Longish (for CNN.com) interview with Sean Astin.

Also - can this be right? I read that today is the premier of RotK in Japan. Seems a bit...late. Is it because it takes them so long to translate it for sub titles?

Well, I saw somewhere else that the premiere in India was delayed. . . let me see if I can find that story.

In India, they aren't getting RotK until February 6.

In India, they aren't getting RotK until February 6.

That's understandable, it will take that long to splice in the musical numbers.

Phew! Finally, after taking a two-week vacation right after the premiere of the movie, and catching up with work and life afterewards, I make it to the end of the thread. Yea me!

Saw the movie for the second time last Friday - still showing in a stadium theater, but the small one, and only one screen. Must have been 15 people at the 9:00 PM showing.

The movie's pacing improved on the second viewing for me - maybe because I was looking for details missed the first time round, rather than anticipating the story.

The scene at the Grey Havens still broke me, and the rest of the people in the theater. I think that scene is almost perfect (the scale doubles do jar a little). The score for that section just keeps going through my mind.

I can't wait to have any copy of the DVD, just so I can revel in the lighting of the beacons. As others noted, it was mentioned in the books, but almost as a throwaway. PJ's genious lies in his realizing what an awesome visual that could be. It sure surpassed by own visualization of it.

I try not to get my hopes up for the Oscars, but I know I won't be able to help myself. I still have the feeling that ROTK will get jobbed, though. It's the 1982 race all over again ( E.T. lost to Ghandi that year).

Oh, and way back, someone mentioned that Arwen's sword once belonged to Idril, Elrond's grandmother through Elwing. Grandmother, yes, but through Earendil. Idril (daughter of Turgon) married Tuor, and they had Earendil, Elrond's father (and Aragorn's very distant forefather). Elwing, Earendil's wife, was Beren and Luthien's granddaughter through Dior and Nimloth.

t (had to show my Tolkien geek creds).

Mejia outgeeks us all.

That's understandable, it will take that long to splice in the musical numbers.

Tom, I would pay CASH MONEY to see this version of the movie. Belly-dancing, funny hand-motions, sung-flirting and all.

Although I read the trilogy and The Hobbit in my teens and early 20s, it's taken me, the visually-oriented person I am, until now to realize that McCaffrey's watchfires at the dragonless weyrs in Dragonquest, the first of the Pern books, and Robin McKinley's bridleless Hill horses in The Blue Sword both owe origins to Lord of the Rings.

I can't wait to have any copy of the DVD, just so I can revel in the lighting of the beacons. As others noted, it was mentioned in the books, but almost as a throwaway. PJ's genious lies in his realizing what an awesome visual that could be. It sure surpassed by own visualization of it.

I loved this moment too, except I made the mistake of reading two reviews that mention this scene specifically with rapturous praise. So as it's happening I'm thinking, "well, there it is. Big grand gesture. Sure is impressive. Just like they said." It was ruined for me.

During my first viewing, all I could think during that scene was "That must be the crappiest job in the world." Luckily I found that I could appreciate it more on the second viewing.

I read all the reviews, as well, so I knew that this scene was going to be great, but what made it work for me was the music, which I was already familiar with from having had the soundtrack in continual replay on my car's stereo. After having worn out "The Steward of Gondor" track by the end of November, my favorite track on December 16th just happened to be "The White Tree." I had had it in my head that the track would go along with Gandalf arriving in Minas Tirith, so the big surprise of the beacon scene was the music, which swept me along into the sequence.