Tolkein movie director to stand mock trial

YPSILANTI, Mich., Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Critics have generally praised and audiences flocked to "The Fellowship of the Ring," Peter Jackson's first installment of three films intended to bring J. R. R. Tolkien's master fantasy trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings," to the silver screen.

But does Jackson's recreation of mythic Middle Earth, down to the elves, orcs, wizards, warriors and hobbits, pass muster for tried-and-true Tolkien fans?

That's the question that will be examined by a cadre of fans at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at Ave Maria College, where a mock trial of Peter Jackson will be staged. Students at the Catholic liberal arts college will render verdict.

"This will be very tongue-in-cheek, and we plan to play up very big," said the college's writer-in-residence and Tolkien biographer Joseph Pearce, one of the two Tolkien experts to present evidence at the "Trial of Peter Jackson for the desecration of "The Lord of the Rings"."

Pearce is the author of "Tolkien: Man and Myth," and most recently, "Tolkien a Celebration: Collected Writing on a Literary Legacy."

Admission will be free, which will be held in the college auditorium in the academic building. The mock trial is expected to last about one and a half hours, including time allotted for the audience to participate in a cross examination of the Tolkien experts.

While Pearce serves as defense attorney, literature professor Henry Russell, Ph.D., will serve as prosecutor. Ave Maria Radio talk show host Al Kresta will moderate the mock trial as judge and pronounce sentence if a verdict is rendered for the prosecution.

Both professors spoke to packed theaters at Quality 16 and Showcase during the movie's opening week, presenting background on the literary importance of the trilogy authored by the late John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, professor of Anglo-Saxon language and literature at Oxford University in England. The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy has been popular since it was published in the early 1950s and has been named "the book of the century" in several reader polls.

Russell has already laid down the gauntlet, remarking that Jackson's rendition of Tolkien, "has all the depth and intellect of a video game." Pearce declined to make a statement, because, he said, "I'm waiting until the trial to present my evidence."

Pearce said the students at the Catholic college are big fans of Catholic author Tolkien and his fantasy world, so the college "expects to have a lot of fun with this one."