[The Saucepan Man]

I have little to add to what others before me have expressed so eloquently, Lyta, Lush and Lord of Angmar in particular. Although I would reiterate a few points.

I suspect that many, if not all of the quotes given, were understandable responses to attempts to elicit from those being questioned some kind of agreement to the proposition that LotR reflects Chrisitian belief or, worse, that the conflict depicted in the films mirrors current world events. The films are certainly not, and should not be, allegorical of Christianity. And neither are the books. Although the books clearly do reflect Tolkien's own Christian values, as Tolkien himself acknowledged, those same values (the majority of which were transposed into the films) can be accepted and appreciated by those who do not share his beliefs (and, indeed, do not hold any particular religious belief). So, like others here, I believe that it would have been wrong for the cast and production team to have aligned the values depicted in the films (and the books), solely with those enshrined within the Christian faith.

Also, while I believe that Jackson, and possibly some of the others, will have read around the subject, it is unrealistic to expect them (particularly the cast) to be familiar with every theme and idea developed by Tolkien in his various writings.

Finally, I agree with Lush and Angmar that it is incredibly presumptious of the author to assume knowledge of these people's beliefs on the basis of these few selected quotes (and some vague notion of the depravity and debauchery of Hollywood), and it is also presumptious of her to suggest that they really ought to share her own views. These people are individuals, with their own views, beliefs and opinions, and (within fairly broad limits) they are entitled to express them as they see fit, or refrain from doing so if they do not believe it appropriate to do so.

Irrespective of the beliefs of the author, there is no "set way" of interpreting LotR and people will, and are entitled to, draw from it whatever values and conclusions seem important and appropriate to them. Those responsible for producing the films are no different from us in this respect, save that they were charged with the task of making the films as appealing as possible to as wide a section as possible of the film-going public.