Tehanu here, with a late spy report.
I was down in Wellington recently when friends reported seeing a truck passing by their house with a giant cave-troll on the back. The Troll and Fell Beast have been taken off the buildings where they’ve perched since before the World Premiere last year. After a short time lying in a field they started to get damaged by people climbing over them, once the newspapers had reported on their whereabouts. So now they’ve been moved.
Well, I’m not going to say where they are now, for that reason. And also because while I’m willing to climb up some rotting wood and rusting tin, or climb tall wobbly ladders in order to take photos, I’m not going to be responsible for somebody heavier or less lucky injuring themselves doing the same.
Climbing up said rotting wooden bits netted me some poor shots through a small gap in the wall. My friends went back and got a truck and a ladder so we could reach a more substantial hole in the wall just under the roof. Just as they were propping it against the wall of the building, the police turned up. I saw them first; my friends were oblivious. I had the interesting task of trying to run towards them in a casual and non-guilty-looking way while shouting very quietly “Put the ladder away, the cops are here!” God only knows what the cops were looking for. They turned around and drove off without even looking at us and our ladder propped against the wall of a lonely warehouse in the middle of nowhere.
I climbed up and stuck my head in the small opening under the roof. There was the Cave Troll, resting on his back in the dark amid a heap of other strange debris – badly-made paper-machier trees (not from Weta obviously), plaster swans, part of what looked like a large model Saturn V rocket, and various rejected decorations from other shopfronts. It was a graveyard of sorts. Rubble, dust, rusting girders and chains hanging uselessly from the ceiling – it was a very sad sight.
Later my friends rang to say that a funeral cortege had passed by carrying the Cave Troll’s friends – the giant Gollum that used to sit on the roof of Wellington Airport, and the Fell Beasts and Nazgul from above the Embassy and Reading cinemas. So perhaps we have seen the last of them – they have gone to their final resting place, their long home.
— Tehanu
Posted in:
Share:
Those who know Ringer Spy Irascian a little bit will know by now that he doesn’t always get his things finished in time (“It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish”), but that’s a minor detail seeing as how his reports and pictures always manage to capture the spirit of an event so wonderfully. So without further ado take a look at and a read through the last three pages of his report on our Oscar party, right here! Mind you, this link will take you straight to page three, if you want to start at the beginning you’d better click here!
(And yes I was wearing shades inside but there were so many camera’s flashing, Ian, I needed them to see where I was going because I was blinded by the light! – leo)
Posted in:
Share:
Princess Faz writes: The June issue of Starlog magazine has a very nice interview with David Wenham. It is mostly about his role as Faramir. He discusses some of the scenes that were filmed that might be in the EE, also. It’s a good interview. There are lots of Faramir fans that are starving for information.
Anyone with scans, send them along!
Posted in:
Share:
Cat writes: David Wenham is co-starring in the new movie Van Helsing. I watched a SciFi channel special on Van Helsing last night, and there is a nice bit on David, and the quirky character he plays in the movie. It’s a big change from Faramir, and it looks like he has fun with it! The special, Van Helsing: The Man and the Monsters – A SCI FI Lowdown, will be repeated later in the week. [More]
Posted in:
Share:
SemiSilver writes: Last Sunday, my friend Combeferre and I, drove the 1 and a half hour confusing drive to Winchester, Virginia for the Annual Apple Blossom Festival. This year, Special guests Loni Anderson and Sean Astin were to be the Grand Marshals of the festival and were to ride in the parade along with Soap Star Eva LaRue, and other celebrities like Chevy Chase and Kwame Jackson, runner up of the Apprentice. [More]
Posted in:
Share:
Thanks to EVERYONE who sent in their pics!
SemiSilver writes:
Last Sunday, my friend Combeferre and I, drove the 1 and a half hour confusing drive (thanks to wonderful Mapquest) to Winchester, Virginia for the Annual Apple Blossom Festival (and I wore my spiffy Goonies Shirt, just for the occasion!). This year, Special guests Loni Anderson (who wasnt very crowd friendly) and Sean Astin were to be the Grand Marshals of the festival and were to ride in the parade along with Soap Star Eva LaRue, and other celebrities like Chevy Chase and Kwame Jackson, runner up of the Apprentice.
We arrived around 12:30 ish, and wandered the streets that the parade floats had adorned. We saw nothing that Sean Astin could possibly be gracing his presence with.
So we moved on. Untill we noticed (some 45 minutes later) that a large crowd had gathered in a parking lot lined with convertible cars of all assorted models. We figured that was a good place to investigate. And aren’t we glad we did! Because therwe near the front was a really nice, old convertible labeled with banners saying “SEAN ASTIN, Sam, The Hobbit” Which I thought was rather comical. We waited, gathered with other Sean Fans (and a huge fan girl group that had Sean Astin written all over themselves in a bunch of different places) and before we knew it, there were a few screams and “There he is!” shouts.
Needless to say, I think my heart momentarily stopped. I have been a fan of Sean’s since I was 7, and I am now 21, so…you do the math 🙂
So here he comes, along with his wife and two daughters. He has such a beautiful family, and I could just eat his kids up. (Don’t look at me like that, it is a figure of speech!) 🙂 And people, no joke, FLOODED around the car. It was like releasing a dam at the begining of the Nile River… Everyone was shouting “Sean Sean!” and it got a bit rediculous. The security started stepping in a bit. People were asking him to sign things, and he had to decline, regretfully because Security wouldn’t allow it. (I wont say anything…) But Sean managed to respond to all the “Seans!” and made eyecontact with whoever he could, and someone gave him a monopoly One Ring on a chain, which I kind of had to laugh at, because honestly, HOW MANY TIMES do you think hes gotten a version of the one ring? LOL. But Sean was very generous, and said “I thought we destroyed this thing!” and of course everyone laughed.
Thats when they started the car and pulled out onto the main drag where the parade would begin. Only, they stopped in the street, and more people realized who it was, and since they weren’t moving, more people went to the car. And he still made sure to chat with everyone.
That’s when he looked at me. And he kept looking at me. I tugged down my Goonies shirt so it was readable and he smiled. So of course, I said “Rock on! He saw my shirt!” And again he was distracted away by people screaming his name. Thats also when I noticed that Combeferre was at the car shaking his hand and speaking with him! I hadn’t even noticed she had left me on the sidewalk and gone over! So I contemplated getting yelled at to go over, when Combeferre returned to me and informed me that he was leaving straight from the Festival to go to The White House in Washington, DC. So… he would most likely not be able to sign anything later. She also told me I should go to the car, and my reluctance was begining to fade. So I took a breath and walked to that car. And he looked at me and smiled (He is SO nice, lemme tell you!) And I said extremely chipperly “Hi Sean!”
To which he replied “Hi! How are you!?” I told him I was well and explained that I had been a fan of his for 15 years, since Goonies was released and I saw it for the first time. To which he said “Oh wow! Thank you! I was admiring your shirt way over there!” And I said “Oh! Thanks! I loved the Goonies!”
Before I could open my mouth to praise his Sam, the car began to move, so before I walked back, I asked him if I could take a picture, which he said yes to, and I extended my hand, and he shook it with a big Sean Astin Grin that I absolutely adore.
It was a fabulous day. The weather was great, the Hobbit Karma was great, and aside from sunburned arms and face, I am feeling extremely well! Once I get the pics scanned I will definately send them in. Take Care everyone and have a hobbit day!
Posted in:
Share:
