“A single dream is worth more than a thousand realities.”
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
The special showing of the movie “Tolkien” began with these onscreen quotes by the famous author J.R.R. Tolkien.
Before the movie, John Tindell, professor at Northampton Community College, acquainted 58 of us with these quotes and some intriguing facts about Tolkien, author of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” Did you know that he was fluent in 11 languages, including Gothic, Old English, and Middle English? Did you know he first wrote Hobbit stories for his children and had to be persuaded to publish them? And he worked on “The Lord of the Rings” for 10 years, a book that earned him only one award in his lifetime – the 1957 International Fantasy Award. But he has garnered many pop culture awards — that book was voted “book of the millennium” on Amazon.com, the best loved novel in a 2003 BBC survey and Lit has sold 150 million copies. “The Hobbit: has sold 100 million.
After the new movie “Tolkien,” Tindell entertained questions from the audience. Many Tolkien fans were in the audience and had comments to share. Sandy Vieczorek was fascinated to find out such a renowned Oxford University professor almost lost his scholarship to Oxford because of his poor grades. Most of us were surprised he came from very humble beginnings, even becoming an orphan. Tindell pointed out the movie took artistic license to tell the story, but all agreed they learned so much about how his early life and World War I military experience influenced his work.
Summer Fest is over but good theatre is still in store for you at the Dietrich Theater. Whether or not you saw the 1950 film with Bette Davis, you will love the National Theatre Live production of “All About Eve” onscreen on Sundays, Aug. 11 and 18 at 2 p.m. with Gillian Anderson as Margo Channing, the actress who has always been the star, but is now eclipsed by the young and beautiful Eve. You may remember Gillian Anderson in the National Theatre Live production of “Streetcar Named Desire.” It’s easy to imagine her as Margo Channing. For tickets. go to www.dietrichtheater.com or call the theater at 570-996-1500.
Make sure Gathering of Singer/Songwriters is on your calendar. Wednesday, Aug. 21 at 7:30 p.m. Lorne Clarke and Tom Flannery will take their places on the Dietrich Theater stage for the 18th year. They will be joined by Ellie Rose and Mickey Spain, two newcomers to the Dietrich stage. Next week I will tell you more about them and this free concert.
The Dietrich works hard to bring you the best movie and theatre experiences – the best blockbuster movies in four theaters and the best foreign and independent movies, too. Check us out! Just remember — we do it all for you.
