The Role of Images

[marcopico]

Hi everybody,

This is my first message to the forum, so I hope I'm following the rules correctly. :)

I am an Italian Ph.D. student in Geography, and I'm currently working on a short essay about the landscapes of Middle-Earth.

I am trying to compare Tolkien's description of Middle-Earth with the scenes from Peter Jackson's movie, and I think the illustrations by Alan Lee and John Howe have proven to be a very powerful medium for the creation of *our* Middle-Earth. In particular, I believe that, without Alan Lee and John Howe re-creations of Tolkien's books, Peter Jackson's movie would have never come to life.

This is why I am looking to this forum. I would really appreciate discussing this topic with someone interested, of course. But there is another reason: I'm trying to get in contact with Alan Lee and John Howe to propose them a very short interview on their work for the movie. Does anybody know how to reach them? Is there an e-mail address I could write to?

Thanks everybody for your attention and your kindness.

Regards,
Marco Picone

[Talimon]

The fact that Alan Lee and John Howe are partly/wholly responsible for our mental images is no doubt the reason PJ hired them. On the other hand, looking at Tolkiens images it's hard to say whether he agreed with thier visual style. But thier images are on the covers of the books (at least many of the editions), so I suppose someone from the estate supports them. Or maybe that kind of decision is in the publishers hands, I'm not sure.

[marcopico]

I agree. PJ's hiring of Lee and Howe was particularly brilliant for someone who wanted to bring an entire world to the screen. Actually, I also have some doubts on how Tolkien would consider those images. Howe's landscapes, in particular, seem to reflect that cinematic style that is perfect for a movie, but I wonder whether Tolkien would like it... :confused:

Sorry to ask again, but any idea on how to reach Lee and Howe? Thanks.

Marco

[Talimon]

Have you heard of the book by john howe callled "myth & magic", or something like that? It was just recently released, and has an intro and epilogue by PJ and Alan Lee. It's not exactly an interview, but I'm sure it will be informative. There is also a good article on Howe in most recent edition of the fan magazine. He lives in Sweden I believe, which may make an interview somewhat difficult. You could try contacting the magazine itself, however, to see how they got thier interview.

[marcopico]

I do own the book you mentioned. It's called "Myth and Magic", and it is quite interesting. I have also bought "The Art of the Fellowship of the Ring", by Gary Russell, which features short interviews to PJ, AL, and JH.
I know JH lives in Switzerland, but what fan magazine are you talking about? I don't know anything about it...
Marco

[Talimon]

I am referring to "The Lord of the Rings Fan Club Official Movie Magazine". Here is a link to thier website, if you want to subscribe. Kind of pricey, but if you are a fan deffinitely worth it. Very high quality material regarding the film:

http://www.lotrfanclub.com/

Here is the first paragraph of the article:

'For a young John Howe, reading The Lord of the Rings was no small feat. "I must have been around 12," recalls Howe. "I read the second book first, and then the third one, and finally the first one. The first book was always checked out at the library. Everybody wanted it. They'd take the first book and then, in many cases, grind to a halt, keep it home for a month, and never quite move on to the other books. Volunme II and II were practically new, while Volume I was all battered. So I read them out of sequence."'


I personally found that hillarious. The article is great, but it's 8 pages long and I'm in no mood to type it all up :). I'd scan it for you but I don't have a scanner. I think they send you the latest issue if you get a subscription, though, because I got the first issue and I signed up in May/June. So try subscribing. And try and find a way to contact the magazine through the link I gave you. They might be able to give you some contact information regarding Howe. Good luck.

[Diamond Took]

Originally posted by Smeagol
In fact I find it was PJ's worst choice to ask John Howe and Alan Lee to become his concept artists. Why did PJ never bother to look at Tolkien's own sketches or even better : at Ted Nasmith's paintings. Only Ted Nasmith has always stayed true to the descriptions in the books and Tolkien's own drawings.
The worst PJ could do was to use John Howe's vision of Bag End.

Well Peter jackson did look at Tolkien's sketches. but John Howes were better suited to the climate of the country it was being filmed in.
Also New Zealand had the closest scenery in the world to middle earth, so obviously they were stuck with it and had to do the best they could.;)

[Ariana Undomiel]

I think that Peter Jackson made a very wise choice in having the film done in New Zealand. It had everything necessary to bring Middle Earth to life in the way Tolkien probably would have imagined it. Soaring mountains, hidden glens, swamps, golden forests, snowy peeks, and rolling plains - all just seem to spring right out of the book.


~Ariana