The final instalment of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy landed at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, and it has apparently exceeded every expectation. It needed to. During the schematic sprawl of The Two Towers, much of Tolkien’s magic seem to wither before the eyes. The ambition and pulsing horror of Jackson’s opening salvos in The Fellowship of the Ring were diluted by complicated wars, bedraggled cameos and splintered story lines. [More]
Day: December 8, 2003
MS writes: I’m attaching a scan of a Belmont University flyer for a Tolkien talk scheduled on this Thursday, 12/11, at 6:30pm, open to the public at no cost. [More]
shubassdk writes: According to Intertain.dk and BT.dk several of the actors listed to attend the premiere on the 14th in Copenhagen has cancelled, among those Liv Tyler, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood and Sir Ian McKellen. Apparently they have become tired of all the premieres and fell that they need to have a night off. Viggo Mortensen, Peter Jackson, Andy Serkis and Bernard Hill are still to attend, though.
Funyun writes: I thought I’d write in: Peter, Fran, and Philippa all made an appearance in Austin TX yesterday as part of Harry Knowles’ fifth annual Butt-Numb-a-Thon. For those who don’t know, Butt-Numb-a-Thon is a 24-hour movie marathon at a local dinner theater, typically showing a mixture of older films and brand-new not-yet-released films. [More]
Funyun writes:
Looks like you don’t have a report on this yet, so I thought I’d write in: Peter, Fran, and Philippa all made an appearance in Austin TX yesterday as part of Harry Knowles’ fifth annual Butt-Numb-a-Thon. For those who don’t know, Butt-Numb-a-Thon is a 24-hour movie marathon at a local dinner theater, typically showing a mixture of older films and brand-new not-yet-released films.
This year it was no surprise to anyone that Return of the King would be one of the selected films, but we all figured it would come at the end of the 24-hour marathon. Imagine our surprise when they interrupted the second film mid-scene, and with no warning whatsoever the New Line Cinema logo appeared on the screen. Everyone flipped out in the theater, and settled in for a phenomenal film-going experience. (I won’t waste any space with my personal review, except to say it’s like Fellowship meets Towers with whipped cream and a cherry on top.)
At the conclusion of the film there was a minutes-long standing ovation that lasted through much of the closing credits. Then Harry Knowles walked up front and confirmed our wildest dreams: “Please welcome Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh.” The audience lit up like a firecracker as the production team walked in the theater and took up their mics.
For about 20 minutes they took questions from the audience, covering their problems adapting the stories; why they cut some scenes and kept others; a status update on King Kong (they’re into building maquettes at the moment, if that’s how you spell it); and more on The Hobbit (he’d like to do it, but the legals need to be cleared up first).
So there weren’t any groundbreaking revelations from the trio onstage, but more than anything we were elated that we got to thank them in person for such a spectacular set of films. Everyone that got up to ask a question fell over themselves to compliment the filmmakers, and Harry himself teared up while issuing his own thanks for the movies.
They stayed for the next film showing – Buster Keaton’s “The General” with a live score by local artist Guy Forsyth and his band – then it was off to Berlin for their next press junket.
Not too often that you get to meet such luminaries with an audience as few as 300! Everyone got a signed poster and had a great time. Just thought you’d like a report.
For over five weeks we have been offering tickets to Trilogy Tuesday via Ticket Exchange. These tickets, sold by fans at face value to other fans, have come to represent to me all that is good in the world of Tolkien fandom. I only wish that there were tickets for everyone. Tonight marks the end of the Ticket Exchange program, barring any last minute ticket offers. Should more sellers emerge, we will continue posting. At this time however, these are the final six ticket offerings. [More] Much thanks to everyone who has participated!