Oh yay, welcome to the dark side!! (I just combined two different worlds there.) They're such awesome movies.

About Freeman: I'm kind of behind on Hobbit news. What else did he play in and why be bummed if he's not in there?

^^ all I know is that he's an almost for Bilbo.....I have never heard of the dude! all I know is that he looks right......

narnian_at_heart, fantastic that you finally saw The LotR films! I love 98% of them, but there is still that 2% I can't abide (and always fast-forward), because it directly contradicts how Tolkien portrayed certain characters. Yep, somewhat of a Tolkien purist here. *takes a bow*

A question for all: if you lived in Middle-earth (after the dramatic change, in which Beleriand and regions sank beneath the sea), what would be your location of choice in which to reside? Mine would definitely be the Shire *points to username*, with frequent trips to Rivendell (for its library) and the nearby Misty Mountains for hiking; also to the Gulf of Lune in the west to look upon the open Sea.

I'm not familiar with Freeman, PrincessMia, but he certainly looks hobbit-ish.

Latest article on TORn: it looks like everything is hanging in the balance now. *tries not to become overly hopeful ... yet*

I would live wherever Legolas lives. (Does he live in Lorien or Rivendell? I'm thinking Rivendell) Because he is AMAZING!

Martin Freeman is a very good actor but I've only seen him in English comedies - TV series and movies like: The Office, Red Dwarf, The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Hot Fuzz, Hardware, Shaun of the Dead and Black Books.

Actually, Legolas 'grew up' (for several thousand years ) in Mirkwood. He was a prince of that Woodland Realm, his father being King Thranduil of the Wood-Elves. After Legolas' journeying with the Company, he made his home in beautiful Ithilien, but then felt the longing for the sea that had been growing stronger in him over the years, and sailed into the West with his good Dwarf buddy, Gimli. So, your choice: Mirkwood or Ithilien, or ... into the West.

Haha when I read "... into the West" I just starting singing that song. Love that song soooo much.

Anywho...

It's great you finally saw lotr, narnian_at_heart. My friends and I had a LOTR marathon sometime during the summer. We started watching at 1 pm and didn't end until around 1 am. It was soo fun.

I would choose either Lothlorien or Rivendell. I love Lothlorien and how mysterious it is, but I would also like Rivendell! (points at her current location) Rivendell is so pretty, like autumn. Of course Tolkien described it very nicely.

I'd choose Minas Tirith. I'm desperately hoping for housing areas there when LotRO finally makes it to Gondor.

It's fun to read everyone's choice for residence in M-e! It would be interesting to study the respective locations in light of our personalities.

Huh? This has come to the fore again?! Well, we will see, in time, if it's valid. Jackson and Blomkamp have collaborated before (District 9), and, from all indications, have a very good and trusting working relationship.

Only 2% Jo? According to the Tolkien "Purists" at The Hobbit Forum, that makes you a Tolkien "Liberal" (don't worry, you're in good company ).

In regards to my Middle Earth residence, I'm a Shire Lad meself .

GB

hmmm.....I would have to say that I would love to live in The Shire, but I would vacation in Minas Tirith

Choosing where to live in Middle Earth is a hard choice. I think I would like to live in the Shire. Theres a cool, calm feeling about it.

Is anyone else excited about the new Lotr Wii game, Aragorn's Quest? It's coming out on the 14th and it'd be so cool to swing that wii remote around as a sword.

I think Bookwyrm might be, sillygoose. *awaits Booky's arrival for comment*

Only 2% Jo? According to the Tolkien "Purists" at The Hobbit Forum, that makes you a Tolkien "Liberal" (don't worry, you're in good company ).

Okay, maybe 5%.

I admit I am not an absolute true purist (otherwise I would have watched the movies once ... and never again), but those things that irk me, I am very adamant and dogmatic about. The one aspect—and this is major—that bothers me deep down in my very soul is the upsetting and drastic changes in the film to the beloved and key Tolkien/book characters (but we've had this rather intense discussion before here ); situation variances, such as, for example, the Elves coming to Helm's Deep, don't miff me overly much. It's not my preference, but it doesn't upset me as do the diminishing of some of the key characters. *coughGandalf,Aragorn,Théoden,FARAMIR,evenFrodocough*

And I cannot stand the utter silliness of things like Gimli's and Legolas' drinking game.

Back to one's favourite Middle-earth location, I mentioned my Shire heart, with some journeys to Rivendell: I would also love to take vacations in Ithilien. To me, it's almost idyllic. Who couldn't love a place like this? (Thank you, Ted Nasmith.)

As for further Hobbit news, this is interesting.

I'd say it would be a three-way tie between Lothlorien, Ithilien, and possibly the Shire. I have very strong hobbitish tendencies: being short (though not quite that short), liking to eat, liking to know about my ancestry, liking the pleasant countryside. I'd probably be an adventurous Took or something, since I also seem to share their trait of opening my mouth too soon.
I am a purist about the movies, though. I always am. I can't watch them without thinking 'that was wrong', 'the Dead Men weren't there', 'the elves weren't there, they were defending their own country' ect. But I would definitely place character derailment even higher. Frodo was not a wimp, Gimli wasn't Comic Relief, Aragorn wasn't reluctant to take the throne, and don't even get me STARTED on Faramir.....Argh! (though I did read somewhere that that was done because they thought that Faramir rejecting the Ring out of hand somehow 'cheapened' Frodo's struggle with it, though I don't see why, because he had it for seventeen years, and he'd resisted it so far, while Faramir was only near it for a few days. It definitely takes a whole lot of will power to resist something that powerful for a long time, even if you give in in the end. But I don't think that you should change things like that if changing them derails someone's entire character, nor should you tear one character down to make another look better, when you already made the second one worse.) And I wasn't too big on action-girl Arwen either (I felt the same way about Susan. It seems like in fantasy movies, all girls must fight or they are weak--strength isn't all about war), and her connection to the Ring. That just seemed lame.
I didn't see the drinking game. I'm glad I didn't. Really, would they have been such...I don't know what. Not to mention Legolas' habit of saying blatantly obvious lines while looking at the camera. I won't go on about the looks.
But one of the things they got right was the settings. The Shire, for example, looked just right.