The folks from grsymphony.org write: We just opened up the front row of our balcony– Prime Viewing Seats!! This is the perfect time to purchase tickets to see The Two Towers in Grand Rapids if you don’t have them already. Don’t miss Maestro Wicki, Kaitlyn Lusk and the Grand Rapids Symphony and Chorus. Tickets moving fast, we hope you join us! More..
Category: LotR Movies
Anna writes: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra will celebrate its 75th year of residency at its summer home, the Ravinia Festival, next year with a wide range of special programming.
From July 7 to Aug. 19, 2011, the 17-concert series will feature an all-star cast of guest artists, a pair of “Lord of the Rings” movie nights, a complete performance of Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” and a celebration of the 200th birthday of Hungarian composer-pianist Franz Liszt, along with the usual wide selection of classical orchestral favorites. Continue reading “Chicago Symphony Orchestra Does LOTR Night”
Things have quieted down a bit in the world’s media, but nothing has been settled yet on the two-part “Hobbit” production and a dispute with actors. What has changed is that both sides have gone mostly quiet in the press while government officials from both New Zealand and Australia have stepped in to comment or mediate. Meanwhile, Sam Neil says the whole thing could be resolved over a cup of tea.
But could ‘The Hobbit’ really leave New Zealand? Could it really walk away from the landscapes and the people who were the heart and soul of the LOTR trilogy? Isn’t this all a bluff in negotiations that everybody knows will be resolved? A spy close to the production tells us the possibility is absolutely real. The studios, after finally getting all the ducks in a row, want to greenlight and shoot these films and they are willing to leave New Zealand if they must. Canada believes it, so does Scotland and ironically, so does Australia. TORn is lacking a translator for most Eastern European languages but Romania and its neighbors also seem like a possibility. (I would throw Utah in the hat too!)
And the online petition we reported on, initiated by film industry pros in New Zealand, has at least has been noticed. In an interview “Hobbit” co-writer and co-producer Phillipa Boyens said,
“I tell you one thing that’s been amazing and that’s the support and it has I think personally made a huge difference, is the New Zealand industry has started to rally around to save this and they have the online petition . . . that’s been fantastic and Pete’s been reading that and taking heart from it.”
Keen eyes will discover many familiar names on the petition list, including a “confirmed” Elijah Wood. As always, TORn will bring you the latest news as it gets reported.
Sir Peter Jackson met with Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee this morning to discuss the future of his Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit. Sir Peter, accompanied by his wife Fran Walsh, talked with Mr Brownlee in a closed meeting inside the Minister’s office. 3 News understands an announcement on the film will be made by the end of the week. The future of The Hobbit has been thrown into disarray following a highly-publicised spat between Mr Jackson and an Australian actors union. More..
Story developing: A studio that helped make some of Wellington’s most famous films is on fire in Wellington. A huge fire at Portsmouth Miniatures Studio broke out at 3.10pm. A pall of smoke can be seen all over the eastern suburbs, rising from the building, near Wellington Airport.
The studio’s manager said she was on her way to the scene. No-one was hurt, she said. ”And that’s the main thing.” Crews from all around the Wellington region have gone to fight the blaze. Portsmouth Miniatures Studio has had a hand in many Wellington films. Its facilities were used during the making of Peter Jackson movies including King Kong and the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
Update from tvnz.co.nz: It is believed to be the Rongotai studio where he films miniatures, located behind the Kilbirnie Fire Station.
Fire burns a Wellington studio owned by Sir Peter Jackson. – Source: Picture supplied by Matt Kovesdi
Seven global actors’ unions have instructed their members to walk away from roles in the two big-budget Lord of the Rings prequels because producers have allegedly refused to negotiate a deal guaranteeing wages and working conditions for performers in New Zealand. Unions in the US, Australia, the UK and Canada, acting under the umbrella of the International Federation of Actors (FIA), said Kiwi performers had “struggled on non-union contracts” for some years during filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. They said the contracts “provide no minimum guarantees of wages or working conditions”, no payment for future broadcasts and no cancellation payments. More..