Instead of one of the numerous fan sites on the web doing it first, Sir Ian McKellen’s website has unveiled the first image of him as Magento in X2. Posted in his most recent X2 mailbag, the image shows Magneto in the plastic prison he was incarcerated in at the end of X-Men. [More]
Month: August 2002
Two more reports from the talk held in Melbourne a few days ago – apparently a really interesting and informative session. [More]
From David: “I also attended the Andrew Lesnie event in Melbourne last night. While he said the rough version of TTT he had seen ran about 2h 15m, he implied that there was quite a bit more to go in yet. I can’t remember his exact words but I believe he said there was some digital material still to be added, plus some of the recent pick-up shots.
“I concur with Matt’s description of the night, and of how enthusiastic and forthcoming Andrew was. He was on stage for about 3 hours (with an interval) and told numerous stories about his work. We also saw him in front of the camera twice. About 20 or so years ago Andrew was a cameraman on a children’s current affairs show, shooting two 4 minute stories every day. In one of these he also played a vet operating on an injured cat, along with the soundman and the reporter as surgical assistants! The second on-camera appearance was in the “making of The Long and the Short of it” doco on the Sean Astin short film. Andrew played a painter (Peter Jackson played a bus driver). This was a wonderful piece, which also included Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Mark Ordesky and many others.
“As Matt reported, Andrew was quite happy to talk about his days as a clapper loader and focus puller, and to show early corporate film work (including a truly bizarre Kellogg’s board meeting) and one of his television commercial showreels. He made the point to the many young filmmakers in the audience that there was always something useful to learn in every sort of work.
“It was a fantastic evening, topped off when Andrew kindly signed my copy of LOTR (the hardback version illustrated by Alan Lee).”
And from K: “I was also lucky enough to see Andrew Lesnie last night and, I want to agree with everything Matt said, very interesting and a great guy.
“Some clarifications: When Andrew mentioned TTT running time it was in the middle of other discussions and not in response to a specific question, so he wasn’t really focused on that information. He clearly was unsure and stumbled on it, saying something else (possibly 2.4X…) before settling (uncertainly) on 2.15 – I wouldn’t take much notice of this information. He made an interesting comment that PJ clearly felt, on viewing a rough cut, that the characters where overwhelmed “getting lost in the landscape”, and so almost all the pick ups were character development – very good news I think.
“He was very excited about TTT, as Matt said, and said the film will be of a much higher visual quality (he wasnt that thrilled with this aspect of FOTR) due to the technicalities (quality losses associated with anamorphic optical stretch – this can now be done digitally as the whole film has been digitized) Matt mentioned. (could this be why the FOTR DVD looks so much better than the theatre release?) The whole discussion was approximately the expected length of the FOTR SE, so I will now sleep at my desk.”
A few days ago the DVD hadn’t arrived in Thailand yet, but there’s good reports about the VCD version. And in Singapore, the LOTR Visual Companions will arrive in November. [More]
From Twilight Elf: I was really excited at seeing the 2 latest offerings from Houghton-Mifflin & quickly checked up with my local bookstore for their prices. Borders Singapore are expecting the stocks to arrive sometime in November 2002. The TTT Visual Companion is priced at $33.50. As for ‘The Making of LOTR’ by Brian Sibley, the soft version is priced at $35.50 & the hard cover version is at $52.50. Isn’t that just thrilling?
And from Enarei: “Hello to you from Bangkok, Thailand. No sign of the DVD here as of yet- though the VCD did come out on August 6th. I got one myself- a three-disc set in two cases (the cover is similar to what I have seen is on the DVD) which is in an elegant box with The Lord of the Rings in gold on the front and back, and is encircled by the elvish script on the ring (also in gold). It comes at B390, converting into something like $9.50, though some stores sell it cheaper (I got mine at $6.00). It’s only available in widescreen- fitting your TV screen, I mean (as far as I have found). Anyway, the movie quality is good, and I’m still getting over the fact that it’s the first time I’ve come across a VCD with a somewhat interactive menu. Included with the theatrical version of the movie is the official trailer and a slideshow with Enya’s ‘May It Be’ in the background.
“All in all, I like the VCD, but am looking forward to the DVD (which I was assured is ‘coming soon’- the release date is probably written on the posters, but since I can neither speak nor read Thai I wouldn’t know) as well as maybe the extended edition in November. Oh, and the VHS is also available, but I haven’t seen it yet. For fans in Thailand, if you buy one from Mangpong, you get a chance with each purchase in this lucky draw where you can get some cool LOTR stuff (posters, book discounts, etc.)”
News from Sir Doris: The Australian version of 60 Minutes will be running a story on Sir Ian Mckellan this Sunday the 18th of August at 7:30pm.