By TERRY MATTINGLY, Scripps Howard News Service January 22, 2005
If J.R.R. Tolkien didn’t know the perfect word to describe something, he often created his own word. Or even a completely new language.
The climax of “The Lord of the Rings,” he decided, was a “eucatastrophe” — blending “Eucharist” and “catastrophe.” The scholar of ancient languages defined this as a moment of piercing joy, an unexpected happy ending offering a taste of God’s Easter triumph over sin and death. Tolkien thought this sacramental element was at the heart of his new myth.
Thus, Greg Wright of HollywoodJesus.com asked Peter Jackson how members of his team handled this in their movie trilogy. When they wrote the scene in which the one ring of power is destroyed, did they discuss Tolkien’s theory of “eucatastrophe”?
“No,” replied Jackson. “What’s it mean?”
It wasn’t a normal Hollywood question, but Wright wasn’t involved in normal press-tour interviews. In 2002 and 2003, Jackson and other artists behind the films sat down for roundtable discussions with religion-news specialists and critics from religious media. The questions ranged from the nature of evil to computer-generated monsters, from salvation to elvish poetry.
Now the extended edition of “The Return of the King” is done and the trilogy is complete, at least until some future extended-extended anniversary set. For Wright and others Tolkien experts, it’s time to ask how these movies have changed how future generations will perceive these classic books.
Jackson and co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens knew that Tolkien’s traditional Catholic faith had deeply influenced “The Lord of the Rings.” Their goal was to keep the “spirit of Tolkien” intact while producing films for modern audiences. They said they had vowed not to introduce new elements into the tale that would clash with Tolkien’s vision.
“You would have to say that these are extremely gifted people and that they showed incredible dedication and integrity,” said Wright. “But the questions remain: What is the spirit of Tolkien? How well do Jackson, Walsh and Boyens understand the spirit of Tolkien?”
It helps to know that Tolkien never expected these books to reach a mass audience. He thought they would appeal to his friends and scholars — who would quickly recognize his Catholic images and themes. In his book, “Tolkien in Perspective,” Wright argues that the author eventually realized that millions of readers were missing the point.
Now, millions and millions of people are seeing what Tolkien called his “fundamentally religious and Catholic work” through the lens of artists who knew the importance of his beliefs, but did not share them. Wright discusses these issues at length in his new book, “Peter Jackson in Perspective.”
Take, for example, Tolkien’s conviction that all true stories must somehow be rooted in the reality of evil, sin and the “fallenness” of humanity.
Jackson was blunt: “I don’t know whether evil exists. You see stuff happening around the world and you believe it probably does. … I think that evil exists within people. I don’t know whether it exists as a force outside of humanity.”
Walsh and Boyens emphasized that the books are about faith, hope, charity and some kind of life after death. What about sin? “You don’t fall if you have faith,” said Boyens, and true faith is about “holding true to yourself” and “fellowship with your fellow man.”
“Lord of the Rings,” she said, is about the “enduring power of goodness, that we feel it in ourselves when we perceive it in others in small acts every day. … That gives you reason to hope that it has significance for all of us as a race, as mankind, that we’re evolving and getting better rather than becoming less, diminishing ourselves through hatred and cruelty. We need to believe that.”
These noble sentiments do not match the beliefs that inspired Tolkien, said Wright. In these interviews, similar misunderstandings emerged on Tolkien’s beliefs about truth, providence, salvation, death, heaven and hell. However, commentaries and documentaries included in the latest “Rings” DVD set do address some of these issues from Tolkien’s perspective — including that mysterious concept of “eucatastrophe.”
“I think that you can find Tolkien’s vision in these movies if you already know where to look,” said Wright. “But if you don’t understand Tolkien’s vision on your own, you may or may not get it.”
Terry Mattingly (www.tmatt.net) teaches at Palm Beach Atlantic University and is senior fellow for journalism at the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities.
Copyright 2005, Naples Daily News. All Rights Reserved.
PARK CITY, UT – Officially, ‘RINGERS Lord of the Fans’ is now a released film! Around Midnight the film screened for the film’s crew, 130 fans and about 20 journalists. Some fans waited overnight in the very cold mountain air of Park City to enjoy the event with a line party. Costumed fans were present to enjoy the film, a first-ever for the Slamdance Film Festival, now in its 11th year.
News stories, reviews and features about the film will invade the internet, television and newspapers all over the world in the next few days but there is no doubt that the fans present Friday loved the film. The screenings move to Salt Lake City for the next week, all of which are mostly sold out. Count on plenty more news coverage over the next week!
Sarumann writes: Tonight, I was granted a special privilege and saw Ringers. Carlene asked if I’d post my reactions, so here’s my review.
Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Men and Wizards unite! The exponentially growing fan community of The Lord of the Rings finally get their moment to shine in the new documentary: Ringers: Lord of the Fans.
First, let’s get the obligatory comparisons with that other genre fan documentary, Trekkies, out of the way. This is NOT Trekkies at all! Where Trekkies looks at fandom with a rather bemused detachment, Ringers gets in there with the fans. The filmmakers are not afraid to sit with Ringers in a lineparty or galavant with fans across New Zealand on a Red Carpet tour. Most importantly, while Trekkies singled out the jewels of freaky fans and paraded them about in a terribly embarrassing way, Ringers never ceases to empathize, understand, and geek out with the best of us. The Ringers depicted in this film are not mad pseudo Orli/Lij/Viggo/etc. stalkers, but intelligent, eloquent, and very mature people. So, there’s your comparison: Trekkies is a freak parade while Ringers is a celebration of a common love. In truth, there really is no comparison.
Ringers takes us through the evolution of Tolkien fandom over the past 50 years; from the small Tolkien Societies of the 60s all the way through the bustling internet fan groups of today. We are treated with a wonderfully witty Terry Gilliam-esque animation sequence depicting the first years of the publication of LOTR and the polarized criticism that came with it. We are given gilmpses at the many failed attempts to bring LOTR to the big screen starting with Forrest Ackerman in the 50s and going all the way to John Lennon’s attempt decades later. We are also shown Tolkien’s influence music; from Led Zeppelin’s classic “Ramble On” to Leonard Nimoy’s truly absurd “Ballad of Bilbo Baggins” and on into today with World Without Sundays’ incredible cover of “Where There’s a Whip There’s a Way”. It shows us a history of fandom the likes of which the world has never known.
There are so many aspects of Ringer fandom that the film is only granted a few precious minutes to focus on any one before having to move on to the next. But these snippets of fandom are not short changed, as the filmmakers do their best to make sure every unique part of Ringerdom gets its moment to shine. Some of the best moments include a trip to the serene and simple Hobbitton, USA; a hilarious dramatization of Cassie Claire’s “Very Secret Diaries” using action figures and disturbingly accurate impressions of various actors’ voices; and a manic montage of the merchandising blitz from the movies done to an original mariachi song.
The documentary is tied together with superb narration by Dominic Monaghan, who projects the perfect balance of intellectual and fan. His narration is as engaging as any visual stimulus on the screen. The interviews of fans, cast, crew, and scholars are also equally engaging. Every single interview shows a true understanding of Tolkien and LOTR. There is a passion in everybody’s voice that is unmistakeable.
If the movie is lacking in any way, it is in the fact that it’s only 96 minutes long and doesn’t delve as deeply into Ringerdom as it possibly could. There were many times, especially toward the end, that I found myself asking “Could you just show me a little bit more of that?” The truth of the matter is that the evolution of Ringerdom is as epic as LOTR itself, and it would take a massive documentary to truly explore it fully. Having said that, Ringers does use those 96 minutes to its fullest advantage.
This is a documentary that is made with a love of Tolkien, LOTR, and most importantly, the fans of it. Intelligent, witty, engaging, and a all around good time. I have a feeling that those who are not a part of the Ringer community will watch this and realize what they have been missing. I doubt many Ringers will shed a tear watching it, but I’m sure many will walk away with the satisfied smile of a hobbit resting at the Green Dragon.
JPB writes: The One Ring Celebration is known by many to have brought the celebrities to the fans in a series of fun and informative conversations, Q&A sessions, and autograph/photo opportunities. All of these were hosted in the large. main auditorium of the Pasadena Convention Center.
But those who ventured down a long, narrow hallway found a second experience no less rewarding than that in the auditorium. The hallway opened to a well-lit two-story indoor courtyard. If the auditorium was the place where celebrities spoke to the fans, the courtyard was where the fans spoke to each other. Offered for sale in this courtyard in a series of booths were clothing, artwork, jewelry, collectibles and books, sometimes signed and sold by the artists themselves. You could even sign up for tours of the New Zealand film locations! Just to the left of the entrance was the art room, where artists both professional and amateur showed their love of Tolkien’s works, and their ability to portray them. At the far end of the courtyard, a group of people could always be found huddled around computers, playing the latest LotR-themed game. Just before that, the always-crowded Sideshow Toys booth presented a museum quality exhibition of many of their works. Finally, at the end of the courtyard were the two rooms hosting the alternate tracks of programming.
The room on the left offered a series of lectures from Scholars and Artists, who delved into not only Tolkien’s writings, but the works of Lewis and others. Covered on Friday were topics of on-line communities, sudden salvation from disaster in LotR, C.S. Lewis and Tolkien’s friendship, teaching J.R.R. Tolkien to students of many ages, and the challenges of making Tolkien-themed jewelry and illustrating The Silmarillion. On Saturday, subjects covered included a comparison of the book to the movie, a writers’ workshop, women in Middle-Earth, medieval ideals in the books, lust and love in the First Age, and a comparison of the human and elvish soul. Also presented was an interesting history of The One Ring.net. On the final day, the topics began with spirituality, and continued into a study of the music of the films, Tolkien’s literary legacy, and a review of Tolkien’s impact in the 60’s and 70’s. The final session was a wonderful discussion where the panel and the fans sat as one and discussed how Lord of the Rings had changed each of their lives. During these days, people had the pleasure of meeting two true legends in the world of Tolkien fandom: Peter Beagle and Ted Nasmith. The rest of the sessions provided us with other notables from the world of comic art, Tolkien scholarship, jewelry creation, religious and medieval studies, all too numerous to list.
The room on the right offered two sub-tracks. Covered here were both costume creation and a series of children’s activities. For the costume track, Friday afternoon started with a study of fabrics and materials, leading into a discussion of making armor templates, costuming children, a wonderful lecture of designing LotR themed items with Daniel Falconer, and finished with a discussion of prosthetics and hair pieces. On Saturday, the day appropriately started with a discussion of the very first steps in making a costume: the research before the cutting and sewing. This continued into a discussion of costuming elves, humans and hobbits in the films, evil characters, and finished with a comparison of human, hobbit and elf costumes in the films. On Sunday, discussion began with the pragmatics of making a costume fit, and proceeded to talk about how to make armor without spending a fortune, a review of the costume competition of the day before, with thoughts about the costumes, leading into a discussion of advanced armor creation techniques, and hobbit costume creation, from the simplest to the most complex.
Put all together, the support of this area of the show rose ORC above the level of the traditional celebrity meet and greet, into the higher plane of a full fledged Tolkien convention. Most important to me was the fact that while many people came to ORC for the stars in the auditorium, the fans in the indoor courtyard showed them the heart of Tolkien, which was new to many of them. The courtyard was a place for learning, joy, meeting new friends, and reuniting with old ones. The friendly spirit and sense of community shared by the friends of Middle-Earth was lost on no-one who ventured here.
Before the films were announced years ago, this fan community existed. Indeed, over the decades, this community incubated and nurtured the desire which created the intense appetite for the film. And fandom, not films, created The One Ring.net. Long after the intense heat of the interest in the movies cools, this fan community, and the tools it created during the filming, will remain.
By supporting fandom so well, from the start, ORC showed that while it loves the films, it was created for the fans, and therefore transcends the films and will last beyond their current popularity. It comes from the fans, so it deeply understands them. It is rooted in responding to them and supporting them, in all past, current and future incarnations of that fandom. Because of that, it is here to stay.
Marysia writes: Return of the Convention (25th-28th March 2005 in Bristol, UK) will be attended by artists Alan Lee and John Howe. All profits from the event will go to The Red Cross who are deeply involved in current relief efforts after the Asian Tsunami.
Alan and John will be available for autographs to all attendees (included in registration price) and will be giving a presentation and attending the Tolkien Reading Day gala dinner for 100 on Friday night (£40 per head).
RotC are also offering the opportunity to attend an art workshop with Alan and John to a limited number of people. To apply for these free workshops you must be fully registered for the event. Join the mailing list to be kept informed of the details.
Other workshops will be provided by LANISTA Ancient Warfare Academy. They will be running Practical Sword and Practical Shield Wall workshops over the weekend.
The Practical Sword Workshop lasts approximately 40 minutes and will include the examination and exercise of the three predominant sword types used in Tolkien, that is, the Double-Handed War Sword, the Saxon Fuller-Blade Sword and the smaller Leaf-Blade Sword.
LANISTA will also be giving a talk entitled “In the Search of Eowyn: Shieldmaiden of Rohan”.
English artist Alan Lee has created a huge array of beautiful images over the last thirty years. He illustrated the covers of the 1987 edition of Lord of the Rings and went on to illustrate the Centenary edition of Lord of the Rings, the 1997 edition of The Hobbit and the 1993 Tolkien calendar among other things. He was brought on board Peter Jackson’s film trilogy and worked for over six years in New Zealand bringing Middle Earth to life. Credited as Conceptual Designer and Set Decorator he was to recieve a Best Art Direction Oscar for his extensive work as part of the film’s Art Department. Some images of his you may recognise can be seen here.
Canadian born artist John Howe first read The Lord of the Rings as an adolescent – poorly, by his own admission, since he read first “The Two Towers”, “The Return of the King” and “The Fellowship of the Ring” (which was never available at the local library) last. He has since re-read it in the right order and illustrated several Tolkien calendars – 1991, 1995, 2001 – dozens of covers and four maps of Middle Earth. His rendition of Gandalf the Grey is now synonymous with the one-volume edition of the Lord of the Rings. “Myth & Magic”, published in 2001 by HarperCollins, provides a comprehensive overview of his work. Conceptual Artist and Designer on the Lord of the Rings movies along with Alan Lee, John’s designs range from Bag End to Barad-dûr and many points between. Involved in medieval re-enactment, he also had a great deal of influence on the look and feel of the weapons and armour in the films. John has an official website at www.john-howe.com.
The folks from Empire Theatre Trust writes: This Saturday, 22nd January at 6.00pm LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING returns to the EmpireTheatre, Halstead for a chance to see this fantastic finale to the triology on the BIG SCREEN in addition we are offering the chance for anyone who comes to win the DVD Box Set of the Lord of the Rings Triology (6 cd set). Just come along as one of the characters from the films and there will be a competition for the “Best Dressed”. So come on and see this brilliant film once again and also give yourself a chance to win something you can treasure forever. Doors open at 6.00pm and film starts at 6.30pm, all seats are £3.50, the competition is free to enter and entrants will be judged by our staff and prizes given out at the end of the show. So get creative and we look forward to seeing all you Hobbits and Kings on Saturday evening.
Also showing at 7pm Fri 21st and Sun 23rd at 6.00pm all seats £3.50.
We are a small independent cinema run by a Trust and we appreciate good film, this film returns to our big screen theatre, the second biggest screen in Essex, for another showing as we consider this to be one the great films of our time. We call on all and any true fans to come down to the wilds of Essex and visit us for another chance to experience the full screen experience.
