From: Scout
The Hollywood Reporter
The trailer for New Line Cinema’s highly anticipated “The Lord of the Rings” made its Internet debut today. Project partner Real Networks launched a “Real Channel” for video materials from the film trilogy, the first part of which — “The Fellowship of the Ring” — reaches theaters this Christmas. All three stories of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy series were filmed consecutively on location in New Zealand by director Peter Jackson (“Heavenly Creatures”). The project has inspired hundreds of fan Web sites.The trailer can be accessed at real.com or at lordoftherings.net.
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Sunday, January 21
Liv Tyler (Arwen) Armageddon Sky Premier Widescreen UK 
Christopher Lee (Saruman) Talos the Mummy Sky MovieMax 4 UK
Monday, January 22
Christopher Lee (Saruman) Dracula Has Risen From The Grave Sky Cinema 1 UK
Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) A Walk on the Moon TMN
Tuesday, January 23
Ian Holm (Bilbo) Night Falls On Manhattan Channel 4 UK & Alien Network 2 UK
Ian McKellen (Gandalf) X-Men TVND18
John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) Among Giants Sky Premier Widescreen UK
Sean Astin (Sam) Bulworth Sky Premier 4 UK
Brad Dourif (Wormtongue) Bride of Chucky Sky MovieMax 4 UK
Wednesday, January 24
Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) Psycho Sky Premier Widescreen UK & Two Small Bodies SUNDAEP The Young Americans ENCACT
Ian Holm (Bilbo) Naked Lunch Sky Cinema 1 UK
Sean Bean (Bilbo) Ronin TMC
Ian McKellen (Gandalf) Gods and Monsters SUNDAE
Sean Astin (Sam) Dish Dogs WLNY 55
Christopher Lee (Saruman) Talos the Mummy Sky MovieMax 4 UK & The Hound of The Baskervilles Channel 5 UK & Private’s Progress SHOWDT
Bernard Hill (Theoden) True Crime HBOLAT & William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream HBOSIG
Brad Dourif (Wormtongue) Urban Legend TMC & Death Machine KTXH & Amos & Andrew TMC2P
John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) Canvas TMN
Thursday, January 25
Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) The Thin Red Line MAX
Liv Tyler (Arwen) Can’t Hardly Wait WAPA & Inventing the Abbotts KRRT & Heavy SUNDAE
Ian Holm (Bilbo) eXistenZ TMC & Naked Lunch UK
Hugo Weaving (Elrond) The Matrix ACMAX
Miranda Otto (Eowyn) The Thin Red Line MAX
Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) An Ideal Husband STARZ5 & Oscar and Lucinda FMC
Ian McKellen (Gandalf) Apt Pupil Sky Premier 2 UK & Amy Foster Sky Premier 2 UK
Orlando Bloom (Legolas) Wilde SHOW3
Bruce Spence (Mouth of Sauron) Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome WFVT
Sean Astin (Sam) Icebreaker ACMAX & Toy Soldiers THMAX
Christoher Lee (Saruman) Sleepy Hollow SHOW & The Last Unicorn STARZ4 & Julius Caesar KSTC
Bernard Hill (Theoden) Mountains of the Moon TRUE
Brad Dourif (Wormtongue) Hidden Agenda TMC2 Bride of Chucky TMN
Friday, January 26
Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) The Passion of Darkly Noon SHOW2 & Floundering COMEDY
Ian Holm (Bilbo) Henry V IFC & Shout at the Devil FLIX
Hugo Weaving (Elrond) Bedrooms & Hallways HBOZ
Elijah Wood (Frodo) The Good Son FX
Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) Elizabeth SHOW3
Ian McKellen (Gandalf) Restoration ENCORE
Sean Astin (Sam) Staying Together TNTI
Christopher Lee (Saruman) Safari 3000 SHOWX
Brad Dourif (Wormtongue) The Exorcist III FMC & Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones TRUE
Satday, January 27
Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) Albino Alligator STARZ5 & Young Guns II WKCF & Witness MAXS
Liv Tyler (Arwen) Stealing Beauty WE
Ian Holm (Biblo) Alien TVYou UK
Miranda Otto (Eowyn) The Jack Bull Sky Premier 2 UK
Elijah Wood (Frodo) Avalon STARZ
Ian McKellen (Gandalf) Alfred the Great TCM UK
John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) Cyborg Cop KCOP & Firewalker TBS & King Solomon’s Mines WZUP
Sean Astin (Sam) Courage Under Fire WABC 7 & Teresa’s Tattoo KMAX & Rudy TNT & Encino Man WVFX
Christopher Lee (Saruman) Gremlins 2: The New Batch TNTL & Captain Horatio Hornblower KTRV Scott of the Antarctic HCI
Bernard Hill (Theoden) The Ghost and the Darkness WNBC 4
Brad Dourif (Wormtongue) Bride of Chucky Sky MovieMax 1 UK & Body Parts HBOPL & Child’s Play 3 SCIFI
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Another article that takes Tolkien seriously. I’m not imagining this, am I? A year ago most major news providers felt they had to be all coy about admitting any intererest in the subject. Go here for some serious reporting.
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LOTR Parlor Games!? Apparently so. Check out the Havens to read about EA and their plans for LOTR Gaming. Also, read up on The Siege of Khazad-dum, and help make the decision on what to do next!
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Chris wrote to say: “Just wanted you to now that the LOTR trailer in sweden does not go up in front of Eva & Adam but Jalla Jalla, The Cell and Gossip”
From Mikko in Finland we hear: “If you want to see the trailer on 19th Jan or later, go see the one of
the following movies:
Red Planet (Bristol 1)
Turhaa lemmentouhua (Forum 1)
Perhe on painajainen (Kino 1)
Vertical Limit (Tennispalatsi 3)
Little Nicky (Tennispalatsi 8)
A Finnish version of the website will be opened shortly here!
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Much as we’ve enjoyed the spoof trailers that people have sent in, there’s no denying that the bulk of our mail has been concerned with the trailer that’s appeared on the official site in Realplayer. Most people disliked the small videoclip interviews in Realplayer which we were treated to when the official site revamped, but that’s nothing compared to the venom that’s been reserved for the decision to put the trailer onto Realplayer.
I’m just saying that for the benefit of anyone like myself that thought they might have been suffering from a dodgy connection or some embarrassing mysterious personal problem to do with their own computer. Rest assured, it’s not you. The trailer in Realplayer format looks bad for most people – a jerky, low-resolution image and horrible sound.
This has stirred people up into problem-solving mode and by now there are a whole lot of different attempts to download the trailer and convert it into different formats. Some have succeeded, some have succeeded and been forced by the long arm of the law to remove their efforts, and some don’t work or got overwhelmed with people trying to download them. Interesting times on the Net indeed. Don’t all email us to ask ‘where are these trailers?’ because I’m too lazy to sort through that much mail. There’s a lot of pointers on the message-board that’ll take you in the right direction.
Now, why has this thing happened? Here’s an answer from Value Ape: (Note some language may offend, but it’s nothing to what we’ve heard describing Realplayer in general.)
“Just thought I would send you this email about the sordid side of why companies choose to use what technologies to serve video. I always see a lot of people bitching about what technology gets used, especially in regards to QuickTime – the whole LOTR trailer thing is the final coffin nail, so I thought I would expose this. Not only am I in the business but I do have some specific knowledge of the reason why LOTR is using RealMedia and not QuickTime. Let me just say that QuickTime is a superior format in every way to Real, however Real has been a much more aggressive company than Apple in pushing the technology. I, like Harry, have been a sober evangelist of QuickTime for quite some time and think people should know what goes on behind the scenes. Apple wants everyone to have QuickTime so you use and buy the software that makes QuickTime media. Real wants to milk eyeballs for ad clicks and trick you into buying the plus player. If you have ever tried to download the free player from their site you will laugh at how hidden the link to the ‘free’ player is in the interface. Like many reprehensible practices, it is effective. It also frustrates websites that use it. Imagine promoting your movie and when the player launches, you see an ad for another movie opening the same night on the side-bar!
Unfortunately, New Line’s arrangement with Real is completely typical and not exceptional in any way other than the popularity of LOTR. The number of downloads garnered by the teaser at Apple had Real drooling. Real agreed to pay New Line in cash, services and bandwidth to host the new trailer. Apple, who has been very cautious about spending money lately, has always been reluctant to pay companies to use QuickTime when they felt that companies would naturally choose to use the better technology. Real hopes to spread its player and its channels around by having the new trailer – and New Line gets a little coin. Your typical day in the media industry.”
Thanks for that.
There is another side to consider: we’ve all acted as though we had the right to demand this teaser trailer at high quality because we the fans want it. I’m not sure that’s in the best interests of the film company, who after all wants you to be disappointed with the net version of the trailer so you’ll go to the cinema. I find that hard to blame. I mean, I was annoyed with the cruddiness of the trailer on Real (and suffered from an ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ moment wondering if it was just me) but by now I can see that the filmmakers aren’t so sure they’re going to benefit by doing what pleases us.
I’m also aware (who better?) of how it’s possible to become so saturated with Tolkien images that the thought of going and seeing the movies loses its appeal. The availability of information for ‘Phantom Menace’ posed that very danger. It started by whetting the appetite and ended by overwhelming it by the time I’d got into the cinema. Funny thing for us on this website to be arguing, but there you are, I’m not going to back down from telling it the way I see it.
If all I see of the LOTR films before they open are crummy grainy videos like this then the film company will have achieved something they’re entitled to aim for – I’ll be ready to crawl across broken glass to see them on the big screen.
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