h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The story of Aragorn and Arwen would make a lovely short movie. Whatever happened to having a short before the main feature?

And the Appendices would be good narrated over some floaty elvish type films, or battle scenes or whatever. Christopher Lee and Ian MacKellen would do a great job of that, and Cate Blanchett.

*sigh*

it's never going to happen.

So I'll hope for a 100 part tv version of The Silmarillion instead. It could run on Sunday mornings, like that thing about The Great War that went on for about 40 years when I was a kid.

You were a kid for 40 years?

Me too -- 56 and no end in sight yet.

sure... we're all kids (according to Mr. Elrond, anyway)

he meant to write an entertaining childrens story

Talking of the Silmarillion - a progress report. I am about halfway through, and I am enjoying it a lot. The problems I am having are that all the early humans have such similar names! (Fathers and sons especially). Also, that some characters (Elvish ones mostly) have their names and two or three nicknames - sometimes Tolkien refers to them by different names at different times, and I don't realise that it's all the same person!
It would make a brilliant series, but only if done by the Beeb. An American version would be *horrendous!* There are some amazing stories...

i have the simarillion but not got aroond to reading it

You should! Let us know what you think of it when you do...

will do

Bite-sized Silmarillion would definitely be great methinks. Fingolfin versus Morgoth would wipe the floor with *anything* from the Animatrix DVD.

Absolutely! It'd be great...

oh, a Manga or anime Silmarillion, in 10 or 15 minute episodes. I'd go for something like that.

no that big on cartoons meself

Might I as observer offer my gratitude to the people who know nothing at all about Tolkien beyond paragraph two...........I no longer feel so and low and inadequate . I find nothing wrong with it please don't misunderstand
I just seemed to get had long postings from someone who was convinced they were a participant.
As that wonderful song in Midnight Cowboy goes'Everybodys Tolkien at me I don't hear a word they say only the echoes of their mind's.

"oh, a Manga or anime Silmarillion, in 10 or 15 minute episodes. I'd go for something like that."

No.

There MUST be better ways to do it than that.

AAAAAAH! Anime Tolkien? What were they thinking?!

sure there must be better ways, but I can't think of any right now.

Unless Peter Jackson wants to spend the rest of his life in middle earth? Please?

Well, here's a thought.

WETA digital.

CGI the whole thing, in a 'Final Fantasy' (but better) style, and break the stories up into manageable chunks. That'd work.

I was reading the story of Turin Tambarath (sp?) last night. What a downer, but a great story! It'd make a film on it's own, with Milla Jovovich as young Morwen, someone sappy as Niniel, etc.

Considering past attempts, a producer would have to be very brave or very ignorant to try and turn Tolkien into anime...

And I think the story of Turin is my favourite bit of the Quenta Silmarillion.


cheers
~Bistro

Re the weather

I think that this is like the other influences in Tolkiens work, more complex than it at first seems.

I believe that it is strongly linked to the natural order of things theme which is threaded all through the plots of his different works. It is also a fact that the british spend more time talking about the weather than almost any other topic so it seems reasonable to assume that it felt a natural thing for Tolkien to write about.

BUT

Probably most important though is setting the scene, the weather, the quality of sunsets and sunrises, have a powerfull effect in setting the mood, the clouds and thunder above Mordor for instance let you know very clearly that something dark and unnattural is happening there. The weather is in this sense as much a part of the plot and of the lanscape as any of the other elements. My one sorrow about the LOTR was always that there was nothing of the Sea in it (At least not to speak of) I think he could have had enourmous fun with something which gives a sense of unweildy living status like the sea would have been a gift for his talent for personifying objects and things. I have wondered why he didn't.

I think Anime would be fine for the Silmarillion, but so would all the other suggestions. The important thing would not be the medium but the dedication and involvement of the creators of such a work, the 'final fantasy' approach would irritate my though because I like live actors to be live actors not extremely well animated puppets, it seems odd to me to devote all that time to producing something which an actor could have done just as well. It might be a useful style if an actor were to die halfway through production though.