Paolini's "Eragon" Hits Theaters (December 6, 2006) [Entertainment]

Ever since "The Lord of the Rings" was published in the 1950s, the hunt has been on for the next J.R.R. Tolkien. After fifty years, one person has stepped forward to claim that title: Christopher Paolini. Paolini started writing "Eragon" in 1998, when he was a fifteen year old high school student in rural Montana. The fantasy/adventure epic was published in 2002, and became a New York Times Bestseller. Unlike the fans of "The Lord of the Rings", who had to wait about half a century before seeing their beloved trilogy on screen, "Eragon" fans don’t have to wait quite that long, thanks to 20th Century Fox.

So far, the film version of Eragon looks promising. The casting directors did a good job, bringing together a mix of new and old. Among the prominent cast members are: Jeremy Irons, (The Lion King, Dungeons and Dragons), who is playing Brom, the village storyteller and Eragon’s first mentor; Singer Joss Stone, who will be playing the role of the witch Angela; and Rachel Weisz, the voice of Saphira the dragon. Taking the role of Eragon will be first time actor Edward Speelers, who beat out 180,000 other applicants for the role.

Only time can tell what will become of this movie. Some people think that the movie will flop due to lack of advertising and substandard special effects (despite the fact that WETA workshop, the same group that did the special effects for The Lord of the Rings, are on staff).
All we can do now is wait. Eragon hits theaters on December 15, and is unrated as of the time of publication.