As if murderous orcs and magic spells weren’t enough to contend with, there are two languages to learn – loosely based on Welsh and Finnish. Undeterred by the challenge, a group of schoolboys has volunteered for lessons in Sindarin, the “conversational” form of Elvish, invented by Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien. [More]
Month: March 2004
New Zealand are holding off their celebrations in the wake of The Lord of the Rings Oscar triumph until director Peter Jackson returns home from the US. “Any decision about the form of the tribute should involve Peter,” said Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast. “This is of huge importance to Wellington, so our emphasis will be on getting it right, not getting it quickly,” she said. [More]
From creature-corner.com: Scottish actor Billy Boyd will be joining Brad Dourif and Jennifer Tilly, who’re reprising their roles, as well as John Waters who’ll have a small turn in the flick ‘The Son of Chucky’. [More]
From creature-corner.com: A doll’s only as good as the voice behind it. Well, that’s at least the case for the Child’s Play series who has found genre vet Brad Dourif and Jennifer Tilly lending vocals to Chucky and Tiffany, respectively. And as we all know, Chuck and his bride (however dysfunctional their relationship may be) have a new addition to the family, one we’ll be seeing much of in the upcoming Seed of Chucky.
The film rolls in Romania this year with Don Mancini pulling writing and directing duties. But who’s lending the voice to Chuck’s “child” (note: we didn’t say son)? No sense in mystery, the picture on the right gives the answer away.
That’s Billy Boyd of Lord of the Rings fame. Through our own personal contacts with the Mancini camp, and Billy’s official site, we can confirm that this is legit. The Scottish actor will be joining Brad and Jennifer, who’re reprising their roles, as well as John Waters who’ll have a small turn in the flick.
Perceval Press publishes edgy books for the sheer love of it. Viggo Mortensen’s presence doesn’t hurt its chances. On a January night at Midnight Special Bookstore in Santa Monica, actor-artist-writer Viggo Mortensen reads the prose poem he wrote for an anthology about Iraq, “Twilight of Empire: Responses to Occupation.” It is one of the quieter pieces in the passionate volume and the author reads so softly that the entire audience leans in to hear him. [More]
Perceval Press publishes edgy books for the sheer love of it. Viggo Mortensen’s presence doesn’t hurt its chances.
On a January night at Midnight Special Bookstore in Santa Monica, actor-artist-writer Viggo Mortensen reads the prose poem he wrote for an anthology about Iraq, “Twilight of Empire: Responses to Occupation.” It is one of the quieter pieces in the passionate volume and the author reads so softly that the entire audience leans in to hear him.
But Mortensen, who played the heroic Aragorn in the “Lord of the Rings” films, is here not as a writer but in his capacity as publisher of Perceval Press. With his high profile, he spends quite a bit of energy deflecting praise to his authors.
After the reading and before the onslaught, Mortensen explains, “I just wanted to have a company that would publish writers and artists and poets,” he says, “people I wouldn’t have heard of — the way that they wanted to be published, without compromising.”
Editor Pilar Perez, a force on the L.A. literary scene, came to Perceval after years of organizing readings and exhibits at Santa Monica’s Track 16 gallery. Perez, who co-founded the press with Mortensen, coordinates the production of each book and oversees the printing in Spain. She also scouts for new projects and brought in the first fiction from urban theorist Mike Davis — two science adventure novels.
Mortensen got what Davis wanted to do right away. He understood how the book should look and feel. “Land of the Lost Mammoths,” published this winter, has a very transporting, solid feel to it. If you had to use it to get to another world, with its thick, fine paper and blue binding, it would not let you down. It feels at once very old and very futuristic, exactly what Davis had intended. At $15.95 it is also affordable.
The name of the press harks back to the legend of Parsifal, the knight of the Arthurian legend who found the Castle of the Grail and saved the Fisher King.
On his way to achieve knighthood at King Arthur’s Court, he and his knights choose to find their own paths. “If there was a trail,” says Mortensen, “they wouldn’t take it. They had to make their own ways. I wanted to provide that opportunity for artists.”
Perceval, which has five employees including Mortensen and Perez, has published more than 20 books: “Trance,” a photographic examination of voodoo; “Twilight of Empire,” about Iraq; “Remember Me,” drawings and photographs by Lola Schnabel; “The Horse Is Good” and “Coincidence and Memory,” both collections of photographs by Mortensen; and “Miyelo,” photographs from a film of a Lakota Ghost Dance, to name a few of the most beautiful.
Mortensen has a predilection for edgy books by controversial artists and writers. And he goes out of his way to support them. He is careful to let this reading be about his authors and the book and not about his presence.
“We take care with each book,” he says, slouched against a doorway and looking down. “We try to keep the prices low. We’re not operating with a goal in mind. We’re not beholden to other people or to large companies. We don’t have a plan. We just put out the books we want to. It’s a kind of,” he pauses, searching for the word, “thoughtful anarchy.”