11-29-03 Latest News

Howard Shore NZ LOTR Concert Review!
Xoanon @ 11:57 am EST

Matthew writes:

REPORT ON THE WORLD PREMIERE OF "THE LORD OF THE RINGS SYMPHONY", COMPOSED AND CONDUCTED BY HOWARD SHORE - Saturday, November 29, 2003

It is currently 11pm on Saturday night, and I am sitting at my computer at work, having come in to write about the event that I have just experienced.

And hopefully make a lot of people that I don't know jealous.

Over the past couple of years, I have heard about various live concert performances of Howard Shore's music for the Lord Of The Rings films, and I've always been jealous of those who have been to those concerts. But I can now say that I have been to the best concert - short of a live performance of the complete score synchronised to the movie. The world premiere of the LOTR Symphony, six movements for orchestra and chorus, created from the twelve hours of music composed for the three LOTR films, performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO). While I understand some of the movements have been performed previously, this was the first performance of the complete piece.

And it was great.

I won't say much about the music, because we've all heard the scores for the first two films, and we will all be very familiar with the third film score very soon. I'll just try to write about my thoughts and experience.

Peter Jackson was there, looking terribly casual (as you would expect) and completely out of place. As he tried to casually walk in, people saw him, and started clapping. This rapidly became a well-deserved standing ovation. I was, however, a little embarrassed when the people around me then spent a considerable amount of time turned around, just watching him. My gosh, people, give the man a bit of privacy. If I was PJ, I probably would have felt a bit uncomfortable.

Howard Shore walked out, huge applause. He gave a short speech that was interrupted every time he mentioned a recognisable name. When he talked about how much of the music was inspired by and written in Wellington, applause. When he acknowledged Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, applause. Richard Taylor, applause. When he mentioned how the NZSO did the first recording of the mines of Moria, applause. I was amazed he was able to make it to the end of the speech with all the interruption. But eventually the music started.

There really is something about hearing music performed live, by a full orchestra and two choirs, apparently 200 people in total, that you cannot experience listening to a CD or in a cinema or home theatre system. It really is unique. The wall of all enveloping sound that surrounds you at times is something to experience. I have pretty much thrashed the FOTR and TTT soundtracks since they were released, and so I thought I knew the music pretty well. But hearing these pieces performed live, you become very aware of the different textures, the subtleties that were hidden from you. The complexity and brilliance of the compositions cannot be overstated. Hugely enjoyable.

The first two movements covered FOTR, then came intermission. Cue more people just watching Peter Jackson. It was a bit creepy actually.

The next two movements covered TTT. Then came the bit I was really looking forward to. The final two movements were music from ROTK.

You see, I knew the music in the first four movements very well. But, other than the 30 second samples available on Soundtrack.Net, and Into The West. I haven't heard the ROTK score yet. So this music was a real surprise. I had no idea where any of the music was going, and as a result, every note was a constant surprise. The other great thing about hearing this music in a concert? When I first heard the FOTR and TTT soundtracks, I had the track listing sitting in front of me, and I would learn that this track was called "The Black Rider", or "Lothlorien", and I would start imagining what was happening on screen. Without this, I could just enjoy the music as pure music, and it was great. There is some great music coming up, and I'm looking forward to it.

The NZSO performed brilliantly, as I expected. They really are a very good orchestra. The choirs were excellent. The soloists were very good, with one exception. My biggest disappointment was with Gollum's Song. I really love this song, and one of the things I loved about it was the way Emiliana Torrini gave the song an almost alien feel to it. It was quite spectacular, and I adored it. Sadly, the performance tonight was much more as an ordinary song by an ordinary (but very good) singer. It didn't quite have the twistedness of Gollum that I really felt Ms Torrini brought out. But credit where credit is due, when the same singer sang Into The West, I loved it. Great performance. So I have nothing against that singer. But hopefully, on any CD release, Emiliana Torrini will be used for Gollum's Song.

Biggest surprise? Viggo Mortensen singing in Movement Six - I think it was a coronation song. No-one was expecting that, and so when the spotlight shone of him, you could hear the surprise and delight in the crowd.

The programme states that Howard Shore will also conduct the symphony in the USA, Europe, Australia and Canada. If you should happen to go to one of these concerts, be careful where you sit. Howard Shore arranged for the inclusion in the presentation of images from either Alan Lee or John Howe (the programme and all publicity state repeatedly Alan Lee, but an insert claims John Howe, so who knows). The images weren't constantly showing, the screens spent quite a bit of time blank, but the images were frequent. The screens showing these images were behind the orchestra, so sitting where I was in the stalls, I sadly couldn't really see them - well, I could just see the very top of the screens. So if you go to one of these concerts, try to get a seat on an upper level if possible, to see the images that Mr Shore intends to be part of the experience.

How long was it? I think each movement was approximately 15 minutes long, except for Movement 2, which would have been closer to 30 minutes. The whole thing was probably between 1.45 and 2 hours long.

What pieces were represented in the symphony? From the programme:

Movement One
The Prophecy * Concerning Hobbits * The Shadow of the Past * A Short Cut To Mushrooms * The Old Forest * A Knife in the Dark

Movement Two
Many Meetings * The Ring Goes South * A Journey in the Dark * The Bridge of Khazad-dum * Lothlorien * Gandalf's Lament * Farewell to Lorien * The Great River * The Breaking of the Fellowship

Movement Three
Foundations of Stone * The Taming of Smeagol * The Riders of Rohan * The Black Gate is Closed * Evenstar * The White Rider * Treebeard * The Forbidden Pool

Movement Four
The Hornburg * Forth Eorlingas * Isengard Unleashed * Gollum's Song

Movement Five
Hope and Memory * The White Tree * The Steward of Gondor* Cirith Ungol * Anduril

Movement Six
The End of All Things * The Return of the King * The Grey Havens * Into the West

It will probably never happen, but I am really hoping for a DVD release of the Symphony. Imagine it. The music, in DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1, with concert footage of the orchestra performing, along with the video presentation of the paintings (by whichever artist), trying to really create the experience as Howard Shore intended. There will probably be a CD release of the Symphony, but to have a DVD that can retain the visual element, that would be wonderful.

To conclude, it was a great and thrilling evening, better than I could have hoped for. Wonderful. If you get a chance to see another performance of this, take it. You won't regret it. There are a lot of things planned for Wellington as part of the celebration of the premiere, but I think ultimately tonight will be my favourite.

Amazing Grant Major Interview!
Xoanon @ 11:25 am EST

Unfortunately this article needed to be removed at the request of Ross Plesset.

The Lord of the Rings: From Imagination to Image
Xoanon @ 11:19 pm EST

Click to enlarge

John Howe writes: "The Lord of the Rings: From Imagination to Image" will open at the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris in two and a half weeks. The exhibition will run from December 14th 2003 to February 15th 2004, and is composed of 120 concept drawings and paintings by Alan Lee and I from the film trilogy.

I've never even set foot in the National Library in Paris, (I've always felt much too scruffy and uncultured to even walk past in front of the building) so this is going to be a real treat.

This is also the FIRST time the artwork has been shown in Europe with the exception of the little show at the Geneva Book Fair and the few pieces that are in the show in London. The artwork has been selected to take the viewer from Bag End to the Grey Havens and points between.

'Dead Ringers' Special At London Science Museum
Xoanon @ 6:02 pm EST

To celebrate the UK premiere of The Return of the King, the Science Museum is offering half price entry to The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy - The Exhibition - to anyone who dresses up as character from the trilogy.

The special offer will apply on Thursday 11 December, the day the film's stars gather in London for the premiere at the Odeon in Leicester Square.

To qualify for half price entry, visitors must convince staff that they resemble a character from the famous films. Visitors in fancy dress can also take home a free photo of themselves shrunk to the size of a hobbit on Gandalf's famous cart.

The exhibition, which exposes the secrets behind the making of the hit film trilogy, has been a huge hit, welcoming over 150,000 visitors since opening. The Science Museum is the only European venue to host the priceless exhibits.

The exhibition is a perfect opportunity to enjoy an up close and personal encounter with props, costumes and sets from the films before The Return of the King hits UK cinemas on December 17.

The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy - The Exhibition has already sold more advance tickets than any previous exhibition at the Science Museum. Opening hours have been extended to cope with demand and although some tickets are available at the door, advanced booking is the only way to guarantee entry.

Science Museum Commercial Operations Manager Sally Davies, said: "We thought it would be a bit of fun to celebrate the launch of the final installment. It's also a chance for die hard fans to get dressed up and save a bit of money at the same time."

To prevent the advanced filmmaking technology displayed in the exhibition from being copied, the use of cameras and mobile phones is prohibited.

The fascinating exhibition includes:

* Demonstrations of special effects, including the combining
of 'real' and 'digital' action and CGI (computer-generated-image
technology).

* A scaling interactive explaining one way that the films managed to make characters seem different heights, and which allows visitors to become Hobbit sized in a scene from The Fellowship of the Ring - and then buy a print of themselves.

* A display on the prosthetics which transformed actors, including Hobbit hands and feet.

* Weapons belonging to Arwen, Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn.

* Outfits including Arwen's riding costume, Galadriel's stunning dress and Gandalf's robes.

The exhibition culminates with a face-to-face encounter with the central icon from the films - The One Ring.

* Tickets can be pre-booked on 0870 906 3890 24 hours (booking fee applies) or at www.sciencemuseum.org.uk

* The Science Museum will be running a series of adult and family events during the autumn half term and Christmas holidays
investigating traditional and state-of-the-art filmmaking techniques.

Exhibition
16 September 2003 to 11 January 2004

Ticket Prices
Monday - Friday: Adults £9.95, Children/Concessions £6.95
Saturday - Sunday: Adults £11.95, Children/Concessions £8.95

Public information and booking line
0870 906 3890 (booking fee applies)
Opening hours
The Museum has extended the weekend opening hours for this exhibition
Friday - Saturday 10am - 9pm
Sunday 10am - 7pm
The exhibition will be open Monday - Thursday 10am - 6pm

Mortensen's Photo Exhibition Report
Xoanon @ 5:22 pm EST

Leggylass writes: I just returned from Viggo's Benefit Opening of his Photographic Exhibition at Massey University here in Wellington.

After some delay, the ceremony began with a Maori welcome. Speeches from the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Peter Jackson and Viggo were intermingled with some lovely singing. Not to mention Viggo had a bit of a sing himself!

The exhibition itself fills two large rooms in the gallery and there is an extensive array of Viggo's pictures on display. I was taken by his use of colour in many of them.

Also there was a raffle held for six of Viggo's works. A friend of mine managed to win one and we pick it up on Monday!

Personally I had a very enjoyable time. Viggo certainly appears to have embraced New Zealand and he, of course, is embraced in return. My evening was enhanced by the fact that I got to meet Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Elijah Wood. They were all so charming and generous with their time - I just wish that my brain hadn't decided to get out of my head at those exact moments, rendering me conversationally simple. Still, the squeeze on my arm from Elijah is etched into my brain forever :)

Anyone who is coming to Wellington should certainly head up to Massey (the Museum Building) and take a look at his work.

Corporate Christmas Parties Book Out LOTR
Xoanon @ 4:58 pm EST

Corporate Christmas Parties Book Out The Lord Of The Rings Movie Sessions

Three weeks before opening, 52 Village SKYCITY Cinemas are already full with corporate sales alone for the third instalment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Village SKYCITY Cinemas Chief Executive, Joe Moodabe, says corporate bookings for the new movie which opens on Thursday 18 December 2003, are unprecedented.

'Due to heavy demand, Village SKYCITY cinemas are sourcing another print of the movie to put on more screenings especially for the corporate market, says Mr Moodabe.

'Corporates are using the movie as a great way to end the year - hiring out cinemas to host staff and clients for Xmas functions. Some are entertaining with pre-movie refreshments and some are theming their evening with special The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 3-D collector cups and other movie related merchandise,' he says.

Mr Moodabe believes the demand is due to the fact the movie is the most anticipated movie of the year, a local movie and the fact it's a cost effective and fun way for corporates to entertain.

'Village SKYCITY Cinemas has always offered private screenings to the corporate market – however businesses are embracing this movie more than ever.

'In some instances this will be their third year in a row – after booking private screenings for the first two movies last year and in 2001, they now need to complete the trilogy with this the final movie in the series.

'As well as the corporate bookings, we also have a record number of clubs and charities using the movie for fundraising purposes and we are still offering public movie screening sessions hour on hour once the film opens just after midnight on 18 December,' says Mr Moodabe.

Tickets went on sale for the most anticipated movie of the year at all Village SKYCITY Cinemas (including the Mega-Screen – formerly the giant Imax screen) last Thursday (20 November), featuring special 12:01am sessions to celebrate the launch of the movie on the morning of Thursday 18 December 2003.

Advance public ticket sales are currently available online at www.villageskycity.co.nz, at your nearest Village SKYCITY Cinema or by phoning the information line on 09 979 2400 (general info line).

Exclusive to Queen Street, in Auckland, there will be extended versions of the first two movies to build the excitement as the launch for the new movie draws near. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – the extended version - will screen at the cinemas on Queen Street from 4 – 10 December and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers will screen from 11 – 16 December. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will screen 24 hours non-stop at the central city location from one minute past midnight 18 December through to 21 December 2003.

For diehard fans, there will also be special Lord of the Rings movie marathon on Wednesday 17th December featuring all three of the movies back to back in sequence at Village SKYCITY Cinemas Queen Street where movie goers will be able to sit through an unprecedented nine and a half hours of cinema (with breaks in between each movie). Fans will begin by watching The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring from 3:20pm followed by The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers from 7:40pm which will lead in to The Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King which will screen just after midnight on 18 December - to screen at the same time as other Village SKYCITY Cinemas' public movie screenings.

Those wanting to secure a place at the very first public screening can also purchase tickets to a special Charity Screening (on Thursday 17 December) at Village SKYCITY Cinemas with part proceeds to the Starship Foundation. Tickets to the charity premiere cost $100 each and will include being among the first in New Zealand to see the movie, pre-movie hors d'oeuvres and drinks and the chance to go into a draw to win a replica of Strider's sword, featuring Peter Jackson's engraved signature. Guests to the charity premiere are invited to arrive at 5.15pm and the movie will begin at 6.30pm. Tickets are available at www.starship.org.nz or 09 3074957.

Village SKYCITY Cinemas are located in Hamilton and Auckland at: Broadway Newmarket, Highland Park Pakuranga, Manukau, West City Henderson, Westgate, St Lukes and Queen Street – Auckland City.

Trilogy Tuesday: Switzerland
Xoanon @ 12:16 pm EST

Emiloy writes: For people who live in the Romande part of Switzerland, there will be a trilogy tuesday!!! here are the places and times! They also say hey'll have animations and surpises!

Mardi 16 décembre découvrez...
La Trilogie Seigneur des Anneaux 1+2+3
Lausanne: EuroPlex Romandie vo 17h00 - EuroPlex Flon vf 16h00
Morges: EuroPlex Odéon vf 16h00
Nyon: EuroPlex Capitole vf 16h00
Genève: EuroPlex Les Grottes vf 16h00 - EuroPlex Plaza vo 17h00
Tarifs 43.- cash 40.- avec Movie-Card

TV Watch: TSN's Off the Record with Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd and Andy Serkis
Xoanon @ 11:58 am EST

Click for more images

From "West of the Moon"

Off the Record Transcript
(TSN, Nov. 21)

(shots from ROTK trailer)

MICHAEL LANDSBERG (host): The wait is over. We have got that man. That's Andy Serkis who plays Gollum; as well, Billy Boyd and Elijah Wood from Lord of the Rings. It's the Lord of the Rings special with Ty Pennington from Trading Spaces, so bring it on.

(clip from TTT - Gollum's split personality)

ML: Now I was a sports geek, so my childhood was filled with Sports
Illustrated and baseball cards, right. But the kids today are all about Frodo, Gollum and Pippin, so I say, "May the Force be with you" (holds hands up in Vulcan sign from Star Trek)

(everyone laughs)

What?

EW: Um...

ML: You know, how cool is this show? I've said for a long time, the
greatest job in television is sitting in this chair because of the guys you get to meet, and let's meet them right now. Frodo from Lord of the Rings, numbers 1, 2, and 3. Number three is going to be released on what day?

ELIJAH WOOD: December 17th.

ML: Elijah Wood.

EW: Hello, sir.

ML: Thank you so much for being on the show today.

EW: Thank you, thank you.

ML: How cool is this? Look who's here. Billy Boyd, you are Pippin from the Lord of the Rings. You've had a wonderful career, you've done many things, and you know what? I love the fact that you're sitting here as well.

BILLY BOYD: Hey, thanks very much.

ML: And Andy Serkis. You know, I'm just blown away by the character that you play. The talent that you have. Gollum is an unbelieveable
character, and I'm just so thrilled that you're sitting here. Good to
see you.

ANDY SERKIS: Good to see you too.

ML: You were Gollum, not Dobbie, right?

AS: No, I played Gollum (in Gollum voice).

ML: Thank you for joining us. I guess phlegm really helps with that, right?

AS: Every morning.

EW: Phlegm every morning. He gargles phlegm.

ML: And Ty Pennington. Who could we put in this chair that would fit
with these guys? And the answer is Ty Pennington. We've got 100 people standing out there. Half are here to see those guys, and half are here to see you.

TY PENNINGTON: It's going to be wild.

ML: A huge hit, Trading Spaces. It's great to welcome you to the show.

TP: Thanks for having me. Thank you.

EW: We should do a Lord of the Rings edition of Trading Spaces. It would be awesome, and then it would really tie it together.

TP: Trading rings!

EW: Trading rings!

ML: Or trading cheques.

TP: Yes!

(EW laughs)

TP: That would be interesting.

ML: All right, let's go. It's all about the fans. They have made Lord of the Rings a cultural phenomenom. They have made Trading Spaces a
massive, big frigging hit in North America. Without the fans everybody is probably teaching art history, something like that?

EW: Right.

ML: And yet fan is short for "fanatic" and we all know they can go too far, and that strangers determine how much privacy you can have. Is that acceptable?

TP: Well, I think there's definitely a line that becomes unacceptable. I mean, we... the show that I'm on has gotten hugely popular out of nowhere. So we have people set up in the cul-de-sacs where we're working, you know, with tents, and they bring the families with sandwiches and the whole nine yards. And they'll actually come up and actually steal pieces of wood and stuff like that as collector's items, which is all good.

EW: Wow.

TP: But sometimes kids get too close to the table saw, if you know what I'm saying, and things start flying towards kids. So it all depends, but that's a different aspect of it. So yeah, I would say there's a point where it's kind of strange.

EW: Yeah, for us, I mean, people have been fans of the books ever since they were written in the 50's, so we had a fan base before these movies came out, and so our fans are even in some ways even more fanatical than your typical movie fans would be, because they're all so... most of them are fans of the books as well, wouldn't you say?

AS: Yeah.

TP: Yeah, they're taking treks over to New Zealand now, just to see
where they filmed.

EW: Absolutely.

TP: There's actually a little tourist colony going on over there because of that.

EW: I mean, I've never had any encounters with them that I think has
gone too far, personally, but you know, there is sort of a fine line
between being a fan of something and being overly fanatical. Have you
ever seen the movie Trekkies?

ML: Yeah, absolutely.

EW: The documentary. It's fascinating. It's all about Star Trek fans,
and ... it's mental.

ML: Did you not collect Star Wars figures when you were a kid?

EW: I did, yeah, absolutely. Huge Star Wars fan.

ML: How weird is it for you that you collect these figures when you were a kid, and now kids are collecting you?

EW: (laughs) It's great. I'm such a nerd, I love all that stuff, so...

ML: Oh, you're not a nerd, come on.

EW: I am. I'm a complete geek, I love all that stuff.

TP: He's got William Shatner hanging off his rear view mirror.

BB: He really is. He's a total geek.

EW: In the truest sense of the word.

BB: I mean, we're in video games now. It's amazing to be able to play
yourself in a video game. It's just incredible.

ML: (to BB) So if I push the X button right now, I'd get your right arm to go up?

BB: Uh, yeah. (lifts arm)

ML: (to Andy) And if I push the Y, can I get you to make that sound again?

AS: Murrrrrderer. I'll tell you what, there is actually a Gollum porn
site out there... yeah there is, honestly, I swear.

TP: Wow.

ML: There's no doubt, he's hot.

AS: Absolutely. I mean, there's a lot of people who find Gollum very, very attractive. Viggo Mortensen fans... I mean, Gollum has got this serious fan base, which is dedicated to what they'd like to do with him.

EW: Screw the Paris Hilton sex tapes, let's see the Gollum sex tapes!

ML: I don't want to insult you, but I'm going with the Paris Hilton. All right, we were talking about the dark side, which is clearly there. There's the Kobe Bryant situation and Michael Jackson. Yesterday Michael Jackson became the biggest story in the world. We're not talking Bush in the UK or North Korea, we're talking Michael Jackson. Jermaine Jackson, his brother, freaked out on the media for their focus. Listen to what he had to say.

(clip of Jermaine Jackson)

EW: Wow.

ML: Now we saw that with the Kobe Bryant trial or situation for sure, but no one really from the family spoke out. You heard what Jermaine Jackson had to say regarding his brother and this celebrity attack that he has felt. Do you buy that?

BB: Um, I think it's difficult, you know? This is a really difficult situation because it's a very serious, serious charge, you know? And I think it becomes most difficult if what happens on TV and in the press affects what's happening in the courtroom. You know, everyone's innocent until proven guilty.

EW: That's the scariest thing.

BB: But we can't let the media affect things like this. And when it overlaps like that, that's when it becomes wrong.

EW: The media does tend to drive public opinion as well, and it can actually influence public opinion, which, then, you're right, which then affects the trial...

BB: And the jury's there, and they've been reading it and watching it on TV...

TP: But the media... the whole point of the media too, it can work for it and against it. I mean, who knows? I mean, sometimes people use these things just to like promote an album or a CD at the same time. I mean they could be completely false allegations too, and they could completely ruin their career at the same time, so sometimes they don't...

ML: Two different situations, though. I mean, Kobe hasn't lost a lot of sponsorship.

EW: That's right.

ML: He has lost some. Michael Jackson's not getting played. If you look around Canada, there's a lot of radio stations that are dropping him.

EW: I read that this morning in the paper. They were saying they were dropping him.

ML: What's the better way to approach it? The approach with Kobe, which is more kind of innocent until proven guilty, let's wait and see, or Michael Jackson, which is don't play him now?

EW: Well, the man is not a child molester until he's proven guilty, so let's treat it like he's innocent. You know, accusing someone of child molestation is a huge thing, and to brand him before he's had a chance to defend himself is really unfair. And I think the media is jumping all over him. With Jackson it's a touchy thing as well, because he's a bit of a media freak, so people want to jump on him anyway.

ML: A bit? A bit?

TP: But I mean, at the same time you really can't... I mean, it's not good publicity. He should not have the interview in the house, hanging out...

ML: Just to confirm, you're Ty Pennington, Billy Boyd, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood?

ALL: Right.

ML: How cool is my job? Oh my gosh!

(all laugh)

Okay, one of the freakiest success stories in pop culture has got to be Smoking Gun. Do you guys know Smoking Gun, the website?

EW: I do. It's fantastic.

ML: They've got a website that people go to every day, and even a show on court television. And you know people will be flocking there today, because the Michael Jackson mug shot is terrifying. My question is, who lights up the police studios? These people make a living being photogenic! Man, somebody's publicist has got to be in big trouble. These are awful! Who does the lighting?

(mug shots of Jackson, Marilyn Manson and Nick Nolte)

Let us know on our website. We'll be back with more.

(clip from Trading Spaces)

EW: Isn't that beautiful, Ty?

ML: That belt is pretty low.

TP: It's bringing a tear to my eye. It's beautiful.

ML: All right, I've got to ask you guys a question. Andy Kaufman, Drew Barrymore, Farrah Fawcett, Freddy Adu, all became household names because they were on Letterman. Freddy Adu, we put that guy on the list? He is a classic child prodigy. He'll be playing for DC United in the MLS. He's a millionaire. Man, there's a lot more to come. All of it before he's going to be old enough to drive.

EW: Awesome.

ML: The league says they want him to stay as a kid. Is that possible or even desirable, given what he does for a living?

TP: Well, I mean, obviously he's going to be playing in a pros league, so I don't know how long he's going to be able to stay a kid physically or mentally.

EW: He's going to be playing with adults in an adult world. I mean, I started acting when I was 8 years old. I grew up kind of fast, and you know...

ML: But the adults you were with, some of them at least wanted to help you. I'm sure some of them wanted to bury your career...

EW: That's true, it wasn't a competitive sport.

ML: But this is different. He's playing against guys who want to victimize him and use the fact that he's 14 years old against him.

EW: Oh, of course.

ML: (to BB) You've watched a little soccer in your day, I imagine?

BB: Yeah, and I mean, it can get really aggressive and kind of verbally aggressive as well.

TP: Nasty is what it can get.

BB: Yeah, it can get really nasty, and I don't know... 14's a bit young to be playing ...

AS: But it sounds like he's able to deal with it on the pitch... I suppose what we're talking about is kinf of emotionally, is how he copes with it psychologically ...

TP: But that's what happened to Kobe too, though. It's like Kobe became this prodigy. But if you look at it, it's like he's just been raised to become this superstar athlete, and that's all he's been programmed to do.

EW: You could say that of Tiger Woods as well.

TP: Well, he's probably got more social skills than Kobe does...

EW: Right.

TP: Because Kobe just hasn't been out there, like hanging out, really meeting people. He's been focusing on his career.

EW: Right.

TP: I don't know what his background is, but at 14, to be thrown into it, it's pretty early.

EW: It's a lot responsibility for a 14 year-old to handle. Not to mention in terms of the media. In terms of the media, it's a novelty as well, so people are going to jump on that. He's going to get criticism because he's only 14, that's the thing that's really scary.

BB: Over here, is there a line? Do you have to be 13? Surely there has to be a line where you say... you can't have a 9 year-old playing pro soccer.

ML: Well, it was never really an issue, but now it's an issue in almost every sport. You have a female golfer who's 13, Michelle Wie, who is now going to play in a PGA event; you had Tiger Woods, who was exceptionally young; LeBron James. The limit is being pushed in every direction, so there's a new precedent that's being set all the time.

EW: It's time to start thinking about, you know, age limits and regulations.

ML: But here's the toughest thing...

TP: At 14 I was just stoked to make varsity!

ML: You played soccer, right?

TP: I was stoked to make the varsity team, man, as a freshman.

AS: Apart from the physical demands, it is the environment we're talking about more. I mean, it's like... you're around people, you're subjected you know, to elder people's opinions, their lifestyles, etc, you know, I don't see any difference between entertainment and sport.

EW: Not at all, no.

ML: If you played against a kid... did you play football, growing up?

AS: Yeah.

ML: If you played against a kid professionally... he's 14, you're 22, could you actually play against him the same way that you would play against an adult and try to exploit the fact that he's a kid?

AS: But they're so much taller these days.

(all laugh)

ML: I don't know if that's scientifically true.

EW: If physically there's no difference, you'd just sort of play as you normally would, right?

TP: But the question is, who's more intimidated? Is the 14 year-old more intimidated about playing the adult, or is the adult more intimidated about playing the 14 year-old?

ML: I think the adult, because the adult doesn't want to get beat by the 14 year-old.

TP: No, you don't. There you go.

ML: You've got two kids, right? I think you and I are the only ones with kids on this set. Let me ask you this. What do you teach your kid when your kid starts to play sports? How old's your oldest? Five years old?

AS: Five, yeah.

ML: Right. So when your kid starts to play football, you're going to teach him about fair play, that winning really doesn't count for everything, it's okay to try and lose. If you're the coach of a football team, that's the last thing you want your people to think.

AS: I find it really difficult, but they are so young... you're encouraging all those other things at home, so it is difficult to say go out there and kill him!

TP: I think losing's a great thing for your psyche, though. I mean, if you grew up on a team... like I played soccer... and there are a lot of kids that grow up in a better part of town, that all grow up with a certain amount of kids, and they all play together, and they all get really good together, and that's how you build a really good team. But if you grow up and you're always used to winning, because you're playing on the boys' club team... or you're used to losing, I think your personality actually gains from it, because when you finally do win, it's a bigger deal. So I mean... I don't know what that has to do with anything, but I'm glad I brought that up.

ML: It was a hell of a story, and you were going to work that story in no matter what, weren't you?

TP: I guess.

ML: You came in with an agenda.

EW: With all that attention, he is sort of set to win, isn't he? Failure is sort of not an option at this point.

TP: No, and if it is, it could really...

EW: That could be even more damaging, you know.

BB: At least emotionally, have two years to train with the team and work his way up and get to know them...

ML: When you talk about football, I believe it. For some reason, your accent...

BB: Yeah?

ML: Every single thing you say about football makes sense to me. Ty sounds like he's full of crap, because guys without an accent...

TP: It's because I play "soccer"!

BB: Exactly. He even calls it football now.

TP: What's going to happen to these guys is... three years in America and he's warmed up, somebody else is going to come get him.

BB: Yeah, Manchester United will help out.

ML: We've got to go to break. (to EW) We're talking about kids and doing it when you were really young... we've got your first acting job. We'll take a look.

BB: All right!

(clip from Paula Abdul video - EW as young angst-ridden executive,
breaks pencil)

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

ML: We were online the other day, checking out stuff for stories, and we came across this on the Adbusters site. Adbusters are creating their own shoes - the "unswoosher" - as an ironic protest against Nike, of course. And they can do that because they don't belong to the system. But what about when you do belong to the system? What then? Adbusters is preaching to the converted. But a celebrity has a much broader audience. Should you criticize people who don't use that platform?

EW: I don't know if you should criticize them. I mean, I think, you know, Adbusters has obviously set themselves up in that position, to make those kind of criticisms and to be politically incorrect and make those judgements. But I think actors obviously have a greater audience and more criticism is on them if they want to make political statements. But I think that we should be allowed to say what we want to say within reason, you know.

BB: I think that as individuals... you know, we're doing a job, we're all doing a job, it just happens that our job is seen by, you know, the world.

ML: In your case, billions.

BB: Yeah, yeah. And it's up to you, I think, if you want to say, I want to be a private person and just do the job. You know, like John Lennon. He said, well, I'm going to be on every newspaper, every radio show, every TV show, so I may as well do something good. So I'm going to go to bed and say, look, this is for peace.

TP: Well, just from my own experiences, like you know, being on this show where we're actually building things, using woods, that kind of a thing... you know, I built this bed on one of the shows, that I actually used Brazilian cherry on. I built a huge bed, and then I got tons of emails and people calling me, asking me where can I find that wood, and then I'm thinking to myself, my god, I've turned the world on to the Brazilian rainforest, so I immediately said, you know, MDF is good, let's go back to plywood, so now I try and actually use...

EW: Wow.

TP: So there is, depending on what you promote subconsciously, you don't even know what you're doing until you realize that that many people have seen what you're using...

EW: There is a responsibility to a certain degree...

BB: Which we've kind of taken on with the Lord of the Rings thing, is we're trying to get some forests planted, with people, called the Future Forests, where hopefully you'll be able to go in and buy a tree for the forest, and you'll get a scroll, you know, and if a billion people buy a scroll, you know, we'll get a forest out there.

EW: There's that many trees saved.

AS: I think sometimes there are expectations because of our profile with Lord of the Rings... I mean, you get asked loads of varying questions, loads, and you're expected to come up with an answer and therefore have a stance or a very strong political idea of every situation, every item. And it's like... sometimes you really haven't formulated that, and you find yourself really far down the track, I mean, you've committed yourself to an idea. I think sometimes, I think people in celebrity positions should allowed to have the right to remain quiet, but then focus on things where they really want to put their energy. I mean, I'm part of a charity which is dealing with leukemia in children in war-torn countries. I've kind of now chosen to really...

ML: But if you chose nothing, would it be reasonable to criticize you, because you are passing up an opportunity that not many people on the planet have.

AS: Yeah, absolutely. Like, at the Oscars this year, I'll tell you something that happened at the Oscars this year. Obviously the war in Iraq had just started about three days beforehand. There were a million protestors kind of down where the red carpet was going to be. And people were saying use our voice, use our voice, use our voice. And I found that really, really moving and important to do so, and so hence on the red carpet I made a stance against the war. And I think you should.

ML: I think the question is not what you're going to do, but do something, which is the point. I mean, (to TP) you saw the power that you had just using a certain kind of wood, and now people are using it.

(clip of email addressed to TP)

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

ML: We're here with the guys from Lord of the Rings, Ty Pennington from Trading Spaces. You know, when this show works well, you get people to look at who individuals are. They see you performing and doing what you do, and when it doesn't work well - we won't talk about that - but today it worked really well. It was an amazing experience. Ty, you were a great guest. I know you're a big sports fan, and thanks for playing along today.

TP: Thank you for having me.

ML: Tell me first of all about the book, Ty's Tricks.

TP: Well, basically I make crap craptastic, and I pretty much built a champagne house on a beer budget, and it shows you...

ML: And it's your house, right?

TP: It is. It shows you my house, and also a bunch of things you can do yourself, which is really amazing. It's really easy and pretty cool.

ML: This is a great gift. Christmas and Hannukah season coming up.

TP: And don't forget Kwaanza.

EW: That's right. Don't forget Kwaanza.

(laughter)

ML: I never forget that.

EW: I actually did a Kwaanza one year with my friends. It was good.

ML: Also the television show, which we see in Canada.

TP: Also the show on ABC coming out on December 3rd, right after The Bachelorette. But instead of just dealing with one room, we actually... this is a wonderful thing. A family has a sick daughter, and they spent a lot of their money trying to save the kid. We pretty much give them a house in seven days. We built a house in seven days, which isn't actually easy to do, guys.

EW: Oh my god.

ML: Jimmy Carter-like.

EW: A house in seven days...

ML: And you're making a public appearance at Home Depot... (they discuss this for a bit) Okay, let's talk about Lord of the Rings. First of all, when is it released?

EW: December 17th. It's coming out very soon. We're very excited.

ML: And it is the Return of the King. This is the completion of the trilogy, right?

EW: That's right. It all comes together.

ML: (to BB) And you guys actually... you've done some re-shooting, but you completed principal shooting when?

BB: Oh, like three years ago.

(EW laughs)

BB: Yeah, it's weird.

ML: I won't ask you any details about the movie, because you probably don't remember.

BB: Yeah, well, we went back this year to do some reshoots, and it was great to get back to New Zealand and do some extra scenes and stuff.

ML: (to EW) The problem is that you were like 11 years old when you shot the first stuff, right?

EW: Yeah, which is weird. And I grew up.

ML: No facial hair then, and now you've got it. And you're exercising that right very nicely.

EW: Thank you, sir.

ML: (to AS) Now, how did you... are you a voice-over guy?

AS: No, just a regular actor.

ML: So how did you get the role of Gollum?

AS: Well, I got a call from my agent saying they're doing the Lord of the Rings down in New Zealand, and...

ML: Let me hear some Gollum.

AS: Okay. So they said, do you want to do this voice for an animated character? And I started working on it, and I watched my cats, and you know when they get fur trapped in their throats?

TP: A little hairball action.

AS: And their whole bodies... (mimes retching) and that became "gollum, gollum" and that was the start of it really.

TP: That's awesome.

(EW pats AS on the shoulder)

ML: Can you do something for me? I start every show by saying the words "bring it on." Can you look in that camera over there and say "bring it on"?

AS: (in Gollum voice) Bring it on, precioussss.

ML: I think we can work that in. Guys, I'm a huge fan of Lord of the Rings. Everyone's going to see the movie. But I've got to say I'm a huge fan of Trading Spaces. But most of all, of you individuals. Thanks for joining us here.

EW: Thank you. No problem.

It's Deja Vu All Over Again
Xoanon @ 11:15 am EST

The Maori Hobbit writes: It seems waking up every morning to read the paper keeps on getting better and better.

On the front page, was an article about the arrival of Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) as well as the Ring bearer (Elijah Wood).

What caught my attention was the small segment in the article about how the King was seen walking into clothing shop Lifestyle Sports, on Willis and Mercer St, on Sunday to buy two shirts. It also stated that the female shop assistant was so excited (who could blame her) that she retold the experience to her next customers, who rushed out of the store hoping to catch the King and take an autograph. (again, who could blame them?)

Another thing I thought you would be interested in is that the lovely Tyler sisters have arrived in Wellington, with Liv looking as elven as ever. She stated to One News that she wished all the world premieres were placed here, or that one major one was here for all three so that they didn't have to fly around so far.

What Wellington Should Know
Xoanon @ 10:42 am EST

Wellington City Council was kind enough to send this in:

World Premiere countdown...what Wgtn should know

It is now just under a week until Wellington hosts the much anticipated World Premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on Monday 1 December and there is a lot that Wellingtonians and Wellington businesses should know.

Dressing the City
Wellington is dressed – street banners are up around the central city, the Cave Troll is in Civic Square, Gollum is on the airport (and other characters are inside), Legolas’s arrow has pierced Molly Malones and the Fell Beasts are on top of the Embassy Theatre and Reading Cinemas. Retailers are also playing a part in dressing the city with The Lord of the Rings windows displays.

World Premiere Parade
On 1 December Wellington will make New Zealand movie making history with a tickertape parade featuring the cast, filmmakers and various civilisations from the trilogy. The parade leaves Parliament at 3.30pm and weaves its way through the central city arriving at the red carpet on Courtenay Place at approximately 4.30pm. Free tickertape is available Monday 1 December from Dymocks, Whitcoulls, Farmers, Kirkcaldie and Stains and New Zealand Post Shop, all on Lambton Quay.

Red Carpet
An extra long red carpet measuring 470 metres will be rolled out along Courtenay Place from Reading Cinemas to the Embassy Theatre.

Theatres
Over 2000 guests have been invited to view the first screening of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. To accommodate such large numbers, guests will be seated both in Reading Cinemas and the Embassy Theatre.

Large Outdoor Screens
Three large screens will feature live footage of the parade and red carpet activity. Two screens will be situated alongside the red carpet – one at the Embassy Theatre and the other at Reading Cinemas – and the third screen will be at Taranaki Wharf for those wanting to view proceedings in a more relaxed environment.

Grandstands
Four large grandstands on the edge of the red carpet will give members of the public an uninhibited view of the stars and VIPs. Grandstand seats are available for purchase through Ticketek for $100+GST plus booking charges.

Taranaki Wharf
Taranaki Wharf will play a central role in the city’s celebrations for the World Premiere. Celebrations at Taranaki Wharf begin on Sunday 30 November with a Drum Up Summer concert. They continue on Monday 1 December with a big screen, live broadcast of the World Premiere parade and red carpet activity. An After Parade Party – featuring a Ring of Fire event at 7.30pm and New Zealand’s first public, outdoor screening of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers at 9.30pm – continues the festivities at Taranaki Wharf once the red carpet activity is over.

Activities for Young People
As part of the build up to the World Premiere, Wellington City Council has run a Young Filmmakers Competition to find the next Peter Jackson.

Wellington City Libraries have run a Fantasy Film Awards competition. Judging of the hundreds of entries is currently underway and an award ceremony will be held on Friday 28 November at the Central Library. Wellington City Libraries are also running various The Lord of the Rings activities and workshops for young people. Information is available at www.wcl.govt.nz/kids/whatson.html

Road Closures and Parking Restrictions
Various road closures and parking restrictions will be put in place for the World Premiere. From 8pm Sunday 30 November until 6am Tuesday 2 December, all or parts of Cambridge Terrace, Courtenay Place, Kent Terrace, Allen Street and Blair Street will be affected by road closures. From midday until 6pm Monday 1 December, all or parts of Cuba Street, Lambton Quay, Manners Street, Mercer Street, Victoria Street, Wakefield Street, Willis Street will be affected by road closures.

On Monday 1 December there will also be parking restrictions on Courtenay Place, Cuba Street, Lambton Quay, Manners Street, Mercer Street, Wakefield Street and Willis Street.

Motorists are advised to check road signs for road closures and parking restrictions, Council advertisements in the Dominion Post or www.wcc.govt.nz/lotr.

South African LOTR Premiere Invite
Xoanon @ 10:16 am EST

David writes: I was priviledged to be invited to the South African premier of the RoK. It is on the 10th of December. Tickets are not for sale it is only by invitation.

The invite was in a large elaborate box. When opened flower like petals fold away to expose the invitation. It does not look like a flower rather like a pyrimad. On each of the slats is a picture of a LotR character. The invitation is a heavy triangular pyrimad. It looks ancient and delicate, it contains the infomation of the premier.

Massive ROTK Q&A Spoilers!
Pippin_Took @ 2:26 am EST

Peter Jackson et all kindly asked us to remove these spoilers! Sory folks!

TheOneRing.net Talks to John Leigh!
leo @ 6:04 pm EST

At the recent Ring*Con 2003 I got the chance to catch up with Rohan-extraordinaire John Leigh (Hama). It was an early Saturday morning, yours truly was still recovering from the night before, spent talking about the fast and dangerous life of a Rohirrim!

Disclaimer: the sound on my tape has turned out to be quite useless so this is a best-of interpretation of what was said, bear with me...

John Leigh as Hama in The Two Towers

John can you tell us how you got your part in the movies?

Well we auditioned.. a long time ago now. We all did in New Zealand, all the actors. About a year and a half before I actually got the part. I originally auditioned for Sam Gamgee. Obviously I didn’t get that part... So a year and a half later into filming they came to shoot the part of Hama, and they hadn’t casted it yet! So I auditioned again and got the part.

If you could have picked any other part to play, would Sam Gamgee be the one?

Yeah I think so. I would have loved to play him..

Why?

It’s a good role because in a way he is the heart of the picture, you know. He’s the every man that has to make the sacrifices.. he’s the hard worker. He’s not the Ringbearer but without him it would never have happened.

What was your most memorable experience on filming The Two Towers?

Meeting Christopher Lee. And Ian McKellen. Those are two actors I have admired for a very long time, and getting to work with them was just... (the next word sounds a lot like woah but I dread using it for obvious reasons. Let’s just leave it at the fact that John loved working with them!)

This is your first fan convention, right?

Yeah, yeah it is.

Are you having a good time?

I’m having a great time, thank you.

You are obviously very popular here, even though your part in The Two Towers was not that big, how do you feel about that?

Well it is very nice if people appreciate what you do, so that’s a good thing. It doesn’t happen in my country, heheh...

Did you expect peoples reactions to be like this?

Not for me, certainly. I’m good friends with Craig Parker and Mark Ferguson and they’ve done it before so they were telling me about it. But when I came out, man.. hahaha... And it’s just.. we can give the fans a little bit more then just being there. I mean we can entertain people...

You are quite an entertaining man, I mean we’ve seen you on stage and you make people laugh..

Sometimes, heheh..

Well you made me laugh...

That’s good!

The panel you did with Bruce Hopkins; that was just improvising or did you plan anything?

We didn’t know what we were going to do. But he’s done so many so I thought; “I’ll just follow Bruce!” And he so enthusiastic so I just kinda grabbed on and we rode the horse!

John Leigh during his panel

Tell us what it was like being on set, filming your part. How did your day look?

It was pretty long actually. We had hair and makeup too of course, though not as much as the Elves and Orcs and Uruk-hai with the ears and all the prosthetics... We had long wigs and beards, I didn’t have my own beard this is a much better beard... And I think the wig I had was human hair, worth about 8.000 dollars. And the beard was expensive as well so.. you had to be careful when smoking, heheh..

And after makeup you’d go to the set?

Yeah.. first thing we did of course was to put our costume on, which wasn’t much for us because mostly it’s armour. Then we did the makeup, the wig and the beard and also we got dirt on us.. because we ride around on horses a lot. I don’t think the Rohan wash a lot heheh.. Well of course there’s more important things to do. Like killing things.

And then we’d go through and get our armour put on and finally the cape. And the helmet! We got that too if we were to be wearing them, but I never got to wear mine which is a shame because it was a beautiful helmet. Not as beautiful as Eomer’s or Theoden’s but after that it was the nicest! I kept carrying it around so people could see how beautiful it was.

Did you film a lot of scenes that didn’t make it into the final cut?

Not many no. There was one scene in which I am informing Theoden about what we think we should do. And because in The Two Towers Aragorn is the one that says: “We should go to war.” And me and Bruce (Hopkins – Gamling) were going like “Yeah we should probably go to war.” But they probably didn’t need it. As well as the funeral-scene of Theodred that’s on the Extended DVD, I might be in that briefly as well...

Were you sorry that your character, well, died?

Yeah, very sorry. I would have liked to have made it to Helms Deep. That would have been nice to have fought alongside the King.. yeah.. But you know, it’s a fast and dangerous life, being a Rohan. And Bruce did a good job of looking after the King anyway.

How hard was it to film the scene where the Warg attacks you? Most of it must’ve been computer generated?

Yeah most of it is. I pretty much.. I fell of the horse and I looked back up. That’s was pretty much all I got to do. The rest was all CGI. And it was only when I first saw the film when I thought: “Ohw.. so that’s what happened. I probably should have looked more scared.”

You said you read the books when you were young, were you a big fan?

Oh yeah I loved them! I read them for the first time probably when I was about eleven, and then again in my early twenties. I wondered if the magic was still there because you know as a child your imagination is so much freer. It was still there.. Getting the part was actually like a dream come true.

But I, like a lot of people, thought it would be too hard to make. The film. But you know, you come to a point where the technology has also allowed us together with some of the vision and some really great actors.. to bring it to life. And you have this amazing landscape that offers all the scenery you need to create that world. And suddenly it could be done!

Is there something you would like to share with us? This is my hung-over way of interview people by the way...

Yeah! If you haven’t already been here: come to this convention. Come to Ring*Con! It’s fantastic. And I’m working, and I’m still having fun, so there you go, hehehe...

Okay that’s great, thanks John!

You are welcome. And look, you go through it, you made it. I thought you were very good!

I was, yeah. Hahahah...

ABC PrimeTime ROTK Special Info
Xoanon @ 2:13 pm EST

AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK ON THE SET AND BEHIND THE SCENES OF “THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING”

PRIMETIME THURSDAY” AIRS DECEMBER 4 AT 10PM E.T.

It’s perhaps the most-anticipated film of the year, and its producers hope it will be among the most honored on Academy Awards night. “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” is the final installment in the epic trilogy that has defied Hollywood naysayers by enthralling fans and critics alike -- and setting box office records in the process. In a “Primetime Thursday” exclusive, correspondent Jay Schadler goes on the set and behind the scenes for an unprecedented look at how director Peter Jackson has made his incredible vision a reality. Jackson and the stars of the film discuss how the arduous process of making this big-budget movie is the culmination of a true labor of love. “PRIMETIME THURSDAY” airs THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4 (10:00-11:00pm ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Most saw it as a huge gamble -- trusting a little-known director with an enormous budget and a series of favorite books that have a very loyal following. And he was asked to film all three movies at the same time to keep costs down. It could have been the most spectacular failure in film history. Instead, the “Lord of the Rings” films have been among the highest-grossing of all time.

"Primetime Thursday" and Schadler were given unprecedented, exclusive access to the New Zealand film sets where Jackson was shooting some of the final scenes of "The Return of the King," as well as the workshops where master artisans created costumes, intricate models and the mysterious creatures that give the film its richness. Schadler sees first-hand the obsessive attention to detail that begins with Jackson and pervades the entire production.

"Primetime" also captures many candid moments with the film's stars, from practical jokes to shared beers at a local pub. The personal bonds between the actors have become so intense, several have even gotten identical secret tattoos. Sir Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood and others discuss how this experience has changed their careers and their lives. They also explain why they believe this epic tale of good versus evil continues to resonate with so many people.

ABCNEWS.com will provide companion programming and carry reports from "Primetime Thursday" on ABC News Live, the 24/7 streaming video news network available on the Internet to subscribers. Go to ABCNEWS.com for more information.

Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson are the co-anchors of “Primetime Thursday.” David Doss is the executive producer.

Embassy Re-Opening Report
Xoanon @ 1:50 pm EST

Leggylass writes: To possibly add to Irascian's great article about the opening of the Embassy - we just returned from the Seat Donor's Opening.

It was a pretty miserable old Wellington night outside but once we stepped inside the Embassy that was all forgotten.

We were treated to PJ's 'The Frighteners' and the sound was incredible!! I jumped many times even though I've seen the film before.

I agree that the seats are extremely comfortable (even though they sadly misspelled my surname on my name plaque) and the theatre is just beautiful. Certainly a fitting venue for the World Premiere in 5 days!

I've included another version of a name plate - this one is my particular favourite - and I took a sneaky opportunity to sit in this seat. It certainly looked funny to see everyone walking around the theatre like chickens pecking up corn as they read all the names on the seats.

Hobbit Stage Play in the UK
Xoanon @ 1:35 pm EST

Steve writes: I thought I could make use of your excellent site to advertise Chelmsford Theatre Workshop [CTW]'s production of The Hobbit.

CTW is an amateur theatre group, often admired for its professional standards. Formed in 1969, the group is proud to own its own theatre and currently produces 10 plays a season.

We are based at The Old Court Theatre, Springfield Road, Chelmsford, Essex, U.K. A 15 strong cast, most of whom treble up as dwarves, trolls, goblins, etc.. are currently working hard in rehearsals to be ready for opening night on Tue 16 December. I myself am playing Dwalin, an elf, a spider and more excitingly the plum role of Gollum.

We are all enjoying it immensely with the only downer being the prospect of having to miss the opening night of Return of the King.

An equally strong backstage team are also busy creating a multi-levelled set, various costumes and puppets and working on special effects such as how to portray an enormous fire breathing dragon on stage.

Any Tolkien nuts in the region who would like to come and support, please come and swell our audiences. Dates and booking details are below. Please feel free to email me if you require any further information.

Tue 16 - Sat 20 December
Tue 23 December
Wed 24 Decrmber
Fri 26 - Sat 27 December
Tue 30 December
Thu 1 - Sat 3 January

There are also matinées on Sat 20 & 27 Dec, but not sure of time. Please contact Box Office for details.

Book at Civic Theatre Box Office
Chelmsford, UK
Tel: 01245 606505

Trilogy Tuesday: Belgium
Xoanon @ 1:11 pm EST

Hernadez writes: I thought I'd send in the info I got today. They'll be doing Trilogy Tuesday at Kinepolis Liège (Belgium). Tickets went on sale yesterday (November 26th). There's no mention of the first two movies being the extended edition or not. [More]

Monday 15th Dec
19:30 Lord of The Rings : Fellowship of the ring
23:00 Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers

Tuesday 16th Dec
16:00 Lord of The Rings : Fellowship of the ring
19:30 Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers
23:00 PREMIERE Lord of The Rings : Return of the king

Animations on 16th Dec!
Pre-sales as of today at reception
En préventes dès aujourd'hui à la réception
Note: only sale of combo-tickets !

This will take place at Kinepolis Liège (Belgium)

Hall Of Fire Chats This Weekend
Frode @ 8:54 am EST

At last our four heroes come back to their beloved Shire. One evening they reach the Brandywine Bridge wet and tired, but to their dismay they are denied entrance. The Shire is no longer the place they left behind. Shirriffs guard the gates and uphold new unreasonable laws, ugly buildings sprout everywhere, and there are evil Men in the Shire who are using the Hobbits as slaves. And all orders seem to come from Bag End, from the mysterious Sharkey.

How do the four travellers set about organising the resistance against the ruffians? How is Frodo's reaction to the state of the Shire different from the others, and what is Frodo's part in the scouring of the Shire? In what ways do Frodo, Sam , Merry and Pippin show how much they have developed on their travels?

We shall also look at possible inspirations for 'the scouring of the Shire', and compare Saruman and Frodo at their last encounter. Join us in #thehalloffire as we take a look at The Scouring of the Shire - Chapter VIII of the Return of the King.

Times:
Saturday Chat:
5:30pm ET (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday (07:30) AET]

Sunday Chat:
7:00 pm (19:00) CET
[also 1:00pm (13:00) ET and 3:00am (03:00) Monday morning AET]

ET = Eastern Time, USA's East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
AET = Australian East Coast

Do you have a possible topic for Hall of Fire? Drop us a line at
halloffire@theonering.net

LOTR DVD Easter Eggs
Xoanon @ 9:24 pm EST

Many people have asked us about easter eggs on the LOTR DVDs. For those of you who aren't familiar with the concept of 'easter eggs', think of them as hidden gems on your DVD that you would not be able to find with regular viewing.

Thanks to one of my favorite websites dvdeastereggs.com we've compiled a list of DVD eggs according to release date and region. Take a look!

Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (Theatrical Edition)
REGION 1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories

Egg: DVD Credits

Highlight Play Movie, then press up and you will have the New Line logo highlighted. Press enter, and you'll have DVD credits.

Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (Extended Edition)
REGION 1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories

Egg: TTT Trailer

To access The Two Towers sneak peek trailer that was shown briefly in theaters at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, go to the last page of the scene selections menu area and select the number "48" on the far right-hand side of the screen. Then navigate "down" to reveal a hidden Two Towers symbol. Press "Enter".

Egg: MTV Spoof

To find this one, go into the Scene Selection menu on disc one, and head to the final page where you'll find the real Council of Elrond scene. Highlight that scene and press "down" to find an image of the Ring. Press enter to view the entire clip from MTV complete with an introduction from Peter Jackson.

Egg: DVD Credits

From the Main Menu of Disc Four, use your down arrow to move down to highlight the ornament at the bottom center of the screen. Selecting this will give you a limited version of the DVD credits.

Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (Extended Edition)
REGION 2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East

Egg: MTV spoof

On Disc 1 go to Scene selection screen. Highlight Scene 27 "The Council of Elrond". Press down to highlight image of The Ring. Press enter to view the clip.

Egg: Two Towers Trailer

To access 'The Two Towers' trailer, follow the instructions given for the R2 discs elsewhere on this site. The MTV spoof will not, however, appear on the set issued by EiV in the United Kingdom. This is because the spoof would have casued the disc to have a rating which is higher than the 'PG' given to the film and all the other elements on the DVDs. Since all DVDs are classified by the British Board of Film Classification overall with regard to the 'highest categorised element', EiV were not willing to put this on the disc, risk a higher classification and prejudice sales. This will not be the case with LOTR:FOTR R2 discs issued elsewhere in the region.

Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (Extended Edition)
REGION 4: Australia, New Zealand, Central and South Americ

Edd: Two Towers Trailer

On Disc 2 go to Scene Selection screen. Highlight Scene 48 "Official Fan Club Credits" Press down to highlight image of the Two Towers. Press Enter to watch trailer.

Egg: MTV spoof

Go to Scene selection screen on Disc 1. Highlight Scene 27 "The Council of Elrond". Press down to highlight image of The Ring. Press enter to view clip.

Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (Theatrical Edition)
REGION 1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories

Egg: Special Thanks

On the movie disc, select play movie, but do not press enter. instead, move down and the new line cinema logo will be selected. press enter to view them

Egg: MTV Movie Awards Acceptance Speech

Put in the first DVD of the set and go to the scene access. From there go to the final set of scenes and keep pressing down until you are on the 30th scene. From there press down and a small picture of a ring will appear. Select it and watch Gollum's acceptance speech from the MTV movie awards.

Games Workshop America New Releases
Xoanon @ 8:51 pm EST

This week we have two great releases for The Return of the King, plus this month’s issue of White Dwarf magazine!

MOUNTED THEODEN $9.00 ($13.00 CAN)
Monarch of the land of Rohan, King Théoden is a courageous leader and soldier. By way of the slithering machinations of his servant Gr'ma Wormtongue, the fallen wizard Saruman was able to subvert and poison Théoden’s mind, for a time plunging Rohan into darkness and despair. Through the intervention of Gandalf the White, Théoden was exorcised of Saruman’s influence. Restored to health and soundness of spirit, the King banished Wormtongue from his hall and once again leads his people with wisdom and bravery.

After the Battle of Helm’s Deep, King Théoden chooses to honor the old allegiances and ride to the aid of Gondor. Upon his great war-horse, he leads the charge of the Rohirrim against the innumerable hordes of the enemy that assail the White City, for the hope of all Men and free peoples now lay in the defense of Minas Tirith. Against the thralls of Mordor they must prevail, lest all Middle-earth fall into darkness. Théoden resolves to lead his Men to this great doom, knowing that in all likelihood they ride to their death.

This blister pack comes complete with King Théoden riding a barded warhorse.

RUINS OF MIDDLE EARTH $15.00 ($22.00 CAN)
This set contains two of the building ruins seen in the previous game sets, plus one of the new terrain sprues featured in the new game box. Evoking the strong imagery of the motion pictures, where the fallen statues and building columns of forgotten ages abound as the characters move through the lands, these plastic sets reinforce the fact that these games are set in in Middle-earth and nowhere else. The set even comes with a life-size plastic Ring, ideal for tracking which player has Priority that turn!

Click here to find out more about all the latest releases for The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game.

Holiday Windows Featuring Elves Who Aren't Santa's Little Helpers
maegwen @ 5:59 pm EST

November 24, 2003 - Beverly Hills, California

In sharp contrast to the skating polar bears, frolicking penguins, candy canes and dancing teddy bears one usually expects from holiday department store displays, the Neiman Marcus department store in Beverly Hills, California and New Line Cinema teamed up to create a one-of-a-kind storefront window display. It did hint at an Elvish theme - just not the kind that build toys in Santas workshop. Instead the window displays feature glorious tapestries and furniture from Rivendell. Arwen's "mourning" dress and Aragorn's "Strider" costume.

The TORn Digital team was on hand to witness the unveiling of these windows, designed by Oscar nominated "Rings" Art Director and Art Department Coordinator, Dan and Chris Hennah. The windows were to be unveiled by a Wizard and two Hobbits - Sir Ian McKellen, Billy Boyd and Elijah Wood. After some discussion about who would pull the rope, and how they'd actually pull the rope that would lower the large red velvet curtain hiding the windows, the responsibility was given to the wise Wizard, Sir Ian.

The curtain successfully dropped to much applause, and the stars stopped to admire the display. Bag End's green round door and inviting round glowing windows were revealed. A "life" sized Bilbo and Frodo costume standing in front. "I hope that they have security for this - the Ring's in there!" quipped Elijah Wood. The other windows featured the amazing chain mail, banners and costumes of Rohan, and the Gondorian costumes of Faramir, Boromir, Denethor and Pippin.

The stars obliged the line of press with interviews, we were able to speak to Billy and Sir Ian. Alas - Elijah was whisked away by a handler before we could speak to him. Luckily, I was able to shoot some photos of the elusive Ringbearer and his costars. I snapped some of the windows too.

As with any LOTR related event - the fans were on hand, lining up on the sidewalk in the cold. We knew some of them, some of them knew Quickbeam, and they all knew each other. Elijah and Billy signed a few autographs. Everyone seemed to be having a great time looking at the displays and catching up. And I'm sure it didn't hurt to catch a glimpse of the stars. There was to be a reception in the store after the unveiling - but none of us seemed to be invited! Of course we were too busy snapping photos, shooting footage and speaking to the fans.

TORn Digital would like to thank Mr. Keith Stern of McKellen.com (Sir Ian's Official site) for giving us the details for this event. I'm sure that they'll have more photos of the event featured on their site.

The windows will be on display from November 24 to December 29. Neiman Marcus is located at 9700 Wilshire Blvd. in the heart of the Beverly Hills shopping district. [More Pictures]

Noro Lim!

Asfaloth

Andy Serkis Signing at Forbidden Planet
Xoanon @ 1:37 pm EST

Forbidden Planet is delighted to announce a signing by Andy Serkis to promote his book Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic. He will be at the new Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2 H 8JR, on Thursday 18th December from 6pm.

In this remarkable book, the actor who plays Gollum relates how he and a team of animators brought to life one of the screen’s most psychologically complex, physically demanding and technically challenging characters. A milestone in filmmaking history, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers saw an actor's performance seamlessly integrated with digital animation to create the very first totally lifelike animated character. Telling his own story, Andy explains how a three-week voiceover commission became a four-year commitment to breathe life and soul into the most fascinating character of all.

Andy was born in West London and grew up wanting to be a graphic artist. He studied visual arts at Lancaster University, where he became heavily involved in theatre studies. After performing in Barrie Keefe’s play Gotcha, he decided he wanted to become an actor. An auspicious stage career grew into film and television and in 1999, he was offered the role of Gollum.

Andy will be signing at the new Forbidden Planet Megastore. Offering a 10,000 square foot of floorspace and over a mile of shelving holding 25,000 products, this store will continue the Forbidden Planet tradition of hosting appearances by the greatest names in science fiction and fantasy. Previous appearances have included Christopher Lee, Ray Harryhausen, Douglas Adams, Anne McCaffrey, Iain Banks, Larry Niven, Clive Barker, Frank Herbert, Stephen King, William Gibson, and H. R. Giger.

Brio Magazine Talks to LOTR Cast
Xoanon @ 10:30 pm EST

Observer writes: In the December 2003 issue of Brio magazine, there was an interview conducted in which the cast was asked this question: "While working on these movies, did you learn a particular life lesson that would be valuable for teens today?"

Sean Astin: "Contentment. That you can't do everything all at once, right away. Be patient and take things as they come. Learn to live each moment. I've finally gotten to that place."


Miranda Otto: "'Lord of the Rings' reveres things I think society is aching to go back to [such as] honor, loyalty and dignity - qualities we tend to forgo so quickly for money. If someone says, 'I'll give you $200 if you take your clothes off and run around the block,' a lot of people will do it."


Peter Jackson: "The need for determination. You have to believe in yourself and not let anything stand in your way. There have been several periods in the history of this project when it could've just died."


Andy Serkis: "Not taking people at face value.... It's important to understand the nature of the dark and light sides of our personalities."


Dominic Monaghan: "Keep what's pure - love of friends, your family, or defending something good and honest that you believe in - as opposed to greed, power, hunger, and domination."


Brad Dourif: "The whole theme of fear and confrontation with yourself. What you're afraid of seems bigger than you are, but if you let it overwhelm you and overcome you it makes you small. If you face it, you triumph and become much more."


John Rhys-Davies: "Unity, courage, and a willingness to sacrifice yourself. We all have a choice: we're either slaves or princes in this life. We make slaves of ourselves so readily and so easily."


Billy Boyd: "Don't get all stressed out wondering where your next 10 years are going to go. Partly from playing a hobbit and partly from living in New Zealand, which has a more laid-back lifestyle, I've learned to be more happy in what's happening now."


Bernard Hill: "For the battle scenes we learned sword positions and practiced a lot. Because it can be dangerous, we needed to trust each other. So we'd hang out with the stunt guys and really got to know each other. When it came time for filming the Helm's Deep scenes, they'd arrive in makeup and Uruk-hai armor with their false teeth in and we'd hear the call, 'OK, heads on!' So they'd put their heads on and come at us, and you couldn't tell who was who. My immediate reaction was, 'Ugh, I don't like this person.' Then you'd hear, 'Hey, Shaw!' 'Who's that?' 'Andy.' "Oh Andy, hi!' Inside this head was my friend. But with the head on something happened to him. I was frightened of this person because of an appearance that was only prosthetic deep. It forced me to think about my fears and innate prejudice."


Elijah Wood: "You don't realize how important your friends are until you need them. During tough times when you lose perspective or have mental or emotional fatigue, those are the people who pick you up and tell you, 'It's cool. We're in this together.' Embrace those friends that you have.'

Monaghan Joins Project Last Stand
Xoanon @ 10:20 pm EST

Monaghan at the TTT Premiere in NYC with the word 'trees' written on his hands

Actor Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Purifiers, Spivs, Shooting Livien) employs his international stardom by becoming Spokesperson for Project Last Stand, an international effort bringing attention to the current state of the world's forests and raising funds by organizing a celebrity charity auction. The proceeds from the auction will support forest groups who are buying unprotected forests and planting trees worldwide:

http://www.lichenjune.com/LastStand

Among the featured charities is the Nga Uruora Kapiti Project, an organization dedicated to the restoration of native forest habitats along the Kapiti Coast, north of Wellington, New Zealand. They are currently planting trees and restoring native bush between Paekakariki and Pukerua Bay:

http://www.kapitibush.org.nz/default.htm

'We are cutting down the equivalent of eleven football pitches of rainforest a day that is not being replaced. When I was told this, I was completely horrified.'
- Dominic Monaghan,
The Lord of the Rings Fan Club Official Movie Magazine

Monaghan is an active environmentalist, enjoys the outdoors, monkeys and football.

For more information about Project Last Stand Contact:

Project Last Stand
laststand@lichenjune.com

http://www.lichenjune.com/LastStand

Tolkien Talk at St. Lawrence University
Xoanon @ 3:25 pm EST

Weaver writes:

Matthew T. Dickerson, author of Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in the Lord of the Rings, will give a lecture titled “J.R.R. Tolkien and the Real Battle in the Lord of the Rings” on December 4 at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York (Viggo’s alma mater). The lecture will be held at 8 PM in Room 113 of Griffiths Arts Center.

The author will argue that Tolkien’s original treatment of battles provides a very different picture than the films or video games present, by addressing such questions as “What is Gandalf’s real power and why does he display it only on rare instances?, “What is the essential power of the one ring and why do characters reject it?”, and “Does Tolkien glorify war and violence?”

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 315-229-5011, or check the SLU website at www.stlawu.edu.

RoTK Life Lessons
Demosthenes @ 4:45 am EST

In the December 2003 issue of Brio magazine, there was an interview conducted in which members of the cast were asked this question: "While working on these movies, did you learn a particular life lesson that would be valuable for teens today?" Ringer Spy Observer sent us this interesting transcript of the answers.

Sean Astin: "Contentment. That you can't do everything all at once, right away. Be patient and take things as they come. Learn to live each moment. I've finally gotten to that place."

Miranda Otto: "'Lord of the Rings' reveres things I think society is aching to go back to [such as] honor, loyalty and dignity - qualities we tend to forgo so quickly for money. If someone says, 'I'll give you $200 if you take your clothes off and run around the block,' a lot of people will do it."

Peter Jackson: "The need for determination. You have to believe in yourself and not let anything stand in your way. There have been several periods in the history of this project when it could've just died."

Andy Serkis: "Not taking people at face value.... It's important to understand the nature of the dark and light sides of our personalities."

Dominic Monaghan: "Keep what's pure - love of friends, your family, or defending something good and honest that you believe in - as opposed to greed, power, hunger, and domination."

Brad Douriff: "The whole theme of fear and confrontation with yourself. What you're afraid of seems bigger than you are, but if you let it overwhelm you and overcome you it makes you small. If you face it, you triumph and become much more."

John Rhys-Davies: "Unity, courage, and a willingness to sacrifice yourself. We all have a choice: we're either slaves or princes in this life. We make slaves of ourselves so readily and so easily."

Billy Boyd: "Don't get all stressed out wondering where your next 10 years are going to go. Partly from playing a hobbit and partly from living in New Zealand, which has a more laid-back lifestyle, I've learned to be more happy in what's happening now."

Bernard Hill: "For the battle scenes we learned sword positions and practiced a lot.

Because it can be dangerous, we needed to trust each other. So we'd hang out with the stunt guys and really got to know each other. When it came time for filming the Helm's Deep scenes, they'd arrive in makeup and Uruk-hai armor with their false teeth in and we'd hear the call, 'OK, heads on!' So they'd put their heads on and come at us, and you couldn't tell who was who.

My immediate reaction was, 'Ugh, I don't like this person.' Then you'd hear, 'Hey, Shaw!' 'Who's that?' 'Andy.' "Oh Andy, hi!' Inside this head was my friend. But with the head on something happened to him. I was frightened of this person because of an appearance that was only prosthetic deep. It forced me to think about my fears and innate prejudice."

Elijah Wood: "You don't realize how important your friends are until you need them. During tough times when you lose perspective or have mental or emotional fatigue,those are the people who pick you up and tell you, 'It's cool. We're in this together.' Embrace those friends that you have.'

Intriguing ROTK Spoilers From Smeagol Himself
Pippin_Took @ 4:11 am EST

TolkienOnline's original.wombat found a very interesting extract regarding Smeagol/Gollum in ROTK from Andy Serkis' forthcoming book, Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic:

"Friday 11 April (03) was to be one of those defining moments in Gollum's journey. I went round to Pete's house to work on the script (ROTK) with Fran and Phillipa. It was great to see them after such a long time and we caught up on life since that mad day of ADR at Pinewood last summer. What they had in store for me, and Gollum, completely blew me away. It really brought home to me what incredibly adventurous, fearless screenwriters they were.

Fran had this idea that instead of repeating what he had established in the Two Towers - Gollum being the vicious dark side, the survivor, full of hatred and revenge, with the re-emerging Smeagol as the chink of light in his soul, the abused child, the victim who really trusts Frodo, and the side we felt pity for - that we turn it all on its head so that Smeagol was really the cold calculating passive-aggressive psychopath who play acted being the victim to get his own way. In comparison, Gollum would be less dangerous because his passion, lust and aggression were true hot-blooded emotions, flooded with feeling. The idea sent me reeling but I knew instinctively that this would be the way to go, that the character would deepen and take the audience on a very complex journey.

My only worries were, I suppose that it questioned my world-view. I had played Gollum as someone who, at the end of the day, no matter what he'd done, was a very sick addict and was redeemable because he was the victim of a powerful force that he couldn't handle. Now we were looking at a character who is pure evil, past all redemption. My brain was frazzled by the implications."

Ringers Crew: Next Stop New Zealand
Xoanon @ 11:11 pm EST

The Ringers: Lord of the Fans (http://www.lordofthefans.net) crew is traveling to New Zealand for the world premiere of New Line Cinema’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Arriving in Wellington on November 28th, the crew will be covering the many Lord of the Rings events and decorations hosted by the capitol city of Wellington.

Some events included for coverage are: The Folklore Festival, a Viggo Mortensen poetry reading, and TheOneRing.net’s The Return of the Ringers Party, on November 30th. Ringers writer/producer/narrator Cliff “Quickbeam” Broadway will be the Master of Ceremonies for this classy fan gathering.

On December 1st, The Ringers crew will be in the thick of things shooting the Return of the King star-studded parade through the streets of Wellington. The crew will film the fan reactions to the stars red carpet arrivals for The Return of the King premiere at the Embassy theatre.

TORn staffers Asfaloth and Quickbeam will be on the Red Carpet shooting interviews for TORn Digital. The crew may be able to set up a live webcam of the red carpet arrivals. (Pending available Internet connectivity and weather.)

On December 2nd the Ringers crew will fly to the South Island join Red Carpet Tours on the Gondor tour of the Lord of the Rings filming locations.

The crew will be posting a weblog of the trip whenever Internet access is available. The weblog and webcam can be seen at www.lordofthefans.net.

About Ringers: Lord of the Fans:

Ringers: Lord of the Fans is a feature-length documentary that reveals the ongoing cultural phenomenon created by The Lord of the Rings. Produced in association with the popular Lord of the Rings new site, TheOneRing.net, this very funny and often moving documentary shows the hidden power behind Tolkien’s books -- and how after 50 years a single literary work continues to spark the minds and hearts of millions, across cultures and across time.

Shot with groundbreaking new digital technology in 24P, Ringers explores the real foundations of Middle-earth; a community of true fans who share a common bond. Moving beyond “cult classic” and over several different generations, the film unearths academics, musicians, authors, filmmakers, and a plethora of pop junkies -- the people gathered under the banner of ‘Ringer.’ From the hippie counter-culture to the electronic age; from the Bakshi animated film to Jackson’s epic trilogy; this documentary brings together extensive footage from across the globe. With units in Los Angeles, San Diego, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Bonn, Germany, Wellington, New Zealand, and Oxford, England, our cameras capture the most fascinating “Ringers” and Lord of the Rings events.

What began as the private amusement of a tweedy Oxford professor has now become a new mythology for the 21st century. Ringers: Lord of the Fans shows how an adventure story published in 1954 has had dynamic ripple-effects through Western pop-culture. Ringers carefully pulls away the veil between Tolkien’s book and the creations of art, music, and community that have been inspired by it.

NZ High Commission, NZ Trade and Tourism NZ and YOU!
Xoanon @ 10:44 pm EST

Gillian Monahan from Tourism New Zealand writes: Tourism New Zealand, Trade New Zealand and the New Zealand High Commission are holding a champagne breakfast function on December 1st at The Lord of the Rings Exhibition in the London Science Museum.

The event is to celebrate the final instalment of The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy as it has its world premiere in Wellington, New Zealand.

While the real party is in Wellington we can’t all be there so we’re having a little celebration in London for friends of New Zealand and a few Lord of the Rings fans.

The event will be from 7.30am – 9.30am on Monday December 1st. There’ll be a chance to look through the exhibition, enjoy a kiwi style champagne breakfast and delayed coverage of the parade through Wellington. We’ll even have a little goodie bag.

We'd like some of London’s biggest LOTR fans to join us, in costume, to celebrate. We have 50 places available.

I was wondering if you would be able to broadcast the invitation on the www.theonering.net website? Could the first 50 people who are interested, and can come in costume, please email bradleym@tnz.govt.nz to register.

The Isle of Man Stamp Collection
Xoanon @ 9:46 pm EST

Isle of Man Post has landed a major coup and will be issuing a set of eight stamps to coincide with the worldwide release of The Lord of the Rings – Return of the King' epic on December 17th 2003.

The stamps have been approved by both New Line in New York and Her Majesty the Queen.

Manager of the Philatelic Bureau, Dot Tilbury said, ‘ Long time local resident and internationally renowned actor, John Rhys Davies, who plays the dwarf Gimli in the films, has greatly assisted us in securing the rights. Besides New Zealand, where the film was made, we are the only other Postal administration in the world to be licensed to produce Lord of the Rings' stamps and we are obviously thrilled. ‘

The Isle of Man Treasury have also issued Lord of the Rings' coins and Isle of Man Post has been working closely with Pobjoy Mint during the preparation of the stamp issue.

The stamp product can be viewed on our web site www.iompost.com

Contact Dot Tilbury or Maxine Cannon for visuals and further info

Tel: 01624 698435
Fax:01624 698434
www.iompost.com
stamps@iompost.com

Wood, Serkis & Boyd Radio Interview Transcript
Xoanon @ 10:49 pm EST

Compiled by Hobbitangel

Okay, there are mini-interviews with Andy Serkis and Billy Boyd beforehand but as it was during classes for me, I missed Andy’s talk and only caught the very tail end of Billy’s. He was saying something about how Elijah was walking around the studio with beer in one hand and something in the other……..whatever it was, I unfortunately didn’t catch it all. However, I didn’t miss Elijah’s interview, but it just so happens that I don’t carry tape-recorders in my pockets, so here it is in pointish form;

Elijah loves being on the radio.

How does he feel knowing that (through Frodo), he’s been made a part of history? He claims that it’s not history….. yet! Naturally, it’s been an amazing experience…

Typical of these kinds of rocker radio stations, next they star talking about Paris Hilton movies. (translation=porn) Elijah says he doesn’t own one but he does have a clip of one on his computer. Apparently everyone involved in this radio broadcast thinks that they’re hilarious. Then they start talking about her interest in the camera and a scene where she picks up a phone without knowing that the camera is watching her……something like that!

So does he consider himself lucky? (All the old stuff here.) “ I consider myself to be incredibly fortunate and that I could meet amazing people that have become very good friends. Having life experiences, spending 16 months in New Zealand, living there, and then going back every year was amazing!” (along those lines)

Does Viggo stink? Elijah defends him by saying no, but that he is kind of like a hippie.

And the rumours that he never bathes? Ridiculous of course, but he doesn’t wash his hair as much as most people.

They talk momentarily about his role in Back to the Future 2.

Then they mention upcoming roles such as Hooligans in London and Happy Feet.

He says that the recording for Happy Feet is done and right now they’re working on the animation. We can expect it sometime in 2005. (I know you know)

Next, the Osbornes. Does he regret being on their show? “No!” Than he talks about how the whole family is amazing and how Ozzy’s a great loving guy and how he was really nervous to meet him because he’s a huge Sabbath fan.

Does he know Michael Jackson? “No…….” And will he ever get facial plastic surgery like him? “God, no!”

Does he think he’ll ever get Punk’d? “Probably not because I don’t know Ashton, and I don’t really have anything to do with his crowd.” He says he’s thankful he doesn’t know him, and while the radio hosts laugh, he explains; “…only so he won’t get Punk’d!”

Now that we’re on topic about Ashton, what about Dude where’s my car? They don’t really give it the best review though Elijah didn’t even see it. Kind of a contradiction to what he said last night (At MOD) about what he thinks of it though. They talk about the future sequel; Seriously dude, where’s my car? for a bit as well.

Next topic; movies. Has he ever seen the Original Slap Shot 3? And…..he hasn’t! So then the radio people start jeering at him and telling him to get of Canada…(What are they DOING?) But when they asked him if he had seen Scarface and the Godfather Trilogy and he replied “Yes sir!”, they relented and said, “You’re alright man!”

Is he a hockey fan? Yes he is, but he doesn’t really get to follow sports that much.

After Elijah profusely thanks the radio crew, says, “Have a great morning!” then leaves, they call him “the nicest hobbit ever” because apparently no one ever thanks them for being on their show!

Trilogy Tuesday: UK News
Xoanon @ 10:22 pm EST

Sarah writes: I received the attached from UGC customer services on Nov 15th.

It says there is more info coming on their website but I can't find anything there yet:

We will be showing the first two Lord of The Ring films; Fellowship of the Rings and The Two Towers on the following dates at the cinemas listed below:

Fellowship Of the Rings Wednesday 3rd December
The Two Towers Wednesday 10th December

Enfield, Aberdeen, Belfast, Bolden, Bolton, Crawley, Dundee, Hull, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Newport, Northampton, Rochester, Slough, Stockport, Wigan, WIQ.

To book tickets for these performances please visit our website where details will be available from November 15th on how to book tickets.

We may also be showing an extended version of all three Lord of The Rings films on December 16th and 17th. Confirmation of this will be posted on our Website as soon as possible.

Regards
UGC Customer Services

Trilogy 'Wednesday': Israel
Xoanon @ 5:06 pm EST

Amir writes: I was very much surprised to hear that the trilogy screening of Lord of the Rings will be here (in Israel)... I went to our biggest Theater in Tel-Aviv and all over the place were posters about the whole trilogy screening one day before the Return of the King arrives. And of course I already bought my ticket... :)

The trilogy screening will be in only one Theater (which is the biggest in israel). In Rav-Hen Theater, in Diezengoff street, Tel-Aviv. It will begin in 5:00 pm, December 17.

Fellowship of the Ring: 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
The Two Towers: 8:30 pm - 11:30 pm
The Return of the King: 12:00 pm - 03:30 am

Price of Ticket: 16$ (69 shekels)

The trilogy screening will not include EE editions. And there will be no separately screening of Fellowship of the Ring or The Two Towers.

TV Watch: Cate Blanchett on Live! With Regis and Kelly
Xoanon @ 4:44 pm EST

Click for more images

Last week Cate Blanchett was on Live! With Regis and Kelly in the am. She was there to promote her new film 'The Missing' directed by Ron Howard. While there she also discussed her pregnancy and other films she was working on. Click on the image above for more.

Narnia nearer NZ nod?
Tehanu @ 5:18 am EST

This was in this month’s Onfilm magazine in NZ, and I thought it would interest a number of TORN readers both for the crossover interest in Narnia and for the news of Richard Taylor, Grant Major and John Howe working on these films.

Onfilm: Confirmation was still pending at presstime that Kiwi Andrew Adamson’s Chronicles of Narnia dramatisation would be shot in New Zealand.

Investment NZ’s Paul Voigt would only say a decision is nigh but one source close to the Walden Media production believes there’s no doubt about the principal location.

"If The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe isn’t filmed here, it won’t be filmed anywhere."

The NZ advantages are considerable, ranging from a 12.5% rebate on its NZ spend under the proposed Large Budget Film Grant scheme to the Oscar-winning creature/special effects expertise of WETA.

Among those officially attached to the NZ$200 million project are The Lord of the Rings troika of Grant Major (production/design director), Richard Taylor (special effects) and John Howe (conceptual artist).

The Shrek director’s dramatisation will be live-action and feature a real lion. Said Adamson in July: "I read the book when I was eight years old and it seemed very real to me. Aslan has to be, first and foremost, a real lion."

The script is being written by Ann Peacock, who won an Emmy and a Humanitas Prize for A Lesson Before Dying.

Her upcoming projects include Country of My Skull, with John Boorman attached to direct and Sam Jackson, Juliette Binoche and Jon Voight to star; On the Ropes for director Brad Silberling; Marines of Autumn for Irwn Winkler; and Star Time, with Joel Schumacher directing Will Smith.

Walden Media, which has optioned all seven books in the Narnia series, is a subsidiary of The Anschutz Company, one of the largest privately-owned and operated ventures in the US.

Its affiliated companies are principall engaged in telecommunications and media, natural resources, transportation, real estate, sports and entertainment.

Walden originally planned to release The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe mid-2004 but the opening has since been pushed back to two years from now.