Sunday, May 20, 2001

I dreamt I was in Middle-earth...(PART II) - Calisuri @ 10:38 EST

I DREAMT OF MIDDLE-EARTH - PART II

But before I begin, there are some things to note about this latest description. The invitation for the party specifically said this was a time of merrymaking and not business. With this in mind, everything I heard and spoke about was off record with the cast and crew. Yes, yes, I know, it would be nice to report the funny quirks and raunchy behavior, but I'm sworn to my oath. And heck, I'm protected by the 'off the record' requirement. I mean, geeze, would you really want to hear about Calisuri getting so wasted he dove head first into the pool in a vain attempt to board Galadriel's boat? Nah... I didn't think so...

------

The dream continues. Myself, Amy, Maurice and Leo just finished talking to Bilbo and decided to move into the courtyard. (By the way, I have no idea why Leo and Maurice are in this dream with me. Maybe it's because they are both about 6 foot 7 inches tall and I looked like I needed body guards or something!)

The crowd in the courtyard seems to represent all the races of Middle-earth. Hobbits are pushing through legs to get to the bar; soldiers are walking around carrying mugs of ale. I pushed through some Gondorian soldiers and found myself standing in front of Claire Raskind, the publicist for Peter Jackson. I ran into Claire earlier in the week when I passed along a hat as a present for Peter. Claire was kind of enough to deliver the present, and express Peter's appreciation for the gift. We toasted the success of the party and the success of the footage screened days earlier. As the conversation turned to footage discussion, a member of the Middle-earth media asked me for a quote. Boy, am I bad under pressure! I think I said something like, "Peter Jackson shares the same vision as fans of Lord of the Rings. We have nothing to worry about." Gosh, I might have even made it sound better then what I really said. But anyway, we talked for a few minutes and moved on.

The party seemed to swell every minute as more and more guests arrived in Middle-earth. When we finally squeezed our way down the cobblestone path, there were so many faces that it was hard to make out the Frodos and Sarumans of this world. The media overwhelmed the area—name a big city in the world and they had a reporter there. At one point, I ran into that sly-looking Steve Kmetko guy from E! News Daily. He was hanging near Rivendell/Lothlorien, possibly trying to get a good shot of Galadriel's boat. Anyway, he seemed rather surprised that a web designer like myself would be so forward as to give him a card! But if they want the real scoop on LOTR, who else but TheOneRing.net to contact?

We walked back towards the chateau and noticed the party had really picked up near the stage. Orcs, hobbits, elves and men were dancing wildly to French versions of "Oh What a Night" and the latest Latin offerings. In the back of the crowd, you could see the flicker of candles as a huge cakes floated towards the front. The band began to play a rather strange/disturbing version of Happy Birthday, and Bilbo's cake appeared before us. The cake was HUGE: 111 candles and 3 monstrous layers. We all cheered wildly and toasted our favorite hobbit.

I was slightly disappointed there were no fireworks, but Gandalf was nowhere to be seen. I almost half-expected Bilbo to give a speech and then poof! disappear. No such luck. The only thing that disappeared was Leo and Maurice.

After wishing Bilbo our best, we migrated to the back of the crowd and found ourselves standing next to Richard Taylor, the head of WETA Digital! Richard is one of the more honest, inspirational and happy people I have ever met in my life. His passion for his trade and his genuine affection for the efforts of fans like us was encouraging and well received.

While I know this is just a dream, I was disturbed by Richard's proud display of support for the Dark Lord Sauron! He wore an Eye of Sauron pin on his chest. To think that Sauron's servants were at this party and disguised as such wonderful people as Mr. Taylor shook me up a bit. Apparently, a lot of people where wearing these pins! Even Tania Rodger, from WETA, had a pin on! Sauron must have had his hands on the entire WETA staff! How else could they create such mastery?

Mr. Taylor offered me an Eye himself. I didn't want to give myself away, nor did I want to show fear. I accepted the gift and Amy and I walked slowly away.

Just as we were backing off, John Howe showed up again... he had a pin too! EEK!! Run away!!!

We made our way towards the hobbit holes and Bag End. Sitting on a picnic bench talking with some fans was none other then fellow webmaster Harry Knowles from AintitCool.com. I didn't notice Harry wearing one of these 'Eye' pins, so I figured it was safe to say hi. He was also very well dressed. I only met him a few days earlier and I have a feeling that seeing him in a suit was probably pretty unique. A lot of people were flocking to talk to Harry, so we casually made our way towards the Trolls that had been turned to stone.

There were quite a few famous faces hanging around these infamous landmarks from The Hobbit. We spotted Arwen talking casually with a group of important people from Middle-earth's entertainment business. Like a streak of light, we caught a quick glimpse of Frodo as he bolted by to meet up with Samwise.

However, in this whole crowd, all eyes seem to be focusing on someone in the center. Amy and I pushed our way through the mass to discover just what attracted so much attention. And then, there he was: Peter Jackson. Peter, or should we call him the sculptor of Middle-earth, was beaming as hundreds of people complimented him on his wonderful accomplishment.

He was very approachable as Amy and I introduced ourselves. I guess actually meeting and talking with Peter Jackson in real life, the day before, brought on this part of my dream. We drank a bit, chatting mostly about the footage. Obviously we complimented his mastery in capturing Tolkien's vision on screen. Everything people say about this man is true. He is grounded. Really and honestly grounded. When you talk to him, he doesn't act like someone who just spent a small fortune making what will become the largest movie franchise of all time. He acts like a friend you've just met in a pub and decided to drink with.

The dream gets a bit hazy at this point. I know we met a lot of other people involved with the Lord of the Rings, and talked a lot about the beautiful footage.

I can really only remember one person specifically. Amy, Maurice and I were standing talking to someone about the prospects of the Lord of the Rings DVD and what will be on it. I remember the words, 'ground breaking', 'extra footage', '2 discs,' 'summer after the film' and not much else. You see, I was on my third glass of wine at this point. Could that be why I'm hazy? Specifics are beginning to fade.

One of the biggest highlights of this dream was getting a chance to speak with Gimli and his crew. I think we spent a good hour talking with his wife, Deborah. It was very encouraging to meet someone so honest and 'real' in this setting. We chatted a bit about Gimli's challenges and toils, living in Middle-earth and my second favorite subject, Apple computers! (They have computers in Middle-earth I guess...) I think I was able to provide some quality technical support, but we shall see.

Gimli's manager (who knew dwarves had managers?!) was also very down to earth and personable. Louisa Springs came up to me during our interviews on Saturday and introduced herself. She was one of a very few 'talent' managers to do that. It made my day. In a place where you are next to the Rivendell Times Movie Critic and other such bigwig reporters, it's nice to have someone recognize you and also recognize the importance of fans.

We talked with Louisa and Deborah a bit more and finally sat down with Gimli. The best thing about Gimli? He treated us like real people. While he is quite a stubborn dwarf, it is tons of fun to talk with him. At one point, he insisted that the Lord of the Rings was about the journey of a dwarf, and that's it! And after meeting him in person, I believe it! This character was one you don't argue with.

At this point a rumor is going around that gifts are being given out at Bilbo's Birthday party. Woo! I bolt to find them. As I'm dragging Amy, Maurice and Leo behind me, we run into Pippin Took!

Pippin is absolutely wonderful! Yet another inhabitant of Middle-earth that has wonderful manners and greets you with the most sincere friendship. Unfortunately, our time was short. The transportation that brought to Middle-earth was leaving VERY shortly, and we didn't get to speak much. I did get a chance to exchange a cigarette (borrowed from some other person wearing an 'Eye') for a signature!

The dream starts to fade now. People are slowly disappearing and the crowd is noticeably smaller.

As I look back on the dream, I think Louisa Springs (Gimli's manager) sums it up quite well.

"The whole party invoked the spirit of LOTR. More than anything else could have done."

Here, here, Louisa!

So the ships arrive. Great big ships with soft cushy seating and a short hobbitish man at the helm. We all walk up the ramps to leave this wonderful place, and board what looks like a ship back to the real world. The sadness hasn't hit yet, but I'm sure it will.

As we pull away from the shore, we look back and catch a glimpse of this wonderful world. Maybe someday we can return.

*!!!!!!!!!!BUZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!*

The alarm goes off, and here I am, in a hotel in Nice. Its noon and I strangely still feel tired. What did I do last night? All I can think of is this wonderful dream and I'm overcome by a deep and utter sadness—the same sadness we all get at the end of LOTR. When the ships for the Grey Havens leave. When the drama, the quest, the story end. We want more, but we know there is no more.

My heart hurts. I almost have a tough time breathing from the sorrow.

But it was only a dream!

I look to my left and there is a black bag sitting next to the nightstand. I pull the strings to open it and find a horde of treasure. A replica of Sting! A pipe with some pipeweed. A special edition of LOTR and a poster!

I hurriedly ring Amy.

"Where were we last night??" I ask.

"I'm having a good dream. Go back to sleep," she replies.

The medallion under my pillow goes unnoticed.

Thursday, May 17, 2001

Cannes Footage: Detail - Calisuri @ 11:15 EST
Now that I'm not paying .15˘ a minute to access the web, I figured it was a good time to write about the Cannes footage in great detail. I have to emphasis however, that I watched the footage, and didn't get to transcribe the dialogue, etc. I'm sure you all would have done the same after you saw what I saw. I don't think its possible to write while viewing this stuff. It was that mind-blowing. And heck, I'm a fan! I'm not a professional reporter or anything! We'll leave the real in-depth reporting for those big news agencies that seem to always get things wrong when it comes to Lord of the Rings! Heh! So, here we go.

Calisuri

Wednesday, May 16, 2001

Cannes 2001 - 20 Press Images - Calisuri @ 23:06 EST
New Line Cinema passed out these 20 images to press at the Cannes 2001 event. If you haven't seen them already, you will see most of these in papers in the coming weeks. !SPOILERS! [More]

Gallery of Party Favors - Calisuri @ 18:01 EST
As you can well imagine, 30 hours of travelling really takes it out of you! I've spent the majority of today putting together my next report (up later tonight) and taking these pictures. Check out the latest gallery of Cannes 2001 Party favors. [More]

So what was the Stuart Townsend Story? - Calisuri @ 16:43 EST
While at Cannes, a lot of questions were answered concerning a wide variety of subjects. One of the more interesting pieces of information that came to light was the Stuart Townsend drama.

Let me give a quick background. Stuart was cast in the role of Aragorn but departed the production a mere 3 days after filming started. Initial reports through our spies had suggested that Stuart was hard to work with and there was a lot of friction on the set.

So why was Stuart replaced?

Well, at the Press Conference last friday, Peter Jackson spoke a bit about the situation. As it turns out, Stuart is an extraordinary actor. Jackson and others were impressed with his abilities, however as time moved on, it became apparent that he was too young for the role. As Peter put it, even Stuart, a big fan of the books, insisted he was too young for the role.

When Viggo Mortensen was cast, both Peter Jackson and Barrie Osborne gave the news to Stuart. They parted on good terms and in agreement.

So basically, Stuart was too young. There was no tension or friction between Townsend and Jackson as was previously reported.

PJ did go on to say that the day Viggo joined the team must have been fate, because there could not have been a better person cast in the role. He is Aragorn.

Harry talks about the Shore - Calisuri @ 08:00 EST
I mentioned in my first report from Cannes this year, that Harry from AintitCool, was really looking forward to our first taste of the Howard Shore score in the screened footage. He's had a chance to collect his ideas and even talk to Howard Shore himself. [More]

Tuesday, May 15, 2001

A video clip from Cannes - Tehanu @ 05:46 EST
NZ's TV show "Holmes" showed a few minutes of interviews in Cannes, including one with Peter Jackson and some of the cast. There's almost-clear shots of the Cannes party set-up with actors and musicians. Go here and look in the archive for May 14.

The sound kind of goes splah in the last minutes, but thanks to Ringer spy Nigel we have a transcript of the last part:

"Reporter: Its said you've made the biggest film project ever. How big is big?

Peter Jackson: Well it is the biggest ever. I mean really its 3 movies which is obviously one of the factors. But its 15 months of shooting continuously, nobody has ever shot a movie for 15 months before.

Reporter: This is a huge step, would you have ever dreamt when you were making all those splatter movies like Braindead that one day you would be producing something like this?

Peter Jackson: No. I'm just very lucky because I'm doing what I want to do. Everyday that I'm working on this project I just feel incredibly lucky.

Reporter: You're a happy man?

Peter Jackson: Yeah. I love directing movies and I'm directing Lord of the Rings. Its the ultimate.

[Cut to Liv Tyler and Orlando Bloom]

Reporter: Liv when they told you were gonna make a blockbuster right at the bottom of the world what was your reaction?

Liv Tyler: I think that more than even anything was my first kind of *high sigh* cause I was incredibly excited about the project and I didn't have any concerns about being away from my career for a year. But personally being away from my family and stuff I just thought 'oh my god can I handle that?' you know. But it was great and I did and I just thought 'you know what? It's a year out of my life and I can handle it,' and it was such a beautiful wonderful place and I tended to get home sick something the boys didn't as much as me..

Orlando Bloom: We made the most of the surf and bungie, and skydiving.

Reporter: What was Peter like to work with Liv?

Liv Tyler: Peter's amazing. He cares so much about this book and about this story. I think he's a Hobbit but there is some part of each character inside of him and I could really see it come alive, his imagination is enormous and just full of so much passion for the project.

[Cut to Sean Aston] Peter Jackson is a great actor . He could do the hobbits to us and I could see him turn and do Aragorn, do the human hero and he changed! I learned a lot about acting just watching him direct.

[Cut to Sir Ian Holme] In a word genius. Forthright, patient, focussed ..a kiwi.

[Cut to Sir Ian McKellan and Christopher Lee]

Sir Ian McKellan: I've never worked with a director who has only one pair of shoes *laughter* and doesn't wear them very often.

Christopher Lee: I've never worked with a director myself, for the first time 2 days ago wearing long trousers *more laughter*

[Cut to Dominic Monaghen] We're all hoping that Peter will now be recognized as one of the greatest film makers alive today and that he will be given the opportunity to make the movies that he wants to make."

More British reports on the Cannes experience - Tehanu @ 01:41 EST
Empire talks about stuff we've mostly heard, and has a nice pic. of Frodo and a good description of the 'salivating throng' in the audience for the screenings. [More}

The BBC has a bit more from their arts correspondent, which is quite nice. You can tell that Sir Ian Mckellen wears great scarves (Like the real Gandalf?) and that Liv Tyler looks cute even when caught yawning. [More]

Thanks to Strider for the alert.

Monday, May 14, 2001

Yesterday I dreamt I was in Middle-earth... - Calisuri @ 18:35 EST
I dreamt last night I was in Middle-earth. I visited Bilbo in Bag End and watched as hobbits celebrated his 111th birthday. I stood before the bar in the town of Bree. I saw riding Nazgul and Orcs in full armour. I saw Men of Gondor standing guard to the gates of Minas Tirith. I walked through the Golden Hall and knelt before the thrown of Theoden. I WAS in Middle-earth. Or so it seems. When I wake from these kinds of dreams, I can usually only remember bits and pieces. For your sake, I will try and relate the events, people, and atmosphere of this dream for all to understand.

The dream begins...

Here I am walking up a cobblestone hill with three of my good friends, Amy, Leo, and Maurice. The sounds of music intermingle with the ear-piercing shrills of a Nazgul in the distance. Leo and Maurice run ahead to talk to some fellow Dutchman, as Amy and I continue up the hill lined with candles. In the haziness ahead, I can make out two giagantic horses with riders dressed in dark black robes. As we get closer, I realize that the Nazgul are approaching us. You haven't really felt fear until you stare down the nose of a Nazgul's black steed in full armour. Surpisingly, Amy reaches out and touches this foul beast. We continue on.

Ahead is a bluish light illuminating a gazebo, masterfully hand carved. Inside are two elves, dancing and singing merily to a haunting theme. The lights of the candles dance wildly with the movement of the elves.

Leo and Maurice catch up to us again as we near a gate. Nothing exceptionally special about this gate except the eight or ten strongmen surrounding it. Beyond the gate, we can see a horde of cameras and reporters that seem trapped behind a fence. As we pass through the gate, by benefit of our medallions, the magic really begins.

A red carpet, scattered with rose petals, is laid at our feet. On a hill to our left is a castle. At its gates are two Men of Gondor with pikes double their size. They are dressed in full armour with an emblem of a white tree on their chest. Their helms have plumes of white sprouting out from boths sides of their head. As we look closer, the same emblem seen on the warriors, adorns the castle wall.

To our right is a sea of reporters and tv crews. One by one they pull Samwise and Boromir and others into their web of questions. Behind the sea are a few hobbit holes with rather unique signs on the doors. One looks like a universal symbol for a man, the other, looks to be the universal symbol for woman. Indeed, these are the bathrooms!

As we walk over the carpet, we immediately are greeted by two hobbits inviting us into what looks to be Bag End. These hobbits, with rather realistic looking hairy feet and traditional old english dress, request we duck down as we enter this subterreanian home.

But right before we enter through the round door of the Baggin's household, guess who comes out the front door! Gandalf himeself! Gandalf was very well dressed, not in his typical costume, and rather happy to be at a party. He was kind enough to talk a few minutes with us and compliment TheOneRing.net. I made doubly sure, that he knew, we 'the fans' loved what we saw of the screening.

We said our pleasant goodbyes and entered Bag End. As I look up and around, I see the same hobbit hole that I had seen days earlier in movie footage. Here is the chandelier where Gandalf bumps his head. Oh, look, there is the map from the Hobbit! And yes, of course there are pipes and presents and many other hobbit like things in this hole. This is definitely Bilbo Baggins' home, but where is he? I was quite surprised when Aragorn walked down the hall with as much interest as I had for this place. We all followed him out the back entrance and were immediately greeted by...

A Troll! It was one of the Trolls that had been turned to stone by the sun so many years ago after attempting to eat Bilbo and company. This hideous creature had one arm resting while the other seemed to be reaching out towards us. Two more hobbits where camping in front of this aboinmation, as if they were tempting fate. It also could have been a result of the fully stocked bar that just so happened to be right next to them.

After escaping the view of the Troll, we walked through a small hobbit market with food and wares for all to enjoy. At the end of this market were stairs to what looked like a hazy pond. The blue glow and the haze made it hard to see what was below, so we decided to descend the staircase and have a look for ourselves.

Behold! Elves were singing and dancing around another gazebo. An arcade of simliar hand crafted construction was on one side of a pool that stretches the entire area. In this pool, you could see the Lady Galadriel's swan ship floating softly on the water. While Galadriel was not there herself, the ten or so elves more then covered the required atmosphere. At the far end of the pool was a cookery where roast pig, salmon and fish were cooked for all to have. And of course, another bar.

As we climbed out, of what was Rivendell and Lothlorien at the same time, we ran smack into Saruman himself. The man was intimidating and had a large group of people around him. We tried to sneak into the conversation, but failed miserably, as the crowd was too big. The tone and demenor of this man was too attractive for anyone to resist. He managed to demand your gaze and attention with much ease, and we could see how a multi-colored wizard could cause some problems. Thanks to Amy, who wanted to look around more, we managed to pull away and continue on.

We walked passed a live band playing Frank Sinatra and proceeded to near the original entrance. We must have missed these fellows before, but now, standing directly on the side of the castle, were 3 fully garbed orcs. They were VERY ugly. The armour they wore looked extremely disorganized and disheveled, but definitely functional. I approached one and asked if I could touch his shirt. He obliged. I was happy to see that this armour was in fact rubbery to the touch and probably could not withstand a blow from a Gondorian pike.

The orcs were standing next to two sets of pillars. The first set had four sides, each with a vulture skeleton at the top, hideous claws in the middle, and deep gauges at the base. The second set was much more intimidating, with an evil creature's foul face protruding from the front. The chin jutted out with an wicked gotee, and horns adorned its head. We quickly moved away from this area.

Now it was time to enter Minas Tirith and see what treasures were held inside. As we passed by the two Gondorian guards, I could swear one of them grunted something in French, but I wasn't sure.

In the main hall were two large cases and a series of chairs, each with a framed image above. As it looked, everyone from Lord of the Rings was pictured above these chairs in beautifully photographed poses. The cases held treasures of middle-earth that anybody would love to get their hands on. There was a Wraith's blade, Galadriel's vial, Haldir's sword, and Gandalf's staff, just to name a few. Many people crowded around these cases staring at the craftmanship and detail these objects displayed.

Four very well armoured men guarded the next room. To our surprise, we were standing in the Golden Hall! You ask, How can we tell? Intricately designed and decorated horses adorned everything, from horse framed paintings to horse heads atop the room's pillars. Even the armour of the men in this room had the horse image on it. Our eyes were immediately drawn to the front of the hall where shields and swords surrounded an imposing throne. While Theoden was not seated in the thrown himself, there were two long haired bearded men standing guard at its sides. This time, when I asked to feel the armour, it was real. The chain metal skirt that they wore undearneath the breastplate would be useful in battle. The orcs don't have a chance.

We exited the great hall and found ourselves in a small courtyard. This area was also decorated with colorful banners and flags, but from what looked to be places all over middle-earth. We stopped at the bar here to get some wine, and moved on down a very unstable cobbelstone walkway that wrapped around the back of the castle. And voila, we were back near the band.

It was at this point, that we finally decided to get something to eat. The roast pig, fish, fresh side dishes, and drink were just too much to resist. To avoid the lines, we travelled back down to Rivendell and Lothlorien to join the shorter lines. I feasted on skewered lamb shesh-ka-bob , scalloped potatoes, and some bread, while Amy ate salmon shese-ka-bob. We both drank some fine wine. Leo and Maurice also shared in the food and we all sat near the arcade of Rivendell.

What happened next is unclear. All at once, I was overcome by a sense that something great was near us. Something that could control the vision and style of middle-earth with a stroke of his hand, and there he was, John Howe. Leo had interviewd Mr. Howe at a conference in the Netherlends, but nothing had prepared us for meeting one of the great Tolkien artists ever, here, in Middle-earth. Equipped with an 'eye of sauron' pin and his sketchpad, we politely called out his name and said Hello. John was a great person and very fun to talk to. He loved the footage we had seen as much as we did, and couldn't wait to see the rest. I mentioned how the Balrog seemed to be similar to the one he drew for the recent board game, and he nodded. He expressed his honor in seeing his creations on paper come to life on the big screen. After talking with John, and finishing our meals, we decided to head back to the castle to look around more.

Just as we walked through the front gates of Minas Tirith again, guess who we saw! Bilbo Baggins and his daughter! Bilbo was much shorter then I had imagined, but seemed genuinely happy to be at this occasion. After all, there was a huge sign hanging on a wall outside wishing him Happy Birthday! He was very pleasant, but had never seen TheOneRing.net. His daughter had, however, and we talked briefly about how wonderful his work was in the footage, and how we can't wait to see the final product.

We moved again into the courtyard...

-------

Thus ends part one of my Middle-earth dream. The next installment involves meeting a bunch of people from Middle-earth, the visionary behind the entire process, and a wonderful time with the dwarf that the whole movie is based on. Gimli of course. (Or so he likes to say!)

Calisuri

Cali talks Cannes Party! - Xoanon @ 11:27 EST
Calisuri called me a few times during the LOTR party, literally...I think he wanted to taunt me.

He called to tell us all about the experience of being there! He said that there was a full Hobbit hole set re-constructed! walk past that and there were Dark Riders! mounted! Actual horses and swords and everything! He also said there were massive pillars with bird-like skeletal features on them.

He mentioned that many many people were walking around in costune, hobbits and orcs and all types of men from different lands. He tried to make the Men of Gondor and a band of Orcs fight, but they weren't into it (I do think the champagne was free and flowing quite a bit...if only you could hear his excitement).

He spoke with many LOTR cast and crew members, including Clair Raskind, Richard Taylor, PJ, and more. He said there were fireworks going off outside the castle and everyone was having a marvelous time!

He will have something up for you to read soon.

Operation Tolkien - Xoanon @ 11:08 EST
From: Soren

"An exclusive group of affluent film-merchants got to see 20 minutes of very temporary and incoherent footage from Peter Jackson's filming of Tolkien's trilogy LOTR at last years filmfestival in Cannes. More hasn't been leaked from the topsecret project until last thursday night, when New Line Cinema invited the world press and showed 25 incredible minutes from the coming 3 movies - each lasting 2-3 hours.

Here, my ladies and gentlemen, were the otherwise so blasé filmjournalists given such a treazt that you have to go back to Star Wars times for a parallel. Many even thought that George Lucas might as well sénd Han Solo, Anakin Skywalker, R2D2, and the rest on retirement, and forget everything about competing with LOTR - so much do the hobbits, elves, and dwarves kick ass!

The records do cling to this monster of a filmproduction. Roads have been constructed and demolished again, along with houses, cave systems, and castles. Adding to the production budget of 2,5 billion kroner, the company plans on spending 400 million kr. - or what equals the production of approximately 50 dogma-movies - to market the trilogy.

But much is also at stake. Even though Mark Ordesky from New Line, who also was involved in Lars von Triers "Dancer In The Dark", claims that the 34 yr. old company will survive a flop, he looks very pale by the thought of it. Earlier this year New Line had to sack one fifth of their staff, and therefore many argues that the company's very existence directly depends on the trilogy's succes.

Peter Jackson: "Hollywood - in this case Miramax - would compress the trilogy into only one movie, but from the beginning I told them that it would be impossible. Surely, from a novel of 1000 pages you can't bring everything on to the screen, but we really have tried to include all of the most important characters and events. you can say this is not solely a film FOR Tolkien-fans, it's a film made BY Tolkien-fans," says PJ, who has spent 7 yrs. of his life on the project.

Most of the starcast attend the several days lasting press offensive that almost can be compared to a military operation. Among others the Danish American Viggo Mortensen who plays Aragorn.

"Viggo was the last actor to be hired for the movie. We were lacking the perfect Aragorn, when a colleague asked me to re-watch some of the films he had done. And there he suddenly was as large as life in front of me. Viggo has during the shooting been completely synonymous with Aragorn, to such an extent that it's hard to see him as Viggo again and not Aragorn. I have never ever witnessed an actor enter into the spirit of a role the way he did," Peter Jackson says, and adds: "Even though the 3 movies first and foremost are the result of a supreme teamwork, I'm certain that Viggo Mortensen will be a world-famous star already from film no. 1. He has exactly what will make most people see him as the great hero."

As for himself, Viggo Mortensen, who has a Danish father and who speaks a perfect Danish, says to Politiken:

"I don't really know exactly what happened myself, but I lost myself completely in the role of Aragorn. I am a man who likes to withdraw myself into solitude, and walk long hikes in the woods and in the mountains. So is Aragorn. We just fit perfectly together."

The Danish distributor is careful not to market the movie too massively in Denmark: "I don't think we Danes are into that kind of overfeeding. I know from myself, if I hear and see too much of a certain thing in too short a time, I instinctively turn against it. We wouldn't wnat that to happen in this case. Of course we will have a gala opening a week before the official release, where we will invite members of the royal family - as you know, Queen Margaret herself has illustrated Tolkien's works - and I sincerely hope that we will get Viggo Mortensen to Denmark to promote each movie."

"The first two movies end with a cliffhanger, followed by an appetizer for the next to come," Peter Jackson explains.

As for the merchandise, Mark Ordesky says: "The actors have the right of veto against every single toy; if Elijah Wood doesn't like a particular Frodo-figure, it just has to be made all over again. I think that's the first time in movie history that such is the case"

Big Breakfast covers Cannes - Xoanon @ 11:05 EST
From: Sean

BBC Breakfast news featured a small segment on the Cannes film festival, with their reporter showing off her visit to the LotR party. There were some elvish looking guards in the background and, even better, a Ringwraith on a horse! it looked excellent... there was a short interview with Christopher Lee (about how he always dreamed about playing in LotR) and a few clips from the teaser trailer. I think the reporter that was at Cannes also works for the BBC's movie programme FILM 2001, so maybe there will be more on the LotR Cannes Extravaganza on thursday (BBC 1). She ended her piece by showing off her goodie bag from the party, and her pleasure at getting - instead of the usual keyrings and stuff- a copy of the LotR trilogy in a single volume!

RealVideo PJ Interview - Xoanon @ 11:02 EST
Canal + has posted their RealVideo of the PJ interview they had this week-end. Check it out, they ask PJ only 1 question and show the trailer (in french, which is kinda neat). Get the streaming file and move the progress bar to about 20 minutes into the show. [More] (RealPlayer is needed)

Peter Jackson trains New Zealand's military elite. - Tehanu @ 06:58 EST
Well, not really. Auckland's newspaper 'The Herald' had the usual stuff about LOTR and Cannes, but finished with this quote from Peter Jackson:

"..Since New Zealand is a small country, the Government was keen to help in whatever way.
The Prime Minister actually came to visit us early on and she said 'What can we do to help?' And we said 'Have you got any spare soldier?' and she immediately contacted the Minister of Defence who made a battalion of soldiers available.

"It was kind of fun with the soldiers - we got to train them in the use of swords and shields and spears, and with the defence cutbacks we have in New Zealand, it will be useful training for them."

(Didn't "Braveheart" use real soldiers for its army? Maybe we can still do military excercises with Scotland. - T )

The Party - TV One describes it. - Tehanu @ 06:06 EST
You get a few more details of the atmosphere at the Chateau, and a nice pic of Gandalf in the mountains - not one I've seen, but then it's getting hard to tell what's new and what isn't. [More]

Sunday, May 13, 2001

One More Pic - Xoanon @ 23:00 EST
Kryel sends along another great pic of the cast at Cannes. [More]

Leo Talks LOTR Party - Xoanon @ 22:56 EST
From: Leo our good buddy at lotr.nl

leo just called me to report from the party in Cannes:

There are Elves, Hobbits, Orcs, Men from Gondor and Rohirrim walking around at the party.

Outside of the castle they built the entire set of Bag End (real life size), the tents which they used at bilbo's farewell party, and there was a pool in which Galadriels boat was floating.

Inside the castle there was some sort of exposition where you could see the phial of galadriel, some swords (including Narsil) and pictures of the cast.

More CANNES - Xoanon @ 22:54 EST
Hobbits go to Hollywood

Fantasy rules at Cannes

You Liked This Movie, Or Else

UK Sunday Times reviews the clip - Tehanu @ 19:29 EST
This is an interesting report, apart from a few neekerbreekerisms - confusing Sauron and Saruman for instance. It does answer the concern about whether the film's G13 rating will make the violence bloodless and cartoonish. [More[

Thanks to Phillip for this.

More CANNES Links and Newspaper Clips - Xoanon @ 12:23 EST
Lord of the Rings film trilogy

Ring spell cast at Cannes - hit looks likely

Ambushed By Hobbits - Xoanon @ 12:10 EST
From: RD

I have an article for you from this mornings Sun Herald. I didn't include the headline in my scan but it says: "AMBUSHED BY HOBBITS: Nicole's film takes a back seat to Lord of the Rings" [More]

More CANNES Coverage - Xoanon @ 12:05 EST
From: Aiglos

At 5:50GMT today Sky News did a report live from Cannes. Their reporter, Georgie Arnold, was interviewing Elijah, Sean and Dominic.

They talked about the huge amount of time and effort they put into the films and also talked about the postitive reaction by the media in Cannes. In the bachground was what looked like a set from Middle-earth, spears and animal cloth I think.

The reporter said she saw the clip and was very impressed by it, she mentioned how the FX were totally amazing. She then just talked about the numerous British actors in the movies and about the release dates, adding that "it will be worth the wait".

Plus: Check out this link from 'nandotimes.com'

Entertainment: Cannes offers sneak peek at 'Lord of the Rings'

Mr Showbiz talks about the Cannes footage. - Tehanu @ 05:05 EST
These reports are starting to seem awfully similar - background explanations, yada yada, filling in the public who haven't had the faintest idea what's going on so far. Still, scroll down this report to Mr. Showbiz's response to the Cannes clips. Still no negative reviews.... (Jeffrey Wells, where are ya mate?)[More]

Thanks to Plusm for the tip-off

Saturday, May 12, 2001

Interviews: Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, John Rhys-Davies - Calisuri @ 23:46 EST
Here is the first installment of our cast interviews. These interviews were conducted in a round table format with about 9 other reporters, including Harry from AintitCool. While my analog tape of this interview turned out pretty poor, I'm hopeful Harry will post his digital audio to make up for our technological downfalls!

Our first report is a discussion with Ian Mckellen, Christopher Lee and John Rhys-Davies. The conversation was one of the more exciting of the day.

***NOTE: While I attempted to get every word spoken, in some cases I had to paraphrase. A huge thanks to my friend Amy for providing some quality editing before I posted this update. ***

Reporter: How did you get cast?

Christopher Lee: I got a call from my agent saying that Peter Jackson was directing Lord Of The Rings. "Would you go and see him and talk to him? Would you do a reading? And would mind if they videotaped you during the meeting?" Well, I said, "No," because in the case of this particular story, this great epic, I was perfectly happy to go, be seen, photographed, and read... and do anything they like! Its not something one does all that often. So, I went along and saw him in a very small room in the back of a church in London. And he was sitting there with his wife (one of the producers and also one of the writers) Fran, and the British casting director. And I read something, I don't remember what it was, and then he said... well, he didn't say anything actually. But I didn't say "Well, do I do it, or whatever you want me to play?" I found out later that he had already exactly decided everyone he wanted to for each role. And he got them all.

John Rhys-Davies: What about this business of you getting down on your knees and begging?

CL: That's not on film. That.. ah... came later. He showed me, like he showed you, all these wonderful photographs of locations in New Zealand, and some of the characters John (Howe) designed. I thought, god this is going to be something unique in my life as an actor, something I always dreamed about... that this would become a film one day. Of course we say film, what one really means is the whole thing. And I always dreamed that maybe I would be in it. So occasionally dreams do come true! Not very often.

Reporter: First you wanted to be Frodo?

CL: No...Bilbo perhaps.

Reporter: Many people said you wanted to play Gandalf, years ago.

Christopher Lee: Oh, well...years ago, when the books came out! And, I was too young to play Gandalf. I was! When the books came out, somebody said to me, "Did you read these books, and do you think they will be made into a film?" And I said it'd be a wonderful thing, but I doubt it. And he said, "What would you like to play?" And, of course I said Gandalf, nothing strange about that. Who wouldn't? But now, I'm far to old to play Gandalf. And when I saw what Ian did, apart from his performance, and seeing what he had to do physically, I was extremely thankful! I was even looking at you (Ian) running through the mines yesterday (in the footage).

Ian McKellen: Well, i'm not sure that was me.

CL: I wonder if that is you?

Reporter: What do you remember of meeting Tolkien?

CL : Very little. I was up in Oxford meeting some friends, and we were in the Randolph Hotel. And someone said, "What are you doing here, this is all rather correct and proper. Lets go to a pub." This was a way long time ago. Forty-five plus years ago. And we went to this pub, it's now world famous, but I can't remember the name of it. I can't honestly remember. We were sitting there talking and drinking beer or something, and someone said, "Oh, look who walked in," it was Professor Tolkien and I nearly fell off my chair. I didn't even know he was alive. He was a benign looking man, smoking a pipe, walking in... an English countryman with earth under his feet. And he was a genius, a man of incredible intellectual knowledge. And he knew somebody in our group. He (the man in the group) said, "Oh Professor, Professor," and he came over. And each one of us, well I knelt of course, each one of us said, "How do you do?" And I just said "Ho... How... How..." I just couldn't belive it. But I'll never forget it.

IM: I think meeting writers is more special then meeting...

CL: Of course, they originate the whole thing...

IM: ... then meeting the Queen or stars. I remember being at the National Theater the year Arthur Miller sequestered. When the author of Death of a Salesman walked on the stage, I don't know! Or, when I once saw Samuel Beckett rehearsing. It's just so thrilling. CS Lewis, I used to attend his lectures at Cambridge...

CL: Well, he was a member of the same club, the Inklings, as was Tolkien at Oxford. He wrote three wonderul books.

IM: I think Tolkien has been looking down, or up, on this project. He was always there. The books were always there, just off the set in every single scene. Last minute checks... did we get it right, is that what he wanted, is that what he intended? The devotion to that man,
I think was equal to that of Peter Jackson. It was always there, it never was out.

Reporter: Like a director checking a composer?

IM: It was just like that.

Reporter: Why does he (Peter Jackson) engender such affection?

CL: He can! He is a man you come to love and respect.

JRD: He has everything a director needs. And a director needs an enormous technical facility of some sort. He knows the grammer and syntax of filmmaking. His casting is impecible. It is... present company. I never walked into a first reading of anything before and looked around and identified the characters. "That's got to be Frodo... that's got to be Legolas the elf. That's got to be Sam." I've never done that before in my life. And when I saw that, I saw that he knew. That there was a chance we would be making something big.

IM: You know when this film comes out, it's just going to say "New Line productions present 'Lord of the Rings.'" It's not going to be "A film by Peter Jackson." Wouldn't you think you'd earn the right, having brought this project to life, to have your name up there? The man you'll meet today is the man we met every day. He is always the same. He is the guy that has only got one pair of shoes. He's wearing a long pair of trousers today I have never seen him wear. He's always in shorts. He's always in the same vest, shirt. And there are other people like him in that remarkable country of New Zealand. And he generates such enthusiasum just simply by being himself. He is not a star. He is absolutely reliable. You can go to him and you'll get the answer, and his knowledge is formidable.

CL: He knows what he wants. And he will go on doing it until he gets it. You know when he says, "That's it!" then that IS it.

Reporter: What kind of impact will these films have?

JRD: These are going to be the biggest films of all time. I don't think there is any question about it. Because half the world has read Tolkien, and the other half will. I have to tell you, that line did not come from me.

CL: I didn't come from me either. It's something I read.

IM: Since it was announced these films were being made, the Tolkien estate finances in the United Kingdom alone have doubled. How do we know the film is going to be successful? Look at AintitCool News (pointing at Harry) and other sites. Look at the 400 million hits on the Lord of the Rings site. Look at the responses on my website. There are people just waiting and waiting. It will be the biggest opening of any film. The question is, will it go on then, to be bigger then that? And having seen that half an hour last night, any concerns about that have been laid to rest. It has very good appeal. And it must appeal to people who have never read the book, and will never read the books, and are just going to want to go on the journey. And I think it's going to happen.

Reporter: Then its a pretty big deal to be in it?

CL: And so it should be. Everything to an actor should be a challange. If it isn't, there is no meeaning to it for what we do. Everything is a challange. And if it comes off, its a victory.

Reporter: Could you be doubting your roles?

CL: Not amongst this cast. Not with this director.

IM: You know, we wouldn't all be here. We have all dropped everything to get here, whether we were working or not. We have to be here. The call went out, Peter said, "Would you come?" we said, "Yes, of course." Anyone who is not here is working and could not get away. It has been a very large family of friends, all of them with some particular talent, either taught themselves or been taught especially for this project... or bringing that master experience. And if nobody wanted to see our film, the experience would still have been worthwhile. But it's thrilling, the virtue on this occasion, the proper, trying to do the right thing, is going to be rewarded by people's response.

CL: I noticed last night, there was a cocktail party, I said to my wife, "... this is very interesting, because there are certain people that gravitated to certain people. And the hobbits more or less in one corner, and togther again. It shows you very much. And you know, Aragorn and Boromir are together, and they're all part of the Fellowship of course." The interesting thing for me is to see that this, this great affection amongst all of us, is still there. And believe me, after a year or more that is very, very rare. There are some people you don't want to ever see again usually.

JRD: We can't tell you any story of temperment or fights or things like that. It was a wonderfully great sense of comradship and comrodery.

Reporter: This was the first time you had all worked together?

CL: I worked with John, I had never worked with Ian.

JRD: On my honeymoon, we went to Oxford playhouse to see a brilliant young actor in a play . It was the third time i saw you (Ian McKellen). In Oxford.

IM: Tolkien must have been around then. Well it was over 40 years ago.

Reporter: You (John Rhys-Davies) have been in other action films before. Can you compare 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' with this one?

JRD: There was a wonderful sense of improvisation with the first 'Raiders of the Lost Arc.' If you read the first script, honestly, it read like a comic. This was pretty well laid out. Obviously there was fine tuning and writing going on all the time. They were both wonderful experiences. But I... you can't really compare two extraordinary opportunities of a lifetime. But, I have to carry on, not only is this going to be a big one, but i think in 10 years time, when you look back, and you compose your list of your top favorite films, I think we will find room for 'Lord Of The Rings.' It's the right marriage, only now, that the technology exists to tell the story, the way it should be told. But there is a story. It's brilliantly executed. It's so well cast, present company excepted. It is a magical tale. And it's about good and evil. I think good wins!

CL: Speaking again, quite personally in respect to this drama, I never believed that at my age, which in a couple weeks I'll be in my 80th year I hope. I don't believe in the space of a year, just over a year, I'd be working with Tim Burton, Peter Jackson and George Lucas. It's incredible. It's all absolutely wonderful in their own different ways.

JRD: Well, you figure you have done what... 240 pictures?

CL: 255... 255 I believe.

JRD: You are probably, about now, just finishing your apprenticeship.

Reporter: Ian, how strange is it for you, after so many years of being a theater actor, to be an action figure; to be in a big epic seen by younger people?

IM: The problem with doing the greatest text ever written, Shakespeare, is that you are impatient with anything that doesn't begin to match up to his imagination and his expression. So, I turned down probably more films then I should have done because I didn't think they were well enough written. But in the case of X-men, not a great text, but a great story... I mean a Shakespearian story really. And then Tolkien, who has his own imagination, which is beyond Shakespeare, something Shakespeare never really tried to do, and dialogue which is worth speaking. You haven't really seen that. You haven't seen the big scenes yet, but there, a lot of acting is required in this film which has naught to do with racing up mountains. It's simply eyeballing the actor and discovering them through conversation. Then you say Tolkien is up there with Shakespeare and... I don't feel there is a great division even though, you can catergorize them as, "Oh, here is a fantasy movie, here is an action movie..." Shakespeare hadn't a sense and anticipated both.

author's note: (I skipped a full blown discussion on Shakespeare's story orgins and the Kings of England.)

IM: I hope all this wants to make you see the film

(Laughter)

JRD: You can imagine what the conversations were like on the set.

The End

Tomorrow I'll be heading to the party of a lifetime, so I'm not sure how much time I will have to get the next set of interviews on line, but I will try my hardest to!

Once again, sorry for the lack of images with these reports. As you know, we were not allowed to have cameras at the Chateau.

Until tomorrow!

Calisuri

Aussie paper 'The Age' talks Rings. - Tehanu @ 23:31 EST
The Aussies were at Cannes too, and were also impressed both with the footage they saw and the buzz it generated.
They got confused on some facts though - the Hobbiton countryside they so confidently describe as being 'recognisably the country around Wellington' sounds like the scenes that were very recognisably filmed in the country round Hamilton, with its hedgerows and gentle hills.The most Shire-like part of Wellington - the pinewoods of Mt. Victoria - was used for some of the hobbits' first encounters with the Black Riders, so they're not entirely wrong.
Nor did they film the entire trilogy in Wellington, as we well know. Filming took place in different locations all over both islands of New Zealand.
Here's the report, though. They got in some good quotes from Jackson and the actors [More]

CANNES: Ottawa Citizen does CANNES - Xoanon @ 13:29 EST
Bilbo Baggins sends in these scanns from the Ottawa Citizen. [Scan 1 Scan 2 Scan 3]

CANNES: xtra.nz does Cannes - Xoanon @ 13:09 EST
Lord Of The Rings Works Its Magic At Cannes

Crispian Balmer

It's not in competition, it's not even finished, but the Hollywood adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings" still managed to cast a spell over the Cannes Film Festival. [More]

Okay, okay...the Balrog has... - Calisuri @ 07:32 EST
So many fans have written to me in the last 8 hours about the Balrog that I thought I would get the big question out of the way.

YES! The Balrog has wings!!!!

Highlight the blank spot above for the answer.

(I know Jincey and the Barlimans crowd are going to have a great time with this! Heh)

Ou revoir!

ps - Today's itinerary is to relax and prepare for the PARTY. Look for a report later if I can find an adapter that works in my hotel! The ones here aren't the normal European ones! eek!