<BR><br><br> Right on, Gilthalion!<br> <br> I, too, am doing my best to contain myself as I await the release of the films. <br> <br> At first, I found myself nitpicking about any variation from the books, but now my overriding feeling is that taking liberties with the story is okay as long as it doesn't alter the essence of ME and the characters. <br> <br> I am not a fan of the fantasy or sci-fi genres, as people expect me to be when they find out that I'm a near-obsessive LOTR fan. What grabs me about LOTR is that it takes me to a time and place that I wish I could experience, and I would love to know the people who lived there. I grew to love the members of the Fellowship as much as they loved each other. <br> <br> Things were simpler then, wars notwithstanding, with unspoiled lands and not nearly as much of the so-called "progress" (and resulting information/sensory overload) that has made today's population a virtual grab-bag of neuroses. This is not an attempt to make a sweeping judgment about all people, mind you, nor am I excessively disenchanted with today's world - it's just an attempt at some sort of summary about the books' appeal to me. Who wouldn't want to live in a more "innocent" time and place in which a man's honor was more important to him than anything else, and peoples' existence was much closer to nature? As long as the films preserve that essence, I don't really care if minor differences from the books exist.<br> <br> Judging from what I've read, PJ and the actors involved in the project have considered it to be an extraordinary experience. It appears that there was definitely some Middle Earth magic in the atmosphere, and that it was a labor of love on everyone's part. Undoubtedly, that would infuse their performances, so I have high hopes that the films will capture the magic of Middle Earth and the wonderful natures of the characters. And I couldn't ask for anything more. <p></p>
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