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Lord of the Rings News

Lord of the Rings movie plots

What are the plots for the movies?

Does it seem a bit crazy that someone would actually sit down and try to analyze the plots for three as-yet unreleased movies based on the most popular book of the 20th century (1901-2000)? Maybe. But let's be honest. People are going nuts trying to decide just how bad these movies are going to be through unfaithfulness to Tolkien's book. Good and bad don't depend on how faithful to the original these adaptations prove to be. They'll depend more on how well the story works, how good the acting and direction are, and whether the setting will strike many people as Middle-earth. You can forget all the photos you've seen on the Internet right now. No matter how professionally done they are, they do not represent what you will see in the movies.

The "magic" of movie-making involves taking ordinary, mundane pictures and turning them into a surrealistic daydream that a thousand people in the same theater are able to share -- vividly, emotionally, and in full living color. Liv Tyler is a beautiful woman, but she looks rather plain compared to Arwen. We haven't seen Arwen yet. Nor Frodo, nor Sam, nor Gandalf...well, you get the point.

But if people are going to insist on beating up on Peter Jackson for changing the story, they should at least have some idea of the story that Jackson intends to tell. So, here are my plot lines for Jackson's movies. What super secret sources of information do I have? None, really. Well, maybe one, but you won't be able to tell from these plot summaries (I hope) where I've gotten my information. For the most part I get my info from the same sources you do: various Web sites and news articles. So I'll be revising these plot lines as we go along and learn more information.

The plot summary for "The Fellowship of the Ring" now reflects the actual events of the released film.

Major news broke in late July, 2001. Bill Welden, a consultant on the movies, was allowed to post a trip report on the official Web site. He claims he was told by Phillipa Boyens that Arwen will not be visiting Rohan before she marries Aragorn. Given all the spy reports to the contrary, it seems like some major changes have been underway.

There is also a rumor that Grima Wormtongue will murder Theoden. If this rumor pans out, I suggest the following possible scenario: Theoden, Eomer, Eowyn, and Wormtongue all go to Helm's Deep. There Grima murders Theoden and Eowyn kills Wormtongue. Eomer then becomes King of the Mark and leads the Riders of Rohan to Gondor, but he orders Eowyn to remain behind. She disobeys, hooks up with Merry, and sneaks along anyway.

The problem with this scenario is that it's based on what appears to be an unlikely rumor.

Detailed plot summaries for each movie
The Fellowship of the Ring (December 14, 2001)
The Two Towers (December 2002)
The Return of the King (December 2003)