New Line Cinema Begins One Year Countdown To Release of 'The Lord of the Rings' - First Theatrical Trailer to Debut on January 12, 2001; Studio Announces Relaunch of Web Site - [More]

Just heard from a friend of mine on the LOTR crew in NZ that the crew Christmas party was preceded by a screening of some 40 minutes of footage (presumably from 'The Fellowhip',) with temporary music and sound effects. PJ received a standing ovation at the conclusion of the reels.

Without going into specifics, he said that the film -- still without most visual effects, or even color timing -- was truly deserving of such a response.

Harry Knowles attended and I look forward to what undoubtedly will be an enthusiastic report from him soon. Update: Harry informs the planet that he was not in attendance at this event! -Tookish

A year from today, there's a good chance you or someone you know - or, at the very least, someone who knows someone you know - will be buying a ticket to see the first installment of what is already being called the biggest project in movie history. [More]

"Some claim the company is looking at losses of about $500 million. Adam Sandler's 'Little Nicky'has bombed at a cost of around $100 million, while the budget for the J.R.R. Tolkien 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, filming in New Zealand, is said to have soared alarmingly." [More]

"... Trails lush with ferns and mosses evoke author J.R.R. Tolkien's mythical forests, where 'shadows lay by night and day, and dark things silent crept beneath.' "

If I wasn't elbow deep into my computer today, I'd have posted this earlier, but our favorite Titanic ship captain Bernard Hill (Theoden) is celebrating a birthday today.

Hill was born on December 17th, 1944 in Manchester, England. That makes him 56 today. Have a good one Bernard!!

In this morning's Sun Herald they have a 2001 Users Guide, an A to Z of what to do and look out for next year.

Letter L is Lord of the Rings.

"For a while now, some of our finest actors have been donning pointy ears and frolicking in fantasy costume through the green hills of New Zealand. By Christmas next year, they'll hit the big screen as elves, Celtic immortals and Nordic folk spirits in the Lord of the Rings, which director Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures) has based on Tolkien's epic novels. Hugo Weaving plays Elrond, Lord of Rivendell, opposite Cate Blanchett's Lady Galadriel; Miranda Otto is Eowyn and David Whenham is the wise Faramir - a role which Hollywood golden boy Ethan Hawke was also vying for. Other cast members include Liv Tyler, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood and Sir Ian McKellen. Part One, The Fellowship of the Ring, is out in December."

Coincidentally I've been hanging out ... with a guy who's spent the last few months as a stunt rider in New Zealand, mostly the Rohan scenes and the Battle of the Pellenor Fields.

He mentioned that there will be more Rohan scenes shot early next year and that possibly Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) will be back for them.

Look at this Film Wellington Ad in the latest NZ OnFilm Magazine. Don't you just hate advertising on the Net? Er, well, not if it's like this! Is that a Nazgul lurking under that tree? What do you call that thing in his hand?

Update: Geenius wrote in to say 'No, it's an orc with a machete.' Which sounds a lot more convincing. I couldn't get rid of the image of a Black Rider moonlighting as a hibachi chef.

Lots of news on the promotional front too. Harry confirms that the new trailer will come out on January 12, attached to '13 Days.' But if you live somewhere that '13 Days' isn't opening on the 12th, you don't have to wait any longer. The official website will revamp on the 12th of January and start doing stuff - like a NEW trailer, and new little on-set documentaries every month.

The worldwide simultaneous release is still something they're hoping to pull off - but first they have to get the movie prepped for takeoff in FORTY different languages! This is... Tolkien Culture BLITZING the world! Much more!

As I write, the film wizards are in the sleep-deprived final stages of making the 'Searching for the Hobbit' trailer. It should be up in time for your weekend browsing. Meanwhile the the little teaser is still up on Assassin Films
for those of you that haven't seen it.

Minas Tirith

From: The Man from Upper Hutt

Looks like they were filming at Dry Creek Quarry on Haywards Hill this evening.

I drove past around 7 pm and there was a lot of activity, with traffic cones and a van with orange flashing lights on the car park across the road from the set.

Later in the evening I could see the floodlights on the set from my home 16 km away (10 miles).