Claire writes: Figwit will be at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August. Bret McIntyre is half of the comedy duo ‘Flight of the Conchords’, with Jemaine Clement. Last year they were shortlisted for the very prestigious Perrier award for comedy acts at Edinburgh, and this year they’re back with a new show. ‘The Guardian’ newspaper rates it one of the ’50 Best Things to do at the Edinburgh Festival’ – and that’s the whole of the entire arts festival, with thousands of acts, not just the comedy part! [More]
Category: Events
BonMothma writes:
I have enjoyed offering fans the chance to see what it’s like to experience “The Lord of the Rings Symphony” from the point of view of a singer in the Mendelssohn Choir (read PART I & PART II). I had planned to talk about this past week’s rehearsals and performances in this final chapter. Last night, however, Dr. Page, the director of the choir, made it clear to me that he does not like details of the rehearsals being made public.
Honestly, it never occurred to me that this might be the case. I liken it to watching all the behind-the-scenes stuff on the extended DVD’s. It gives me a greater appreciation for the finished product when I see the hard work and care that went into it. Obviously, not everyone feels this way, and I will abide by Dr. Page’s wishes.
However, I do not wish to leave this story unfinished, so I’ll skip the rehearsals and talk about what it was like to experience these performances from the stage.
First of all, a bit more about the piece itself. Listeners will hear music other that what’s listed in the program.
The first movement lists “The Prophecy – Concerning Hobbits – The Shadow of the Past – A Short Cut to Mushrooms – The Old Forest – A Knife in the Dark.” It concludes with the music from “The Treason of Isengard” – the wizard fight.
The second movement lists “Many Meetings – The Ring Goes South [this includes some music from FOTR EE when Arwen and Aragorn look at each other as the Fellowship is leaving] – A Journey in the Dark – The Bridge of Khazad-dum – Lothlorien – Gandalf’s Lament – Farewell to Lorien [FOTR EE, Galadriel’s gifts] – The Great River [There is some music from Amon Hen in here next, including some from the score but not on the soundtrack album] – The Breaking of the Fellowship.”
The third movement lists “Foundations of Stone – The Taming of Smeagol – The Riders of Rohan – The Black Gate is Closed – Evenstar – The White Rider – Treebeard – The Forbidden Pool.” I didn’t notice anything additional in this movement.
The fourth movement lists “The Hornburg – Forth Eorlingas – Isengard Unleashed – Gollum’s Song.” Again, nothing additional to what was listed.
The fifth movement lists “Hope and Memory [Pretty much all of “Minas Tirith” is added here] – The White Tree – The Steward of Gondor – Cirith Ungol – Anduril.”
The sixth movement lists “The End of All Things [it actually begins with “The Fields of the Pelennor” – the whole thing, then plays part of “Hope Fails” before going into “The End of All Things.”] – The Return of the King – The Grey Havens – Into the West.”
The setup for these performances differs according to the venue, I’m sure, but for us, the choir was set up behind the orchestra. The screen was above our heads and just in front of the choir. Howard Shore was not extremely pleased with this set up, because the pictures are not supposed to be the focus, but it was the only way to do it at Heinz Hall. It was hard for me to not look up at the pictures when I had down time in the performance, but I glanced at them during the last rehearsal when I could.
Howard Shore’s conducting style was a pleasure to experience. He was very animated and expressive. For me, it really helped set the mood for whatever was happening musically. Offstage, he is quiet and reserved, but very gracious with his fans.
The sound of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra was balanced very differently for me because the percussion section was directly in front of us, and the French horns were in front of them. The strings sounded very far away sometimes (they were), but it gave me an opportunity to hear things in a totally new way. The percussion section was a sight to behold. There were some interesting things used to get the right sounds for the Isengard and Treebeard music. My favorite percussion moments were the drums at the beginning of “The Fields of the Pelennor,” and an occasional deep bass drum, that softly punctuated some of the quieter moments.
One of my favorite instrumental moments was “The Forbidden Pool.” I loved the combination of instruments that creates the sound of water in that sequence. I also loved the music for the lighting of the beacons. The horns all sounded so majestic.
It’s hard to pick one section that I liked singing best. Actually, one of my favorites was a part I did not sing – the Moria part when the Fellowship see the city of Dwarrowdelf. I loved hearing the men’s voices swell at that climax. We moved from Khazad Dum to Lothlorien, which was a big change. I loved singing that part – very ethereal. I think my other favorites were pretty much everything in the fifth and sixth movements, especially “The Steward of Gondor” – a very haunting sound.
I got to talk a bit with Sissel after Wednesday’s rehearsal. She is a very gracious and beautiful lady. I enjoyed listening to her renditions of “Gollum’s Song” and “Into the West,” but where she really shined was on the high parts. “Evenstar” was beautiful, but my favorite was in “The Return of the King,” where Arwen and Aragorn are reunited. Everything gets quiet, and all you hear is her voice. It was stunning.
Howard Shore, if you’re reading this, thank you for your beautiful work on these movies and for putting together such a brilliant symphony. I’m looking forward to the release of the boxed set. I apologize for anything I’ve said in these posts that may have revealed more than you would have wished. I’m just an enthusiastic fan who is very grateful to have experienced this, and wished to share it with those who can’t.
I am also grateful to Dr. Page for allowing me to sing with the Mendelssohn Choir. And I wish to thank Fred-O, whose letter to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra prompted them to book these concerts. The final performance for this was on my birthday. To sing my favorite music on my birthday is the best present I could receive. I had to keep my composure and focus for these performances, but once I had finished last night, I began to cry. It was so wonderful and beautiful to participate in this, and I am sorry that it’s over. I will never forget it.
Michael writes: On Monday August 9th here in the UK the Shopping channel ‘QVC’ is doing a Lord of the Rings collection special at 10pm. [qvc.com]
Ringer Baggins of the Shire sends in this tidbit: I work for Odeon cinema chain in the UK, we received a letter on Tuesday 6th July explaining that during October the 3 extended editions of the Lord Of The Rings films will be shown on Sunday’s. This means ROTK EE will be shown before it is available to buy on DVD!
Indy writes: A friend and I had heard about the subway promotional event off this site, so we went to check it out, and I have to say it was handled appallingly. I suspected there would be giveaways, as there often are at such things (perhaps just paper bookmarks or stickers). But I never dreamed they’d give away the DVD itself, which is fine since I didn’t get one anyway. They had DVD’s and a medallion item to give away, but it was all handled so nastily that I, even as a huge fan, have to say it served to turn me off to the whole thing, rather than pique my interest.
I got there right about 11:20 AM, and a rather large, but tame crowd drew pretty quickly. They had a short train, on which one car had been lit green and decorated with leaf-patterned seats and ads for the DVD. There were Gollum figures (about 1/2 scale) on the end of each bench in the car (about 16 total). Some of the subway platform pillars were wrapped in straw. And the platform benches had two more of the same Gollum figures on logo platforms that had some crude little voice feature (like the toys have) that was totally drowned out and could not be heard. That was about it.
But what was really crummy was how once again New Line seems to have totally underestimated interest in LOTR and just not prepared for their own party. The giveaways were snapped up so quickly that a lot of people never seemed to know what was even being given away until it was all over, and then it quickly degenerated into a nasty “crowd dispersal” operation by cops and MTA workers who were screaming and yelling in everyone’s faces to leave and that the train was “for the press only” and everyone had to leave the platform. They took what might have been a mildly interesting stunt that could have been worth a smirk on your lunch break and turned it into an opportunity to make regular people feel left out of something they never knew was even going on.
What was the worst was to see some of the younger fans, kids and teens, who seemed to have come knowing about the event (hoping to get a look at something fun), leave having been pushed and shoved around, screamed at and made to feel like they’d done something wrong for even being interested. It was nasty. I saw a group of kids skulk away with their chaperone, muttering how “Gollum sucks”. I don’t think that was the intended point of the event. It made me feel like telling those kids to just read the book and forget about the movie. Of course, all the press that was there seemed to be carting around their free DVD’s. They got first crack it seemed. Good for them, like I’m sure they deserve free copies more than any fans (!). It wasn’t any kind of special promotional disc used for media coverage, it just looked like the same new extended set that is now sold in stores – a straight-up swag bribe to members of the media. That’s not so surprising, I suppose, but it didn’t help that it was done right in the faces of the fans that were being actively screamed at and turned away at that same moment, two feet away.
Oh, and all of this was totally over by 12:15 PM, a full hour and 15 minutes before the event was supposed to end; it was a mere 45 minutes into the event by the time everything was totally over and the platform was completely cleared by the cops. It’s interesting to see the speculation that this behavior regarding surprise giveaways may explain the lack of additional Trilogy Tuesday screenings. If that’s the reason, I’ll be livid. JUST SHOW MORE OF US THE MOVIES!, New Line! Here in NYC, it was IMPOSSIBLE to get tickets to Trilogy Tuesday, and I don’t know a single ardent fan who got one despite going to great lengths try and order online that day or go to the theaters in person that day. After two spectacular experiences with FOTR and TTT, the leadup to ROTK has really been nothing but disappointment after disappointment for fans so far (in my own personal experience anyway), directly caused by the company, it seems. Too bad. Too bad indeed.
This LOTR train was “Out of Service”.
-Indy.
* * *
Ringer Spy Lisa writes: I work a couple of blocks away from Grand Central, so, I decided to wander over there at lunchtime and check out the “Middle-earth shuttle.”
Got on the thankfully-not-too-long line at about 12:30 and waited patiently behind a chain across the platform. There were people milling about the platform and then, finally, about 10 minutes later, the train took off for Times Square. And that’s when the cops told us it was all over. At 12:45. Not 1:30. 12:45. Because all the DVDs and medallions were gone and they didn’t want anybody else on the platform.
Huh?
It seems to me that New Line has a misguided perception of what fans want. Nowhere in the announcement about the shuttle did it say that there would be giveaways… but people showed up. So why would you end it when the giveaways that nobody knew about anyway are gone?
It’s interesting hearing this on the heels of some speculation I’ve seen that part of the reason why New Line hasn’t opened up Trilogy Tuesday to additional screens is that they have something they’re giving away and don’t want to have to produce more.
Again… nowhere in the press or announcements did it intimate that ticket buyers would get anything but the chance to see the movies… and yet, there is the possibility (though, of course, I only read that on the internet, so, who knows? :)), that the limited availability of non-promoted giveaways is stopping them from expanding the release. If this is true, it seems they are definitely uncelar about what makes fans show up for this kind of thing.
Next time something like this comes up, remind me to take my magic watch that tells me that 12:45 is actually 1:30. 😛
So frustrating.
Lisa
Today, Monday the 15th marks the opening of the highly anticipated Lord of the Rings exhibition in the London Science Museum. TheOneRing.net was there, got a chance to chat to all the VIPs present, shoot some footage and bring you this exclusive report!
The exhibition opens for the general public tomorrow, today the press (gathered from all over the world!) got a sneak peak at the exhibit, which is said to have sold more tickets than anything else the Science Museum has ever hosted. No gathering masses around the museum today though, just lots of Finnish students, one or two tourists and a bunch of press people eagerly awaiting the launch of the first European LOTR-exhibit. Other then that very few people on the street seemed to be aware of the exhibit.Naturally TORn arrived early, about two hours early, but that was okay because it gave us a good chance to check our equipment, hobnob with the BBC and of course eat doughnuts. While waiting none other than Ringer Spy Irascian walked out the door. He was present at the ‘UK’ presslaunch whereas TORn of course was there for the ‘international’ launch, a bit later on the day. Enthusiastic is too humble a word to describe Irascian’s opinion about the exhibit. He revealed that he took something in the region of 300 pictures and was going to write up a transcription of the press-conference that was given during his session. Hopefully that’ll appear online within a few days!
While still talking another familiar face turned up: that of Herr-der-Ringe-film.de webmaster Círdan. He flew in all the way from Germany that morning to report on the opening of the exhibit.Anyway, we are not here to talk about that, heheh.. The hour drew nearer when the exhibit would open its doors so we made our way inside the (huge) London Science Museum, up a flight of stairs, past some security people and right into the arms of…. the Argonath! The two giant polystone sculptures of the Pillars of Kings welcome every visitor to the exhibit, just like they welcomed the Fellowship into the final part of The Fellowship of the Ring. Crouched beneath the left statue was WETA Workshop’s amazingly detailed Gollum-statue, which was quicky removed later on for reasons unknown. Apparently Andy Serkis was supposed to attend the presslaunches but he didn’t show, maybe that’s why they brought it out.
To desribe the exhibit word by word would probably do it no justice. It is rich and detailed and has a little bit of everything (although sadly enough not a whole lot from The Return of the King, maybe next year?). Costumes like those of Arwen, Gandalf, Galadriel, Frodo, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas and Theoden are displayed throughout the exhibit alongside the outfits of Orcs, Uruks, Rohirrim and pretty much every other character in the movies.The exhibit also features a wide range of props and weapons (ranging from Galadriel’s gifts to the stuff on Sarumans desk in Orthanc). Highlights include a display with Frodo’s ‘gadgets’; the mithril shirt, Sting, the Phial, Bilbo’s Red Book and Thror’s map, lots of nice things to oogle over! Another display showed the piles of parchment, books and other assorted mess that Gandalf worked through in Minas Tirith.
So what else was there? Highlights for me personally were the ‘bigature’ of the Hobbiton Mill-Set which looked absolutely fabulous. Another memorable item was the larger-than-life statue of the Cave Troll and Moria Orc and the model of Treebeard’s head: magnificent stuff! Of course there were the items one would expect at an exhibit like these: The One Ring itself of course, lots of helmets and other weaponry, a huge statue of the Dark Lord himself and many, many other things. You’d best go and see it for yourself because there really is much more then one person can absorb in three hours’ time.
One last highlight was the very scaling area where two people could sit down on two parts of a cart against a green screen and then, by some magic camera- and computerimagery appear to be Hobbit-sized and ‘Gandalf-sized’. Of course anything that can make me look Hobbit-sized is rather spectecular!
Apart from various media-people from all over the world (ranging from Holland to Brazil) the London Science Museum had invited some very interesting guests. The above mentioned Andy Serkis unfortunately didn’t show, as did Billy Boyd, however we still had the immense pleasure of running into Lurtz-actor Lawrence Makoare, WETA-founder and Oscar-winner Richard Taylor and British author and Tolkien Expert Brian Sibley.
Lawrence Makoare was, for the largest part of the day, dressed up in his Lurtz-outfit, which must’ve been hellish given the warm weather. Richard Taylor also seemed a bit under the weather, though that might have been because of the long flight in from New Zealand the day before. Nevertheless both took some time out to answer a few of our questions. Expect to see some extremely cool footage of this event and these interviews later this week in TORn Digital!
After three almost three hours of wandering around the exhibit it was time to head out (at least we didn’t think so, but the people from the Science Museum really wanted to leave). Alas, three hours is far too short a time to spend amongst such admirable craftsmanship. Looking back on it now I still see pictures of the event (check them out in our scrapbook!) and remember not having seen that bit of the exhibit, which really is too bad.
The London Science Museum Exhibition runs till January 11th and any information you want to know about the event can be found at the website: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk. European fans should be sure to check it out, as London is the only venue in Europe the exhibit will attend. Don’t miss it!
Update: All the photographs can be seen right now in The Scrapbook. Be sure to check back soon for the TORn Digital footage we filmed at the exhibition opening!