Online fandom: Have we gone too far or not far enough? - Page 4
© Michael Martinez
By now nearly everyone who has ever read a Tolkien movie news Web site knows that TORN's most famous (or infamous) spy is Erica Challis, who posts as Tehanu. She's an outsider, as far as I know. TORN actually has insiders reporting for them (I'll leave it to you to figure out who they are -- and, no, I have no idea of whether these insiders are reporting on Peter's orders or not -- nor have I ever asked about that).
Yet Tehanu is the one online Tolkien fan who made headlines around the world when she was served a legal notice forbidding her from trespassing on Peter Jackson's film sets. Although I am sure she must have been embarrassed and perhaps angered by the situation, it was an easy order to comply with because (she says) she had never trespassed in the first place.
Well, they've since made up and Peter in fact invited Erica to visit the set. Only E! Online's John Forde seems to have a standing invitation to visit the set. We read his monthly articles with great interest. And, to be honest, I don't think he knows that much about Tolkien. He seems to have read the books, but I think he wouldn't last long in a serious Tolkien debate (which may be more to his credit than against it).
Still, Tehanu's reconciliation with an enemy she didn't know she had made represents the only publicized crack in the walls surrounding the Minas Tirith which is Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" production.
Other people have reported on the sets. Most seem to show up after filming has completed and the production company has moved on. A few people actually boldly trespass and nearly get away with it all (I recall reading one spy report on a site where the spy had a camera and film confiscated, but he returned the next day and took some pictures of where things had been the day before).
And there are the insiders, some of whom have been fired (extras, so far as we know). I don't believe any Webmaster has asked any insider to risk their job. Nor do I believe any of the Webmasters would do so. But publishing comments by some of the insiders has indeed resulted in a few firings.
Who is responsible? Do we as Webmasters owe anything to people who cannot contain themselves? Should we be sharing every tidbit that comes our way with a media-saturated world which demands to know everything that happens as if it's watching a monolithic soap opera we call "real life"?
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