At its final preview last week, actor Hugo Weaving lost consciousness and slumped on the stage floor as his character Brachiano was strangled by two thugs, forcing a horrified (Director Gale) Edwards to halt the show thinking the depiction of strangulation had been a tad too enthusiastic.

Publicists later said Weaving's blackout was caused by influenza and exhaustion as the actor had only recently
returned from the New Zealand set of "Lord of the Rings."

Weaving, best-known overseas for his roles in "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and "The Matrix," could also have been sharing the shock and delight of Edwards at the work's invitation to be part of March main-stage season at New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music.

We hope all is well with Hugo, and wish him a quick recovery. Read the entire article here. [More]

Thanks to Allen B for the tip!

'...Claire Raskind, said large battle scenes would be filmed at the set representing Edoras, the capital city of Rohan...'

Claire wants all of LOTR Fandom to know that she did not say Battle Scenes just large scenes. So, Tolkien's work stays as written.

Thanks for clearing that up Claire.

Click here to read that article.

In it you can find info on McKellen's costume, his thoughts on the production and what question annoys him the most! Check it out here.

Xoanon Note: A very cool bit of info from McKellen, it turns out that fellow Montrealer Pierre Vinet (Photographer: The Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures, Braindead) is down in New Zealand working as a set photographer! Great news Pierre!

thanks to Jeanne for the tip!

Weta buys SGI hardware for Lord of the Rings rendering

Peter Jackson's special effects company Weta Digital has bought 16 SGI servers to help render The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. [More]

Amyd also adds the following:

The computers WETA purchased are worth around $5500 each, that brand is particularly favorite amongst special effects houses (one in particular bought 200 of the same). They will be used in what is known as a render-farm, probably running the Linux version of RenderMan (a rendering tool made by Pixar).

Head on over to see TORN Staffers like Corvar & Balin! Be sure to try and catch Douglas Anderson's world famous Hobbit Slide Show!

Check it out in our 'World Events Section'

An Evening Post photograph showing a scene from the $360 million The Lord of The Rings movie trilogy has created international intrigue. [More]

Article 2: Cookie time for Tyler

Lord of the Rings star Liv Tyler's secret is out. The svelte, smooth-skinned actress is a regular big cookie muncher. (WARNING: Fluff Article) [More]

A N C A N A R . C O M
Update 8 - 22 - 00

UPDATED PRODUCTION TRAILER: Download the updated trailer, with never-before-seen footage, interviews and stills. Included are shots of recent footage shoots of the character Laliel (Raiya Corsiglia).

A MAJOR CHARACTER IS CAST: The Ancanar casting sessions are about as tough to get into as Obi-Wan's trailer. One word as slipped through, however...

NEW: ASK THE PRODUCER: Have anything to ask producer/actress Raiya Corsiglia? Now you can, in the Interact section.

This is really worth following up if you've never heard Tolkien read his own work before. Though my personal fave is him reading the 'Ride of the Rohirrim' bits....

From: Yahoo!

Lopez's 'Cell' Proves Top Seller: A dark journey into a murderer's mind and a lively jaunt with four comedians led a slow weekend at theaters. The Cell, a glossy thriller starring Jennifer Lopez as a psychologist who ventures into a serial killer's head, debuted as the top film with $17.2 million.

From: rapata

Heres an article, out last friday. I have heard a few other rumours since then, but I seldom get into Takaka from my hidden valley in the mountains nearby. I am a bit of a farmer maggot type myself, and will be taking my horse and trap in tomorrow, so I'll keep my ear to the ground. It's quite possible that the "2 days" filming has been and gone. Did notice a few helicopters buzzing round these mountains at the end of last week and in the weekend. [More]

I have just found out that the British cable channel "Performance" will be showing a documentary on the life of JRR Tolkien at 9:05 on Tuesday, 22nd August. This is what the TV listings supplement of the Guardian newspaper has to say about it:

'The Hobbit was recently voted best book of the 20th century in a reader's poll, and this documentary investigates the life of its creator, JRR Tolkien. Orphaned at a young age, Tolkien retreated into worlds of fantasy, and by the age of 13 was inventing whole new alphabets and languages.

Footage of him as an old man shows him inscribing his books with dedications in Elvish - one translates "may a star shine upon our meeting". Having survived the first world war trenches, he became a professor at Oxford and set about forging an epic mythology for England - a wildly unfashionable undertaking then as now, but one which was, and still is, welcomed fervently by a legion of readers.'

Unfortunately I don't have cable TV so I won't be able to see it, but if any other UK readers of the One Ring Net do have cable TV, then I look forward to reading a report - especially if it includes anything about the film!

You know, reading your article on TORN about the location for filming being on a "mountain in Golden Bay", it got me thinking as to the possible location. And of course, I thought, the Gathering is held every year on a mountain in Golden Bay, primarily because the location is handy, the farmer is willing for people to use the land, and there are good amenities. Sounds like they could be using Caanan Downs then? Of course, there are other mountains in Golden Bay, but I doubt there are so many that have places for trucks and trailers to park on.

Click here for some nice Gathering pictures.

Attached to the Cuban Missile Drama '13 Days', the Lord of the Rings trailer, or more likely, teaser, will have fanboys melting in their popcorn buckets. '13 Days' is set to open December 20th.

See you in line...

Ian McKellen's (Gandalf) Website www.mckellen.com posted some news regarding the other Ian, Ian Holm (Bilbo).

Bilbo smitten with New Zealand

British actor Sir Ian Holm, who plays Hobbit Bilbo Baggins in The Lord Of The Rings, was so entranced by New Zealand during his stay he's keen to return and explore the country.

Holm's brief visit in March for filming at Peter Jackson's Miramar studios is detailed in the latest journal entry on Sir Ian McKellen's website. [More]

An Upper Hutt man is considering legal action after he was allegedly twice assaulted by a security guard working on the $360 million The Lord of the Rings project.

But the project's producer Barrie Osborne on Saturday said the man wasn't assaulted and claimed it was possible he was trying to extort money. [More]

A new round of filming on the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy production is due to start next week in the South Island.

The publicist for the $360 million production, Claire Raskind, said that filming would start next week on a mountain in the Golden Bay area, but she declined to be more specific about the location. [More]

Not much to see in this pic folks, but I'm sure you're drooling with anticipation to take a guess! [More]

Middle-earth's Baddest Bad Guy

Who is it for you? Exempting of course Morgoth and Sauron, who is your favorite Tolkien villain? This topic will cover the entire History of Middle-earth, from The Silmarillion down to the Fourth Age. Bring your thoughts, your favorite dastardly deeds and evil dialogue, and come share with us this weekend.

Thanks Joe! We'd love to hear from the rest of you too for future Hall of Fire topics. Send 'em in here!

You can find this chat right here on our server. Come to our main chatroom Barliman's and then type /join #thehalloffire to participate.