Tailkinker

Chosen answer: The Elves of Lothlorien are not happy that the Ring has been brought to their land - their initial reaction is not to allow them to pass, just to send them packing. Ultimately, they relent and decide to help, allowing them into the depths of the realm, and the order is given to bring the Fellowship before Galadriel and Celeborn. This was cut from the theatrical release for time reasons, so we get Haldir insisting that they follow him immediately. In the extended cut, we see much more of the elven reluctance to let them pass and the effect that it has on the Fellowship - the scene where Aragorn has to argue their case to Haldir, while Frodo sees the other members of the group looking at him in what he feels is an almost accusatory fashion, as they know that it's the Ring that he carries that is causing the problems - enhancing Frodo's increasing feeling of isolation. Eventually, the order is given, and Haldir does indeed do an about-face, as he switches from telling them that they cannot pass to ordering the Fellowship to go with him.

Tailkinker ★

Chosen answer: Well, Arwen in the books really doesn't do a great deal - she's an extremely minor character. The first reason for increasing her role was simply to remove some of the myriad other characters from the book - for example, the elf Glorfindel, who, in the book, is the one who brings Frodo to Rivendell, then never appears again. Considering the sheer number of characters in the tale, it makes a certain sense to combine them occasionally. The second reason, and why they chose to use Arwen at this point, is that it fleshes out her character a bit, giving us a glimpse of her strength and power and allowing us to get a better glimpse at her relationship with Aragorn, making it clearer why he would love her. It has also given the tale another strong female character, which, yes, isn't bad for marketing purposes, but that consideration wasn't the primary reason for doing so.

Tailkinker ★

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.

Tailkinker ★

Answer: Nope. Had Legolas been present, they would undoubtedly have given his character greater prominence than just one closeup. Tolkien never gave Legolas a specific date of birth, but the implication is that he was not born at the time. Peter Jackson has also mentioned an assumed age for Legolas that backs this up.

Tailkinker ★

Answer: Easterlings are men, and Khamul was presumably one of their kings. Simple.

Tailkinker ★

Answer: Gollum was already in Moria, hiding out after escaping from elven captivity. Note that Gandalf tells the Fellowship that Moria will take four days to pass through, then, later, tells Frodo that Gollum's been following them for three days. At that point, they're very close to the exit, so Gollum must have picked up their trail after they entered Moria - ergo, he was already there.

Tailkinker ★

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.

Tailkinker ★

Answer: You're right, it's not Weathertop - looks totally different and completely the wrong direction. The Fellowship are heading south at this point, parallel to the Misty Mountains, so they're most probably in the land of Eregion, which, as a trivia point, is where all the Rings (other than the One Ring) were forged. Eregion and its largely Elven population were destroyed by Sauron during the Second Age, thousands of years prior to the War of the Ring - no placenames from that era are known, and the region is still largely uninhabited. The ruins that they pass are most likely the remains of some sort of outpost - it looks too small to be an actual settlement.

Tailkinker ★

Answer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/newline/lord_of_the_rings/.

Tailkinker ★

Answer: In the books, Bilbo becomes the oldest hobbit that ever lived at the age of 131. In the books, Frodo is fifty - but the main events of the storyline occur seventeen years after Bilbo's birthday party. In the film, the gap is unstated, but seems to be less than a year, so the film Frodo is probably intended to be in his early-to-mid thirties, considered a young adult in hobbit terms.

Tailkinker ★

Answer: An original score was the only thing ever considered.

Tailkinker ★