If there’s an old copy of The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings sitting quietly in a cupboard at your place, now might be the time to check its publication date. Money from the sale of first editions by J.R.R. Tolkien, well-preserved and in their original dustwrapper, could make a big dent in your mortgage, beef up your super or send you on a holiday. They’re worth that much money. [More]
Month: April 2005
Emily writes: Thought you might like to know that The Lord of the Rings Symphony was a nominee earlier today for the Artistic Excellence Award given by the Greater Columbus Arts Council each year. The award is presented to an arts organization (in this case, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra) that demonstrates innovation, risk, and artistic excellence in a performance, exhibition, or program. LOTR didn’t win (it’s probably the first time in a long time that it hasn’t!), but I thought you might be interested in the program notes accompanying the nomination. I attended the concert last year and, as has been reported by many others, it was fabulous!
Nick writes: There was a rather interesting programme on BBC radio 4 this afternoon titled “A room with a view”. In the 15 minute programme Humphrey Carpenter (the official biographer) visited Tolkien’s study in Oxford, talked about Tolkien’s life in the city and discussed the writing of the “Lord of the Rings”. The show can be heard over the internet by going to the Radio 4 ‘Listen again’ page here and clicking on “Room with a view”.
HobbitRinger writes: I just got back from a packed weekend at the Philly Film Festival, and I must tell you, it was fantastic. Great movies, comfy theaters (leather seats are awesome), and the premiere of Shooting Livien, which I was anticipating, not only because of Dominic Monaghan, but also because the story looked like it had promise to be a Requiem for a Dream-esque movie. But sadly I was wrong about this movie. [More]
HobbitRinger writes: I just got back from a packed weekend at the Philly Film Festival, and I must tell you, it was fantastic. Great movies, comfy theaters (leather seats are awesome), and the premiere of Shooting Livien, which I was anticipating, not only because of Dominic Monaghan, but also because the story looked like it had promise to be a Requiem for a Dream-esque movie. But sadly I was wrong about this movie.
The entire movie was centered on one guy, John Livien (Jason Behr), but the character is so boring and such an asshole to everybody, that you just didn’t care about anything he did. There were only 3 good things about this movie: the cinematography, and the two bandmates, played by Dominic and Joshua Leonard (of Blair Witch fame), who felt like real people, and were really entertaining to watch.
It was only 90 min., but it felt at least 30 min. longer than it should have been. It dragged, trying to confuse the audience with a subplot involving John and his mother, but the director went nowhere with it. This had the potential to become a great film, but a muddled script and boring characters dragged it down. Disappointing.
Deenan writes: Here’s the website of Elijah Wood’s (hopefully, soon to be distributed in the US) movie “Hooligans.” Two awesome tracks from the soundtrack are here along with some eye popping 3D still graphics. Quite cool. [More]