would do the grey company stuff u guys said, and I would definatly get rid of that crappy action stuff they gave arwen, who really didnt do much, and get glorfindal. i was thinking that the guy who played eomer look like my image of glorfindal, and then get some other guy for glorfindal(?)

put in the old forest, tom bombadil, barrow-downs, and im suprised no one has thought of the scourging of the shire! anyway, id basically attack pj from behind with a prop sword and put him in a trailer for a few years, nothin big. . .

[Snowdog]

For Halbarad I would have actor Adrian Paul (Highlander TV series) play the part, and maybe be introduced in the Pony talking to Aragorn, and leaving when the Hobbits show. Of course he is off to muster the other 30 Rangers, and will again ride into the movies in Two Towers.

[Lotesse]

Glorfindel's absence was a gi-NORmous oversight on PJ's behalf, so now that we're re-making the film as its new directorial crew, who shall we cast as Glorfindel? Remember the book -
"Glorfindel was tall and straight; his hair was of shining gold, his face fair and young and fearless and full of joy; his eyes were bright and keen, and his voice like music; on his brow sat wisdom, and in his hand was strength." -FotR, Ch. 1
Personally, I'm stuck for ideas myself right now. I think a big problem is that nowadays there's a glaring dearth of talent, depth, or physical beauty in the entertainment industry, 'course I'm fairly critical, but anyway. Anybody have any Glorfindel ideas?

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

liam neeson!! glorfindel was born to be played by liam neeson

[Lotesse]

That's a really good choice! I can envision that.

[Lotesse]

I would ix-nay all the gratuitous crying-baby or mother-wrenched -with-fear-and-worry-clutches-crying-baby shots. And that stupid part in TTT where that Rohannon woman's all "You must ride to Edoras and raise the alarm" and the little girl "I don't wanna go" whine whine whimper. What contrivance. Those kind of kid shots waste valuable screen time. Kid shots to keep, however, would be those like at the FotR beginning, with the kids all excited following Gandalf's wagon, and also the kids' listening to Bilbo Baggins's troll story, which was so sweet to watch how into it those kids really were. But no more crying babies/crying mothers! It's bad on a par with all the Captain Obvious lines that Orlando Bloom was given to spit out like so many cherry pits. So insulting and manipulative toward the audience.
This is the "you be the director" thread, so...