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In the News...
This section is dedicated to news stories about the Chicago Line Party, or stories that featured members of the Chicago Line Party

THE CHICAGO LINE PARTY IN THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE (Featuring an interview with Tigerlily Gamgee, and written by Line Party member, Web):
Tolkien fans await `The Return of the King'
By Web Behrens
Special to the Tribune
Published December 12, 2003

They're counting by the hours now.
For fans of this historic movie trilogy, the two-year-long journey to the final chapter of "The Lord of the Rings" has reached its home stretch. "The Return of the King" opens Wednesday, which can't arrive soon enough for the die-hards, who literally won't wait more than a minute once the clock ticks midnight. At 12:01 a.m., the AMC River East 21 will unveil the film for those willing to stay up most of the night to experience it.

In the hours leading up to the event, hundreds will gather at the cinema for the fan-organized Line Party, which will feature a costume contest and charity raffle, with proceeds to benefit local food banks. Prizes include replicas of Gandalf's and Aragorn's swords and, naturally, the One Ring itself. Meanwhile, to entertain the eager fans in line, cast members of the Free Associates' "Frodo A-Go-Go," a loving "Rings" spoof, will make an appearance.

"It's a great way for fans to meet each other," said organizer Melanie [last name cut], 23. "A lot of the people in the Party are Tolkien scholars." Membership to the Line Parties--there are dozens, in cities all over the world--is free, and people sign up via TheOneRing.net, the premiere fan-run "LOTR" Web site.

Of course, you still have to buy your ticket to the film. AMC plans five midnight screenings of "King" in its River East multiplex, and at press time, two were already sold out. "Get tickets in advance," [Melanie] said.

STORY ABOUT WOMEN LOTR FANS (Featuring interviews with Telcontar and Ninquelosse, and written by Line Party member, Web)
From the Chicago Tribune
'Rings' fellowship not confined to fellows
By Web Behrens
Special to the Tribune

They stood together, a loose-knit circle in the middle of the bookstore. Minutes before, they had been mostly strangers to one another, but they gathered quickly, bonded by a passion that makes easy friends.

"My daughter was really upset with how much they changed in the second," said Valerie Xanos.

They were discussing, of course, the still-smoldering issue of Faramir, son of Denethor. In the book, he behaves with noble restraint, but the film finds him faltering, much like his late brother Boromir.

Welcome to the world of "The Lord of the Rings" fandom. For the uninitiated, such talk of Middle Earth must sound like gibberish. But for millions worldwide who've fallen under the spell of the epic books by J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson's stunning film adaptations, certain topics spark enthusiastic debates.

The Ringers, as they sometimes call themselves, can discuss the characterization of Faramir in "The Two Towers" or the disappearance of Tom Bombadil in "The Fellowship of the Ring" with as much passion as Washington pundits bring to their sparring matches on Sunday morning TV.

This particular meeting of the fans, on a chilly fall night recently, never rises to that level of zealotry. The informal gathering happened at Barbara's Bookstore in Oak Park, where the group watched a documentary from the "The Two Towers" DVD about Tolkien. They also perused several just-released books chock-full of photos from the third and final film, "The Return of the King." That's what this fever is creeping toward: the "King" debut on Wednesday.

"I'm going!" piped up 8th grader Rhiannon Xanos, Valerie's daughter, who apparently isn't holding a grudge about that Faramir problem. "I've got a cloak and everything." Many Ringers will dress up--as hobbits, elves, wizards--for The Big Event.

As the group dispersed, another fan, a middle-age woman, noted that the "Rings" fan base is demographically quite broad.

"It's not just teenage boys," she said. Indeed, the highly unscientific sampling at the bookstore contained twice as many women as men. Those numbers, as it turns out, are no anomaly: Women have long been devotees of the books, and those numbers naturally have skyrocketed since the first film debuted two years ago. This, despite the perspective of some critics that Middle Earth is a "boys' club," due to the relatively small roles played by female characters. (Jackson and his co-screenwriters, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, have bolstered those roles for the films.)

AZ Shoshani, founder of the Chicago Fellowship, a local fan organization, said many outsiders are surprised to learn that women make up 75 percent of the group's membership. "Most people look on these types of fandoms as being very male-oriented, because it's sword-and-sorcery and battles and that sort of thing," said Shoshani, who considers herself a "voracious reader." That's significant, she thinks: "Part of the reason Tolkien fans have more female involvement, in spite of the fact that there aren't many female roles, is that it's a literary work."

Elan Lange agrees. She first read the trilogy when she was 10, and says, "I suppose a child growing up with lots of books involving alternate universes--Middle-Earth, Narnia, Earthsea, Faerie in all its myriad forms--is perhaps more open to the idea that he or she can do anything."

The very notion that women probably wouldn't be interested in "The Lord of the Rings"--an example of "medieval fantasy tales"--is flat-out wrong, said Ramona Curry, an associate professor of cinema studies and women's studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "It would be a mistake to assume--or to perpetuate the assumption--that boys and men like fantasy literature, and its film realizations, more than girls and women," she said.

Of course, as Shoshani pointed out, "There are two sides to the female fandom." Ah, yes--those newer converts, many of whom have never cracked a Tolkien book. They're not necessarily lured by the detailed plot or the hefty themes but by the sexy actors, such as Orlando Bloom and Elijah Wood.

"Factor in the elf- and hobbit-fanciers who swoon every time Legolas does something impossible with a bow and arrow or when Frodo gives Sam a hug, and you've got quite a thing going," said Lange.

This "thing," this coalescence of many strands of fandom, will experience its climax Tuesday. Ringers will gather downtown at the AMC River East 21 for the Line Party--a chance to gather in the lobby for the hours leading up to the 12:01 a.m. Wednesday showing of "King." With a running time reported to be 210 minutes, that means the fans won't be leaving the cinema till 3:30 in the morning.

"I'm so looking forward to it," said Rosanne Stewart, a high school teacher of British literature in South Holland. She also caught a midnight screening of "The Two Towers" a year ago; she got two hours of sleep that night and then administered finals at school. "I honestly do recognize that this is a little silly," Stewart said. "I'm 35, not 16, but I'm practically hopping up and down with excitement."

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