Wall Street Journal Hedcuts from "The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy

 So, this past weekend I endured "The Hobbit: An Excruciating Journey". I will admit that there were some really enjoyable moments, and the filmmaking itself was pretty darn terrific (most of the time). I don't even mind a movie's long running time when I'm engrossed 'til the end. I guess this just wasn't my cup o' tea..."The Lord of the Rings" trilogy began during the holiday season back in 2001 with "The Fellowship of the Ring". My Wall Street Journal hedcut for that first film was an easy choice; Elijah Wood's central character, Frodo Baggins. "The Two Towers" opened a year later, and as Viggo Mortensen's character Aragorn was more prominently featured - we chose to render him and his (took forever to dot) long locks. The story wrapped up with "The Return of the King" in 2003. As I was beginning a rendering of Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Joe Morgenstern reconsidered his notes and wisely decided that the trilogy's Director, Peter Jackson was really the star of the show. This was the first and only time that Joe's column featured a hedcut of a film's Director rather than one of its actors...and it made perfect sense. Today, all three of these original pen & ink drawings are owned by private collectors.