Fond memories - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Fordim Hedgethistle · 06-06-2004, 09:10 AM

I'm not so sure that this qualifies as a "fond" memory, but it is one that will remain with me for a long time.

Just before the debut of FotR, I was contacted by a local company and asked if I would be willing to make a brief presentation at their Christmas party. I had just finished teaching a general interest course on LotR and the local paper had interviewed me about the book as a bit of a build up to the movie. The idea was, the company executive board was going to have a reception before the film, then go to see it, and they wanted me to talk for 20-30 minutes about the themes etc in the book, then all traipse off together to watch it.

I live in a pretty small city, so this company is a big deal, and they were able to get the movie theatre to reserve the best seats in the house for them. The upshot of this was, I got to see the movie for free AND get the best seat in the house without having to wait in line AND get paid a small honorarium for the privilege!

Yes, yes, I know -- I have heard it all before, you all hate me, that was totally unfair. . .but wait for the rest of the anecdote.

At any event, as we got closer to the date of the movie, the movie theatre management got wind of the plan and thought it would be a good idea to have me make my presentation to the entire audience in the theatre rather than just to the board at their reception. The executive thought this was a great idea, and since they were paying me, I went along with it.

You can all pretty much imagine what happened…

The night of the film, all those who had been waiting in line for the entire day got in to the theatre to see that the best seats in the house had been reserved. Just 10 minutes before the movie began, the executive – and I – came in and plunked ourselves down in the seat. And THEN at precisely 8:00, when everyone is expecting the movie to begin, the theatre manager gets on a microphone and tells them all that there is a special treat for them: a 20 minute talk by a Tolkien expert.

Oh yeah, that was a popular move.

Sensing the mood of the crowd (which wasn’t difficult) I rushed through what I had to say in about 10 minutes and then ran for my seat.

At least the movie was brilliant!

Lyta_Underhill · 06-06-2004, 09:37 AM

Poor Fordim (I think!) I can't decide whether to envy or pity you for that experience, but I imagine they all forgot pretty quick once the movie started! ( I can't imagine a typical moviegoing crowd actually being interested in a scholarly presentation!

)

My own memories that stand out as being most distinctive are those from the premiere of Return of the King, when I dressed as Frodo and went off to a larger city to attend the movie! I got a lot of strange looks and only saw a couple Elves afterwards in the parking lot. I also overheard a woman in the bathroom of the theatre referring to "some freak" dressed up all "weird" outside the bathroom. She was talking to her kids and referring to my husband, who sported a 3-minute Aragorn costume. She never saw Frodo though--I left before she emerged, and related to "Aragorn" his new celebrity status. The next time I attended, again in Frodo costume, I actually got a compliment that I was a "good Frodo" and met another person who was a big fan of Samwise and all her kids, each of whom had a different favorite character in the tales.

Another amusing memory is the middle aged woman who screamed aloud only a row behind us as Shelob stung Frodo. I had never heard that kind of yelp in a theatre before, and probably won't again! Luckily, I escaped the experience of the Legolas cheering section in the movies. Interestingly enough, I rather enjoyed the experience of getting my hands on the Extended Editions, even if I viewed them more or less alone; they opened the movies up more and made me believe them as adaptations more than the original theatrical versions. I eagerly await the Extended ROTK for this reason...

Cheers!
Lyta

Flittermouse · 09-10-2004, 03:39 PM

Good stories, guys... anybody got more?

Encaitare · 09-10-2004, 04:49 PM

My memories of FotR and TTT are nothing special, since I didn't see FotR in the theater, and only saw TTT once. But RotK... oh man, I remember being so damn excited for the whole day in school. I couldn't go to the midnight showing

but I went right after school on December 17. The first time seeing it was amazing (I dressed up, too), but not the best. The best time was when I went with a bunch of crazy friends, and we sat in the front row because there were no other seats. We had the most fun time, and we got the whole theater to clap at around 7 different points in the movie... such little instigators we are. ^ ^ Then we stayed for all the credits and screamed like madwomen for all the actors... loudest of all for Hugo Weaving, Ian McKellen, Howard Shore, and the brilliant Prof. Tolkien. I remember feeling incredibly sad to see "The End" on the screen... I couldn't imagine it drawing to a close. Very sad but wonderful... that's why I have mixed feelings about watching RotK. It's my favorite movie, but I always feel a little sad at the end because it's, well, the end.

Good times, though, good times.

Meela · 09-11-2004, 06:29 AM

Return of the King was the first of the trilogy I saw on the opening night, and so was the first time I experienced the first-night frenzy. It gave me such a buzz, seeing hundreds of Lord of the Rings fans gathered in the theater. A lot of them were in costume or wore some sort of Tolkien token. It was great to be part of something that was special to so many of us.
I remember I took a notebook and pen with me so I could take notes about the movie (details of what was included, moments I'd read about beforehand, etc), and I was furiously scribbling down random words such as "heads!" "eek!" and "Gandalf to the rescue!" through the interval.
It was a frantic rush at the start, getting decent seats, braving certain death by trampling to get candy and novelty Pepsi cartons. I don't think I breathed properly until I emerged in the foyer several hours later, my tunic crumpled and picking bits of popcorn out of my hair (yes, I wore a Gondorian tunic. Nothing else would do). The evening was an adrenaline rush; the Tolkien fanatic's alternative to four consecutive bungee jumps.

Jjudvven · 09-11-2004, 12:53 PM

I agree. Although the movies didn't turn out to be everything they could be, around Christmastime of every year was a time of unparalleled excitement for me, and something that I will always remember. I only saw the Return of the King on opening night as well, but I will never forget any of the other times I saw the movies. I still have all my ticket stubs(and there are quite a few!).

Lathriel · 09-11-2004, 05:17 PM

I think one thing that will be funny is that in the future when ( for those who are still teenagers and in the early twenties) you have kids you can tell them... When I was young the LOTR movies came out etc. etc. etc.

06-06-2004, 09:37 AM	#2
Lyta_Underhill Haunted Halfling Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: an uncounted length of steps--floating between air molecules Posts: 841	Poor Fordim (I think!) I can't decide whether to envy or pity you for that experience, but I imagine they all forgot pretty quick once the movie started! ( I can't imagine a typical moviegoing crowd actually being interested in a scholarly presentation! ) My own memories that stand out as being most distinctive are those from the premiere of Return of the King, when I dressed as Frodo and went off to a larger city to attend the movie! I got a lot of strange looks and only saw a couple Elves afterwards in the parking lot. I also overheard a woman in the bathroom of the theatre referring to "some freak" dressed up all "weird" outside the bathroom. She was talking to her kids and referring to my husband, who sported a 3-minute Aragorn costume. She never saw Frodo though--I left before she emerged, and related to "Aragorn" his new celebrity status. The next time I attended, again in Frodo costume, I actually got a compliment that I was a "good Frodo" and met another person who was a big fan of Samwise and all her kids, each of whom had a different favorite character in the tales. Another amusing memory is the middle aged woman who screamed aloud only a row behind us as Shelob stung Frodo. I had never heard that kind of yelp in a theatre before, and probably won't again! Luckily, I escaped the experience of the Legolas cheering section in the movies. Interestingly enough, I rather enjoyed the experience of getting my hands on the Extended Editions, even if I viewed them more or less alone; they opened the movies up more and made me believe them as adaptations more than the original theatrical versions. I eagerly await the Extended ROTK for this reason... Cheers! Lyta __________________ “…she laid herself to rest upon Cerin Amroth; and there is her green grave, until the world is changed, and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by men that come after, and elanor and niphredil bloom no more east of the Sea.”

09-11-2004, 06:29 AM	#5
Meela Denethor's True Love Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Mirkwood. With Thranduil... swoon Posts: 2,049	Meela's Magical Memory Return of the King was the first of the trilogy I saw on the opening night, and so was the first time I experienced the first-night frenzy. It gave me such a buzz, seeing hundreds of Lord of the Rings fans gathered in the theater. A lot of them were in costume or wore some sort of Tolkien token. It was great to be part of something that was special to so many of us. I remember I took a notebook and pen with me so I could take notes about the movie (details of what was included, moments I'd read about beforehand, etc), and I was furiously scribbling down random words such as "heads!" "eek!" and "Gandalf to the rescue!" through the interval. It was a frantic rush at the start, getting decent seats, braving certain death by trampling to get candy and novelty Pepsi cartons. I don't think I breathed properly until I emerged in the foyer several hours later, my tunic crumpled and picking bits of popcorn out of my hair (yes, I wore a Gondorian tunic. Nothing else would do). The evening was an adrenaline rush; the Tolkien fanatic's alternative to four consecutive bungee jumps. __________________ 'The Hobbit' 1st impressions: 1. Thorin is hot... Oh god, I fancy a dwarf. 2. Thranduil is hotter. 3. Is that... Figwit! 4. Does Elijah Wood never age? 2nd: It's all about Fili & Kili, really. 3rd: BARD! OMG, Bard.

09-11-2004, 12:53 PM	#6
Jjudvven Wight Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: The Land to the West Posts: 154	I agree. Although the movies didn't turn out to be everything they could be, around Christmastime of every year was a time of unparalleled excitement for me, and something that I will always remember. I only saw the Return of the King on opening night as well, but I will never forget any of the other times I saw the movies. I still have all my ticket stubs(and there are quite a few!). __________________ "I don't know all of you as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you, half as well as you deserve."

09-11-2004, 05:17 PM	#7
Lathriel Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wandering through Middle-Earth (Sadly in Alberta and not ME) Posts: 612	I think one thing that will be funny is that in the future when ( for those who are still teenagers and in the early twenties) you have kids you can tell them... When I was young the LOTR movies came out etc. etc. etc. __________________ Back again

06-06-2004, 09:10 AM	#1
Fordim Hedgethistle Gibbering Gibbet Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Beyond cloud nine Posts: 1,844	I'm not so sure that this qualifies as a "fond" memory, but it is one that will remain with me for a long time. Just before the debut of FotR, I was contacted by a local company and asked if I would be willing to make a brief presentation at their Christmas party. I had just finished teaching a general interest course on LotR and the local paper had interviewed me about the book as a bit of a build up to the movie. The idea was, the company executive board was going to have a reception before the film, then go to see it, and they wanted me to talk for 20-30 minutes about the themes etc in the book, then all traipse off together to watch it. I live in a pretty small city, so this company is a big deal, and they were able to get the movie theatre to reserve the best seats in the house for them. The upshot of this was, I got to see the movie for free AND get the best seat in the house without having to wait in line AND get paid a small honorarium for the privilege! Yes, yes, I know -- I have heard it all before, you all hate me, that was totally unfair. . .but wait for the rest of the anecdote. At any event, as we got closer to the date of the movie, the movie theatre management got wind of the plan and thought it would be a good idea to have me make my presentation to the entire audience in the theatre rather than just to the board at their reception. The executive thought this was a great idea, and since they were paying me, I went along with it. You can all pretty much imagine what happened… The night of the film, all those who had been waiting in line for the entire day got in to the theatre to see that the best seats in the house had been reserved. Just 10 minutes before the movie began, the executive – and I – came in and plunked ourselves down in the seat. And THEN at precisely 8:00, when everyone is expecting the movie to begin, the theatre manager gets on a microphone and tells them all that there is a special treat for them: a 20 minute talk by a Tolkien expert. Oh yeah, that was a popular move. Sensing the mood of the crowd (which wasn’t difficult) I rushed through what I had to say in about 10 minutes and then ran for my seat. At least the movie was brilliant!

09-10-2004, 03:39 PM	#3
Flittermouse Pile O'Bones Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 17	Good stories, guys... anybody got more?

09-10-2004, 04:49 PM	#4
Encaitare Bittersweet Symphony Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: On the jolly starship Enterprise Posts: 1,814	My memories of FotR and TTT are nothing special, since I didn't see FotR in the theater, and only saw TTT once. But RotK... oh man, I remember being so damn excited for the whole day in school. I couldn't go to the midnight showing but I went right after school on December 17. The first time seeing it was amazing (I dressed up, too), but not the best. The best time was when I went with a bunch of crazy friends, and we sat in the front row because there were no other seats. We had the most fun time, and we got the whole theater to clap at around 7 different points in the movie... such little instigators we are. ^ ^ Then we stayed for all the credits and screamed like madwomen for all the actors... loudest of all for Hugo Weaving, Ian McKellen, Howard Shore, and the brilliant Prof. Tolkien. I remember feeling incredibly sad to see "The End" on the screen... I couldn't imagine it drawing to a close. Very sad but wonderful... that's why I have mixed feelings about watching RotK. It's my favorite movie, but I always feel a little sad at the end because it's, well, the end. Good times, though, good times.