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Answer: Because Sauron doesn't consider them any sort of threat, unlike the races of Men, Elves and Dwarves. He only gave the rings to the races he was worried about.

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Answer: It's quiet and a little muffled, but he does say "Go away".

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Chosen answer: He was offered an extremely lucrative deal to play Gandalf, but turned it down as he didn't want to spend eighteen months in New Zealand making a film that he stated he "didn't understand".

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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.

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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.

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Answer: (1) The Nazgul goes off to investigate the noise, giving the hobbits more than enough time to run in the other direction. Do bear in mind that the Nazgul doesn't actually know that they're there, so he's not going to be looking back - he's focused on whatever he heard elsewhere. (2) It's only the Witch-King who "no living man can kill", not the others. And even if they can't be completely destroyed by Aragorn, he can still injure them enough to immobilise them, leaving them stuck. Far better to escape and leave themselves with the possibility of catching up later, than getting badly injured and allowing the Ring to get away. (3) They don't follow the hobbits on the ferry because the Brandywine river is deep and they'd simply get swept away. When they're chasing Arwen, that particular river is very shallow at that point, allowing their horses to pass largely unhindered (at least until Arwen does her thing).

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Answer: In the book, Frodo's departure is much less rushed - it takes him several months to depart rather than leaving the same night. Merry and Pippin, being among his closest friends, help him pack and so are with him right from the start of the journey. In the film, the timeframe has been considerably compressed for dramatic reasons, so things are much less organised - as such, it became necessary for Frodo and Sam to encounter Merry and Pippin along the way. They're still intended to be friends, but the depth of that friendship is less clear.

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Answer: Any hostile confrontation between Elrond and Isildur, as would be required to stop Isildur from leaving, would invariably grow into a fight between the remaining human and elven forces, something that Elrond would not want to risk. Better to let him leave, then monitor the situation, looking for a chance to get the Ring away from him safely.

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Answer: In most cases, it's not been established. The only Nazgul to have been named by Tolkien, Khamul, was a king of the Men of the East (also known as the Easterlings), who fought for Sauron in the War. Tolkien also states that three of the Nazgul were of the Numenorean race but precisely who they were and where their realms might have been have never been revealed.

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Answer: Essentially, yes, although much of it was actually inspired by the death of Cameron Duncan, a young filmmaker who was a friend of the cast and crew.

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Answer: They're best friends, partners in mischief and so forth. Merry probably started out acting in an older brother-type capacity (being eight years Pippin's senior), and, as we see, still frequently gets exasperated by the younger hobbit's actions, but neither would ever choose to be without the other.

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Answer: Tolkien never mentions Thranduil's wife, mother to Legolas - whether this is meant to imply that she has died, or gone into the West is an open question. He also never mentions any siblings.

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Answer: They're very minor characters in the books - there'd be little point in having them in the film unless there was a good reason. The filmmakers have made something of an effort to remove minor characters - the decision to use Arwen to rescue Frodo after Weathertop, rather than Glorfindel from the books, would be an example of this. In storytelling terms, Elladan and Elrohir serve no purpose, hence their non-appearance.

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Answer: Gil-galad and Isildur were played by Mark Ferguson and Harry Sinclair respectively. Why would they be mentioned - Gil-galad appears in about one shot and Isildur appears for a few minutes at the beginning and has only one line (and even that is actually voiced by Hugo Weaving). They're very minor characters - when there are so many larger characters to deal with, no reason to include them. As for Hugo Weaving, who knows - maybe he wasn't available, or preferred not to be interviewed for some reason. You have to remember that despite his part being important, he's not actually on-screen all that much during the trilogy, certainly compared to many of the other characters.

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Answer: If it's the one I think you mean, it's called "Gothic Power" by Christopher Field. I found it quite easily online.

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Chosen answer: Orcs aren't the nicest creatures, no, but they will follow orders - presumably Sauron, for reasons of his own, wanted Gollum alive. Remember that it's never really made clear whether Gollum was set loose or he escaped. If it's the former, then Sauron must have some use for Gollum - most probably he figured that it wouldn't hurt having another agent out there looking for the Ring. If it's the latter, then Gollum simply broke out before the Orcs had a chance to kill him.

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Answer: Aragorn was indeed brought up at Rivendell. His father, Arathorn, was slain by orcs when Aragorn was only two years old, so his mother, Gilraen, brought him to Rivendell and placed him under Elrond's protection in order to keep him safe until he came of age. Gilraen died in 3007, just over a decade before the War of the Ring, and was buried in Rivendell - her grave is seen in the Extended Edition of the film.

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Answer: Middle-Earth extends into the east for a considerable distance. The Easterlings live there, often referred to as Men of Darkness, who fought for both Dark Lords in their times. As such, most people chose not to go there, so it's rarely discussed in the chronicles of the Western lands. Even the well-travelled Gandalf never entered those lands, although Saruman did, along with two of the other wizards (who ultimately remained there). Aragorn visited briefly, and Sauron used the lands as a refuge for some centuries. The elves originated in the East, and it's likely that some still live there, as do four of the seven dwarven tribes.

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Chosen answer: Actually they are shown in the movie. Goblins is simply a term used for the smaller breeds of Orc that tend to inhabit the subterranean places like Moria. They tend to be somewhat more intelligent and cunning than their larger siblings, to compensate for their lesser strength - a trait that Saruman and Sauron took advantage of when creating their warrior Orc breeds, the ones referred to as Uruk-Hai. Despite their physical and intellectual differences, all three, Orcs, Uruk-Hai and Goblins, are the same species.

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Chosen answer: As the crow flies, it's approximately one thousand miles. This would be roughly a five hour flight in a Cessna light aircraft - a Boeing 747 at standard cruising speed would cover it in about an hour and a half.

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