Arwen

[easygreen]

I don't think Liv Tyler is beautiful enough to be Arwen Undomiel. My brother and I downloaded the trailer, and when Arwen came on my brother said, "Legolas!"

Gene Tierney circa 1944-45 would've been almost right -- darkhaired, grey-eyed, pale, a remote and almost catlike beauty. Very stunningly gorgeous in _Leave Her to Heaven_ (1945).

There aren't any Gene Tierneys around nowadays, least they aren't working in the movies. Still, I imagine PJ could've done a lot better than Ms. Tyler.

[bmilder]

I dunno. Make-up and costumes can work wonders ;) .

Plus, if rumors are true, Arwen will have a lot of fighting scenes so she can't be all feminine.

[etherealunicorn]

I agree that Liv doesn't seem lovely enough to play Arwen, but perhaps we will be pleasantly surprised. If an American actress is to be used, personally I think that either Catherine Zeta-Jones or Ashley Judd have the required beauty for the part, but no one in casting asked for my opinion. I still think that it might have been wiser to use unknown actors across the board. Less risk of associating them with prior works. I just hope that it goes well.

[IronParrot]

I'm really wondering how PJ is pulling this Arwen thing off...

[Eruve]

When I first heard Liv Tyler was cast as Arwen, I looked up a pic of her, and I thought to myself "THIS is supposed to represent the most beautiful woman since Luthien?" I couldn't see it and still can't. I know there are men who find her beautiful. What do I know? I'm a woman... I can't think of anyone who fits this bill. (But then I don't sit around all day and contemplate feminine beauty, either!) :P

[etherealunicorn]

Amen to that, Eruve! Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Liv Tyler, and I am not overly familiar with her acting ability, but I don't see her as one of the two most beautiful women in the world (or the most beautiful, depending on whose opinion is being considered) either. But, since beauty is such a subjective thing, I guess any role of that nature is sorta hard to cast. I just hope that Liv does a good job with the role. I wish the release date wasn't so darned far off!

[easygreen]

PJ should have looked around for a "classic" beauty in the grand old style, using an unknown even just to get the look right.

I'm beginning to worry that Arwen's character has been combined Eowyn somehow. What's Arwen doing at Helm's Deep, anyway? I guess she has sneaked off without Elrond's permission, maybe in disguise like Eowyn is supposed to do later on. And if she goes to Helms Deep, doesn't it follow that she goes even further, maybe even to Gondor?? I mean what if the new movie has Arwen killing the King of the Nazgul? What if it's her Aragorn has got to cure instead of Eowyn? I can easily imagine a contemporary scriptwriter making these kinds of changes....

Unfortunately, film producers nowadays assume that audiences are dummies, that they are easily confused morons who can't keep track of more than a one plotline and a few characters at a time. See for instance that awful Robin Hood movie with Kevin Costner, where Prince John and The Sheriff of Nottingham and Sir Guy of Gisbourne are all rolled up into one character. Or that Three Musketeers movie with Charlie Sheen and Keifer Sutherland, where the musketeers actually kill the Cardinal.

These are classic stories too, even more classic than LOTR, and the producers felt no qualms about radically altering the story elements to fit what they suppose are modern tastes. Let's not overwhelm the viewer with triffling details and unnecessary complications, they seem to say. The whole trajectory of mainstream movie-making over the last twenty years has been a ruthless dumbing down, a reduction to bare essentials. After seeing Gladiator a few weeks ago I realized that our plight was hopeless.

[IronParrot]

Maybe this is all a trick, Liv Tyler is Eowyn, and Miranda Otto is Arwen :p

[etherealunicorn]

easygreen, I agree with you. Simplify seems to be all the rage, plus special effects at the expense of story. I don't think that movies are nearly as good now, taken as a whole, as they used to be. But maybe there will be some surprise change made. After all, it is almost a year and a half before we will see it. I just hope that it's good and if it is, I will gladly take back anything nasty I might have said about those involved.
Have a nice evening

[Fat middle]

But maybe there will be some surprise change made.
yeah, i´ve been a week out of internet and when i arrive i find that Arwen possibly will be at Moria. now, that´s a surprise! :(

...and i agree: Liv´s not pretty enough!

[Darth Tater]

I don't think they've done a single thing right when it comes to Arwen. If anything ruins these movies for me it will be her.

[Eruve]

Amen, Tater!!!

[etherealunicorn]

Second that motion, Tater!

[Fat middle]

now i´m thinking it would be better to leave that balrog of the other thread and to roast Arwen in Moria :evil:

i think she at least would be good for being eaten...

[Darth Tater]

Good idea except that there's not enough meat on her, that's part of the problem.

[easygreen]

I just hope we dont have scenes of Aragorn and Arwen making love before the nuptials. Anything too physical would wreck the movie even more than it appears to have been wreched already.

In the books, what makes their romance so poignant is the long long wait. Their happiness deferred until the fulfillment of the quest (and the conditions Elrond sets are almost beyond hope).

In the movie, though, it looks as if Aragorn and Arwen are going to be in each other's company quite often. Hope nothing too overt happens.

[anduin]

I just came across this on Eonline. It is from an article by John Forde, dated April 1, 2000. I do not believe that it is an April Fool's Day joke, just a coincidence. You be the judge. ;) Also because of the date, this is probably old news to most, but I will post it anyways.

SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! (if you can in fact spoil a movie about a book that we have all read. ;) )



Already made up, with pointy ears in place and hairline artfully raised, Tyler has clearly cornered the market on Elven chic. But how is she handling life as a warrior princess? It's difficult to comment on Arwen so far, Tyler confesses, "as I literally have only filmed a couple of scenes, and the rest have been battle scenes where I don't talk a lot, just fight."

So, what's it like to kill people? "Oh, it's so difficult--technically difficult, I mean," she sighs, launching into a goofy story about one of her first physical training sessions. "I was with Viggo [Mortensen] and [sword-fighting coach] Bob Anderson, and I was surrounded by about 20 Uruk-hai who were all hitting me, and I had to attack them. It was terrifying! I just hid behind Viggo!"

Of course, there's more to playing Arwen than saddle chafing and
sponging off Orc blood. Tyler has adopted an English accent for her
role and is learning Old Elvish with dialect coaches.

The accent, she explains, propels much of her characterization, "because I have to carry myself in a certain way and be aware of my breathing. It's a challenge for me as an American speaking in a British accent anyway, but as an elf you have to be so erect and centered. We have to move effortlessly and gracefully." She spiels a line of Old Elvish contentedly and takes another drag.

And how does it feel to be one of the few femmes in Middle Earth? "Oh, I'm always making these movies with boys," says the star of Armageddon and That Thing You Do! "It's an honor to be one of only a few women in the film and to bring the feminine touch to the story," she adds, although she admits Arwen has an unconventional femininity.

"Even her love affair [with Aragorn] is interesting because they're both so busy. I mean, she has her moments where she gets to say, 'Aragorn, kiss me!' But there's a war on, so she has to be patient and supportive and let him go off and do the things he has to do."

I found the pointy ears thing the most interesting.....and it seems that the rumors are true about Arwen being a warrior princess. :(

[Fat middle]

i won´t be able to sleep tonight :(

[Fat middle]

no, better i´ll convince myself that was an april fools joke... still it´s time to hope.

[Eruve]

"Aragorn, kiss me"??? Oh, puh-leese......
Oh well, we can always hope for the cutting room floor...

[Eruve]

FYI, PJ, Arwen's not an Elf, she's a Half-elf! :P I hope we can chock that mistake up to the EOnline reporter not being up on his Tolkien.

[anduin]

He said it as if he was commenting on what whe looked like at the time. The interview was in her trailer during a break in filming. :(

The entire article can be found here (http://http://www.eonline.com/Features/Specials/Lordrings/Location/000401.html), towards the bottom and continuing on the next page.

[IronParrot]

Way too much Arwen. Way, way too much Arwen.