Anthony writes: The Actors’ Studio Drama School will be featuring some of the cast of LOTR as part of their Studio Seminars on September 29. The Inside the Actors Studio event will be televised, but if anyone would like to be there, they’ll have to enroll in the class. It’s an 8 session class which will included the LOTR cast, Barbara Streisand, Hugh Jackman, & Russell Crowe. The catch: You must enroll for the whole semester. With the fees, it comes to $377 & the class number is TDRM 5005 Section B. The classes will be held at the Tischman Theater, 66 W 12th St New York, NY & the phone number is (212) 229-5690. [More]
Month: September 2003
ATLANTA – For perhaps 361 days a year, give-or-take, the people who attended Dragon Con 2003 live life a lot like everybody else. But for four days those passionate about fantasy, sci-fi or related genres enter what might be the closest thing to an alternate reality there is.
Two hotels and an estimated 26,000 guests create a new universe where “strange” dress, behavior, fanaticism and sleep paterns are the norm rather than the exception. Corsets and stormtroopers become so commonplace it seems as if something is missing upon return home.
Among Tolkienites, the internet has already shrunk the fan community, but there is simply no replacement for a friendly hug or handshake and a shared laugh between those who feel strongly about a book that is on the eve of its 50th anniversary. So, during your perusal of TORn’s Dragon Con 2003 coverage, remember that perhaps the best moments are those that aren’t news, that cannot be reported upon and which will never make a headline or a photo. DCon is about being part of a sometimes strange but almost always entertaining and friendly community.
ATLANTA – The Tolkien track at DCon is bigger than just TORn programming but TORn programming plays a significant part to be sure. As a reporter of events there, as well as a participant on occasion, I try to be objective, fair and honest. At the risk of sounding TORn-centric, there are things I must tell.
TORn friend Carlene Cordova and staffer Quickbeam gave a two-day, two-part report on their project “Ringers – Lord Of The Fans” starting on Saturday along with the Director of Photography Josh Mandel aka “Tan Pants”. In the spirit of full openness I must disclose that I am a Unit Director (a guy who sends in footage) for the project but I attended the film’s briefing intending to bring TORnados a informative report.
I knew there would be good information but if I may break into a momentary commentary and borrow one of Quickbeam’s favorite
words: “brilliant!” You can find the movie’s web site here: http://www.theonering.net/ringers/ and I had read it and looked forward to the panel, but hearing those working on it gush about their ideas and hopes at the Dragon Con event was inspiring. If nothing else these folks pour their passion into the project and I suspect that will be evident on-screen as well.
Their work is far from over with Mandel heading to the UK shortly and all the ROTK fan footage gearing up. Like any independent filmmakers, they are seeking funding – seeking it always but they are determined to continue in their efforts however they must.
The film’s focus is of course Tolkien fans and on day one of the presentation they spoke of the beginnings of fandom and its first two decades of existence. “It is a penetrating glimpse into the explosion of fandom,” according to Mandel. Quickbeam described it as, “Delicious, fun playfulness.”
Day two was left to cover more modern fans and started with a look at Middle Earth at the dorms in the University of California Irvine. Back in the day fans named 24 dormitories after Tolkien’s own geography and the area still stands as a monument on the campus of the “fightin’ Aardvarks.”
The audience was also favored with Mr. Spock’s (Leonard Nimoy) rendition of “Bilbo Baggins“, a real favorite on convention circuits but a song a lot of fans either don’t know about or haven’t seen. Amazing, vintage, wonderfully dated stuff.
The Tolkien events covered in day two included things like the publishing of “The Silmarillion” in 1977, the release of the animated “Hobbit” by Rankin/Bass, the Ralph Bakshi version of “The Lord Of The Rings” and the internet history of Tolkien fandom. Even TORn history was covered, beginning with the photo-essay page it used to be and Tehanu being charged with trespassing.
Perhaps most compelling was the “Ringers” preview showing some of the quickest bits of Tolkien fandom in their own words strung together to give a feel of the documentary the crew is working on. It was greeted with delight and left the crowd wanting more. The full future of the project is still unknown but at the very least it will play phenomenally well at conventions and in fandom circles but the filmmakers hope the appeal is wider. They hope that as a social commentary it will play to large audiences and that a major distributor will step in and give them added leverage.
In addition to the “Ringers” panel, Calisuri, Corvar, Maegwen and I all played a part in the hour long spoiler-filled look at “Return Of The King” and “The Two Towers” Extended Edition. That presentation to a “sold-out” room (the largest at DCon) both Friday and Saturday, coupled with our own senior staffer Jincey running the whole Tolkien tract, kept the web site in the mix of the community. This was a “had to be there” event but the audience appeared to be involved in the photos and commentary provided by staffers. As an aside, as much as I enjoyed the actual presentation, I enjoyed the in-the-hotel creation of the presentation even more. The staff folks, while not full-time Tolkien scholars, were a pleasure to listen to while theorizing about the films and the significance of each individual photo.
In content and promotional impact, “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy is a multifaceted machine. Last August “The Fellowship of the Ring,” the first of Peter Jackson’s three films, was released on DVD with a fair-size list of extras. In November a much-extended special edition appeared with 30 more minutes woven into a movie that already ran 178 minutes, and with many more extras to examine every aspect. [More]
By PETER M. NICHOLS
In content and promotional impact, “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy is a multifaceted machine. Last August “The Fellowship of the Ring,” the first of Peter Jackson’s three films, was released on DVD with a fair-size list of extras. In November a much-extended special edition appeared with 30 more minutes woven into a movie that already ran 178 minutes, and with many more extras to examine every aspect.
Increased length is usually a mistake. In this case it was a triumph: “Fellowship” was the consensus DVD of the year. That success, of course, did no harm to “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” the second part of the trilogy, which opened in theaters in December and eventually earned $339 million at the box office.
This week New Line began the routine all over again with a “Two Towers” DVD (and in deference to the 50 percent of households without a DVD player, videocassette). An enlarged special edition, with more than 40 minutes added into the movie, is scheduled for November release. On Dec. 17, the third film, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” is to open in theaters.
“One of the key differences this year is the amount of awareness,” said Matt LaSorsa, senior vice president for marketing at New Line Home Entertainment. That attests to the growing influence of DVD, in this case Mr. Jackson’s all-enveloping use of it as a part of the movie-making and promotional process.
But why buy a “Towers” DVD now when a bigger one is coming along in less than 90 days (albeit at a $39.99 suggested retail price versus $29.95 for the first version)? The answer depends on how much DVD you’re looking for; the two releases are intended for two audiences, and features don’t repeat themselves.
The current DVD has the 179-minute movie that played in theaters. “It’s for people who don’t like to sit through an even longer film,” Mr. Lasorsa said. Behind-the-scenes documentaries probably tell moderate fans all they want to know about the making of “The Two Towers.” For those interested, these features also describe the making of the much more elaborate November DVD edition and offer a preliminary look at the making of “The Return of the King.”
For rabid fans the November disc will have the 215-minute extended version and added material describing it and the trilogy as a whole.
The three movies were shot in New Zealand during an 18-month period beginning in 2000. From then on “Rings” movie-making and DVD production have proceeded at the same time on an integrated production line.
On the discs, actors taken back to New Zealand reshoot scenes for “The Return” and do interviews and commentary for both “Towers” DVD’s. Mr. Jackson moves from editing the third movie to working on the DVD’s of the second and back again.
Much of the reshooting for “Return” and the expanded “Towers” is to heighten the personalrelationships in films heavy on battle. Like many other directors, Mr. Jackson says one of the pleasures of DVD is being able to reassure actors that scenes cut to shorten theater running times can be put back on disc.
ATLANTA – One of the featured events at Dragon Con is constant parade of costumes. Sure the convention’s official Masquerade is spectacular but the real show is the floor of the convention’s two hotels. The creativity on display is head turning and pathway clogging. TORn managed to photograph a great number of costumes (hopefully posted soon) but even then we have just scratched the surface.
Lord Of The Rings fans can rest easy knowing that “our people” represented very well. The front entertainment page of the “Atlanta Journal Constitution” featured a group of fearsome orcs led by LOTR fan Brian Wolfe from Orlando. In addition, the teaser at the top of A1 that day also showed an orc, enticing readers to go inside.
Wolfe and his spectacularly nasty crew has been a LOTR fan for years. “I read the books. We saw the Hobbit on TV and watched it all the time as kids.” Even among all the amazing costumes the crew of nine, a couple out of costume when TORn caught up with them, really were among the very elite.
Wolfe works in Orlando as a make-up artist at Universal Studios and calls the Peter Jackson films their collective favorite movie, and that is among film lovers. “These were something better. They set the standard. Like most good Tolkien fans he was awaiting the DVD at midnight and is a frequent visitor to TheOneRing.net. In the past Wolfe has done costumes based on Spawn, Mortal Combat and “musical” theatrical group Gwar. The friends have attended DCon for five consecutive years and travel from Florida, New York, North Carolina and anywhere else they need to in order to attend.
A group pictured in a fan report on TORn worked on their getups for seven months, all in anticipation for DCon. Julia (part of the Tolkien costume panel) and her husband Kevin – shown here as part of a group of friends – were also show-stoppers. Everybody from Klingons to Laura Croft wanted pictures with the group.
Toby Markham from Chicago attended Dcon in an amazing Sauron costume made by his own hand. “I always do Star Wars,” he said. “The year I wanted to do something different.” When fully suited up, Markham could only see out of the nose of his mask. “People get out of my way,” he said. He is considering redoing his mask to allow for a flap on the back. His work is done in gapaxio for the detail and in aluminum in the broader pieces of armour. It goes without saying that once inside, it gets a bit hot.
More subtle were the extravagant Elvish gowns and sewn materials that dotted the fandom landscape. Explore the TORn scrapbook for an abundance of examples. TORn’s official complaint: Where were the Hobbits people? There were a few but as a fandom we are pretty Elvicentric.
Saturday night was the official masquerade took a Lord Of The Rings introduction on video calling itself “The Masq of the Rade.” Masters of Ceremony George Takai and Walter Kronig of Star Trek fame were funny, partly because they were so unaware of the content of most of the costumes and stumbled over many of the names, descriptions and hand-writing.
“Our” oft-mentioned Balrog with wings was in the official contest along with Nessa of The Valar and a trio of friends who were unfairly escorted off the stage by rotten storm troopers. The very good “twilight nazgul” with her own duplicate scream barely walked on stage when the troopers ended the fun. An Arwen also played part in a spoof along with Star Wars, Harry Potter and the Matrix. Arwen got to chase the HP people off the stage while the Matrix people were riffed on for cashing in.
Other highlights included the three faerie godmothers from Disney’s “Cinderella”, a perversion of my beloved “Monsters Inc.”, Harvey Birdman, Aku and Samurai Jack from Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, the “most fearsome monster from 1978” Dungeons & Dragon’s mindflayer (which won “best sci-fi”?!?! How is D&D sci-fi?!?!). There were also quality Borg, a wonderful 3,000 feather “Snow Queen” from the book of the same title and a rendition of stage play Grease’s “Summer Nights” by a macabre group including Frankenstein and his bride.
Without a doubt, the most amazing costumes, in or out of the show was the complete monster group from Maurice Sendak’s children’s book “Where The Wild Things Are.” As they slowly paraded onto the stage, the audience gasped, then clapped, then stood, then cheered. Hopefully between dead batteries and camera problems TORn will have a glimpse posted soon. The same group floored the public at the Hyatt later, putting security into a panic. Quite a spectacle. [More Masquerade Costumes]
For a comprehensive look at Dragon Con images, go to their homepage (http://www.dragoncon.com) and click on “Links And Photos” in the left column where the con posts photo links of all kinds at the con, eventually including TORn’s coverage.