Lord of the Fan Pages

If you are like me, then you love The Lord of the Rings books and movies. I have literally been to the midnight showing premiere of all three movies. It was bittersweet to see the last of the trilogy, The Return of the King in 2003. But wait! There is more to look forward to! The director of the LOTR trilogy, Peter Jackson, just started production on the prequel to all three- The Hobbit. Guess what? The movie already has a facebook fan page!

I believe that this is one of the smartest and most cost effective ways to promote a movie that is just now in the principal photography stage. Actually, today was the first day of official production. It is so cool that Jackson has made a fan page to coincide with the filming. The director is providing photos and info about the making of The Hobbit on the fan page. Check out Jackson on the set:

Wouldn't you want to see a movie when you have witnessed the behind the scenes magic? Peter Jackson is really giving his fans as much access as possible into the world of The Shire. He has also released the news about who is playing the coveted role of the young Bilbo Baggins- Martin Freeman. He is best known for his portrayal of Tim (our Jim) on the British version of The Office.

The two film adaptation of The Hobbit is set to release in 2012 and 2013. While that may seem far away, fans can keep up with all of the excitement and show their anticipation through the facebook fan page. People "Like" fan pages to feel like a part of a community. The Hobbit community will have an advantage over others because they can keep up with the production first hand. You know how us nerds are! We "Like" to promote what we love. The Hobbit page already has over 78,000 fans! All Peter Jackson had to do was create a page and the The LOTR fans came running. A fan page really is the newest and best way to market yourself. Here is a note from The Hobbit fan page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/note.php?note_id=191000667602213

Would you follow The Hobbit fan page? Do you even like The Lord of the Rings?

I would like to think that J.R.R. Tolkien would have been proud of the movie adaptations of his masterpieces. But what I really want to know is what Tolkien would have thought about new new media. I wonder if Web 2.0 was around while he was living, if he would have blogged or promoted his books via facebook/twitter? I am sure that someone out there has created a facebook fan page for the author. Oh wait- I found one! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/J-R-R-Tolkien/17264938053