Monday, February 18, 2008

Random thoughts...Redux

On our trip back from Michigan during Thanksgiving me and the boys came up with the "Ulitmate Lord of the Rings Trivia Question". I thought it was complete, but it's not..

Here's the original question:
There are 5 actors in the LOTR Trilogy that have ties in other blockbusting trilogies - who are they, what are the other trilogies and their roles?

Here's NEW the answer. I found ANOTHER one, so now its SIX actors.
  1. Hugo Weaving (Elrond) LOTR & The Matrix (Mr. Smith)
  2. Orlando Bloom (Legolas) LOTR & Pirates of the Carribean (Will Turner)
  3. Ian McKellan (Gandalf) LOTR & X-Men (Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto)
  4. John Rhys-Davies (Gimli and Treebeard) LOTR & Indiana Jones (Sallah)
    ** He didn't appear in "The Temple of Doom"
  5. Christopher Lee (Saruman) LOTR & Star Wars (Count Duki / Darth Tyranus)
    *** Star Wars II & III (I consider them 2 separate trilogies) - check LOTR:Return of the King EXTENDED version (to consider him in all 3)
  6. Ian Holm (Bilbo) LOTR & the Alien Quadrilogy (Ash)
    *** LOTR 1 & 3; Bilbo did not appear in "Two Towers" - He was only in "Alien", the first of the "Quadrilogy". Also interesting, is that Ian played in "Aliens" with John Hurt who had just played Aragorn in the first "Lord of the Rings" movie in 1978.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Jeremiah "Stormcrow"

In "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien Gandalf, a wizard, has many names. One of the reasons that he does is that he has been around for centuries. Many of those are endearing (like "Olorin", which is loosely translated as "Dreams"), but some are not.

One of those not-so-endearing names was "Stormcrow". If you watch "The Two Towers", Saruman, (while posessing Theoden, the king of Gondor) calls him "Gandalf Stormcrow" when he comes to free Theoden from the spell of Saruman. He was called that by those that associated his arrival with bad times or bad news. In Middle Earth, he was highly regarded by some and despised by others and often mis-understood.

No so unlike Jeremiah, the prophet.



They said, "Come, let's make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not be lost, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let's attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says." Jeremiah 18:18

Jeremiah was not liked in his time - even his "friends" didn't really like him. He life was in "jeopardy" many times, he spent time in jail and even in a cistern (a big pit that collects stormwater). Finally, when a man who really didn't like him either, Ebed-Melech, saved him he had to send 30 men to go get him (because he assumed that they would run into a bit of resistance).

So, maybe we can call him "Jeremiah Storecrow".
"...Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:7-18