Question: I've been looking everywhere on the internet for the full length version on 'Many Meetings' to listen to online. Does anyone know where i can find it?
Question: Why in the end credits does it say 'featuring' Sean Bean and Ian Holm? Why are they separate from the rest of the characters who are just plainly listed?
Answer: The 'featuring' credit is often given to an actor who plays a role that could be considered lesser than what they'd normally play. Sean Bean and Ian Holm are both associated with major roles in films, whereas, in these films, Bean appears as a relatively minor part of an ensemble, and Ian Holm also plays a very limited part.
Question: Is it true that Sean Bean initially auditioned for the role of Aragorn?
Answer: According to Bean's biographical page on Wikipedia, there are rumors that Peter Jackson considered him for the role of Aragorn, but neither Bean nor Jackson would answer this question during any interview. It was intimated that Bean's fear of flying may have been a factor, as the actors, in the subsequent two films, had to be helicoptered to remote and mountainous filming locations. However, this has also never been confirmed.
Question: Is John Rhys-Davies really that small? If not, how did they make him look like a dwarf?
Answer: No he is not small. As a matter of fact he is the tallest actor of the Fellowship. He had a scale double, Brett, who did much of the work involved in all three films. In many shots, where it was really John portraying Gimli, it was simply a 'trick' of the camera, through depth perception, allowing the viewers to think he was that small. This 'trick' of the camera was used for the Hobbits as well, who all had scale doubles too. Peter Jackson also had small sets built that were duplicates of the large sets in order to achieve the effect properly.
Question: When the Fellowship are on the side of the mountain and arguing about which direction to take, Gandalf says "Let the ring bearer choose". Why does Gandalf say that? He knows that Frodo has enough on his plate, what with taking the ring all the way to Mordor, so why add to his problems by making Frodo decide the way to go?
Answer: Because, like it or not, he's the leader of this quest. Gandalf is only a guide; Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli are Frodo's guardians, while the other three Hobbits are simply companions. Besides, Frodo's the one carrying the increasingly burdensome ring. If he thinks one path easier than another then that's his call.
Question: As far as I understand it (I haven't read the books, only seen the films), with the One Ring Sauron can rule and control all the other rings of power. But why didn't/don't the other ring-bearers just take off their rings so that Sauron cannot dominate them? Weren't the other rings of power made by Sauron, too? And of what use is the One Ring to Sauron without the other rings, except that it contains a part of him, thereby making him somehow indestructible?
Answer: The Rings of Power were made by the elves of Eregion, guided by Sauron, posing as a mysterious and highly knowledgeable craftsman named Annatar. Each, however, had their own hidden agenda. Sauron's, obviously, was to make the Rings subservient to his own Ruling Ring, to give him great influence over the wearers while giving them power. Part of the magics of the Rings, however, was that that influence would not be perceived by the wearer, so they would simply accept the gifts, lured by the temptation of the power that it would grant them. The Elves, for their part, secretly made three more Rings using both Annatar's techniques and their own magics, resulting in three more powerful Rings. As Annatar's methods were used, these Rings were still slaves to the One Ring, but the additional magics meant that the bearers of the Three Rings became aware of Sauron's betrayal and removed them before his influence could take hold. Enraged at this treachery, Sauron launched a military strike on Eregion, obliterating the realm and taking the remaining Rings, giving seven to the Dwarves, whose nature proved resistant to the magics of the Rings, which did little more than increase their innate lust for gold, and nine to Men, whose desire for power led to them falling completely under his influence, ultimately becoming the Nazgul. Without the other Rings, the One Ring has no purpose - it was specifically created as part of Sauron's plan to covertly dominate Middle-Earth, by bringing the wearers of the Rings of Power under his control.
Question: How exactly did Peter Jackson get the rights to this series? He is obviously a talented director but, and this is no offence intended, his previous credits are basically limited to relatively small-time comedy horror movies. To go from that to producing the first live action movie adaptations of what is perhaps the most famous book series in the world seems a bit odd, especially given how little Hollywood likes to take risks nowadays.
Chosen answer: Presumably you are referring to "Bad Taste" and "Braindead" as Jackson's low-budget horror films. Bear in mind though, that Jackson had directed "Heavenly Creatures", a highly-acclaimed drama, and "The Frighteners" starring Michael J. Fox, which despite being quite a low-budget horror film showcased high-quality visual effects from Jackson's Weta Digital company. Also, it may have been Jackson's ability to work on a small budget that won him the gig: the LOTR films had often been considered too expensive to make. Plus this isn't unprecendented - when the Wachowski Brothers presented their idea for The Matrix the studio didn't want to give them a massive budget straight away. They made "Bound" first for a relative pittance, and that was enough to convince the studio they had the talent necessary for a huge movie.
Question: Why do only certain characters have last names?
Answer: Most of the races and cultures in Middle Earth do not use what we would call in a modern setting a "full name", that is a given name followed by a family name. The Hobbits are the only race that does this regularly (i.e. Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, etc). Most of the other races use the more medieval "son of" when stating a formal full name (i.e. Aragorn son of Arathorn, Gimli son of Gloin, etc). To answer the question directly, most of the characters that don't have last names don't have them because last names are not used in their culture.
Answer: It has to do with cultural differences. Some cultures in Middle Earth, like the Hobbits, use a family name (Frodo Baggins), others use a single name, followed by where they're from (Legolas of the Woodland Realm). Still others use the name of the father (Aragorn, son of Arathorn/Gimli, son of Gloin). Finally there are characters that use only a single name because they are of such standing that no other identification is necessary (Gandalf, Sauron, Sauruman), etc. These characters generally follow the name with a particular characteristic (Gandalf the Grey), and frequently have multiple names in different regions (Gandalf is known by many names).
Answer: The Hobbits use family groupings and thus last names. Frodo uses the surname Underhill in Bree and is instantly asked about Underhills in the Shire. Humans use a variety of names but not surnames - Aragorn is the son of Arathorn and Theoden is just called Theoden son of Thengel, and noble people like Denethor and Boromir are said to be "of the House of Voronwe or House of Hurin" Elves are immortal and thus do not need family names. Dwarves use the same naming convention as Men. Even Smaug uses one name.
Question: Why was Boromir allowed to join the Fellowship of the Ring? Since he is vulnerable to the Ring's corruption.
Chosen answer: Virtually everyone was vulnerable to the Ring's power to some extent, even Frodo Baggins. Frodo's purity of heart and incorruptibility made him the least affected by the Ring and made him the only logical choice to actually carry it for the duration of the mission; but EVERYBODY was vulnerable to its seductive power, some just more so than others.
But prior when the Fellowship was formed, he was tempted by the ring. He even tried to convince the council that bring the ring to Gondor would destroy Sauron. So why did Gandalf or Elrond accepts Boromir as a member of the Fellowship?
Well, Boromir's younger brother, Faramir, would probably have been a better choice for the Fellowship, if he had been available. But Faramir wasn't available and Boromir was. Boromir also wasn't actually "chosen" for the Fellowship, he simply went along out of loyalty to Aragorn. Gandalf and Elrond may have suspected Boromir's weakness (possibly even as a threat to the Fellowship), but Boromir was a seasoned warrior whose skills in battle would be valuable on this incredibly dangerous mission. Also, you may recall that Boromir wasn't even nearly as weak or unbalanced in the actual Tolkein story; rather, director Peter Jackson made Boromir more of a loose cannon in the film, which is not how he was portrayed in the book. In other words, Jackson wanted an even more unbalanced element threatening the Fellowship from within, so he amplified Boromir's weaknesses.
Question: Why does Liv Tyler receive third billing for this movie and its sequels? Her character hardly does anything compared to other characters in the trilogy like Aragorn, Sam or Saruman, and she wasn't exactly an A-lister at the time the movies came out.
Chosen answer: Getting a high billing is always part of an actor's negotiations. She would have been offered it as part of the deal to join the film.
Question: More of a book question, but which sub-species of Hobbit are the four ones in the fellowship? I've heard that Sam is of a lesser species than the other three. I've also heard that either Pippin or Merry is a different species; how does that work with them being cousins?
Answer: To think of the three divisions of hobbits as separate species is incorrect, they are simply tribal variations, with none being any "lesser" than the others. The three types, the Fallohides, the Harfoots and the Stoors, hailed from different regions, but since all three sub-groups settled in the Shire, the hobbits have intermingled and intermarried over the centuries, making the differences considerably less clear, to the point where they can simply be considered one group, the Shire-Hobbits. Certain Hobbit families, however, do tend to retain a relatively strong blood link to a particular division - the Tooks and the Brandybucks, for example, tend to retain the height and the impetuous nature of the Fallohide hobbits. The Baggins family is of unclear bloodline, but Frodo would also carry a strong strain of Fallohide blood from his mother, Primula Brandybuck. The Gamgee family are likewise of uncertain bloodline, but Sam's relatively stocky build and affinity with the soil and agriculture would suggest Stoor-ish blood.
Question: Does Legolas have an age? I've read somewhere that it's 2931, but did Tolkien ever record one? Also, now that I'm on that subject, what is Aragorn's age? Did Tolkien record THAT as well?
Answer: There is no record of when Legolas was born. But it is commonly believed that Arwen is the last Elf born in Middle-Earth, and she is 2,777 years old at the time of the War of the Ring. So Legolas is older than that. Aragorn was born (according to the timeline in the appendix to "Lord of the Rings") in year 2931 of the Third Age, 87 years before the War.
Question: Does anyone know why the runes at the hidden door of Moria were written in Elvish and not Dwarvish?
Answer: It's because that door was the principal route between the Dwarven realm and the Elven land of Eregion, who were on very friendly terms. Most of the visitors using that door would most likely be elven, so using elven runes could be considered a courtesy.
Question: How do you get the secret easter eggs on both of the Extended DVD's? I've tried and I've only managed to get two of them and they were the trailers.
Answer: To get to the MTV Council of Elrond parody: Disc 1 extended edition. Go to "Select a Scene" and scroll to scene 27, the C of E. Press DOWN and a ring should pop up. Select the ring. PJ appears and you see the parody. To get to the Two Towers preview: Disc 2 extended edition. From main menu, go to "Select a Scene." Select chapter 48 in right column. "Fan club credits" appears. Go back to the right column to chapter 48 and press DOWN. An image of the Two Towers pops up. Select the Towers. PJ appears and you see the preview.
Question: When Gandalf falls at the bridge of Khazad-dum, it seems like he lets go on purpose. Why doesn't he try to pull himself up, or why doesn't the Fellowship try to help him? It seems that he 'died' unnecessarily.
Answer: This scene differs slightly from the book. Tolkien didn't give Gandalf a choice - the Balrog's whip gets him and he falls immediately. However, even in the filmed version, it is clear that there is no chance of Gandalf being rescued. He has the weight of the Balrog hanging on him so cannot be pulled up; since he is the only one with a chance of defeating such a powerful creature he decides to fight it well away from the rest of the fellowship who have a much more important mission to complete.
Question: What does Gandalf say at the Council of Elrond, which he speaks in the language of Mordor?
Answer: "Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatulul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!". This is the translation of the corrupted Tengwar runes inscribed on the One Ring itself. In English it means "One Ring to Rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them." This, of course, is only two lines of the longer verse about the Rings of Power.
Answer: Actually, the full length version has a copyright; therefore, it would be illegal to post the full version online without permission. The only way I know of getting the song would be to buy the soundtrack CD.