Okay, brace yourselves. I'll let you know when we get to exhibit spoiler
parts (in italics) so you can skip past if you plan to go. I definitely
don't want to distort anyone's personal discovery. This is a once in a
lifetime experience... keep it safe :)
The first time I heard the Lord of the Rings National Exhibit was
coming to Indianapolis, I about collapsed! Finally, FINALLY... something
was coming closer to MY AREA! Grant you, it was a 5 ½ hour drive away...
but still....
I lived in Indy for a few years in the 80s and was really looking
forward to seeing the place again.
The thought of meeting up with at least 35 people (most of them
TORnsibs) had me giddy and nervous at the same time. I'm always
challenged at these moots because the RL names tend to infiltrate the nicknames
and I get all befuddled! I'm doing good if I can remember ONE name.
I sometimes feel like I'm in LotR where all the characters have multiple
aliases! However... everyone was just so warm and un-intimidating that I
found I did a half-way decent job of keeping up with ALL of them :)
The plan was to meet on Friday and go for dinner that night; some
were going on a tour around town afterwards; Saturday morning 9am at the
exhibit; 6pm Saturday night a gathering of special magnificence at the
Rathskeller pub.
Upon arrival to the hotel in Indy where most of us were staying
(about 3 blocks from the museum *twitch*), I went straight to the designated
room to check in with our chief moot coordinators Éomer's Woman and
Arevanye. I finally met Éomer's Woman and Estelwyn!!! and reconnected
with Entmaiden and Arevanye, et. al. *waves hi* I also discovered my
roommate for the weekend JRandomRohirrim! Hi Roomie! :D She
captured a pic of me in my gnomie pajamas (this picture rated E for
eeeeeeek!—enter at your own risk) "grammasjammas
Now... this is the hardest part of doing a report. The
simple fear of leaving someone out. I plead now at the get-go for
forgiveness if I misplace anyone! I have to be totally honest, I was SO
mind-boggled at going to the exhibit, much of the weekend is a blur. I
think everyone there perceived I was sorta enjoying myself (MASSIVELY), but
there were all these too cool things SO CLOSE BY that were worn/handled by
Elijah *twitch*, Sean(s), Ian(s), Viggo, Orlando, Christopher, JRD, and all the
other dudes and dudettes, not to mention their toys and... and... well,
you get the picture.
It wasn't long before we all gathered together and made our way to
a nearby pub for dinner. Food! Yummy food and a chance to meet
sibbies for the first time and embrace those I'd been lucky to see
before! Gad... every time I meet up with you guys, I'm staggered by how
fantastic and generous you ALL are! Lovely, lovely, lovely :)
But, no matter how much I'm enamoured of you, there were still these treasures
not too far away... and they were calling to me. *cups hand to ear*
So while the others embarked on a journey to discover the ghostly locations of
Indianapolis' downtown, I took off for West Washington Street and the
Indianapolis State Museum!!! THIRD FLOOR!! *spasm* By the
time I walked the long way around to the right street then down the several
blocks to the museum, my ears were ringing and my heart was racing with
anticipation. I couldn't believe where I was and what I was about to
see. Everything I've experienced because of TheOneRing.net was rushing
through my mind as I got closer and closer and knew I was in a dream. I
finally reached the main doors, grabbed the handle, and went in.
OMG… I couldn't help it. As soon as I walked through the
entrance to the exhibit, I was crying. I bawled nearly through the whole
thing that Friday night. There were only a few people there, so I was
able to linger and swoon at each display.
"Exhibit program pg 1
"Exhibit program pgs 2-3"
"Exhibit program pg 4
"Exhibit flyer"
"Exhibit flyer backside"
SPOILER PARAGRAPHS
There was nothing of the Coronation or Éowyn (except maybe a helmet like she
wore). No Merry, Pippin’s clothes displayed... just Frodo's outfit and
Sam's pack. No Bag End display, which totally bummed me. I was
hoping at least for Bilbo’s desk. There were, however, things of theirs
throughout.
Seeing Frodo's Shire clothes and the Red Book/phial/map of the
Lonely Mountain/Sting hit me hard... but the place where I really lost it was
when I came upon the Morgul blade, suspended in the air pointing down as it
would be coming at Frodo. It's hideous... broken, jagged, brutal... and
as soon as I saw it I lost it because I could see that ugliness burying into
Frodo's shoulder and I could feel it!
The boat with Boromir lying in it was eerie. You can see
blood stains on the cuff of his sleeve and above his head on the bedroll where
he rests, how the top of his sleeve is cleaner where the bracers were and its
dirtier on the underside, how the strap of his shield was laced through the
rails on the inside of the boat to hold it in place, the calluses on his
knuckles… just phenomenal. The weight, bulk and weave of Gandalf’s
clothes; items from Saruman’s desk and the Minas Tirith Library; the Cave
Troll, Lurtz, the Nazgul, Treebeard, and the Witch-king towering menacingly
over you… beyond incredible! I had trouble walking near the
Witch-king. Didn’t linger there very long.
I look back at other’s reviews on this exhibit and try to picture
the “details” and “lifelike” figures there… but it’s way more than that.
You can’t believe the intricacy… the passion and thought that went into every
single piece! It's like trying to describe the emotions of the films...
too beautiful or compelling to find words to express… and how surreal it is to
have the clothes and artifacts right there. I wish it had been lit more
in order to see ALL the costume's details from head to toe. It was very
dim and shadowy, which I understand for mood and effect, but I was very
frustrated at the restriction because of it.
I got busted for taking notes. "No sketches, no notes, no
pictures, no audio recordings, no nothing... it's ALL copyrighted."
pffft He was about 2 hours too late ;) At most of the displays,
there was a monitor with anywhere from 2 to 5 selections of behind the scenes
commentaries like we have on the dvds… but there were some I hadn’t seen
before.
Friday when I left, I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t realize I
blasted right past an incredible display of the sketches and matte paintings
just past the souvenir sales area and before the exit!!!! I discovered
them on Saturday, and the waterworks started all over again. They’re
astonishing!! Arevanye noticed you could see the thumbtack holes in the
ones in the main exhibit from where they’d hung at Weta and on set!!
Another reason to go again;)
Saturday was crowded with a mixture of sibbies, straights, and a
variety of costumed elves, hobbits and wizards. I’d have to walk away
from displays when people who had NO IDEA what they were looking at would come
up and start making commentary on it. “Isn’t that, uh, Fordo in the
boat?” ARGH!! I’d go back when the people cleared away. I
tried to not cry when I was with our group, but it still oozed out on
occasion. Eomer’s Woman snagged me to do a forced-perspective photo
together on Gandalf’s cart!!! "It's wonderful to see you!!"
That was SO COOL!!!
At about 1:30, I met up with Shuya and we decided to go to lunch
in the cafeteria. They had Plastic Exhibit tumblers for our
drinks!!! The guy at the cash register also let us steal one of the table
tent displays.
This is the last stop for the exhibit before it's back to NZ...
and it's the most complete collection with things from RotK that weren't
included before since it was so close to the release of the film. ALL of
the items were actually used in the films!! Every display was
wonderful!
I went again for a little while on Saturday afternoon after I
found my museum coupon for $7 you get when you become a museum member.
That on top of the 10% discount for being a member made it possible for me to
get a Legolas/Gimli standee for $13!!! The only member of the Fellowship
I don’t have is Boromir… and I’ve only seen him once at ORC. Let’s just
say we turned a few heads as we made our way down the sidewalk to the hotel
;) I didn’t go again on Sunday before I left for home. There was no
time, and I’d hit overload.
The dinner we had Saturday night was AWESOME! Eomer’s Woman
and Arevanye really put a lot of work into it (as well as all their wonderful
volunteers). The pub (Rathskeller’s) had closed their doors (on a
Saturday Night!!) and were open just for us… 3 LotR idiots like us!
(6-10pm) There was an ongoing slide show of previous gatherings and
pictures people sent to Eomer’s Woman, goodie bags (picked up earlier), LOTS
and LOTS of giveaways, and we played a couple of home-made rounds of Jeopardy
using LotR as categories that were created very well by Entmaiden &
tealbee! The food was wonderful (pastas, hand-made ravioli, salad, bread
sticks, drinks, cheesecake petite fors (sp?), etc)! A look-alike Gandalf
(like the one at the Oscars/Orc) and a hobbit were at the museum, so we invited
them to come along. I don’t think they’d ever been around a group
like us before ;)
Estelwyn won a gift-certificate for Borders; so when we all left
the pub to go back to the hotel, she and I spontaneously stopped at one that
was right there and we did some shopping as the others pressed on to The
Chocolate Shop around the corner for dessert. I think I had the clerk at
Borders caught up on my life story and most of Estelwyn's in about 90
seconds... a personal best, I must say. Very soon we left and went to
catch up with the others. The Chocolate Factory is a sweet (pardon the
pun) little store filled with confections, treats, pies... bliss. I
drooled over the brownies and lusted after the chocolates, but I couldn't
decide what to pick. I wandered to the back of the shop through the maze
of people when I found... IT. The ICE CREAM COUNTER!!!!
Wahooo! I had moosetracks in a waffle cone! Could the weekend get
any better? I THINK NOT!
Then it was time to wander back to the hotel. It was getting
late and we knew it was coming to the end. But one last gathering in
HobbitLoveR*M-e (Hobbit: Lover of Middle-earth!!!) and her most excellent
husband's room gave us all one last chance to absorb as much as we could of our
time together.
Sunday morning came. JRR saw I was sent off well-fed when
she took me to the restaurant for a hearty breakfast. I hadn't had such a
great morning meal in months! Thanks again, m'dear :) For
everything!
I took my time driving home as listened to dvd commentaries and
the rest of the cast commentary of Return of the King. I sobbed the whole
last hour of my drive as Sean and Elijah carried me through their journey with
such sensitivity. I'll always love them for that. I needed there to
be some emotion shared in describing what it was like filming the last of
Return of the King... and they were right there, perfect companions.
This weekend is right up there with ORC in my
Stimulation/Input/Gratification geek-o-meter measurement. Pinned the
needle! I’m still trying to absorb everything. I’m waiting for my
pictures to be developed, so I’ll be back with those when I get them ready.
I do have to say I've come back changed after the exhibit and
seeing everything there... real in fact and not just in my imagination.
I'm changed in my awe of the love and detail in these films and the work that
went into them. There are no words to do them justice.
Splendid. Magically splendid. I couldn't believe it was real and I
was standing there... drinking in one display at time. It’s changed the
depth of the world for me not only for the films, but for my read as
well. It’s made the story and Middle-earth so alive… the films
richer and more incredible. I’m so lucky to be a part of the birth of
these films and the evolution of Tolkien's story. Bless Peter and New
Line for just going for it and believing in Tolkien’s world. But this
experience in Indianapolis and the exhibit would not have been as momentous
without TORn and everyone there to share it with. Thank you all… and I’ll
see you again soon!
Huggles!
Thank you Peter... What a ride!
"Barney Snow was here."
LotR Observation Lists updated 9/02/05
