Christoffer writes: SF BIO AB, the company that distributes the LOTR films in Sweden, has problems with the censorship board here. ROTK has got an R (15 years old) rating here and SF is furious since this means less money for them. Right now they are working hard to cut ONE scene in the movie in order to give it a lower rating (11 years old). SF BIO has stated that this will probably result in that the tickets release will be post-poned from the 17th of November to the 1th of December.
Christoffer writes: This has been dismissed as a mere rumour by SF BIO AB and the say that they will NEVER cut the movie. And it will almost certainly receive a rating that allows 11 year old kids to see it. A movie has never been cut due to censorship in Sweden for over 10 years.
Day: November 2, 2003
Ed writes: I received an email from UCI Cinemas who are one of the major players here in the UK. It confirms that on Tuesday December 16th they are showing Extended Editions of FOTR and TTT which will be followed by a midnight screening of ROTK! The Extended Editions of FOTR and TTT will be shown the previous Sunday as well. Tickets for ROTK go on sale December 11th, presumably you’ll be able to buy tickets for the Extended Editions on that date as well! [uci-cinemas.co.uk]
Marialfc writes: Starz is going to have a Lord of the Rings weekend from Decemeber 16-19 showing both the Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers, I think this is a great opportunity for those who didn’t get tickets for the ‘Tuesday Trilogy’ or don’t have the DVDs. Check your local listings for further info. [starzsuperpak.com]
New Zealand efforts to secure a $300 million movie version of children’s classic book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe could be seriously undermined by an Employment Court decision that may affect the way film crews are hired. The Lord of the Rings film producer Barrie Osborne has warned of “significant consequences that are unfortunate for the film industry” concerning the case over a film crew member’s employment status. [More]
In “The Last Samurai,” a kaleidoscopic epic of late-19th-century Japan, Tom Cruise plays Nathan Algren, a civil war veteran who is briefly imprisoned by a cadre of Japanese warriors. He is also a prisoner of his pants: his perplexed attempts to get in and out of his hakama, a multipaneled sort of Japanese culotte, provide the movie with an element of comic relief. Algren’s bemusement is hardly surprising, said Ngila Dickson, the New Zealander who conceived the film’s costumes – some 2,000 of them – as well as those of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” the third of Peter Jackson’s fairy-tale trilogy, which opens Dec. 17. [More]
From the LA Times: ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movie trilogy boosts tourism and brings other benefits to New Zealand. Locals call it the ‘Frodo economy.’ [More]