April, 2006 | Lord of the Rings Rings of Power on Amazon Prime News, JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit and more

Ian Collier at The Tolkien Society:

More Fun in The Shire Park: 13th-14th May 2006

This is the seventh Tolkien Weekend event, and the theme for this year’s event is “The Shire” is now an annual item in the Birmingham calendar. Sarehole Mill itself was the “original” for the Mill at Bywater in the Shire in The Lord of the Rings and is a central point in the Shire Country Park that covers the River Cole, Chinn Brook, as well as Moseley Bog, the Dell and the Dingles where JRR Tolkien played as a child.

Entertainments and Activities for visitors include:

Displays from The Tolkien Society and Birmingham Libraries about Tolkien’s life and works within the mill itself which will have a miller demonstrating his craft with the mill’s greater wheel running
Shire Productions will perform excerpts from The Hobbit in the new Performance Arena, which is also the location for watching the Re-enactment Societies and the Morris Dancers
The Tolkien Tent will feature Birmingham Central Library’s new exhibition “Tolkien’s Boyhood in Birmingham”, Elvish lessons (speaking Sindarin and writing Tengwar), displays from Isengard (the Birmingham Tolkien Society group), Games Workshop games and Philip Coker reading The Scouring of the Shire.
The Unexpected Party Café is opens to serve teas, refreshments and entertainment from: the Green Man Storyteller; folk musicians; Stuart Estell and Allan Recardo (former Birmingham Poets Laureate); Chris Adderley reading from Beowulf and “Open Mic” sessions with Paul Woodward. Write Fantastic, a group of SF writers including Stan Nicholls, Chaz Brenchley, and Mark Chadbourn will be interviewed about how J.R.R. Tolkien has influenced their work.
The Ent on the green behind the Mill is the starting point for the many popular themed walks, each with their own expert guide, around The Shire Country Park, taking in Moseley Bog, the River Cole, Moseley School, around themes of wildlife, Tolkien’s childhood haunts, nature or archaeology.
Discover the Birmingham’s Two Towers, Perrott’s Folly and the Water Board Chimney by vinatge bus plus there are two new locations to visit on the Tolkien Trail. On Saturday the destination is The Oratory where the Tolkiens attended Mass (as well as the magnificent church, there’s a tour of Cardinal Newman’s Library). On Sunday there is a rare opportunity to visit King Edward’s School and see their Tolkien archive display, his name on the Honours Board and the chapel built from the stones of the old school that he attended in central Birmingham.
You can shop in the Craft Marquees or at the award winning Moseley Farmers’ Market. There is a Children’s’ Activity Tent with a wand workshop, henna/temporary tattoos and a willow workshop and out on the field there are amusements for younger children, train rides, treasure trails, archery, a coconut shy, woodland crafts, Wythall Radio Society and the Ranger Encampment.

This unique event now attracts 10,000 visitors and offers a weekend of fun for all the family. 11 am – 5 pm Admission free both days.

Visit birmingham.gov.uk or tolkiensociety.org/t_wend

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Garfeimao writes: I was quite surprised at how much I liked “Three Dollars”. I’d heard of the film, but was not sure if it was a story I was going to like, but it was quite charming. It’s a real basic family drama, but is wonderfully acted by David as the husband, Francis O’Connor as his wife and an adorable young Joanna Hunt-Prokhovnik as their daughter. The little girl was just so natural and the two main adults worked so well together and with her that it felt like a real family. That was the charming bit.

The drama was fairly typical, but very well done. My one gripe would be that in the flashback sequences, that they tried a bit harder on hair and clothes to really get the feeling of being in the past. Because they didn’t do much with hair or make up or costuming, the flashbacks weren’t always obvious enough to pick up on what timeline we were in. Oh, and any film that ends with Joy Division is worth the price of admission alone.

The crowd turn out wasn’t what was hoped for, but with a 5pm screening on a Tuesday, it was nice to see more than 20 people there. David Wenham came up and introduced the film and his history working with the director before. It seemed like the audience enjoyed the film, and they should have, it was quite a nice little gem to discover at the festival.

The pictures included are of David alone, David with Gregg Schwenk, the Director of the Newport Beach Film Festival and the man who offered free entrance to anyone who came from TheOneRing.net’s post about the film, and then the last pics are David with me and Elisa, a fellow Ringer. For those who were unable to make it, I can not tell you if “Three Dollars” will ever get a release in the US, but you should definitely be on the look out for it if it does.

On a side note, the Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, which screened on Monday night, was absolutely amazing. I can not even begin to describe just how amazing this film is. It’s not high tech, it’s not even good quality film, having been done 20 years ago on Betacams, but it’s just a marvel to see. I guess the best way to describe it is to say it’s a ‘Love Letter’ to the Magic of Film. You can’t help but feel joy while watching it, it reminds you what it was like to be a kid, playing in the yard, acting out your favorite films or TV shows. These kids did the same thing, only with a camera, an attempt to make costumes and sets, and the absolute belief they could do everything Lucas and Spielberg did. And to qoute one audience member I overherd “These kids were fearless”, which is proven by one being set on fire and others climbing around on a moving truck. If this fan film ever screens in your area, run, don’t walk, to the theater and get ready to relive the innocent years when your imagination would let you believe you could be Indiana Jones.

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Actor Sean Bean is struggling on the Indian set of his new TV series Sharpe’s Challenge after suffering a bout of food poisoning. The Lord Of The Rings star was among a number of cast and crew members to be struck down with the notorious ‘Delhi belly’ while shooting the period war drama – a reprisal of the character that made him a household name. [More]

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He’s a national treasure: an acting colossus whose extraordinary repertoire has taken in everything from Alfred the Great to Zebedee. And with the Da Vinci Code and X-Men 3 due for release next month, Sir Ian McKellen is showing no sign of putting up his feet. Here, he talks to Simon Garfield about American homophobics and English eccentrics, and why doing Corrie proves ‘he can’t be a star’. [More]

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Rosie writes: The latest issue of Empire features Andy in it’s monthly “Pint of Milk” interview, where he reveals his ‘criminal’ past, nicking stuff from hotel rooms and how much he expects to pay for a pint of milk. [More]

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Actor Christopher Lee has agreed to put aside his differences with Kiwi director Peter Jackson – but will never forgive him for axing his scenes from The Return of the King. Speaking exclusively to the Herald on Sunday at the Rose d’Or festival in Switzerland last night, Lee revealed that while he was still upset by the decision to remove his character, Saruman, from the third instalment of the Lord of the Rings series, it was now time to move on. “When the third film came along and I wasn’t in it, I didn’t understand,” he said. “And I still don’t. “However, you can have a difference of opinion in any walk of life but you can’t have ongoing arguments. I like Peter very much. He’s a brilliant director. I just don’t know why he did what he did.” [More]

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