What would YOU ask Tolkien?

[Kennashi]

I would, of course, ask the all-important question: "Do balrogs have wings?" This may sound incredibly cliché, but it's the most ridiculous debate I have ever heard in my entire life, and I just would've liked it to be settled.

But what about you guys?

[Valandil]

I would want to sit and have a long chat with him about the Northern Dunedain. :)

[ecthelion]

We really need to get the Tom Bombadil thing cleared out.
:mad:

But he wouldn't answer.
:(

[Varnafindë]

Was Fëanor evil?

(Btw, I don't think he was. He was a few other bad things, but not evil as such.
But it would have been interesting to see a yes or no answer from the Professor.)

[Jon S.]

Because the rest of you are already asking many of the questions I'd like to have answers to as well, it gives me the liberty to ask, "A lot of people who have never met you but claim to know exactly what you think have invoked your name in commenting on the Jackson films. Help us set the record straight - what do you think of them?"

EDIT: As this is not per se a "book" question, I might add, "Do you understand and are you bothered or copacetic with the character, dialog, and plot changes between the films and book?"

[Gordis]

Because the rest of you are already asking many of the questions I'd like to have answers to as well, it gives me the liberty to ask, "A lot of people who have never met you but claim to know exactly what you think have invoked your name in commenting on the Jackson films. Help us set the record straight - what do you think of them?"

Tolkien has answered this question in a quite unambiguous fashion in his letter about Zimmerman's script. I have never seen another Tolkien letter so steeped in venom as this one.
I feel very unhappy about the extreme silliness and incompetence of Z and his complete lack of respect for the original (it seems willfully wrong without discernible technical reasons at nearly every point).#208
If Z and/or others do so, they may be irritated or aggrieved by the tone of many of my criticisms. If so, I am sorry (though not surprised). But I would ask them to make an effort of imagination sufficient to understand the irritation (and on occasion the resentment) of an author, who finds, increasingly as he proceeds, his work treated as it would seem carelessly in general, in places recklessly, and with no evident signs of any appreciation of what it is all about. ....#210
And now PJ has made exactly the same mistakes or worse...:rolleyes:

[Olmer]

Oh, you are right, he answered the question:he was unhappy, all right, but he did not mind the alterations as long as it brings money.
I feel very unhappy about the extreme silliness and incompetence of Z and his complete lack of respect for the original (it seems willfully wrong without discernible technical reasons at nearly every point).But I need, and shall soon need very much indeed, money, and I am conscious of your rights and interests; so I shall endeavour to restrain myself, and avoid all avoidable offence. #207
Concidering an enormous revenue from the movie and accompanied mechandise and media, a huge promotion of his book, a surge of interest in all his work, he would be worshipping PJ.:D

[Gordis]

Nay he wouldn't be. He would pocket the money, but still he would feel frustrated.:rolleyes:

[Jon S.]

With due respect, seems to me y'all's reasoning on this issue are clouded by your personal judgments which lead to indefensible presuming and projecting. Your positions seem to be that because Tolkien objected to changes in script A it may be automatically presumed he would also reject changes in script B. That cannot be presumed. Even if some of the changes in both were absolutely identical (never having personally read the Z script, I wouldn't know), it cannot be presumed that an objection to a change in context A would be continued to the same change in a completely different context.

In any event, the OP's question was, "What would YOU ask Tolkien." I appreciate that some here cannot resist providing their own answers ;) but I would be interested in the Professor's (which I don't know), not yours (which, believe me, I already know by now!).

[Jon S.]

>> his work treated as it would seem carelessly in general, in places recklessly, and with no evident signs of any appreciation of what it is all about. ....

Dear Prof. Tolkien,

Now that you've had an opportunity to view and listen to both the 3 EEs themselves and the additional DVDs in which the screenwriters, director, and actors explain their thinking behind some of the changes to your original book, taking it all into account, what did you think of the films?

Jon S.

P.S. [ ;) to Olmer] Oh, and here's your check.

[Gordis]

Oh, and here's your check.

Dear Sir,
I was endeavouring to restrain myself, but now I have to ask: Where is the rest of the money the New Line has promised me?
Sincerely,
JRR Tolkien


:D:D:D

[The Gaffer]

Who can hold their drink best amongst the Inklings?

[Kennashi]

Gordis, you haven't told us what your question would be.:)

[Jon S.]

Dear Sir,
I was endeavouring to restrain myself, but now I have to ask: Where is the rest of the money the New Line has promised me?
Sincerely,
JRR Tolkien


:D:D:D
LOL!!! :D

[Gordis]

Gordis, you haven't told us what your question would be.:)

Need you ask?;)

"Tell us EVERYTHING about the Nazgul ... ugh.. I mean.. please!" :D

[Olmer]

Dear Sir,
I was endeavouring to restrain myself, but now I have to ask: Where is the rest of the money the New Line has promised me?
Sincerely,
JRR Tolkien:D:D:D
http://s.rimg.info/5589e3c376570bd81db2121ff5a8583d.gif
Way to go, Gordis! What are you trying to achieve by making us ROFL?

[Gordis]

Way to go, Gordis! What are you trying to achieve by making us ROFL?

An easy way to sweep the floor?:D

[The Dread Pirate Roberts]

If he were alive today I'd certainly have to ask: Professor Tolkien, how did you manage to live to more than 116 years of age?

[Ingwe]

Professor Tolkien, do you have detailed maps of the far east and far south of Middle Earth including the Dark Land and oh, who exactly is Tom Bombadil and where is he now, oh and even more questions, who are the current descendants of the Dunedain (as it was said, Luthian's line would never end and that likely includes them), and where may I find the Hobbits as I would love to smoke pipe weed with them, tell me where I may find the Ents and Dwarves, the most mysterious of all life as it feels urgent to me to learn their languages and of course find the four clans of Dwarves in the Far East (despite what is said of our opinion of the Dwarves, this Elf thinks Dwarves are elite!) and lastly, are YOU Tom Bombadil? I always wanted to ask the eastern Dwarves how they sent their lords so far to Eregion to receive their rings, whether it was by pony or by something else and what better person than THE MAN himself! God forbid the Dwarves trekked all that way on foot!

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I would, of course, ask the all-important question: "Do balrogs have wings?" This may sound incredibly cliché, but it's the most ridiculous debate I have ever heard in my entire life, and I just would've liked it to be settled.

But what about you guys?

You realise the debate would still not be settled, don't you? :p

[Kennashi]

:DWhy do you say that?

[Gordis]

I always wanted to ask the eastern Dwarves how they sent their lords so far to Eregion to receive their rings, whether it was by pony or by something else and what better person than THE MAN himself! God forbid the Dwarves trekked all that way on foot!
But why would they come to Eregion at all? Sauron had obtained the Seven Rings in SA 1697 and then was defeated and returned to Mordor. It was from there that he distributed the Rings - and we are never told how long it took for all the Seven Dwarf Lords to get "ringed". Maybe it was Sauron himself who traveled to the far-away Dwarven mansions, maybe he sent nazgul-messengers with the gifts (if it happened after the nazgul had arisen in SA 2251). But I don't think the Dwarf-lords had to travel themselves.:)

[Earniel]

What would I ask? Possibly, when I finally would have stopped stammering, I'd ask for more information of the Falathrim. Their own specific customs, demographics, songs, boat building, just how the ferrying of tired Elves in the third age was organised, and how Cirdan managed to be about the only first Aera lord to survive into the third. That sort of things.

[Gordis]

I'd ask for more information of the Falathrim. Their own specific customs, demographics, songs, boat building, just how the ferrying of tired Elves in the third age was organised.

And don't forget to ask the price of the ticket to the Paradise Island.;)

[sisterandcousinandaunt]

I'd ask him, "What is your favorite memory of your children, each of them?"

[Earniel]

And don't forget to ask the price of the ticket to the Paradise Island.;)
I dunno. Alqualondë sounds like a pretty nifty place, but I don't really like one-way tickets. I think Mithlond would suit me just fine.

Oh wait, you're referring to that idea of Olmer that they had to pay big time to be ferried over, right? :p

[Gordis]

Oh wait, you're referring to that idea of Olmer that they had to pay big time to be ferried over, right? :p
Right.:p

[Nautipus]

http://entmoot.com/showthread.php?t=8548

Looks like something similar to this has been done....

Oh, well. Off, and on to better things.:D

[Kennashi]

Damn. I guess someone can go ahead and close this thread now...

[BeardofPants]

Wow, I completely forgot that I started that thread. :p

'Tis old enough now, to move onto newer threads though. ;)

[Earniel]

No worries, the other thread is old. Threads are only merged when there are two of the same topic active at the same time. Usually I count back to six months or when both are on the front page. Considering the other was last posted in like three years ago, there's no reason now to merge. ;)

[Nautipus]

Damn. I guess someone can go ahead and close this thread now...

No worries, man. It was just funny is all.
Keep on a'postin'!:D

[Earniel]

Another question I would consider asking when given the chance (although I know the answer is probably no) is: Nîn-In-Eilph, the place gets but one throw-away mention in LoTR, but struck my fancy nevertheless. It's supposed to be a reedy swamp, but with swans. Could there be Elves living as well?

[Mari]

I would want to know if he "lived" in his books. And how much he learned from writing his books.

[ringbearer]

I would ask him if he believed all this really happened. I think he did. that is why the stories are so well written and treated as if they were history!

[Zilbanne]

If I could be in a comfortable sitting room with J.R.R. himself ... After falling on my knees before him or bowing low like a Hobbit over and over for a ridiculously silly length of time... I would ask ...

" How many years of your life did you live in Middle Earth sir? And did you really mean to leave it and travel across the water just to bring us Bilbo's and Frodo's books? "

And importantly.... " Did Treebeard and the other ents ever meet with the entwives again? Are there any new little entings once again who are learning the lists with the lines regarding hobbits included? "


New entings would be my fondest hope! There are so many trees in the world that need looking after!


****zilbanne

[Jon S.]

My take remains that it's warrantless to project Tolkien's view of the Zimmerman script onto Jackson's movies. First off, the scripts are different. Secondly, if you have read a movie script alone you know it's just one part of the movie equation. An incredibly important part, admittedly, but there is also the directing, acting, scenery, costumes, choreography, soundtrack, and much much more.