Diary of a Hobbit Fiend: What I did for the Lord of the Rings

By Susan Thea Posnock

I can now kiss my self-respect goodbye. I could excuse that “Fellowship of the Ring” calendar I had up at work (you know, a friend bought it for me), and the Elven Brooch (a boyfriend bought it for me). But now, having paid $10 to see “Secondhand Lions,” it is all over. The precious has me.

Apparently the folks at New Line cinema planned it this way. They were so pumped about attaching “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” (ROTK for short) trailer to “Secondhand Lions,” that they not only put out a press release, they put a COMMERCIAL FOR THE TRAILER onto television ads for the film. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this. Oh the humanity! (And “Secondhand Lions” dropped by 32 percent in Box Office take compared to its first weekend, which isn’t really bad, considering.)

This all comes about after a quiet summer from the New Line camp. But now it looks like they're kicking off the hype/Oscar drive full-force. And personally, I think it's brilliant. Had they started too early for a project that needs no real marketing push, they may have burned people out on the film months before its release. Hey, I know that's not possible among the geeks like me, but when it comes to Oscar potential, its better not to peak too soon. (Though in truth, ROTK has been the expected Oscar favorite since “Fellowship of the Ring” lost two years ago.)

By now there have been countless Internet reports about the ROTK trailer. Shot-by-shot analysis, tales of geeks fainting in the isles, early downloads, etc. I suppose throwing my thoughts into the mix won't add much.

I will say this: Having now seen the trailer and “Secondhand” Lions, I think New Line should just drop the ads for that movie and run commercials for the ROTK trailer. Seriously, besides “Lost in Translation,” it’s the best film I've seen this year. 'Nuff said.

Well, not quite enough. There's still the matter of my self-respect. After watching the trailer (the first of six trailers shown, including “Intolerable Cruelty” and “Elf”), I felt obligated to stay for all of “Secondhand Lions.” All right, I stayed because I wanted to get my money's worth and watch the ROTK trailer one more time with the later showing of SL, but who can blame me for this?

Anyway, SL wasn't bad. It had its moments. Those zany old Uncles, that youngin' with so much to learn! But I find it really really hard to believe that Haley Joel Osment will grow up to look like Josh Lucas.

But it was worth it. Really. I am forever enlightened about the lifestyles of crazy old Uncles; especially those played by esteemed actors Robert Duvall and Brit Michael Caine as um, a TEXAN. And that lion sure was cute!

I won't regret what I did for LOTR: ROTK. Go ahead New Line, use me and abuse me. Because, well, WOW.

(Originally published on OscarWatch.com. ©2003 OscarWatch All Rights Reserved.)