*shudder* fast-food chains with lotr tie ins

thats a worringly true statement.

I'd buy a McGandalf that changes color! :lol:

Shanamir's shocking honesty has torn the veil away!

Admit it!

ALL OF YOU WILL BUY THE MERCHANDISE!!!!

Bwah ha ha ha ha ha HA!!!!


(The little hobbit chuckled wickedly and prepared to buy stock in New Line Cinema...)

Yes! Yes its true! I can't wait to get my Frodo with sword slashing action!

And my favorite, Balrog WITH articulated WINGS!

What I find most disturbing about that Salon article is that it's grossly inaccurate on many points. Every Tolkien forum on the Net has already gone through at least one "I fear the marketing bonanza!" craze.

I no longer fear it, I now am prepared to embrace it... my only worry is that I may look stupid ordering happy meals.

I won't get the Happy Meal toys. Just real action figures. They're more worth spending money on. As long as they're good that is.

but with such a huge world that is Tolkiens Middle-Earth we will most likely see a copy of what happened in the Star Wars Trilogy, and see every character possible appear on a piece of plastic...its only a matter of time before we see Sam riding Bill The Pony action pack

Or Boromir vs orcs action figures... with 7 arrow points through his chest

Actually, you're right; the Nazgul don't look too bad, except for the fact that, in my mind, they never seemed like concrete, tangible figures you could cast in plastic. Hmmm....so far, the theoretical McMiddle Earths you have been prophysising have all been the male characters. What about the ladies of the story? Will Barbie start sporting elven cloaks and swords? *shudders*

About the Nazgul figures: If you noticed, those figures for the Ringwraiths had no faces, only the red eyes. All that made them up was the cloak and the armor, which gives them "shape". There's nothing else to them.

Frodo is a cross between Elvis and Bill Clinton! Proof inside!

www.middleearthtoys.com/f...-downs.htm

I may buy some of the action figures/toys/merchandise, but not a fanatical amount.

I think the greatest horror will be the "junior novelization". You know they'll do it. And it will be terrible! There's no way you can do justice to a book like LOTR in 50-100 pages. It will be even more simplified than the movie, and will not encourage kids to read LOTR at all, and will leave out everything important and probably emphasize the stuff the moviemakers are inventing! Arggghh.

OMG, that Frodo figure is hilarious. IMO it looks just like a late 60's Elvis, complete with white suit. They just needed to make it a body suit with an oversized collar and hand him a microphone. I don't know whether to laugh or be horrified!

Hmmm... he has somewhat also an air of Tony Soprano... scary!

for those who haven't seen it, here's the guilty
http://www.fandomshop.com/MANIAgif/TYFB.gif
i'm seeing it: the other hobbits will seem like the Bee Gees. Sam will be the bald one cuz Pippin and Merry need to have long hairs at least after their visit to Fangorn


o, and Fatty Bolger will be like Meat Loaf

:lol: , Fat Middle!

Where do people get the idea that Hobbits have these enormous sideburns? Normally, sideburns are part of a man's beard that doesn't get shaved, and most Hobbits don't have beards, for pity's sake!!!!! I know Naismith's art always portrays Hibbits with sideburns, but IIRC the 1970s movies didn't even have Hobbits with sideburns... And sideburns were in style then, too.