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not excited about the Hobbit movie
When I was a teen, I was a HUGE fan of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books. I could reel off Elven poetry (and Bilbo Baggins poetry), and I don't know how many times I re-read them, but it must have been around seventy-umptillion.
I know that for a fact, because when I saw the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, I noticed every single little detail that was different from what had happened in the books, even though it had been years since I'd read them.
Okay, perhaps I didn't notice *every* different detail. After all, how would I know what I didn't notice? But I do know that I noticed a LOT of discrepancies, and I also know that they severely detracted from my enjoyment of the movies. Perhaps it's a case of being too much of a fan to be a fan? I don't know. I didn't go in with a "this better be an exact dramatization of the books" mindset, but I noticed the discrepancies. They just kept hitting me over the head, and every time it took me right out of the movie experience. So overall, I didn't find the movie trilogy very enjoyable.
Now I'm worried about the exact same thing happening with the new Hobbit movie. Of course, they apparently are purposely putting in a lot of stuff that wasn't even included in the book -- how else could they get it to 3 cashboxes of movies? -- and I don't know, maybe it won't bother me at all to see dramatization of new stuff. But out of curiosity I went and read Wikipedia's entry on the movie -- I want to know what I'll be getting into if I see it -- and already I find myself getting annoyed at the little plot points that were mentioned that aren't correct. For example, according to Wikipedia (which perhaps is wrong), Bilbo is the one who keeps the trolls arguing until sunrise. NO, it was GANDALF who did that. Also, there is apparently this whole new conflict with Orcs that hits them before they even get to Rivendell. What??? WRONG, that is WRONG!!!! And apparently the movie ends before they even get to Mirkwood, which is . . . well, annoying, but not unexpected (see stretching-one-book-out-to-3-movies).
If I'm going to get this annoyed at the Wikipedia entry, I suspect I will get even more annoyed at the movie. But then I'll feel culturally left out if I don't go to see it. On the other hand, at least I know what happens. Or at least, what's supposed to happen . . .
I know that for a fact, because when I saw the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, I noticed every single little detail that was different from what had happened in the books, even though it had been years since I'd read them.
Okay, perhaps I didn't notice *every* different detail. After all, how would I know what I didn't notice? But I do know that I noticed a LOT of discrepancies, and I also know that they severely detracted from my enjoyment of the movies. Perhaps it's a case of being too much of a fan to be a fan? I don't know. I didn't go in with a "this better be an exact dramatization of the books" mindset, but I noticed the discrepancies. They just kept hitting me over the head, and every time it took me right out of the movie experience. So overall, I didn't find the movie trilogy very enjoyable.
Now I'm worried about the exact same thing happening with the new Hobbit movie. Of course, they apparently are purposely putting in a lot of stuff that wasn't even included in the book -- how else could they get it to 3 cashboxes of movies? -- and I don't know, maybe it won't bother me at all to see dramatization of new stuff. But out of curiosity I went and read Wikipedia's entry on the movie -- I want to know what I'll be getting into if I see it -- and already I find myself getting annoyed at the little plot points that were mentioned that aren't correct. For example, according to Wikipedia (which perhaps is wrong), Bilbo is the one who keeps the trolls arguing until sunrise. NO, it was GANDALF who did that. Also, there is apparently this whole new conflict with Orcs that hits them before they even get to Rivendell. What??? WRONG, that is WRONG!!!! And apparently the movie ends before they even get to Mirkwood, which is . . . well, annoying, but not unexpected (see stretching-one-book-out-to-3-movies).
If I'm going to get this annoyed at the Wikipedia entry, I suspect I will get even more annoyed at the movie. But then I'll feel culturally left out if I don't go to see it. On the other hand, at least I know what happens. Or at least, what's supposed to happen . . .
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Does everything have to be delivered via a screen of some sort? Not that I'm against movies and television -- far from it! -- but people should want to read books because they're good books, not because a movie was made out of them.
Of course not. People still find books in all kinds of ways, and there's never anything like a friend's recommendation. But a film or TV series always brings a fresh interest, which I don't think is a bad thing. Given that there are lots of people who'll just see the film and think that's it, I rather like all the people who are interested enough to hunt up the books as well, and decide which they actually prefer - and those who will, on knowing a film is coming out, seek out the book so they know it before they see it. Or even read it to decide whether they want to see the film anyway!
:-)