Calico
01-29-2002, 12:44 PM
Reported by Shagmail.com's Entertainment Today newsletter:
Critics have generally praised and audiences flocked to "The Fellowship of the Ring," Peter Jackson's first film installment of J. R. R. Tolkien's trilogy "The Lord of the Rings." But does Jackson's recreation of mythic Middle Earth -- down to the elves, orcs, wizards, warriors and hobbits -- pass muster for tried-and-true Tolkien fans? That's the question that will be examined by a cadre of fans Feb. 7 at Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Mich., where a mock trial of Peter Jackson will be staged. Students at the Catholic liberal arts college will render verdict. "This will be very tongue-in-cheek, and we plan to play up very big," said the college's writer-in-residence and Tolkien biographer Joseph Pearce, one of the two Tolkien experts to present evidence at the "Trial of Peter Jackson for the desecration of ‘The Lord of the Rings’." While Pearce serves as defense attorney, literature professor Henry Russell, Ph.D., will serve as prosecutor. Russell has already laid down the gauntlet, remarking that Jackson's rendition of Tolkien "has all the depth and intellect of a video game." Pearce said the students at the Catholic college are big fans of Catholic author Tolkien and his fantasy world, so the college "expects to have a lot of fun with this one."
Wouldn't you like to be a fly on that wall?
Critics have generally praised and audiences flocked to "The Fellowship of the Ring," Peter Jackson's first film installment of J. R. R. Tolkien's trilogy "The Lord of the Rings." But does Jackson's recreation of mythic Middle Earth -- down to the elves, orcs, wizards, warriors and hobbits -- pass muster for tried-and-true Tolkien fans? That's the question that will be examined by a cadre of fans Feb. 7 at Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Mich., where a mock trial of Peter Jackson will be staged. Students at the Catholic liberal arts college will render verdict. "This will be very tongue-in-cheek, and we plan to play up very big," said the college's writer-in-residence and Tolkien biographer Joseph Pearce, one of the two Tolkien experts to present evidence at the "Trial of Peter Jackson for the desecration of ‘The Lord of the Rings’." While Pearce serves as defense attorney, literature professor Henry Russell, Ph.D., will serve as prosecutor. Russell has already laid down the gauntlet, remarking that Jackson's rendition of Tolkien "has all the depth and intellect of a video game." Pearce said the students at the Catholic college are big fans of Catholic author Tolkien and his fantasy world, so the college "expects to have a lot of fun with this one."
Wouldn't you like to be a fly on that wall?