Regular patrons of this site will be aware that I sometimes hand out Jimcalagon awards for journalistic excellence. The time has come for another honour to be bestowed on a journalist who's writing skills, research and accuracy meet the high standard I would expect from a contributor to my site. An unnamed reporter at the Scottish Sunday Mail has written an extensive and very well researched exposè of Peter Jackson's plans to make all Elves speak in subtitled "gobbledegook".
Sunday Mail
Billy keeps Scots lilt in hobbit film
A key character in the new £120 million Lord of the Rings movie will have a Scottish accent. Actor Billy Boyd will play the role of Pippin, the loyal pal of Frodo,the hobbit hero of the supernatural fantasy tale by JRR Tolkien.
And while superstars Liv Tyler and Cate Blanchett will have their lines turned into subtitles, Billy will be heard using his native Glasgow accent. The film version of Tolkien's classic allows him - and fellow-hobbits Ian Holm and Elijah Wood - to deliver their lines in English, while other characters must speak in made-up languages. It means Oscar-winner Blanchett and Sleeping Beauty star Tyler will speak "elvish", a gobbledegook tongue for elves invented by Tolkien.
Lord of the Rings, the second-most expensive film in history after Titanic, is being shot amid tight security in New Zealand. But the embarrassing news for two of Hollywood's hottest leading ladies was let slip by co-star Sir Ian McKellen. Sir Ian, who plays wizard Gandalf said on his website: "The Elvish lines will be subtitled." He said Billy would keep his Scots accent. Other hobbits would have a mixture of "middle-class gentry", Yorkshire and West Country accents.
Lord of the Rings was voted Book of the Century in a poll three years ago, and fanatical fans have made a huge issue of the movie accents. Nearly 17,000 signed an "integrity petition" calling for the trilogy of films to stick closely to Tolkien's book. And they threatened to boycott the films if American accents were used. Fans are also getting flustered about elf princesses Blanchett and Tyler carrying swords in a departure from the book.
Little-known Boyd was a surprise choice for the role of Pippin, after a handful of stage roles and walk-on parts in Taggart and other TV shows. But he has lost no time getting into the glitzy lifestyle. He has been spotted out with Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo, and fellow-Brit Dominic Monaghan, who plays another hobbit pal, Merry. The three wore kilts to a New Zealand performance of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
The same trio took to the water in bath tubs in Wellington's annual dragon boat race, and they were mobbed by young fans when they arrived by limo at a swanky, black-tie Hollywood Ball in the city. Billy's agent Aude Powell said: "He is having a wonderful time".