Michael Pellerin has long been a much admired figure for his work on the standard-setting “Lord of the Rings” Extended Edition DVDs and his contributions to our sister site “KongIsKing.net” where you can still see the final goodbye from the production diaries. He is a key figure in what the world knows about the whole LOTR production. With the release of the movie trilogy on Blu-ray, Pellerin has turned in a written account that covers a lot of ground that only he is in a position to explain. It is a great read, full of interesting information:
Such as:
“Peter (Jackson) and I began talking about LOTR on HD as far back as 2001 – during the making of the films. As we knew the film would eventually be released in some yet-to-be-determined HD format, we began planning The Lord of the Rings HD Box Set from the very beginning, nearly a decade ago.”
And this bit about the ultimate box set which does not yet exist:
“We had made a very conscious decision to make everything on the original Appendices Supplemental discs very specifically about the technical process of making the three films, as told by the many, many voices of the people who made them. Therefore, anything that was not specific to that goal, or approach, we saved for the Box Set.”
His own words can be read right here, so enjoy and thanks to message board members Patty and Oscarilbo for finding the interview.
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In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Peter Jackson, Executive Producer of the upcoming Hobbit films says of the films’ behind-the-scenes footage that “We’ve been filming DVD material for about a year. Guillermo has been doing location scouts and design work, with the DVD people following him around, so we’ve shot 20 or 30 hours of DVD material so far and we’re still a few months away from the first day of shooting.”
Asked about converting the LOTR films to 3D, he says, “You can do [2D to 3D] conversions well if you take time. If you do it quickly, fast and cheap, it’s not going to turn out well. If we were going to convert LOTR, I’d want to do it properly, which would be a very long, time-consuming, and expensive process.”
Lastly, his opinion on the not-so-positive fan reaction to the recently released Theatrical BluRay version seems to jibe with the majority of the fans. “I agree with the fans”, he says. “I was heavily involved in the DVD process when the films were being released through New Line, but now that Warner Brothers has taken control over the releasing of the films, they just tell me what they’re doing and don’t involve me in the process. [With New Line,] the one thing we never did with the fans was make them feel cheated. Back in the original release, we always put extra material in, extra documentaries — a lot of added value. I so totally understand why the fans would be upset; I don’t disagree with them.”
Read the entire interview over at The Wall Street Journal.
Thanks to Patty on our message boards for alerting us to this interview.
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Todd Gilchrist writes: Yesterday in conjunction with the release of Warner Brothers’ new Blu-rays, Hollywood News published an exclusive interview with Richard Taylor, one of the good folks at effects house Weta who was responsible for helping bring the Lord of the Rings film to the screen. While Taylor provided as much information as he could, he confessed outright that he actually had nothing to do with the high-definition upgrade, and further, hadn’t even seen the discs yet. Subsequently, however, we spoke with one of the DVD/BD project’s actual participants, longtime Peter Jackson collaborator Michael Pellerin, who provided some real insights into the process of bringing the films to Blu-ray for the first time.
In addition to his work with Jackson on documenting The Lord of the Rings films, the producer and director has worked on countless featurettes and bonus materials for other films as well, including Tron and Fantasia for Disney. But Pellerin offered some surprising revelations about the new Blu-rays, including some specific and unexpected improvements that most audiences wouldn’t even know needed to be made. Additionally, he hinted at the reservoir of content that has yet to be released, but seems destined to appear on some sort of massive Lord of the Rings boxed set hopefully in the not-too-distant future – although much like the fate of The Hobbit, those specifics have yet to be fully ironed out. More..
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To promote the release of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy on Blu-ray DVD Richard Taylor dropped us a line to talk all things ‘Rings’. Richard is hard at work on production of the The Hobbit, and during the chat we spoke a bit about blu-ray and 3D technology effecting the way the folks at his WETA Workshop go about creating sets and props. Our very own MrCere also had the chance to chat with Richard, be on the lookout for his report as well.
Click here for the chat!
Order Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (BD)
at the WBshop.com! Continue reading “TORN Chats with Richard Taylor”
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Named one of the best films in the last 25 years by USA Today, The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy is coming to Blu-ray™ for the first time ever. Join WB Insider Rewards for a chance to win the Blu-ray edition of the trilogy, a Sony Playstation®3 with built in Blu-ray player and highly prized collectibles. The Grand Prize includes a chess set by The Noble Collection with an ancient map of Middle-earth mounted beneath the playing surface and a base with actual images of the memorable characters and scenes from the thrilling motion picture trilogy. Join for a chance to win!
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When “Fellowship of the Ring,” was first released on DVD and VHS (no seriously, VHS!) back in 2001, it changed the way many people watched movies at home. It was one of the films that convinced legions to finally jump into the digital age and buy a first DVD player. It was a converting tool to the masses who didn’t previously care enough about fidelity of sound and picture on the small screen to make the financial commitment to change.
And just a decade later, with VHS dead, the entire “Lord of the Rings” trilogy is about to hit the market Tuesday in the Blu-Ray format. Will it similarly convince its still-potent LOTR fanbase of consumers to upgrade their home-viewing experiences and leave DVD players behind? There are lots of converts already preaching the Blu-Ray gospel, but what about those content with technology and who just want to watch movies? Will Peter Jackson’s trilogy similarly change the landscape of how the masses watch movies? Continue reading “‘Lord of the Rings’ Blu-ray review”
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