Sir Peter Jackson and his crew are on a Queenstown-based location scout of the South Island this week. Sir Peter’s assistant at Wingnut Films, Matt Dravitzki, yesterday said his boss was not available for interviews while he was in the South Island because the team were on a gruelling location scout. “Location scouting for The Hobbit is currently under way in both the North and South Islands.
“Locations will be chosen ahead of the commencement of principal photography in February.”
Mr Dravitzki said further details would be available once shooting started and it went without saying that New Zealand’s unique landscape would double for JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth. More..
J.W. Braun is back with another book review, this time he’s reviewing Sean Astin’s autobiography ‘There and Back Again: An Actor’s Tale’. Be sure to bookmark TORN’s updated YouTube channel lovingly called ‘TORN TV‘.
The historic Egyptian Theatre presents the Director’s Cut of all three Lord of the Rings films in a one-day screening. Director Peter Jackson’s trilogy, which won 17 total Academy Awards, tells the tale of Frodo Baggins, Gandalf the Wizard and their allies, as they attempt to destroy the mystical One Ring of Power. More..
They were keen on non-speaking parts, and non-speaking they stayed yesterday. A long line of people stood tall but kept their lips zipped when approached by the Otago Daily Times outside a casting call for The Hobbit movie in Dunedin. About 100 people turned up at the Edgar Centre to convince talent scouts and the measuring tape they should be non-speaking scale doubles for actors in Sir Peter Jackson’s latest film. Each of them had to adhere to strict guidelines: they had to be aged 17-55, between 128cm and 158cm tall, or taller than 210cm, if male, and between 128cm and 153cm if female. Most of the applicants seemed to fit the bill but none who emerged from meeting the scouts could share their experience with the Otago Daily Times. More..
“The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films,” by Doug Adams, Carpetier, $59.95
It speaks to the longevity of the “Lord of the Rings,” films that ten years later, movie tie-in books are still being released. It speaks to the power of Howard Shore’s soundtrack and author Doug Adams presentation that “The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films,” is the best of LOTR movie-related book and worth the wait.
In fact, if you are still hanging on to some of your post-Christmas or other holiday gift money, this comprehensive account of Shore’s scores are your answer on how to spend. This volume is a must-own for fans of Peter Jackson’s trio of films adapting the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and film score fans.
Tolkien deserves more than a passing mention here because it is clear from Adams’ work that the written word played an important part in Shore’s process. Far beyond scoring a movie, the composer delved into Middle-earth’s history and cultures, creatures and characters in order to best service the film. The book helps elucidate the fact that Shore’s 10-plus hours of music were done with Tolkien in mind as much as Jackson and that Shore’s work stands alone as a musical interpretation of a work of fiction as well as one aspect of the films. Continue reading “Review: ‘Music of LOTR films’ best of tie-in books”
Continuing the new The Lord of the Rings statue line-up, Sideshow Collectibles placed the Legolas Statue on sale last Thursday. Unfortunately the exclusive edition sold out in a few hours, but the regular edition is still available for pre-order. In what looks to be one of the best sculpts of Orlando Bloom, this statue features Legolas as he’s about to pull an arrow from his quiver. For a complete gallery and ordering details, jump on over to SideshowCollectibles.com. Legolas is the third ‘new’ LOTR statue in the series, joining Gandalf the Grey (Exclusive Version is Available for Pre-Order) and Aragorn as Strider.
Sir Peter Jackson and his crew are on a Queenstown-based location scout of the South Island this week. Sir Peter’s assistant at Wingnut Films, Matt Dravitzki, yesterday said his boss was not available for interviews while he was in the South Island because the team were on a gruelling location scout. “Location scouting for The Hobbit is currently under way in both the North and South Islands. 
