This chat took place on February 5, 2003 in TheOneRing.net’s #thehalloffire channel. Our guest was Barliman’s regular, and self-taught language expert Elostrion. Here follows the transcript of the log:

*** Log file opened: 2/5/2003 6:55:58 PM

[Elostrion] Tonight we are covering Sindarin Syntax. Syntax simply refers to the structuring of sentences and such. First, we will look at the ways in which a sentence can be ordered. Sindarin sentences can have the forms:

1) Object-Verb-Subject
Note: The most common.
Number 1 is used when there is a complete Subject, Verb, and Object.

2) Verb-Object
Note: Used when only a complete Verb and Object is included. I know you are wondering how there can be no subject. Well, certain pronouns used as subjects are included in Verb Conjugation. We will cover that later.

3) Verb-Subject
Note: Used when there is an implied Object.

4) Subject-Verb-Object
Note: When a complete Subject, Verb, and Object is included, you may choose between numbers 1 and 4.

[Elostrion] Modifiers usually follow their “modify-ees”. That is, Adjectives follow their Nouns, etc. Adverbs follow their Verbs, etc. I will now give you a few examples.
[Elostrion] The sentence “The dog ran.” includes only a complete Subject and Verb…
[Elostrion] so, I would choose Number 3
[Elostrion] And the order would be “Ran the dog.”
[Elostrion] I know you are wondering why “the” is included before it’s noun. We will cover this next time.
[Elostrion] If I had a sentence such as “The brown dog jumped over the fence.”
[Elostrion] I would choose Number 3 again.
[Elostrion] The correct Sindarin order is… “Jumped over the fence the dog brown.”
[Elostrion] And now for a more complicated example…
[Elostrion] “The mighty man drank the juice from a tree.”
[Elostrion] Here I would choose either Numbers 1 or 4.
[Elostrion] The correct Sindarin order is… “The juice from tree drank the man mighty.”
[Elostrion] Sindarin is like German, in that you have to decide which is the most logical choice of subject.
[Elostrion] Obviously, the juice cannot drink the man.
[Elostrion] I will explain why I have omitted “a” in the next lesson.
[Elostrion] I believe that I am now ready to take questions.
[YalieGirl] Do modifiers always directly follow the word modified, both adjectivally and adverbially?
[Pio] What numbers are you talking about? You said as in here use 3, or here use 1 or 4
[mallorn] Pio: I think he means you have to make a choice?
[Night_Elf] when you say that the pronouns are in the verb conjugation what do you mean?
[Elostrion] Yes, RedSun?
[unigolyn] Pio: he gave numbered explanations of different word orders
[TheRedSunRises] the last example you used
[Elostrion] What about it?
[TheRedSunRises] “The juice from tree drank the man mighty.”
[TheRedSunRises] that’s #4?
[Stacy] in elvish, how do you say “I love you”?
[Pio] amin ella lle isn’t it?
[Oblyvia] mela
[shlokes] The brown dog jumped over the fence. Why is fence not an object?
[Shieldmaiden] Night_Elf — I assume that it means that there do not need to be subjects and verbs, that the conjugation of the verb indicates which subject or pronoun it has.
[TheRedSunRises] shlokes, its an indirect object
[Elostrion] That it does Shield.
[Night_Elf] ok.. you got an example?
[shlokes] alright
[Night_Elf] you said that pronouns go with the conjugated verbs.. can you give an example?
[Elostrion] You will learn about that later Night_Elf.
[shlokes] RedSun what makes it a indirect object?
[shlokes] How can we tell if something is an indirect object or not?
[Guest5] How do you say “You are my best friend” in elvish?
[Ondohon] Is the use of adjectives like French?
[Nimlad] Elo – would you mind reposting the word order numbered examples you gave earlier? (for those of us who can’t tell time)
[Elostrion] I do not know French.
[Ondohon] Ooh 🙂
[Pio] Yes Elo, please repeat the numbered examples
[Elostrion] I will in a little while Nimlad
[Ondohon] Aah I found it] You said it mainly follows the modifiyee 🙂
[unigolyn] Question: is the word order always strict; my impression was that Sindarin was like Finnish/Estonian and relies on word suffixes
[Elostrion] Yes
[jincey] folks lets slow down just a bit : )
[jincey] Elostrion is overwhelmed!!
[Elostrion] The word order can be modified somewhat, but do not stray too far.
[hama_elvishlessons] Elostrian: will you please tell us how to conjugate verbs?
[Elostrion] You will learn in the upcoming lessons.
[YalieGirl] Where are adverbs placed relative to verbs they modify and adjectives they modify?
[Elostrion] Modifiers usually follow their nouns, verbs, etc.
[Aurra] Question for Elo: Is there any type of website that shows the Elven language. Such as, if we were looking for one specific word?
[Elostrion] There is a downloadable Sindarin Dictionary. I will give you the URL at the end of the questions.
[unigolyn] Elostrion: Could you, as an example, deconstruct the elvish phrase ‘Elen sila lumenn omentielvo’ (unless it’s Quenya :))
[Elostrion] It is Quenya
[Altise] is this dictionary just for sindarin or can the words be used for other modes too, such as quenya?
[Elostrion] the dictionary i speak of is only Sindarin
[Jeremy] Q for Elo: will i need a special program to open the dictionary?
[Elostrion] No
[Shieldmaiden] Question for Elo: Are all the verbs in Sindarin irregular?
[Elostrion] Let us cross that bridge when we come to it.
[Ondohon] will you give Quenya-lessons as well?
[Elostrion] We will see how well these go.
[Jeremy] Q: is Sindarin the most commonly spoken in the movies?
[Elostrion] yes
[mallorn] Question: For those who know and speak Elvish, which is more common to know, Sindarin or Quenya?
[Elostrion] Sindarin is more useful, but Quenya can be more satisfying to learn. In my opinion.
[unigolyn] Elostrion: If at first you don’t succeed… ‘Onen i-Estel Edain, u-chebin estel anim’. Hoping this is Sindarin, can you deconstruct this?
[Elostrion] I will if you will give me your e-mail unigolyn, it will take some time.
[Shieldmaiden] Question: In Sindarin older and/or the more developped of the two?
[Elostrion] They are both almost equally developed, in different areas. Quenya is FAR older.
[Elennaur] my question for Elostrion is: why in the lyrics to the song “Aniron” is it phrased “Ai! Aniron Undomiel”? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
[Elostrion] If you have a question about any movie phrases please go here…
[Elostrion] http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/movie.htm
[niphredil] question: is Sindarin sentence construction more like Latin languages, or backwards, like English? :o)
[Elostrion] I am not very familiar with Latin. Sindarin Syntax is somewhat unique. It has elements from just about everywhere.
[Altise] what is the difference between the various modes of elvish? such as sindarin, quenya and black speech.
[jincey] please note, i’m pasting these q’s in pretty much as they come to me ; )
[Elostrion] Elvish is what we collectively call all of Tolkien’s Languages. Each “mode”as you call it, is in itself an entire language. There are about 21 different languages.
[Night_Elf] question: if sindarin is the common elvish and quenya is the elvish for the high elves then why does elrond and arwen speak sindarin?
[Elostrion] Quenya is not “for the high elves”. In the Third Age, Quenya was only spoken at formal events, and in poems. Quenya:Sindarin::Latin:English.
[YalieGirl] Q for Elo: Why would Quenya be more satisfying to learn?
[Elostrion] it is, in my opinion, more beautiful. Even though Sindarin prefers mroe lyrical sounds
[niphredil] ok, phrasing it differently: is Sindarin sentence construction similar to English?
[Elostrion] In a few ways, yes but not in others
[Menelmacar] are most of the poems in the book quenya or sindarin?
[Elostrion] Which book? If you are speaking of LotR, I don’t know. I will have to look. I will tell you next time if you come.
[Altise] is it possible to speak sindarin or quenya well enough to have conversations? or did Tolkien not complete them enough?
[Elostrion] Theoretically. You can substitute certain words for others, and such. However, we can never know how Tolkien really meant for it to be.
[Shieldmaiden] Question: How do you know how to pronounce the words? Is there a linguistic guide?
[Elostrion] On page 1087 of RotK
[Jeremy] in the prolouge for the first movie, is Elrond giving commands in Sindarin?
[Elostrion] No Sindarin
[Elostrion] Yes, Sindarin sry
[jincey] jeremy has a followup to the last…
[Jeremy] Q: is the Elvish index in the back of the Silmirillion Sindarin?
[Elostrion] It is both
[Night_Elf] question: does sindarin use the same puntuation as english?
[Elostrion] Elvish is not meant to be written with the English alphabet; however, Tolkien decided to use several symbols to represent the Elvish sounds. Similar to Latin.
[YalieGirl] Where are adverbs placed relative to verbs they modify and adjectives they modify?
[Elostrion] .Modifiers are placed in order or appearance… If I wanted to say the “black brown blue purple cat”…
[Elostrion] I woud say “cat black brown blue purple
[snuh] i’m wondering about pronunciation as well, but as in trilling R’s. how important is that, especially if you’re one who can’t trill? any advice on trilling?
[Elostrion] I understand, it is very hard for me as well. If you say an untrilled “r” followed by a short “d” is should help.
[yavetil] Which is the easiest “mode” of Elvish to learn?)
[Elostrion] Oh dear, I suppose Quenya was easier for me… Because there are so many problems with Sindarin…
[Elostrion] Tolkien kept changing his mind. There is quite a bit of debate about what the final version was.
[EllaHalfling] is there any irregularity with certain words in the syntax or placement of modifiers
[Elostrion] There are of course exceptions to the rule, aren’t there always.
[yavetil] When Aragorn speaks in Elvish in the movies, is it Sindarin?
[Elostrion] Mostly
[Elostrion] Again if you have any questions about the Movie go here… http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/movie.htm
[Aurra] Question for Elo: Is there any type of website that shows the Elven language. Such as, if we were looking for one specific word?
[Elostrion] http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/movie.htm
[Elostrion] I will give you the URL for the dictionary site now… http://www.jrrvf.com/~hisweloke/sindar/
[Yoohoo_Baggins] Given that the created vocabularies of Quenya and Sindarin are relatively small, have people been constructing new elvish words and is there any consensus on using them? That is to say are there competing dialects out there?
[Elostrion] There is one dialect called “Neo-Sindarin”
[Elostrion] Here is the link… http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/md_home.html
[iLUVorlandoB] question: what would be the sentence structure for sindarin? for example: where does the subject go in a sentence?
[Elostrion] Oh dear, you weren’t here at the beginning. Please read the transcript.
[Elostrion] I will now re-list the sentence forms:
1) Object-verb-Subject
2) Verb-Object
3)Verb-Subject
4) Subject-Verb-Object
[Elostrion] Here are the links I have put up
[Elostrion] The Sindarin Dictionary: http://www.jrrvf.com/~hisweloke/sindar/
[Elostrion] The Neo-Sindarin Dialect Page: http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/md_home.html
[Elostrion] Helpful sites about Elvish:
http://www.ardalambion.com
http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/movie.htm
[Elostrion] All of those are very useful.
[niphredil] could you make a sample sentence, like: the boat is on the sea, (or whatever)?
[Elostrion] Absolutely!
[Elostrion] “The boat sat on the dock.”
[Elostrion] We would choose number 3…
[Elostrion] “Sat on the dock the boat.”
[Elostrion] “The red dog read the blue book”
[Elostrion] We could choose Numbers 1/4…
[Elostrion] Number 4: “The book blue read the dog red”
[JulieOh] Since two of the sentence forms (1 & 4) are opposite of each other, how do we know when to use which?
[Elostrion] You may choose.
[YalieGirl] How long did it take you to learn Sindarin to the proficiency you now have?
[Elostrion] How long have I been studying Elvish, or just Sindarin?
[YalieGirl] Both. Either.
[Elostrion] I started studying Elvish 3 or 4 years ago. It was slow going, there were not very many resources available. And I began Sindarin 2 or 3 years ago.
[Turco] is there a Quenya dictionary like the one just listed for Sindarin?
[Elostrion] There are several dictionaries online, but none so complete as the Sindarin.
[Night_Elf] asks: “question: what are some mnemoic aids for learning sindarin that are common if their are any”
[Elostrion] I haven’t needed any myself. But I suppose if you come to all of my lessons you could think of some yourself.
[jincey] back to the #1 & #4…
[Mo] Question: Does the difference between #1 and #4 imply a different context?
[Elostrion] No. Like German, the listener must determine which noun makes more sense as the subject.
[yavetil] We know now how verbs and subjects are placed, etc, what about numbers (digits)?
[Elostrion] The placement of numbers depends on their use in each individual sentence.
[Nimlad] Q: would you mind posting the word order examples again? thanks
[Elostrion] LoL, no
[Elostrion] 1) Object-Verb-Subject
[Elostrion] 2) Verb-Object
[Elostrion] 3) Verb-Subject
[Elostrion] 4) Subject-Verb-Object
[Anaralith] question for elo: are there any published books for learning sindarin or the tolkien languages?
[Elostrion] There is one book by Ruth S. Noel. In fact, it was one of the first resources I consulted, but I quickly learned that it was by no means reliable. There are several books you can purchase in Poland. (The information is on ardalambion.com) Other than that, most of your information should some from the internet
[mallorn] I tried to figure out the days of the week in Elvish, Sindarin I believe, and found that there are only six. Do you know which day is eliminated?
[Elostrion] There is none, apparently you were mis-informed.
[Elostrion] If you will e-mail me at elostrion@hotmail.com, I will be glad to give you the days of the weel.
[Altise] The Sindarin dictionary you posted does not seem to have many, if any, basic verbs. How are you to construct a Sindarin sentence in Sindarin rather than English if this is the most complete dictionary as you said?
[Elostrion] There are many verbs, make sure you have deconstructed the verb as far as it can go. Into its root form.
[Tauriel] Question: You say that “like with German, the listener must decide which noun makes more sense as the subject”. But in German, you often don’t have to do that because the cases tell you which one is the subject. My question is then – does Sindarin have cases too or is it entirely up to the context which verb is the subject?
[Elostrion] No cases
[yavetil] How would you place in order, or even say, the time of day of the day? ex: 12:00pm o’clock
[Elostrion] E-mail me for that please.
[KylaGreenleaf1] Are there any audio tapes or something that one can listen to to learn?
[Elostrion] Oh no. Not that I have found.
[Jeremy] Q: can you give an example for number 2?
[Elostrion] In the sentence “I read the book” the “I” subject is included into Conugation.
[Elostrion] “[I read] the book”
[Elinwe] How did you learn how to speak elvish? did you find any of the dialects to be especially similar to any modern languages in terms of syntax or pronunciation?
[Elostrion] As many have said, several are very similar to Finnish and Welsh, as well as Latin. I taught myself from the Online resources I have listed.
[mmoB] question for elo – what site or book have you most referred to in learning sindarin?
[Elostrion] Definately http://www.ardalambion.com
[Elostrion] The best Elvish resource on the web
[Night_Elf] question: as in spanish and italian… if you don’t put an accent on a word… would it have a totally different meaning
[Elostrion] No.
[KylaGreenleaf1] I have noticed alot of accents over certain letters that are identical to French. Are the Sindarin words similar in pronoucation?
[Elostrion] Let me explain the accents to you now. For future reference.
[Elostrion] An Acute Accent (an apostrophe like thing above the letter) shows a long vowel.
[Elostrion] Long vowels in stressed monosyllables are marked with the Circumflex (triangle thingy)
[Elostrion] Circumflexes in other Languages, e.g. Adunaic, Khuz-dul, are simply meant to define them from Sindarin and Quenya.
[SparkleDark] ques: so there is no form of iambics at all to be followed?
[Elostrion] None i have encountered
[Iris] Why are there 3 froms of elvish, but everyone only uses Sindarin and Quenya?
[Elostrion] There are approx. 21 different languages contained within Elvish. Sindarin was the tongue spoken by most Elves in the Third Age.
[Elinwe] I read that ‘dh’ is pronounced like the English ‘th’ such as in the word ‘then’. Is this always true?
[Elostrion] yes
[Elostrion] I am very sorry everyone.
[Elostrion] But it is time for me to go.
[Elostrion] If you have any further questions, email me at elostrion@hotmail.com.
[jincey] everyone, we WILL post the log of this chat
[Elostrion] Hannon le a tholel pân. Ist nadath uin lam edhellen echeditham, harthon.
[jincey] on barli’s page
[Elostrion] Navaer
[jincey] elostrion will be back next week : )
[jincey] thanks elostrion !!

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“Fleshing out Middle Earth: Weta Digital Creatures” -John LaBrie, CTO (Weta Digital)

The realization of Peter Jackson’s vision for “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy demanded the creation of world-class creative teams across a number of disciplines. Weta Digital had a staff of 16 when research and development on the project began in 1997. The completion of work on “The Two Towers” in 2002 saw growth to almost 350 staff members, an Academy Award for work on the first film, and a substantial library of techniques uniquely suited to the task at hand.

This keynote discusses specific approaches to crowd animation, creature setups, digital doubles, Ents, the specific challenges involved in bringing Gollum to the screen, and how the concept of ‘creative iteration’ informed the development of one of the world’s largest digital visual effects infrastructures.

Info on GDC: Join the world’s leading developers to create the next generation of games. Five days of intensive sessions provide information and inspiration in visual arts, game design, programming, audio, business and legal, and production.

Make Better Games
Game Developers Conference
Conference: March 4-8, 2003
Expo: March 6-8, 2003
San Jose, CA
www.gdconf.com

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Ringer Spy Terry emailed us about the LA costume exhibit we reported on earlier this week, this is what he had to say: The dates for the FIDM exhibit in Los Angeles listed at the Line Party site were confusing, as well as dates at FIDM’s website. I got the following in response to an email:

We will be showing costumes from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and they will be different from the costumes we showed from The Fellowship of the Ring (which they showed last year -leo).

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FAR FROM HEAVEN, TWO TOWERS LEAD NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2003 CINEMARATI AWARDS

‘Public Showdowns’ mix front-runners and surprises in one-of-a-kind awards experience

(New York City) — Cinemarati, a select organization founded to gather premiere online critics from across the globe, announced its nominations today for the third annual Cinemarati Awards. Unlike any other professional awards, the Cinemarati Award Nominees – eight each in twenty-seven categories, recognizing the best cinematic efforts of 2002 – will now enter Cinemarati’s signature, one-of-a-kind ‘showdown’ process, where nominees go head-to-head in matchups voted on by its Member Critics and held in full public view at Cinemarati’s international home on the internet (http://www.cinemarati.org).

“Cinemarati fosters a relationship between film journalists and film audiences,” said founding member MaryAnn Johanson, of FlickFilosopher.com, “and our Internet presence gives us a unique opportunity to conduct our awards processes out in the open. Over the next three weeks, we’ll whittle down our nominees in a series of playoff-style votes. No other critics’ group opens their award discussions to the moviegoing public, but we at Cinemarati find that it invigorates the dialogue between film audiences and film critics. It’s an exciting experience.”

Todd Haynes’ elegant melodrama Far From Heaven figured strongly in this year’s Cinemarati Awards, including nods for Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, and Best Film of the Year. But surprises, however, were the order of the day: double nominees Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher) and Samantha Morton (Morvern Callar) share the lead category but will go head-to-head in the first role of the Supporting Actress category, where they are nominated for 8 Women and Minority Report, respectively. A strong year for world cinema, Cinemarati nominations included strong showings by Talk To Her, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Late Marriage, and Spirited Away. Hollywood was well represented with the multiple nominations for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Chicago, and Adaptation, among others.

Critical favorites Adrien Brody and Daniel Day-Lewis sat alongside lesser-known performers Steve Coogan (24 Hour Party People) and Aurelien Recoing (Time Out); while newcomers populated the directing and writing categories, including strong showings for Dylan Kidd’s Roger Dodger, Burr Steers’ Igby Goes Down, and Steven Shainberg’s Secretary.

The 2003 Cinemarati Award Nominations, as announced on Friday, January 31st, are listed below. (You can also find the nominations at http://www.cinemarati.org/awards2003.html; the ‘playoff showdowns’ are held in the Cinemarati Roundtable at http://www.cinemarati.org/roundtable.)

2003 CINEMARATI AWARD NOMINATIONS (Available Online Friday, January 31st, 8:00AM at http://www.cinemarati.org/awards/2003nominations.html)

BEST FILM

#1. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
#2. Far From Heaven
#3. Y Tu Mama Tambien
#4. Bowling For Columbine
#5. Adaptation
#6. 25th Hour
#7. Spirited Away
#8. Talk To Her

BEST NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM

#1. Y Tu Mama Tambien vs. #8. Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)
#2. Monsoon Wedding
#3. Talk To Her
#4. Spirited Away
#5. Late Marriage
#6. Russian Ark
#7. Time Out

BEST ANIMATED FILM

#1. Spirited Away
#2. Ice Age
#3. The Powerpuff Girls
#4. Lilo and Stitch
#5. Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones
#6. Treasure Planet
#7. Metropolis
#8. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

#1. Bowling For Columbine
#2. Standing in the Shadows of Motown
#3. Biggie and Tupac
#4. Home Movie
#5. The Cockettes
#6. To Be and To Have
#7. Scratch
#8. The Trials of Henry Kissinger

WORST FILM OF THE YEAR

#1. Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones vs.
#2. Pinocchio
#3. Rollerball
#4. Unfaithful
#5. XXX
#6. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
#7. Scooby-Doo
#8. The Rules of Attraction

BEST DVD AWARD

#1. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum Series Extended Edition)
#2. In The Mood For Love (Criterion Collection) vs.
#3. The Royal Tenenbaums vs.
#4. Sunset Boulevard: Collector’s Edition
#5. 8 _ (Criterion Collection)
#6. Brotherhood of the Wolf
#7. Blade II
#8. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (Special Edition)

THE JOHN WATERS AWARD for the Year’s Guiltiest Pleasure

#1. Undercover Brother
#8. Blade 2
#2. The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course
#7. Reign of Fire
#3. Jackass: The Movie
#6. Femme Fatale
#4. XXX
#5. The Bourne Identity

THE JAR-JAR BINKS AWARD for the Year’s Most Inexplicable Cinematic Creation

#1. Fifty-year-old Roberto Benigni as Pinocchio
#2. “You’re Not Like Sand”: Lucas’ Attack of the Bad Romantic Dialogue
#3. Scooby-Don’t
#4. Lady Bracknell, the Dance Hall Wench in The Importance of Being Earnest vs.
#5. Jeremy Irons’ David Bowie Jedi Master Uber Warlock in The Time Machine
#6. Olivier Martinez as French Sex God in Unfaithful
#7. Look Out: The Mothman!
#8. www.feardotcom.com

BEST LEAD ACTOR

#1. Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York
#2. Nicolas Cage, Adaptation vs.
#3. Campbell Scott, Roger Dodger
#4. Adrien Brody, The Pianist
#5. Jack Nicholson, About Schmidt
#6. Aurelien Rocoing, Time Out
#7. Steve Coogan, 24 Hour Party People
#8. Gael Garcia Bernal, Y Tu Mama Tambien

BEST LEAD ACTRESS

#1. Julianne Moore, Far From Heaven
#2. Isabelle Huppert, The Piano Teacher
#3. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Secretary
#4. Cate Blanchett, Heaven
#5. Samantha Morton, Morvern Callar
#6. Maribel Verdu, Y Tu Mama Tambien
#7. Nicole Kidman, The Hours
#8. Diane Lane, Unfaithful

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

#1. Chris Cooper, Adaptation
#2. Andy Serkis, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
#3. Dennis Quaid, Far From Heaven
#4. Christopher Walken, Catch Me If You Can
#5. Barry Pepper, 25th Hour
#6. Jesse Eisenberg, Roger Dodger
#7. Jude Law, Road To Perdition
#8. Vijay Raaz, Monsoon Wedding

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

#1. Meryl Streep, Adaptation
#2. Samantha Morton, Minority Report
#3. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
#4. Patricia Clarkson, Far From Heaven
#5. Edie Falco, Sunshine State
#6. Viola Davis, Solaris
#7. Isabelle Huppert, 8 Women
#8. Bebe Neuwirth, Tadpole

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

#1. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
#2. 8 Women
#3. Monsoon Wedding
#4. Far From Heaven
#5. 25th Hour
#6. Adaptation
#7. Lovely and Amazing
#8. Chicago

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE AWARD

#1. Raven Goodwin, Lovely and Amazing
#2. Eminem, 8 Mile
#3. Everlyn Sampi, Rabbit-Proof Fence
#4. Kathleen McDermott, Morvern Callar
#5. Shefali Shetty, Monsoon Wedding
#6. Derek Luke, Antwone Fisher
#7. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Secretary
#8. Jesse Eisenberg, Roger Dodger

BEST DIRECTOR

#1. Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
#2. Todd Haynes, Far From Heaven
#3. Martin Scorsese, Gangs of New York
#4. Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away
#5. Pedro Almodovar, Talk To Her
#6. Alfonso Cuaron, Y Tu Mama Tambien
#7. Spike Jonze, Adaptation
#8. Spike Lee, 25th Hour

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

#1. Todd Haynes, Far From Heaven
#2. Dylan Kidd, Roger Dodger
#3. Alfonso and Carlos Cuaron, Y Tu Mama Tambien
#4. Pedro Almodovar, Talk To Her
#5. Paul Thomas Anderson, Punch-Drunk Love
#6. Sabrina Dhawan, Monsoon Wedding
#7. Hayao Miyazaki, Donald and Cindy Hewitt, Spirited Away
#8. Dover Koshashvili, Late Marriage

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

#1. Charlie and Donald Kaufman, Adaptation
#2. Frances Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair and Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
#3. Bill Condon, Chicago
#4. David Benioff, 25th Hour
#5. Steven Soderbergh, Solaris
#6. Erin Cressida Wilson, Secretary
#7. Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, About Schmidt
#8. David Hare, The Hours

THE ORSON WELLES AWARD for the Year’s Best Directorial Debut

#1. Rob Marshall, Chicago
#2. Dylan Kidd, Roger Dodger
#3. Dover Koshashvili, Late Marriage
#4. George Clooney, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
#5. Zacharias Kunuk, Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)
#6. Burr Steers, Igby Goes Down
#7. Roman Coppola, CQ
#8. Mark Romanek, One Hour Photo

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

#1. Dylan Kidd, Roger Dodger
#2. Sabrina Dhawan, Monsoon Wedding
#3. Erin Cressida Wilson, Secretary
#4. Dover Koshashvili, Late Marriage
#5. Chap Taylor, Changing Lanes
#6. David Benioff, 25th Hour
#7. Burr Steers, Igby Goes Down
#8. Roman Coppola, CQ

BEST SONG (Original or Adapted)

#1. “He Needs Me”, Punch-Drunk Love
#2. “Cell Block Tango”, Chicago
#3. “Lose Yourself”, 8 Mile vs.
#4. “Cucurrucucu Paloma”, Talk To Her
#5. “Aaj Mera Jee Kardaa”, Monsoon Wedding
#6. “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, 24 Hour Party People
#7. “The Hands That Built America”, Gangs of New York
#8. “Papa T’es Plus Dans Le Coup”, 8 Women

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

#1. Elmer Bernstein, Far From Heaven
#2. Jon Brion, Punch-Drunk Love
#3. Mychael Danna, Monsoon Wedding
#4. Howard Shore, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
#5. Terence Blanchard, 25th Hour
#6. John Williams, Catch Me If You Can
#7. Jo Hisaishi, Spirited Away
#8. Wojciech Kilar and Frederic Chopin, The Pianist

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

#1. Edward Lachman, Far From Heaven
#2. Janusz Kaminski, Minority Report
#3. Andrew Lesnie, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
#4. Christopher Doyle, Rabbit-Proof Fence
#5. Conrad L. Hall, Road To Perdition
#6. Declan Quinn, Monsoon Wedding
#7. Steven Soderbergh, Solaris
#8. Michael Ballhaus, Gangs of New York

BEST FILM EDITING

#1. D. Michael Horton and Jabez Olssen, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
#2. Michael Kahn, Minority Report
#3. Barry Alexander Brown, 25th Hour
#4. James Lyons, Far From Heaven
#5. Leslie Jones, Punch-Drunk Love
#6. Kurt Engfehr, Bowling For Columbine
#7. Trevor Waite and Michael Winterbottom, 24 Hour Party People
#8. James Haygood and Angus Wall, Panic Room

OUTSTANDING DESIGN

#1. Far From Heaven
#2. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
#3. Gangs of New York
#4. Minority Report
#5. Road To Perdition
#6. Catch Me If You Can
#7. 8 Women
#8. Chicago

BEST FILM WEB SITE

#1. Bright Lights Film Journal (http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/)
#2. Video ETA (http://www.videoeta.com/)
#3. Saul Bass Online (http://www.saulbass.net/)
#4. The Hot Button (http://www.thehotbutton.com/)
#5. Slant Magazine (http://www.slantmagazine.com/)
#6. Film Threat (http://www.filmthreat.com/)
#7. indieWIRE (http://www.indiewire.com/)
#8. The Onion AV Club (http://www.theonionavclub.com/)

BEST OFFICIAL FILM SITE

#1. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (http://www.lordoftherings.net/)
#2. Full Frontal (http://www.fullfrontal.com/)
#3. Minority Report (http://www.precrime.org/)
#4. Russian Ark (http://www.russianark.spb.ru/)
#5. S1m0ne (http://www.realsimone.com/)
#6. Y Tu Mama Tambien (http://www.ytumamatambien.com/)
#7. Gangs of New York (http://www.gangsofnewyork.com/)
#8. Bowling For Columbine (http://www.bowlingforcolumbine.com/)

EXCEPTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT IN CRITICISM

#1. Anthony Lane, Nobody’s Perfect (Knopf) vs. #8. Amy Taubin, Film
Comment (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/author-288/)
#2. Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
(http://www.chireader.com/movies/)
#3. Charles Taylor, Salon.com (http://www.salon.com/ent/index.html)
#4. Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com (http://www.salon.com/ent/index.html)
#5. Michael Ondaatje, The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film
#6. David Denby, The New Yorker (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/author-148/)
#7. Scott Tobias, The Onion AV Club (http://www.theonionavclub.com/)

ROUNDTABLE FILM OF THE YEAR (chosen by visitors to
http://www.cinemarati.org/roundtable/)

#1. Punch-Drunk Love
#2. Far From Heaven
#3. 25th Hour
#4. Spider-Man
#5. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
#6. Chicago
#7. Bowling For Columbine
#8. Minority Report

END NOMINATIONS

The 2003 roster of Cinemarati critics features widely-read writers from across the United States, Australia, and Canada, representing some of the most heavily-trafficked film sites on the World Wide Web, including Netflix, The Flick Filosopher, Film Threat, and Apollo Guide. The

Cinemarati member critics are:

Acquarello, Strictly Film School (http://www.filmref.com/)
Catherine Cantieri, Hole City (http://holecity.com/asp/frontpage.asp)
Shay Casey, Daily Reviews (http://www.daily-reviews.com/)
Jill Cozzi, Cozzi Fan Tutti/Mixed Reviews (http://www.cozzifantutti.com/)
Nick Davis, Flick Picks (http://www.nicksflickpicks.com/)
Michael Dequina, Film Threat/Movie Poop Shoot
(http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/flimflam/)
Bryant Frazer, Deep Focus (http://www.deep-focus.com/flicker/)
Mark Freeman, Critical Eye (http://home.vicnet.net.au/~freeman/)
Stephen Himes, Filmsnobs (http://www.filmsnobs.com/)
Andrew Howe, E-FilmCritic (http://www.efilmcritic.com/)
Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide/Netflix (http://www.apolloguide.com/)
MaryAnn Johanson, The Flick Filosopher (http://www.flickfilosopher.com/)
Jeremiah Kipp, Culture Dose/Matinee Magazine (http://www.culturedose.com/)
Nathaniel Rogers, The Film Experience (http://www.thefilmexperience.net/)
Gabriel Shanks, Cozzi Fan Tutti/Mixed Reviews
(http://www.cozzifantutti.com/)
Vern, Then F*** You, Jack: The Life and Art of Vern
(http://www.geocities.com/outlawvern/)
Jeff Vorndam, About Film (http://www.aboutfilm.com/)
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide/Netflix (http://www.apolloguide.com/)

For further information about Cinemarati or the 2003 Cinemarati Awards, please email gabrielshanks@cinemarati.org, or call (201) 686-9131. http://www.cinemarati.org

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So many folks have been asking questions about the Elvish languages since the movies came out and we have an opportunity to learn a bit about this now! Elostrion has volunteered to teach a short course in “How to Construct a Sindarin Sentence”. The beginning lesson will cover syntax, which is how a simple sentence can be structured and the order of words. Elostrion says, “It is not complicated, but people seem to have a problem with it.” He wants to point out that this is for beginners. Perhaps as time goes by, if this proves popular, we can expand the lessons. Elostrion’s class will be held in #thehalloffire Wednesday, Feb 5, beginning at 7pm EST (6pm CST, Midnight GMT).

Here’s how to get there: either use this [java] link or follow these instructions for IRC clients: #thehalloffire on the irc.theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire. For further information, be sure to read the new Barliman’s FAQ.

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Many folks will know SkyKing, a regular here at Barli’s. What many folks may not know is that in real life he is a member of America’s armed forces. His real life job necessitates his lengthy absence from Barli’s for several months. He sent along a letter for everyone to read:

To my good friends, who have always been there when I asked them to be, and who always were there to share the laughs and joy, the tears and sorrows, you will always be in my heart and in my thoughts. Even as I walk through the fires of Hell that await, knowing the world will not celebrate my name because I do that which is of the utmost sensitivity, I know that you have faith in me. Even those from foreign lands, as well as those from home in the USA, your freedom and security is what I strive for and will achieve. May the heavens open up to receive and embrace you as your planes scream skyward, and may you never find yourself without a wingman (or woman). To everyone at Barliman’s, the stars forever shine upon our meeting.
–SkyKing
“It is good war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it.”

Please send along your prayers, thoughts and good vibes for one of our own, caught up in the real world.

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