Word: tolkien
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...released only three months after the Sept. 11 attacks, and its good-vs.-evil quest spoke to audiences looking for old-fashioned moral clarity. Just as readers in the 1950s (when the books were published) found parallels to World War II, and hippies of the 1960s delighted in Tolkien's peace-loving hobbits, a new generation has embraced Tolkien's nostalgic vision of a lost world, an imagined past both idyllic and brutal. Indeed, the passion for the first movie and this one is part of a new American obsession with fantasy, a national journey to a mythical past where...
...answer is yes, or at least probably. Fellowship was often quiet and deliberately paced. Two Towers is an unabashed action film. Even Ian McKellen, as the wizard Gandalf, does his share of fighting. Those who appreciate the finer points of Tolkien's work may be taken aback by the new film's high-tech grandiosity. "It's impressive," says Two Towers star Viggo Mortensen, "but if you have that much emphasis on special effects, it's unavoidable that you'll lose some of the poetry and intimacy of the story." Still, those who prefer grunting, beastly warriors brandishing scimitars...
...full-blown movie star) embarks across the desolate plains of Middle-earth to salvage what's left of mankind. Arrayed against him is an armada of Uruk-hai, armor-clanking warriors who make Freddy Krueger look positively cuddly. The battle of Helm's Deep, a rather brief episode in Tolkien's book, becomes a battle for the survival of the human species and the breathtaking centerpiece of Jackson's film...
...director readily admits that of his three films, Two Towers departs most from Tolkien's work. "We were aware that we were making films for the hard-core Tolkien fan base as well as everyone else," says Jackson, who co-wrote the script with Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh. "In the beginning, it was a difficult tightrope to walk, but then we sort of abandoned thinking about it. If we make a good film, we'll be forgiven, whatever the crimes we commit to the book." Arwen, the beautiful elf played by Liv Tyler, doesn't appear in the book...
...Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein began planning a two-part adaptation of Tolkien's trilogy. Soon, however, Weinstein got nervous about the cost. And Jackson got nervous when Weinstein suggested they scrunch the tale down to just one movie. In 1998 Miramax allowed the filmmaker to shop the project to other studios, but on two strict conditions: whoever bought it would have just 72 hours to repay Weinstein the $12 million he had spent on preproduction costs, and Weinstein had to be guaranteed 5% of the gross...