Lawrence French writes: While watching the extended DVD version of LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING the other night, I was once again enthralled by the magnificence of the production, and thought back to several of the interviews I had done on the movie that never made it into CFQ’s December 2003 issue on the film. Director Peter Jackson had grown up in New Zealand as an avid reader of CFQ, so I had virtually unlimited access to anyone I wanted to speak with about the making of the picture. Unfortunately, by that time, Cinefantastique founder-publisher-editor Fred Clarke was no longer at the helm of the magazine, so what would have certainly been a deluxe double issue if Fred had been in control, containing comprehensive material on the first fantasy film to ever win a best picture Oscar (and ten others), ended up cut down the to a mere 15 pages! Supernal Dreams: Tolkien artist Alan Lee on designing middle-earth for “Lord of the Rings”
Category: Crew News
All news about the LOTR Crew.
From message board member, diedye: Barrie Osborne, producer of “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, will deliver a keynote address on the global entertainment industry at the FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) “Frames 2008” convention to be held this week in Mumbai India.
Among the topics to be discussed at the convention: ‘The Opening weekend: how to get the audience in.’ A good reason to include Osborne among the speakers
Board member Beren had the good fortune to interview Tolkien illustrator Alan Lee recently at the Paris Book Fair where Lee was invited by the French Tolkien publishing company, Christian Bourgois Editeurs, to sign the French translation of “The Children of Hurin.” In the in-depth interview, Lee describes the joys and challenges of illustrating Tolkien’s world, and comments that it would be nice to be involved with The Hobbit. [Read More]
… IS, WELL, WHAT YOU SEE
Or The Lego Box View of the World of Yore and a Few Other Considerations
John Howe writes: I’ve been spending a lot of time leafing through old atlases and encyclopedias, both physically and on the net, and have become enamoured of the various and varying views of the world of yore*.
Image trawling is like looking for pieces in a box of Lego. Continue reading “John Howe’s Journal: WHAT YOU SEE…”
Variety columnist Anne Thompson has an excellent article on the longer, bigger picture of New Line Cinema and where “The Lord of the Rings,” films fit into that history. As part of the story she shares a small tidbit about a familiar producer that might be on board and yet another confirmation that Guillermo del Toro is still the likely to direct the two films that will tell the story of Bilbo Baggins and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Thanks to Compa_Mighty for tracking down the news. Read the full story right here.
(Or Mountains and Molehills of the Mind)
John Howe writes: The other day, walking outdoors was like stepping into a picture. The lake and precocious moon were by Aivasovsky. Not turbulent enough to try as a Turner, but there was a hint of mist courtesy of Caspar David Friedrich. The woods nearby by Klimt, trees and fields below by Corot. A patch of sun by Bieler, a patch of grass by Durer. Mountains by Calame or l’Eplattenier in the distance. In Switzerland, they are never far away, mountains. On a good day, I can see them out the studio window (if they’re sharp, popular wisdom says the weather will turn bad, but there’s no such thing as bad weather, just a switch of painters and palettes.) From our place, it’s a hop, skip and jump, at least in fancy, across the lake and the plateau to the Alps. Remote enough to be a backdrop, sometimes startlingly clear or often near-invisible in the mist and cloud, they are only an hour and a bit by car, but far enough to be more routinely ideas of mountains than looming lumps of vertical rock (which do have a tendancy to tumble down on highways and railways, given that Switzerland’s mountains are very lived-in.) [More]