: Anyway, I don't agree with what a lot of people (including Jackson) have said about "pruning" The Fellowship of the Ring.

Again, Jackson has two hours. Where will the time come from? Let me put it this way: I'd rather see a few less relevant, if cherished episodes like Bombadil get axed if the alternative is, say, Elrond rushing through or skipping the history of the Ring at the Council. Or rushing through "The Shadow of the Past."

: No Farmer Maggot?

Maggot adds flavor to the story, but is not essential to the plot. I hope he can keep him, however.

:No Fatty Bolger?

No, I think you need the House at Crickhollow. Even Bakshi kept it. I think you need the scene where the Ringwraiths attack the house and Bolger flees.

:No Barrow Downs?

I would LOVE to see Jackson try to portray it. They do get their swords at the Barrow. But include the Barrow Downs, and you need Tom to bail them out, unless Jackson alters the story so that Frodo singlehandedly saves them -- I don't like that.
So include the Barrow Downs and you have to include Tom in some fashion. That's the real difficulty with the Barrow Downs.

:No Gildor?

No, I think Gildor is essential.

:No Glorfindel?

I want to see Glorfindel, if only because I'm still seething that Bakshi stuck Legolas in his place. >:-) Legolas doesn't even know his way around Eriador!

:What about the Hobbit rumors flying at the Green Dragon Inn?

Whoa...hadn't thought about that. I think you need it, in some form. Sets the mood, let's us get to know Sam and understand Hobbits worldview. Damn, that's another 5 minutes you have to use.

:What about Old Man Willow?

Goes back to Tom. I think you either cut most everything from the Hedge to Bree, or you have to keep all of it. Who else saves them from Old Man Willow? I don't know...maybe you can cut their stay at Tom's House fairly short. Still iffy.

:What about the Trollshaws?

I'd cut it. If he were filming the Hobbit first, I'd be tempted to keep it as a tie-in to Bilbo's adventures.

:Will the Hobbits still complain about the midges?

LOL! :-) That takes all of a minute or so, and keeps them moving, I see no reason to cut it.

: The thing is, it's difficult to see how you could choose among these scenes for pruning. If Jackson thinks those scenes are just bulk, why doesn't he adopt the strategy Rankin & Bass used in their adaptation: Just adapt The Return of the King and compress all that bothersome exposition and character development from the first two volumes into a few flashbacks.

It's a problem of time, and a problem of adapting a difficult (and very long) book into film. What works well on the printed page may pose problems when trying to create a coherent, taut narrative. FOTR introduces us to most of the main characters, gets us to empathize with them and their relationships with each other, sets the stage, gives us the history. Trying to do all of that and keep all of at least 2 dozen adventurous episodes is tough to do in 2 hours without something suffering. Perhaps I'm overestimating the difficulty. My concern was that I'd rather see Bombadil or the Tollshaws cut than weaken character development or building of the backstory.

With luck, Jackson might make the films 3 hours each and make my concerns moot. :-)

Oberon