While being a part of TORn means I am a volunteer in a non-paid position, this gig does have its perks. One of those would be, something along the lines of, seeing 20 minutes of ‘The Return of the King.’
Before I go further, please take this into account. I can say no more than what you read in this report. So sending me an email to elaborate on something, or asking a question will more than likely get a response of ‘don’t know.’ You might as well not even try…:P
I had the distinct pleasure of sitting with two fellow Tolkien fans in the audience: Ted and Jon from TolkienOnline.com. We’ve been together at other screenings and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw them in the room, because I knew post-viewing we could have a great conversation. They were extremely kind to buy me a hot chocolate afterwards. Thanks guys!
Let me be clear up front. What I witnessed tonight makes me completely confident that ‘Return of the King’ will live up to the intense expectations that the two previous films endured, and more than likely surpass them.
The footage began with the recently released ROTK trailer. Being the poor webmaster I am, I had not seen this trailer in the theater, and it was nice to finally see it on a screen larger than my monitor.
Directly after the trailer, we plunged into a series of scenes from ROTK. The scenes were approximately 3-5 minutes in length and showcased the diversity of the upcoming film. Unfortunately, I cannot go into detail or give you a shot by shot relay of the happenings. What I can do, is give you some insight and answer a few long standing questions.
1. Gollum speaking to Smeagol in a pool near Mordor. – We saw the ending of the sequence in the trailer, in which Gollum lusts for the Ring. This is another great Smeagol/Gollum ‘discussion’ but this time both are in agreement. Andy Serkis’ flexible acting skills lend themselves perfectly to the scene, and trust me, if the Academy doesn’t reward him with a best suppor actor nom after this one, you’lll be wondering why.
2. Denthor, Pippin and Faramir – I absolutely REFUSE to explain this scene at all. All I can say is I was blown away. For me to discuss it in any kind of detail would immediately detract from your first impression on screen.
3. Aragorn Receiving Narsil – Guess what? Elrond brings it! There is a brief second in which you think its Arwen sitting there, but whew…what a relief when that hood goes back.
4. Eowyn and Theoden – A small scene in which Theoden and Eowyn discuss the future. We also saw a little bit of this in the preview.
5. Theoden and the Ride of the Rohirrim – Self explanatory. Torture to watch on screen and not being able to see the end.
6. Shelob and Frodo – Um…horrific. Disgusting and horrific. The few seconds I saw was the lead up to the scene in the trailer.
I’m sorry I can’t go into more detail, but I’m sure more information will be coming online in the next few weeks as this footage is shown to more and more press. I for one am going to keep my mouth shut. I don’t want to ruin this, even for you spoiler maniacs, for anyone.
Trust me folks, you don’t want to see this footage. Its much worse having a taste of that freshly baked Thanksgiving turkey, and then having to wait a few hours for your grandparents to arrive. Now I’m left to drool for a month and a half. I envy all of you for not knowing what is to come!
