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December 02, 2002 - December 12, 2002

Thursday, December 12, 2002
Where to see TTT in the Bay Area - Tehanu @ 21:34 PST
The San Francisco Bay Area's biggest Lineparty is the one for the midnight showing at the Coronet, a fine old landmark theatre in San Francisco that is apparently showing TTT as its last movie before being demolished. As Rodney says on his Coronet Lineparty Site, "If you're one of those that hasn't purchased tickets for this event, and are debating on whether or not you should attend, let me say a few remarks to sway you over. At the end of this year, the Coronet Theatre is going to be torn down. In case you are ill-informed, the Coronet is one of the oldest and most prominent theatres in San Francisco and has a very rich history. The very first public Star Wars screening was shown here and it has been a favorite of George Lucas' throughout the years. Unfortunately, classic theatres such as the Coronet cannot compete with the massive corporate megaplexes that are sprouting up faster than a hobbit eating a twinkie. The Coronet is widely known throughout the bay area as THE place to watch event movies such as The Two Towers (which, by the way, is going to be the LAST movie shown here), so do yourself a favor and bask in its glory before one of the greats of San Francisco disapears forever."
More info on this line also at the Fellowship of the West and of course the lineparty page itself, The TORN Linepary Page itself.

News from across the Bay:

AMC BAY STREET 16 IN EMERYVILLE DEBUTS WITH
24 STRAIGHT HOURS OF
"LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS"


First 500 people with tickets will receive a special limited-edition LOTR poster!


WHAT: AMC Bay Street 16, the East Bay’s newest state-of-the-art megaplex, celebrates its grand opening with 24 straight hours of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" beginning at 12:01 AM Wednesday, December 18th. And as a special bonus, the first 500 people with tickets will receive a FREE limited-edition "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" poster, courtesy of New Line Cinema. AMC Bay Street 16 is the ONLY theatre in the Bay Area where fans can get this poster!

WHEN: Wednesday, December 18, 2002
Showtimes begin at 12:01 AM and continue every hour until 11:00 PM Wednesday night.

WHERE: Bay Street, Emeryville’s vibrant new urban village located at the foot of the Bay Bridge, off Interstate 80 at the Ashby Exit to Shellmound.

HOW: Advance tickets for the 24-hour "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" marathon are available right now by calling (510) 457-4262 or by visiting MovieWatcher.com. The box office at AMC Bay Street16 will open for walk-up purchases on Thursday, December 12th.


MORE: The AMC Bay Street 16 is AMC’s first megaplex in the East Bay, bringing to Emeryville the same inviting atmosphere, innovative amenities, and high quality in feature film presentation that AMC audiences in San Francisco and around the world have enjoyed for years. AMC Bay Street has 16 state-of-the-art auditoriums, all featuring digital surround sound, stadium seating, and wide LoveSeat‰ chairs with retractable cupholder armrests.

# # #

To arrange press coverage, contact:
Ed Kiley, Charles Zukow Associates at 415-733-9300

NYC Fan Pics - Xoanon @ 20:47 PST
Emma sends along her pictures from the NYC premiere on December 5th. Take a look!

The "group-snow" one is part of the group in front of the Ziegfeld theatre itself. I think this was early in the day, before we all froze...

Theatre-gang was, I think, way early in the morning, before we were even snow-covered.

Theatre-Front was JUST as they finished putting up the sign for the premiere, about 10:30AM (when I first arrived).

The elves shot was a group in front of the main library right at the start of the After Party, the other library shot was something they were obviously projecting onto the library ceiling.

Elijah waving as he exits his limo on arrival, and Miranda at the theatre (I think). Can't do much to fix the Hugo one, unfortunately--it's him leaving the premiere.

Orli, Billy, Dom, and Karl signing autographs as they leave the after party. Lij and PJ signing autographs, Sean Astin waving, Liv and her bodyguards leaving the party, Liv and her sister Mia leaving the theatre to go to the party.


Elijah Chat On AOL Report - Xoanon @ 14:51 PST
Xoanon here, I was privy to the live chat with our Elijah Wood last night on AOL.

I entered the chat 'hall' and waded though the hundreds of 14 and 15 year old girls insisting they were the biggest 'Lij fans EVAR!' to wait for Elijah to come online.

It was interesting to note that when he did arrive on the virtual 'stage' he wasn't using a computer but was instead on a phone in a limo having just landed at JFK airport from his trip to Paris. Just thinking about it gives me jetlag.

He chatted for an hour, answering fan questions in the usual open and sincere manner we've come to expect from him.

He was asked what he'd do with The One Ring if he had it (get on planes for free), and what talk show he liked to go on (Conan O'Brien).

When asked about the whirlwind press junkett for TTT he commented that he loved going around the world but would much rather take it easy and relax, the same went for attending award shows like the Oscars and the Golden Globes.

Much to the delight of the females in the audience he mentioned that he is currently single and plans to fly to Hawaii for his upcoming birthday.

The chat lasted an hour and was overall an interesting read. I still say AOL is the devil's playground...but they do have some cool items from time to time.

Thanks to Wil we have most of the transcript! Here it is!

Host Jessica: here is one from vegechica 86. She says I am Amanda. I heard you had to return to New Zealand to film more scenes for "Lord of the Rings." What was it like seeing everyone again, and Elijah, I think you are a very talented actor and very good-looking, too. Had to say it.

Elijah Wood: Thank you. It was awesome. It's always awesome going back. There is an intense feeling of going home because we have spent so much time there, going back to Wellington, it literally feels like going home. We catch up with so many people and have breakfast at our favorite breakfast spots. Those little things mean everything to us. It's also just great to see all the cast again and all the old friends on the crew. So it was wonderful. And we are going back next year which is going to be both great and kind of sad in the sense that it will be the last time that we actually are called on to film new material for "Lord of the Rings." It will be a bittersweet experience.

Host Jessica: you still have a year, another year.

Elijah Wood: That's true.

Host Jessica: enjoy it. Everyone wants to talk about the video game. This one comes from Georgie9, he says let's talk about the new video game. Is it weird that people everywhere will be controlling a video image of you that has your voice?

Elijah Wood: No, I think that's cool. It's fun. I love video games myself. So if I can actually be a part of it as a character, then you know, it's kind of a dream come true to a certain degree.

Host Jessica: when you play the "Lord of the Rings" game which character do you play?

Elijah Wood: I play the Aragorn character, but apparently in the next game, you will actually be able to play Frodo.

Host Jessica: you can play yourself. Here is one from rings9. We all know that the ring has the power to make the wearer invisible. If you could be invisible, where would you go and what would you do?

Elijah Wood: If I could be invisible, where would I go and what would I do?
You know, this sounds kind of interesting. Maybe -- because I've had this question before.

Host Jessica: I asked you it last year and I wanted to see if your answer had changed.

Elijah Wood: And it's going to change. I've got a new idea. How about this?

Elijah Wood: Put the ring on, completely disappear and just step into planes and take free flights around the world.

Host Jessica: yeah?

Elijah Wood: You see, so you don't have to pay for transit?

Host Jessica: you could travel everywhere. That's a very economical and adventurous answer.

Elijah Wood: Thank you.

Host Jessica: last year you said that you would go to Disneyland and hide when it closed.

Elijah Wood: That's right.

Host Jessica: which I thought was also fun. You have talked about bonding with the cast. Has there been a time recently when you thought to yourself wow, this is a perfect moment and that's from Jenny.

Elijah Wood: Yeah, I -- I don't think there is ever such thing as a perfect moment, but I think that there are incredible moments and I feel like I am all the time, be it moments that I have with my friends where I am going out, and, you know, I recognize how great my friends are and how close we are. In terms of the entirety of the moment of the -- that these "Lord of the Rings" movies are out and things are going so well, I can certainly recognize how fantastic that is, but I tend to appreciate all of the moments that make up the bigger picture. And I feel like I am constantly saying that. Which is pretty damn good.

Host Jessica: Yeah. Here is one from daystar. I heard New Zealand is beautiful. Is it really that amazing?

Elijah Wood: Yes, it is. It really is. We keep talking about how great it is. I hope we don't, you know, build up the image of New Zealand so much that people go out to New Zealand and it's not nearly as good as they expected it to be, but it's beautiful. I don't think you can overhype New Zealand. It's incredible. It's one of those places in the world that is largely unspoiled by the modern world in terms of population, buildings, things like that. It's nature is kind of wild and free, particularly in the South island. So it's one of those kind of magical places that feels like it's untouched by the rest of the world.

Host Jessica: That's exactly how it looks on film.

Elijah Wood: That's nice. Rare to find places that are not tainted anymore.

Host Jessica: There you go. This one is from sunshine7342 who submitted a load of questions, a big fan.

Host Jessica: We all heard about how you like to surf but what about your other hobbies? P.S., if you say photography, you get extra points.

Elijah Wood: I get extra points then because photography is something I am interested in, but I don't pay nearly enough attention to it. I am still kind of working on that. The problem with me is I love so many different things and I get a little bit scattered, and I start to lose focus. And that makes me slightly lazy. But there's tons of things I am interested in. Video editing is another that I am now getting into. I really want to kind of work on that, for possibly taking that somewhere in the future in terms of making films. I am still a music nut, so I collect music constantly. I mean, I certainly consider that a hobby. Yeah, there are all sorts of things I am interested in.

Host Jessica: This one is from cc4, and she says, this Friday is Friday the 13th.
Are you a superstitious person?

Elijah Wood: I am not a superstitious person, really. Although there are certain things that I won't do, like I won't walk underneath a ladder.

Host Jessica: Why tempt it?

Elijah Wood: Exactly. But I wouldn't necessarily consider myself superstitious to the point where I did walk under a ladder that I would be worrying about it. I love the idea of Friday the 13th. I think it's great. Anything that is slightly shady and freaks people out. That's probably why I am into horror movies as much as I am. Did you see the ring?

Host Jessica: Yes, it was awesome.

Elijah Wood: That made me smile. What a great movie.

Host Jessica: I hope the sequel is as good as the first. So there we have an Elijah Wood movie recommendation.

Host Jessica: Speaking of special days in the near future aren't we getting close to your birthday?

Elijah Wood: We are, January 28. Last time, I said I was going to Vegas. That never happened. This time I've got another harebrained idea that I am sure in keeping with the fact that I didn't do anything last year, I probably won't do this either. But the plan at the moment is to go to Hawaii for a week.

Host Jessica: You can go surfing. That would be so much fun. The waves are better in the winter. As I learned from watching "blue crush." Here is a question from Toby1158. What other movies are you working on right now? You have upcoming projects, right?

Elijah Wood: I do. I did a movie called "Try Seventeen" that comes out sometime next year. And there is a movie called "Thumbsucker" that I am probably going to start working on sometime in the new year. But other than that, there is nothing actually happening at the moment. I kind of took the summer off to just enjoy some free time with friends, which was kind of totally necessary, especially to lead up to this whole mayhem. But this has been fun, too. I feel like I have been working on this press junket for two years.

Host Jessica: Yeah, because you are all over the world, right?

Elijah Wood: Yeah. We started like early crush in November, the actual trip didn't start until the first week of December. But it still feels like it's being going on for a while. It's been fun, though.

Elijah Wood: I haven't slept at all. I got 2 1/2 hours of sleep the other night and I had to do a whole day of television, press interviews in Paris.

Host Jessica: We will have to try to look at those cps.

Elijah Wood: Yeah, exactly. Look out for the European press and see how dog tired I look. I managed to pull it off ok though.

Host Jessica: Here is one from fonz 518. Hello, Elijah. You are my idol because all of the hard work and determination you have. There you go. What in your opinion was the biggest physical challenge in making "The Two Towers"?

Elijah Wood: The biggest physical challenge was getting through the challenge of the endurance of the schedule, the length of time that we were in New Zealand. The schedule was constantly changing and the hours that we were having to deal with and halfway through the movie, we were doing like six-day weeks. It was just -- there was an intensity to the process that after the first, like, three or four months, it starts to wear you down, and when there is no sign of it letting up, it literally takes quite a lot of strength to push yourself through and keep yourself motivated and passionate about the film.

Host Jessica: Well, I have to ask this question because it's the most-asked question tonight and the girls would kill me if I didn't. I think that nina42 put it best when she said is there a special girl in your life?

Elijah Wood: At the moment, there is not. That was probably the best way to put it. Host Jessica: I think you just made 10,000 people's days by that one sentence. So here is one from diva. Did you ever not want to be a hobbit and play a different role?

Elijah Wood: In the film, probably not, no. It's funny because it's only recently that people started asking me that question. I love Frodo. I wouldn't want to be any of the other characters. I love a lot of the other characters as well, but I wouldn't want that responsibility. I enjoyed the responsibility that I had. That kind of internal struggle and the fact that he is a hobbit. I love hobbits. I relate who hobbits quite well.

Host Jessica: We've got time for a couple more questions. This one comes from toro 5girl, speaking of upcoming projects, has it been difficult to move on to other projects after you completed "Lord of the Rings" given that it was such an unprecedented experience?

Elijah Wood: You were sort of breaking up there, but I think I got what you said. What was the question again?

Host Jessica: Has it been difficult to move on to other projects after you completed "Lord of the Rings" given that it was such an unprecedented experience?

Elijah Wood: It hasn't been ease dwroy jump into other things -- easy to jump into other things particularly smaller movies. Right after I did "Lord of the Rings" I didn't want to work at all, but when I did want to work and projects started to become available, the idea of doing something smaller and completelydifferent from "Lord of the Rings" was really exciting. Kind of a relief. It was nice to be on something that was a little bit more focused and not as massive in scale and just simply not as long, two months to do a film was kind of a relief. So in that sense, it was, you know, it was good to get back. But hard in the sense that I had been away from -- I had been in that comfort zone of "Lord of the Rings" for so long. It was difficult to imagine myself on another project. So from that perspective in a lot of ways, it was actually difficult to move on because it meant that I had to kind of break free of that zone and put myself in a different head space.

Host Jessica: Ok, well, here is a really fun question from what an angel 181 who was been following your career. Did you have fun spending time with the Osbournes? You were on an episode last season. That was fun.

Elijah Wood: It was cool. The Osbournes are great. I haven't seen them in quite some time. I saw jack recently at a party in Los Angeles. He organized some crazy party and it was very funny. He is a character. I haven't seen Kelly in ages. I actually saw Amy a while ago. But they're fantastic. I love the family.
I think they're very sweet and incredibly -- it's odd for a television family that are seemingly so controversial. I feel like they represent the truth in what a family is all about more than most reality shows would or even fake television programs. That try and capture that essence of what it means to be a family. I think they capture it better than anything.

Host Jessica: That was a funny episode that you were on because you were cleaning --

Elijah Wood: Cleaning up urine.

Host Jessica: It's a fun activity.

Elijah Wood: What you didn't say later on is that we made ramen and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Host Jessica: How could they leave that out?

Elijah Wood: It's not as rock'n' roll.

Host Jessica: Two more questions. This one from Phoebe. She asks, what is the most interesting celebrity gossip that you've seen in a magazine that's caught your eye lately? Do you think it's funny?

Elijah Wood: I don't know what's going -- I don't know what the new gossip is. I don't know. You know, I think the j-lo-Ben Affleck.

Host Jessica: it's all of that and Britt knee-Justin.

Elijah Wood: I could honestly not give a -- some of it is interesting on a pulp reflects on us that we as a society are fascinated by other people's lives and need that kind of information and it's more sensitive when you are kind of in the middle of it and you recognize that that could kind of be you at some point or people could be that interested in your private life and it's a weird thing. It's bizarre. I still find it incredibly strange, the breakup of Brad and Gwyneth made the front page of newspapers. That's our focus? That's kind of sad.

Host Jessica: I can't decide which would be more frustrating, hearing a story about you that's not true or having the press find out something juicy that is
true. I don't know which would drive me more crazy.

Elijah Wood: It actually drives you more crazy when they print something that's true. I find the stuff that's not true to be really funny and easy to -- because you are in a righteous position at that point because you know you had nothing to do with it or whatever it is they're printing is completely false.
It puts you in a position of, you know, freedom. Even though you feel like if it's something really intense, you have that moment where you feel like you have to speak out against it. Most of the time, I don't even care. I think it can be really funny. Especially when they put you with, like, in terms of dating, they put you with people that you would never have dated. Why would they ever write that?

Host Jessica: They're like Elijah Wood and Christina Aguilera.

Elijah Wood: Some stuff is so good you don't want to contest it. You want to let people believe what they want to believe.

Host Jessica: The last questionis from hemesyvenom.

Elijah Wood: What a story there. Like evil cognac.

Host Jessica: Reminds me of a snake or something.

Elijah Wood: That's strange.

Host Jessica: Do you think that "The Two Towers" will leave people wondering what is to come next?

Elijah Wood: Like the first movie, it does achieve that same kind of feeling of what is the last or what is the next chapter going to reveal? However, this film -- I feel "The Two Towers" actually leads into the third movie a lot more than the first into the second. It's much more of a cliffhanger ending. The scenes in this movie kind of -- it kind of -- it moves you forward and progresses you forward more into the third than the second because we are in the middle of the journey now whereas at the end of the first, they were about to embark on their journey. hereas right now we are in the middle of one giant progressing story. So I feel like this movie actually leads into the third quite a lot more than the first one. Which is great, but also really frustrating for those that can't wait to see the next movie.

Host Jessica: I was just going to say if they're that frustrated they can read the book. So they have that option. Well, I am so sad because we are out of time. Elijah, I think you are my favorite AOL guest ever.

Elijah Wood: Stop.

Host Jessica: I think the audience will agree with me. Thanks so much for chatting with you.

Elijah Wood: Thank you. Wait, you still have my e-mail address.

Host Jessica: I do.

Elijah Wood: You should e-mail me and don't pay attention to the fact that I don't reply because I am an idiot.

Host Jessica: Ok. Well, I can't wait to see the movie on December 18. That's like six days and six hours from now.

Elijah Wood: Wicked. It's very cool. I am sure you will love the film.

Host Jessica: Is there anything you want to say to your fans? I wish we could have gotten to more questions.

Elijah Wood: Thank you all for waiting in line. It's such a thankless thing when everybody gets in the chat room together and there is not any way for all the questions to be answered. So I appreciate everybody waiting around, even if they didn't get their questions answered.Thank you for your support and your love. And enjoy the next "Lord of the Rings."

Host Jessica: I too would like to thank our awesome audience because they just sent in these great, specific questions that many of you probably hn't heard befor.

Elijah Wood: Really good questions.

Emeryville AMC Debuts With TTT Marathon! - Xoanon @ 14:22 PST
AMC BAY STREET 16 IN EMERYVILLE DEBUTS WITH
24 STRAIGHT HOURS OF "LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS"

First 500 people with tickets will receive a special limited-edition LOTR poster!

WHAT: AMC Bay Street 16, the East Bay's newest state-of-the-art megaplex, celebrates its grand opening with 24 straight hours of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" beginning at 12:01 AM Wednesday, December 18th. And as a special bonus, the first 500 people with tickets will receive a FREE limited-edition "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" poster, courtesy of New Line Cinema. AMC Bay Street 16 is the ONLY theatre in the Bay Area where fans can get this poster!

WHEN: Wednesday, December 18, 2002

Showtimes begin at 12:01 AM and continue every hour until 11:00 PM Wednesday night.

WHERE: Bay Street, Emeryville's vibrant new urban village located at the foot of the Bay Bridge, off Interstate 80 at the Ashby Exit to Shellmound.

HOW: Advance tickets for the 24-hour "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" marathon are available right now by calling (510) 457-4262 or by visiting MovieWatcher.com. The box office at AMC Bay Street16 will open for walk-up purchases on Thursday, December 12th.

MORE: The AMC Bay Street 16 is AMC's first megaplex in the East Bay, bringing to Emeryville the same inviting atmosphere, innovative amenities, and high quality in feature film presentation that AMC audiences in San Francisco and around the world have enjoyed for years. AMC Bay Street has 16 state-of-the-art auditoriums, all featuring digital surround sound, stadium seating, and wide LoveSeat* chairs with retractable cupholder armrests.

To arrange press coverage, contact: Ed Kiley, Charles Zukow Associates at 415-733-9300

London Fans Treated Well - Xoanon @ 13:11 PST
jayjay writes:

I was one of those happy Hobbit hunters who spent 12 hours in Leicester Square yesterday for what turned out to be a fantastic not-to-be-forgotten evening! Later I saw Sean, Billy and Dom interviewed on Sky News and they said that London was the highlight of the Worldwide tour so far - They apparently thought that it was going to be a "quiet affair" after NYC and Paris - AS IF!

Just wanted to say a very special thank you to John Rhys-Davies for being an absolute star and gentleman - going up and down both sides of the crowd ..signing for EVERYBODY, chatting and having photos taken. There was much hustle and bustle and everyone tried to give as much to the fans as they could of course..but Master Dwarf especially gave us 100% - and still carrying his injuries! (spine still not fully recovered yet) Here's wishing him a full and speedy recovery - a wonderful man!

Tuesday, December 10, 2002
Finnish Fan Photos! - Xoanon @ 23:23 PST

Finnish LOTR fans got their TTT tickets Saturday 7th Dec, at 8:00 am. In the city of Tampere, first liners came with their tents early in Thursday. The Movie Theatre Plevna provided people power for heaters, which was nice since the temperature was on Thursday -10 degrees Celsius and it decreased to -15 with a wind til Saturday.

Office I work in was very near the theatre so I decided to sleep there with my friend, and that almost proved fatal. I did hang around with other OneRing.net liners on Thursday and Saturday, took a lot of photos but went for the night to our cozy office. We woke up and went for the line at Saturday 5 am, and got frozen for about three and half hours (some people were there overnight with only sleeping bag and a blanket so I have nothing to complain there). After the doors opened it took about an hour to get to the ticket booth. According to the guy selling the tickets we got the two last seats from the front seat. I must admit I felt a bit relieved.

Here are some photos with time and text inserted. Every English error is mine and stays there ;-).

Sunday, December 08, 2002
TTT Billboard In Cali - Xoanon @ 19:05 PST

Firnrothiel writes: I thought you might be interested in these photos I took of a TTT billboard I noticed sometime last week. It took quite a few trips up and down the freeway (Highway 101 in Palo Alto, CA), but I eventually got some decent photos and thought I'd share. (The left side of the billboard looks pretty much like the "final" poster released a few weeks ago, except Saruman and the bad guys have a larger role on the righthand side. The text at the bottom is obscured, but it says "The Journey Continues.")

Saturday, December 07, 2002
TTT NYC After Party Report With Pictures! - Xoanon @ 11:17 PST
Hi! I went to the NYC premiere afterparty last night, and thought you might appreciate another account. You can call me Elbereth.

The setting was awesome. It was in the exhibit halls of the New York Public Library, which were dimly and intimately lit. They were expecting 1200 people, but because of the snowstorm, I'd say there were only about 400 people there at any given time. They had incredible food - entire roasted turkeys set up, and servers whirling around with all sorts of appetizers and petit fours on trays, with a gigantic Gandalf statue in the middle of the lobby (on a white horse - hmph), grotesque orc facsimilies at the bar, and solemn-faced, long-haired men and women in Lothlorien velvet cloaks holding lamps along the corridors and stairwells. It was a strange juxtaposition to hear the DJ playing "Groove is in the Heart" above.

What did I wear? A Banana Republic knee-length black halter dress and a silver arm bracelet, with beautiful open-toed black shoes. My friend Danielle, having been my personal dresser, said it was perfectly New York-ish. And I have to say, I fit right in.

So Danielle and I arrived, and were checking out the scene, hanging out around the entrance. Then we recognized one face, and then it was like dominos. In about sixty seconds...

"Turn around, behind me. That...is the guy...who got thrown out of the window in L.A. Confidential."

"Ohmigod. Peter Jackson just walked in the door! Ohmigod!!"

"Aaaaand there's Sean Lennon."

"Holy Mother of God!"

"Whoa! Liv Tyler just walked in!"

"Wow. She looks beaauuuutiful."

"Danielle. I am dying." I nearly fainted right there on the Gandalf ice sculpture.

So, yes. Liv Tyler (Arwen) is stunningly beautiful in real life. She was wearing a long silk black-and-white patterned gown (see the attached picture). There was this huge clump of people moving around her wherever she went so that she could hardly move, and these scruffily handsome British men, probably some hot up-and-comers, were commenting behind me, "Well, she is, she just Is, she's just a beautiful gel. A very beautiful gel. Don't you think? Yes, a beautiful gel."

Our first foray was to approach Peter Jackson (the director), who was engaged in a long conversation with Sean Lennon and Sean Astin (Sam). (And Mikey, for those of you who know what that means. If you do, God bless you.) Danielle and I arrayed ourselves on the marble bench directly behind him. He was very short, unkempt and round, and he looked rather overwhelmed. When we finally got to talk to him, Danielle (knowing far more about film than I ever will) told him she thought Heavenly Creatures was a bloody brilliant film. As for me, I wanted to say something eloquent like, "Thank you for making such a beautiful visualization of my most deeply held, internalized myth" but it came out more like, "You did such an amazing job thank you sooo much we're just poor students who snuck in and we're not important but I just wanted to tell you that..." I turn red just thinking about it! But he was very cordial, thanking us in a thick Kiwi accent.

After that, I was a little cooler about the whole meeting-celebrities thing.

I stopped briefly to congratulate Miranda Otto (Eowyn), who was getting much less attention, probably because she's not well known in the States. But she looked incredibly lovely (see attached picture), and struck me as being very like Eowyn herself: cold and wild.

No, I did not get a hobbit's number :( But the atmosphere was crazy - everyone was crowding 'round and wanting to get a word in, and I didn't want to seem like an jerk.

I waited until other people had left before jumping in, and I considered myself lucky to hold a conversation with both Billy Boyd (Pippin) and Dominic Monaghan (Merry). Woo!

So, surreal moment #1: I wait for the crowd to lessen around Dominic (who is far more handsome in person than in the film - check out the attached photo), and then I approach him, saying,

"Hi! I'm sorry, I was waiting to talk to you. My name is - - - - - - - -"

"Hi! My name is Dominic."

(with a dreamy, besmitten look on my face) "I know."

I complimented him on his hot suit, we talked about the second movie being very unlike the first, and the people out in the lobby who were attempting to dance. And then he got whisked away to have his picture taken by fox.com.

Surreal moment #2: I went up to one of the bars to approach Ian Holm (Bilbo) and tell him how wonderful I thought he was, but when I did, he said he wasn't Ian Holm at all - he was Dominic Monaghan's father! We went over to a group of people then, still talking, and I ended up having a lovely conversation with him, Billy Boyd (Pippin) and Dominic Monaghan's mother (who was also incredibly sweet). (I was like, "Goodness, you must be proud of him!" and she was all like, "Oh yes, oh we are, we're just thrilled for him!")

Billy (see pic) was the most personable, conversational, easygoing guy you could imagine. We talked about my ordeal in getting to the party (I had to take Amtrak because the snowstorm canceled all the buses out of Boston). He was like, "But you had a good time, didn't you!??" I said, yes, but there's a whole coalition of women from my college who want me to return with A Story. He suggested, in his thick Scottish brogue, that I get very very drunk and fall down in the middle of a big crowd.

I passed David Wenham (Faramir) about ten times, but he was always talking to Miranda Otto, which I thought was adorable, given their characters' relationship. Also, Karl Urban (Eomer) passed me about twelve times, though I didn't screw up the courage to say hi. He's supposed to be the New Zealand equivalent of Brad Pitt, and yea verily, he was Very Hot up close. And yes, I did see Orlando Bloom, but he was talking on a cell phone in the middle of the party, surrounded by Gels, and so I passed up introducing myself. Finally, I had a lovely exchange with Brad Douriff (Grima Wormtongue) - he was an incredibly humble, soft-spoken and kind man. He thanked me extensively for my compliments - he even bowed to me :)

No sign of Elijah (Frodo), Ian McKellan (Gandalf) (Ian was not in NYC -Xo), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Christopher Lee (Saruman) or Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn). Maybe they arrived briefly and left, but I didn't see them. Or maybe it was past their bedtime. As for other star sightings, we also bumped shoulders with Bijou Philips, Matthew Modine and Kate Hudson (though it took me about five passes to recognize her).

Well! Good grief. That's all I can think of for now.

Friday, December 06, 2002
NZ Begins It's LOTR Obsession All Over Again - Xoanon @ 10:42 PST
frodo's girl writes: I have three reports from Wellington. I have included the Te papa pics that I sent earlier in the week - I didn't see them posted yet, and I have more Te papa news:

Official Stamps Launch

On Monday 2 Dec, NZ Post had an official launch of their new lotr:ttt stamps in the Grand Hall in the parliament buildings. NZ Post had graciously invited a few fans to come along and join in the festivities. 13 fans showed up, 5 in costume, and were treated to wine and yummy nibbles. Most fans were Wellingtonians, but Gordan won the prize for farthest distance traveled, having driven down from Hawkes Bay that day (about a three-hour drive!). There was chatting for a bit as different slides from lotr:ttt were shown at the front of the room. Fans got to know each other, politicians talked to fans and everyone generally schmoozed. We noted that some of the slides were new pictures that we hadn't seen, and quite nice at that!

The room quieted down as they showed the lotr:ttt trailer, and then the speakers got up. They talked about the remarkable achievement LOTR is and what it has done for NZ, and then talked about the stamps themselves. They apologized for only being able to show us slides of the stamps, since the official release day wasn't until 4 Dec. After the speeches finished, they put out beautiful press release folders, and packages of the complete lotr:fotr stamp set for us all to take home. [More]

Along with nice pictures of the stamps and flyers, the folders themselves are gorgeous. I think everyone had a grand time, and the NZ Post was thrilled with the fan involvement. Thanks to Jemma and Kate for their work in getting the fans there.

Te Papa Poster & Signing

I talked with Jane Fahy at Te Papa today, and she told me of two exclusive things. one is that they are going to be selling the exhibit poster (see pic) probably starting next week. and on 20 Dec from 11am to 11.45am Ian Brodie will be at the exhibition store signing his new book 'The Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook'

Musical Mythologies NZSO Concert

the NZSO played in Wellington on Thurs 5 Dec under the conductor John Mauceri. unfortunately the house was not full, and it should have been because it was marvelous. they opened with 'The Ride of the Valkyries' from Wagner's ring cycle. It is a famous and much loved piece, and they did it credit. John Mauceri then introduced us to the night, in both English and elvish (to appreciative applause from the audience).

he then talked about the Wagner piece, telling a bit about the ring cycle, and other ring mythologies in different cultures. I don't usually count on the symphony to be the place to learn about ancient legends, but I must say I learned some stuff tonight. did you know that Zeus gave Prometheus the first ring? now I knew that Zeus is Jupiter in Roman mythology, but never knew that he was the maker of the ring, hence why the planet with the ring is named Jupiter....see, the symphony teaches you things). anyway, that was his introduction to the next piece 'Jupiter' from Holst's 'The Planets,' another familiar piece that the symphony performed very nicely.

John then introduced us to the next piece, 4 movements from John Williams' 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone'. They played "Hedwig's theme" (that is the opening of the movie); "Diagon Alley," which John explained uses recorders and a lot of older percussion instruments. It was a lovely duet between the Harpist and a contra-bassonist (which is mighty big, let me tell you) portraying the magical harp and the sleeping and snuffling Fluffy, the three headed dog. They closed with "Harry's magical world" (the concluding music of the movie). again, the symphony did a fine job on the lovely music, and it was really fun to see and hear all the unusual instruments.

after the break, the choir came in and John introduced the second half which was the 45 minute recomposition that Howard wrote to perform in the
Hollywood bowl earlier this yr. this was the Southern Hemisphere premier of the work. John talked about what an amazing accomplishment it is for Howard to create almost 10 hrs of symphony for this epic trilogy, and then to take time out to rework music from the first movie into this beautiful symphony.

John then talked about the books themselves, describing Frodo as an "everyman with hairy feet," that lead this ring mythology to a different place than most - instead of trying to poses the magical ring, JRR Tolkien's story is about trying to destroy it, setting it apart from most ring myths.

the symphony is in two movements, set to belong to book 1 and book 2 of the lotr:fotr. the 1st movement is only about 12 minutes, and includes the opening music, and the Hobbiton music. the second, longer, movement starts in Rivendell, journeys to Moria, Lothlorien, down the River Anduin, and ends with the battle and the breaking of the fellowship. anyone who saw the performance in LA knows that Howard did a fabulous job of fitting the themes together into this symphony and adding some other sounds with percussion that are reminiscent of horse hooves in Hobbiton and sword clanging in the battle. as you all know this is fabulous music, and listening to it live is just amazing. the NZSO did a great job. I hope more symphonies around the world get a chance to perform this music so more people will get a chance to see and hear it performed live.

Cheers,
lyric/frodo's girl

Thursday, December 05, 2002
Marathon Line Party in Portland, Oregon. - Tehanu @ 19:18 PST
Portland, Oregon-based Tolkien fansite Bit of Earth is teaming up with the leader of all things online in Middle Earth, TheOneRing.net (TORN) and Regal Cinema Lloyd Center 10 to bring you "A Long Expected Party", a 36-hour marathon line party to celebrate the December 18th release of "The Two Towers."

The event will kick off at midnight on Tuesday, December 17th, and throughout the next day, passers-by will be greeted with the sight of Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, Rangers, Istari and Geeks camped out in singing, trivia-playing, costume-wearing determination in front of Lloyd Cinema 10. The bulk of the die-hard geeks will see the movie at 12:01 on the 18th, but many more will be staying for the 9am and noon showings as well. "There are a lot of people who want to come" notes local lineparty coordinator, Tanya Rezak, "...and some people's jobs just won't let them do a midnight showing." And of course, for most of these self-titled "Ringers," Peter Jackson has been holding them in anticipation since the release of last year's critical and box-office smash, "The Fellowship of the Ring," and one showing is simply not enough.

Nonetheless, the midnight option itself is proof of the mysterious draw of the Ring. Initially, New Line Cinema's contract with Regal forbade showing The Two Towers until 9am on the 18th, but with the encouragement of local fans and the assurances of a packed house in the state's largest auditorium, Robert Bob, Assistant Manager of the theatre, managed to secure one of New Line's coveted special showings.

The gesture is deeply appriciated, as while movies like "Star Trek: Nemesis" - another geek favourite to be released only two days before "Towers" - receive intensive studio support in promotion, the Long Expected Party is entirely a fan endeavor. Two local fans who like to call themselves simply "Sam" and "Frodo", appeared on KNRK's popular morning radio show, Gustav and Daria, on the morning of November 12th bemoaning the lack of retailer support in the release of the extended DVD for "Fellowship of the Ring," and were soon determined not to see a similar lack of geekish activity available for "Towers." The result is the Long Expected Party.

With the support of TORN and Lloyd Cinema 10, interest is high, and while a core 'Fellowship' of 100 attendees will be participating in the bulk of the organized events and guaranteed a seat at the midnight showing, many more are expected throughout the event. Created entirely by and for the fans of Tolkien's Middle Earth and Peter Jackson's inspired recreation thereof, the Long Expected Party is likely to be an epic unto itself!

To learn about the benefits of securing your "Fellowship" status, please visit Bit of Earth

For more information, please contact BitofEarth's public relations director, Mr. Frodo, at mrfrodo@bitofearth.net, or call the BitofEarth offices at (503) 353-3095.

Monday, December 02, 2002
Carleton College to Host 'Lord of the Rings' Premier Screening - Xoanon @ 23:25 PST
Northfield, Minn.-Barrie Osborne, a 1966 graduate of Carleton College and producer of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, will host pre-release screenings of "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" at 6:45 and 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13 at the Block E Crown Theatres complex in Minneapolis. The film opens nationally on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

The screening is a fundraiser for Carleton College, and was organized by Osborne and his classmates. Tickets can be ordered by calling the Carleton Office of Alumni Affairs at 800-729-2586. There are two ticket options:

… $50 tickets include the screening of the movie (at 6:45 p.m. and 7 p.m.), a post-movie reception at Gameworks, a restaurant and entertainment spot at Block E, and a $25 tax deductible contribution to Carleton's annual fund.

… $200 tickets include an hors d'oeuvre buffet and cocktail reception with Osborne at the Marriott City Center at 5 p.m., the film screening at 7 p.m., the post-movie reception at Gameworks, and a $140 tax deductible contribution to Carleton's annual fund.

Osborne is producer of the Oscar-winning film "The Matrix." His other production credits include John Woo's "Face/Off" and "China Moon." He has served as executive producer on "The Fan," "Dick Tracy," "Child's Play," "Wilder Napalm" and "Rapa Nui."

Copenhagen Lord of the Rings Fair - Xoanon @ 13:38 PST
Greeny writes:

I am told that this is the largest LOTR fair in Europe this year. Obviously the news spread quickly inside the Tolkien societies and the Danes at barlis got together and arranged to go as a group. Ant, MouthOfSauron and Greeny were the Danes that went and had a peek.

We decided to go on the Saturday. It was a frosty day and after standing in line to get in for about 30 minutes we were all freezing. The entrance was about 9Euros per day. Fortunately a show was arranged out in front of the building. Suddenly a huge Cave Troll appeared and started following people around. Especially the children got the fright of their lives.

So did Greeny when the cave troll lingered at bit too long in front of her and poking her arm…arrggh! When it seemed that all hope was lost a brave Rohan soldier came charging out the main door to the rescue. He drew his sword and fought bravely although the cave troll did smack him about good old Moria style. Obviously the brave soldier defeated the beast and they spent the rest of the day sneaking up on people and scaring the living daylight out of them…

The cave troll eventually got too hot and took off his costume, wandering about wearing only the legs and causing a lot more distress doing so.J

Inside in the warm sports stadium there were lots of small stands. Anything to do with LOTR was represented. We pondered around the place to have a look. The indoor sportstadium was filled with small stands with white banners covered in Dwarf writing. Having no idea that there were actually so many LOTR accessories, it was quite breathtaking.

Many shops and societies came out from under their rocks to show their skills.

At the far end there were make-up artist selling all kinds of latex face stuff. Ears, noses and chins turned people into fair elves, cute hobbits and nasty Sauruman orcs. It was free to be painted, but one had to purchase the ears. It was tempting to go for the nasty orc look but we did have to drive home afterwards… never orc and drive

There was an arena where the local role-playing groups had swordsmen who would arrogantly dare you to challenge them. Calling people names and laughing out loud when they declined. Obvioulsy many were tricked by the reverse psychology and some of the fights were worth watching. It’s always impressive to watch someone with only one sword, defend themselves from someone with two. The person taking the challenge were clad in heavy iron mail and amour making the game quite safe even though it looked violent at times.

Many role-plays were taking place. There was a large competition arranged over the weekend that required you had signed up to enter weeks in advance. Boards came out everywhere and dice and odd words filled the air. We know little of how the games are played, but words of approval and nods were made all around, when certain decisions were made and lucky numbers came up on the odd sized dice. We tried to get a quick note on the rules, but had to give up understanding it. Feeling old and grey we left the games knowing that 7 years olds outsmarted us by many leagues. On the last day of the fair the RP “cup” was to come to an end and the winner be declared.

Amour seemed to be the thing to get. Many small stands with all kinds of leather garments, mail and swords were everywhere. People bargained and tried on capes and cloaks. Swords were weighed and fur coats, embroided with pearls, shiny metal and golden details were looked upon. I still can’t believe the weight of a grown mans mail. That on top of gloves, helmets, leather vests and belt… once you fall down, you never get up again… Narsil, Sting and many other swords hung on the walls and all kinds of orc costumes, gloves, crowns, axes, masks, wands and wigs were more than the eye could digest. Obviously we had to go and touch and try on lots of the stuff. A chance to carry Sting or smell the inside of the hundreds of latex masks, where too large a temptation.

The fine details and talent of the people making these things are beyond any of us. It was really impressive. But so were the prices. I was offered a dark, heavy leather coat with straps and metal beads and all the works. With that came shiny metal shoulder protector thingys that you also strap to your chest and a helmet at the fair price of just 425Euros. Obviously I did haggle with the German sales person and argued I should have a discount knowing if I wore this I would not be able to breathe and much less swing the sword that went with the costume. He nodded and showed us some female leather clothing instead only to learn it was twice the price… J

Also available were lamps, dragons, keyrings, posters, calendars, belts, knives, bows and arrows, crossbows, jewellery, clocks, walking sticks, cooking gear anything your heart could desire… even rings… lots and lots of rings.

Books and games where also available at the stands he many bookstores had supplied. Signed books and computer games where auctioned and bids where written down all day. About 8 computers and playstations where constantly crowded with young boys arguing, who was next in line to try out the new TTT games. Those games being the best seller Christmas gift this year it seemed by the number of mums buying the CD’s while the fathers and sons admired the swords and crossbows.

There were also competitions to attend. A small version on Bag End had been built with Bilbos front door and hobbit games inside for the children. Basically children threw all kinds of vegetables into baskets of different sizes and shapes and doing so gaining points. The one with the most points at the end of the day won a prize. So leeks, carrots, cabbages, onions and of course mushrooms filled the air…even a few bananas ended up in the baskets. Inside Bag End there was an ongoing drawing competition and also a prize to be won there. Personally judged by Bilbo the following day. The kids, many of them dressed up as hobbits, kept their minds focused on the job at hand and lots of wonderful drawings were displayed as the day passed.

Then there was the miniature painting… or painting of miniatures. Metal figure ever so small where painted and displayed. Large landscapes had been built and these wonderful, little figures had been arranged to make out the scenes of FOTR and some from TTT. Hours could be spent looking at each tiny detail and admiring the handy work and patience of the artists. Since none of us are neither patient nor handy, we watched, as some of the people managed to spread the almost invisible drops of paint like magic on the tiny horses and men.

Travel agents had also seen a customer opportunities. They had prearranged trips around New Zealand at prices around 1600Euros for 15 days around the Islands to see the places they filmed certain scenes and to walk some of the distance the fellowship walked. Beautiful pictures and tempting brochures made it hard not to want to buy a ticket and leave at once.

All this went on the first couple of hours while the TTT teaser trailer was shown on a huge screen at the one end the stadium where a stage had also been made ready for later use. Lots of loud music and the loud voice of Eomer: “What business does …”

Interviews with PJ and the cast where also shown on the big screen along with much of the music form TTT. All in all it was a cluster of men, elves, dwarfs, orcs and hobbits mingling about and looking at all the wonderful things. Hard to move at times but walking behind the cavetroll made it much easier to cover distance at a greater speed, making sure not to get hit by the spit he seemed to cough at people…eww.

The program included more than just the fair. At the far end of the stadium “the hall of fire” were full of chairs for people to go and listen to the Tolkien lectures. A huge fireplace burned gently in the back. At first a film was shown as a biography of Tolkiens life. It was real nice and warm to sit next to the fire and listen.

After the film a Danish journalist/ hobbit fanatic (Lars Terje-Lysemose) told us about his approach to LOTR and how he managed to get on set in NZ and write articles about the making of the film. He also read some of his favourite passages from The Hobbit and LOTR.

Then the large stage opened and the two chief designers Ben Wootten and Warren Many from WETA workshop talked for an hour about how they did the special effects to FOTR. The whole process of first drawing the sketches and building the small models to the fitting of hobbit feet and scanning the 3D models into computer programs was explained. They brought along lots of LOTR caps and shirts for the people taking part in the discussion.

Later on a trivia was arranged and books where to be won to the hard studying Tolkien fans, who could answer the questions. Pretty easy ones, so most of the people here should have come and claimed their prizes.

More lectures where given in the hall of fire, about 3D animation and computer graphics, but at that point we couldn’t stand up any more. We sat down to eat alongside the “bree” tolkien society. They are a small society who meet up often and do RPs and celebrate the many holidays in ME.

Finally we departed leaving the last hours up to the children celebration Bilbo’s 111th birthday at Bag End. Free birthday cake and many hungry children singing happy birthday.

There is another day similar on December 1st. The program is a little different, but the same stands and activities continue.

Next year they will have an even bigger fair, so they say and we can all recommend everyone at Barlis to join it. For those who can read Danish or just want to have a peek the homepage is: www.ringenesherremesse.dk



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