It’s one thing to just be a reporter who covered The LOTR Trilogy during it’s lengthy production — but it’s another thing entirely to be embedded in the mix for many years while publishing Sir Ian McKellen’s extraordinary stories on his evergreen website www.McKellen.com — and thus Keith Stern, webmaster and author, provides the goods in his NEW tell-all book: For Entertainment Only: Behind the Scenes of The Lord of the Rings. Next Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, there’s even a special Book Launch Party to be held at Hollywood’s famous geek destination Scum & Villainy Cantina!
Only someone who had been that close to the action, the many rehearsals, the Big-atures, and the gargantuan effort made by the Cast and Crew could have written such a revealing volume! What amazing stories Keith Stern has to reveal here!
In his words: “Delve into the captivating world of “The Lord of the Rings” with exclusive behind-the-scenes insights and anecdotes. Discover untold stories from the making of the iconic movies, featuring interviews and experiences ‘from one who knows,’ as endorsed by Ian McKellen himself. Available for pre-order now, this memoir by Keith Stern offers a unique perspective on the filming process and the journey of bringing Middle-earth to life.
Early KIRKUS REVIEWS are positively the best they could be — and they are known to be very tough critics:
A titillating, but never salacious, memoir from a music and movie insider’s perspective.
The above image is from May 25, 2011, Wellington NZ. Birthday party for Sir Ian McKellen. Peter Jackson previews some footage of THE HOBBIT for Stephen Hunter, Dean O’Gorman and Fran Walsh. Photo by Keith Stern “For Entertainment Only”
Continuing from their Kirkus Review: “As the author of the landmark 1993 book Queers in History, Stern has been at the forefront of promoting the biographies of LGBTQ+ luminaries, including that of his close personal friend Ian McKellen, who plays a central role throughout the book’s second half. The author’s stream-of-consciousness writing style offers an engaging read, and the text is accompanied by a high-resolution online photo gallery of snapshots taken by the author of Hollywood stars.”
Behind this nondescript door in Wellington, all kinds of amazing movie magic happened where KING KONG climbed and fell from the Empire State Building! Photo by Keith Stern: “For Entertainment Only”
As we get closer to the Party date (Nov. 12, 2024) more surprises and images will be revealed on Keith’s official FaceBook page here:
There are so many wonderful appearances in the pages of this volume from Rock & Roll stars and movie actors galore. What sets this remarkable book apart is the intimacy and self-awareness of the author himself — a man who worked hard to bring Sir Ian and his wisdom to all the fans waiting to hear from him during the earliest days of the Internet.
Clifford Broadway will be hosting an EXCLUSIVE interview with Keith Stern during next week’s broadcast of TORn Tuesday — so be sure to tune in for that livestream! If you are in Southern California on Nov. 12, 2024, then join us at Scum & Villainy Cantina, 6377 Hollywood Blvd. from 7pm until 9pm Pacific Time — for a smashing good party, free to attend! Books will be available and the author will be happy to sign copies.
The above photo shows us the 2001 Gandalf the Grey contact sheet. Photos by Pierre Vinet. Ian has marked with an X those that should not be used for publicity or marketing. His contract allowed him to reject a certain amount, about 1/2 but the rest were fair game for the studio marketing and publicity departments to use for posters, advertisements and illustrations.
The above picture: November 28, 2012, Wellington NZ: Elijah Wood on the red carpet for the premiere of “The Hobbit”. Photo by Keith Stern “For Entertainment Only”
In a new anniversary retrospective, creators of John Wick talk about how The Lord of the Rings inspired and is connected to the production of the huge action franchise.
Over at Indiewire, director Chad Stahelski talks about the Tolkien influence on John Wick:
“I’m a big Tolkien fan, and I’d always wanted to do a modern-day fantasy that scratched that itch so when this came along, it was the perfect hanger to put our coat on. I’d been trying to sell this idea of Greek mythology and underworlds but Tolkien was probably my favourite growing up [and a big influence]. I was fascinated by world creation. Add 10 years working with the Wachowskis, and I didn’t want to do a regular old action or assassin movie. I wanted something where we could have a little element of fantasy.”
The LOTR Film Connection
That’s not the only LOTR connection! Stahelski was the stunt double for Keanu Reeves on The Matrix, which was produced by Barrie Osborne before he jumped into producing the Lord of the Rings films with Peter Jackson (bringing Hugo Weaving with him).
Read the whole 10 year anniversary interview of John Wick over at Indiewire. This, naturally, prompts the question, what would a Chad Stahelski directed LOTR movie or Rings of Power episode look like? Discuss in our Discord!
If you’ve ever wished for “precioussss” versions of Gollum & Sméagol figures that capture every conflicted, crawling moment, look no further! Asmus and Sideshow have just dropped two stunning sixth scale figures, bringing The Lord of the Rings’ most tragic character to life. And thanks to Asmus, this marks an epic return to Middle-earth collectibles after a dark pandemic pause. In the words of Andy Hsu, Director of Asmus Toys: “Characters that were promised, were anticipated, that were wished for, are now back on the menu!”
Starting with Gollum: this 20 cm figure has over 22 points of articulation for all those sinister, slinking poses we know and love. With a smirking expression, rotatable eyeballs, and haired hobbit feet, Gollum is ready to stir up trouble on your shelf. And no Middle-earth journey is complete without provisions – this little guy even comes with wrapped and unwrapped Lembas bread accessories.
Then there’s Sméagol — the tortured soul behind the sneer. Sméagol’s innocent, haunted expression captures the side of him that Tolkien fans cherish. He has the same exclusive Gollum body by Asmus, complete with seamless limbs and multiple hands and legs to bring his story to life.
So, if you’re ready to give these two a home, both Gollum and Sméagol are up for grabs, allowing fans to continue this adventure together with Asmus and Sideshow. And by purchasing through our links, you’ll support TheOneRing.net.
Originally theorized by Happy Hobbit, a music industry blog seems to confirm the song name.
While there is still no official confirmation from the studio, the folks over at Film Music Reporter seem to have found the song track title for a new Paris Paloma song attached to The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim:
English folk-pop artist Paris Paloma has recorded an original song for the upcoming anime feature The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. The track, entitled The Rider, written by Phoebe Gittins (who co-wrote the project’s screenplay with Arty Papageorgiou and Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews) & composer David Long and performed by Paloma, will be featured in the movie.
Where is the Horse and The Rider
Paris Paloma is fresh on the music scene having released her first album earlier this year. Kellie from Happy Hobbit is a huge fan and in this TikTok posted a few months ago she speculated that Paloma was involved in The War of the Rohirrim. Just last week at NYCC, Executive Producer Philippa Boyens teased a great new song without revealing the artist. You can watch the full panel on our YouTube.
On this week’s TORN Tuesday, Kellie explains who Paris Paloma is and why she is perfect to be involved in the story of Rohan’s shieldmaidens. Segment starts at 1:17:00
Nerdist got the exclusive reveal of the official theatrical poster for the big new anime film coming in December.
All the details are spelled out over on Nerdist as they revealed the official new poster for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim coming to cinemas worldwide December 13, 2024.
Hot dwarves to hot horse lords?
Fans of course are finding their own inspirations!
