Posted: December 08, 1999 at 04:16:36: by shadowfax
: :::This might seem like a silly question, but exactly how big will this be? Will it be in theaters across the country, or only selected, or will it just be like a home video series? (I don't know much about this, and I thank anyone willing to take the time to answer this) I am asking because I am sincerely worried about this. Mainly, I am afraid that a "Tolkien Bandwagon" will appear, and that frightens me. That happened with Star Wars; everyone just turns into a bunch of bandwagon jumpers, and it really annoyed my small group of true Star Wars fans; and to tell you the truth, I don't like Star Wars hardly at all anymore, because it was so commercialized. My greatest fear is that Tolkien will become the latest 'cool' thing with all manner of bandwagon-jumpers and teeny-boppers, and then after a few months people start saying "you still like that?" and I REALLY hope that does not happen. I am glad for the movies and all, I just don't want the whole thing to explode in popularity and then go down in flames. Maybe someone can help to dispell my fears.You're absolutely right. On the other hand, there may also be positive side effects. People who jump on the bandwaggon may include people who would otherwise never read the books. They could end up buying them and then realise what Tolkien is really about. Sadly, there is already a high level of merchandising of low value, low quality products with the LotR label today. This is likely to increase dramatically in the aftermath of the film. Serious Tolkien fans may have difficulty standing apart from this trash-goldrush, and the best they can do is arm themselves with factual arguments to defend the books. That's where the value of discussion boards such as this one, and also the various Tolkien societies come in. If you are not already a memeber of one, I would recommend joining one and meeting other serious fans, making new friends, having a lot of fun, and finding out more about Tolkien.
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