Question: I never understood why the Elf contingent arriving at Helm's Deep was led by Haldir, the marchwarden for Galadiel and Lothlorien. But he brought greetings from Elrond of Rivendell, who wasn't really the equal of Galadriel. Did Rivendell have troops that Lothlorien didn't? And yet, there were plenty of armed Elves as the Fellowsip arrived in Lothlorien in FotR.
Chosen answer: Haldir brings the message from Elrond, who is very much Galadriel's equal, that they fight in honour of the earlier alliance - Elrond fought in that alliance, while Galadriel didn't, so it makes sense that the message would be from him. The elven forces have been sent from Lorien for the simple reason that it's much closer to Rohan - they also don't have to cross the Misty Mountains, which would be a serious problem for any group sent from Rivendell.
Question: In an earlier question someone asked about Brego and said it was Eomund's horse. Eowyn says that it was her cousin's horse. I thought Theodred was her cousin not Eomund. Is that true?
Answer: You're correct - Theodred, who rode Brego before his death, is Eowyn's cousin. Eomund is her late father, who married Theodwyn, King Theoden's sister.
Question: I think that it was excluded from the UK Extended DVD, but does anyone know where I can find 'Gollum's Acceptance Speech' on the web? It was the awards ceremony for the MTV Movie awards.
Answer: http://www.pinwire.com/downloads-file-9.html. Failing that, a Google search ought to turn it up.
Question: I was wondering if anyone knew where I could find the Gollum's song video clip, NOT the one with Two Towers clips in it, there's another proper video clip with a guy and a girl running away from a man with a knife which I found once by chance and can't find it anymore. Does anyone have a link to it?
Answer: I think I found it. Here's the link: http://www.drawntothefire.com/general.html.
Question: What is Gollum? I thought he was supposed to have once been a hobbit but what happened to him?
Answer: He was indeed a hobbit, probably of the Stoor sub-race. After the finding of the Ring, he fell under its influence and he took it. The Ring kept him alive, prolonging his life far beyond the norm (he's around 500 years old at the time of the films). His physical change is related to the Ring - the precise mechanism is unclear, but it's most likely due to repeated exposure to the wraithworld that parallels our own; wearers of the Ring are transported at least partially into that world, rendering them invisible in ours. The same process happened with the kings who became the Nazgul.
Question: In the extra features on the DVD, Peter Jackson states that they had to use the rocky landscape for the plains of Rohan because New Zealand doesn't have any plains. What then is the area in front of Minas Tirith? It seems like very extensive plains. Is it all effects?
Answer: Some of it is CG, but some of it is real plains, trouble is they couldn't use the same plains for Gondor and Rohan, they wouldn't be distinguishable enough from each other.
Question: Why is Brego, Eomund's horse, upset in the scene where Aragorn first meets him? Is he upset because Eomund is dead?
Answer: That would seem like a pretty plausible answer, yes. Brego's been in the middle of what was close to a massacre, with men (including his master) and presumably other horses cut down around him - enough to upset anyone.
Question: At the beginning, when Frodo and Sam capture Gollum, when they have the rope around his neck, Gollum screams "It burns us! It freezes!" What does he mean by that? Is the rope just annoying him, or is it actually causing him some sort of pain? I mean, it can't be choking him because the rope isn't tight around his neck. What does the book say about this?
Chosen answer: The rope is elven made, it seems that anything the elves made causes him pain. In the extended edition, he almost chokes when he tries to eat Elven lembas bread. Sort of a metaphor that he's so foul that even the fair can harm him rather than help him.
Question: I've heard that the short film that Sean Astin directed in Wellington would be included on the Two Towers DVD. I know it's on the regular version, but I have the extended edition and I haven't been able to find it. Is it an easter egg, or did they just not include it?
Answer: It's only on the theatrical version.
Question: When the Rohirrum surround Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn, Eomer gets offended when Gimli says, "Give me your line, horsemaster, and I'll give ya mine." In the book, Gimli says that Eomer has little wit which causes him to reply by saying the bit about Gimli's height. Why didn't Peter Jackson leave that line in. It would have made much more sense as to why Eomer lost his temper.
Answer: It's actually 'give me your name, horsemaster...' but that's beside the point... The 'little wit' comment was made as a direct result of Eomer being dismissive of Galadriel, and Gimli firing up in her defence ('you speak evil of that which is fair beyond reach of your thought, and only little wit can excuse you') - for reasons of simplicity, and not making the scene overlong and complicated, PJ & co decided to have the tension between Gimli and Eomer based simply on pride.
Question: In the Warg battle, Aragorn accidentally falls over a cliff and doesn't return to Helm's Deep until much later, when everyone believes he is dead. This doesn't occur in the book (in fact, neither does the Warg battle, but I can see why the battle was added, to spruce up an otherwise boring scene). Can anyone explain what benefit Aragorn's accident had to the storyline?
Answer: This was done to add to the tension; in part for the audience, but in larger part for the characters. As Peter Jackson said, when asked about this issue, those who have read the books know what happens to Aragorn throughout the story, and will not think for a second that he truly has perished in the river, but for some viewers coming new to the whole thing, this adds some tension for them... more importantly, though, we see the reactions of the characters; they grieve for Aragorn as if they will not see him again, and even though we know otherwise - perhaps, in part, beCAUSE we know otherwise - we are sympathetic to that. It also serves to highlight the friendship, the true fellowship, that existed amongst them. Finally, PJ also said that he didn't want the whole journey to seem too easy; the heroes just wading through every battle felling enemies and not getting a scratch themselves; he wanted to show that they were vulnerable.
Question: Do any elves (obviously apart from Legolas) survive the battle for Helm's Deep?
Answer: During the ride forth, there's what appears to be another elf in the group, only really visible in the shot on the causeway - originally, this was Arwen, but there's been some work done to alter her - still looks like an elf, though. Other than that, it's not specifically shown, but there were certainly other survivors who remained behind, presumably to hold off the Uruk-Hai while the woman and children escaped into the mountains. It seems very likely that there would have been some elves among that number.
Question: Forgive me for being stupid, but what's the point about Sam's salt box in the extended cut? Was it originally going to be Galadriel's gift to Sam (he receives one in the book) and then they changed it? That part seems a little useless to me as it is.
Answer: It's to show that he's still holding on to something from home, that he still has hope for their mission. Peter Jackson mentions this on the commentary. He was always intended to get rope from Galadriel.
Question: What is the relationship between Grima Wormtongue and Saruman? Also, what being does Grima represent and why is he poisoning Theoden's mind? Is he the same race as Saruman and Gandalf?
Chosen answer: Grima is human - he acts as Saruman's agent in Theoden's court. He keeps Theoden weak (using what appears to be a combination of drugs and Saruman's sorcery) to make it easier for Saruman to influence him, and therefore effectively neuter the military power of Rohan.
Question: They appear entering the Black Gates in the film, but what happened to the Men of Rhun (Easterlings) after this? They did not appear again. Also, what happened to the Wildmen after their meeting with Saruman?
Chosen answer: The Easterlings were most likely used in one of Sauron's other assaults, on Lorien or the dwarven kingdom of Erebor in the north. They also appear in the third movie, charging into Minas Tirith after the trolls. As for the Wildmen, Saruman seems to consider them to be expendable troops - sending them into Rohan to destroy villages, crops and so forth. Most likely they would have fallen at the hands of Rohirrim troops - they would, however, have taken some of those warriors with them, weakening Rohan as a whole for the later Uruk-Hai assault.
Answer: On the soundtrack, the song is called "The Uruk-hai". Track 5 on the soundtrack.