Kathy and I have made it safe and sound here in Pasadena. After a slightly rough morning…and a longer drive that we could have thought we checked into the wonderful hotel and made our way to ORC, already in full swing. I reunited with Tehanu working at the Red Carpet Tours booth, not 5 yards from Calisuri working at the Sideshow/WETA booth. Corvar was in tow as well and it was a great reunion. [More]
Day: January 14, 2005
Hi all,
Kathy and I have made it safe and sound here in Pasadena. After a slightly rough morning…and a longer drive that we could have thought we checked into the wonderful hotel and made our way to ORC, already in full swing.
I reunited with Tehanu working at the Red Carpet Tours booth, not 5 yards from Calisuri working at the Sideshow/WETA booth. Corvar was in tow as well and it was a great reunion.
As we first arrived the RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS panel was the main attraction of the moment. Dominic Monaghan was on stage wowing the crowd and answering questions. Later Producer Tom DeSanto, Director Carlene Cordova, Dominic Monaghan and Cliff Broadway (Quickbeam) took the stage to talk about the production. Fans were treated to small clips from the film, and were all but virtually promised ad theatrical release sometime soon!
Kathy and I then took a tour of the art exhibit and dealers booths, there is some amazing stuff on sale there! I already saw my wallet burning a hole through my pants so I needed to move on quick (that life-size replica of Hellboy’s “Samaratin” gun…ohhhman!! I purchased some ORC memorabillia such as a shot glass and a mug, always handy.
Cathy, the head honcho and main co-ordinator of the event then took Bill and I aside and asked us if we wanted to volunteer for a job…so we did. Turns out the job was to sit with Dominic Monaghan for almost 3 hours while he signed autographs for the fans!
I’m not normally a gushing fanboy, but Dom is so amazingly cool in Lost, and all his work on ‘RINGERS’ (which you haven’t seen yet…but is REALLY cool!) so I was excited to be able to pal around with him for a while!
Of course my official job was the ensure that the fans had the proper tickets and that all items were readily available for Dom to sign…but c’mon! This was a chance of a lifetime, so I joked around with him and asked him some great questions…he really is as nice a guy as people think he is, weither you meet him for 30 seconds or 30 minutes.
Right now I’m sitting in my hotel room taking a short break before heading back to the con for the WORLD WITHOUT SUNDAYS concert, and to snap some more footage and photos for you guys!
More news soon!
Mrcere: The pieces are moving, the board is set and ORC is on the verge of going wonderfully wild! TheOneRing.net and Creation Entertainment have all the necessities in place to kick open the doors to the Pasadena Conference Center and begin the One Ring Celebration. [More]
From Mrcere
PASADENA: The pieces are moving, the board is set and ORC is on the verge of going wonderfully wild! TheOneRing.net and Creation Entertainment have all the necessities in place to kick open the doors to the Pasadena Conference Center and begin the One Ring Celebration.
Thursday was the calm before the storm of fandom, scholars, stars and TORnados launch the first of the likely annual event that celebrates the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and all the related pop-culture phenomenon, including the Peter Jackson films based on the book.
Preparation for the event was extensive as TORn staffers, vendors and Creation prepared the Conference Center for the swam of fans who arrived all day and settled in for the weekend. Hotel lobbies were consistently busy as fans from all over the world converged in Los Angeles in preparation for the events.
Internet friends met in the flesh, often for the first time, while others renewed long-time friendships with handshakes and hugs. Reports of celebrities made the rounds as so-and-so caught sight of so-and-so in such-and-such hotel or restaurant. Friday night after local eateries disgorged hundreds of ëRingers’ back into the thankfully dry and moderate temperatures, a line formed at the Conference Center for the optional pick-up of weekend passes. Soon the line stretched down a long entry hall and through the doors, up the stairs and onto the street. The optional event lasted two hours and also offered patrons a chance to get pictures of stars, tickets for signings and ORC clothing.
TheOneRing.net already has a wealth of images to show you (we are kinda busy, be patient!) and will be covering the event for TORn readers. We appreciate the support countless on-line friends have given us over the years allowing us to help throw this little party. We salute all of you at home that couldn’t attend and hope to bring you the best possible coverage so that you too can participate in the One Ring Celebration.
TORn opens the first panel Friday at Noon to welcome on-line friends and discuss the unique experience of belonging to an internet community. Other highlights include actors Bruce Hopkins, Sandro Kopp, Jarl and Jorn Benzon, Peter Tait, Dominic Monaghan, the ëRingers: Lord of the Fans’ crew, and scholars such as Greg Wright, Katreyla Angus, Mike Foster, Paul Badali and famed artist Ted Nasmith. In addition there is a kids program and extensive costuming content that all combine to provide an almost overwhelming array of ways to spend a day immersed in the world of Tolkien and Tolkien fandom.
To top it off (with a cherry even!) Friday will feature a celebration party of the 50th Anniversary of the publication of the Lord of the Rings consisting of honorable toasting of the good professor from Oxford, fan entertainment, a jam from TORn favorite ìWorld Without Sundaysî, and finally, a fan karaoke session ñ a tradition forged by and for fans!
Friday also features the arrival of scads more friends and TORn staffers coming in to shore up the front line of the fancentric celebration.
We wish you all were here but promise to deliver the best information we can in our attempt to share the fun. (And photos too!)
hobbitredd writes: I just received a news report that Billy will be attending Sundance for the premier of ‘On a Clear Day’ on 21st of January. [More]
“There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made..” (The Silmarillion) Thus begins the history of Middle Earth, J.R.R. Tolkien’s complex, profound, captivating and increasingly popular created world. The Silmarillion, published four years after the death of its author, is an account of the Elder Days, or the First Age of the World. [More]