Wandering around the internet today, I discovered that yet another book about the LOTR films is forthcoming. I know nothing about it beyond what little I have been able to find via googling. Based on such slight information, I am not recommending it–just letting you know that it’s on its way and available for pre-ordering.

The title is The Lord of the Films: The Unofficial Guide to Tolkien’s Middle-earth on the Big Screen, and it’s by J. W. Braun. Here’s what Amazon tells us about it:

Product Description

A unique scene-by-scene breakdown of all of the Lord of the Rings movies, this guide provides in-depth analysis of the live-action trilogy and other related films, alongside games, puzzles, and interviews with the filmmakers. Each scene is explored in four different ways: a closer look at the plot and the action, a look behind the scenes, a reveal of mistakes that slipped through, and audience reactions. In addition to covering the stunning Peter Jackson trilogy and the animated versions, details are also revealed about the prequel films currently in production, making this an essential volume for any Lord of the Rings fan.

About the Author

J. W. Braun has been a Lord of the Rings fan since the 1980s and followed every detail of the film adaptations from beginning to end on his website, the first dedicated to the movies. He lives in Burlington, Wisconsin.

I was intrigued by the idea of the first LOTR film-related website. Alas, now the URL for that website takes one directly to the Amazon pre-orders page. My assumption is that the website has been turned into a book and hence is no longer online.

I have to confess to being a bit dubious about a book in which two of the four approaches to the film are lists of mistakes and audience reactions. What could the source of those audience reactions be? Is the “closer look” at the plot anything more than elaborate description? As one who has done a fair amount of “in-depth analysis” of films, I’m also dubious about the idea of such analysis being juxtaposed with games and puzzles.

I did find a contribution by Braun on TheOneRing.net, “The Future of the Nine Walkers.” I couldn’t detect a date on it, but it was written before the release of the first part. Braun mentions asking Ian McKellen a question, so obviously the main casting had taken place. Whether Ian is one of the people interviewed for the website/book isn’t clear. Anyway, the TORN piece is a bit of speculation on how audiences will react to the film’s main characters. I can’t say I learned anything from it or would have even at the time.

I wish I could provide more information about this book, but there’s none to be had, either on Amazon or on the publisher’s website. The publisher is ECW Press, based in Toronto. The book is due out on September 1 of this year. Perhaps between now and then one of these sites will give a more detailed description or even provide a table of contents.

If any of you can provide some information about Braun’s website, I’d be most grateful. Naturally in my book I couldn’t cover all the fan sites or even a large sampling of them. I went instead for fairly in-depth looks at representative sites. But of course the topic still intrigues me.