Born Of Hope: prequel to LOTR

[RangerStryder]

And there's another Tolkien film coming out much earlier than The Hobbit, story revolves on Aragorn's people....the Dunedain.

British made, low budget, internet release by next year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...-Lord-of-the-Rings-inspired-Born-of-Hope.html

 

[Gilthoniel]

It's 60 minutes long? Quite short..
I don't think it'll go particularily far, although I am well prepared to eat my words in future if I am proven wrong.

Just seems a little bit commerically pointless, making a low budget, short film of a story that relatively few people are aware of (except cool people like us), then releasing it on the internet (?!) with the hope of 'sitting alongside' NLC's high-budget, cinema-released 'classics'. Especially when the main point of the story (and indeed the union of Gilraen and Arathorn, although that might be debatable) is the birth of Aragorn.

Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to see more of Tolkiens work on film, (as long as it's not too poorly done) but I just don't think there's any sort of market for it.

 

[baragund]

I think that's why the producers have chosen to only release the film on the Internet, Gilthoniel. Or, more likely, the film couldn't get picked up by any distributor.

The film sounds promising. A lot of interesting stuff happened in the decades preceding Frodo's adventures and a good screenwriter could do a lot with the outline Tolkien provided in his writings.

At sixty minutes, however, I wonder if these filmakers will have enough time to tell an effective story...

 

[YayGollum]

Yuck. If you're going to tell one of that Tolkien guy's stories, why choose something so human-centric? Boring. Most stories that I've read are about humans. When is someone finally going to make a movie about the Wereworms of the Last Desert? oh well. Mayhaps the Orcs will be cool characters in this movie. The one that they have a picture of looks quite cool.

 

[e.Blackstar]

Whuuuuuuuuuuuut?

 

[HLGStrider]

My main problem with this is of all the stories they could have picked, as much of a fan of Aragorn as I am, they have picked one with very little textual reference. We know virtually nothing of the character of Arathorn. We actually know very little of the life styles of the Northern Dunedian. That is one place I've always been interested in, how a hunted race managed to keep enough of a breeding population to maintain a pure line, without intermixing with "lesser folks." Apparently there were enough female Dunedain that none of Aragorn's grandfathers had to slip over to Bree and nab themselves a wife . . . though I always imagined that you could write a wonderful Romeo and Juliet story involving a simple inn keepers daughter in love with a mysterious young Ranger. I thought about writing it for a long time when I was in middle school and finally did write it but changed the locations in an attempt to own the story myself . . . and being 14 at the time, it is the sappiest thing you can possibly imagine . . . ok, sorry, bad Elgee tangent.

Anyway, I have heard a Ranger city mentioned but we don't know how big it was, if it was a hidden city or simply too small to be of note to other races. I've never seen it on any maps, at least.

My point is, they are going to have to make a lot of this up, which leads to a lot of messing with Tolkien's vision. While there is a lot of revisionism in the existing movies, it is basically the same plot and locations, and most of the characters are the same. Not really possible here. Only a handful of the players are even named.

 

[RangerStryder]

Here's the link to the site:
http://www.bornofhope.com/Story.html

And watch the 2008 teaser trailer and look for baby Aragorn

 

[Mike]

Umm...okay...

The connection this movie has with Tolkien is so tenuous it's almost irrelevent to the plot. Why not just change some names and make your own 60-minute short film (because that's essentially what this is, an amateur project). Oh, I know why, because this way you can cash in on the Hobbit hype for funding. Yerg. Anatar was a feature-length film based on its own fantasy mileu in a similar style (low budget amateur production), but I don't think it was ever released (look it up on Youtube, it's quite visually interesting).

Other projects this reminds me of: The amateur Beowulf Production made from donations where Beowulf is...from Africa. Odd but true.

 

[Firawyn]

Whuuuuuuuuuuuut?

My thoughts exactly That orc in the picture wasn't half bad though.

 

[Illuin]

Oh jeez, pul-leez!!!

Count me out.

Appendix A / V. will suffice.

 

[YayGollum]

Well, I muchly enjoy the idea of people making movies about things that the Tolkien person didn't write much about. Merely turning a story that somebody else made up into your version of the thing is less admirable than coming up with your own story. I'm just not a large fan of the subject matter that was chosen over the many more interesting things that weren't fleshed out by that Tolkien dude. If somebody made a movie about Aldarion and Erendis, would you snub it? Well, mayhaps if it wasn't a very good movie. I would think that it would be more fun, though, since I'd get to see some originality. Mayhaps the people making this movie are doing it to cash in on the well-known Tolkien name, but is it impossible for them to be doing it because they enjoyed the subject? No? Am I too naive?

 

[Illuin]

by YayGollum
If somebody made a movie about Aldarion and Erendis, would you snub it?

Indeed! That is my favorite read. No I would not snub it. Why? If some filmmaker was actually planning to make a film about Aldarion and Erendis, I would know that they were the real deal, and not some cheese factory sap fest. But that is not the case here .

 

[YayGollum]

Ugh. I know that I'd snub it. Snooty Numenoreans, lording some unspecified something while above the way cooler Woses! But then, they're all just humans. Nothing to get excited about. Anyways, hm? I was unaware that the makers of this movie have been confirmed as former cheese factory employees known to take part in sap fests (Do their actors know to stay away from dark alleys?). Any movie can be made plenty sappy with pretty much any subject. The Aldarion and Erendis story already saps me out.

 

[Illuin]

by YayGollum
The Aldarion and Erendis story already saps me out.

Well, the Aldarion and Erendis story isn’t exactly “When Harry Met Sally”: it’s depressing beyond belief (something I thought someone like you could relate to….. , just messing with you). However, brilliant writing to me I must say.

 

[YayGollum]

Brilliant writing won't jump onto the screen, so I'll stick with the idea that I wouldn't be a large fan, just because of the story. I'm going with the definition of sappy for this being a nauseatingly old sort of story. The fact that it's about Numenoreans doesn't really make me wish for a movie version of the thing. But then, I have even less of a wish for this Arathorn story to be told.

I'm related to depressing stories? *looks at his family members* Ah. I see your point. All the more reason for me to avoid such tales.

 

[Illuin]

by YayGollum
I'm related to depressing stories? *looks at his family members* Ah. I see your point. All the more reason for me to avoid such tales

What about our mutual petite little Dragon friend…hmmm?

 

[YayGollum]

Mutual petite as well as little dragon (I can't help de-capitalizing it) friend? The chrysophalax person, I suppose. Gets depressed too easily. I've grown an immunity to the condition, due to her encounters with it. I only cry when I see Littlefoot's mother die.

Anyways, ah, mayhaps you are merely not a large fan of the brand of sap that this story seems likely to employ? A closed mind already? *sniff*

 

[Illuin]

by YayGollum
Anyways, ah, mayhaps you are merely not a large fan of the brand of sap that this story seems likely to employ? A closed mind already? *sniff*

I thought I made this point before. I must admit...I'm absolutely 100% against the sap ****. Are you freakin' kidding me? Hmm....It would appear that my previous statements have been censored ...but I'm sure my trifle point has been made.

 

[HLGStrider]

I only cry when I see Littlefoot's mother die.

Don't we all?

 

[Firawyn]

I had no idea you were a Land Before Time guy, Yay. Man, I love those movies! How many are there now? Ten? Twelve? I know they're in the double digits...

I must admit...I'm absolutely 100% against the sap ****.

Humm, as a Tolkien fan I'm not sure how you can say that. Sap is plastered all over Tolkien's work. You should expand your horizons my friend. I have many "sappy" movies I could highly recommend.