Apologies for the tangential relevance to AoIR topics: ---------------------------------------------------------- What did you think of The Lord of the Rings? The Lord of the Rings has been an international phenomenon, already earning $2 billion. It has been a box office hit in many very different countries ­ and we want to understand why. To coincide with the release of the final part of the film, an international research project is exploring how audiences respond to the film ­ and what it means to them. Where is Middle-earth in your imagination? This will be the largest ever investigation of audience responses to a film. This isn't only for fans. Some people prefer the books. Some people find it all overrated. And so on. Whatever your views on the film, we want to hear them. We have a web questionnaire at this address: www.lordoftheringsresearch.net. Please pay a visit when you've seen the film. We have promised to publish all our findings on the same website, once the project is completed. This message has been forwarded to you at our request. If you can think of others who might be interested, please do pass it along! Many thanks. Martin Barker Project Director, University of Wales, Aberystwyth