Albuquerque, NM -- May 19, 2000 -- Michael Martinez, one of the Internet's leading experts on J.R.R. Tolkien, is launching a new series of innovative Web pages devoted to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings characters. The first page is devoted to Liv Tyler and the Elven princess Arwen (http//www.xenite.org/tolkien/movies/liv-tyler-is-arwen.html).
Due to the immense interest in the upcoming "Lord of the Rings" movies currently being filmed in New Zealand, new Tolkien Web sites are created daily. Most contain a few links to movie news sites, cast and production credits, and a few pictures. Xenite.Org's actor/character biography pages go beyond the norm by adding RealAudio files where the Tolkien expert talks about the characters at length. The recording is unscripted.
"It's a different Web surfing experience," Martinez says. "Responses were positive when we announced the Liv Tyler/Arwen page on our message forum." The actress biography is brief but the Arwen biography provides more detail than other Web sites. "This isn't just another Web page," Martinez explains. "It's the first step toward a true multimedia resource. Sometimes what we hear stays with us better than what we read." Martinez has studied Tolkien's works for 20 years and is published in several journals. He writes a weekly column for Suite101 about Tolkien and Middle-earth. Martinez has provided background material for Toy Vault's Middle-earth Toys Web site since the action figures were introduced in 1998.
The Arwen RealAudio file is a 20-minute recording of Martinez talking about the special abilities of Arwen. "It's an experimental concept," Martinez says. "But the initial reactions are encouraging. People listen to the recording while they surf the web. They'll get more information about Arwen by listening to the RealAudio as they read the character biography.
"Despite having no official relationship with the movies project, Martinez says he was contacted privately by one of the artists last year. "I was asked a few questions about Tolkien's world," he says. "It was no big thing, really. But it showed me just how limiting the written word truly is when you are trying to convey ideas to someone. The reader doesn't get all the little nuances of your voice. Combining text with audio helps make a better impression. You can really explore the details." RealAudio is a trademark of RealNetworks, which produces the RealAudio technology and makes it freely available for anyone to use. Xenite.Org is not affiliated with RealNetworks.
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