Modtheow reminds us that The 45th International Congress on Medieval Studies is about to take place May 13-16 in, you guessed it, Kalamazoo, MI, U.S.A. The Congress is an annual gathering of over 3,000 scholars interested in Medieval Studies. Among the 600+ sessions of papers, panel discussions, round tables, workshops, and performances, the “Tolkien at Kalamazoo” group sponsors sessions specifically related to Tolkien. Modtheow was kind enough to highlight all the Tolkien-related sessions in this post on the Moots message board. The congress runs three and a half days, from Thursday morning to Sunday at noon. You can explore the entire schedule, registration fees, etc. at the official congress site here.
Year: 2010
The folks from Revolver Entertainment send along the trailer for Sean Bean’s latest film ‘Black Death’: The film is a historical epic set during the deadly pandemic of the 14th Century. Sean Bean stars as the fearsome knight Ulrich, who is tasked with leading his group of mercenaries to a remote village where it is rumoured there are no traces of the pestilence. Their quest is to hunt down a necromancer – someone able to bring the dead back to life.
Their journey is treacherous and filled with danger; encountering deadly bandits and vicious witch-burnings that will put their faith to the ultimate test. Though it’s upon entering the village that their true horror begins…
Universal City, California–King Kong, among the screen’s most powerful and enduring icons, will re-emerge in Summer 2010 as a new signature attraction created under the direction of Peter Jackson on the famed Universal Studios HollywoodSM Studio Tour.
“King Kong 360 3-D” Created by Peter Jackson will be the world’s largest most intense 3D experience on the planet, combining thrilling visceral effects to create a next-generation theme park experience. Continue reading “KING KONG 360 3-D – Coming Summer 2010!”
It seems Sir Ian McKellen was mistaken for a beggar as he sat outside a theater in costume according to an article in the UK’s Telegraph.
In the article he said, “During the dress rehearsal of Godot, I crouched by the stage door of the Comedy Theatre, getting some air, my bowler hat at my feet (and) seeing an unkempt old man down on his luck, a passer-by said, ‘Need some help, brother?’ and put a dollar in my hat.” You can read the whole story and see a funny photo right here.
Kiran Shah has been a hobbit in Lord Of The Rings and an Ewok in Star Wars. Now the veteran stuntman has become the world’s smallest wingwalker. The 1.2m (4ft 1in) star braved speeds of 120mph at 300m (1,000ft) after being strapped to a 1940s Boeing Spearman biplane for the ten-minute stunt.
‘It was great, I loved it but next time I’ll pick a warmer day,’ said the Kenyan-born performer.
Mary Oladapo, representing Guinness World Records, said: ‘Kiran once again proves that size isn’t everything – even the smallest of people can achieve the greatest of things.’ More
This weeks guests on TheOneRing.net Radio Show are WETAs Richard Taylor and LOTR/King Kong DVD producer Michael Pellerin!
Click on over to BlogTalkRadio to hear Richard talk about the LOTR Blu0ray DVD, and to chat live with Michael! The show airs May 16th at 2pm Eastern. Click here for more info!
Richard Taylor, ONZM, is the creator and head of New Zealand film prop and special effects company Weta Workshop. A close friend of Peter Jackson, he and his company created all of the props, costumes, prosthetics, miniatures and weaponry for Jackson’s epic The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. For his work on the three films, he shared in winning four Academy Awards. This included two for The Fellowship of the Ring in Make Up and Visual Effects, and two for The Return of the King in Costume Design and Make Up.
Michael Pellerin, founder and CEO of Pellerin Multimedia, Inc. (PMI), is an award-winning DVD producer and filmmaker. He and his PMI team have produced more than 100 hours of behind-the-scenes documentaries for DVDs and earned numerous honors, including The DVD Academy’s “Best Disc of the Year” three years in a row for the Collector’s Editions of The Lord of the Rings, produced for New Line Cinema.
For the past five years, PMI, a Los Angeles- and New Zealand-based company, has worked with Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson on all of his films, producing all the behind-the-scenes material for The Rings trilogy and, most recently, Universal’s King Kong.