Tolkien related video's.

I thought the little known about the Blue Wizards had already been done to death, but this video is nicely done and brings in an alternate version from HOME that I didn't know existed.

Some clarification on the ever shifting story of Galadriel.

Could we have an even longer trilogy?

{{ Glad we didn't, 99% of their ideas sound terrible. }}

No need for alternate versions of what is already there.

Quite liked the fans film, hunt for Gollum.

{{ Yeah same, thing is it pretty much covered the story fine, I don't see how they can spin it out much more without just doing a RoP and making a lot of stuff up. Also seems they still only have access to the appendices not Sil or UT so we are likely to get another RoP shitshow of bad invention and contradicting Tolkien's actual writings- or something like the Boyens terrible sounding Helm animated film still to come out, but which sounds highly dodgy and like its all bout Helms daughter fighting the evil male patriarchy of Rohan, which if it is I just cannot be arsed with at all. }}

Why did they make us wait for 2 minutes to start?

If they pick a bunch of disconnected stories I think it's very hopeful. The problem with long connected stories is that you get one show runner crew who can ruin everything. If you have individual stories there's a better chance that individual interpretations will hit the mark. Filter the gold from the dross.

Not quite sure how this Gollum spinoff is supposed to work? As Petty says they don't have the rights to Unfinished Tales which IIRC covers some of the 'Hunt for Gollum', and even if they just follow the few lines of info about in the LOTR book we know Gandalf and Aragorn were involved in hunting down Gollum, I think it unlikely Viggo Mortensen or Ian Mckellen will be involved (and the cost of the CGI to de-age them renders the point moot i.m.o).

I did watch the 'Hunt For Gollum' fan film many years back but can't really recall it very well, but my main issue with this idea is how it works with Gollum's exisiting character arc. LOTR starts with Gollum as a coniving loner still in thrall to the RIng not exactly a 'bad guy' but not a heroric lead and very much a supporting character who is partly redeemed by the events of the novel...this spinoff film will be set before this so what will Gollum's character arc be? Will he be attempting to track down the ring killing orcs etc? Or sat in a cave muttering forlornly to himself? Will he be front and centre as a lead 'hero' character?

Gollum is a great character, but I can't help but feel he's been overused in the videogames etc (the recent Gollum game dosen't seem to be recieved very well) and Serkis fine performance at times was reduced to facial tics and weird voices, following Gollum for 2-3 hours may prove a tad wearisome i.m.o and ruin the charm of the character. I assume all the supporting characters, plot etc will be completely made up by the screenwriters.

This just feels like fan fiction and a cash grab to me, not a very interesting story to tell i.m.o.

Curious what the other spinoff film will be, I'm guessing a prequel following Legolas or something.

Probably going to skip this one, as I did Rings Of Power.

If Gollum is nothing more than a MacGuffin they will feel less pressure to focus on him. I think it would be a good move to leave him and his movements rather mysterious. 10% screen time at most, so you see the clues he leaves and perhaps some sense of how he gets from A to B. He's not a character you want to spend much time with.

{{ Not sure it'd be very entertaining in detail, nor what people might expect (or like) from Gandalf and Aragorn's appearances- Gandalf threatens to set Gollum on fire to get info out of him and Aragorn calls the entire journey with Gollum totally miserable, and says all he ever got out of him was curses and bites. Cant say it sounds super entertaining movie material.
Plus it's just walking about basically, first Gandalf and Aragon walk about finding nothing at all, then Gandalf has a better idea and goes off to research in Minas Tirirth (which they already showed us in FotR), and Aragon wanders about some more near Mordor a bit longer before he too gives it up, and luckily comes across Gollum's trail on his way back. So Aragorn isn't even proactive in the capture of Gollum, it's pure fluke he finds him at all, and only when he wasn't even trying to.
And how are they going to fit it all into the supposed gap in the films between Bilbo and Frodo leaving? They dumped the books 17 year gap this all takes place during.

So the build up to capturing Gollum is no more than a few lines of story, once Aragorn find him it's a miserable journey in which Gollum says nothing more than curses and does nothing more than try to bite him, and all Aragorn does is drag him along being miserable. Not an enthralling sounding act in a film.
Then they go to Mirkwood, Gandalf turns back up and threatens to burn the info out of Gollum, and gets it, so that's basically a scene of talking, then some time after Gollum escapes - the only potential action in the entire story.
And it's not got a natural end point for a movie. I just don't see how it can work without being crammed full of made up additions, and this is PJ we are talking about, look at the standard of made up stuff he added to the TH. Bloody awful. RoP levels of awful. I'm not sure I can bear to watch Tolkien's work shat on for a third time in a row!   }}

I never bothered to watch The Hunt for Gollum, did everything you say above apply to it?

{{ Its only about 35 minutes long, has a contrived fight sequence to shove some action into the story, and ends on Gandalf coming to talk to Gollum in Mirkwood. So basically even trying to spin it out in to half an hour of material they had to invent a big chunk of it. }}

{{ Sounds like the person who made this is just wishful thinking. Personally I hope they don't get the rights to Sil, LotR's were decent films (well 1 was), but poor adaptations, TH were terrible films and appalling adaptations, and they had all the rights to all they needed to make those. I don't think them having the rights to Sil would mean we actually get a good adaption of any of it. And I'd rather not give them the chance to butcher it too. }}

A peripheral thought: that young woman at the computer I think must be his daughter who we saw as a young hobbit at Bilbo's farewell party.

Yes it is Halfy.

My stomach lurched when I saw that video about The Sil. I also had a small, on the edge panic attack. I dont want to be in a world where Peejers gets hold of The Silmarillion. No matter what people say about his achievement with LOTRs he does not have enough professionalism, quality, clarity or sensitivity to carry this out. For Gods sake NO !

{{ Hear! Hear! Well said Az }}

some stuff here I wasn't aware of. Dain was more active than I realized.