There's no denying the massive appeal of Middle-Earth, the fantastical world created by distinguished Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. He poured his heart and soul into his works, and the result is a literary realm that feels as real as the world we inhabit. With such a dedicated worldwide fan base, it really comes as no surprise that The Lord Of The Rings movie trilogy is one of the highest-grossing film trilogies of all time. The films themselves have a legacy of greatness; all three instalments were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year in the respective years of their release, with The Return Of The King claiming that prize. To date, it is the only fantasy film to win an Oscar for Best Picture of the Year. Considering the wild success The Lord Of The Rings enjoyed, it was inevitable that its prequel, The Hobbit, would also receive the blockbuster treatment. Expectations were high as everyone eagerly anticipated the release of the first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey. One thing became evident as An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation Of Smaug unfolded on our screens - Peter Jackson altered the story so much that it was almost unrecognizable as The Hobbit. While he was more or less faithful to the plot of The Lord Of The Rings, Jackson has taken liberties galore with The Hobbit. Although there are multiple divergences from the book, there are at least ten that stand out prominently and are so obviously different that Jackson probably hopes no one will read the book and realize what he changed.
Paula Luther hails from Pennsylvania and has been an avid Whovian since 2008. She enjoys writing (obviously), reading, dancing, video editing, and building websites. She has also self-published two books on Amazon, "Bart the Bard" and "Android Mae and Other Stories".
