'Seeing' the book

[Airetauriel]

I've been thinking for a while on the effect seeing the first film has had on re-reading the trilogy. Has anyone else found that their initial vision of how the places and characters looked has changed with seeing them on the big screen? Being able to look at someone else's vision of how each place and person looks has altered my initial perceptions and imaginings when I first read the book. Is this a sentiment shared by anyone else? Also in 'seeing' the book, when re-reading, you become more visually oriented, I find. You feel the book the first time you read it, and later you find yourself imagining the places and people, but I seem to have lost that now. Even when reading TTT or ROTK, which we haven't yet seen, 'my' Frodo - the one from my imagination - has been replaced with Elijah Wood. Also, when reading the book, you forget about the obvious size difference between all the characters, and don't usually think about the problems that would cause when they were all travelling together, but now I think about it regularly when reading. <P>If I'm being a little unclear, think of this. There's somewhere you have to go and someone you have to meet. It's a very important meeting - say, for example, a new job and your new boss. The night before you imagine the workplace and the boss, and all the scenarios, as you sit there worrying about it, but you have that mental image of an office and a person. Of course, the next day, it turns out nothing like you imagined it, but it all goes fine, you get used to the reality, and therefore can never remember afterwards your preconceptions and imaginings about the place. <P>The images of the film are everywhere and they are stealing my imagination!!!! This is why I'm a book person. I don't have anything against the film, but I'm really having to cling to my own vision in the face of so many other people's ideas.<P>Anyone understand what I'm getting at???<P>Airetauriel