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May 07, 2002 - May 30, 2002

5-30-02

Frodo Gene.
Tehanu @ 10:00 pm EST
Ben wrote: "There is a really cool article in Nature-Cell Biology about the developmental control of the eye and sight. And what, you may ask, does this have to do with the Lord of the Rings in any possible fashion? Well, the gene for eye and optical nerve development has been named Frodo. In short, Frodo gives you eyes and the the wonder of sight. Amon Hen has nothing on this!
He continues, "This is a frog gene... The story goes that the discoverers were so surprised that such a small and seemingly insignificant gene could have such major effects that they named it in Frodo's honor. And it just keeps popping up with new and important functions. Cool, huh?"
Sure is.

Waiting in the Star Wars line with Frodo and Sam
Tehanu @ 9:38 pm EST
Imagine if you were a Star Wars Fan and a LOTR fan and by some incredible coincidence both your favourite things got combined in one experience.

That's exactly what happened to Peter: "I thought you might be interested in some of our photos from the opening day of Star Wars when Elijah and Sean came and sat behind us in line for the evening.

"On the middle of this page you'll see some of us and Elijah. He came over to our group to say hi to us. [More]

"Here's a pic of Sean when he arrived. I'm the guy on the left. [More]

I was the first to see Sean and say hi and introduce myself to him and show him the way to Elijah. They were both so cool to everyone. By the end of the night and in the theatre, I was sitting near them and Sean knew me by name already and I chatted with both of them for a bit. Here's another pic from someone else's camera of Elijah. This one has me smiling, on the right." [More]

5-29-02

Pre-ordering the LOTR DVD through Blockbuster
Tehanu @ 6:02 pm EST
MS wrote: "Yesterday I e-mailed Blockbuster to ask if they were planning to allow customers to reserve a copy of the Fellowship DVD like they did with Episode I. I realize that one can pre-order a copy on the net, but for those who aren't comfortable with internet transactions this can be very useful. In addition Blockbuster will often give something away with a pre-order (A lovely programme was given away with Episode I)."

Blockbuster Video's Response:

Greetings;

Thank you for your interest in Blockbuster Canada. We do intend on doing pre-orders of this film. However, this is not something we are completely sure of. Feel free to contact the team at your store in the next few weeks for any further details.

Thank You
Customer Service
Blockbuster Canada

MS continues: "It might be a good idea to check in your area if your planning to pre-order at Blockbuster since my e-mail was restricted to Blockbuster Canada. I thought you would like to know. Just goes to show you what you can find out if you ask."

If you do want to pre-order the DVD online, check out our listing. [More]

5-28-02

EXCLUSIVE! Very Cool DVD Screen Shots!
Xoanon @ 11:54 am EST
Rigner Spy Das Chupa sends along these great screen shots from the Official LOTR:FOTR DVD!!!

The disc is completely real, that I'm sure of. It even says manufactured by Wamo on the inside ring. I love it, the menus rock and the quality is the best I've seen and the sound, oh the sound of Sauron's sizzling and popping body as he explodes in the first scene makes 'The Matrix' sound seem pitiful (and I love that movies sound).

5-23-02

New Zealand Really Is Middle-earth
Xoanon @ 10:25 am EST
Xoanon here, the folks at Glenorchy Air were kind enough to send us these really great pictures taken all around New Zealand, take a look!

I wondered if you would like to use these pictures of the location of Nen Hithoel on your site. These pictures are copyright to Glenorchy Air, however theonering.net has my permission to use them.

Discription of the images

1. The flowers at Parth Galen (Mavora) where the company landed after their voyage down the Anduin. The yellow elanor and pale niphredil as described in the book chapter 6. book 2 of Fellowship of the Ring. This is a case of reality paralleling fiction.

2. Mavora lake which doubled as Nen Hithoel in the film where Frodo And Sam paddled across after Frodo is accosted by Boromir and they leave the Fellowship)

3. The beach from where Frodo and Sam launched their boat in the film to paddle across Nen Hithoel to Amon Lhaw on the far side
Kind regards

Robert Rutherford. CEO/Chief Pilot Glenorchy Air.

Ask us about our new "Trilogy Trail TM" Tour to the" Lord of the Rings" Location sites in the southern part of the South Island.

Glenorchy Air
91 Mc Bride St
Queenstown,
New Zealand
email: air@glenorchy.net.nz
Domain www.glenorchy.net.nz
Phone 64 3 4422207
Fax 64 3 4422807

5-15-02

New Exclusive Pics!
Xoanon @ 7:04 pm EST
Ringer Spy Taniwha sends along these great pics from the StoneStreet Studio backlot! While I still need to do some digging to see what this odd set may actually be....Check out Taniwha's report!

I was standing on Jervois Quay (near the BP opposite Frank Kitts Park) at about 1:15 this morning when two trucks when ripping past with what could only have been an ENT on the back.

I hopped in my car and tried to follow them, assuming they were heading for Miramar; but they got a good head start on me and disappeared. (I was with quite a few other people, all of whom saw the same thing and drew the same conclusion…that it was Treebeard.)

I drove by Stone St Studios to see if I could catch another glimpse of the truck, no luck, but what I did find quite by accident was the remains of the Oliphant seen in the Evening Post photo from Queen Elizabeth Park; it's just the skeletal structure, out on the back lot surrounded by shipping containers, but if you drive up the wrong street you're basically next to it.

5-14-02

TV Watch: 'Inside The Actors Studio'
Xoanon @ 5:36 pm EST
JBG was part of the studio audience for 'Inside the Actors Studio' with our very own Ian McKellen, here is his report!

"I went, it was wonderful, but I still don't know when it will air. I DO know it was the last class of the year, but I don't know if that means it will be the last show of the season. I think I'll be able to find out soon and get back to you.

It was quite long, and it will be televised of course, but here some short general impressions and some stuff that probably won't be aired. This is all from memory, so I might have some details wrong. Also, I'm not a reporter and my email writer does not have spellcheck, so this is probably all utter crap. Also, you may not find it relevant to your site (there certainly isn't anything particularly earth-shattering here, to say the least). I will not be offended IN THE LEAST if you don't want to print it. (But if you do, please don't use my name or even my initials...a friend at Bravo got me in and I don't want to get her in trouble some how.) Anyway, here it is:

The focus was very much on his stage career and Shakespeare in particular. Due to prodding by the host, there was a fair bit of name dropping of all the great British actors and stage directors that he has worked with.

There was also good deal of juicy details about his childhood...especially about how he got into acting. He attended plays of all levels--amateur to professional--quite regularly and at a young age, and also took parts in plays both in school and in amateur theaters. His first role? An American pilgrim child! He then related his years at Cambridge and subsequent work in repertory theater, where he would do up to twenty plays a year with some of the finest actors in the country. I always appreciated that Sir Ian acted well, but I never realized how MUCH he acted (and you really got the feeling that the two go hand in hand).

He also mentioned that he regrets getting rid of his Lancaster accent. He said that if he were learning to act now, he would keep it.

Then he had some funny things to say about getting knighted. This might be an old story, but I guess that the Queen, after knighting him, asked him, "Does anyone even GO to the theater any more?" At the dinner at Buckingham Palace, Ian and Judi Dench (or it may have been Maggie Smith) snuck around the bandstand and sat on the royal thrones!

There was also a great deal about coming out of the closet and what it meant to him as an actor (essentially, all good). And he had some deep things to say about how an actor needs to communicate with the audience. This is why he hates microphones on stage, and why he talked to the camera during his soliloquys in the Richard III film. There was a great deal of talk about Richard III, both the film and stage versions.

There wasn't too much about LOTR (when the host asked him what we should expect in the next films, Sir Ian suggested that if you want to know more, you can read the books...which Sir Ian has NOT done himself, shame on him), but he did emphasize that it was an profound experience to be involved and that it was a thoroughly fulfilling endeavor...this is especially saying a lot considering the audience was much more interested in his stage work. It's hard to describe here, but you definitely got the feeling that working on LOTR was sincerely wonderful for him...and he really can't believe his luck about getting involved.

He specifically had good things to say about Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Ian Holm. I guess Ian Holm does every take differently, which Ian McKellen thought was impressive and daring, but definitely wasn't his style. He mentioned slowly appreciating the passion that Tolkien's fans have for the work (of course, the internet was mentioned), and feeling absolutely thrilled and a bit scared about the responsibility of playing Gandalf.

And for the X-Man fans, he essentially has the attitude that Magneto is the GOOD guy...likening the character's anti-assimilation stance to the gay rights movement! This was only SLIGHTLY tongue-in-cheek, I assure you. He also made a playful dig at Spider-Man, saying the X-Men have REAL problems, not just dealing with sticky goo on their hands (or something like that)."

Filming At Mt. Ruapehu To Restart
Xoanon @ 12:32 am EST

Ringer Spy POD sends along this interesting bit of information.

Just to let you know I know that some more filming will be going on near Mt Ruapehu shortly as I am part of a -snip- and have seen evidence that filming will be taking place.

The filming is suppose to happen between 25-31 May 02 so I will check then whether I will be up there, I will keep you informed.

Mt Ruapehu archive information:

For the past 3 years we at TheOneRing.net have covered many locations all over New Zealand. We have quite a few news stories about Mt Ruapehu, including some great pictures! Take a look!

PJ and his crew visit the mountain on a scouting trip back in late '99

Ianman contributed this little image of one of the signposts the production company uses to point the way to filming - in this case, round Ruapehu in early 2000

The Y2000 Mordor Walk, a gang of TORNadoes head on up Ruapehu in search of Mordor...

TORN staffer Thorongil recounts his tale of visiting the mountain in his NZ exclusive report, 2000

Super Spy Xtem tells all about the scenes previously shot at the mountain in this report from May 23rd, 2000

Tehanu dishes the news to us from one of the many sets she has seen in New Zealand back in 2000, this report dates back to May 26th, 2000

Womans Weekly Magazine scored some really great shots from Ruapehu back in late May 2000. They captured what looks like scenes from The Two Towers with Sam and Frodo!

Ian sends us an amazing set report with pictures from Ruapehu back in June of 2000. He writes; "Mordor filming, Mt Ruapehu-style. The huge banks of orange lights were apparently not to counter the strong blue sky, but to give the filming an evil colour (such as beneath a thick smoke layer in Mordor)." COOL!!

Perhaps we will see bloodier Ruapheu scenes on the DVD? This report from September 29th, 2000 has some great info from some extras that were there!

Check out a report from Red Carpet Tours, giving you a complete run down on what you would see of Ruapehu if you signed up for a tour with them!

5-07-02

TTT: Towers Filming As We Speak? -UPDATE-
Xoanon @ 12:44 pm EST
From: Taniwha

Has anyone mentioned to you that they're shooting again? Little 'JAMB' arrows are springing up around Wellington (on the waterfront near Centreport, for example)…I've heard some fighting elves were needed recently at Helm's Deep, too...

Update

Some more information is slowly making its way to my ears.

Some of the filming in Wellington is taking place in Centreport, one of the major business ports in Wellington.

Filming is believed to have started yesterday (Monday), no news on what is being filmed, or who was there.

The current temperature and weather conditions at the port are:

Wind: 05 knots (09kph) northerly
Temp: 11 degrees
Cond: clear sky

TTT: Towers Info YOU MUST HAVE!!
Xoanon @ 12:38 pm EST
Criz sends us this VERY interesting piece of info, take a look at all the dates planned for TTT promo goodies! Trailers, posters, and so much more!

Countdown to The Two Towers:

March: The Two Towers fan trailer attached to The Fellowship of the Rings in
theatres.

May: The Two Towers teaser trailer released in theaters nationwide.

August 6: Theatrical release of The Fellowship of the Ring reaches stores in DVD/VHS, with DVD format featuring Houghton Mifflin video.

September: The Two Towers theatrical trailer in theaters nationwide.

SEPTEMBER: New "Two Towers" teaser trailer and poster in theatres

3 Vol. LOTR MTI PA Boxed Set w/new movie art and new ISBNs / $35

21-copy Mixed Floor Display w/Novels PA / $300

The Annotated Hobbit (Ships 8/8) CL / $28

JRR Tolkien Author of the Century by Tom Shippey (ships Aug) PA $13

OCTOBER: LOTR: Three vol edition illustrated by Alan Lee Boxed Set

NOVEMBER: "Fellowship: DVD/VHS

Major licensee merchandise for "Two Towers" on sale

National consumer contest (doesn't explain this either!)

National Laydown Nov 6th - Two Towers visual companion
- The Making of The Lord of the Rings

20-copy Mixed Floor Display with Film books

Two Towers Photo Guide

16-Copy Counter Display with film books

November 12: Extended version of The Fellowship of the Ring released on DVD/VHS.

December 18: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers opens in theaters nationwide.


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