What is my project all about?

Between 2001 and 2003, New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy became one of the most celebrated pieces of film of recent years. The success of The Lord of the Rings depended largely upon its wide fan base. It became imperative for the producers to appease the fans of Tolkien’s novels, as they would have depended upon this particular crowd for their box-office success.

Now, the stakes are raised even higher with the approach of the new two-film adaptation of Lord of the Ring’s prequel, The Hobbit. Filmed by a new director, Guillermo Del Toro, The Hobbit nevertheless reaches out to the same fans who made Jackson’s trilogy a success - a large number of the production crew remains the same, including several recurring cast members. This presents an even greater challenge for producers, with not one but two pre-defined fan-groups needing to be won over: the fans of Tolkien’s original book, and those who developed later around Jackson’s trilogy.

The way in which Del Toro’s films are viewed at present by the different fan groups is mirrored in the mass of online forums, message boards and other websites which are designed to facilitate debate and discussion. My PHD project seeks to define the fans of the new film, exploring the expectations, hopes and fears of the different fan groups. It will also examine the role of the internet in the build up and release of the films, focussing on sites that feature message boards and forums for fans to interact with.

My PHD project involves surveying one or more fan websites over a period of time before, during and after the release of one or both Hobbit films. I will be looking for patterns that emerge in discussions and identify key talking points. I will also pay attention to the ways in which the producers actively make use of these websites in the production of the films. I will be analysing fan response to key points in the development of the film, such as the release of official teasers and trailers, circulation of information and spoilers, the release of merchandise, as well as the rise of fan-fiction and other forms of fan participation.

I believe my project will deepen the research already carried out in the area of fandom, and in particular, the increasing role of the internet in establishing fan communities. The Hobbit presents an intriguing new challenge for producers who have already been seen to rely heavily upon existing fan bases and reaching out to those audiences through websites. If The Lord of the Rings trilogy was seen as somewhat unique in the sense that it catered to a pre-existing fan base - Tolkien’s novels, then The Hobbit can be seen as doing something very different again - drawing upon fans of the book while also providing consistency with Jackson’s vision of ‘Middle Earth’ to draw in fans of the trilogy (many of whom will have never read the books).