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July 06, 2004 - July 15, 2004

7-15-04 Latest News

Bloom in Lexington, KY Report
Xoanon @ 9:43 pm EST

TheBatFreak writes: I live in the Lexington, KY area and the big thing in the news has been the filming of Orlando Bloom for the upcoming movie Elizabethtown. Hollywood’s attempt to keep this secret hasn’t gone to well. The site is just west of us and though it is obvious they are trying to keep things on the down low one can hardly miss all the mysterious traffic, production equipment, etc.

While none of us has actually seen Orlando, confirmation has come in that he IS actually here. One of the production team actually ran past with his shoes which was kind of funny. One of the main scenes being shot is apparently a funeral as there was a nice reddish colored casket being taken out of an area church in the film area.

The town of Elizabethtown, where the movie is supposed to be set, is actually about an hour west of here. We're not sure at this point if any filming will actually take place there. We’re also kind of surprised that a movie would even be based there. Not much there.

7-14-04 Latest News

Philadelphia LOTR Concert Reviews
Xoanon @ 9:20 pm EST

Cassie

I just returned from a wonderful evening at the Mann Center in Philadelphia. My family and I sat in this open-aired theater and were transported once again into the fantastic world of The Lord of the Rings, via Howard Shore's emotionally evocative score. The evening started with a brief film in which the composer apologized for not being there, but assuring us we would enjoy it just as much. We most certainly did. We were lucky enough to be in the sixth row center, where we got the full impact of the experience. The orchestra played with heart, and the chorus was exceptional. The boys' choir sang like angels, and hit all the high notes right on target. Sissel was elegant and beautiful- and also quite angelic in her styling. The
audience was very into the show, and were of all ages- obviously the movies touched a lot of people in a special way. The applause was hearty- we were all very appreciative of hearing our favorite themes live and having the screen above with the artwork to help us reference the music to the scene.

If you can, go see this concert!!!

------

James

Hello. I attended the Philadelphia performace of the Trilogy concert last night and wanted to give a little report.

The night started off with a message from Howard Shore, who could not make the performance, as he introduced the guest conductor, John Mauceri, and gave a brief history of their relationship together. The performance was amazing. They did selections the main points of the films, playing mostly Fellowship songs in the first half, with Two Towers and Return of the King being divided up into the second half. The sound was amazing, although there were some microphone problems with the female vocalist, Sissel, who performed some of the songs in Two Towers and Return of the King.

John Mauceri, who helped Shore arrange the music from the movies into a playable symphonic performance, did an amazing job and really brought the music to life. If anyone is near any of the cities where this performance will be playing in the future, I highly recommend going.

-----

Ann

The weather was simply lovely last night, and nowhere else moreso than at the Mann Center just outside of Center City Philadelphia, PA. This was where Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings Symphony was performed, unfortunately, without Howard, who could not be there due to a scheduling conflict. Did it matter that the conductor was the Philadelphia Orchestra's John Mauceri? Truthfully, it did, a little.

But of course, it was Howard's brilliant score that we were there to see/hear, and that was performed by the orchestra, the Philadelphia Singers Chorale, the Keystone State Boys Choir, and guest vocalist Sissel. The first half of the show is the music from Fellowship; the second half is both Two Towers and ROTK. Throughout, pencil drawings and maps were projected on a screen behind the performers.

For me, the more recognizable music is in Fellowship -- after having seen this film probably close to a hundred times, I can close my eyes and not only picture the scene the melody comes from, but hear the actor's dialog in my head. This is less true of the other two films, and I suppose this is the case for most people, who simply haven't lived with these as long as FOTR. So for me, the first half was truly the best part (although "May It Be" was very much missed). Nonetheless, there are gorgeous themes in Two Towers and ROTK too, most notably The Riders of Rohan, in the former, and the Gondor theme/lighting of the beacons. Sissel's rendition of "Into the West" was a definite highlight of the evening as well. She has a beautiful voice and gave the song her own flavor. Not Annie Lennox but very very good.

That is not to say that there weren't some flaws in the presentation, in my opinion. Some of the artwork that was chosen to accompany the music was blah and virtually unrecognizable, and at one point, was just white, as if possibly clouds? Much of it was rough -- like pencil drawings a child could have made. During Lothlorien's music, all we were shown was branches -- a bit boring after a few shots. It also appeared that at a few points in the program, incorrect images were synched to the music (e.g., sketches of Bag End were shown during the coronation ("You bow to no one") -- true, the Hobbit theme is played at that point but....). Quibbling, perhaps. But a few drawings of characters other than Gollum, which were Alan Lee's, and obviously of "movie Gollum" (except for John Howe's famous sketch), a random Rohirrim rider (Theoden?) and Arwen in her jeweled headdress, would have been nice. I was hoping for those gorgeous drawings of the characters/actors at the end of ROTK but sadly, those were not included. Why actual screen caps of the films were not used or at the very least, interspersed among the drawings, is anyone's guess. At the very least, more dynamic, colorful artwork would have greatly improved the show.

I had some logistical complaints as well. The Mann's sound system appeared to be off, and Sissel and the chorale vocalists' microphones were nowhere near as loud as they needed to be; Sissel was virtually inaudible during the opening verse of "Gollum's Song". I also pitied anyone sitting on either side of the amphitheater because if you were not directly in the center, you could not have seen the screen (there was only one and any potential side viewing would have been blocked by the speaker towers).

However...it was a very, very enjoyable evening for the most part and thrilling to hear these oh so familiar pieces performed live by a symphony. Curiously, there were not a lot of people wearing Ringer paraphernalia -- I was one of the few wearing an "appropriate" t-shirt. No one in costume either. It is obvious that our phenomenon is everyone's phenomenon, and that's really gratifying to see.

------

Ringer RoddyP

The “Lord of the Rings” trilogy has been lauded by many people across the world as a perfect example of many cinematic parts – direction, acting, cinematography, etc – coming together to make an incredible whole. Last night at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, another element of this masterpiece was showcased – it’s music.

To begin with, when I found out that Howard Shore would not be able to conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra because of scheduling conflicts, I was almost ready to ask for a refund for my tickets. He was one of the chief reasons I wanted to attend this event. But John Mauceri, the guest conductor and long time collaborator with Shore, proved that he knew the material and its nuances very well. He conducted the orchestra to a performance that was very, very close to the actual recordings of the soundtracks.

Accompanying the orchestra were two separate choirs - the Philadelphia Singers Chorale and the Keystone State Boychoir. When the music was deep in the Mines of Moria, the Philadelphia Singers had me conjuring images of long ago dwarven voices. And the Boychoir was equally evocative during the music’s journey into the Elven realms. But it was the soloist Sissel who was called upon for the performances’ most ethereal touches, and when she sang her solo notes and the lyrics for “Gollum’s Song” and “Into the West,” the audience was held in thrall.

The performance was divided into six movements, in an arrangement that closely resembles Tolkien’s six-book structure. The music was also performed in the order it appeared in the film, so that it began with “The Prophesy” from FOTR, ran through the music from that film, then TTT, the ROTK, ending with an otherworldly “Into the West.”

The multimedia portion of the event was simple and yet greatly added to the performance. Throughout the entire night illustrations by Alan Lee and John Howe were displayed on the screen. We could see the detail put into Aragorn’s sword during the playing of the song “Anduril” and also see the drawings of the Balrog during “The Bridge of Kazad Dum.” I think showing these drawings, and not stills from the film, was an excellent choice. It simultaneously allowed those who associate LOTR with the films chiefly to be reminded of those images and those who associate LOTR with their memory of the pictures they created in their heads while reading the books to recall them.

The setting of the venue could also have not been more perfect. The Mann Center is half enclosed, half open to the surrounding trees of Fairmount Park. During “Lothlorien” for example, one could stare out into the trees illuminated by the fading sun and imagine what it would feel like to walk in that elven realm. There was a cool breeze for most of the night and many families enjoyed lounging on the grass in the general admission area. This wasn’t a symphony for any particular age group. In the row in front of me was an elderly couple who were frequently consulting the program to see where they were in the piece and behind me there was a family with two small children.

I've been listening to movie soundtracks for years, and I believe – the works of John Williams and Danny Elfman not withstanding – Howard Shore's score for the LOTR trilogy is the most textured, stirring, and operatic movie score ever produced. The music that accompanied the three LOTR films can and will stand on its’ own for years to come, and last nights performance only certified this. I strongly recommend to anyone who can attend one of these shows to go out there and be a part of a night you won’t soon forget.

------

Ryan

I was at the Philadelphia Symphony's performance of Lord of the Rings last night and thought I'd write to you a few of my thoughts. As you may know, Howard Shore had to cancel and John Mauceri took over conducting and he did a great job. I'm sure everyone knows what songs were played so I'll skip that and just tell you the highlights for me.

When they started playing I had a huge lump in my throat, and tears in my eyes when they entered the Shire. The rest of the Fellowship was nice but felt a little long (the seats were very uncomfortable).
When they came back after intermission, they introduced a very pretty woman named Sissel, who was lead vocalist. This second half was awesome! I was blown away....then came "Evenstar". When Sissel opened her mouth to sing my jaw dropped, my eyes filled with tears...it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. The rest of TTT and King was magical and Sissel's rendition of "Into The West" was absolutely beautiful. My girlfriend enjoys LOTR, but was never that into the music (she usually groaned when I put on the CDs), but "Into The West" had her in tears (along with half the crowd). I'd say the audience gave a nice 5-10 minute standing ovation when it was over. The show was absolutely wonderful and if the symphony is going to be anywhere near you, you have to go.

-----

HHB

I would love to say this was an incredible evening, and it was, but not in the way I had hoped. The Symphony was broken into 2 parts instead of 3, with FOTR comprising the first half, and TT and ROTK the second.

The first half was good. There were some unexpected variations, the choruses were great, some very good soloists (who, annoyingly, were not listed in the program) and Mauceri did a good job.

The second half was a train wreck. I have never heard such a sloppy performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra and they should be ashamed of giving such a lame performance of Shore's music. It didn't sound as though they had even rehearsed it. Sissel, who performed most of the vocal solos in the second half, did her level best to perform as best she could, an amazing feat considering the orchestra dragged relentlessly and her microphone was off at least 50 percent of the time. Whoever was running her mike should be shot - I was in the fifth row orchestra, roughly 20 feet from her and I could barely hear her at all. She was a real pro and never blinked, even though "Into the West" went at half its usual pace. My real rotten tomatoes are reserved for the string and percussion sections, who didn't seem to be paying any attention to Mauceri at all. He just could not get the strings to budge. During the "White Tree", I thought he was going to have to stop the orchestra - the strings were playing at half the tempo of the rest of the orchestra, and the snare drum was playing at twice the tempo. I am a classical singer, so I may be more sensitive to this stuff than the general public, but at that point, even the teenager cracking her gum next to me sat up and said "What the....???" How on earth he ever got them back in sync, I don't know, but he did.

I don't know if I can express how painful it is to hear music you love being butchered by a sloppy amateurish performance. It goes squarely on the back of the orchestra (and the clown running the sound system) - everyone else did a great job. I couldn't believe I was listening to a professional orchestra; it has me seriously rethinking my Philadelphia Orchestra subscription. Did they think that because it was movie music, they didn't need to treat it with respect and practice it or pay attention to the conductor? I can't help thinking this is the real reason Howard Shore had a sudden scheduling conflict and couldn't make the performance. If so, he owes Mauceri big time for dealing with this bunch for him.

7-12-04 Latest News

John Noble at Dallas Sci-fi Expo
Xoanon @ 1:24 pm EST

John Noble at Dallas Sci-fi Expo

Pippin's Sunshine writes: Attached are my pictures of John Noble at the Dallas Sci-fi expo this weekend. John was an incredible person to meet. He took the time to shake your hand and talk to you for a moment before signing your picture or whatever. In the afternoon, he gave a small Q&A, which was fascinating. He talked about palying baseball (and how he was missing a game to be here) and a little bit about how he had retired from rugby last year. He mentioned that he really enjoyed Texas because it is the 'sister-state' to Australia (didn't know that!) because we had the same sesquincential. He was througholy impressed with everyone involved in making the films, especially Peter Jackson. He was very impressed with how PJ could keep everything together in his head while watching 6 or 7 monitors all at once.

He said that he had originally read for both Saruman and Denethor and after about 6 months found out Christopher Lee had recieved the role of Saruman. Then, a few months later, they called him to say he had the role of Denethor.

He briefly mentioned his career as a stage actor and some of the differences between stage v. film v. tv. One of the coolest things though was he was asked about the dialects between the cast members and if they 'slipped' into their regular speech on set. He commented that it was pointed out to him that he did slip back into the Aussie accent occasionally, but he said he wasn't aware of it. Then, came the cool part. He was explaining the "Gondorian accent"-- or what the dialect coaches had come up with for it-- he described it as lengthening the O. Then, he gave an example that sent chills down my arms, "No lose of sleep. No tomb for Denethor or Faramir..." Said it exactly as he did in the movie.

He was also asked about the stunt where he caught on fire and ran off the cliff. He said the people at WETA made the 'oil.' He was unsure what it was made out of, but it felt like oil. He said that David Wenham mentioned that it stung his eyes whatever it was. John also mentioned, that for obvious reasons, they had to get the oil pouring right in one take. He said that the pyro guys were excited because, all though they had all of this new technology at hand, they decided to use an ancient trick to pretend that the stunt guy was on fire. He said that there was a slight gap between the fire and the actors, but it was still hot. So, the guy who gets lit on fire and runs out is a stunt and the fall off the cliff was CGI. HTe other part of that scene that he mentioned was when the horse hits him and knocks him back into the fire. He said that it was just a prop guy holding a horse leg.

Someone asked him about Sir Ian hitting him with staff. He seemed to remember that well. He said that Sir Ian seemed to enjoy doing that too much.

He told very few stories involving other cast members (don't think he could without getting in trouble!). But he did mention that one night, he had had his daughters over in NZ with him and had taken them to a concert. Viggo started making a beeline for this girl and John realized it was his daughter. He said he didn't remember saying this, but "It's anecedotal now and that I said, 'Viggo, no."

******************Spoilers for extended edition**********************

He mentioned a little bit about the extended versions of the films being better than the cinematic ones, don't we all agree? He mentioned that The Houses of Healing would be in there (yea!) as well as some new/extended scenes between him and David Wenham, including apparently a scene where he gets so mad at Faramir that he ends up falling backwards on the dais of the throne (oops!). And that his 'bum was so bruised, he couldn't hardly sit down." And apparently, Billy took a picture of it.

2004 NZ Film Festival News
Xoanon @ 1:15 pm EST

Thain Brandybuck sends in another short report from the NZ Film Festival. He also sends along scans from the booklet cover and the pages with the description of the Lord of the Rings-documentary.

2004 NZ Film Festival Booklet

"Film Festival presents the ultimative making of "Lord of The Rings"

August brings a special opportunity to Canterbury when 87 minutes of new "Lord of The Rings"-footage are exclusively shown at the annual Film Festival.

Costa Botes, a long-time associate of Peter Jackson has shot a making of the "Lord of the Rings"-movies. What is special about this is that he begun the documentation three months before the principal shooting itself begun. The result is over 800 hours of never before seen footage, surpassing the material shown at the Te Papa-exhibition and even that included on the Extended Edition DVDs.

The 28th Christchurch International Film Festival will give Ringers the unique opportunity to see this work in progress. Screening times are 8th and 9th of August 2004 at the Rialto Cinema in Christchurch, New Zealand."

7-10-04 Latest News

Comic-Con Crazy!!
Xoanon @ 7:12 pm EST

Our own MrCere writes: Comic-Con posts its schedule with several LOTR events on the docket:

The official San Diego Comic-Con has posted its programming schedule today and there are several events that Lord of the Rings fans will not want to miss. Beyond the tent-pole events the Con is LOADED with Fantasy and LOTR related topics so follow the links and search carefully for the content you crave. Read on for news of the major features.

Our own TORN Ringers are featured on Thursday evening with the following from Comic-Con schedule:

"6:00-7:00 TheOneRing.Net: Ringers/Peter S. Beagle—Get an exclusive first look at the upcoming feature-length documentary Ringers: Lord of the Fans and meet legendary fantasy author Peter S. Beagle (The Last Unicorn)! Very funny and often moving, Ringers uncovers the past 50 years of Tolkien pop mania. This special hour includes writer/producer/director Carlene Cordova; writer/producer Cliff “Quickbeam” Broadway; 2nd unit director/producer Danny Lukic; and director of photography/co-producer Josh Mandel, with Ringers footage shown for the first time anywhere. Peter S. Beagle makes his Comic-Con debut with revealing stories of his work on the 1978 Bakshi version of LOTR, and several surprise announcements! Room 6CDEF" [More]

On Friday there are a couple of LOTR related panels but the biggie is New Line's ROTK EE DVD presentaton.

CAUTION: Don't assume the folks mentioned will be present, their comments may be on video.

"This hour-long presentation will debut select clips from the extended version of the film and will include a panel discussion featuring key cast and crew members who were involved in the creation of the extended DVD. Program elements will include Peter Jackson's scene selection process (his favorite moments, etc.) and stories from The Lord of the Rings co-producer Rick Porras and cast member David Wenham about the behind-the-scenes preparations necessary to deliver this extended version of the DVD." More detail is available here.

Saturday kicks off with a screening and discussion of Dominic Monahan's new ABC series "Lost".

"10:00-11:00 ABC’s New Fall Series Lost— Come to the screening of the new pilot by Alias creator JJ Abrams! Join the actors, producers & writers of this new ABC series debuting in the Fall. Starring actors Matthew Fox and Dominic Monahan who have established their fan following from appearing in TV’s Party of Five and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy respectively, and Evangeline Lilly, a radiant actress who is the female lead in Lost. Lots more details here.

Sunday features not one but new LOTR cast members doing voice work together on a horifying new project!

"11:40-1:00 Universal/Focus: Seed of Chucky and Shaun of the Dead—The killer doll is back! The all-new Seed of Chucky is the fifth in the popular series of Chucky (Child's Play) horror comedies. Making his directorial debut is the franchise creator and writer of all five films, Don Mancini. The film introduces Glen (voiced by Lord of the Rings star Billy Boyd), the orphan doll offspring of the irrepressible devilish-doll-come-to-life Chucky (again voiced by series star Brad Dourif) and his equally twisted bride Tiffany (again voiced by Jennifer Tilly). "

(MrCere's Editorial comment: Buzz on Shaun of the Dead is off the charts. Apparently this is as good as horror gets.)

Again, Comic-Con is FULL of items of panels and events of interest to LOTR fans in addition to the LOTR Pavillion on the dealer's floor which dominated fan interest last year. It is Tolkien's pop-culture crush as its finest.

7-09-04 Latest News

Hall Of Fire Chats This Weekend
Demosthenes @ 9:26 pm EST

In Middle Earth, there are wizards and sorcerers, shape-changers and giant spiders, rings that make you disappear and seeing-stones. For many fantasy writers, these types of characters and objects are magical and mandatory in a fantasy work where there is often good magic and bad magic.

Magic and Art in Middle Earth

After being asked by Sam for elvish magic, Galadriel was confused by the hobbit’s request for it. For Tolkien, magic was not both good and bad, but something used only by the forces of evil.

What is magic in Tolkien’s Middle Earth? How does Tolkien see magic, and how is it different from art? Furthermore, where do objects such as the Silmarils and Galadriel’s mirror fall into these definitions? And how does Tolkien’s treatment of art and magic distinguish him from other fantasy authors?

Come join us this week in #thehalloffire as we discuss magic and art in Middle Earth.

===
Upcoming topics:

July 17-18 -- Powerful Objects in Middle Earth’s History
July 24-25 -- Gandalf's Involvement with the Hobbits
August 7-8 -- Middle Earth’s Greatest Cities
August 14-15 -- The Hobbit: Chapter 11: On the Doorstep

===
Chat Times:

Saturday Chat:
5:30pm ET (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 9:30am Sunday (07:30) AET]

Sunday Chat:
7:00 pm (19:00) CET
[also 1:00pm (13:00) ET and 5:00am (03:00) Monday morning AET]

ET = Eastern Time, USA's East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
AET = Australian East Coast

Cleveland State University LOTR Marathon
Xoanon @ 3:27 pm EST

Folk from The Edge write: We're very excited to let you know about our current plans for the upcoming "LORD OF THE RINGS" MOVIE MARATHON CELEBRATION @ Cleveland State University, November 19-20, 2004, in Cleveland, Ohio. This event is a cooperative effort between The EDGE: Lutheran Campus Ministry & Art Gallery and the Cleveland State University Film Department. All events are FREE and open to the public.

We would love to have viewers of your website who could make it to Cleveland, Ohio, come for the Keynote Lecture on Friday, Nov 19 and then see all three extended DVD movies on Saturday, Nov 29 from 12 NOON - Midnight. We also will have several drawings in which we give away over $2,000 worth of books and related "Lord of the Rings" merchandise (donated graciously from Houghton Mifflin and New Line Cinema). We also have a Walden Books booktable during the Marathon with all sorts of interesting books and related Tolkien merchandise available for sale.

If you have any questions or comments about this event, please don't hesitate to email us at: edge@csuohio.edu

Below is the Schedule of events for the "LORD OF THE RINGS" MOVIE MARATHON CELEBRATION. Attached is the Flyer as a Word Document about the event that could be posted on your site.

Friday, Nov. 19

7:30 - 9:30 pm: Keynote Lecture
(Speaker To Be Announced)

Saturday, Nov. 20

'Lord of the Rings' Movie Trilogy (DVD Extended Versions)

12 NOON - 3:30 pm: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
3:45 - 7:45 pm: THE TWO TOWERS
8 pm - MIDNIGHT: THE RETURN OF THE KING

7-07-04 Latest News

LOTR: The Making Of, and Figwit!
Tehanu @ 10:22 pm EST

MAKING OF LOTR & FIGWIT Films:  2004 New Zealand International Film Festival
Festival Dates:   Auckland: July 9 - 25    Wellington: July 16 - August 1

Wellington filmmaker Costa Botes, a long-time associate of Peter Jackson and his conspirator on "Forgotten Silver, assembled a small team in July 1999, three months before cameras rolled on principal photography for LOTR, to shoot and compile a behind-the-scenes video record. By the time the production of the trilogy finally ended late in 2003, they had over 800 hours of footage. In the first of the three documentary features to be cut from this material, there's a much fuller and more playful appreciation of activity behind the scenes than you might have seen on the more formal guided tours provided by the excellent DVD extras.


FRODO IS GREAT....WHO IS THAT?

The future, when everyone would be famous for 15 minutes is far behind us: now all it takes is three seconds, which is how long Wellington actor and musician Bret McKenzie appeared as an extra in "The Fellowship of the Ring." A glimpse of his elvish pout during the Council of Elrond scene enflamed the imaginations of Israeli woman, Iris Hadad, and English woman, Sherry de Andres. They met on internet message boards (where else?), coined the name 'Figwit', an acronym of 'Frodo is Great...Who is That!!?', and created the website www.figwitlives.net. Peter Jackson and the LOTR producers have taken a suitably indulgent view of the elf-hijack and this amusing magazine-style documentary culminates in the spectacle of McKenzie undergoing Figwit make-up once again for his one-line part in "The Return of the King."

Film info:  www.nzff.co.nz  Venue details, dates and session times are available in the festival brochure and on-line.

Tickets: All ticketing for the festivals is managed by Ticketek Ticketek.co.nz   AKL: ph: 09 307 5000 /   WGTN: 04 384 3840
* please note for GROUP BOOKINGS of 30+ there is a discounted rate of $10.50 per tx (standard price $13.50)

Hartford Symphony LOTR Concert
Xoanon @ 1:23 pm EST

HARTFORD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS OSCAR(r)-WINNING COMPOSER HOWARD SHORE AND "THE LORD OF THE RINGS SYMPHONY" TICKETS FOR THE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 PERFORMANCE ON SALE NOW

HARTFORD, Conn. - Tickets to the Sunday, September 19, 3 pm performance of the triumphant "Lord of the Rings Symphony" featuring Oscar(r)-winning composer and conductor Howard Shore and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, are on sale now. Call HSO Ticket Services at (860) 244-2999, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, or visit www.hartfordsymphony.org.

"The Lord of the Rings Symphony: Six Movements for Orchestra and Chorus" will be presented on Saturday, September 18, 2004 at 8 pm and Sunday, September 19, 2004 at 3 pm in Mortensen Hall at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. The performances will feature six symphonic movements, drawn from the twelve hours of music Shore composed for the motion pictures in the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy, along with projections of original illustrations and storyboards by artists Alan Lee and John Howe. "The Lord of the Rings Symphony" is one of the largest productions in the history of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, calling for more than 100 musicians, along with The Hartford Chorale, the Connecticut Children's Chorus and vocal soloists - all under the direction of Howard Shore.

Howard Shore has composed the scores to more than 60 films and received the Oscar(r) and Grammy Awards for Best Original Score for "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," the first film in the Tolkien trilogy, for which he was also honored with awards from Los Angeles Film Critics, the Chicago Film Critics, and the Broadcast Film Critics. The score for "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" recently won the Academy Award, the Broadcast Film Critics Award and Golden Globes for both Best Original Score and Best Original Song for "Into the West."

The soundtracks for "The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Two Towers," and "The Return of the King" have sold more than 4 million albums worldwide and both albums have remained on the Billboard Top 100 Soundtracks chart since their original release in 2001, 2002, and 2003 respectively. The U.K.'s Classic FM voted "The Lord of the Rings" soundtracks "Best Film Score of All Time" for two consecutive years. Shore conducted the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the world premiere of his symphony, "The Lord of the Rings Symphony: Six Movements for Orchestra and Chorus" in Wellington, New Zealand on November 29, 2003. The U.S.-premiere took place on March 27 and 28, 2004 in Columbus, Ohio.

"Shore manages the admirable feat of summoning up a Wagnerian atmosphere without copying the original."
Alex Ross, The New Yorker

"The 'Lord of the Rings Symphony' is still a big success because of the power and appeal of Shore's themes."
Barbara Zuck, Columbus Dispatch

"Brilliantly hued ... and so completely exploitive of the symphony orchestra's potential."
John Button, The Dominion Post

"The rich combination of orchestra and choir were working magnificently..."
Gerry Maddox, Sydney Morning Herald

Tickets to the Sunday, September 19, performance of "The Lord of the Rings Symphony" range from $25 to $65. Tickets will be available through HSO Ticket Services at (860) 244-2999, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5pm, and online at www.hartfordsymphony.org.

The Saturday, September 18, performance is part of the 2004-2005 Hartford Symphony Pops! subscription series. Subscriptions to the entire

HSO Pops! season start at $84 and are available through HSO Ticket Services at 860-244-2999. More information on the Pops! series is available at www.hartfordsymphony.org. Single tickets to this performance will go on sale on August 2, 2004.

7-06-04 Latest News

Austin LOTR Moot
Xoanon @ 9:50 pm EST

Megan writes: Austin Meet-Ups, Rings on the Range & Pedazo Chunk International Headquarters invite all local Ringers to an evening of LotR movie trivia on Thursday, July 8th, 7-9pm

This is one Austin meet-up you won't want to miss! We are very lucky that Pedazo Chunk International Headquarters has reserved their dvd projection room for our meeting, so we can all have tons of fun sharing our favorite scenes, easter eggs, and various trivia from the movie trilogy on DVD.

PLUS!!! Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News may come to share some anecdotes about the movies from his treasury of knowledge. This is a real treat!

Don't miss this meeting!!!! Pedazo Chunk is located at 2009 S. First Street (a block and a half north of Oltorf on the east side of the street). The meeting will go from 7 to 9 pm.

'Origins of Fantasy' at Comic-Con
Xoanon @ 10:36 am EST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THE ORIGINS OF FANTASY, REVEALED AT THE 2004 SAN DIEGO COMICON

The utopian visions of other worlds that make up the backdrops in Hollywood’s multimillion dollar feature film industry may seem futuristic or magical to moviegoers, but any time traveler worth his salt could tell you that these landscapes have more in common with Earth’s recent past than the far future.

The designs and decorations of a late 19th century art movement called Art Nouveau have influenced a whole lineage of Fantasy film making, and artifacts that would be right at home in the parlors of Frodo Baggins or Ming the Merciless will be on display courtesy of Century Guild at the 2004 San Diego Comicon.

Artists at the turn of the last century reacted against the Industrial Revolution by taking their design inspirations from dreams and nature and blending these elements into their work in a completely original and mystical way, leaving behind the classical traditions of the Victorian Era and creating the first completely original design movement in centuries.

In the decades to come, writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs would look directly to Art Nouveau when describing the palaces of Mars, and by the 1930s the machine age of Art Deco style had rendered the furniture of the Art Nouveau era so unfashionable that it was an easy and inexpensive choice to decorate the palaces of the planet Mongo for the Flash Gordon serials.

It’s no wonder, then, that when today’s set designers envision fantastic things beyond normal imagination they also look to Art Nouveau for inspiration: we see bronze numerals by Hector Guimard, designer of the French Metropolitain stations, marking the chambers of the intelligent dinosaurs in Dinotopia; Art Nouveau lighting by Louis Comfort Tiffany decorates a palace in The Fifth Element; and Peter Behrens-inspired statuary from the Darmstadt art colony of 1901 makes up most of the Teutonic design of The Chronicles of Riddick. H.R. Giger’s Oscar-nominated creature design from the movie Alien would feel right at place in Holland circa 1900, and the subtle modernizations that turned Celtic stylings into something suitable for Middle Earth in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy follow a path well mapped by the British designer Archibald Knox for England’s Liberty and Co.

A magical box guarded by watchful gnomes in which a young Harry Potter could safely keep his wand, iridescent monolithic vases that could have been excavated from Atlantis, and Frodo-worthy statues of sinuous, fire-breathing dragons are among the Art Nouveau artifacts that will be on display and available for sale courtesy of Century Guild at the San Diego Comicon, booth 3445 in the San Diego Convention center, July 22-25 2004.

For more information or images please contact Thomas Negovan at 312.720.7201 or disinfo@centuryguild.net.


Century Guild
www.centuryguild.net

Hey Kids! It’s Time For “RingersMoot”
Xoanon @ 10:32 am EST

What do you get when you mix a gaggle of Hobbits – a bevy of beautiful Elven Ladies – a horde of stalwart Dwarves – and a menagerie of mortal Men? Add in a couple of Orcish louts just for fun, sprinkle in some funny Kiwi accents, then give them free reign in a fabulous San Diego club so they can all relax, drink, and talk? Now just imagine what all this mischief will add up to?

Well it’s got to be the first ever RingersMoot! What else would you expect from the filmmaking team behind “RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS”?

We know that you kids are going to San Diego in July. We know you’re headed out to Comic-Con for the yearly blitzkrieg of Tolkien pop mania. Ah, the energy! The blaring screens and kiosks! The amazing costumes! The magical exclusive first-look at our feature documentary “Ringers”! It just wouldn’t be summer without Comic-Con! And since we _know_ that all you Ringers will there, we decided to give you guys a social venue where EVERYONE can have a relaxing, fun time at our informal gathering. We do not expect to have any special celebrity guests, we will have plenty of stars on hand. Last year 250 Ringers dropped into our confessional booth at Comic Con to express their love of “The Lord of the Rings,” everyday Ringers truly are the stars of our film!


On Thursday, July 22, 2004, the “Ringers” filmmakers are holding a special 1-hour panel with author Peter S. Beagle [full story on our website]. When the panel ends at 7:00PM, we are all heading out to the RingersMoot. Come along and have a pint with us [and bring along your beer stein from our CaféPress store: “Yes, it does come in pints!”] at the fabulous nightspot THE MARTINI RANCH. Here is all the info:

RingersMoot location: The Martini Ranch club, 528 F Street, San Diego – just 6 blocks north of the Convention Center.


[ Yahoo! Maps ]


Map of
528 F St
San Diego, CA 92101-6309

The event is Thursday night, July 22, 2004, starting 8:00pm till close. The event is Thursday night, July 22, 2004, starting 8:00pm till closing. There is no cover charge until 9:00pm, after 9:00pm it is $5 or only $4 with our special flyer. After 10:00PM it's $9 with our flyer, $10 without it. Be sure to visit our “Ringers” table on the Mezzanine and our huge Panel in Room 6CDEF on Thursday July 22nd to get the discount flyer. The Martini Ranch serves appetizers until 9:00PM, and has a no-host bar, admission is 21 and over only. Be sure to arrive early as we will fill the space to capacity very quickly!

See you all there!

Much too hasty,
Quickbeam

Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Visit our website!
lordofthefans.net


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