After lackluster festival reviews, director Cameron Crowe scrambles to get his heartfelt romantic comedy ”Elizabethtown” in shape for general audiences. Will they show him the money? Cameron Crowe is having a quintessentially Cameron Crowe moment. If he had written it himself, an Elton John song might be playing over the scene and you, the fired-up audience member, would suddenly be singing along under your breath, rooting for the shaggy underdog to survive the firestorm that has engulfed his world, turning his life from comedy to high-stakes drama without his consent. In typical Crowe fashion, his rescue would probably come in the form of a soulful, beautiful woman with great taste in music who shows up with just enough good humor and good sense to remind him why he loves his life and that none of that other stuff matters. It’s been a rough week for Crowe, 48, who recently screened his new movie, Elizabethtown, at the Toronto film festival, and watched critics have at it like a piñata. [More]
Month: September 2005
Sean Bean may now be a Hollywood heartthrob, but that has not stopped him returning to his Yorkshire roots to support his city’s university. The actor, who has worked alongside stars such as Pierce Brosnan, Orlando Bloom and Joely Richardson and is more usually found in the Hollywood Hills than Hillsborough, has returned to his home city to star in an advert promoting Sheffield Hallam University as the place to study. Bean, whose film credits include Lord of the Rings, and Patriot Games, and who was famously the swashbuckling hero of the TV series Sharpe, has recorded four adverts about studying at Sheffield Hallam and life in the city, to be broadcast on local radio stations. [More]
Henry Gee writes: On Monday 3 October, I’ll be talking about my book ‘The Science of Middle-earth’ at the Cafe Scientifique in Reading, England. The Science of Middle-earth grow out of a special guest column in Green Books right here on TORn. [More]
Halfdan Hansen writes: Not many people have the chance to visit the birthplace of the Ring in person. JensHansen Contemporary Gold & Silversmith in Nelson, New Zealand have added a webcam to their news and blog page on their website. The webcam updates every 15 seconds during our business hours. Not only can you spot if we are doing any work, you can also see what we are listening to right now on the iTunes stereo. [More]
Gigi writes: These two guys are planning on creating a CG movie with a LOTR theme. They have been working for about a year on recreating some sites from the movie. The project it’s far from done, but they are almoust ready to release a 2 minute trailer. [More]
Meghan, Online Community Manager for The Lord of the Rings Online writes: This week, World Builder (and Lore Monkey) Chris Pierson gives us a look at building one of the iconic areas in The Lord of the Rings: The Old Forest. Included are a couple of screenshots which should help give a feel for Chris’s fantastic work in re-creating the home of Old Man Willow and Tom Bombadil. [More]