VATICAN, Feb 26, 03 (CWNews.com) — In a highly favorable review of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, the official Vatican newspaper has said that the work carries “echoes of the Gospel.”
L’Osservatore Romano remarked that Tolkien’s creative work– now being made available on film– has an “enchantment with which is seduces us, and helps to highlight a significance deeper than what is immediately apparent.” The fantasy world of Tolkien’s work is “like a projection of the real world, where men are agitated by passions, driven by sentiments, slaves to egoism, but open to values of friendship, loyalty, generosity, love– stronger than the will to power that devastates mankind.”
The anonymous article in L’Osservatore Romano said that Tolkien’s work shows “a sort of theology.” The Lord of the Rings speaks through images and signs, the reviewer observes, but the author concludes: “When faith inspires one’s thought and one’s life, there is not need to call attention to it; it shines through everything.”
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From: The John Howe Website: Just returned from a bit of a safari to rather colder climes, which made returning to Switzerland feel positively springlike. After several amusing episodes involving visas and border guards, missed planes and queueing in consulates, it’s good to be back at the drawing table. [More]
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From: The John Howe Website
Just returned from a bit of a safari to rather colder climes, which made returning to Switzerland feel positively springlike. After several amusing episodes involving visas and border guards, missed planes and queueing in consulates, it’s good to be back at the drawing table.
The BAFTA ceremony was enormous fun, and watching a fantasy film line The Two Towers walk away with three awards was a tribute well deserved. I keep promising to post photos, and will promise again to post a few of the party afterwards. (As usual, watch this space.) I’ve received a CD of photos from the gallery show in Paris, so will sort those out first.
I also apologize for perhaps missing many questions on the forum. Please don’t think I’ve ignored any, it’s just that I have overlooked them, so do post again.
On the drawing board: A new Tolkien map, of Numenor this time around. Brian Sibley is doing the text, if HarperCollins can let him have a spare minute from the movie tie-in books…
Otherwise, a long overdue children’s book and a private commission are enough to keep me busy right now.
Coming up in the shops: The next in Robin Hobb’s Tawny Man series. I wish I could post the artwork, but must await publication. The limited edition of A Clash of Kings is in production right now; I’ll post news as I get it. You can also visit George R. R. Martin’s official site for a bit of a peek.
Last but not least, just acquired a handful of books from Poland with my covers on them, a couple of which certainly can’t be entirely legal. Which aptly brings up a topic that is an illustrators’ favourite – illicit use of cover artwork in foreign countries. I really appreciate those of you who live in lands I may never visit and who take the trouble to post images from local editions featuring my work on the front. Most of it is above board, and as I don’t always get copies, it is a real pleasure to get a glimpse. Occasionally, rights are sold by one editor to another, and the original editor “forgets” to let the artist know. Every now and then, though, editors in a hurry simply pick up artwork and hope the artist won’t notice.
Which brings me to my request: if anyone finds a piece of my work on a publication and thinks I may not be aware of it, please don’t hesitate to post it to the site. Naturally, given the relatively modest sums involved in sub-rights, it is not to prosecute the socks off errant editors, but simply to keep track of what is going on. Thanks in advance for your help!
See you next week!
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Belcarnen writes: David Wenham (Faramir) is in Prague as one of the actors from new vampire movie called VAN HELSING. Places like sv. Mikulas cathedral and the neighbourhood are being used as Transylvanian locations, also a small “Transylvanian village” was built there.
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Piotr sends along this report that PJ was recently spotted in Poland scouting locations. I find this hard to believe at the moment, and we are looking into this. A word to the wise, you can completely ignore the Hobbit rumors in the aritcle below, PJ most certainly wants to take a break from Middle-earth, and god bless him he deserves it! [More]
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Piotr sends along this report that PJ was recently spotted in Poland scouting locations. I find this hard to believe at the moment, and we are looking into this. A word to the wise, you can completely ignore the Hobbit rumors in the aritcle below, PJ most certainly wants to take a break from Middle-earth, and god bless him he deserves it!
Peter Jackson visited Poland two days ago (25.02) to see one of our National Parks. Editors of our newspapers suggest that it might be a sign that PJ is preparing to film “Hobbit”.
PJ and his crew took police helicopter and checked out “Biebrzañski Park Narodowy” (that would translate to “National Park of Biebrza”). They were filming and making photos. One of the guys from the polish crew that helped them says that they were looking for a good place to make another movie. We`re all hoping that it`s gonna be “Hobbit” 🙂
This visit was not official – PJ obviously didn`t want to attract too much attention and that`s why even polish distributor of LOTR didn`t know about this.
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