Opinions and Recollections by Mike "Mikey" Murray.
On the eve of the ROTK release in the UK, all my mind can think about is getting comfy in my seat tomorrow at 11.30am GMT. Luckily for me Lord of the Rings has become a whole new entity in my life. You see way back in August of 2002 I packed my suitcase to brimming and set off for film school in Los Angeles, leaving my native land of Scotland behind. It was while I was at film school that I met a young gentleman who goes by the name of Josh (aka Tan Pants to his greatest fans).


Quickbeam, Mike Murray and Josh clown around in the UK.

Josh and I quickly became friends as we are fellow filmmakers who have an undying passion for the movies. It was inevitable that we would work together. It was within our next few meetings that Josh asked if I would like to do some sound work on a documentary he was shooting. I said ‘I’d love to’ even before I knew it was a film about Lord of the Rings fans. So off I went on my first day. It turned out that it was to cover an Andy Serkis book signing in Hollywood.

The fact that I was living and working in Hollywood was now beginning to sink in. I’ve always been a guy who keeps his feet well and truly on the ground, but even someone who wasn’t a film fanatic would get excited about this, surely. When I got there I met Carlene, (The Director) and Quickbeam, (Producer and Frontman). I was surprised at how welcoming and relaxed they both were, after all they didn’t know me from Adam and this was an important day for their film. I think that they began to warm to me fully during our post shoot drink, when over a chat, the fact that I was a LOTR’s fan was well and truly out of the hat. I was invited to help out again at The Los Angeles Book Festival for two full days of shooting. Was I going to say ‘No’? At the Serkis signing I had met so many great people, some of whome I met again at later events that I went to with the film.

(continued at right)

england blog | hobbiton, usa | terry pratchett | wellington premiere | rotk review

(Continued from column at left.)

Now there can be no doubt that we were in the midst of something I had never experienced before and my attendance at the Two Towers oscar party would prove it. Sheer mass elation at the hands of the film adaptation of Tolkien’s classic. Utter enthusiasm for anything or anyone connected to LOTR. I met hobbits, wizards, elves dwarves and even a singing Gandalf. Here were a group of people that physically embodied what is clearly a spiritual connection to what Tolkien and Jackson have presented to us. Something that can probably only be described as a gift to the world. When I visited Comic Con in San Diego the point was hammered home. There were even Storm Troopers and Klingons bowing down and reveling in Ringmania.

A shadow and a presence was beginning to grow in my mind however. I was constantly being told about the skeptics (which always brings to my mind a vision of the Skeksis and the wailing voice of Frank Oz ) – those who believed Jackson had destroyed Tolkien’s beautiful work. As yet though, I had seen little or no evidence of it. People had their gripes about the films sure, but this is inevitable if you consider the magnitude of popularity for the books. Yes of course people will always use the old cliché that the books are better than the films so that they sound more intelligent. It really is a pointless argument because Jackson’s films are an appreciation of the books, not a reinvention. I think most ‘Ringers’ realize how lucky they are to have Jackson (a Ringer himself) calling the shots on three movies in which you can tell that his feelings on the original text have often overpowered his need to be individual – A rare quality in a director.

Getting back to it, I found little evidence of the skeptic. Or at least so I thought. Now I was being told that we were going to England. Oxford actually. Oxonmoot 2003 was where we were going to find these skeptics. ‘Ringers: Lord of the Fans’ was going to rock the very roots of Tolkien fandom. You see Carlene, Quickbeam and Josh were right to be fearful. Whereas Americans generally love to be on camera and revel in what might be described by some as geekdom, the British are a whole different breed. We’re camera shy, unaccommodating and terrified that we might be exposed as geeks. So we drifted into Oxonmoot accompanied by an able guide who gave me the distinct impression that he had been warned not to let us see too much. I could see him as the resigned wizard saying “So be it” as the powers that be told him he must guide the American film crew through the mines at Oxonmoot. He was probably fearful that one of us might ‘pull a Pippin’ and release the evil powers that be. Being a short Scotsman with a panache for drinking pints and mimicking Billy Boyd, I was probably the most fearful. To no surprise there was no evil, we weren’t evil and the people we met certainly weren’t. Of course there were some moments of skepticism over our movie and of course Jackson’s movies but no more or less than we faced in America. It was proved once again that most fans agree that the movies have increased the readership of the books and that can only be a good thing.

My time working on the film had to end unfortunately, as I am now back in Scotland working on a couple of my own projects. But one think is for sure, I wish I was still working on ‘Ringers’. My desire to work on this film was so great that I turned up to a shoot just one week after having major surgery on my neck. I ended up doing more than sound too, becoming a gaffer, confessional booth builder and driver in the UK – General Dogsbody indeed! Carlene, Quickbeam, Danny and Catherine have become very true friends. Not forgetting Josh, who although like-sized, has the friendship and personality traits to rival any hobbit. Thank you to them who allowed me to be a part of their very own fellowship and thank you to all of the fans out there who form one giant fellowship of Ringers – You all contributed to my experience on this film being something to savor. And to all the skeptics out there who are secretly watching the movie and enjoying it (the books have their faults too) or to those who are afraid that people might think they’re geeks, get with the program! It’s cool to be fanatical about art, it shows passion and verve. I can’t wait to see ROTK, I can’t wait until I read the books again and I’m positively dying to see ‘Ringers: Lord of the Fans’. Miss this documentary at your peril, I’m a Ringer and I’m proud of it.

-Mike Murray - Somewhere in Scotland

Would you like to comment on Mikey's article? Click here!

Ringers Gaffer & General Dogsbody Mikey Murray with Herr Director, Carlene Cordova.

Email Mikey here!