So that new "Return of the King" trailer is causing quite a bit of excitement (for those who are Quicktime-deprived, MSN has a Windows-friendly version). I loved it, but I've been Peter Jackson's bitch ever since "Dead Alive." I maintain what I said after the 2002 Academy Awards: that Jackson will win Best Director after "RotK" comes out as a reward for making what is essentially a ten-hour film.
The whole "sacrifice and loss" theme permeating the trailer is a bit confusing, however (consider this a SPOILER warning for the handful of you who couldn't be bothered to read three books that have been around for fifty years). I mean, as far as principals in the film go the only good guy who dies is Théoden (well, and Denethor, but big deal). We all know Gollum bites the big one (heh), but his death is rather necessary to the plot. The trailer also shows Elrond haranguing Arwen for giving up immortality for Aragorn, then tells us, "There can be no victory without suffering." Sure, giving up eternal life for true love could kinda sorta be construed as suffering. I guess. Maybe Aragorn goes bald.
I have a theory - based purely on speculation and suspicion elicited by the trailer - about how they're going to crank up the weep factor. I think Gimli dies.
Hear me out. They've been setting him up as a goof from the first film, making him this humorously gruff bad-ass who's not quite as bad-ass as Legolas (if Jackson really wanted to shock/piss off audiences, he'd kill the elf, but then who'd be around to offer dire tidbits like, "The eye of the enemy is moving" or, "He is here?"). Gimli helped round out the Fellowship, but his warrior prowess at Helm's Deep was played down in "The Two Towers," implying that maybe he's not as critical to the quest as previously thought. Finally, I've watched that trailer ten times and the only glimpse I've seen of him is smoking a pipe in the background during on the of the pre-Pelennor Fields scenes.
Many people seem to love bitching about continuity errors - yes, Anduril was reforged in the first book; no, Merry and Pippin didn't have to convince the Ents to attack Isengard; yes, Arwen had what was essentially a bit part in the books; no, Elrond didn't have to browbeat Aragorn into assuming his place as king. I accept these things because they, like killing Gimli (or Legolas) off, increase dramatic tension. And I also know that staying 100% true to the books means we'd have to deal with crap like Tom Bombadil and the pointless Scouring of the Shire. Given the tone of the movies to date, I can't believe anyone would honestly want to keep that goofy shit in there.
Other miscellaneous trailer stuff:
+ Miranda Otto is hot. And I'm comfortable enough in my heterosexuality to say Orlando Bloom is quite pretty as well.
+ The scene where Gollum leers at Sam after Frodo has taken his side is perfect. WETA has done the impossble and made Gollum even more lifelike.
+ I didn't think Shelob could move that fast, which makes me wonder if the spider in the trailer is actually her, or one of her "children." Either way, I'm probably having nightmares.
+ If you have to flog the cliché of someone screaming "Noooo!" you might as well have it be Sam at the Crack of Doom.
Other studios are already, one assumes, battening down the hatches in preparation. Warner Brothers and Touchstone originally had "The Last Samurai" and "The Alamo" slated to open Dec. 12, five days before "RotK." Wisely, they decided to move them both ("Samurai" to the 5th, "Alamo" to Christmas Day) rather than compete directly with what promises to be the 900-lb gorilla of December's releases.
Governor Swann: After all…he is a blacksmith.
Elizabeth Swann: No, he's a pirate.
Danil: He's Orlando Bloom; it just doesn't matter.
Danil's Date: Yup.
If Gimli does die, I hope it comes early on, so I can be spared another three hours of enduring an entire theatre worth of guffaws every time he's on-screen.
As for index-card sized screenlets, I viewed the Windows Media Player version, and I was able to get it to go full-screen by clicking on it and then hitting alt-enter.
I dunno -- I mean, Frodo definitely suffers. Even aside from the Scouring, it's clear that the Ring quest leaves him grievously wounded, body and soul. That's what I thought of, at least, at the "No victory without suffering" bit. That said, your Gimli theory may have legs. Peter Jackson could definitely succeed in earning such an ending, and it would jack the weep factor through the roof if handled properly.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I jumped and yelped when the spider popped out. Even on the index-card sized screenlet.
And finally: I've said it once and I'll say it again -- these films have the absolute best eye-candy for girls and women of all ages and tastes, EVER. (I'm an Aragorn woman, myself.)