Tolkien, Lord of the Rings (LotR), etc.

Anyone sat through them all yet?

Frieren could pave the way for a LOTR epilogue story. Tolkien famously abandoned his own New Shadow sequel because "proved both sinister and depressing". In a Frieren-like hypothetical story, even if the downfall of mankind from the heights of Aragorn's Reunited Kingdom is inevitable in the grand scheme of things, we can explore the little details of early Fourth Age Middle-Earth from the eyes of an adventurous hobbit at a time when the War of the Ring is a collection of stories from the previous generation.

What do you think?

Alternatively, a Yuru Camp-like with a Silvan Elf protagonist could work.

Yes, yes it does!

His early abdication is his answer to the massive trolley problem he was facing: hold fast to Numenor's traditions and ways, but run the risk of giving away Middle-Earth to Sauron and have him go after Numenor anyway; or help resist Sauron but expose the Numenoreans to later corruption.

Either way, Numenor is doomed in the long run, but Tar-Meneldur acted by his conscience by yielding to his son who knows more about this matter. The events that transpired is according to Eru's plan, ultimately.

A fantastic single person setting reading all the trilogy in a very well produced effort. Currently half way through myself after an unexpected journey and I have to share

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/36744357

Many people seem familiar with Lord of the Rings via the Jackson movies, but there's a much longer tradition of artists depicting scenes from the books. Plus of course, two TV / movie series that bring some great voicework & songs (Rankin-Bass' version) and fascinating animation (Ralph Bakshi's), despite their overall flaws.

But in terms of alternate illustrators, check out the Brothers Hildebrandt, for example.

Personally, I'm enjoying this Argentinian master's version because the characters are no longer as wholesome-looking as in other depictions, giving the scene slight horror overtones. The ammonite is a nice bonus, too!

Some more Chichoni art here:
https://lemm.ee/post/27712402

Although I also really like the Alan Lee/movies art style, having alternative ways to visualize such an immense world is wonderful. The Hildebrandt brothers' illustrations especially have a more medieval, almost naive touch to them that I think lends itself well to fairy tales.

Nice teaser. Still comes across to me more as fanfic. I wish we were getting a Silmarillion anthology adaptation, but alas, that may not happen in this universe.

I’m glad the books and original movies exist.

What do others think?

Theoden's redemption arc across the second and third movie was one of the most fascinating side-stories for me, and Bernard Hill portrayed him in all stages brilliantly with range and nuance.

May he rest in peace.

"I have the map and the key to the mountain that was used in the film in a frame," he notes. "And I have Thorin's sword and his oaken shield. It's on my bookshelf!"

Eleven years ago, Tolkienites rejoiced as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey landed in UK cinemas. With Lord of the Rings director, Peter Jackson, at the helm, a legion of actors including Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, and Orlando Bloom signed on to star.

Joining them, British actor Richard Armitage won the role of Thorin Oakenshield – the legendary King of Durin's folk. Determined to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug, and secure the coveted Arkenstone, Thorin's redemptive story of greed made him one of the most interesting characters in the trilogy.

Reflecting on The Hobbit's enduring legacy and the profound effect that the franchise had on him, Richard, 52, spoke exclusively to HELLO! about his time on set.

On why the role of Thorin was so special to him, Richard explained: "It had an impact on me because I think The Hobbit was one of the first books I ever read where I really allowed my imagination to engage.

"I was completely absorbed by Tolkien. Then I found Lord of the Rings and I think it was where my early feelers were going towards being an actor, but I didn't realise it at the time," he continued.

"So, when I came to playing Thorin Oakenshield as a 40-year-old, I was retracing my steps right back to being an eight-year-old in school and finding that book for the first time. So, it was just such a massive thing for me."

As for his time on set, Richard revealed a particularly poignant memory from day one of production.

"One of the fondest memories I had was on the very first day of shooting when Peter Jackson blessed his new sound stage with a Māori Haka. I had to speak Māori to the crew because they saw my character as the King of the Dwarves," he tells HELLO!.

"And so they asked me to make this speech in Māori and the door was lifted and the sun was rising across the floor and it was incredibly moving. It was a really special moment."

After wrapping the trilogy with The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), Richard was able to take home a number of his most treasured possessions from the set, which he continues to cherish.

"I have the map and the key to the mountain that was used in the film in a frame," he notes. "And I have Thorin's sword and his oaken shield. It's on my bookshelf!"

After the success of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, Tolkeinites have since entered the Rings of Power era, following the release of Amazon Prime's high fantasy series in 2022.

With the show renewed for a second season, naturally, we had to ask if Richard would be interested in a role of some sort. "I mean, I would love to, but I think it's very hard to do that. I'd have to be a different character because you couldn't bring Peter Jackson's version of Thorin Oakenshield into somebody else's. But I love the story," he said.

On occasion of yesterday's leap day, I remembered that Tolkien had devised his own calendar system, called Shire-reckoning, that I find very elegant.

Compared to our own calendar system it is more consistent and easier to memorize, since it maintains the same number of days in each month (and the Hobbits even managed to have a consistent weekday for any given day of the year), thanks to special days that are not assigned to a specific month. On leap years such as 2024, another such special day is inserted in mid-summer; so in a few months we'll have a so-called "Overlithe" in the middle of the Yule festival. Apart from its simplicity and elegance, this also seems like something a Hobbit's mind would come with - solving a problem by having one more day of festivals.

Just wondering. The show seems to be in kind of an… odd state. I only watched the first episode, didn’t love it, none of my friends expressed positive feelings..

… but it’s got pretty good critical reviews, it’s getting a second season this year, and honestly it often “looks good” from promotional material.

Is it worth giving a second shot? Is anyone looking forward to the second season?

Thank you Professor!

If you're a fan of the soundtrack for the Lord of the Rings movies and also enjoy lo-fi beats, this is for you!

I was binge-watching the DVDs with my wife, Sarah, when it hit me: Middle-earth does exist, and I don’t need a portal. I can fly there in 23 hours. I turned to Sarah and said, “Shall we move to New Zealand?” One of the many things I love about my wife is that she listens to my madder ideas with a careful seriousness. Six months later we were in Auckland.

This has strong Bilbo Baggins vibes lol.