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Online fandom: Have we gone too far or not far enough?

© Michael Martinez

I created Lord of the Rings movie / Hobbit movie Fact/Rumor Roundup in January 1998 as a reaction to the 5-10 daily questions in the Tolkien news groups about the rumored movie. People in the news groups were getting fed up with the way strangers would come barging in demanding to know what was going on without even bothering to read the discussion threads which EXPLAINED what was going on (which, at the time, was nothing). So I didn't get into the movie reporting business out of fannish love, for the money, or even with good intentions. Other than that, I'm a full-fledged card-carrying member of the LOTR movies Webmasters club. I am in the door. I have the right to speak. And today I'm going to speak my piece. Someone in a position to know told me a week before the world found out that New Line Cinema was going to finance Peter Jackson's movies. I announced the news two days before the much-respected Harry Knowles. Back then most people were still getting their LOTR movie news from Harry, until he handed the torch to TheOneRing.Net. Unlike other Tolkien movie site owners (so far as I know), I was contacted in late 1998 and asked if I would discretely answer some questions about Tolkien's world. At the time I was told I could expect nothing in return and I would be told nothing in advance. Those promises have pretty much been kept. And though I did not sign a non-disclosure agreement, I did mostly keep quiet about the questions for well over a year. Earlier this year, when someone asked a question on the Middle-earth mailing list which was almost identical to one of those I had been asked by the movie folks, I decided to post my original answer. I didn't cite the question, nor even the responses to my responses (and the exchange went on for a week or more). I tried to judiciously remove any indications of who had received the answer previously, but I inadvertently left in one line which screamed out to anyone who noticed, "MICHAEL IS DISCUSSING SOMETHING FOR THE MOVIES". I'm sorry, folks. I didn't mean to break my word. But I guess enough time has passed it doesn't matter. I was never consulted on anything earth-shaking anyway. Just a few questions about obscure details which had eluded the diligent researchers working for Peter Jackson (who, by all accounts, has impressed people who have been working with him with his knowledge of and reverence for the works of J.R.R. Tolkien).

The copyright of the article Online fandom: Have we gone too far or not far enough? in J.R.R. Tolkien is owned by Douglas Charles Rapier. Permission to republish Online fandom: Have we gone too far or not far enough? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.