Thursday, June 27, 2002 Throughout the summer, there is a radio show on the Bishop's University radio station or 88.9 FM in the Sherbrooke area, Quebec, Canada) concerning Tolkien and everything related to the Lord of the Rings. It is called "Passport to Middle-earth" and it airs every Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. eastern time. We talk about different aspects of Tolkien mythology, exploring a specific topic on each show. So far we have looked into Tolkien's biography, we have shed some light on the various languages of Middle-earth, we have explored the matter of the different kinfolks of Elves, and much more. Next week we will uncover the mysteries of Nymenor. The music on the show is always related in a way or another to the work of Tolkien; either we play music composed for his mythology or that was inspired by it. Also each week we try to give some news regarding Tolkien or the Lord of the Rings and most of our information comes from your site. Tolkien fans can listen to us via the web here.
Free Tolkien Radio
- Xoanon @ 14:26 PST
From: Mungo Hamwich of Buckleberry Fern and Tigerlily Boggy-Hillocks AKA Andrew McCann and Karine Charpentier
Wednesday, June 26, 2002 Message board regular Nessimë was at the Wellington book signing event and asked Viggo to sign something for TORN (un asked by the way, what a sweetie!) and Viggo complied! Check these out! [Front] [Back]
The Utter Coolness Of Cool
- Xoanon @ 15:05 PST
I've not had the pleasure of meeting Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) yet..but he is high on my list of 'must meets/talk to'. I've heard reports that he tries to personalize every single autograph to prevent people from selling them on ebay..(would you sell something that Viggo personally wrote for YOU?).
Heren Istarion Relaunches
- Xoanon @ 12:42 PST It is my distinct pleasure to announce to all Tolkien fans that the New York Smial of the Tolkien Society, Heren Istarion, has relaunched on the web. For those of you who do not know Heren Istarion, founded in Sept.2000 is a Smial (affiliate) of the Tolkien Society UK. We are dedicated to the study and education of our beloved Professor JRR Tolkien. Our site will have continuous updates in the world of Tolkien, and the current Lord of the Rings films slated for release in 2002-3. Also, our journal Parma Nvli, a part of membership subscription, will be a feature on the site -- though only past issues and a sneak peek at the next issue will be available. As we continue to always renew our membership packages for new and current members one of its features is an audio version of Parma Nole and any related material we send out for the blind. Two features we are proud to have as a part of our site is a page dedicated to Sideshow WETA's fine LOTR products and Press Releases from Houghton Mifflin concerning soon to be published Lord of the Rings related books. Though it is still in its beginning stages we wish to invite all Tolkien fans to be a part of our organization, if you wish to know more of our society or wish to have any Tolkien related news posted or wish to submit work for publication on the site or in our journal please stop by and email us!. [www.herenistarion.org]
From: Anthony Burdge
LA Pub Moot Coolness
- Xoanon @ 12:19 PST Hey, Xoanon, Sauron's Truss here. Rosie (from the Fan Club) is right... Calisuri must be buried. I sent this to him last week after he expressed interest, but no joy yet! Please post as you see fit and... hope to see some TORn staff representin'! This L.A. Pub Moot will be held on AUGUST 9th, 2002 (Friday) starting at 8 p.m. Name of the place is the Westwood Brewing Company (thanks, Garf) in Westwood... very near West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Westwood Brewing Company Let me stress that this party is OPEN TO ALL, but I need you to contact me and give confirmation. We're looking forward to seeing our friends from TORn and Decipher there and throwing down some pints and shots together! Please refer all inquires regarding this event to myself or Rosie (LOTR Fan Club Moderator). The WBC asks that, on their end, there be only one conduit for questions and needs assesments... moi. ***Giveaways, Contests, Food, Drinks, and Laughs*** This will be a dinner and drinks type of thing and is slated to last at least three hours. We have our own room, our own bar (and tender, I presume) and special requests will be considered. This place is totally professional and could prolly hook us up with whatever we need. If you have a great idea let me know. Max Capacity for a sit down dinner/quest/thing is 85 peeps. If we reach that number, as I think we shall, we then have the option of changing to a buffet-style affair in order to accomodate more people. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Now, I had to put up a good chunk of change to secure/guarantee this place. As long as everyone drinks and eats normally there will be no extra charge to anyone and this "deposit" goes away. "But Truss, my 20 friends and I were hoping to just come, eat Saltine Crackers, drink from the water fountain, and be around you great folks"! PERISH THE THOUGHT, I say! Our Moot, this time around, will be a definite dinner affair (casually nice attire) and you should come hungry and thirsty. (Actually, since many of us will be at the Beach Moot prior, we should all hydrate a bunch!) I'm not saying you'll have to gorge yourself and get blasted (unless you wanna... it'll make for a funner party), just act as a normal night out at a decent restaurant. {I say again: There will be no cover or deposit charge as long as you eat and drink NORMALLY.} There you have it. Our plans come together. We're less than two months away from the weekend (week?) that many of us need to satiate our desire for LOTR STUFF! A "Tolkien fix" if you will. Come be with people who feel just as you do about LOTR. I'm sure we'll get some L.A. TORn peeps there and I'm told there'll be at least one VIP from our beloved Decipher as well. Email me your real name and board handle (delineate Fan Club or TORn) at Power_Video@yahoo.com to sign up for PUB MOOT IN AUGUST! Let me know if you're bringing someone. See you there! (Additional questions? Email me or post at the Decipher Official LOTR Fan Club "Bag End" message board.) -Bill Powers (Sauron's Truss on the Decipher LOTR Fan Club BB)
Check out this Pub moot hapening in LA! Anyone want to pay for my ticket out there...drop me a line!
1097 Glendon Ave
Los Angeles, ca 90024
Welcome To Gimli, Manitoba!
- Xoanon @ 12:15 PST Greetings from the Town of Gimli, Manitoba, Canada. Just thought you'd like to know we exist... and no, it wasn't founded by a bunch of rogue Tolkien fans, this town was founded in 1875 by Icelandic immigrants who named it after the 'home of the gods' in Norse mythology. I'll bet that's where old JRR got the name from, too. To find Gimli on the map, look for the two long, skinny lakes (it's actually three) North-west of the great lakes. The easternmost lake is Lake Winnipeg, roughly translated "Lake Muddy Water", and Gimli is on the west shore of the south basin. Visit the web site at www.townofgimli.com. Oh yeah, and the trailer for K19: The Widowmaker starring Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson, now in circulation (most recently before Minority Report) features scenes shot in Gimli in March of 2001. They built a model sub to look like it broke out of the ice and brought in Mr. Ford, it was all very exciting. The scenes shot here are the ones where they play soccer on the ice and the one where Harry makes a speech to the men out on the ice (I was there for that one!).
April sends us news from the town of Gimli, Manitoba! I'm still wondering if there's a Helms Deep Idaho out there....
Monday, June 24, 2002 Hi Xoanon Rosie (mod. from Deciphers LOTR Fan Club) here. I had a sweet little story I thought you might like to post. I sent it to Calisuri, but I know how buried he gets. When a group of fan club members, friends from Deciphers LOTR fan club message boards, planned to spend a weekend together, and attend TORNS Oscar party in Los Angeles California, they didn't expect to find a love story. A little hobbit beauty, user handle Desert Elf, was introduced to Dan Madsen, the Ceo/President of Deciphers Fan Club, during an evening of fun, and lovely sentiments, with fans celebrating LOTRs success at the Oscars. They had the chance to sit together, and hear the celebration speeches of our heroes, including Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Ian Mckellan. A wonderful evening sparked off an even more wonderful love story, and the two of them will be married Sept. 21st, the day before Bilbo and Frodos birthday! Thank You to TORN for playing matchmaker, and making a sweet romance blossoom in the Shire! (I included a not too flattering photo from the evening, with Dan Madsen, and l to r Rosie, Desert Elf (lucky girl) and Angry Pixie)
Love Found At TORN's Oscar Party
- Xoanon @ 14:43 PST
Friday, June 21, 2002 The Art of The Fellowship of the Ring is a beautiful book full of stunning sketches, colour photos and movie stills illustrating the locations, costumes, armoury and the various creatures in the movie.
Launch of The Art of The Fellowship of the Ring by Gary Russell
- Xoanon @ 12:54 PST
From: Kim + Tee
The Wellington launch was held at the gorgeous Embassy Theatre, with about 150 people attending – including artist Alan Lee; Richard Taylor & others from the wonderfully talented Weta team; Jane Johnson - publisher from HarperCollins and actor Karl Urban. I bought a copy of the book, which now has some amazing autographs in it in evidence.
Jane Johnson, spoke on her background, her involvement in LOTR and told a great story about her humble beginnings in publishing. Apparently she started at HarperCollins in a secretarial job (even though she admitted she was lacking in the typing and shorthand skills required for the job). Very quickly her manager realised that she wasn’t working out as a secretary and decided to try her out as an editor - where one of her responsibilities was to look after the original LOTR book. At this time she received in the mail some copies of watercolour paintings by Alan Lee and John Howe of scenes from LOTR. She brought these two artists together and with the permission of the Tolkien Estate she published the first illustrated version of LOTR. In the late 90s she received a letter from Peter Jackson’s office asking about these two painters and from there Jackson then contracted them to continue creating middle earth. Weta then transformed these images which started the amazing journey that culminated in the LOTR movies. Lee and Howe are still very much involved in the movies.
Richard Taylor from Weta was up next, and spoke about how he came from the country to the city without any real plans, but ended up creating the company which was to become Weta Workshop. He also told the story of his involvement with LOTR and how he was able to source fantastic NZ talent for his requirements in the digital recreation of Middle Earth. Once word got around of the LOTR connection, many young people from throughout NZ started approaching him for work. From this, Richard found an enormous amount of talent that he was able to use to transform the images of Lee and Howe into the visual splendour of the movies. In another coup for NZ talent, Peter Jackson had already planned to use Richard Taylor to create Middle Earth but he received quite a bit of resistance from the American company that initially founded the creation of the movie – Miramax. The powers that be came to Wellington and expected to find that Weta was a “small workshop in a tin shed at the bottom of Peter Jackson’s garden” and they didn’t believe that Richard could do what was required but with his drive and passion he proved them wrong. Of course, once New Line became involved the rest is history.
The formalities of the evening ended here and we were able to wander around and admire the books and artwork. Jane had mentioned the possible attendance of two prominent stars of the movie but unfortunately due to late filming they weren’t able to make it - much to the disappointment of many a fan (not looking at anyone in particular!).
Wednesday, June 19, 2002 We'll flex our TORN muscles and get Rick and Dori from NYC setup to win! Check out how Rick proposed to Dori! You've got to love it, remember to vote for them! [More]
LOTR Couple
- Xoanon @ 11:14 PST
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Sunday, June 16, 2002 The winner of the Lembas bakeoff was Rodrigo, followed by TORN's own Tehanu in second place. Everyone who attended was part of the judging, and much overeating was had by all. There was also some live fighting from folks of the Cloondara Shire, much to the delight of all the Hobbit kids, who gladly took up the padded swords and gang-attacked the Men.
Great Pics From The Potluck & Lembas Bake-Off
- Xoanon @ 15:56 PST
Here are some pics from the LoTR potluck and lembas bakeoff held in San Francisco. It was a nice sunny day with a breeze kicking up, or "Elf weather" as we decided to call it. There was enough food for first and second breakfasts, plus tea, lunch and supper! Nice, cripsy sausages were going at a fast clip, followed by ripe chicken off the bone.
Tuesday, June 11, 2002 6th July 2002 -- Whitby Thinking of fantasy films and Whitby usually brings Dracula to mind, but on 6th July the talk will be more of elves than vampires when The Tolkien Society holds the next in its series of Seminars. The theme of this year’s seminar, “Dramatising Fantasy: Adapting books for film and stage”, was chosen because of the interest generated by Peter Jackson’s hugely popular film adaptation of J R R Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring. The Seminar will be held at Whitby Museum, Pannett Park, Whitby, North Yorkshire, from 10:00am until 5:00pm. J R R Tolkien’s connection with Whitby At the age of 18, in the summer of 1910, Tolkien visited Whitby for a holiday and drew pictures of both the town and the abbey. Programme for the day Speakers will be coming from America and Europe to discuss film versions, dramatisations and translations. Seven talks are planned for the day. There will be plenty of time for discussion. Dr Devin Brown: Additions, Deletions, Expansions and Contractions: What is lost and what is gained in the BBC adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. Dr Saviour Catania: Absent Presences in Liminal Places: Muranau’s Nosferatu and the Otherworld of Stoker’s Dracula. Christine Davidson and Alex Davidson: The Essence of Events: Peter Jackson’s Adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring. David Doughan MBE: Great admirers, perceptive admirers and treacherous translators. John Ellison: Fantasy and the lyric stage. Jason Finch: The Confessions of an Ivanhoe extra: Insights from the TV production of Ivanhoe. Madawc Williams: The Word, the Voice and the Light: Representations of Tolkien’s World. Booking Tickets for the Seminar cost £12 (£10 for members of The Tolkien Society) and are available from the Society’s booking officer at 28 Loverock Crescent, Rugby, CV21 4AR or via the Society’s website www.tolkiensociety.org/seminar. Tickets must be booked by 21 June. A buffet lunch is included in the charge for the day. About the Tolkien Society The Tolkien Society was founded in 1969, its aim being to further interest in the life and works of Professor J R R Tolkien CBE, the author of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and other works of fiction and philological study. Based in the United Kingdom, and registered as an educational charity, the Society has an international membership in over 30 countries. The Seminar is one of the Society’s three main events during the year; the others are the Annual Dinner and Oxonmoot. Oxonmoot is held in September at an Oxford college and includes talks, slide shows and a party. The Society publishes two regular publications; a bulletin, Amon Hen, appears six times a year with Tolkien-related reviews, news, letters, artwork and articles, both humorous and serious. The annual journal, Mallorn, is more serious in nature with longer critical articles, reviews and essays. For young members there is an active group, “Entings”, which has its own section in the Society bulletin. About the contributors Dr Devin Brown, is currently an associate professor in the English Department of Asbury College just outside Lexington, Kentucky. At Asbury Devin teaches a number of courses, including “C S Lewis and the Oxford Circle” which features Tolkien. Dr Saviour Catania is currently a lecturer in film studies at the Centre for Communication Technology at the University of Malta. He studied English Literature at the University of Malta and obtained his PhD there with a thesis on the comparative analysis of five Wuthering Heights film adaptations. Christine and Alex Davidson are mother and son. As well as being long time members of the Tolkien Society they are both involved in a Roman re-enactment group. David Doughan MBE is an old member of the Tolkien Society. When not pontificating on Tolkien he does women's history - his latest book is A Dictionary of British Women's Organisations (with Peter Gordon). John Ellison is an opera buff, artist and genuine eccentric whose lifelong interest in Tolkien and Wagner has resulted in an unparalleled output of learned commentary, humorous lampoonery and trips to Covent Garden. Jason Finch studied archaeology at Bangor and is a member of a Saxon re-enactment group. He currently works as a local government officer. Madawc Williams lives in Peterborough and is a Computer Analyst. For further information about the Seminar contact Any queries regarding this Press Release should be addressed to:
Tolkien Society Seminar: 'Dramatising Fantasy: Adapting books for film and stage'
- Xoanon @ 19:26 PST
Film Magic
We also have a website, which provides members and non-members with general information about the society and the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien: www.tolkiensociety.org/
Trevor Reynolds, tel. 01252 692432 or 020 7973 3482, fax 0870 0525569, e-mail membership@tolkiensociety.org, 65 Wentworth Crescent, Ash Vale, Aldershot, GU12 5LF.
Ian Collier, Publicity Officer, 18 Howard Street, Oxford, OX4 3BE e-mail publicity@tolkiensociety.org