Last May, New Line Cinema threw a 40th-anniversary party in Cannes. Tied in with a promotional push for the company’s movie, The Golden Compass, it was a lavish affair. As guests consumed champagne, while admiring the ice sculptures, little did they guess this was more a last hurrah than a birthday bash. For within the last month it has been announced that New Line Cinema is to be drastically downsized and folded into the conglomerate’s studio outfit, Warner Brothers. Just four years ago, The Return of the King, the final chapter in New Line’s adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, took 11 Oscars, tying with the all-time record set by Ben Hur and equalled by Titanic. The film had already grossed US$1 billion ($1.26 billion) worldwide, only the second to do so after Titanic. That’s before you take into account the millions accumulated by the previous two films and the money created by merchandise. The bitter end of the New Line
Month: April 2008
John Howe writes: As part of the launch of the French edition of Fantasy Art Workshop, there will be a little show in Paris, at the Galerie Arludik on the ÃŽle Saint-Louis, on April 17th. All the information is on the card below. This is also one of the extremely, very, exceedingly, exceptionally, extraordinarily, singularly, uncommonly, decidedly, particularly, remarkably, really, truly, awfully, fearfully, terribly, seriously few times I will have anything actually really for sale. Not a lot mind you, but at least I won’t be up to my usual tricks, which consist of nodding politely and replying “Of course, I’ll let you know as soon as that one is available.” and then forgetting entirely or losing the contact details… This time around it’s out of my hands and in far more capable ones. [More]
From Digital Spy: “The opening episode of Doctor Who’s new season used groundbreaking special effects technology that was created for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.” ‘Who’ uses ‘Lord of the Rings’ technology (spoiler free for tonight’s premiere)
The fifth annual J.R.R. Tolkien Conference will be held April 11-13 at the University of Vermont in Burlington. The theme of this year’s conference is Celtic and Norse influence on the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. The keynote speaker is Marjorie J. Burns, author of “Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien’s Middle-earth.” There is no charge to attend the conference so if you’re in the area, drop on by. Follow the “Discuss” links for more information. Thanks to board member N.E. Brigand for the alert.
Ransom (from mentalfloss.com) writes: It looks like New Zealand is my (somewhat unintentional) theme for the week, which inevitably leads me ’round to my favorite thing about New Zealand — director Peter Jackson. Most folks know the affable, formerly rotund Jackson for his monumental Lord of the Rings trilogy — the amazing locations of which have driven New Zealand tourism of late as much as anything — and for his recent, remarkable King Kong remake. But I discovered Jackson’s work back in early high school, wandering through a local video store with a friend. He picked up what looked like an average low-brow horror flick called Dead-Alive, and showed me the box. It stood out for one reason only: on the back, a critic credited it as being “perhaps the bloodiest movie in cinematic history.” Needless to say, watched it post-haste. Peter Jackson Retrospective
Lord of the Rings actor Hugo Weaving turns 48 today. Wishing you a wonderful birthday, Lord Elrond!