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March 30, 2002 - April 08, 2002

4-08-02 Latest News

Media Watch: Cinefex Magazine (AKA: The Magazine You HAVE To Get!)
Xoanon @ 6:26 pm EST

Septer writes:

I just went to "Barnes and Nobles" and found the latest issue of Cinefex with LOTR: FOTR on the cover! Now, to all you out there that don't know what this magazine is, it's probley the BEST magazine to find out the answer to "how did they do that?" regarding the films special effects. It is an EXCELLENT article, with super high quality stills (enough to scan in and print out poster size!) and is 51 pages long! It's slightly expensive ($9.50 USD) but very worth it, and the stills are just amazing. (Sorry I couldn't send any in, my scanner's broken!) Here's a couple excerpts:

"Although most of the movie's big action scenes were developed in previz, the prologue battle that opens the 'Fellowship of the Ring' did not go through the established previz loop, largely because Jackson made the final decision to add the sequesnce, and shot most of the stage elements for it, very late in the production. As a result, he relied on storyboards and images captured by his lipstick camera on a diant clay table-top model to plan the sequence."

"All the effort in prop design and fabrication was on top of the Workshop's character design work, the sculpting of maquettes, and the building of miniatures and prosthetics. 'I choose to take on an insane amount of work becuase it was necessary to create a truly integrated, Tolkienesque brush stroke over the three films. I was convinced that if things like armor and weaponry were farmed out to other companies, we'd lose the integrity of the design aesthetic. The issue was making it feel as if the orcs had built their armor and weapons. The honest way to do that was to design it all under one roof. We were fortunate that we could always go back to the bible, the written word of Tolkien, who went to incredible lengths to describe his world' Richard Taylor said."

Weekend Round Up
Xoanon @ 12:41 am EST

GAMING: Riot-E Entertainment Files For Bankruptcy

Bean in Moby Music Video

National Geographic's DVD in UK

The Real Top 100 movies

TTT trailer, here and there on TV

SHOP: 'Bootleg' Toys?

Japan Goodies

More Japan Goodies

Box Office: FOTR Gains #5 All Time Worldwide Gross

Bean Does Lense Commercial

Two Towers Advertising Arrives On TV?

Sibley's Adaptation Of LOTR Begins On NZ Radio

No TTT Teaser Attached To FOTR On PPV

'World Of Lord Of The Rings' Released In Brazil

FOTR On PPV At Hotel In North Lake Tahoe

Tolkien Time On Style.Com

The Wall Of Literary Giants

Sean Bean To Return To NZ

SHOP: New LOTR:FOTR Pics

Weekly Cast Watch
Xoanon @ 12:34 am EST

To get more information, use the sites I use like the ones below. Simply find a movie or actor you want to see, go to one of the sites below and see if the film is playing in your area.

mydigiguide.com, tv-now.com and IMDB.com


Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn)

28 Days (2000) UK
Walk on the Moon, A (1999) UK
American Yakuza (1994)
Crew, The (1994)
Young Americans, The (1993)
Young Guns II (1990)

Liv Tyler (Arwen)

Onegin (1999) UK
Plunkett & Macleane (1999) UK
U Turn (1997)
That Thing You Do! (1996) UK
Heavy (1995)

Ian Holm (Bilbo)

Beautiful Joe (2000)
Last of the Blonde Bombshells, The (2000) (TV)
Bless the Child (2000)
eXistenZ (1999) UK
Simon Magus (1999/I) UK
Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998) (TV)
King Lear (1997) (TV) UK
Hamlet (1990) UK
Dance with a Stranger (1985) UK
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) UK
Chariots of Fire (1981) UK
Time Bandits (1981)
Alien (1979) UK
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) UK
Fixer, The (1968) UK

Sean Bean (Boromir)

Don't Say a Word (2001)
Black Beauty (1994)
Stormy Monday (1988)
Caravaggio (1986) UK

Martyn Sanderson (Bree Gatekeeper)

Ned Kelly (1970)

John Noble (Denethor)

Airtight (1999) (TV) UK

Peter Mackenzie (Elendil)

Chill Factor (1999) UK
Speechless (1994) UK
Off Limits (1988)

Hugo Weaving (Elrond)

Strange Planet (1999)
Bedrooms and Hallways (1998) UK

Miranda Otto (Eowyn)

What Lies Beneath (2000)
Jack Bull, The (1999) (TV) UK
Love Serenade (1996)

David Wenham (Faramir)

Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Cosi (1996)
No Escape (1994)

Cameron Rhodes (Farmer Maggot)

Absent Without Leave (1992) UK

Elijah Wood (Frodo)

Bumblebee Flies Anyway, The (2000)
North (1994)
War, The (1994)
Good Son, The (1993) UK
Forever Young (1992)
Paradise (1991)
Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Cate Blanchett (Galadriel)

Gift, The (2000)
Man Who Cried, The (2000) UK
Pushing Tin (1999)
Talented Mr. Ripley, The (1999) UK

Ian McKellen (Gandalf)

X-Men (2000) UK
Apt Pupil (1998)
Bent (1997)
Restoration (1995)
Jack and Sarah (1995) UK
And the Band Played On (1993) (TV)
Plenty (1985) UK
Alfred the Great (1969) UK

John Rhys-Davies (Gimli)

Secret of the Andes (1998) UK
Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996) (V) UK
Great White Hype, The (1996)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing (1992) (TV)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam (1987) (TV)
Firewalker (1986) UK
Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1982) UK
Victor/Victoria (1982) UK
Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, A (1979) UK

Andy Serkis (Gollum)

Topsy-Turvy (1999) UK
Among Giants (1998) UK

Harry Sinclair (Isildur)

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Ray Henwood (Man At Council)

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Dominic Monaghan (Merry)

Hostile Waters (1997) (TV)

Bruce Spence (Mouth of Sauron)

Rikky and Pete (1988)
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) UK
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) UK

Sean Astin (Sam)

Sky Is Falling, The (2000)
Deterrence (1999) UK
Icebreaker (1999)
Dish Dogs (1998)
Harrison Bergeron (1995) (TV)
Encino Man (1992) UK
Toy Soldiers (1991)
War of the Roses, The (1989) UK
Staying Together (1989)
Goonies, The (1985)

Christopher Lee (Saruman)

Sleepy Hollow (1999) UK
Stupids, The (1996)
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Avaro, L' (1989)
Last Unicorn, The (1982)
Safari 3000 (1982)
Arabian Adventure (1979)
Return from Witch Mountain (1978)
Man with the Golden Gun, The (1974) UK
Four Musketeers, The (1974)
Three Musketeers, The (1973) UK
Schlangengrube und das Pendel, Die (1967)
Psycho-Circus (1966)
Terror of the Tongs, The (1961)
Ill Met by Moonlight (1957)
Crimson Pirate, The (1952)
Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) UK
Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) UK

Brian Sergent (Ted Sandyman)

Absent Without Leave (1992) UK

Bernard Hill (Theoden)

Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1999) UK
Loss of Sexual Innocence, The (1999) UK
True Crime (1999)
Ghost and the Darkness, The (1996) UK
Shirley Valentine (1989) UK
Gandhi (1982) UK

Brad Dourif (Wormtongue)

Prophecy 3: The Ascent, The (2000) (V) UK
Shadow Hours (2000)
Storytellers, The (1999) UK
Best Men (1997) UK
Murder in the First (1995) UK
Amos & Andrew (1993)
Child's Play 3 (1991) UK
Hidden Agenda (1990)
Child's Play 2 (1990) UK
Dune (1984) UK

Jim Rygiel (SFX)

102 Dalmatians (2000)
Anna and the King (1999)
Multiplicity (1996)
Outbreak (1995)
Batman Returns (1992)
Alien³ (1992)
Ghost (1990)
Last Starfighter, The (1984)
2010 (1984)

Howard Shore (Composer)

Cell, The (2000)
Yards, The (2000)
High Fidelity (2000)
Dogma (1999)
eXistenZ (1999)
Analyze This (1999)
That Thing You Do! (1996)
White Man's Burden (1995)
Se7en (1995)
Nobody's Fool (1994)
Client, The (1994)
Guilty as Sin (1993)
M. Butterfly (1993)
Prelude to a Kiss (1992)
Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
Innocent Man, An (1989)
She-Devil (1989)
Fire with Fire (1986)
Fly, The (1986)
After Hours (1985)
Videodrome (1983)
Scanners (1981)

Peter Jackson (Director)

Heavenly Creatures (1994)


4-07-02 Latest News

Two Towers Advertising Arrives On TV Update
Strider @ 7:06 am EST

Yesterday, Ice Hobbit wrote:
Last night I was flipping thru the channels at high speed. (My wife was upstairs so I could get away with it) and I saw the last frame of the (a?) trailer and the TTT logo. Unfortunately I flipped past it and had to go back and only caught a brief glimpse of the logo both times. Is a trailer on TV now? Am I crazy or what? I thought you would have mentioned it earlier today so I didn't write in sooner. It was on one of those third tier cable channels late at night.

Well many Ringers have been mailing in to say that the commercial was indeed a advertisement for Fellowship of the Ring, stating the four Academy Awards it had won and advertising the new footage of The Two Towers attached to the end of Fellowship of the Ring.

4-04-02 Latest News

Xbox LOTR:FOTR Screenshots!
Xoanon @ 5:45 pm EST

Ian writes: Official UK XBox magazine gives "World Exclusive" 2-page "First Looks" at LOTR: FOTR game due in December.Notice that the article says the authors decided to go with the book version of events not the film.


4-02-02 Latest News

Games Workshop Signed FOTR Poster Competition
Strider @ 2:47 pm EST

From: Games Workshop

Here's your chance to own a fantastic piece of The Lord of the Rings history!

We have a special edition, 'cinema sized', framed, Lord of the Rings : Fellowship of the Rings movie poster signed by most of the members of the cast and crew of the film, including Peter Jackson himself!

All you have to do to enter this exclusive competition is to complete the following sentence in 12 words or less:

"I believe that The Lord of The Rings film was voted the Orange Best Film at the Baftas by the public because..."

Then send this and your name, address (with postcode) and daytime telephone number along with a cinema ticket stub from your visit to:

The Lord of the Rings Movie Poster Competition
Games Workshop
Willow Road
Lenton
Nottingham
NG7 2WS, UK

COMPETITION RULES

1. Only residents of UK and Eire aged 12 years or over are eligible for prizes, excluding employees of the Promoter, their families, agents or any other person connected with the administration of this competition.
2. Entries are limited to one per household.
3. Eligible entries must be received not later than 8th May 2002. Send
entries to Games Workshop Lord of the Rings Competition, Willow Rd, Lenton Nottingham, NG7 2WS. The Promoter cannot accept responsibility for late, lost or misdirected entries.
4. The winner will be chosen on the basis of, in the judges' sole discretion, the best answer to the competition question.
5. The prize consists of one special edition poster. No cash alternatives will be offered.
6. The Winner will be notified by post, by 15th May. The Winner must confirm receipt of the prize notification and provide all details requested by the
Promoter within 1 week of date above, failing which the Promoter reserves the right to draw an alternative winner.
7. By accepting the prize, winners agree that the Promoter can use their name and likeness for advertising and promotional purposes.
8. The judges' decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.


Entry indicates acceptance of the rules as final and legally binding.
Promoter: GAMES WORKSHOP LTD

NZ Press Talks Oscar
Xoanon @ 11:47 am EST

Tracy writes: The New Zealand Listener 6-12 April has an article that mentions the TheOneRing party, they also have a nice photo of Sean Bean, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Peter Jackson and Billy Boyd.

Nice photos of "our boys" and fran! in the NZ womans weekly.

NZ New Idea has a few mentions and also an article about Mark Ferguson and John Leigh (Gil galad and Hama restectively) Mentions LOTR very briefly.

If you have these scans, send them along!

4-01-02 Latest News

Oscars buoy pics' B.O. gold
Xoanon @ 8:37 am EST

Oscar's help came in handy over Easter weekend for "A Beautiful Mind," "Monster's Ball," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Gosford Park."
Universal's "Mind," which took home four wins including best picture, maintained its long-running presence in the top 10 with $4 million at 1,560 engagements in its 15th session. The three-day tally, good enough for eighth place, declined only 1% from the previous weekend.

"That is spectacular performance for a movie that's been in theaters for that long," ACNielsen EDI VP Dan Marks noted.

Lions Gate's "Monster's Ball" clearly benefited from Halle Berry's groundbreaking actress win, with a 30% bump to $2.1 million at 675 playdates, pushing cume to $23 million. The distrib had added 137 engagements to the run.

"It's a very nice uptick, and it looks like we're headed to $30 million," said Lions Gate topper Tom Ortenberg.

New Line's "Rings," which also picked up four Oscars, continued to perform impressively after 15 weeks in theaters, with $2.3 million at 1,120 engagements for a decline of only 3% and a 103-day domestic total of $301.2 million. The epic managed to maintain its drawing power despite leaving nearly 200 screens.

Studio reps said inclusion of a trailer for the second seg -- "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" -- also helped draw fans.

USA Films' "Gosford Park," which won for Julian Fellowes' original screenplay, declined 36% to $1 million at 545 engagements, but the pic had lowered its run by 35% as it left nearly 300 sites.

"The big winners held up fairly well," Marks added. "It's not easy for them to do much better, given that the current crop is doing so well."

One Oscar recipient did not appear to reap significant rewards. Miramax's "Iris," which boasted a supporting actor trophy for Jim Broadbent, fell 37% to $361,000 at 220 playdates despite the addition of 16 screens.

MGM's "No Man's Land," which took home the Oscar for foreign-language picture, grossed $86,000 at 38 engagements to boost cume to $886,000. The distrib has not decided whether the run will be expanded.

Weekend Round Up
Xoanon @ 12:20 am EST

Weekly Ebay Items

Future Cast Projects

TORN Oscar Party Report

Weekly Cast Watch

TTT Trailer: Turkey

Good News For Music Lovers -UPDATE-

Lord Of The Pins

Sean Bean In Moby Video?

TTT Trailer With Police Escort?

Hall Of Fire Chats For March 30th & 31st

Media Watch: Scope Magazine

LOTR Costume Exhibit In LA

BBFC Imply Lord Of The Rings Cuts Possible

SHOP: Good News For Music Lovers

Richard Taylor back in NZ

French and Saunders LOTR Spoof Online

TTT Trailer: It pays to check

DorkTower LOTR Cartoon

More About The Hollywood Bowl Event

Check First!!!!

TORN Digital: Chapter III

TORN Party Pics

TheFellowship.nl Weekly Cartoon

Dagorhir's Ragnarok XVII: Live Action Tolkien Festival

Oscars Like Being An Extra In A Movie

LOTR Symphony To Play At Hollywood Bowl

In Gathering Darkness

The Two Towers Footage is here!

3-31-02 Latest News

Future Cast Projects
Xoanon @ 6:04 pm EST

Peter Mackenzie (Elendil) joins the Mark Romanek (Paradise Falls) thriller 'One Hour Photo' starring Robin Williams. Mackenzie plays Hans Belmer.

David Wenham (Faramir) plays Lenny in the drama 'Pure', the film, which is currently in post-production, was filmed in the US, the UK and Thailand.

Mark Ferguson (Gil-Galad) and John Leigh (Hama) have joined the TV series 'Spin-Doctors', check out the official site here. [More]

Weekly Cast Watch
Xoanon @ 1:07 pm EST

To get more information, use the sites I use like the ones below. Simply find a movie or actor you want to see, go to one of the sites below and see if the film is playing in your area.

mydigiguide.com, tv-now.com and IMDB.com


Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn)

28 Days (2000) UK
Walk on the Moon, A (1999) UK
Albino Alligator (1996)
Crimson Tide (1995)
Crew, The (1994)
American Yakuza (1994)
Carlito's Way (1993) UK
Young Americans, The (1993)
Young Guns II (1990)

Liv Tyler (Arwen)

Plunkett & Macleane (1999) UK
Onegin (1999) UK
Inventing the Abbotts (1997)

Ian Holm (Bilbo)

Last of the Blonde Bombshells, The (2000) (TV)
Joe Gould's Secret (2000)
Beautiful Joe (2000)
eXistenZ (1999) UK
Simon Magus (1999/I) UK
Match, The (1999) UK
Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998) (TV)
King Lear (1997) (TV) UK
Life Less Ordinary, A (1997)
Loch Ness (1995)
Frankenstein (1994)
Madness of King George, The (1994) UK
Hamlet (1990) UK
Dance with a Stranger (1985) UK
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) UK
Chariots of Fire (1981) UK
Time Bandits (1981) UK
Alien (1979) UK
Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)

Sean Bean (Boromir)

Don't Say a Word (2001)
Anna Karenina (1997)
Black Beauty (1994)
Stormy Monday (1988)
Caravaggio (1986) UK

Martyn Sanderson (Bree Gatekeeper)

Ned Kelly (1970)

David Weatherley (Barliman Butterbur)

"Potato Factory, The" (2000) (mini)

John Noble (Denethor)

Airtight (1999) (TV) UK

Peter Mackenzie (Elendil)

Chill Factor (1999) UK
Speechless (1994) UK
Lorenzo's Oil (1992)
Off Limits (1988)

Karl Urban (Eomer)

Price of Milk, The (2000)

Hugo Weaving (Elrond)

Strange Planet (1999)
Babe (1995) UK

Miranda Otto (Eowyn)

What Lies Beneath (2000)
Jack Bull, The (1999) (TV) UK
Love Serenade (1996)

David Wenham (Faramir)

Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Molokai: The Story of Father Damien (1999)
Little Bit of Soul, A (1998)
Cosi (1996)

Cameron Rhodes (Farmer Maggot)

Absent Without Leave (1992) UK

Elijah Wood (Frodo)

Black and White (1999)
Ice Storm, The (1997)
North (1994)
Good Son, The (1993) UK
Radio Flyer (1992)
Forever Young (1992)
Paradise (1991)
Internal Affairs (1990)
Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Cate Blanchett (Galadriel)

Gift, The (2000) UK
Man Who Cried, The (2000)
Talented Mr. Ripley, The (1999) UK
Pushing Tin (1999) UK

Ian McKellen (Gandalf)

X-Men (2000) UK
Apt Pupil (1998) UK
Gods and Monsters (1998) UK
Bent (1997)
Cold Comfort Farm (1995) (TV)
Jack and Sarah (1995) UK
Restoration (1995)
Richard III (1995)
Scandal (1989) UK
Windmills of the Gods (1988) (TV)
Alfred the Great (1969) UK

Mark Ferguson (Gil Galad)

Hercules in the Underworld (1994) (TV) UK

John Rhys-Davies (Gimli)

Secret of the Andes (1998) UK
Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996) (V) UK
Great White Hype, The (1996)
Cyborg Cop (1994)
Sunset Grill (1993)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing (1992) (TV)
Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1982) UK
Victor/Victoria (1982)
Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, A (1979) UK

Andy Serkis (Gollum)

Topsy-Turvy (1999) UK
Among Giants (1998) UK

John Leigh (Hama)

Frighteners, The (1996)

Harry Sinclair (Isildur)

Price of Milk, The (2000)
Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Orlando Bloom (Legolas)

Wilde (1997)

Ray Henwood (Man At Council)

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Dominic Monaghan (Merry)

Hostile Waters (1997) (TV)

Bruce Spence (Mouth of Sauron)

Rikky and Pete (1988)
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) UK
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) UK

Sean Astin (Sam)

Sky Is Falling, The (2000)
Icebreaker (1999)
Deterrence (1999) UK
Dish Dogs (1998)
Courage Under Fire (1996)
Encino Man (1992) UK
Toy Soldiers (1991)
Staying Together (1989)
War of the Roses, The (1989) UK
White Water Summer (1987)
Goonies, The (1985)

Christopher Lee (Saruman)

Sleepy Hollow (1999) UK
Jinnah (1998) UK
Moses (1996) (TV)
Stupids, The (1996) UK
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Last Unicorn, The (1982)
Safari 3000 (1982)
Arabian Adventure (1979)
Return from Witch Mountain (1978)
Satanic Rites of Dracula, The (1974)
Man with the Golden Gun, The (1974) UK
Four Musketeers, The (1974)
Three Musketeers, The (1973) UK
Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) UK
Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) UK

Brian Sergent (Ted Sandyman)

Absent Without Leave (1992) UK

Bernard Hill (Theoden)

Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1999) UK
Loss of Sexual Innocence, The (1999) UK
Titanic (1997)
Shirley Valentine (1989) UK
Gandhi (1982) UK

Brad Dourif (Wormtongue)

Ghost, The (2000)
Storytellers, The (1999) UK
Best Men (1997) UK
Death Machine (1995)
Murder in the First (1995)
Color of Night (1994)
Amos & Andrew (1993)
Body Parts (1991) UK
Hidden Agenda (1990)
Exorcist III, The (1990)
Dune (1984) UK

Jim Rygiel (SFX)

102 Dalmatians (2000)
Anna and the King (1999)
Starship Troopers (1997)
Multiplicity (1996)
Batman Returns (1992)
Ghost (1990)
Last Starfighter, The (1984)

Howard Shore (Composer)

Score, The (2001)
High Fidelity (2000)
Cell, The (2000)
Yards, The (2000)
Dogma (1999)
eXistenZ (1999)
Analyze This (1999)
Game, The (1997)
White Man's Burden (1995)
Client, The (1994)
Nobody's Fool (1994)
M. Butterfly (1993)
Sliver (1993)
Guilty as Sin (1993)
Prelude to a Kiss (1992)
Kiss Before Dying, A (1991)
Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
Postcards from the Edge (1990)
She-Devil (1989)
Signs of Life (1989)
Fly, The (1986)
After Hours (1985)
Places in the Heart (1984)
Scanners (1981)

Peter Jackson (Director)

Frighteners, The (1996)
Heavenly Creatures (1994)

3-30-02 Latest News

Lord Of The Pins
Xoanon @ 4:20 pm EST

When I fist called Paul Badali of Badali Jewelry with the idea of making a pin for the Oscar nominees, I never thought in my wildest dreams we'd see them wearing the pins live on television.

During our Oscar party Randy Cook walked up to me and apologized for not wearing his pin, saying that he was extremely nervous for the Oscars and forgot about it on his hotel dresser. Jan Blenkin, Peter Jackson's personal assistant rushed up to me just before getting into her limo and begged me for a pin, I of course obliged (I hope you get yours soon Jan!).

Many people have been asking how, when and where these lovely pins were made, so Paul Badali send us this in-depth description.

Here are some of the missing details. When you contacted me, you asked that the leaf be more of an oval shape than a "T", with a small stem at the base, with gold and light green colors rather than dark green, with the inscription "Good Luck from TheOneRing.net"

I have been planning to design and offer an Elvish leaf broach for quite a while like the one The Fellowship received from Galadriel and the Elves upon leaving Lothlorien. In researching Tolkien's description of the broach, I found it described as a "brooch like a green leaf veined with silver" and the best described when Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn discover the broach dropped by Pippin in the grass as "like the new-opened leaf of a beech tree - the brooch of an elven cloak". The European Beech leaf is an oval shape and new-opened leaves are of a light green color. So this is the type of leaf I used in designing the clip for the Academy Awards; the European Beech.

I was able to print of the Logo you use for TheOneRing.net off your website, and sketch that into the design on the leaf. Once I had the entire leaf design and script drawn up to my satisfaction, and correctly sized, I had the design photo-etched into copper. The 3 dimensional but flat design was cut out of the copper sheet, and then molded in silicone rubber. Waxes injected into the rubber mold were then bent into the curved shape of the leaf. Separately, I had the "copyright" info. and "limited edition" info photo-etched into copper, molded, and injected in wax. The wax leaf and wax parts with the writing for the back were then all assembled into 4 complete wax originals. I cast 4 originals, so we could use the best of the 4 to create a final silicone rubber production mold. Waxes were then injected into this final original mold, and each piece hand numbered in the wax starting with 001 up to 36; the total number of raw castings made up so far. Four of these first 36 cast in silver were rejects; so 32 were available to have the clip soldered onto the back, get polished, and be finished with the colors applied to the front. I will be recasting the 4 reject numbers, and more leaf clips up to 100; the total number this edition is limited to.

We are using a high-tech epoxy based enameling system called DurEnamel to put the beautiful colors onto the front. Rather than high temperature melting of glass (enamel) onto the front of the brooch, DurEnamel mixes up like epoxy and only requires 150 degrees for 2 - 3 hours in an oven to cure to a glass-like finish and hardness. The green in the leaves was done in 4 steps starting with the darkest green colors along the veins first, and finishing up with the lightest transparent green last. The final coat was the gold DurEnamel in the letters. All of the colors were custom mixed to achieve the desired results.

20 finished clips were shipped to TheOneRing.net to give to the folks who produced this phenomenal film. All of us at Badali Jewelry who participated in the creation of the clip got one to keep ourselves also. So there are about 70 left that we can sell for $250.00 each to anyone who would like a beautiful collectable piece of history (look for more information in our shop section soon! -Xo).

Xoanon here to pick up the rest of the story. The pins were shipped to our publicist Asfaloth in Los Angeles. TheOneRing.net was invited to the New Zealand Embassy party at the Beverly Hills hotel the Friday before the Oscars. Quickbeam and Asfaloth attended the event and presented the pins to Peter Jackson, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean and many many others who were there (look for video and pictures of that event soon!).

When Peter Jackson, Mark Ordesky, and Jim Rygiel wore their pins to the Oscars, we were beyond excited when we saw them on the screen. And the press was quick to pick up on our story.

Hollywood.com: 6th paragraph: "Director Peter Jackson showed up wearing a leaf-shaped enamel pin for good luck, a gift from fans of his films."

LA Times under 'Lucky Charms' 2nd paragraph: "Peter Jackson, too, showed off a lucky green leafy pin on his lapel..."

Stuff.co.nz 3rd paragraph: 'As Rings director Peter Jackson looked on, wearing a special pin for luck on his jacket, the film took the award for best makeup, accepted by Richard Taylor and Peter Owen."

ODT.co.nz 2nd paragraph: "As Rings director Peter Jackson looked on, wearing a special pin for luck on his jacket..."

Seattle P-I 3rd paragraph: "Peter Jackson, director of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," wore a lucky pin."

Thanks again to Badali Jewelry for all the hard work!

Thanks to Lady Xoanon for doing the research!

Media Watch: Scope Magazine
Xoanon @ 2:31 pm EST

Ringer Spy Bee sends along the latest issue of 'Scope Magazine' with a small article on our Cate Blanchett (Galadriel).



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