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The title says it all. Were the characters and locations from the movie the exact same thing that you were imagining when you have read the book and you are now completely intact to it? Or you still have your own mental images and interpretations of how the characters and locations should have looked like?

As much as I learned to love Elijah as Frodo when I really finished the movie and was persuaded that he portrayed him excellently, my picture of him before I saw the movie was not a teenage heartthrob. I was picturing someone a little less...adorable, I suppose. And older.

On the other hand, Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen & Christopher Lee matched my imagination of Galadriel, Gandalf & Saruman perfectly, so I sort of "copied" them in my image.

John Rhys-Davies as Gimli is perfect with his looks as Gimli but his personality was quite changed, but, hey! I don't mind.

Sean Bean IS Boromir. Actually, I liked the way the film depicted Boromir's fall and forgiveness much better than the book's. It is one of the few places where I thought the movie enhanced the story. Perhaps this is because Boromir's death has been moved to the end of FOTR rather than being lost in the opening of TTT. It has become dramatically more focused and provided vivid evidence of how powerful the Ring is.

Movie Legolas (with all the drooling) may have permanently, I fear, destroyed any interest I had in the book character. I mean, he's alright in FOTR and I actually liked him in it, but after TTT and ROTK, I actually saw Orlando Bloom, not Legolas. (if you know what I mean) *shrugs*

Aragorn..kinda..yeah I suppose. He's kinda close to what I pictured him to be.

Arwen. I loved Liv playing her. She had the magical and ethereal beauty in her. Though I admit I never really thought about Arwen's appearance before because she was hardly in the book.

The places..those were perfect. Lothlorien, Imladris, The Shire, Moria, Rohan, Gondor, Mordor. Just..perfect. New Zealand IS Middle-earth.

I will go over the others later. It's late at night.

I must admit that all the images I have of the characters in my head resemble the actors, but only loosely. For example, Meriadoc, I picture him to be very different - to have chiseled features, and a nose much like Billy Boyd's. Whereas Pippin, I picture as also being different - although still resembling Billy Boyd, he looks a lot younger with darker eyes and a very different accent.

But also, because I have read so many fanfiction stories concerning hobbits and their homes, I find that I have built up my own pictures of the people and places.

And as you said shadowy, I'm afraid that film Legolas has kind of spoilt it for me. I much prefer book Legolas I'm afraid so sorry Orlando fans.

Moria I thought was very good in the films, although I wish the had made it so that the chamber and the guard room were separate places instead, like in the books.

Minis Tirith I thought was good, although nothing like I had pictured it to be. I imagined it to be very different, and a little larger too on each level.

And, as you said, shadowy - Sean Bean IS Boromir. No doubt about it.

And now, we get to Elijah Wood as Frodo. I have mixed feelings about this. I mean, he was utterly fantastic, a brilliant actor, but I just feel that PJ was concentrating more on the teenage appeal when he did this rather than the resilience of Frodo. There is no doubt that Frodo is less strong in the films - PJ has put real emphasis on the whole 'angst ridden hobbit' thing, but I stick to what I've always said: Frodo is very different in the films, but still bloody brilliant

Let's face it, we ALL know Sean Bean nailed down that Boromir part 100%...

Yes Sean was definately Boromir, and no one could replace him!

Legolas....yeah I'm going to have to imagne him now. To my dismay....

I can extremely debate on Celeborn because he was like......a zombie in the movie......

Cate stays, yes, she IS Galadriel.

Arwen would have to stay yeah...

Gimli yes, definately.......

I'm basically happ with the casting except for Celeborn.....

Thats different... I mostly kept my own images, but for some characters, like Galadriel, Saruman and Boromir, I kept the movie ones, while Frodo or Legolas (without that name... only the son of Thranduil for me...) are totally different characters in the movie and in the book, like two persons, and if I read about them I see my own images, not PJs... same for Saurons Eye which I never thought of as a real red eye hanging over Barad-dur.

movie people mostly


although when the spies from dunland pass overhead...the book description was totally different




oh well i can still imagine beren, luthien, melkor,turin,beleg...etc etc

There is no mistaking Gandalf and Saruman the way PJ depicted them, since it is close to how Tolkien described them in the book. How else can you imagine a wizard. But Ian and Christopher Lee portrayed them excellently as did Sean Bean's Boromir. Unlike the book, he gave Boromir's character life and deep emotion. As for the hobbits, I pictured them differently in the book, not so cute. I kept picturing a much older Frodo and a thicker Sam. Merry seemed a little intense, when he was talking to Treebeard in the movie...Since the movie came out, it's hard to not think of the actors face and persona when rereading LotR.

in the book boromir didnt exactly...say much did he

No not exactly...except maybe, "Curse you halflings!"

boromir in the book

give me the ring elrond
i will go too























cure the halflings






ACK! <<<dying groan

lol...I tried to take the ring...I have paid...Go to Minas Tirith...

ack - cough - ohhh - ack - cough - ohhh

*will this man not die already*

OH BOROMIR YOU HAVE NOT DIED IN VAIN

actually im alive


OH BE SILENT...DIE IN PEACE

actualy i think im gonna make it


I WILL GO ON AHEAD IN YOUR HONOUR!

no really im fine look

NOOOOOO POOR BOROMIR

IM ALIVE!!!!

LETS GO FELLOWSHIP! reclaim merry and pippin so boromir is not wholly departed form our minds!

*runs off*

ill just..wait, here....then?

30000 years later

A host of Dwarfs walk buy,
"oh look, a body, you think it was an orc?"
"maybe, lets take some pictures!"

they come back after the ring is destroyed

this is the tree where boromir fell!

*old bearded man appears*

iiiiimmmm hhhheeeeerrrrreeee


oh his body is still there! no-one has had rspect and buried the hero of gondor

im here and not underground because im alive!!

*puts him in boat and into the river....goes over waterfall*

*drifts up*

yoooouuuu bbbbaaaasssstttttaaaarrrrrrdddddssss

YOU BASTARDS!

on way bak from mordor remaining fellowship decide to stop off at a stream near Osgiliath.

"hey look, i know him, what his name, Lendhimhere? AH! Boromir! Thats it"

Thank god u found me Frodo, ive been here a year now eating nothing but bits of grass and my own beautiful hair, LOOK AT MY HAIr! LOOK AT MY HAir!

"oh my god! ARAGORN, THE GHOST OF BOROMIR IS HAUNTING US AGAIN"

*aragorn runs up*

"you! i cant beleve u wont leave us alone!"

Im not dead!

"back, back i say! leave us alone and i will hold ur alleginace fulfilled, what say you!"

IM ALIIIVVVVEEEEEE!!

lol! You're almost as good as Lordy in making those...stories...

nooo, no one can beat my Dark Lord, unless you're a hobbit with hairy feet and just happen to have his One Ring of Power...

*his beard is all white*

gandalf: oh hello frodo...ellessar...OH MY GOD ITS SARUMAN!!!!!!!!!!!! *magics and boromir flies from side to side*

i am now stuck with the images of elijah and co. but if i bend my will this way and that way i can alter the images and make new ones of my own accord...its a skill only the wise can master with much practice.

so how come you got it??

grrr.....*pulls out hammer*


(hey why is there a baby in ur sig??? )

its brodie!

he is like the ultimate baby...and is going to marry my cousin to be who is just currently a foetus

awww he looks just like you....

is he ur baby? what relation? ur 14? you have a baby? well that cool..?..

It's White Lady's baby...Lordy's just the babysitter...

ow *feels stupid*

i got it now....anyone else had a baby? My cosin had one and she named her taylor,(wouldn't take my babyname advice e.g. melkor, luthien, sauron)

Lol ok
now Im stuck with this version


And especially with "DOOOOOM" and "ITS SARUMAN"

dooooooommmm!!!


i will take the ring

why were gonna die anyway littleman

what its not like elrond is the most positive elf is it!

when i read the book I always think as frodo as older but i still think on parts of it "Elijah " everyone else I see as them these people did such a great job that its hard not to think of them as who they played

Yes, I have my own images about the Fellowship, I imaged Frodo a little bit different and in fact , I thought that they were suppose to be a llitle bit fatter and with huge feet. And Legolas, I never thought of him so beautiful as in the movie I'm glad that I read the Lord of the Rings book, or the three books before watching each movie

Yes, me too, because at the beginning says that he is 33

A lot of things I still picture as the actors and probably always will (especially in parts of the book that were quoted in the movie), but there are also lots of artists who I love and also imagine many of the places/people the way they portray them. So it's mostly just a nice mix

i read the books after i saw fotr, so a lot of the images stuck with me from the movie, i thin that everyone looked their part and played them with such a depth, and faramir and boromir look like they could be related!

IT'S SARUMANNN!!! lol, sauron wins