Apologies for the delay in this post; it took longer than expected to wrestle my thoughts into (hopefully!) coherent form! It’s not easy to craft a post – without writing an entire book (and this isn’t far off)! – which captures the essence of all that Viggo Mortensen had to say when he attended the Coolidge Award here in Boston. In this final part of the write-up, I wanted to try to capture Mortensen’s philosophy of life, as revealed through remarks he made during the various gatherings at the Coolidge Theatre. In the three sessions at the Coolidge – press Q&A, questions after the Eastern Promises screening, and the evening discussion with WBUR’s Robin Young – Mortensen was asked many questions, and his thoughtful way of looking at the world, (and at the art he wishes to create in that world), was revealed in the answers he gave.
Mortensen is often referred to as a ‘Renaissance man’, because of his seeming ability to turn his hand to all manner of talents. He has written poetry, exhibited photography and paintings, even composed music. He told the audience at the Coolidge, ‘I might like to try directing at some point.’ He is an excellent horseman and was praised by the late swordmaster Bob Anderson (in the Two Towers DVD extras) as being ‘the best swordsman I’ve ever trained’. On top of all that, he’s a rather good actor…. In spite of all this ability, Mortensen continues to be known as ‘No ego Viggo’; how is it that he stays so humble? And what drives him to try his hand in so many different fields?
Continue reading “Viggo Mortensen part 3 – the philosophy of Viggo. (Includes new video!)”
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Greetings all Ringers! By now you now that WonderCon has moved for 2012 down to Anaheim, providing a new opportunity for the dedicated volunteer staff of TORn to bring their sunny best to a rainy weekend in Southern California!
We open the festivities with our much anticipated panel on THE HOBBIT at 12:30pm today… check out the Programming Schedule here:
“12:30-1:30 TheOneRing.net Hobbit Movie Insider’s Preview— Ringers everywhere are eagerly awaiting Peter Jackson’s new Hobbit films during the 75th anniversary year of the book’s publication! Staff writers and scholars from TheOneRing.net web portal invite you to join this lively panel revealing film production surprises and a zealous shredding of rumors! Led by Clifford Broadway (Ringers: Lord of the Fans), Josh Rubinstein (Star Trek: TNG Blu-ray), Cathy Udovch (Cruise to Middle-earth), and Mike Urban (The People’s Guide to J. R. R. Tolkien). Room 207 ”
We are also joined by the legendary Larry Curtis – MrCere – who recently went down to visit the New Zealand production and has a first-hand account. With tons of juicy bits and some fun surprises, you’re sure to get your Hobbity fix on your first day at WonderCon! Come join us in Room 207!
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Middle-earth Madness officially starts today! We’ve split our field of 32 characters into four divisions: The Rankin/Bass Division, The Ralph Bakshi Division, The Tolkien Family Division, and The Peter Jackson Division.
Voting in Round 1 will remain open until March 21st at Noon ET. At that point, we’ll calculate the winners and post the next round on March 22nd. Follow after the break for a complete bracket image (download it), and to vote on all of our Round 1 match-ups!
Continue reading “Middle-earth Madness 2012 – Round 1”
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Since the news of problems for the long standing The Hobbit pub in Southampton surfaced a few days ago, many fans have jumped onboard to support the pub, including a few involved in the current movie production. Stephen Fry pretty much brought the story to everyone’s attention a few days back, and now Sir Ian McKellen is adding his support. You can read his reaction on his Blog.
*Breaking News*
And just as details of this latest news were coming in, reports now appear that might indicate a solution is on the horizon. You can read details at the Daily Echo. They will be updating that blog shortly with reaction from locals, so raise a pint everyone and keep your Hobbity fingers crossed this hiccup is resolved.
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Middle-earth Madness and all the fun that implies, is soon to be released to fans of J.R.R. Tolkien everywhere. Readers and moviegoers will be able to vote as we pit character vs. character in a showdown to determine the 2012 Middle-earth character champion.
In the spirit of the U.S.’ NCAA college basketball tournament, known as March Madness, we will create matchups that pit the likes of Gollum vs. Treebeard and Boromir vs. Balin. Unlike the NCAA bracket, ours will be a 32 team showdown. Using voting fan input and finally our own selection committee.
And, because there are hundreds of great characters across the Middle-earth catalog, we know not everybody’s favorite character can fit in a field of 32 and just like in the NCAA tournament, some deserving characters may not get in. (Unlike the basketball tournament however, all of the characters are fictional and none will have his or her feelings hurt and they all have “next year” to be a contender.) So, we hope you will join us for our voting and enjoy Middle-earth Madness! The Bracket will be revealed soon!
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We’ve gotten a lot of great reaction to yesterday’s reveal of our Today in Middle-earth Calendar and want to share a quick update for those of you looking to add it to your feed or Apple’s iCal. For iCal, simply click on this link and the calendar will be automatically added to your iCal application (from there you can share it on your iPHone, etc). When we make updates to the calendar they should automatically populate your calendar as well. If you are looking for a XML feed of this calendar, click here. [XML Feed] [iCal Download] [TIME Calendar]
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