I was just in the bath, thinking about film. Lyn and I were discussing it earlier, and I was astonished to realise how much the subject still excites me. As soon as I started to talk about watching film in terms of it’s internal structures, I felt like a schoolboy again, telling his friends about Tolkien. I have a tendency, which could be related to my cerebral palsy, to get very excited about such things.

After our conversation I decided to take a bath, where the greatest idea occurred to me. I was thinking about The hobbit yesterday: I now know how, if I was Peter Jackson, I would start the first movie. Wouldn’t it be cool if, before the whole thing began, before even the titles, we had a shot of a man at a desk, marking exam papers. Suddenly, he turns one over; we see that the paper is blank, and we hear him say ”hmm’ and start to write. Only then would the film proper begin.

I think this is a great idea, and I’m seriously thinking about writing to Mr. Jackson to tell him about it. The film is probably already in the can though, which is why I’m recording it here for posterity. It would be a lovely in-joke for he fans, and a great tribute to Tolkien himself.