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Daisy writes: It was a beautiful, sunny, 18-degree day in Toronto on Saturday April 16, yet die-hard LOTR fans turned their backs on it! 130 of us gathered at the world-renowned Cinesphere movie theatre at Ontario Place in order to spend the day watching Peter Jackson’s precious LOTR movies back to back to back. Full of anticipation, we all settled into our seats well before 11 am; no one wanted to miss a single moment of the movies! FOTR began playing to applause and within a few minutes the crowd rippled with excitement; FOTR:EE was onscreen instead of the expected theatrical release! We were off to a great start!
Fans used the ½ hour intermissions between movies to stroll outside by the water, grab much needed sustenance and mingle with old and new friends. We also got a chance to meet with volunteers from /The Gathering/, a LOTR fan event that is happening again in 2006. Here is their link: http://www.tolkiengathering.com/. They had a booth set up, providing information about /The White Tree Fund/, a special LOTR fan charity. For the day, fans raised $170, and all proceeds from this event, as well as the individual screenings of the movies, will be donated to /The/ /White Tree Fund,/ specifically for Tsunami relief efforts. For more information, here is their link: http://www.whitetreefund.org/.
The Cinesphere’s powerful sound system did justice both to the brilliant work of the LOTR production team and Howard Shore’s captivating musical score. From the clash and crash of multidimensional battle scenes to horses galloping across the plains of Rohan to water dripping in Ithilien, the quality of sound put us right in the middle of every scene that was happening onscreen. Audience participation became more evident as TTT and then ROTK progressed. We laughed, cheered, clapped and cried. Eowyn’s “I am no MAN!” received loud applause, and there was much laughter at Legolas’ brilliant observation “A diversion”. Merry and Pippin’s high-jinks brought great mirth, and we collectively held our breath as we waited for Frodo to let Sam rescue him.
While it was a long day, this fan went home thrilled to have seen the beloved LOTR trilogy on the big screen. If you missed out, the movies will be playing at the Cinesphere, once each over the next few weeks, and you can still get tickets. http://www.isometricprojections.com/.
