From ugo.com: Unless you’ve spent the past decade burrowed deep within the dirt walls of a Hobbit hole (probably partaking in dangerous amounts of hobbit leaf and getting chunky on too many Second Breakfasts) you must know of the sprawling Lord of the Rings franchise and its effect on the world we live in. J.R.R Tolkein’s epic masterpiece has inspired countless literary studies, college linguistic classes have taught the Elvish tongues, and an entire genre of fantasy entertainment rich with orcs and magic sprang to life from it (otherwise we’d have no Willow or The Beastmaster). [More]
Month: July 2006
Carla writes: The Wellinghall Smial is proud to support an effort by Tolkien fans to assist the family of Dr. Daniel Timmons, a well known, very respected professor and Tolkien scholar, who passed away last December. We invite you to honour Dan by leaving your condolences and memories here. Dan had ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He is survived by his wife and young son who have a very difficult road ahead. You can make donations to assist them at the website above.
Dan was the editor of J.R.R. Tolkien and the True Hero with George Clark, and also produced and directed the documentary film The Legacy of The Lord of the Rings, which has aired in Canada on both Bravo! and Space: The Imagination Station.
From sundaymail.co.uk: Lord of the Rings star Billy Boyd achieves a childhood dream as he takes to the main stage at T in the Park in front of 75,000 music fans. Billy was drumming up support for free trade for poor countries. He said: “On the stage it is beautiful. The atmosphere here is really special.” Fans packed Balado to see more than 170 acts including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Franz Ferdinand and Kaiser Chiefs.
TORONTO — Don’t believe everything you read. In spite of the assertion in last week’s Associated Press story about the early closing of “The Lord of the Rings” that the show was generally trashed by critics, there are those who have had many good things to say. Normally, I try not to read reviews of shows I’m going to review myself. But “LOTR” opened three months ago, while I was planning an American theater critics conference at the Shaw and Stratford festivals, with a side-trip to Toronto to see “LOTR.” So when Ben Brantley’s zestful pan appeared in The New York Times, I wondered if I should cut back on my ticket allotment. [More]
Gondolin writes: Is Gandalf the next Taylor Hicks? I admit it! I love the popular television show “American Idol.” But, I am an even bigger LOTR fan. I have to share this with you and please pass it along to other LOTR fans. Those teenage filmmakers that just won the DOTR contest have a hilarious parody on their site called “Middle Earth Idols.” Gandalf competes against six other top finalist. We see Denethor boogie to “Disco Inferno” and the ever dramatic Eowyn sings her heart out over lost love Aragorn. Speaking of Aragorn, a side of him is revealed that I was completely unaware of. I must say my favorite part of their “Middle Earth Idols” is the final song, which is a moving tribute to our favorite LOTR characters. I loved it! A must see! Check out “Middle Earth Idols” in ‘films’ at marsproductions.net
For those living in a cave for the last little while, today marks the opening of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest’, the sequel to the amazingly popular ‘Pirates’ film from 2003. Orlando Bloom stars as Will Turner, blacksmith turned outlaw hero with Johnny Depp as the now infamous Captin Jack Sparrow. Click here for showtimes. [Showtimes USA] [Showtimes CAN] [Showtimes UK]