I have a question: Before I see The Hobbit movie, I'm doing a whole re-read of everything Lord of the Rings, which books would you recommend me re-reading before I see The Hobbit?

I am planning on re-reading:

The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King

Is there anything else that I should read like, The Book of Lost Tales, or Unfinished Tales?

Is there anything else that I should read like, The Book of Lost Tales, or Unfinished Tales?

Read a chapter entitled "The Quest of Erebor" within the Unfinished Tales. Maybe "The Istari" as well...

~Riella

I enjoyed the trailer, even though it didn't show much. The dwarves singing was definitely the highlight (especially since whenever characters sing in Tolkien's books, the tunes I imagine in my head can't help but almost always be the same as each other). I'm not worried by the Galadriel/Gandalf scene, it doesn't strike me as romantic, but deep friendship and consul between dear friends. Judging by the teaser trailer, the first Hobbit movie will be more light-hearted than LotR (as it should be).

My main concern is that I really hope they don't make it too epic. I want a genuine Hobbit feel without too much of a dark and serious Lord-of-the-Rings-prequel feel. I know they're putting that stuff in, but I hope they'll somehow be able to separate the tone in the different scenes.

I agree. That is the main reason that when I learnt of LotR, The Hobbit appealed to me more then. I really hope that they keep it the same fairy tale adventure story, only minorly related to The Ring, for "Riddles in the Dark." Otherwise, I really, really hope that they stick to the spirit of the book, even if it is not as dark, serious, and epic as LotR. I want to it feel like it's familiar ground, but still a very different story.

I've been re-reading the Hobbit, and I'll have to admit that I think some of the lightheartedness might be hard to reconcile with the existing LOTR (books or movies). The way the elves are pictured when Bilbo first arrives at Rivendell, for example, doesn't really match with what the elves are in the rest of Tolkien's writings. I think that as long as it is clear that this is an earlier, happier time, they should be able to pull a lot of it off. So yes, I'd love to see elves singing nonsense if they can make it work. Or at least real, happy music with words you can understand. Please, no ethereal stuff in the Hobbit!

Not sure if this has already been posted in this thread, but the 5th Video Production Diary for The Hobbit was recently released. Here it is: Enjoy!

The way the elves are pictured when Bilbo first arrives at Rivendell, for example, doesn't really match with what the elves are in the rest of Tolkien's writings.

I always took that as a difference between the Elven and the Half-Elven. The more serious, non-silly-singing Elves were usually full Elves, if I remember right. Whereas the people of Imladris are Elrond's people. And Elrond is only half Elf and also half human. That might make a difference in their traits.

~Riella

But the only Half-Elves in Rivendell are Elrond and his children - he had no other descendants, as his children did not have families (only Arwen has a family eventually). And Elrond is nothing like silly and merry and dancing ...

I guess that the "silly" Elves may be Elves originally from Mirkwood - they were Elves with a different language from the one of Galadriel and her people. Galadriel is a Noldo. The Noldor aren't usually light-hearted people - there is too much sorrow in their history for that.

It would be utterly improper with a romance between her and Gandalf, btw. She's married, and he's an angelic being, sent by the Valar. But they have known each other for thousands of years, so it's no wonder they are close friends. And a trailer might well take something innocent and make it look romantic, just to attract a wider audience. It wants to draw all people to the movie, not just those that know that this shouldn't be a romance ...

But the only Half-Elves in Rivendell are Elrond and his children - he had no other descendants, as his children did not have families (only Arwen has a family eventually).

Ah, I see. Thanks. I haven't studied the family trees in The Silmarillion very thoroughly yet. I had just recalled Gandalf calling the people of Imladris "Elrond's people" back in Chapter Two of The Hobbit, and assumed that meant they were somehow related to him, or all of the same race.

~Riella

The differences between half-Elven and full Elves probably wasn't the source material for the difference between Mr. Spock (half-Vulcan) and his father and people (full Vulcans). But it certainly is a memorable coincidence. The times when McCoy calls Spock an "elf" though, he sounds like he was channelling Tolkien back when "elves" were pretty little fairy creatures in the garden. Of course the Sixties was a time when Tolkien mania was fairly intense.

No real point here. Just a curiosity.

channelling Tolkien back when "elves" were pretty little fairy creatures in the garden

... an idea that Tolkien absolutely hated, and was annoyed with Shakespeare for playing along with.

Further back, btw, you were discussing what of Tolkien's works were to be considered 'canon'.
Before I can give my opnion on that, I need to know what you mean by canon.

Canon for what? For writing canon-based fan-fiction?
For knowing what Tolkien really intended? At what point of his life?

'Canon' is too vague a term in this context.

Happy Birthday to a beloved Professor, J.R.R. Tolkien, whose tales we greatly treasure. JRRT would have been 120 today (if he were an Elf ... or a hobbit with a Ring ). So excited that this is The Year of The Hobbit!

*raises a glass (of cranberry juice)* ('cause it comes in pints now, didn't you know? )

Was I the one who was discussing canon? It must have been a long time ago ... I haven't been around much last year. But since you asked, I'd say ...

Canon is finished-and-published Tolkien, whether J.R.R. or Christopher.

Deutero-canon would be things that were so incomplete that they couldn't be presented to the public without the heavy influence and interpretation of the redactor, whether Christopher Tolkien or Ralph Bakshi or Peter Jackson. I.e., filmed Tolkien was so far from having a chance of getting into film on its own that the redactor must be credited, or blamed, or both.

Fanon is the organized efforts of fans (such as published articles, fiction, plays, internet films like "the Hunt for Gollum," etc.) that doesn't contradict the above enough to irritate the holders of copyright. Under ideal circumstances, like JoHobbit's "Silver Leaves", they even have the blessing of the copyright holders/heirs like Douglas Gresham (C.S Lewis's stepson) or Tolkien's children.

Fanfic is the disorganized efforts of fans and can be either brilliant or tripe (Mary Sue, anyone?). It may contradict multiple points of canon, whether by making Spock a moron or having Aragorn marry Eowyn. It's primarily writing practice for the creators and is intended to be fun. [Reader alert: can be naughty.] Usually these are small potatoes enough that the copyright holders don't go after them. Although one can't generalize ... Disney will go after people who paint their characters on nursery school walls without permission.

Anyone who disagrees with the above interpretations or has a better one, feel free to add here. I'm a bit of a purist but am aware that without flexibility there can be no films.

As for the elves, if you thought I was suggesting Tolkien was a fan of pretty little pixies, I wasn't clear enough. I meant to say that he did what he could to give them some dignity, and I was wondering if that was part of the popularity of the Vulcans (besides their brilliant actors, that is). Galadriel and Spock came into the public consciousnessness in the States at about the same time, give or take a decade.

Trivia point: in the very early drafts, Tolkien named the Noldor the Nomin, sometimes spelled Gnomin. It meant "the wise." What he would have thought of garden gnomes (smiling mini-me dwarf things using his Elf name), I wouldn't dare to guess.

A Belated Happy Birthday to J.R.R. Tolkien!!!

Read a chapter entitled "The Quest of Erebor" within the Unfinished Tales. Maybe "The Istari" as well...

Thank You so much! Really Appreciate the help!

I can't wait to re-read The Lord of the Rings, it's been so long since I've read the books.
I think I will catch more stuff this time around.

EDIT:

Benedict Cumberbatch may have given away a Spoiler for The Hobbit involving and The Battle of the Five Armies (Warning Spoilers!):
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2012/01 ... it-tidbit/

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/6223932/Inferior-writing-cost-Tolkien-Nobel-prize

Tollkien was one of the writers the Nobel Literature prize judges didn't think good enough, 50 years ago!

What do you think about that?