9-09-06

The Water Horse Set? Xoanon @ 11:30 pm EST One of our new men out in NZ, John sends these photos from Stone Street Studios in Wellington. This is a studio located about 2 minutes away from the coolest place in the world, also known as WETA Workshop & WETA Digital, and in between that is Park Road Post, where some LOTR work, and most of the work on King Kong was done..basically this neighborhood is the trifecta of movie-geek heaven. When I was down in Wellington last April I caught up with LOTR producer Barrie Osbourne, we was hard at work on his next film 'The Water Horse'. I also had a chance to meet the director Jay Russell. At the time they were just about ready to begin shooting, this looks like they may be in re-shoot phase, the shoot in Scotland may or may not have happened yet, who knows. As you can see in the photos they seem to be planning something quite BIG to be on the blue screen...anyone who has read 'The Water Horse' already knows the answer to what that 'something' may be. Take a look at the photos and what John has to say! Click for more images There are a few photos of WWII type patrol boats sitting at the entrance to Stone Street. Secondly, we walked around to the other end of the street where you can see the back end of blue screen (cargo container side). There are a few places along this street where it seems Weta has parked some things that are either not in use any more of about to be used. I included a few pictures of what looks like a giant fist and the back of a head. They're sitting in an alley along with a couple catapults...obviously from LOTR. Also, in another space there are very new looking airplane parts which look unfinished and freshly made. There's one photo of those in the bunch. On the night of the 16th and 17th one of the major streets in town is going to be shut down for "filming".

4-20-05

CONFIRMED! Billy Boyd will attend gala "Ringers" Premiere! Quickbeam @ 6:23 am EST Exciting news! The stars come out to play for the "RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS" West Coast Premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival! A wonderful HUGE event is scheduled this Saturday, April 23, at 7:30PM, including an after-party at the Hard Rock Cafe. Come join the Line Party [click here] and take part with hundreds of fans, costumes, and prizes from Sideshow/WETA Collectibles! Billy Boyd will be there in person!. Do not miss out on the hottest LOTR film event of the year. Click here and scroll down to "Ringers" to purchase your combo ticket for both screening and party. Click here for more on the "Ringers" site.

1-14-05

Miranda Otto Pregnant Xoanon @ 2:16 pm EST From ContactMusic: Australian actress Miranda Otto is expecting her first child with actor husband Peter O'Brien. The couple, who married on New Year's Day 2003, are "thrilled", according to a spokesperson. Otto, 37, who starred in as Eowyn in LOTR, recently finished filming Steven Spielberg's 'War of the Worlds', in which she plays Tom Cruise's pregnant wife.

12-18-04

Spy Report on PJ Next Project?! Xoanon @ 10:37 am EST From a very good source: I got some news from the Jackson camp from a good friend who's working onset on "King Kong". I'm not sure if you've heard these before or not, but here goes: 1) Two words: Giant Spiders. Yes Peter Jackson has DEFINITELY shot the infamous Giant Spider segment that was cut from the original 1933 version of the movie. And not only Giant Spiders, but Giant Wetas as well! 2) Andy Serkis's character - Lumpy - bites it in the Giant Spider sequence 3) Andy Serkis's motion capture suit apparently has extended arms to give him a more gorilla effect AND he has a microphone that goes through an audio processor to make him roar like a gorilla to give the actors something to perform against! 4) Here's the most interesting tidbit of all - there is a VERY STRONG rumour going around set that Peter Jackson's next movie is going to be - A WORLD WAR I EPIC about the ANZACS! And that the Venture is going to be reconfigured into a WWI Minesweeper for the film!

12-03-04

The Extended Edition On the Loose in NY! Tehanu @ 5:43 pm EST Dear ToRN Staff, Just writing in to let all ringers know about another (and cheaper actually, @ 34.99 rather than the $39.99 mentioned from the video storein the previous post. The place I was lucky enough to come across is called Extraordinary DVD, and its located on W 14th St. between 6th and 5th. After reading the report you had posted yesterday afternoon I left after work @ 5:00 from New Jersey, headed south-east ( and went to the place you had described (which was very creepy and very difficult to find by the way) originally, which was sold out for the day (should have more today). What a horrible drive it was, at rush hour, trying to get through the Lincoln Tunnel, arrgghh, it was horrible. But I'm a true Ringer through and through (tattoo and all that I've had for a few years now), and just tried to think of Frodo on his way to Mordor, growing weaker and weaker by the minute, because that is how I felt on my way through the traffic jam going into the Tunnel (those who've been in similar circumstances, I'm sure, know exactly what I mean). Anyway, good luck to NYC Ringers find the EE early! Best, Jeff L

The Extended Edition On the Loose in NY! Tehanu @ 5:40 pm EST Dear ToRN Staff, Just writing in to let all ringers know about another (and cheaper actually, @ 34.99 rather than the $39.99 mentioned from the video storein the previous post. The place I was lucky enough to come across is called Extraordinary DVD, and its located on W 14th St. between 6th and 5th. After reading the report you had posted yesterday afternoon I left after work @ 5:00 from New Jersey, headed south-east ( and went to the place you had described (which was very creepy and very difficult to find by the way) originally, which was sold out for the day (should have more today). What a horrible drive it was, at rush hour, trying to get through the Lincoln Tunnel, arrgghh, it was horrible. But I'm a true Ringer through and through (tattoo and all that I've had for a few years now), and just tried to think of Frodo on his way to Mordor, growing weaker and weaker by the minute, because that is how I felt on my way through the traffic jam going into the Tunnel (those who've been in similar circumstances, I'm sure, know exactly what I mean). Anyway, good luck to NYC Ringers find the EE early! Best, Jeff L

The Extended Edition On the Loose in NY! Tehanu @ 5:37 pm EST Dear ToRN Staff, Just writing in to let all ringers know about another (and cheaper actually, @ 34.99 rather than the $39.99 mentioned from the video storein the previous post. The place I was lucky enough to come across is called Extraordinary DVD, and its located on W 14th St. between 6th and 5th. After reading the report you had posted yesterday afternoon I left after work @ 5:00 from New Jersey, headed south-east ( and went to the place you had described (which was very creepy and very difficult to find by the way) originally, which was sold out for the day (should have more today). What a horrible drive it was, at rush hour, trying to get through the Lincoln Tunnel, arrgghh, it was horrible. But I'm a true Ringer through and through (tattoo and all that I've had for a few years now), and just tried to think of Frodo on his way to Mordor, growing weaker and weaker by the minute, because that is how I felt on my way through the traffic jam going into the Tunnel (those who've been in similar circumstances, I'm sure, know exactly what I mean). Anyway, good luck to NYC Ringers find the EE early! Best, Jeff L

10-26-04

A ROTK:EE Review! Xoanon @ 10:51 pm EST Anonymous writes: I don't know if I'm at the right address, but I've recently seen the brand-new extended cut of The Return of the King, in my professional capacity, and I thought I'd let know you know about it. I had seen the theatrical version once in the theatre, and two more times with my kids, and I must admit that the longer cut is far superior, for it ties everything you could consider loose-ends, it extends what you thought what great, and it adds awesome new scenes. Many characters benefit from this extended cut, but Faramir, Denethor, Eowyn and Merry really stand out. After having watched the extended version, my favorite character became Denethor. His new scenes gave him such depth that I couldn't help but wonder why in the world they had to cut them. We learn more about Denethor than about any other character, in my opinion, and that's saying a lot. We learn new things about him not only from his extended and new scenes, but from Faramir, which I thought was a nice touch. Also, I must credit the actor who played Denethor for the coolest line in the whole trilogy: In this extended cut, when he learns that the first levels of the city are in flames and that the men are deserting them, he says something like 'Why do the fools fly? They should stand and burn, for burn they must.' Awesome. Oh, and he has a heated exchange of words with his son that stand out because it's very dramatic. It even reintroduces Sean Bean as Borimir in a most unexpected way! The House of Healing is back in as well, which is good, because it allows you to breath a little between the two big battles of the movie. Aragorn shows his healing skills, which allow us to realize that he IS really fitted to be king, and not just a wannabe. This new segment also has tender moments between Faramir and Eowyn while they're recovering from their battle wounds, which serves a nice conclusion for both characters and allow the actors who play them to shine. Of course you must have heard by now that Saruman has been reinserted into the movie, but let me tell you, you're in for a treat! The sequence is over five minutes in lenght but I would have taken more...Saruman tries to rally Gandalf once again to his cause, but Gandalf doesn't fall in the trap. Also, Gandalf finally gets the chance to establish himself as the ruling wizard of Middle earth, when he says something like 'I am not Gandalf the Grey whom you betrayed, I am Gandalf the White and I cast you out of the order.' From this point the sequence takes a dramatic turn and you're on the edge of your seat until Saruman meets his fate. A sticky fate that turns him to dust! A new character is introduced in the extended version: the Mouth of Sauron. He comes out of the black gate riding a huge black horse and basically he speaks for his master (who is after all a huge flaming eye!). The Mouth taunts the members of the fellowship and makes them believe Frodo has died after endless torture. He has particularly gruesome words for Aragorn. What more can I say without dragging too long? The Paths of the Dead become Indiana Jones-like with new perils and booby-traps, there is a fight sequence with some pirates which was cool, because it shows you how Aragorn was able to take over the whole fleet of ships that bring him to Minas Tirith, Frodo and Sam's journey becomes so much more dramatic and their trip across the burning lands of Mordor is extended a lot, there is a whole lot more to learn about the backstory of Minas Tirith, Aragorn confronts his archenemy Sauron in the flaming palantir and Gandalf even faces a new challenge when the mighty witch-king lands in front of him and confronts him (a sequence you must see before you die, it's simply too cool).

10-17-04

Makoare Giving Spoilers at New Starcon II? Xoanon @ 9:56 pm EST Mazzic writes: I visited the New Starcon II in Tilburg, the Netherlands earlier today (www.newstarcon.com). The only Lord of the Rings actor was Lawrence Makoare himself who also appeared at FACTS in Belgium last week (www.facts-convention.com). Although quite a few other big names were scheduled to appear at this show, there weren’t a lot of visitors at all. So I didn’t have to wait very long to meet Lawrence again, as I also met him last week since I live in Belgium. He is truly a nice lad who enjoys talking to his fans and giving information on his acting performances and costume experiences. After I got my autographs, the actors all went out for a short lunch break, so I had some time to check out the different LOTR items Lawrence brought to the NSCII. That is when I discovered this picture where Gimli kills Gothmog. Is it going to be in the Extended ROTK Edition? I don’t know, it wasn’t in the trailer… So thought you guys may wanted to know this tidbit!