Take heart! There is greatness on the horizon! Today the Hobbit has been doing some heavy catching up on his "Lord of the Rings" info, particularly with some of the stories posted at The One Ring.net, E-Online, and AICN's 11 part series of stories from Harry Knowles on the set of LOTR as they wrap shooting. Right now I'm so excited I want to dance and sing and leap back an forth. This film is looking so INCREDIBLE. Everything anyone, Tolkien fan, or non-Tolkien fan could ever want or hope for.

There is such great care being taken people to make this movie simply spectacular. The people working on it REALLY care about what they are doing there and feel a personal responsibility to make this a success. After all the things I've read, and all the things I've seen about the making of these soon to be spectacular films, what really drove this home from me was a little snippet in one of AICN's reports from the set where Harry revealed Gandalf, Gimli, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Boromir, and Legolas, the company of the ring, all went out and got an Elvish design, specially designed by Alan Lee (a premier LOTR artist) tattooed on them. These are people who LOVE what they are creating, who are proud of their work, who care about what they are doing. How often do you hear of a film cast who goes out and does ANYTHING together, let alone going out and getting tattoos to commemorate the making of their film.

So often today Hollywood film making is filled with back stabbing, and whining, and complaining, and outright on set cat fights, its shocking, and amazing to find actors, directors, MOVIE people in general who really ENJOY what they are doing and actually enjoy working together. There is something special going on with Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" something amazing.

All my life I've read and reread Tolkien's stories, starting with "The Hobbit" when I was very young, and progressing to "Lord of the Rings" as I got older. Never, did I ever think even for a moment that I would ever see anything to match the wonderful visions I had in my head of this unbelievable world Tolkien created for me in his books. But Peter Jackson is doing it. He is taking the greatest story ever told and transforming it faithfully into one of the greatest movies ever made.

Everyone take note! What has been happening in New Zealand on the LOTR set will change movies forever. Just like Star Wars, LOTR will spawn a new generation of fan zealots, a whole new way of film making, and perhaps revive a whole new genre of fantasy filmmaking. People will clamor for LOTR collectors items the same way they obsess over Star Trek and Star Wars stuff now. Children the world over will beg their parents for the new Aragorn action figure and parents will sit in awe as they watch their LOTR box set with special footage over and over and over again.

No one, since George Lucas' original Star Wars Trilogy, has been able to create that kind of film magic since. Talking to my parents about the first Star Wars release, back in the 70's (coincidentally in the same year I was born) Its hard for me to understand just how amazing this movie was to them and everyone who saw it. Apparently as a very small baby I saw it 7 times with them that year... and each and every time they tell me they were amazed. No one had ever seen anything like Star Wars before, and no one was quite sure what to think or what to do except to see it again. 20 years from now, I'll be able to sit down with my little Hobbit's and tell them the same things about LOTR. Many over the past few years have tried to duplicate this type of magic, George Lucas himself tried with his Star Wars prequels, and failed. Others have come closer, with films like "The Matrix" or maybe even "Back To The Future", but none have been able to duplicate that wonder, that amazement that people felt when they first saw Star Wars. Mark my words, LOTR will do it.