If you still haven't seen the new Lord of the Rings trailer (available for download from the official site) -- do yourself a favour and check it out...now. I can't express in words how excited I am about the prospect of seeing this story play out on the big screen. I first read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings when I was thirteen or fourteen, and I've read both books a bunch of times since then, yet I'm always fascinated, I'm always moved and thrilled, and I always shed a tear at the very end... And I've always wanted to see Tolkien's amazing world and characters brought to life -- Bakshi's attempt doesn't count, because, let's face it, it was utter, utter shite -- in a grand, spare-no-costs, passionate and honest fashion. In fact, I thought that I would probably have to make this movie myself, because who else could?

Peter Jackson is who.

I've been following this production since day one, since it was just a rumour floating around on the Internet, and now that the first real trailer has been released, I can't stop watching it. It's not a perfect trailer. It's got that voice, that Mr. Voice voice. It's cut like a typical Hollywood trailer. But the images it conveys, the promise it holds, the perfection of the casting, the environments, the effects, the music...there's so much there, so much to look forward to, I just can't stop watching it.

So please, if you haven't seen it, even if you've never heard of the book or the movie or Peter Jackson or anything involved with this miracle in the making...go look at it now.  ¶ 17:58