: : This is just my opinion and I'm sure that many here will disaggree with me, as some already have. But doesn't anybody else think that expecting the movie to stay absolutely true to the book is a little farfetched???

: I agree that all PJ needs to do to have done a "good job" is to make an enjoyable movie that will inspire people to read the book. But he also needs to make it enjoyable for people who know and love the book. This doesn't mean that he has to stick word-for-word to the novel, but it would be nice if he didn't make changes (such the introduction or removal of a major subplot) for no good reason.

: For years, there haven't been any good cinematic interpretations of LotR. In a way, I want the movie to be made for us. But it's hard to make a movie designed for a rabid fans and still earn a buck; people who aren't already familiar with the work would be put off.

actually, it's Impossible to do a movie which will be exactly faithful to the book (from various reasons, first is the lack of money for ten movies). If you want to make a book into a film, I can agree with removing a sub-plot here, adding some lines to a charachter-played-by-famous-actor(or actress, in this case) there or making someone to look a bit different than he is in the book. But what I don't agree with is changing the basics of the story, it's values. like: let's say Jackson decides Sauron will be beaten in a single combat (that's a bit far, I know). Or (as is\was rumored) to remove Eowyn, and to the single combat between Aragorn (the Hero) and the Morgul-King. Or to add some of today's values, such as democracy (instead of by fate, aragorn will have to run against Faramir, for the governmening of Gondor), or equality between races/species. If these values will be too much emphasized, it WILL ruin the movie,and not just for Tolkien-fans, since which wasn't supposed to be there in the first place will be added, and it will not fit to the big picture.