To wonder how The Hobbit is going to be stretched over three films?

[SpanielFace]

Lord of the Rings, yes. But I can't see how The Hobbit warrants 9 hours of film time. I'm still looking forward to seeing it though!

Agreed.

Honestly! : we're now living in the Seventh Age, and Europeans have forgotten their own history from the First and Second Ages.

The clue would be when they say on several occasions "Elrond Halfelven'; .

Luthien was dark haired - with grey eyes - as are most of the noldor. Sorry getting obsessed with elven haircolour. I think I should go and do some ironing or something!!

Ok that's ringing some bells, actually. I clearly need to reread the books!

Hey alma - like your name - wasn't she in Malory Towers?

Ah, I did know about the half-elven bit.. just not the bit about Elros etc.

Ahhh that explains it.

I did try and read the Silmarillion but don't think I got past page 12. I think I got further through the Iliad!

(I'm not usually one to pick up books and abandon them so easily I might add!)

Once you get through the creation of the earth there are some pretty good tales in the Silmarillion - Beren and Luthien, Turin Turambar (a guy who nothing went right for) and Finrod (although cannot remember the name of this chapter). I think they could practically be read as self-contained stories.

Note: I read this in my late teens and think that now I'm in my late forties I would probably get in a right old muddle - I think I may challenge myself with it in the summer.

On the hair colour of Elves, Galadrial's mother was one of the Vanyar (Indis?) who was one of the High-Elves who stayed in Valinor when the Noldor and the Teli-whatsits (can't remember!) came across to middle-earth.
That's why she was golden-haried liked her mother, not her father.

I've never thought about Legolas's hair really. Suppose he would be most likely to be dark.

I LOVE the Beren and Luthien tale and it's so linked to all of the stuff that occurs in the later tales (Numenor, The rings etc). I was hoping PJ might have put a bit of it in these Hobbit films.....has he?

Anyway, I will bow out of the thread on that note of extreme geekiness as I still haven't seen the film, DH still not up to sitting for 3 hours.

Peter Jackson is not allowed to put Silmarillion stuff in the Hobbit. Tolkien only sold the rights to LOTR and the Hobbit, to keep him comfortable in retirement. It is very unlikely that there will be any film of the Silmarillion stories, at least while Tolkien's son Christopher is alive.

You should be able to google a French magazine which did virtually the only interview with Christopher Tolkien in recent years, and it clarified the dismay the family feels about the commercialisation of Tolkien's inventions. Cuddly toy Gollum, anyone?