It’s only natural that if you wish to present yourself as a well-read person, a certain degree of complete bullshit is required. There’s no shame in lying about what you’ve read. There’s only shame in getting caught. Then you look like a doofus, and an illiterate one at that... How to lie about books.
posted by Artw on May 28, 2009 - 73 comments

Middle Earth Filter: Peter Jackson and New Line to produce The Hobbit and a sequel. After a lengthy legal dispute between the director and the production company behind the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, the two parties have come to a resolution - and Middle Earth will be back in cinemas in 2010 and 2011.
posted by crossoverman on Dec 18, 2007 - 111 comments

DM of the Rings (comic). The Lord of the Rings if it were a Dungeons and Dragons game. [more inside]
posted by Bugbread on Oct 27, 2007 - 66 comments

"It is an army bred for a single purpose; to destroy the world of men."
posted by dazed_one on Jun 4, 2007 - 22 comments

You've probably seen the video of Kirk and Spock set to "Closer." You might not be familiar with the wider world of fanvids, however. It might be "Lost" set to Warren Zevon or "Heroes" set to Jonathan Coulton. Some are slashy, others are just hilarious. And some are really awesome.
posted by EarBucket on May 6, 2007 - 48 comments

Star Wars in 5 Seconds. The Empire Strikes Back. Return of the Jedi. Dozens more from this YouTube user, including Batman; The Lord of the Rings I, II, and III; Amadeus; The Passion; The Princess Bride; Titanic; The Big Lebowski; and my personal favorite, The Lion King.
"In 5 seconds" not to be taken literally. Some audio may be NSFW.
posted by Partial Law on Mar 8, 2007 - 49 comments

The Stupid Ring is 'Earth's largest Tolkien parody.' Given a taste of The Lord of the Rings on the big screen [warning: sound], some wacky Tolkien fans craved more. So they rewrote the entire book as a movie script. All sixty-plus chapters. Every scene, every song. And then some. Possibly while drunk.
posted by zennie on Feb 24, 2007 - 14 comments

The LoTR musical needs Hobbits of a certain stature. What stature is that, budding thespians might ask? Well, smoot-height, of course! (Actually, 5'7" — or 170 cm — is the maximum height a would-be Frodo or Bilbo could be.) Another requirement is the ability to sing two songs ... and hairy appendages wouldn't hurt. So start knitting those foot-merkins! Auditions: 18 September, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Catherine St (tube stop: Covent Garden).
posted by rob511 on Sep 12, 2006 - 25 comments

Write your name in Tengwar, the Elvish language/alphabet created by JRR Tolkien. You can work with Tengwar fonts based on Middle Earth languages and runes and see many examples of the script via a Google Image search. According to Tolkien, "there is quite a bit of linguistic wisdom in it." There are certainly websites devoted to his languages and thier history. And It took some thought and work to make the speech sound right in the movies.
posted by persona non grata on Aug 29, 2006 - 27 comments

The (Mostly Improbable) Materials Science and Engineering of the Star Wars Universe; The Reel Thing: One Editor’s List of Great Material Moments in the Movies; Toy Story: Materials Engineering at Play, featuring an MPEG of Fluffy the three headed dog from Harry Potter barking thanks to Nanomuscle; Things that Go Boom in the Night: The Art and Science of Fireworks; Built to Battle, Robots Test Designers’ Mettle; Fabricating the Weapons and Armor of The Lord of the Rings; and, finally, Why Did the World Trade Center Collapse? Science, Engineering, and Speculation. All articles from the surprisingly interesting JOM: The Member Journal of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.
posted by OmieWise on Jul 29, 2005 - 8 comments

Fraud of the Rings LOTR cartoon satire...My favorite.
posted by konolia on Dec 22, 2004 - 28 comments

Lord of Rings Flatulence Mashup. [NSF mature people] [wmv 53 seconds]
posted by srboisvert on Sep 25, 2004 - 7 comments

Tricksy those hobbitses What happens when two girls bilk LotR fans, trick the celebrities, and leave a volunteer holding the bag? Continued fan outrage and careful tracking.
posted by FunkyHelix on Jun 9, 2004 - 19 comments

Once more, with hobbits... A Lord of the Rings / Buffy the Vampire Slayer adventure, heralded by the folks at the Z+Partners blog as "rip, mix culture" incarnate... offered here for your delectation.
posted by silusGROK on Apr 12, 2004 - 4 comments

New Zealand critic blasts LOTR. Big budget movie special effects have overshadowed the timeless are of storytelling and character development. "..The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is, as a work of cinematic art, ham-fisted, shallow, bombastic and laughably overrated.." [More Quotes inside]
posted by stbalbach on Apr 8, 2004 - 48 comments

Why Gollum shouldn't win an Oscar. Many Lord of the Rings fans think Andy Serkis should be nominated for an Academy Award for his work in the films, but as Roger Ebert writes, the actor shouldn't benefit because animators kept Gollum from falling into the Uncanny Valley.
posted by tranquileye on Jan 13, 2004 - 36 comments

The Encyclopedia of Arda A reference guide to Tolkien-can't tell an orc from a Uruk-hai? Stumped at what the three kinds of hobbits are? This website has the answers. Nicely laid out site, too.
posted by konolia on Jan 4, 2004 - 7 comments

What not to do at a showing of Return of the King...
posted by bluedaniel on Dec 30, 2003 - 32 comments

If you're going to make a deal with Sauron, consult your lawyer first.
posted by tdismukes on Dec 22, 2003 - 9 comments

Once More With Hobbits - the Lord of the Rings meets Once More With Feeling, the Buffy the Vampire musical episode. There are only lyrics at the moment, but mp3s are promised soon. Until then, you'll have to sing along yourselves!
posted by Orange Goblin on Dec 19, 2003 - 10 comments

"This is frankly one of the greatest films ever made." Harry Knowles reviews "Return of the King."
posted by adrober on Dec 13, 2003 - 56 comments

A little Shockwave diversion, to tide over those waiting impatiently for Return of the King to open. (You might want to turn down your speakers before clicking...)
posted by Kat Allison on Dec 9, 2003 - 12 comments

Christopher Lee has been cut out of 'Return Of The King'. "Of course I am very shocked, that's all I can say....If you want to know why you would have to ask the company New Line or director Peter Jackson and his associates because I still don't really know why.".

Does anyone know any more about this sayonara to Saruman? 'Asked if he would attend the première, he said: "No, what's the point? What's the point of going? None at all."' I'm kind of shocked. But not quite as much as he is from the sounds of it.
posted by boneybaloney on Nov 12, 2003 - 81 comments

Did you think about buying tickets to the one day showing of all three LOTR movies? It would have been a good investment.
posted by alms on Nov 10, 2003 - 15 comments

Final Lord of the Rings trailer [Quicktime Movie]. No sign of it yet on the official site. (Via BBC)
posted by MintSauce on Sep 29, 2003 - 37 comments

One Ring Circus -- insanely detailed Lord of the Rings costumes stitched up by some fans...for those who can't wait 147 more days.
posted by serafinapekkala on Jul 22, 2003 - 12 comments

The Synchronicity Archives includes the well known synchronization of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon with a viewing of The Wizard of Oz, as well as other entertaining combinations. Has anyone tried Led Zeppelin and Lord of the Rings ?
posted by mecran01 on Jul 9, 2003 - 21 comments

Lord of the Rings...THE MUSICAL. You heard it here first, folks.
posted by adrober on May 28, 2003 - 14 comments

Just how well do you know The Lord of the Rings? Test your knowledge here, courtesy of the Tolkien Sarcasm Page. Also of interest: the LOTR board game, and a brief synopsis of LOTR for you students who have to write a quick book report but just don't have the time to read the actual books.
posted by UKnowForKids on Mar 31, 2003 - 6 comments

I'd like to thank the Academy. And the French. Film critic Michael Sragow, late of Salon and currently of The Baltimore Sun, ruminates on the upcoming Oscar telecast and wonders why such a "lib-rad industry" would sit-out the night and pass on the opportunity to bang us all over the head with soporific political messages. In actual movie talk, he sez of LOTR: "I don't think there has been a fantasy film IN MOVIE HISTORY as faultlessly acted, as magnificent in its scope and invention, and as enthralling in its narrative drive as I'm sure the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy will turn out to be. "
posted by baltimore on Mar 21, 2003 - 2 comments

Who wrote Lord of the Rings, again? Those wacky, wacky teeming million followers of Cecil Adams are at it again, this time figuring out how Lord of the Rings might have read were it written by other hands. The best, in my opinion, is John Cage's rendition.
posted by thanotopsis on Jan 16, 2003 - 24 comments

Secret Diaries from the Lord of the Rings.
posted by Ron on Jan 9, 2003 - 22 comments

Tolkien's Eleventy-first. Today would've been JRR Tolkien's 111th birthday. According to the Tolkien Society, the proper thing to do is to raise a glass at 9 pm and say "The Professor." Mary-Ann was not available for comment.
posted by condour75 on Jan 3, 2003 - 13 comments

The piercing truth of the One Ring
.wmv file
posted by Witty on Dec 6, 2002 - 17 comments

Hobbiton It's On!!! "Yo, I'm harder than a Mithril coat / A hundred is the number of the orcs I smote / I battled Helms Deep and I took Minas Tirith / If you don't watch out, I'll make your ass dissappeareth.." - Lord of the Rhymes. For those of you who can't wait to see Legolas bustin' caps again in "The Two Towers," settle down for some gangsta rap (5.61 MB MP3), Middle Earth style. "He's mean / he's green / Gollum beat box like you never seen!" (via firda)
posted by lotsofno on Dec 5, 2002 - 29 comments

One Peep to rule them all, and in the darkness eat them. It's not Friday, but any day is a good day to see "Lord of The Rings" executed with marshmallow peeps. There's also a "PeepHenge" on the site...mmmmmmm, PeepHenge. (God bless Bifurcated Rivets.)
posted by serafinapekkala on Nov 14, 2002 - 14 comments

Protest Lord Of The Rings "The Two Towers"!!! "We believe that Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema's actions are in fact hate speech. The movie is intentionally being named The Two Towers in order to capitalize on the tragedy of September 11." Satire?....please.
posted by Dr_Octavius on Oct 24, 2002 - 42 comments

Sure, Peter Jackson's might be the most famous, and you've probably all heard of Ralph Bakshi's animated version and the Rankin-Bass one, but did you know that there have been other cinematic adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien's works? Take a look at this 1960s musical adaptation of The Hobbit, for instance, or a 1940s Warner Bros. version of the complete trilogy. (Movie downloads require Quicktime.)
posted by UKnowForKids on Oct 2, 2002 - 16 comments

Geeky obsessiveness on a level that I can definitely get behind. A shot by shot analysis of the full trailer for "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". The trailer is up in Quicktime here, for all us fanboys.
posted by GriffX on Sep 30, 2002 - 19 comments

So what? Jeez, the media's all up in arms about the multiple editions of Fellowship of the Ring being released. Really, is there not enough in the world to legitimately gripe about? Are Rings fans really being ripped off? It's not like anyone's putting a gun to your head and forcing you to buy any of these discs. Isn't more choice better than less, even in the disposable DVD world?
posted by WolfDaddy on Aug 16, 2002 - 44 comments

Aaah, the joys of PetitionOnline.com. As of right now, 840 people have petitioned Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema to change the name of "The Two Towers," the sequel to The Lord of the Rings, saying that Jackson purposely made the title in reference to the September 11th attacks. Nevermind the fact that the book of the same name was published by Tolkien in 1954. Naturally, there is a petition against the petition. Hooray, democratic process!
posted by littleyellowdifferent on Apr 30, 2002 - 39 comments

"It's the ring. It's getting heavier". This site is offering a 20Mb Quicktime download of the trailer for LOTR: The Two Towers. Very obviously a bootleg filmed in a theatre -- it's got an annoying flicker and the sound is a bit mussy -- but pretty decent quality otherwise.
posted by maudlin on Apr 8, 2002 - 21 comments

Did you like the v. secret diaries of the Fellowship? Then Middle-Earth Sock Puppet Theater may be up your alley. It's role-playing in the most comic extreme. Try the cliff notes for added fun.
posted by FunkyHelix on Apr 1, 2002 - 1 comment

Beatles wanted to do Lord of the Rings film in 1960s John was to play Gollum; Paul would be Frodo; George would play Gandalf; and Ringo would play Sam.
posted by andrewraff on Mar 29, 2002 - 21 comments

Lord of the Hackers? Sherri Turkle writes in the NYT:

Adolescents are wise in the psychology of computer games and Middle Earth. They live in a world they can't control, in a body that seems increasingly alien. To them the computer world is soothing, offering reassurance through mastery. Just as each episode of "The Lord of the Rings" presents a danger and each has its resolution, so many adolescent boys move from one block of intransigent code to another, from one screen to the next, declaring victory as they go. But this distinction is about more than gender; it is about ways of looking at the world — real, imagined or computer-generated. Some pioneers of computing had a style of working that rewarded risk. They spoke of programming itself as though it were a dangerous quest. At M.I.T. computer hackers even had a name for it: "sport death." To pull back from the impending doom of a system crash required near magic, an almost empathetic knowledge of the intricacies of code. For this community, a certain bravado came to be seen as valuable, even necessary, beyond the world of programming.

Any programmer-hobbits care to comment on this? This doesn't exactly describe my feelings when unsnarling html.
posted by mecran01 on Mar 8, 2002 - 41 comments

Lord of the Rings sweeps Baftas It must be wierd for Peter Jackson to be working on the final two acts of his trilogy when the first part is winning awards. I think this is what can be termed 'pressure to perform'.
posted by feelinglistless on Feb 24, 2002 - 9 comments

The Secret Diary of Gollum : Day Thirty-One - "[Very] Dark in Mines of Moria. Bad for ogling. Have been following sounds of Legolas complaining loudly about state of his backpack and dank air of Moria being bad for his skin. Gandalf stuck gum in his hair while he wasn’t looking. Rather like Gandalf. Always has gum."

Ignore the fact that it's a LiveJournal link. It's Middle Earth slash-fiction. And it's funny. Really, really funny. [via Modern Life is Rubbish]
posted by grabbingsand on Feb 12, 2002 - 21 comments

Ever wonder how Lord of the Rings would've turned out had it been written by Raymond Chandler or Gene Roddenbury? Me neither, but fortunately for us Alison Brooks and David Flin have. Be sure to take a look at some of their alternative history scenarios while you're there.
posted by MrBaliHai on Feb 6, 2002 - 4 comments

New Line may add footage to the end of the theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring. "We're going to change the last reel out and do a preview of Two [Towers] at the end of the last reel..."
posted by tranquileye on Jan 25, 2002 - 32 comments

A Beautiful Mind sweeps the Golden Globes. There you have it folks. As an unabashed LOTR fan, I was mildly disappointed, but not at all surprised that the outsider Peter Jackson did not get his due.
posted by insomnyuk on Jan 20, 2002 - 36 comments