LeiLani Hinds, Associate Professor of English at Honolulu Community College writes: I am an English professor who has been a huge Tolkien fan since 1967, who loves the films, and who has been a daily visitor to theonering.net since 2002. Almost three years ago you allowed me to announce on The One Ring that I would be teaching a course on Tolkien for the first time at my college, Honolulu Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii. Continue reading “Tolkien Course in Honolulu This Fall”
Month: August 2009
On the Hollywood set of “The Adventures of Tintin” this spring, Steven Spielberg directed an actor in a motion-capture suit as he portrayed the antics of the globe-trotting comic-book hero. One camera was beaming a live feed halfway around the world. Filmmaker Peter Jackson was watching from his headquarters in New Zealand, and discussing the action with Mr. Spielberg via the video link.
Four years after his last movie hit the screen, Mr. Jackson, director of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, is gearing up for an extended run at the box office. In recent years, the director’s projects have been shadowed by lawsuits, delays and studio upheavals. Now, working with a stable of filmmakers, from fellow Oscar-winners to first-time directors, Mr. Jackson is turning out a slew of new movies from his New Zealand-based production hub. He has entered the territory of a small group of directors like George Lucas and Mr. Spielberg, who control their own movie-making empires. More..
A LEGAL battle is under way between the Oxfordshire family of JRR Tolkien and the Hollywood giant behind the new Hobbit film, it emerged last night. The heirs of the Tolkien estate, including the author’s daughter Priscilla Tolkien, 80, who lives in Wolvercote, claimed they have not been paid “even one cent” of the millions of pounds owed to them from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is believed the three films generated almost $3bn in box office receipts and another $3bn in DVDs and merchandise sales. More..
NEW YORK – This week’s Entertainment Weekly names District 9, a film with no big names and a small budget, the must see movie of the summer. While many have yet to hear of it, by next week it may be all moviegoers talk about.
It has no stars, it was made for relatively little money ($30 million) by a 29-year-old South African-born director whom nobody’s ever heard of, Neill Blomkamp, and its action-packed plot is tinged with a surprising moral intelligence, but it may turn out to be the most unlikely sci-fi blockbuster of the season. It’s the most satisfying sci-fi thrill ride of the summer, but it also turns out to be sort of an apartheid allegory. R20;ItR17;s an utterly original film,” says District 9’s single A-list name, producer Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings). R20;In an industry that’s looking to make movies out of every obscure TV show, or sequels, or videogames, you look at District 9 and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.” Continue reading “EW Names ‘District 9’ The Must-See Movie of the Summer”
Celebriel sends along this article about the closure of NZ’s Deer Park, a filming location for many scenes in LOTR (notably the flight of the Rohan refugees to Helm’s Deep and Aragorn’s fall over the cliff). Queenstown tourist attraction Deer Park Heights has been closed to visitors after nearly 40 years. Owner Frank Mee said he was closing the park, but it was not for sale. He said the park had been making money and was “very popular”. “Everyone is going bankrupt in Queenstown, but we are not. . . we’re just getting too old, so we’re giving up,” he said. Mr Mee was born in 1922 and he, and his wife Jean, opened the park in 1970. More..
Thanks to Diane and Justin for sending word that the first trailer for Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones,” is now available. Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s novel is due to hit theaters December 11, just in time for Oscar season. It is the first feature he has directed since “King Kong,” in 2005. Jackson introduced the clip looking pretty much exactly like he did at the Comic-Con geek summit. Our guess is he filmed the intro while in California last week. Watch it right here.