Lord of the Rings Credits - Fan club (1 Viewer)

[Jonny K]

At the end of the Special Extended Edition of the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD (that's a mouthfull) are fan club credits:
"Charter members of LOTR Official fan club"
Well, are there really nearly 9,000 "Charter Members" in this fan club? Did they all contribute to this movie?! I was blown away. Here I'm thinking "Oh yeah, I'll just watch this to see how many there are". Well it went on for 20 minutes!!!
Here's my math:
Start Time of Club Credits: 1:42:32
End Time of Club Credits: 2:02:08
There are approximatly 5 names per line, and 15 lines displayed in 10 seconds.
The total time expired for the club credits is 19 minutes, 36 seconds.
15 lines per ten seconds * 5 names per line = 75 names per ten seconds.
(19 * 60 + 36) overall seconds / 10 seconds = 117.6 ten second chunks.
117.6 ten second chunks * 75 names per ten seconds = 8,820 names!!!
INSANE!!! I'd hate to be the poor sap who had to type all that.
Jonny K.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Yes, if you dropped $40 or whatever to join the club you got to be in there

I was going to do it until I realized how many fellow nerds would do it, and said. Hrm, waste of money

 

[John H Ross]

Am I the only one who thought that the inclusion of this list after the credits was mildly ridiculous? Call me old fashioned but I always sit through the credits (whether on DVD or at the cinema) and I like the credits to glide smoothly back to the menu. After sitting through these credits once I now feel compelled to skip to the menu after the credits "proper" have finished.

Would it not have made more sense to put this "fan club" rollcall on a separate menu item, possibly with image of the film behind or something? I mean... this list is just BORING BORING BORING!

John

 

[Tom Brennan]

Yeah, I think the geeks in the credits is the only blemish on an other wise excellent disc.

They should have listed the names separately, not as part of the actual film's credits. It ruins the flow of the credits. I really wish they would have used the original credit roll.

 

[Matt Stone]

You guys are looking at it the wrong way...you get 20 minutes of isolated score

 

[Jason_Els]

I'm with Matt. The score for FOTR is marvelous and Shore's added bits are a treat.
I like the credits simply because they acknowledge how uniquely involved and beloved the story is. For $40. I'm sure New Line made money on the deal but it's a nice tip of the hat to all the people who have supported, suggested, bickered, flamed, dreamed, and otherwise breathlessly waited for this film to come out. Perhaps like no other film in recent history, FOTR had to make the fans happy or face certain ruin. It is to New Line's credit that they offer (for a fee anyway ) this thanks. No other studio has done this.

 

[Vickie_M]

Quote:

You want the original credit roll, go watch the original theatrical release. New Line did a two-tier release specifically for people like you.

 

[Rob T]

You guys are looking at it the wrong way...you get 20 minutes of isolated score

Exactly.
Sometimes I'll eat dinner while just letting the credits roll and hear the score. It's great!

 

[TerryW]

Careful who you call a geek. Check the credits again, Peter Jackson is right there in the "J's."

 

[Randall Dorr]

They should have listed the names separately, not as part of the actual film's credits.

The agreement was, if you joined the fan club, your name would be put in the end credits of the film. A separate credit roll would not be part of the film.

I don't think it was lost on the disc's producers that the movie was, more or less, over at the end of the credits proper. Notice that the credits for the film and fan club are separate chapters? And the EE is listed as being 208 minutes, not the 228 minutes that it actually runs in total?

I though about joining the club, but decided against it. But now, I must admit, I'm a bit jealous of those who did. If it's not too late, I'd quite enjoy seeing my name at the end of the TTT and ROTK EE DVDs.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

You want the original credit roll, go watch the original theatrical release. New Line did a two-tier release specifically for people like you.

I don't think that's really fair. That's been the general comment. If you don't like one small bit about the EE, then you should go to the theatrical release. Just because they didn't like the expanded credits doesn't mean they didn't like the expanded cut of the film itself.
That said, I do think it's worth it for the extra music.

 

[Bill McCamy]

As a mini soundtrack, with the TV off, the extra credits are enjoyable. Besides, I was able to briefly mortify my teenage son with the claim that his name was among the faithful (until he watched the scroll).

As for wanting the original credit roll, just stop the dvd when the end of the original credits is reached. Or am I missing something? I thought that was why we had remotes, or at least buttons on the players.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Way back in November 2001 I considered joining up. I also thought about joining up my brother and his wife as a Christmas gift. It seemed like it would be fun. We all really like movies, and the idea of having your name in the credits of a major movie just seemed fun.

As a long time fan of the book, I knew the story on which the film was based was excellent, but at that time, I really didn't know of what quality these films would be. And as I racked up more and more on my credit card shopping for the Holidays and had to stick to a budget, I decided against it.

Obviously, when the film came out I discovered just how special it was. My brother and his wife also became big fans (the film lead my brother to read Tolkein's novel as well).

Prior to the Extended Edition coming out, I was aware of how much impressive work went into the production of this longer version specifically for the fans. When I watched the EE and it ended, I was extremely impressed with what Peter Jackson had done. As the credits proper ended and the fan club credits began to role I felt a strong pang of regret. What a missed opportunity! Being someone who not only loves movies but also likes collecting movie memorabilia (like movie props and autographed photos, etc..), seeing my name next to my brother's and his wife's in the credits of this most excellent film while hearing the score I love would have been really something special. My name would have been shown during the Shire music as well (which is my favorite)! This film will be a classic. The EE on DVD will be THE preferred version of the film for years and years to come. It would have been great FOR ME. Screw what anyone else thinks. I definitely regretted not getting my name up there.

I mean, Jesus Christ, you don't have to be rich! On any one particular Saturday night I might blow more than $40 on entertainment, eating out, and libations. So for the amount of cash I waste in some bar I could have had the fun of having my name FOREVER in the same group of names as Peter Jackson, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, and Elijah Wood (et al).

As for the people who do have their name in there, are they geeks? Maybe. But in the best sense of the word. I wish I was one of them.

 

[ChrisLee]

I have no regrets. I didn't pay $40 and yet my name appears by itself

 

[Bill McCamy]

So Chris, do you do autographs?

 

[Lance Nichols]

I am personally glad that my cash helped put out the EE version of what is, to my eyes, a wonderful movie and DVD. It was a minor thrill to see my name in a credit roll, especially on one of my all time favorite stories.

 

[Jim_C]

"Geeks" in the credits are a "blemish"? Boy, I had no idea credits were such an important thing to some people. I'm sorry my name is a blemish on the disc.

I wanted to join the fan club and at the time I had the option of joining as a charter member. I did. I get a fact filled magazine, discounts, free lithographs, and my name in the credits. Not bad for $40, IMO.

As for the names in the credits, if you don't like them turn them off. It's not like they're in the middle of the acutal credits. This seems like nitpicking to me.

 

[Craig S]

I dunno, it seems it would take a lot less time and energy to simply push the Stop button on your remote at the end of the film credits then it does to come onto this forum and bitch about the fan credits.

I am one of the "geeks" who joined the Fan Club with a Charter membership. I've never done anything like that before, but I figured "what the hell?". I don't regret it. The magazine is really good - it's worth keeping. And seeing my name up there was a nice, harmless thrill. Not to mention the fact that a different mix of Shore's best cue, "The Breaking of the Fellowship", was playing over the S's - that's a nice bonus that we likely wouldn't have got without the fan credits.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

See Craig and Jim's comments above me. I had never done it, but it was worth $100 (over 3 years) to get my name on DVD's I will treasure, 18 issues of a TOP NOTCH Fan Magazine, and some lithos. It works out to less than $3 a month. Not really elitist, eh? I didn't even care about the name on the disc...for a few moments, I felt like part of something special. Although my contributions were limited to MULTIPLE viewings of the film, and one heck of a lot of enthusiasm (creating a few new fans).
Sorry to ruin your DVD
Take care,
Chuck

 

[NeilO]

Originally, the fan club credits were supposed to be on all DVD editions of the movie. Way more people than were ever expected signed up for the fan club. There were some disappointed people when it was announced that the credits wouldn't be on the regular DVD. There were a few reasons, but one was Peter Jackson was so impressed with the giant 19 minute scroll that he asked Howard Shore to make the new score for those credits. Time and room were also tight on getting the DVD out.

For some people, getting their name in the credits was the main reason to be a charter member. Only charter members could get in the credits, so you can't add your name any more. Depending on how many years you signed up for, that was how many of the movies you have your name in the additional credits. It could be that for The Two Towers, there will be the fan credits in both editions. It will be a shorter list.

As for money value, just the lithographs that fan received is worth it for some people. The fan club magazine is quite wonderful. For those two parts of membership, I think every fan who signed up got their money worth. Being able to see your name in the credits is pretty cool as well. My children got a kick out of seeing my name and made me show some of their friends.

Neil