This just made me laugh.

While I was watching Fellowship of the Ring with my mother, about three-quarters of the way through, she points at Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) and asks me:

"Is he going to be in the other movies?"

"Well, Mum, he is the heir to the throne of Gondor, and the third book is called..."

Having ploughed through the first two books (her 50th birthday heralding the decision to read something other than Mills & Boon trash), she interrupts me, "The Return of the King."

She positively beams at this. "Good. It's always easier to watch a long movie if you've somebody sexy jumping about all the way through."

"What about Legolas?"

"Aw, the blonde's alright, but *that* one's GORGEOUS!"

Peter Jackson's vision of Middle Earth, and the biggest tourism ad for New Zealand (since the All Blacks, I suppose) reduced to three hours of my Mum waiting for Aragorn to stride manfully. Quality.

Bourne