Ringer Spy Firebrand sends along word on where he/she saw the spikey wheel. [More]
Day: July 10, 2001
From: Firebrand
I was at the Licensing Show in New York (in June) only one thing was interesting : the New Line booth, with the Lord of the Rings ! I had the chance to peak at series 1 and 2 figurines, as well as some new figurines I hadn’t seen on the Internet.
There were also two large “full scale” costums, probably used in the movie : one was an orc warrior, the other one, a magnificient Black Rider. I noticed there were some sharp, short spikes on his gloves.
Among the figurines, there was a landscape diorama of Orthanc (quite alike to Alan Lee and Tolkien’s drawings), and guess what I spotted below the Tower…a tiny spiky wheel, the one that Saruman was impaled upon. It’s now clear that Saruman is being pushed of the tower by Grima in the third movie (the “plot twist” aluded to by Ian McKellen).
This interview with Ewart Oakeshott, one of the greatest experts on swordfighting through the ages is a sobering reminder of how ignorant we are nowadays concerning these lost arts. After reading this you can’t help thinking that all those wonderful movies where we’ve been stirred by the clash of sword on sword are just wrong, wrong, wrong! Ow, it hurts to give up a favourite fantasy. But still, thanks to the folks at the Historical Armed Combat Assn. and Gurnsy for the link. [More]
The Alternative Tolkien society updated their website in June. Check out their themed tours of their ever-expanding version of Middle-earth. They also have new Tolkien sweatshirt to buy if you join up!