a long-expected movie?

[martasfic]

Originally published at Faith Seeking Understanding. You can comment here or there.

So, CNN is asking fans what they’re doing to get ready for the new Hobbit movie. I don’t have a CNN account and am disinclined to create one just to share my going-ons when it would doubtless get buried in all the responses. But I thought I’d take up the issue here.

This weekend I’m going up to Amherst, MA, to visit a friend and see the movie trilogies together. I’m really looking forward to this! I’ve been putting off rereading Tolkien’s source material (The Hobbit, the letters, Unfinished Tales snippets, etc.) for the same reason I didn’t start reading the Twilight books until the last movie came out: I know the movies will differ from the books, in good ways and bad, and I want to first be able to enjoy them in their own spirit as much as I can.

But I have been reading a fair bit of fanfic at Dreamflower’s Hobbit-centric archive. Do check it out if you haven’t already. I’ve also been working on my first Tolkien fanfic story in entirely too long. Yes, it’s for a specific request, and yes, it’s not Hobbit-era per se (though who knows what references will work their way in?), but just returnign to my own vision of Middle-earth has me in a delightful frame of mind. A part of me is wondering whether I should be posting links to my own old Hobbit-era fanfic, perhaps working up a biography or two. It seems like the prime moment for it, but I haven’t quite gotten around to it.

And then there’s Colbert. Last night I heard Nenya mentioned on national television. I do believe my life may be complete.

Mainly, I’m feeling younger, less tainted by the things that I’ve lived through in the last decade than I have in a long time. Some of that is fannish, but really I’m thinking RL. I don’t think this feeling could possibly last, and in many ways it’s not even lasting in a pure sense right now. It’s the holidays of course, and one person I know who died had a Christmas-eve birthday. Another died right around the holidays. So it’s a bitter time of year and a lot of the times I’m quite despondent inside myself. But when I watch clips for The Hobbit or joke around on FB about it with friends, for a few seconds I’m the nineteen-year-old who saw Fellowship of the Ring, before all of that happened. It’s like a breath of fresh air, for a moment at least.

What are you guys doing to get ready for the movies? Do share.

Comments

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you are writing again.

There is no cinema in my town so I doublt I can see the Hobbit, so am pretty much ignoring it.I hope you and my other LJ friends will enjoy it.

I always find this rather a gloomy season apart from enjoying carol services.

[elliska.livejournal.com]

What are you guys doing to get ready for the movies? Do share.

Making an elf costume to wear to the Dec 14 showing. :-) Yes, I'm that geeky.

I second what Linda said: glad you're back to LotR writing! Enjoy!

[aliana1.livejournal.com]

Lovely to experience some of that fannish nostalgia--I'm remembering the first time I read Fellowship of the Ring and then The Two Towers in quick succession, when I was 16. My friends "made" me read it so I could go to the movies with them, and would habitually check in with me on my progress, as in, "Have you met Faramir yet?" "Who's that?" "He's like Boromir, but much better."

Not sure yet whether I'm going to a midnight premiere on the first night, or waiting a few days later so I can see it with the boyfriend. Otherwise, just trying to get through finals. Glad you are enjoying the anticipation. :)

[dwimordene-2011.livejournal.com]

Assiduously avoiding spoilers. I have not yet succumbed to ANYTHING! I will be totally surprised!

Also, writing a really offensive metafic, because it is really funny.

And trying to get all the grading out of the way, so that I can legitimately go see the movie without guilt. Woot!