{"id":30834,"date":"2008-12-21T10:01:44","date_gmt":"2008-12-21T15:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/?p=30834"},"modified":"2008-12-21T10:01:44","modified_gmt":"2008-12-21T15:01:44","slug":"fictional-frontiers-radio-transcript","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2008\/12\/21\/30834-fictional-frontiers-radio-transcript\/","title":{"rendered":"Fictional Frontiers Radio Transcript"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" Kristin Thompson, author of the very successful Frodo Franchise<\/strong> was a guest on last Sunday\u2019s broadcast of \u2018Fictional Frontiers with Sohaib,\u2019 on WNJC 1360 AM, Philadelphia at 11AM ET. As always, it was broadcast live via the internet via the WNJC website. A full transcript of the radio segment can be found below (thanks to Deleece Cook!). TheOneRing.net is featured every other week on Fictional Frontiers. <\/p>\n

Transcription 14th December Session 16 TORN Radio Segment
\nFictional Frontiers with Sohaib Awan \u2013 The Kristin Thompson Interview.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This week Sohaib talks to Kristin Thompson author of the very successful Frodo Franchise.<\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> And were back on Fictional Frontiers with Sohaib. \u2018The Perfect Storm\u2019 \u2013 seamen and fishermen often use this phrase to describe a combination of smaller storms in various directions. Transformed into a (?) and unassailable night. Lord of the Rings Films by Peter Jackson are this millenniums cinematic and pop culture perfect storm. And of course, to navigate through such a storm, we need a worthy Captain. And who could be more worthy than Kristin Thompson \u2013 the author of the Frodo Franchise, and what would be the best map for a journey through such a storm \u2013 that would be the Frodo Franchise book itself \u2013 actually recently released in paperback on July 31st I believe by the University of California Press, and it is the definitive work on the film phenomena that is or was and it will be, the Lord of the Rings franchise \u2013 Kristin welcome to Fictional Frontiers.<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> Thank-you very much I\u2019m glad to be here.<\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> To begin, can you talk a little bit about your academic background and how this actually led to your love of Tolkien\u2019s work. Because obvious \u2013 to produce such an impressive work as the Frodo Franchise, you obviously have to have a certain degree of passion \u2013 but there also has to be a certain level of academic acumen as well, so can you talk a little bit about your background.<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> Yeah, I\u2019d be happy to. I actually read Tolkien \u2013 The Lord of the Rings \u2013 back in the 60\u2019s when it came out in paperback, so that preceded my training for the film story. I already loved Tolkien, by but I got into film courses and realized this is what I wanted to do for a living, so I got a MA degree at the University of Iowa in Cinema Studies and come up here to the University at Wisconsin Madison and got a PhD in 1977. And I had published 10 books up to this point \u2013so, Frodo Franchise is my 11th book. <\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> So it\u2019s your 11th book \u2013 obviously you were a fan of Tolkien\u2019s, I know when Peter Jackson was announced as the Director of the new franchise and obviously initially we didn\u2019t know if the series was going to be 2 films or 3 films but, thankfully it ended up being 3 films \u2013 How did you feel when you had heard that Peter Jackson was announced as the Director of the Project? What were your initial reactions? Were you concerned? I\u2019m just curious because you obviously have a great love for Tolkien\u2019s work \u2013 <\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> I don\u2019t think I had any adverse reaction to the idea of Peter doing the films. I had basically just heard of him as the Director of Heavenly Creatures and I knew that was a well respected film although I hadn\u2019t seen it at the time \u2013 but just the whole idea of making a film just to me seemed a little bit dubious \u2013 it wasn\u2019t really cool with making it \u2013 but just the fact of making it \u2013 it seemed so impossible.<\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> When I first heard it \u2013 there are certain things \u2013 I don\u2019t want to say certain projects but I always viewed the Lord of The Rings as the Un-filmable series, and actually it\u2019s funny \u2013 because there\u2019s another project that\u2019s going to be released next year called the Watchman \u2013 and in the Comic industry that\u2019s sort of the Lord of the Rings of the Comic book genre and there\u2019s a film based on that work that\u2019s coming out next year and I wonder how well they\u2019re going to be able to translate the work over but, <\/p>\n

Talk a little bit about the Frodo Franchise itself, because obviously it deals with the phenomena that is the Lord of The Rings film franchise \u2013 and as I eluded to at the beginning \u2013 I feel the millenniums definite work \u2013 and I don\u2019t want to say it\u2019s something akin to The Wizard of Oz, so to speak, because again I think to put the Lord of The Rings films in such a limited category as Fantasy, I think the films touch so many different topics and deal with so many other issues that to me I would almost compare them to the films of David Leigh, but what led to your serious side of work on the Frodo Franchise?<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> Well there\u2019s so much that you just described it, that I didn\u2019t intend to write a book at first \u2013 then the first film came out and I actually didn\u2019t like it and I went back and front to the theatre several times.<\/p>\n

But as all this was happening I remember hearing about what a wonderful website for example they had to promote the film \u2013 the internet campaign was so brilliantly handled \u2013 they had a theatre trailer up that\u2019s got the largest number of hits in one day at that time. And I heard about how the video games were doing down in the very innovative way \u2013 I was just hearing all these things about different aspects \u2013 not to the film, but just everything around it \u2013 and I thought \u2018this is going to be something major, it\u2019s going to be so influential in many ways, somebody\u2019s got to write a history of this\u2019 and I thought \u2018Oh, OK. Well, maybe that has to be me\u2019. <\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> [Laughs] .. You say you didn\u2019t like the first film but now in retrospect, now that you\u2019ve seen all the films … because I actually don\u2019t look at it as 3 individual films; I look at it as one film Lord of The Rings. What\u2019s your feeling about the films from a personal standpoint, and what do you feel about the legacy of the films as not just films themselves, but actually as representations or manifestations of Tolkien\u2019s definitive work?<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> Well I know that Peter Jackson and his colleagues acknowledged that not every Tolkien fan can accept everything that they did, in fact, every Tolkien fan will have some objections, and I do, but I do think they did a very good job and I have to admit that in some places I think the film is better than the book \u2013 they did improve on certain things \u2013 and I agree with you, it\u2019s going to be a classic. Some people have compared it to \u2018The Wizard of Oz\u2019 and it\u2019s quite possible people will be watching it 60 years from now in whatever form people watch movies in those days. <\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> I agree with you because it\u2019s funny, when I look at the films themselves and they are my favourite films I\u2019ll be honest with you, there\u2019s a little bit of bias there but, to me, I love the original book obviously by Tolkien and I read those as most people probably did in their High School years \u2013 I did not think he (Jackson) would be able to translate them well into and onto the Silver Screen but, then after seeing them I can\u2019t remember a single project where so many variables came together in such a near perfect fashion that \u2013 you know, you had phenomenal acting, the score was amazing, the special effects obviously, and then again up to that point you really didn\u2019t have that many films \u2013 the only one that I can really think of that maybe you can thank James Cameron for that \u2013 Titanic was the first film that sort of harkened back to the 3 hour length epic films and I think the Lord Of The Rings brought all of those together, but also brought a lot of human elements to the films themselves. I think personally one of the reasons why these films are going to resonate with audiences in the future is because you take away the special effects and it\u2019s again about the themes, the underlying themes for the most part that I think Tolkien was trying to address. Would you agree that that\u2019s a legacy? What do you think are the dominating factors \u2013 given your expertise, I\u2019d be interested to hear what you think are those factors that have and allow the film to resonate \u2013 not just with fans, and not just with non Tolkien fans, but with critics around the world?<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> Now I can really agree with this that some of the aspects of it are really, really just great. I mean I love the score, I love the cinematography \u2013 the acting, the casting is just pretty close to perfect I think. And in fact when I heard that Ian McKellen and Cate Blanchett had been cast and I started thinking this sounds like its being done a very intelligent way. And I have to give Peter credit too, for being able to pull together 3 really long films in the course of 2 years basically \u2013 I mean they came out December-December- December which is what they had announced that they would do, and it\u2019s just unthinkable in today\u2019s Hollywood that somebody could turn out 3 x 3hour plus films in that length of time, it\u2019s just an amazing accomplishment. <\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> Oh Yeah, And obviously that leads us to the new films. Actually I saw that this week you had made an announcement yourself on your website as well as the OneRing that Peter Jackson and his team along with Guillermo del Toro were signing their lives away [Laughs] I see for the foreseeable future basically jumping aboard the ship leading back to Middle-earth. What was your initial reaction when you heard (A) That they were going to actually do a \u2018prequel\u2019 film based on the Hobbit and Tolkien, and then (B) What was your reaction to Guillermo del Toro being chosen as the Director of these two films?<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> Well when I first heard that Peter was not going to Direct it I thought \u2018well OK keep an open mind because after all when Peter was chosen a lot of people found that that was an absurd notion. And del Toro has turned out very, very good films. I remember watching Kronos when it first came out in 93 in our local art theatre and liking it. So I have been watching his films since early in his career and I think he\u2019s a very good choice and I\u2019m quite happy with that combination of Peter Jackson as Producer and screen-writer, and then del Toro as Director. And I\u2019m very glad to see the contract signed as well – all Summer and really some of Spring as well, people kept saying \u2018well, Ian McKellen\u2019s coming back and Serkis is coming back, all these people are coming back and yet all the people kept saying \u2018well I haven\u2019t signed a contract yet \u2013 no there are no contract as yet\u2019. Now we finally have the first contracts that have been announced on this project. So I do feel we\u2019ve passed a little landmark this week. <\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> Right. I\u2019m an Attorney by trade, and until anything is signed on the proverbial dotted line your always a little bit wary of getting your hopes or your anticipation at a reasonable level but I\u2019m hoping that now we\u2019re going to be moving forward and we\u2019ll start seeing some of the cast decisions being made in the near future. But, I know you alluded to earlier \u2013 you said here were certain things that you didn\u2019t like about the original film \u2013 that were not as good \u2013 What are those things? Maybe you could go into some semi-detail – give me a little bit more detail about those and what you would like to see in the new films. Maybe there were some problems that can be addressed in the new films or they can alleviate your concerns by dealing with those in the new films.<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> Well I guess one thing is Gandalf is my favourite character and I think of his as the second protagonist of Lord Of The Rings \u2013 Frodo and Gandalf as two protagonists – and essentially what was done in writing the film was they took Aragorn and made him the other protagonist \u2013 it made him more important than he is in the book I think. And I can see that \u2013 they needed to have a romance or at least they think they did \u2013 so that became an important element. But, I was sad to see Gandalf become a little bit more a conventional wizard and a good helper figure \u2013 not quite as prominent as he is in the book I think. That was one thing. <\/p>\n

And I guess like so many people I was upset about the treatment of Faramir \u2013 making his character much more negative than he is in the book \u2013 even though he comes through in the end, he\u2019s a good fellow \u2013 but, I did not enjoy those scenes I think, as much as the rest of the films. <\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> On the other side of things. How do you think they improved on the books? Because a lot of people eluded that fact that they feel that the Scourging of the Shire … I actually thought the ending in the Return of The King was much better without the Scourging of the Shire …<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> Yeah, I mean the whole last section of Lord of The Rings after the destruction of the Ring is I think 6 whole chapters, and that\u2019s a [laughs] very large section to keep peoples interest up there. And I think Tolkien does it in the book, but it would be very hard to write a script just based on that. But in terms of what I thought was better in the film, I found the characters of both Boromir and Legolas a lot more vivid for me \u2013 you know compared to the book \u2013 especially Boromir. They did a wonderful job with his character \u2013 big death scene and so on \u2013 much more effective than in the book.
\nAnd just little touches like that moment when Gandalf blows out the smoke in the shape of a ship \u2013 not in the book at all although he does have fireworks in the shape of a ship. But it\u2019s a very brief way of signalling him as a magical character \u2013 hey, he\u2019s a magical guy. And that little motif \u2013 the swan shaped ship, that\u2019s what they depart on at the end, and Galadriel has the same sort of little boat at Lothlorien, so it becomes a motif. So I thought that was just very clever of them.<\/p>\n

(No sound, distorted recording)<\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> [Talking about Sean Bean] … I know he tried out for the role of Aragorn at first \u2013 they thought he didn\u2019t fit that role, but he was so good as Boromir.<\/p>\n

I guess what I want to do is the Frodo Franchise, and again, I highly recommend to our listeners who are fascinated by just the phenomena that has been Lord of The Rings, and again, as we have eluded to during our segment here – is on the horizon again because hopefully now, with the contracts, at least the main creative forces behind the film have signed on the dotted line \u2013 I think this is going to be a very nice appetizer in a sense and also to see what will happen in the near future as far as the other film.<\/p>\n

Kris, this is something, because I know you\u2019re one of the foremost experts on the Lord of The Rings films and as well as the works of Tolkien. I know it\u2019s a sort of a clich\u00e9, but I\u2019m going to go through a list of names of individuals and if you could just give me the first one, or two, word which come into your mind about these individuals involved with the film. I think it will be a lot of fun for our listeners to see; \u2018OK, What\u2019s the first thing that comes to mind of an expert on Tolkien\u2019 \u2013 so here we go! [laughs]<\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> Peter Jackson?<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> Incredibly able to bring people together to do a great job.<\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> Guillermo del Toro?<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> Extremely imaginative and manages to combine humour with almost everything he does.<\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> Viggo Mortensen?<\/p>\n

Kristen: Just terrific. I thought he was perfect as Aragorn.<\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> Ian McKellan?<\/p>\n

Kristen: [laughs] Err, err, an utterly charming man!<\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> Howard Shore?<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> I listen to those sound tracks almost every day.<\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> Elijah Wood?<\/p>\n

Kristen: Ummm Hmmm – that\u2019s a rough one. [Sohaib laughs] I enjoyed his Frodo even though he looks nothing like the description in the book.<\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> and the last two, I guess I have theOneRing.net?<\/p>\n

Kristen: A fantastic group, dedicated and they really have kept going, even after the films came out at a marvellous level. <\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> I would agree with that. And last but certainly not least, J. R. Tolkien himself?<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> Fantastic! I mean an absolutely unique author. I mean as a scholar I\u2019m kind of amazed that he managed to be such a wonderful scholar, brilliant teacher and so on \u2013 and yet do this sort of on the side. <\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> You know, I think you summed it up perfectly as teacher is the first thing that comes to my mind. <\/p>\n

So, you know it\u2019s going to be a fun couple of more years Kristin we\u2019d love to have you on again, and continued success, and again you can purchase the Frodo Franchise on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, you name it everywhere \u2013 paperback was released by the University of California Press on July 31st of this year.<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> And there a blog in the same name.<\/p>\n

Sohaib:<\/strong> Ah yes! There\u2019 a blog in the same name. [laughs]. Kristin we\u2019ll talk to you in the near future. Thank-you again!<\/p>\n

Kristin:<\/strong> OK. Thank-you!<\/p>\n

Transcript by Deleece Cook (Elven tornsib at theOneRing.net)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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