[Cerek the Barbaric]

Skunk - NO "movie adaptation" can ever be true to the book upon which it is based. Hollywood will always change certain parts or elements to fit into thier patented "formulas". And while that may be aggravating, it is done for a reason - to make money!!! Hollywood is in the business of producing movies that people will spend money to go see, and sometimes go see over and over. They have developed these "formulas" over the years because they generally work (in getting people into the theaters).

Having said that, I have to agree with Timber that Peter Jackson has done an excellent job of defying the standard Hollywood formula. Look at ANY other fantasy movie or series....NONE of them have come close to the LOTR series. Therefore - by Hollywood standards - fantasy movies are "bad business" because they generally only appeal to a small, select audience.

But LOTR surpasses anything that has been done in recent history from Hollywood. The most recent series that is even close would be the original Star Wars saga. Before that, you have to go back to Cecil B. Demille to find movies made on the scale and granduer of the LOTR series.

And - at the same time - Peter Jackson managed to be very true to the books..well, as much as possible anyway. He had to create a movie that would not only appeal to the masses, but would also be satisfactory to the legions of Tolkien fans that have loved the books for years and years. It is the same dilemma faced with the producers of the comic-book movies. NONE Of those were really very good (with the possible exception of the original Batman). They were all done in a very "campy" and comic-book style. That trend continued until 2000, when X-Men finally "broke the mold" and was the FIRST "comic book movie" that was also made to look like a "real movie" (thanks in no small part to Stan Lee who refused to allow Hollywood to short change the fans of the comics).

You're right that the movies aren't an authentic representation of the books, but one thing you're overlooking is the fact that the movie will actually inspire many of the viewers to go read the books - perhaps for the very first time. That is one positive effect Hollywood DOES have with it's "movie adaptations". Since the audience already knows the movie has changed some things from the book, they will often go out and read the book for themselves to see what the "real" story was supposed to be.