A downturn in sales of J R R Tolkien titles prompted a fall in both profit and turnover at HarperCollins UK in the year to 30th June 2004. Results for HarperCollins Publishers, the statutory entity which includes most of HC’s UK operations, show a fall in turnover to £165.5m in the year to June 2004 from £166.4m in 2003. Operating profit dropped to £10.7m from £15.4m in 2003, while profit on ordinary activities before taxation was down to £9.7m from £20.4m in 2003. [More]
Month: April 2005
Ringer Spy Emma has sent along images of Ian McKellen at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. He is there to promote his film ‘Asylum’. [More]
Residents of the southern Spanish town of Tarifa did a double take when the legendary sailor Captain Alatriste dropped anchor there recently. The officer was accompanied by a huge crew when he arrived, but it was cameramen and sound engineers, rather than able bodied seamen, who came ashore with the swashbuckling adventurer. At the centre of attention was Lord Of The Rings star Viggo Mortensen, who takes the title role in the movie Alatriste, currently being filmed in Andalusia. The 46-year-old actor gets to show off his linguistic skills in the Spanish-language film, which follows the iconic soldier as he does battle with the English during the Imperial Wars. [More]
Peter Jackson’s cutting-edge, hi-tech film-making – used to great effect on The Lord of the Rings and King Kong – has been employed to restore the only film taken of the Anzacs at Gallipoli in 1915. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Anzac Day that the restored film – held by the Australian War Memorial in Canberra – was as good as when it first screened in London in 1916. The 20 minutes of footage included soldiers from the Wellington Battalion in a trench. The original nitrate film was destroyed in 1967, and the best print that remained was scratched, fuzzy and low in contrast. [More]
The $10 million stage production of The Hobbit has been cancelled after just 10 shows. Poor reviews and ticket sales have forced the show’s Auckland season to be cancelled just five days before its scheduled opening night. The show was a joint venture between New Zealand and Australia producers operating under the name Hobbit Productions. Promoters spared no expense flying journalists from Australia and Auckland to Wellington for the opening night performance. [More]
Ataahua adds: Let me just say that I’m really surprised about this. About 10 members of TORN’s discussion boards saw the last show of the Wellington season on April 23 and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. It has a very strong cast – particularly the actors who played Bilbo, Thorin Oakenshield, Gandalf and the narrator – and the character of Gollum was note-perfect. It’s a great pity that the season has been cancelled and no others will get a chance to see this story on stage.
Tolkien fan and harpist Asni will be presenting her programme “700 years of pop” in Te Awamutu, Tokoroa, Warkworth, and Motueka, as well as in Wellington. In addition, she will be performing her new programme “Travelling in Middle-Earth” in Hamilton, Dunedin and at Old St.Paul’s in Wellington. [More]