[HCIsland]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Movie fans aren't proper Tolkien fans. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>This is getting silly. I began reading the books decades ago, well beyond LoTR. Now that I'm enjoying the movies, I have to relinquish my claim as being a "proper" Tolkien fan? Come on!<P>As for books turned to film, the last film that I saw that was based on a book I read was Cider House Rules. Certainly the film wasn't as good as the book and much had to be taken out. That's the way it goes. By the way, the screenplay was written by the author himself (John Irving) and despite the changes (or likely because of them) he won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay.<P>This is bound to start arguments, but here it goes anyway. In my opinion, films that were better then the books I read of them (in two cases I read the book first, in one second) include, 2001 - A Space Odyssey, Jaws and The Shinning. In each case the director took major liberties with the books. A literal interpretation can never be better then the book.<P>Here's another question bound to stir up a hornet's nest. What are some of you folks gonna do if PJ and company win the oscar for best adapted screenplay? A lot of people feel they were robbed of the award last time and Oscar has a history of giving out hardware to cover over previous oversights. I think they have a good shot this time.<P>Just a thought.<P>H.C.