Claire writes: I wanted to let you know about the launch last Friday (28th November) of Dr Dimitra Fimi’s new book Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits, published by Palgrave Macmillan.
The launch was held at Cardiff University, where Dimitra is an associate lecturer. First a good number of university staff, current and former students of Dimitra’s, family, friends, guests and media representatives gathered in one of the university’s lecture theatres. Dimitra was introduced and gave a half-hour talk on her book. She explained that it’s an exploration of the evolution of Tolkien’s mythology within the framework of its cultural and historical context.
From AICN: In late October, as part of the Chicago International Film Festival’s Closing Night festivities, Viggo Mortensen got himself a Career Achievement Award just before a screening of what will now be his next film to be released in theaters, a strange film that examines the fluid definitions of right and wrong–a movie called GOOD. Set in the early days of the National Socialist moment in Germany, GOOD centers on a professor who wrote a harmless novel years earlier that inadvertently is serving the Nazis as a justification for their theories of racial purity and the killing of the Jewish people. The book serves as such a great inspiration and blueprint that the professor is elevated up through the Nazi ranks almost without any ambition on his part to do so. Now that the adaptation of THE ROAD has been moved into 2009, GOOD is being pushed as Mortensen’s shot at an Oscar for 2008. It’s a quiet, understated performance about a complicated man, who is both far from flawless and far from guilty. Viggo Mortensen Drops Hobbit Hints
From Pieter Collier at GTC Roadshow AG: GTC AG, a Swiss based company, announces the acquisition of the second most expensive Tolkien book ever sold; a signed Hobbit bought from Peter Harrington¹s for £53,000 setting a new benchmark for a signed book.
The book was inscribed by Tolkien while staying with Jack Bennett, a friend and former colleague from Oxford. J.A.W. “Jack” Bennett (1911-81) succeeded C.S. Lewis as Professor of Medieval & Renaissance English at Cambridge.
From Wired.com: Whether your fantasy hotel is a Star Wars -style cave dwelling or a Hobbit hole in New Zealand, specialty accommodations around the world will fulfill your nerdy needs. Other hotels geek out with crazy gear, from Apple- and Microsoft-themed suites to virtual golf courses….Woodlyn Park is home to Billy Black’s Kiwi Culture Show, with sheep shearing and a dancing pig. But the real star of the complex is The Hobbit Motel, two polystyrene-block units with circular doors built into a hillside. Geek factor: You can pretend you’re a hobbit.
Annarep sends along a selection from Empire’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of all time.
Aragorn makes it to # 31: Like Gandalf, Aragorn undergoes considerable development across the Rings trilogy, but it’s in Return Of The King that Aragorn must confront his destiny, and ergo that’s when the character has most to do. Mortensen owns the part by this stage, and reliably provides great work in a monumental role that requires as much quiet expression from his eyes as it does from being able to swing a sword
Gandalf makes it to #28: It’s quite a transformation for Gandalf across the span of the Rings trilogy. Sure, leading the charge down to Helm’s Deep at the end of The Two Towers took some beating, but it’s in Return of the King that Gandalf the White reallygets it together - and not just sprouting wisdom in the quiet bits. Between temporarily deposing the deranged Steward (Denethor), whipping the army of Gondor into shape, and occasionally breaking out the staff to up a can of whupass on a few orcs, he’s pretty much the whole action thing covered.
Gollum is #13: Similarly to Yoda, our first fascination with Gollum is with his appearance and his strange speech pattern (as well as being a digitally imposed character), but as the second instalment of Lord Of The Rings progresses, it becomes apparent that he’s not one person, but two. It’s all galvanised by one fascinating, heartbreaking, classic scene, but Serkis’ performance continues to consistently display the demented halfling’s highly volatile state.
Frandalf writes: I would like to let everyone that in December the library in Oss (the Netherlands, near Den Bosch) will host a Tolkien-exhibit together with Unquendor. There will be an exposition of rare books, film merchandise, banners made by Unquendor and more. On several occasions there will be activities, such as a lecture, workshops and a reading day. All this will be in Dutch.
World War I aerial history is being brought to life with the display of rare aircraft and a dramatic short film at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. A 12 minute film by Oscar winning director Peter Jackson then captures the warbirds and pilots in action over the Western Front. Curator Peter Burness says the exhibition tells the story of military flight and aerial combat during the Great War. “Clearly there was a story to tell about aviation in the First War from its very simple forms - almost kite-like machines - at the beginning of the war to the technology they’d introduced by 1918,” he said. WWI aerial action brought to life
November 27th, 2008 by Altaira
| Source: TNT.com
| Discuss
If you live in the U.S. or Canada, the TNT TV movie channel will be showing all three Lord of the Rings movies this weekend. The movie marathon will include a showing of The Fellowship of the Ring on Friday, November 28 at 7:00 p.m. EST, The Two Towers at the same time on Saturday, and all three movies staring with Fellowship on Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. EST and ending with The Return of the King, starting at 7:00 p.m. Sunday. Thanks to message board member Woodyend for the tip. Read More
Reepicheep_Took sent us this great find: “Found a report about some Superhero and movie-related auction items. Most notably, there are first edition, Tolkien autographed copies of all LOTR books, and a signed map of middle-Earth drawn by Tolkien.”
Profiles in History, a leading dealer in guaranteed-authentic original historical autographs, letters, documents, vintage signed photographs and manuscripts, will hold the 33rd annual Hollywood Memorabilia auction on December 11. If you have a few thousand (or hundred thousand) dollars burning a hole in your pocket, you could own the set pictured to the right which is estimated to go for $80,000 to $100,000 U.S. For all the Tolkien-related items currently available, follow the Profiles in History link and search on “Tolkien.” For a quick list of all the items in the auction (including King Kong, Star Wars and Harry Potter memorabilia), go to Superhero Hype.com
The Cruise to Middle-earth made its way to Hobbiton the other day, hampered by some rain and a terrible crash on the road, but we made it nonetheless. For the three Brandybuck sisters, this was like returning home for them. The location is still just as beautiful and Shire like as it was in the films, while also remaining a working sheep farm. We encountered a good many sheep and lambs, and the things they leave behind. But no one really cared, not once they saw the Party Tree and Bag End.
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Annarep sends along a selection from Empire’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of all time.
