: I have surmised that the movie will focus not just on Frodo and the Ring (which is easily understood) but also give a relatable hero/love story in Aragorn and Arwen. To that end, Arwen would have to be expanded so that the audience empathizes with both Aragorn and his struggle, and with Arwen and her sacrifices.

: :I understand they will probably have to cut the movie due to time. (Although lots of great movies like The Green Mile, Patriot, Dances with Wolves, Braveheart and so forth have been 3, 3+ Hours long.) But I can't see changing the story too much.

: Actually, there will be three movies, to mirror the three books (as opposed to the Ralph Bakshi). Each movie will run roughly two hours in length, which makes it much easier for PJ to be faithful to the books.

: :I'm sure it wouldn't add too much time to have Glorfindel find the fellowship and help them to Rivendale. Those who have read the part of his already say he has a bit part, so its not that big of a deal for him to introduce them to Rivendale and let Legolas take over from there. But oh well. Its too late now. that part was probably already filmed. :-)

: Given a limited time frame and a limited budget, the question then becomes, what scenes/characters do you cut to meet those budget/time requirements.

: And, the three movies are/were filmed concurrently, and thus the majority of the films are already done. ;)

: :Maybe Arwen will be a good change. (As I have not gotten to any part about her yet so I can't say fairly that its not a good decision.)

: : I just hope they have some of the scenes that I have read in the movie. I really like the longer ring conversation between Frodo and Gandalf, And when Pippen, Frodo and Sam are walking the forests and find elves. I like that part. And so far I'm enjoying the Tom Bombadil part as well. [snip]

: Tom Bombadil, as is often his lot in life, has already been one of the scenes from the book that will not appear in the movie. Sorry. But I have not heard about Gildor's company.

: -RR

Robroy is correct (as usual). We don't know really what is being left out form the book (other than Bombadil). It may be that scenes that were only described by a third party will actually be in the film. By that I mean there is at least one battle that the reader doesn't see, but a survivor later describes it. Perhaps Jackson will film that scene -or maybe he won't. That's okay ith me though. I like being surprised.

As you get further into the book you'll find any number of "favorite" scenes. And be sure to read Appendix A, The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen. It, more than the book itself, tells how they met and why Arwen's love for Aragorn was a heartbreak for her father. In fact most of what we know about Arwen comes from this tale. I won't say more than that, but I think you'll like it.

And remember, if anybody asks, Balrogs have wings (heheheh).