lord of the rings!

(Updated 10:23 pm with extra photos from Guille and Scott)

To avoid giving away Lord of the Rings movie spoilers, I've posted my movie report on a separate page (*WARNING*: there are spoilers in my report, so only read it AFTER you've seen the movie!). And feel free to post your own Lord of the Rings review and discuss the movie here (again, spoiler warning...there also may be spoilers re: Books II and III).

It was quite the thrill to see Shane McEwan's name in the final credits (Data Operations Manager, under the credits for Weta Digital). For those who haven't been reading my Waiting For Frodo comic strip, Shane is the guy from Weta who e-mailed me about the comic, and whose character has been integrated into the comic strip itself (he gave Rosie a genuine LOTR crew jacket!). We all clapped and cheered pretty loudly when his name appeared on the screen. Woohoo, Shane! (You can read some Weta-related letters here).



Jeff and I, Luisa, Michael, Reid, Parki, Scott, Tanya, Tim, and Guille lined up this morning (around 8 am) for the noon showing at the Paramount...sounds weird, but it's true. There were already half a dozen people in line ahead of us. We came prepared with camp chairs, and Luisa and Reid brought a blanket and cards. We took turns going for coffee and breaks, but most of the time was spent in line.

Half of my enjoyment today was because of the line waiting experience (which was definitely a "line party" in the truest sense). It was fun to spent those hours hanging out with others who were just as keen on seeing the movie as I was. We joked, played cards, talked with others in the line. Someone near the front passed around a box of Timbits, and we also passed around a compilation of Waiting For Frodo comic strips (many thanks to Scott for putting together this compilation!). 'Twas also fun to see Reid completely engrossed in his first reading of "Lord of the Rings". The hours went by incredibly fast. (and I got a lot more ideas for next year's Waiting For Frodo strips. ;-)



The people at the Paramount were remarkably well-organized and decent about the whole process. They let us in at 11 instead of 11:30, and allowed people in 20 at a time to prevent the usual mad rush for seats. One of the reasons I like seeing movies at the Paramount is because of the stadium-style seating (one of the reasons my sister and her husband are coming here to see the movie instead in their area), the cushy seats, and because we can walk there (saving the price of subway tokens, though that difference doesn't really matter when you factor in concession stand costs...a small bag of popcorn cost me $4!). Anyway, ticket prices can be pricier than the theaters further away from the downtown core, but I find it worth it.



I was highly interested in the pre-show offerings since I know I'll be seeing many times. Sadly, they weren't any more entertaining that the pre-show for Harry Potter. Ah well. And even worse, the Stryker family ad for MovieTickets.com was one of the ads, augh!

I had seen most of the "coming soon" trailers before, which surprised me. I had hoped something more interesting would want to hook up with a much-anticipated movie like Lord of the Rings. I was highly disappointed by the trailer for the Time Machine, which looks a bit cheesy. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong; I like time travel stories, and enjoyed the original book.



Again, I posted my movie report on a separate page to avoid giving away spoilers.

After we came out, a reporter from the Toronto Star interviewed me about Waiting For Frodo. Not sure if he'll actually use anything, but if any of you who get the Star notice something, I'd appreciate you letting me know, thanks!



And while we're still on the topic of Lord of the Rings, here's an untitled poem that Seanan McGuire sent me (reprinted with permission):

I don't know what a balrog is
And I don't really care.
There's ring-wraiths in my living room
And Sauron took my chair.

They're waiting for the big event --
The movie starts today.
I hope the damn thing's wonderful
So they all GO AWAY.

:-)



Today's Blatherpics:

- Luisa, Guillermo Zender, and me. Photo courtesy Guille.

- Us lining up at the Paramount. Photo courtesy Scott Murray.

- Reid reading Lord of the Rings (for the first time) in the movie line.

- Me and Scott.

- Guille, someone that Luisa and met through the virtual Paramount Virtual Line Party (part of TheOneRing.net's Line Party event).

- Me in line-up with my Waiting For Frodo sign. Photo courtesy Scott Murray.

- Luisa chats with some people in the line ahead of us.

Today's Poll:

Do you think that Lord of the Rings will be more of a box office success than Harry Potter in its opening week?