LOTR tag/ Dear anyone who worked on LOTR and The Hobbit :)

So, I wanted to write something, I’ve been wanting to but not finding the actual push or an amazing idea to write about so I went searching for more “tag” questions and I found a little Lord of the Rings tag so I thought I’d do that one XD Cause it you don’t know already, I Love LOTR and its my fav cinematic universe.

1. How did you discover Lord of the Rings?

Sometimes I actually forget my first encounter with LOTR and I think that I just saw the Fellowship when it came out, but actually, my grandparents had one of the animated movies, the one that had all three books into one animated feature, not the ones where its all broken up and the hobbits looks all weird and stuff. Actually I just found out that it’s the 1978 version and its based on The Fellowship and the first half of The Two Towers… So I dunno, its literally been like at least 15 years since I’ve seen it. Probably more like 17 XD But I also watched a few clips and thought it looked a lot like live action and then I read that it was shot in live action and then was animated over. Which I think is pretty cool. I think it also made for a better and more realistic style and definitely better movements.  But yeah, I watched that before the live action movies came out and then when they did I was all “Hey, I’ve seen that!” And even as the animated version, it was one of my favs : ) I knew quality even back then XD

2. Have you read the books?

Now, I have admitted this before, I have not read the books… BUT! I will! I really will one day soon! I feel quite ashamed that I’m such a huge fan but I haven’t read the books…  Dx

3. Did you watch the movies or read the books first?

Clearly, since I haven’t read the books, I saw the movies first XD

4. Have you read The Hobbit?

I’ve read half The Hobbit… I started it, but I haven’t finished it yet x”D But I will! I promise I will!

5. Who is your favorite character?

Well, I have a few, and all for different reasons and I had different ones at different stages in my life. As a kid, my favorite was Frodo. Come on, Elijah Wood was adorable! Then I moved on to Legolas, because, come on back then Orlando Bloom was hot. Like Frodo was cute, but Legolas was hot. XD But I always loved Gimli for his comedy XD Then, as I got older and I watched all the behind the scenes and why characters were the way they were and more about their motivations and stuff I really liked Sam and Gandalf. Sam is like… the reason Frodo could even do the quest. And Gandalf is like the whole catalyst in the first place, plus he’s a giant moral high ground and he is the wisdom and the light and all that. Gandalf and Sam have my favorite lines in all the movies and I think they are both from The Two Towers.

“Frodo: I can't do this, Sam.

Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?

Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for"

And for Gandalf I really like when he has this moment with Pippin in The Return of the King, actually, not both in TT.

“Pippin: I didn't think it would end this way.

Gandalf: End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path... One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass... And then you see it.

Pippin: What? Gandalf?... See what?

Gandalf: White shores... and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.

Pippin: [smiling] Well, that isn't so bad.

Gandalf: [softly] No... No it isn't.”

And I really like that cause I see the Christianity in the background ya know : ) And same with Sam’s, I see Tolkien and his faith hovering in the background.

Oh! And I forgot that I still love Merry and Pippin for their comedy as well and how they grow throughout their journey and I love Arwen because she’s that character all full of pure hope (plus, she has long hair and I always wanted my hair to look like hers xD) And… Oh! I love Treebeard too! Cause, hello, its fricken Treebeard XD  So… basically I have a lot of favs—OMG, I forgot Gollum! Well… I don’t love Gollum so much as… you just feel for his character and its quite easy to relate to him if you’ve had any… darkness I suppose to you. But overall I’d say that Sam and Gandalf are my fav for their character, but Legolas is such a badass, soooooo… Yeah XP And also, shoutout to Thranduil in The Hobbit films. Lee Pace was just sooooo gorgeous as Thranduil! Like, literally he was and is the most gorgeous being I have ever seen on the screen and in real life. Like, Thranduil was perfection in my eyes. At least physically, his personality was an asshole XD but he gets better XD

6. Do you know any Elvish or Dwarvish?
Ummm… I know that friend is “melon” XD But other than that I can imitate what they say but I haven’t taken the time to actually learn any. I used to, actually, read about the Elvish language because I did want to speak it, but I’m better when I learn from someone, not just a book. But I’d love to be able to ^_^

7. Which is your favorite book/film?

Ummm… this is a hard one. Honestly I count them all as one. To me, its one film, just in three parts XD And there are parts within the parts that I like better but overall I don’t think I can choose just one. I love all the battles though. Especially Helms Deep and The Battle of the Pelennor Fields… But I also love the stuff in Hobbitton and the music from Hobbitton. But then I love the Elves! I love Rivendell, although I don’t care for Lothlorien as much just because its not as colorful. I really like color : ) Ummm… But yeah, I honestly just lump it all into one movie xD But I do like LOTR better than The Hobbit films. But like I said, Thranduil is just gorgeous beyond words. Truly. He makes those movies for me xD Of course, Martin Freeman ad Bilbo and Richard Artmitage as Thorin are amazing too, but mmmm Thranduil xD

8. How do you feel about the movie adaptations of the books?

Ummm, well since I didn’t read the books yet, I don’t think I’m as qualified to answer this, but I’m just glad they did ^_^ All the animated ones and the live action.

9. What race would you be?

ELF! Hands down I would be an elf!!!! I’d be a badass Elf too, in the vein of Legolas and Tauriel. I love Arwen, but I love being a badass too XD She’s cool, though.

Sometimes I think I’d like to be a Hobbit though, because they seem like they lead hearty lives and really live life to the fullest ya know : )

10. How has Lord of the Rings affected your life?

I was about to mention this in the answer for 8, but it goes with this one better xD My life… would be sooooo different. Like, it sounds cheesy and cliché, but LOTR has literally changed my life. I don’t think I’d be the person I am today if they didn’t exist or if I had not seen the movies. Like… as a kid, I just loved the adventure and the good looking actors XD but as I grew up I saw the heroism in the story and in the characters and I wanted to be like them. I wanted to be as kind and loyal as Sam and as wise as Gandalf and as kingly as Aragorn and as badass as Legolas. I actually remember the point in my life when I was rewatching the movies, I was in The Two Towers where Sam says the whole things about not giving up hope and fighting for what good, and I remember that I cried. I literally cried because I had a sort of epiphany moment for several reasons and it was one of the times that the chink in my armor began to fall away. Maybe one day I’ll go a bit into that, cause I was actually thinking about how I’ve changed over the years, especially over the past two years… but we’ll see. But yeah, I just. These movies have changed my life and when I see, also the hard work and complete dedication that was put into making the movies, it movies me even more and I wish I could have been old enough to be a part of making them! Watching all the extras and interviews really made me feel a part of the world even more and plus it just looked so fun to make!

If anyone who was a part of LOTR or The Hobbit or both ever happens to read this, I just want to say “Thank You from the bottom of my heart.” I’ll probably never meet anyone but I just want to say that these movies have impacted my life more than you can imagine and I will always cherish them and the work that you put into them and I will continue to marathon them for the rest of my life. I wish I could have been a part of the process somehow and I hope that you had fun : ) I also hope that one day we can truly return to Middle Earth, perhaps at the 25 year mark (don’t get me started on that 800 buck thing Warner is coming out with) and get to see even more of your hard work. So, thank you Tolkien, thank you Jackson, Boyens, and Walsh, thank you cast and crew and Allan Lee and John Howe. Thank you for bringing Middle Earth to life because it helped me to truly come to life as well. Oh, and a special thank you to Andy Serkis for giving Gollum a voice and for me being able to always freak my friends out XD And A big thank you to Lee Pace for being a gorgeous Thranduil. And omg, I almost forgot Howard Shore! LOTR is my fav ever soundtrack and score and its just always so beautiful to me and I love it <3 May Middle Earth always live on, on the page, on the screen and in our  hearts!