For a dedicated “Lord of the Rings” fan, few things could top a screening of “The Return of the King” at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Except maybe a ticket to Trilogy Tuesday.
Beginning early Tuesday afternoon, select movie theaters across the country–only one in Chicago–will show all three films back to back: director Peter Jackson’s extended versions of “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers,” followed by a theater-length “The Return of the King.”
“It’s going to be a three-ring circus,” said AZ Shoshani, co-founder of the Chicago Fellowship, a fan club devoted to J.R.R. Tolkien and his book.
Shoshani managed to snag a ticket for the trilogy screening at the AMC River East 21 (332 E. Illinois St.)–no easy feat since it reportedly sold out in less than 20 minutes.
But there’s also a show before the show, Shoshani said, including raffles, performances and a crowd of people likely dressed as hobbits, wizards and elves.
“We might be lucky and get an Ent,” she added, referring to the living, walking tree-shepherds.
Sarz Maxwell, a psychiatrist who helped found the Chicago Fellowship, will pack some homemade Lembas (elven bread) and drive to Springfield on Tuesday for the only other Illinois showing of the trilogy. She couldn’t get local tickets, but there was no way she’d miss it.
“Peter Jackson is brilliant and has such an incredible attention to detail. He didn’t make a movie; he made a documentary,” said Maxwell, who traveled to New Zealand over the summer and visited many of the places where the movie was filmed.
Differences between the book and the film don’t bother her, she said.
“The film doesn’t read exactly like the book, but that’s OK. A painting doesn’t look exactly like a poem. … The only thing I’m worried about is how much I’m going to cry.”