2-28-02

Cut Images in White Dwarf Magazine Tehanu @ 2:42 pm EST Adrian wrote in to say: "I flicked through the latest issue of White Dwarf yesterday and came across something you might find interesting. In the LotR section they were advertising Haldir's band and the Dwarf Kings (from the council of Elrond). Below images of the figures was a still from the movies of Lothlorien elves (possibily the ones seen with Haldir when he surprises the fellowship) standing in a wooded area (I assume Lothlorien) surrounded by dead orcs. All of the orcs had arrow shafts sticking into them. I'm guessing that this is a still of the rumoured cut scene from the Fellowship when Haldir and his elves fell a group of orcs who were chasing the fellowship after their escape from Moria." Anyone who can scan us a copy, SEND IT IN to Xoanon@theonering.net

There and back again – a journey to middle earth Part V Xoanon @ 10:54 am EST There and back again – a journey to middle earth I thought I would share with theonering.net my experience on the Red Carpet Movie Tour’s LOTR ultimate fantasy 12-day tour (http://www.redcarpet-tours.com). I’m on a small VIP tour of travel agents. I’ll send in updates as time and connectivity permit. This is the fifth installment. Feb 22nd Today we met up with a second guide, Kate, just outside of Wellington. Kate is fantastic, she saw many of the sites while filming was going on, and she has lots of stories. She started off by taking us to the quarry where Helms Deep was – not much to look at now, but very impressive when the set was up. We then headed a little further down the road to the place where they filmed the outside scenes for Rivendell, most of which didn’t make the first movie. The area there is absolutely gorgeous. We even went for a short hike in the bush and learned about the native trees. From there we headed back into the city. We went past restaurants that the actors frequented, saw some their apartments and rental houses, and the Embassy (the theatre where the premier was held). At the bottom of Mt Victoria we stood where Frodo did when he said, “Get off the road!” Let me tell you that was awesome. After dinner we headed back to the Embassy to catch the movie. The lobby has a great display up which includes a huge statue of Lurtz and some of the figurines. The cave Troll is still outside on the marquee as well. After looking at all the articles and such, we grabbed some ice cream and beers and settled into our seats. It was really fun to see the movie in the same theatre where the premier was held. And it was fantastic to see all the spots that we had been to up on the silver screen. What fun! Tomorrow – a ferry to the south island and a trip to see some of the LOTR designers other work.

2-27-02

Sir Ian McKellen to talk on The Actor's Craft Tehanu @ 9:08 pm EST This news in from Rebecca: "I thought the Los Angeles area fans would be interested in the following event I found posted on the official web site: February 2002 Monday, March 4th, 2002 A Knight to Remember 7:30pm PST Join Back Stage West for a discussion with SAG Actor and Oscar nominee Sir Ian McKellen on the craft and career of acting. The event is free for the first 360 arrivals on a first-come, first-served basis. McKellen, Oscar nominee for his performance as Gandalf in New Line Cinema's" The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" as well as for playing James Whale in Gods and Monsters, will appear for a two-hour chat at the Canon Theatre with Back Stage West Editor-in-Chief Rob Kendt. Expect a lively and accessible discourse on everything from Shakespeare to X-Men to Broadway theatre. Questions will be taken from the audience. Canon Theatre 209 N. Canon Drive Beverly Hills

Amazing Behind The Scenes Images! Xoanon @ 8:29 pm EST Ringer Spy PD sends us these truly amazing behind the scenes images from the Helms Deep (Not Minas Tirith as earlier reported) set, and some minature studio work as well, take a look! These pics were shot at July 2000.

TTT Trailer: Australia Xoanon @ 1:03 pm EST Laurellee writes: With the news about the March 22 release of the FOTR second reel containing the TTT trailer, I checked with the Australian distributor (Village Roadshow) and received the following information about its Australian release: "At this stage, no confirmed date has been set for the Australian release of this additional trailer. It will be released, and no doubt there will be plenty of notice regarding it. Suggest keeping an eye on the media as well as the Village Cinemas website, http://www.village.com.au, for further information. It is anticipated to be not long after the release of the trailer in the US."

2-26-02

Live In NZ? Wanna Meet Richard Taylor? Xoanon @ 11:12 am EST Will writes: I was in parliment today (NZ) and during parlimently questions Jim Anderton (minister of economic development) mentioned LOTR's winning 5 BAFTA's. He also went on to mention something about WETA's Richard Taylor doing some kind of workshop in Christchurch. He mentioned it would be open to the public and for those who miss it, it will be broadcast on TV I did a bit more investigation and found out all I could about what WETA is doing in Christchurch. It is to do with business development and innovation. And will include a public forum entitled "Lord of the Rings - the Innovation Story". The following is a summary of when and where this takes place. Event : Innovate Date : 5 March - 7 March 2002 Venue : Christchurch Convention Centre and Christchurch Town Hall, with some events open to the public. Midday (12pm) on Wednesday 6th 2002 - Public Forum - Richard Taylor will discuss Lord of the RIngs The programme only has this forum from 12 till 1.15pm. Also about the TV broadcast, it will be broadcast live on SKY News (Channel 25 only on Digital) and on http://www.nzoom.com For any other information visit http://www.innovate.org.nz

2-25-02

Tolkien Sarcasm Page Scores Again!! Tehanu @ 1:54 am EST Somebody who reads German could confirm this story for us from Christoph, called "What happens when someone desperately tries to cash in on the hype - and fails" Christoph continues: "We all laughed when a "London Sunday Times" author used the LOTR-synopsis from the Tolkien Sarcasm Page to spare himself the tedious task of doing research (a.k.a. reading). [Everyone remember the infamous 'Queen Beruthiel, evil sister to Galadriel' gaffe?] But now, there is something better: a complete book on Tolkien (named "Tolkines Welt" = Tolkien's world) which includes a synopsis of his main work. COMPLETELY taken from the sarcasm site (translated, of course). The publisher has withdrawn the book and apologized... The whole story is on Tolkiengesellschaft tho' it's in German. A good translation would be appreciated by TORN!

2-24-02

The Arwen's Sword Mystery cleared up. Tehanu @ 7:35 pm EST So what's the name of Arwen's sword, Gwemegil or Hadhathang? We got this info from a reliable source in the world of Elvish linguistics: "Decipher did not have a name for Arwen's sword from New Line, and was going to make one up; the name they had come up with didn't mean what they thought it did. I supplied "Gwemegil". I cannot speak for Decipher vis-a-vis their relationship with New Line regarding this sort of thing, but if "Hadhathang" is what David Salo had the propmeisters inscribe on the sword, then that is its name. "Gwemegil" just means "maiden-sword," so perhaps it can be taken as a description rather than a name."

2-22-02

The LOTR event at Barnes and Noble, NY Tehanu @ 8:24 pm EST Arien just wrote in to report on the NY LOTR event. "Hi! Just got back from the Q&A Discussion event at Barnes and Noble in NYC. It was really great and all too short. I'll post a longer report soon, but here are some quick hits that are very very interesting... WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD!!! - The TTT trailer will be added on to FOTR on March 22nd! In one month! :D -Shelob will be in ROTK, not TTT. -There is NO Scouring of the Shire. PJ stated that the little scene in Galadriel's Mirror was the "homage" to it. -The Gollum/Frodo/Sam relationship will be "intensified." That's all I remember off the top of my head for now."

Premiere in Japan - Actors kept away from the fans Tehanu @ 8:00 pm EST "Hi, we just got back from the premiere in Tokyo. I'm an American and my hubby is in the military. I took my three kids and were all very excited with plans to see the actors. We all took our LOTR Trilogy hoping to get some autographs. Based on all the other wonderful reports from around the world we thought we would stand a good chance to see them up close and possibly get an autograph or two. My 7 year old looked so cute in his LOTR T-shirt and he was wearing the one ring! He was ready for Elijah and Orli to come by! My two daughters were also very excited. My kids were the only children there. We didn't have tickets to get inside, but that was OK if we could just catch a glimpse of the guys and Liv. We did get some glimpses, and are thankful for that, but unfortunately the actors were kept completely away from the fans. They didn't even get to walk past us. We were lined up and in the front. They hurried the actors upstairs to meet with the press, after the premier started and then quickly hurried them away. We couldn't believe they wouldn't even get to walk past us! We hurried downstairs (the premier was on the 9th floor of a big building) and ran after the crowd. We stood on the sidewalk and got to see them all leaving the parking garage. The windows were tinted very darkly and we could barely make out the actors inside, but they were all waving! From all I have read Elijah, Dom, Orli, Liv and the rest have always been very gracious and happy to communicate with their fans. It is too bad they were kept from being able to interact with us at all. I know they all read your website and I hope you'll share my report for them and others to read. We tried to get some photos although the quickness of them "out the elevator" and "8 feet away into the stairwell" didn't give lots of opportunities! Dom came out first and we were so shocked we didn't even get to yell his name before he was gone. I did yell Elijah's name and he looked over his shoulder, smiled and waved. It was just all so fast. " PatmosKat

Arwen's Sword: Name confusion. Tehanu @ 7:50 pm EST A few days ago we heard about the name of Arwen's sword, which was given as "Hadhathang."[More] Since then a few people have written in to dispute that. Mark said "Not to dispute the translation work of your correspondant Galadhorn, but in the Decipher card game from the film Arwen's sword is named "Gwemegil". I would have to defer to another in the translation of this name, but since Decipher must clear all names and images with the licensor, which in this case would be New Line, they do tend to be what would be called canon references." On a related note, Chris wrote in to say that he was looking through one of the LOTR visual companion type books and noticed something: The sword that Elrond wields during the Last Alliance and the sword Arwen wields during the Flight to the Ford seem strikingly similar. "I was wondering if anybody else noticed this. 'Cause my guess is that they are the same. Sort of a family hand-me-down sword."

Barnes & Noble Gathering In NYC Report!! Xoanon @ 7:08 pm EST Pippin Skywalker checking in to tell all you ring fans that my dad being the marvel that he is went to the Union Square Barnes & Noble to hear Peter Jackson, Christopher Lee and Howard Shore.Here are some special details: DVD: Apparently this will be released in November (a fact already known) and for the first time EVER there will be EXTRA footage integrated INTO the film...not seperately....as one WHOLE piece!!!! AND for the first time EVER Howard Shore will be composing NEW music for the extra footage. Some of the lost scenes to be integrated are of Galadriel giving the Fellowship their gifts which Jackson says is very important to the Two Towers. TTT Trailer: Lord of the Rings they said is going to be in theaters until a few weeks after the Oscars. Somewhere around late March there will be a full length three and a half minute trailer of the Two Towers (not a wimpy teaser folks,lol). Christopher Lee's Comments on Tolkien: The veteren actor said that he felt that the spirit of Tolkien was on the Film(s), and that when he met Tolkien years ago he had to restrain himself from kneeling!!!! HAHA! Reception and Turn Out: Thousands of people were in attendance and people started lining up at 10:00 am for an event that wouldn't starts for another 7 hours!!! It is also worthy of note that despite the fact that there have been other event like this around the nation they got the WARMEST reception in NCY!!!!! :) God Bless New York!

2-20-02

What's The Name Of Arwen's Sword? Xoanon @ 1:31 pm EST Galadhorn writes: Do you know that the name of Arwen's sword in the movie is Hadhathang (Throng-cleaver). This name doesn't occur in the original J.R.R. Tolkien's LotR and it is another movie producers' addition. In the "National Geographic" video entitled "Beyond the Movie" we can see Arwen's sword's details with the Sindarin inscription which was deciphered on my website "Gwaith-i-Phethdain". The inscription tells that Arwen's sword is named Hadhathang. On my website you will find a captured frame with the sword's inscription and its transcription.

The booksigning at Brentano's: Rosie's report. Tehanu @ 12:48 pm EST After a few hours sleep, I am finally coherent enough to share with you our journey to the Blessed Realm. We made the trip in 48 hrs with about 4 hours of sleep, laughing talking and crying the whole way...it was wonderful.. Stef and I are long lost hobbit cousins. We arrived in LA at 2:30 am, and having no where to crash, pretended to be eating at an all night pancake restaraunt. We got in line at around 5 am, being #2 and #3 in line. It was so wonderful to see the fan club members as they arrived and we all got a little carnation so we could recognize each other. We had an absolute blast. The 9 hours in line flew by and there was no lack of fun and conversation and hugs. The Q and A was an absolute once in a lifetime experience. I though if you all as we sat in the front row with our "THANK YOU" from the 'official' fan club" sign, (which was designed by our own StefBaggins) only a mere 7 feet from our beloved Sam, PJ Fran and Phillipa. Both ladies were full of class, and all of them were so real and genuine, it felt like sitting with old friends. There were cheers as they came in, and at various times throughout. Stef pointed out Sean to me before we began. People were still filing in as I approached him with his gift, it was one on one with him, myself and deliz. When I told him we were from the fan club, he was a bit taken back and said "You mean the "Official" one?" He was also taken back a bit I think, expecting to be asked for an autograph, instead of being presented a gift. Deliz was so kind to point out I did the art work, muuch to my embarrassment, (my face was beet red) but he was wonderfully gracious and even asked me for "My autograph" LOL!!!! (I told him the painting was already signed,) so in exchange had him sign my item. We had framed pics with a thank you card in each gift, and Ararrats poem written in the cards along with an official thank you from the "ONLINE" members of the fan club. I was really nervous about giving their gifts, but a sweet girl who stood in line with us said "Hey those girls are from the fan club and they have a gift for you" so before they even began the Q and A there was a moment of gift giving with media and cameras and A statement that is was from the Fan Club. They were wonderful. Opened them on the spot. Held them up for all to see, and they all said Thank you, they are so beautiful. (Phillipa said it 3 or 4 times and I felt she was genuinely touched by the gift.)Peter and Fran recieved "A conspiracy", 11 by 14 in a gold frame, Sean got the original painting of Samwise and Rosie, and Phillipa got an 8 by 10 of "Parting of Friends." She put her hand on Sean's shoulder, leaned over to us "fan club gals" and said in a quiet voice "just wait till you see Sean in this scene. He is soooo good." Fran kept hers on her lap looking at it for the whole hour. The Q and A was awesome! I'm sure you'll read the full report at torn, but this is the emotional review. I'll write a bit, and Stef will give full detials after her shower...and details on the autograph signing. They were so genuine. They did not talk down to us, but talked as if we were equal. At one point Fran had a few tears in her eye. We laughed and felt the warmth of their personalities and the depth of love and commitment they have to LOTR. Sean was very specific in his reaction towards the comments about Sam and you got the impression that Sam is very important to him. I believe he is also a new Tolkien fan because he asked one of the audience members if they had read the Silmarillion. They were charming and funny, absolutely delightful. Sitting on the front row, as they spoke we got alot of eye to eye contact and smiles directed at each of us. I think they were very happy to have Fan Club members there....anyway, this is getting long winded...It was one of the highlights of my life. As we were driving from LA I wept silently and said a little prayer for the Lord to bless them. It was absolutely touching. I have a whole new admiration and respect for them. (And feel my heart swell when I look at all of their autographs already framed on my wall.) I hope by some blessing of Elbereth that you all get to have some similar experience in this journey we are all on together.