Kevin writes: Wikipedia, a free open-source encyclopedia, has a ‘featured article’ is that of none other than Sir Ian McKellen! [More]
Month: July 2004
Ian Berriman , Editorial Assistant for SFX Magazine writes: We’ve just put up some behind-the-scenes snaps from a recent photoshoot with Billy Boyd on our site, and I wondered if it’s something you’d like to mention on your site? [More]
The utopian visions of other worlds that make up the backdrops in Hollywood’s multimillion dollar feature film industry may seem futuristic or magical to moviegoers, but any time traveler worth his salt could tell you that these landscapes have more in common with Earth’s recent past than the far future. [More]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THE ORIGINS OF FANTASY, REVEALED AT THE 2004 SAN DIEGO COMICON
The utopian visions of other worlds that make up the backdrops in Hollywood’s multimillion dollar feature film industry may seem futuristic or magical to moviegoers, but any time traveler worth his salt could tell you that these landscapes have more in common with Earth’s recent past than the far future.
The designs and decorations of a late 19th century art movement called Art Nouveau have influenced a whole lineage of Fantasy film making, and artifacts that would be right at home in the parlors of Frodo Baggins or Ming the Merciless will be on display courtesy of Century Guild at the 2004 San Diego Comicon.
Artists at the turn of the last century reacted against the Industrial Revolution by taking their design inspirations from dreams and nature and blending these elements into their work in a completely original and mystical way, leaving behind the classical traditions of the Victorian Era and creating the first completely original design movement in centuries.
In the decades to come, writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs would look directly to Art Nouveau when describing the palaces of Mars, and by the 1930s the machine age of Art Deco style had rendered the furniture of the Art Nouveau era so unfashionable that it was an easy and inexpensive choice to decorate the palaces of the planet Mongo for the Flash Gordon serials.
It’s no wonder, then, that when today’s set designers envision fantastic things beyond normal imagination they also look to Art Nouveau for inspiration: we see bronze numerals by Hector Guimard, designer of the French Metropolitain stations, marking the chambers of the intelligent dinosaurs in Dinotopia; Art Nouveau lighting by Louis Comfort Tiffany decorates a palace in The Fifth Element; and Peter Behrens-inspired statuary from the Darmstadt art colony of 1901 makes up most of the Teutonic design of The Chronicles of Riddick. H.R. Giger’s Oscar-nominated creature design from the movie Alien would feel right at place in Holland circa 1900, and the subtle modernizations that turned Celtic stylings into something suitable for Middle Earth in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy follow a path well mapped by the British designer Archibald Knox for England’s Liberty and Co.
A magical box guarded by watchful gnomes in which a young Harry Potter could safely keep his wand, iridescent monolithic vases that could have been excavated from Atlantis, and Frodo-worthy statues of sinuous, fire-breathing dragons are among the Art Nouveau artifacts that will be on display and available for sale courtesy of Century Guild at the San Diego Comicon, booth 3445 in the San Diego Convention center, July 22-25 2004.
For more information or images please contact Thomas Negovan at 312.720.7201 or disinfo@centuryguild.net.
Century Guild
www.centuryguild.net
What do you get when you mix a gaggle of Hobbits – a bevy of beautiful Elven Ladies – a horde of stalwart Dwarves – and a menagerie of mortal Men? Add in a couple of Orcish louts just for fun, sprinkle in some funny Kiwi accents, then give them free reign in a fabulous San Diego club so they can all relax, drink, and talk? Now just imagine what all this mischief will add up to? [More]
What do you get when you mix a gaggle of Hobbits – a bevy of beautiful Elven Ladies – a horde of stalwart Dwarves – and a menagerie of mortal Men? Add in a couple of Orcish louts just for fun, sprinkle in some funny Kiwi accents, then give them free reign in a fabulous San Diego club so they can all relax, drink, and talk? Now just imagine what all this mischief will add up to?
Well it’s got to be the first ever RingersMoot! What else would you expect from the filmmaking team behind “RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS”?
We know that you kids are going to San Diego in July. We know you’re headed out to Comic-Con for the yearly blitzkrieg of Tolkien pop mania. Ah, the energy! The blaring screens and kiosks! The amazing costumes! The magical exclusive first-look at our feature documentary “Ringers”! It just wouldn’t be summer without Comic-Con! And since we _know_ that all you Ringers will there, we decided to give you guys a social venue where EVERYONE can have a relaxing, fun time at our informal gathering. We do not expect to have any special celebrity guests, we will have plenty of stars on hand. Last year 250 Ringers dropped into our confessional booth at Comic Con to express their love of “The Lord of the Rings,” everyday Ringers truly are the stars of our film!
On Thursday, July 22, 2004, the “Ringers” filmmakers are holding a special 1-hour panel with author Peter S. Beagle [full story on our website]. When the panel ends at 7:00PM, we are all heading out to the RingersMoot. Come along and have a pint with us [and bring along your beer stein from our CaféPress store: “Yes, it does come in pints!”] at the fabulous nightspot THE MARTINI RANCH. Here is all the info:
RingersMoot location: The Martini Ranch club, 528 F Street, San Diego – just 6 blocks north of the Convention Center.
![[ Yahoo! Maps ]](http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mp/gr/mplogo.gif){kind=small}
The event is Thursday night, July 22, 2004, starting 8:00pm till close. The event is Thursday night, July 22, 2004, starting 8:00pm till closing. There is no cover charge until 9:00pm, after 9:00pm it is $5 or only $4 with our special flyer. After 10:00PM it’s $9 with our flyer, $10 without it. Be sure to visit our “Ringers” table on the Mezzanine and our huge Panel in Room 6CDEF on Thursday July 22nd to get the discount flyer. The Martini Ranch serves appetizers until 9:00PM, and has a no-host bar, admission is 21 and over only. Be sure to arrive early as we will fill the space to capacity very quickly!
See you all there!
Much too hasty,
Quickbeam
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Visit our website!
lordofthefans.net