AMC is doing their promo blitz for the updated version of ‘The Prisoner’, one of the cool items they sent along was this ‘Prisoner Timeline’ piece. Take a look! And don’t forget to catch ‘The Prisoner’ Sunday, November 15 at 8pm/7c on AMC.
When Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner aired in 1967, it was unlike anything else on TV. The brazenly surreal series became known for heady socio-political themes, outrageous sci-fi twists, willful absurdity, and head-scratching loose ends. Read the rest of this entry »
Ian McKellen is going back to drama school, for television. The thesp has signed to star in a half-hour mockumentary series, “The Academy,” that is being shopped to U.K. and U.S. buyers by DLT Entertainment. McKellen would play his fictional brother, Murray McKellen, who heads a run-down drama school, the Clapham Academy of Creative Arts, that is hoping to secure new funding through a docu on the school. More..
From www.mirror.co.uk (who tend to exaggerate every fact): Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen was upset on live TV after he was confused with another movie wizard. The actor – who played Gandalf in the hit films – was on US TV’s The View when host Whoopi Goldberg asked: “Are you coming back in Harry Potter.” Sir Ian, 70, looked clearly annoyed as he closed his eyes and paused. He said: “I don’t play Dumbledore – I play Lord of the Rings.” Embarrassed Whoopi apologised before Sir Ian assured her it was a common mistake.
David Ferry Jr. of the Reelz Channel writes: I just thought I’d let you know that Doug Jones is making an appearance this week on Movie Mob, a show about movies on Reelz Channel. Tune in to see if he says anything about The Hobbit!
Lasse sends along a translation of a Danish interview from ‘Troldspejlet’, a Danish TV show: Lee talks LOTR – for instance some of the scenes that were shot but never made it to the screen – and a little of his love of fantasy in general. The interviewer also tries to get him to talk of his roles as count Dracula and other classic horror characters some 50+ years ago – this seems to annoy him a bit, as he was never payed much for acting in these films, which on the other hand earned quite a sum for the film companies!
The show that ran the interview is called “Troldspejlet” which translates into something like “The Magic Mirror” and is a much loved weekly show that has existed since 1989 telling news of books/films of fantasy and sci-fi as well as computer games. Read the rest of this entry »
As part of its “Clash of the Gods” series, the History Channel is airing an episode tonight on what it calls “The greatest myth of modern times:” J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Similar to the other episodes in the series, this episode features an impressive array of experts on Tolkien and mythology, including Michael Drout (Wheaton College), Corey Olsen (Washington College), John Davenport (Fordham University) and many others. Readers of Tolkien’s complete mythology will be delighted that the episode branches out from the realm of The Lord of the Rings into some of the myths and legends of The Silmarillion. But beware! If you haven’t read The Hobbit, or The Lord of the Rings trilogy yet, major plot points are revealed!
Thanks to our friend Corey Olsen at The Tolkien Professor for alerting us that The History Channel will air an episode on J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings as part of its “Clash of the Gods” series. Corey and Michael Drout are among Tolkien scholars who are interviewed as part of the program. The episode airs at 10:00 p.m. EST, Monday, October 5 and again at 2:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, October 6. You can see The History Channel’s schedule here and check out more about the series at the production company’s site, kpitv.com.
Mormegil: Clip from Australian travel show Getaway showing some of the work currently going on at the Hobbiton set. From the site: Back in 1998, sheep farmer Dean Alexander was enjoying a quiet day on his farm on New Zealand’s North Island when a visitor changed his and his family’s lives forever. Jules Lund travelled across the Tasman to see just why. It seems the makers of the film trilogy Lord of the Rings needed the perfect place to build the Hobbiton village. Peter Jackson, the award-winning New Zealand filmmaker, spotted Alexander Farm during an aerial location search. The Alexander family knew nothing about Lord of the Rings but they soon learnt. Their property has the three main elements the makers were searching for: a lake, a big tree and a field. More..
The folks at SnagFilms, an online documentary distributor, contacted us recently. They wanted to let us know that “Beyond the Movie: Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring” and “Beyond the Movie: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King”, the National Geographic documentaries that explore the real life parallels between history and fantasy behind the epic tale, are embedded and are free to watch at snagfilms.com. These are currently available on DVD or as extras on the various LOTR DVD collectors editions. However now you can catch them online anytime at snagfilms.com. Take a look!
Ian McKellen is going back to drama school, for television. The thesp has signed to star in a half-hour mockumentary series, “The Academy,” that is being shopped to U.K. and U.S. buyers by DLT Entertainment. McKellen would play his fictional brother, Murray McKellen, who heads a run-down drama school, the Clapham Academy of Creative Arts, that is hoping to secure new funding through a docu on the school. 
stormcrow20 sends us word that Sir Ian McKellen is set to appear on both The View and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, November 5, 2009. 
Lasse sends along a translation of a Danish interview from ‘Troldspejlet’, a Danish TV show: Lee talks LOTR – for instance some of the scenes that were shot but never made it to the screen – and a little of his love of fantasy in general. The interviewer also tries to get him to talk of his roles as count Dracula and other classic horror characters some 50+ years ago – this seems to annoy him a bit, as he was never payed much for acting in these films, which on the other hand earned quite a sum for the film companies!
As part of its “Clash of the Gods” series, the History Channel is airing an episode tonight on what it calls “The greatest myth of modern times:” J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Similar to the other episodes in the series, this episode features an impressive array of experts on Tolkien and mythology, including Michael Drout (Wheaton College), Corey Olsen (Washington College), John Davenport (Fordham University) and many others. Readers of Tolkien’s complete mythology will be delighted that the episode branches out from the realm of The Lord of the Rings into some of the myths and legends of The Silmarillion. But beware! If you haven’t read The Hobbit, or The Lord of the Rings trilogy yet, major plot points are revealed!
