#11
strana.ru
February 7, 2002
Tolkien Fans Prepare to Rush Moscow's Cinemas
Special Premiere arranged for Tolkien enthusiasts but few are expected to attended
By Victoria Whall

The film of the first book of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy premieres in cinemas across Moscow this Thursday. The three-hour film of "The Fellowship of the Ring" made the culture section of three national daily newspapers Thursday morning and "Afisha" - a popular entertainment guide to going out in Moscow - dedicated a whole 26 pages to coverage of the film in its latest issue.

Tolkien's tales of middle earth are no less popular in Russia than elsewhere, it seems. Indeed, only fourteen years after the Hobbit first arrived in Russia, "Hobbit (role-play) Games" were arranged in a town on the Man River in Siberia. The event was arranged by the science fiction lovers' group of Krasnoyarsk and it was an indisputable success, approximately 150 people participated, a Russian enthusiasts' website says.

Group numbers have since mushroomed to such an extent that Tolkienists are a recognized phenomenon in Russia. According to a Russian employee at "Russia Today",in Moscow some Tolkienists gather at "Iskuchnyi Garden" on Leninsky Prospect. One of her friends, a crazy fan, she says,often meets fellow Tolkienists there to talk about the books and act out variations of the story.

Only a very few copies of the first Russian translation of Tolkien's first book, "The Hobbit" arrived in Russia in 1976. Due to the difficulty of getting hold of books at the time, the books were copied and re-copied in the 1980's and before long they came to the attention of science fiction lovers and developed a solid fan base very quicky.

At the Central House of Literature situated near Gorky Park a special screening of the film is being offered to Tolkien fanatics this Thursday.

The showing is open to visitors of the website www.tolkien.ru and their friends, and with attendees expected to turn up in costume - the organizers have everyone to dress up in the style of Tolkien's books - it promises to be quite an event.

According to Izvestya, with tickets are priced at 150-200 rubles ($5 -$6)however, most Tolkienists will be too poor to afford tickets to the special showing. Ironic since the point was presumably to provide special fans with an affordable way of seeing the "Fellowship of the Ring" at the first opportunity i.e. at a premiere. Braving the premiere at Puhskinskaya cinema, for example, is likely to be extortionately expensive.

Regardless of whether Tolkienists get to see the film in advance or have to wait along with the rest of the city until the film comes out on general release, one thing is for sure, there will be a lot of Russian Tolkien fans visiting the cinema to give their verdict of "The Fellowship of the Rings" in the coming weeks.

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