Nerd alert.

I first read J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings in college. From that point on I was hooked on all things Middle Earth. I would joke with Leeanne when we were engaged (and even yesterday when we were talking with some friends about wedding rings) that I wanted the "one ring" as my wedding band. It was that or a Batman ring, both of which unbelievably are available in the Skymall catalog, here and here. Pick one up for yourself next time you fly. Then when the movies came out, I, along with countless others (except for, inexcusably, my brother-in-law Jeff), became super-geeks upon seeing the universe Tolkien created faithfully given cinematic life. I love those movies, and while they are long, I'll watch them every time I come across them on TNT or AMC (same goes for Braveheart or Godfather II). Also, even though watching the entire trilogy would take a solid nine hours or so (not even including the indispensable bonus features) it takes considerable less time than reading the books - that takes true commitment, easy readers.

While all of the LOTR fans are waiting for the next movie to add to the collection - The Hobbit, split into two separate films, produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Guillermo Del Toro - in the meantime, here's something fun.

A group of "incredibly proactive dork- er, Lord of the Rings enthusiasts," recently shot a 40-minute, high-definition film in North Wales with an all-volunteer crew of 150. On Sunday, May 3rd, it will be released, online and free, at TheHuntForGollum.com. Check out the trailer below. Cheesy? Undoubtedly. Legal? Uncertain. Awesome? Undeniably.
Does it make you wonder how many of these dudes live in a basement and showed up to the audition already in full costumes their mothers made? Indubitably. And it's that kind of commitment I want out of film-making fans if I'm going to sit down on my couch and waste my time watching something for free.

THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM - FULL Trailer 1 from Independent Online Cinema on Vimeo.