TORn friend Irascian reports: The BBC’s 13 hour radio dramatization of “The Lord of the Rings”, adapted by Brian Sibley and starring Ian Holm as Frodo, has just been reissued in a special “Ring” tinned “Collector’s Edition.” [More]
Month: October 2003
Richard writes: It’s voting time again! Back in April, the BBC asked the public to name the UK’s favourite books. From a list of 100 comes the top 21 and LOTR is in there. [More]
Thanks to everyone for writing in!
Richard writes: It’s voting time again! Back in April, the BBC asked the public to name the UK’s favourite books. From a list of 100 comes the top 21 and LOTR is in there. Vote HERE.
Tonight, the BBC reviewed the 21 finalists and regrettably LOTR received the usual mockery. In the studio were a mixture of novellists, media presenters and entertainers who summarised their thoughts on each book in turn. When it came to Tolkien’s book the tone changed completely.
Whether this was due to programme editing I’m not certain, but as soon as someone admitted they liked the book they became the focus of derision. One such guest (a novellist whose name temporarily escapes me) was branded as “sad” as soon as he revealed that he had read the book five times. He immediately backed down by pointing out that this had all been before he was 20 years old. Well that’s a relief then – heaven forbid that a grown adult should read such material. I swear by the expressions on some faces that there were others in the studio who wanted to say something in defence of the book, but were not prepared to risk their professional careers in doing so.
Over the next eight weeks a celebrity will champion each book and tonight we received a preview of each. Outdoor survivalist Ray Mears is to be LOTR’s advocate. We shall have to wait and see, but if the presentation in the clip is anything to go by then the tone will be “tacky sword and sorcery” with the usual WW2 analogies. Yeuch! I dare say Ray Mears will make a good fist of it but I couldn’t help wishing Christopher Lee were doing it instead, but that might have come off as overt marketing for the films.
While there aren’t yet any details on Trilogy Tuesday in Canada, there is an event in Toronto which will feature all three films on Dec. 17th. ‘The Gathering of the Fellowship‘ will present the trio of films as the highlight of a three-day conference, complete with panels, special guests, banquets, and more. To catch up with TORn folks attending the event, visit their group page.
Lee sent us this: The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is proud to announce its continued association with New Line Cinema as a sponsor of 2003 Teen Read Week, and the unveiling of the new Teen Read Week poster featuring “The Lord of the Rings” cast member Orlando Bloom. [More] Feast your eyes….I mean, get reading!
Kauthor writes: Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf) was on E-Talk Daily on CTV last night. Even though he didn’t give anything away, he did confirm that ROTK would be longer than the other two films, that it would be a lot more emotional. He quoted Peter Jackson by saying that this film was the one film he’d meant to make all along. Sir Ian also pointed out that one of the acting jobs he’d most look forward to doing in the future would be to work on none other than the Stratford stage in our beloved province of Ontario.