Getting to play superheroes is a pretty good job.
I would love to be able to pursue music as a career but honestly, I'm just not good enough.
I read the comics long before I was ever involved with the films.
Above and beyond having the social life, to have a core group of people that you work with and spend time with and learn how to work with is a nice thing.
Why would people spend good money to have my pants?
Lord of the Rings is a good thing for us because it opened the door for the genre in general. Ursula Le Guin's stories are very different from Lord of the Rings.