If I made the LOTR movie

[jerseydevil]

I figured I'd start this thread. Instead of complaining about Jackson's movie - or even fawning all over him, we might as well discuss what we would have done had we made the movie.

First there is one assumption in my movie. I'm a multi-billionaire and I fund my movie myself. That way I'm not tied down to what the studios want - nor do I really care if it makes a dime or if FOTR alone lasts 5 hours.

I'd have a Lord of the Rings council - made of myself and 9 other LOTR fans. The other 9 would be chosen through a contest based on essays and face to face interviews. It would be the council's job to represent the LOTR fans and to try bringing the books to the screen. They would determine actors, scenes, script changes, etc. It would take 2/3 vote to pass a change or to make a decision.

If you were one of the nine - what would you request for the movie?

[Darth Tater]

Your setup sounds even worse then the studio system!

[jerseydevil]

Thanks Tater. If it didn't work - I'd change it. Nothing is set in stone - ever.

I'm just looking for people's input on this.

[Quazar]

The most obvious is to do a literal word for word, scene by scene copy, then no true LOTR fanatic could complain. Although you could conceviably be broke and have 3, 12 hour movies.

[Darth Tater]

I dissagree. A perfect translation would more likely then not suck. Stories are told differently in film and text. There are things in the book that simply wouldn't work on film and need to be told differently. Just look at Harry Potter. The movie follows the book almost perfectly, but lacks any of the magic. LOTR has the essence of the book, and that's what matters.

[Wayfarer]

I hate to say this, but tater is right.

Sure, there are things that I would have done differently, but, all in all, PJ did a good job.

A few things I would have changed:

I would have done six 2 or 2 and a half hour movies.

I would have included the whole bombadil plot line in the FOTR.
I would have done the flight to the ford as it was done in the books... as a major cliffhanger, frodo defying the Ulairi and them being surprised by the flood, and then him slipping into unconsiousness.
I would have done the opening as it was in the book... without the prelude, or much toned down. I would have waited to tell the audience what was going on until hte shadow of the past, then explained it fully in the council.

I would have asked Elrond to wear looser underclothes.

I would have changed lothlorien a lot.
I would have included a bunch more character development.

I would have tried to keep the mystery in a lot of scenes. Get rid of aragorn's little monalogue on the Nazgul (who he shouldn't have been calling nazgul anyway).

I mean... wasn't "They were once men." good enough on it's own?

Or "He's been stabbed by a Morgul Blade". To much information there.

All in all... I don't have the knack for drama, and thus I would almost certainly make a worse movie than PJ did.

[FrodoFriend]

I agree with Tater. A 12-hour movie is not easily watchable. It's all right with a book because you can take it places with you, but that doesn't work with a TV and/or movie theater. I think I'd probably have it be about four hours long, with a bit less fighting, more character development, and some personal favorite parts such as the Bath Scene *drool*, Frodo's jumping-on-the-table-and-singing scene and various Gollum scenes.

[Wayfarer]

"the bath scene *drool*"

Erm... you realize, though, that in order to add the bath scene you would have to add:

Crickethollow
Fredegar Bolger
The Old Forest

and if you included those...

Old Man Willow
Bombadil
the barrow Downs
The nazgul attacking Crickethollow

so, you would add maybe a half an hour to the movie, just to satiate you're kinky need for an eyeful of hobbit-flesh.

[fedos]

If a troll has a desire for hobbit flesh, is it kinky?

If I were on the comitee I would want to see the poems and songs kept in. The first time I read the books, I didn't care for the songs and skipped em; but this time through, I'm making sure I read each of them right through and most of them are entertaining, I like Tolkien's play on the old cat and the fiddle nursery rhyme that Frodo song at Butterbur's.

[mirrille]

Of course the songs are very important. Therefore, if I was infinitely wealthy and was making my own personal movie from the book, it would have to be a musical. Really! LOTR is just like a musical in book form. Every few pages (or scenes, for the sake of the movie), some character bursts into song, often unprovoked. I would need to hire a really good composer to set the music and a good choreographer, because we can't have the character just standing there singing. He has to move around to give our eyes something to do while our ears enjoy. Which is why this movie would never be made. Even minor actors would have to be able to sing, act, and dance. They don't make 'em like that anymore.
Besides, nobody watches musicals anymore.

[Arathorn]

Regarding singing:

I guess it would be ok for singing to be included provided it be done in such a suttle way that they will not be singing to the camera/audience like they do in broadway. I think they should either be singing to themselves or each other or maybe there ought to be a flashback while the singing is part of the musical score (like when Arwen or Elrond come in). Just my opinion.

Speaking of music, Enya had a hit called Lothlorien in 93 and when I first heard it, I was reminded right away of mallorn trees and the elves of Lorien. I told my friend who was playing it about it (he knew I wasn't an Enya fan then ) and she said:

"How'd you guess the title?"

<Spooky>

I've since bought a few of her albums.

[Comic Book Guy]

Well putting in all of the Poems and songs would not work in a movie, a lot of the songs often refer to events literary ages before the war of the ring, leaving general movie audiences in confusion and boredom. They can also use up a lot of time if sung in full, around 25 minutes I would guess. You really have to consider poems and songs such as the tale of Beren and Luthien. Also, I wouldn't like a completely different version of a song which I always imagined what It would sound like, if you get my meaning.

[Kiri]

Think "miniseries". One has a lot more freedom in a miniseries for material that won't work in a theatrical release. People seem to be more forgiving of a lack of "movie tightness". Maybe it's the ability to get up and snag a beer whenever that helps...

(Actually, given the presumed settings in which the ancient epics were supposedly recited...)

[Quazar]

OK, I really believe a 12 hour movie would be overmuch, I was just being droll. However as to the songs, LOTR would resemble those cheesy musicals of the 40's & 50's. I am ashamed to admit I haven't seen LOTR yet, finances and the weather, snow and ice do not make good movie companions. I will see it this weekend and can make more enlightened observations.

[Lightice]

I would had just given things that concidered Bilbo in prologue, and put rest in flashbacks, mainly at Council of Elrond.
I also would had placed Last Alliance in place where it should had been: In front of Barad Dûr instead of slopes of Orodruin (where did Sauron hide until his attack, if not there?).
I also would not make him whach mere grunts, but at first step out, most of army should had fled. Then, Sauron says "Fight me, you cowards!", Gil Galad and Elendil attack him, wound him seriously but get killed, and Isildur finishes their job, exept the Ring. I also might had told of Gollum's hobbit roots.
I would had also showed Arwen, but not in Jackson's way, putting her to rescue everyone, although I could had replaced Glorfindel with her. I would anyway had given credit of the flood to Elrond and Gandalf.
And I would had made heroes less superman-like, but made Frodo more brave (he just got stabbed anywhere he went and then cry painfully, without any resist).

[FrodoFriend]

Originally posted by Wayfarer
"the bath scene *drool*"

Erm... you realize, though, that in order to add the bath scene you would have to add:

Crickethollow
Fredegar Bolger
The Old Forest

and if you included those...

Old Man Willow
Bombadil
the barrow Downs
The nazgul attacking Crickethollow

so, you would add maybe a half an hour to the movie, just to satiate you're kinky need for an eyeful of hobbit-flesh.

I wouldn't have to do any of those. They could take a bath at Bree, or before they leave. It's not important WHEN, just as long as it happens!!
As for an "eyeful of hobbit-flesh", what makes you think I care about that? It's the Bath Song I'm interested in. Sung in Pippin's fantastic accent, of course.

[bropous]

Sorry, but jerseydevil's formula is guaranteed box office death, as is the idea of six 2- or 2.5-hour films.

Film versions of Lord of the Rings, designed for the hardcore unforgiving LotR fan, is gonna drive uninitiated viewers straight out of the theatre. I guess some folks would prefer that, so they can remain some exclusive, limited group. As I have said before, and excuse me for fawning all over Peter Jackson's film, the fellow struck the perfect balance between pleasing the person who has read the books [and does not have his/her mind made up they will hate the film if it strays one inch from the books, no matter what] and the person who has not.

The formulas for the film espoused above would not do one iota for increasing the number of Tolkien readers. Jackson's film has.

[jerseydevil]

The whole idea of this thread is what we would have wanted to see. Jackson has his vision on the screen and that is fine.

As I stated above - this movie is for ourselves - not having to bow down to a studio - or even making it for others. Maybe if I was a billionarie - I wouldn't even care about releasing it and showing the movie other than to my close friends.

Jackson made a box office movie and I agree - I hope more people do read the books. I'm not going to get into an argument over what I think of jackson's movie - this is about what others would have wanted to see.
I do agree with a lot of what people have said - for instance - instead of having the whole beginning lay out the history of the ring - I would have had it spursed out throughout the film as flashbacks.

I also would have included more songs - as background (like Jackson did in several places) or as pieces that are sung by the chacacters.
I love Old Man Willow - so I might have kept him in - but Tom Bombadil would have had to be shorter. Or almost cut out and just send the Hobbits off to Bree after their rescue.

I would have some slow moments so we can learn about the characters.