The State News reports that a new class about author J.R.R. Tolkien is aiming to expose Michigan State University students to a different kind of diversity. “You’ve got elves, you’ve got dwarves, you’ve got men, you’ve got wizards, and Gandalf – whatever he is,” said John Rauk, chairman of the Department of Romance and Classical Languages. “Talk about diversity.” Thanks to Ringer Fan Jeff for the heads up. [More]

Ringer Spy Arwenelf let us know that Empire has just released its June 2003 issue – devoted almost entirely to Matrix Reloaded. Just like Two Towers last year, it’s a multiple cover edition, and one of the covers features none other than Agent Elrond himself – Hugo Weaving.

Media Watch: Hugo Back To The Matrix

Ringer Fan Peter writes in about an article we posted regarding Howard Shore’s take on the rough cut of RoTK. he does a little bit of maths, extrapolating Shore’s comments and the conclusions are very interesting. [More]

Ringer Fan Peter writes in about an article we posted regarding Howard Shore’s take on the rough cut of ROTK :

Peter writes:


Shore says: “You’re ultimately dealing with a nine- to 10-hour film,” Shore explains. Furthermore, music is an ongoing part of the creative fabric. “You’re creating a large musical work, a 10-hour piece, using all the Tolkien languages.”

I was thinking that if he was just talking about the theatrical releases, then this implies that since the FOTR was ~3 hours, TTT was ~3 hours, then this means the last movie is 3 – 4 hours, adding up to 9 – 10 hours.

If he meant the extended cuts, then since FOTR was ~3.5 hours, and TTT will be ~3.7 hours, then ROTK should be 1.8 – 2.8 hours?! This isn’t right.

So it must be the first, implying that ROTK may even be 4 hours long, especially given that he actually says “You’re creating a large musical work, a 10-hour piece.”. Of course this isn’t really isn’t new news, but might be a good, early indication of how long ROTK will be.

Remembering that Jackson has said that RoTK will be “as long as it needs to be”, and that Shore needs to be intimately acquainted with the film to write his score, this could indeed be a good early indication of the ultimate length we’ll see at the cinema.

But it’s also important to remember how long speculation went on for the cut length for Two Towers. I wouldn’t be laying any big bets just yet – Demosthenes.

Ents – the Onodrim – are among the oldest of living creatures. But how much do we really know about these creations of the Vala Yavanna and the trees that they care for? Whatever happened to the huge forests of old, and how did the Ents come to be isolated in Fangorn Forest? Were they too passive in protecting their charges – and neglectful of the Entwives – dooming themselves to eventual extinction in the process? [More]

Ents, Entwives and all things Treeish

Ents – the Onodrim – are among the oldest of living creatures. But how much do we really know about these creations of the Vala Yavanna and the trees that they care for? Whatever happened to the huge forests of old, and how did the Ents come to be isolated in Fangorn Forest? Were they too passive in protecting their charges – and neglectful of the Entwives – dooming themselves to eventual extinction in the process?

We’ll also discuss the Old Forest, and enigmas such as the walking tree of the North Moors that Sam mentions in Fellowship of the Ring. Finally, what exactly are Huorns, and how are they related to Ents?

Join us this weekend at one of our chats as Hall of Fire goes green!

Place:
#thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .

Suggested Reading:
Two Towers – Treebeard
Silmarillion – Of Aule and Yavanna

Upcoming Chats:

May 3-4
RoTK Book V, Chapter 6
Battle of the Pelennor Fields

May 10-11
Denethor, Steward of Gondor

May 17-18
RoTK Book V, Chapter 7
Pyre of Denethor

May 24-25
The Valar, wise counsels or strategic dimwits?

Points of interest include the retreat of the Valar to Aman, bringing the elves to Valinor, the ban of the Noldor, setting up the Dunedain on Numenor and despatching the Istari to Middle-Earth.

Although the Valar were really nice guys, they seem incredibly naive in their decisions at times, creating as many problems as they solve. And did they care more for their Valinor than for the well-being of all Arda, forsaking the job Eru had given them.

Times:

Saturday Chat:
5:30pm ET (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday (07:30) AET]

Sunday Chat:
7:00 pm (19:00) CET
[also 1:00pm (13:00) ET and 3:00am (03:00) Monday morning AET]

ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
AET = Australian East Coast

Having trouble working out a time zone near you? Try this page.

Do you have a possible topic for Hall of Fire? Drop us a line at halloffire@theonering.net. And don’t forget that you can check out previous chats here.