(Or An Alliterative Throwing-In of the Towel)
John Howe writes: Every now and then, a person just gets too busy to think. So, I confess. The following is an admission of failure – and a newsletter with little or nothing to say. (Which, it must be said in passing, has never been a reason sufficient to shut me up.) Am currently working on writing and illustrating two books and (distractedly) researching a third. Suddenly taking the time to write something else than what will go in one or the other seems no only unreasonable but treasonable. (This business of author-illustrator is rather like taking on two jobs at once.) An unexpected side-effect of writing a non-fiction book was that I naturally end up buying dozens of reference books, which all ended up stacked everywhere they could stack, until, finally fed up with stumbling over and bumping into piles of the things, new shelves seemed the only solution. I don’t know about you, but in this household, modest unassuming projects gradually assume colossal proportions and I ended up building a full wall of shelves. The books went in (there’s even still room, but rapidly shrinking) and suddenly a particular patch of wall seemed to call out for more home carpentry, so a drawing pulpit got itself made. Read the rest here…
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Composer Howard Shore brought J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary imagination to vivid life with his Academy®- and Grammy® Award-winning score to Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Shore crafted a fully-developed musical epic that related the classic tale with moving and intricately related themes for each of Middle-earth’s cultures and charted the One Ring’s journey with an exhilarating flourish. [muenchenevent.de] Continue reading “Watch FOTR with Live Music in Germany”
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From radionz.co.nz: Head of Weta Workshop Richard Taylor on his busy year. [More]
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Arwen Undomiel writes: On the 23th/24th of February 2008 there is the World Premiere of Howard Shore’s Original Soundtrack of ‘The Fellowship of the Rings’ – live in concert. It will take place in Luzern, Switzerland with the composer himself being present!! During the show, the film will be seen in its full length on a big screen. There will be 200 singers and musicians at the a three-hour performance. [More]
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Or Empires Within, Empires Without
Yes, I realize the title sounds like the name of a lacrosse team (but it’s only to insure that my compatriots read this.) Nevertheless…
A summer ago, I spent a few days in Toronto giving a little talk at IdeaCity and shooting a television program. Being in Toronto was akin to going back to a place one has never been before, one of those reassuring and slightly troubling moments where you realize that (of course) the superficiality of familiarity is enough to enhance any strange city, as long as you have some tenuous link (in this case, the entire population fiddling with their BlackBerries while walking.) So, in a way, back in a Canada to which I’d never been. Which, as it turns out, was very a propos…
In Queen’s Park*, on the way from the hotel farther downtown towards the Royal Ontario Museum, stand the Ontario Parliament Buildings. My hurried strides, and the most promising-looking shortcut on my free city map, carried me past there. Something about them was so unsettling, otherworldly and fascinating that I returned and spent two afternoons in their company. John Howe’s Journal: CANADIAN CELTICS
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Chad Grischow writes: January 3, 2008 – Poor Howard Shore. With most moviegoers busy ogling over the amazing visual work Weta created for Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy, it is easy to forget just how equally fantastic they each sound. Newly issued five-disc mega set, featuring nearly four hours worth of cd audio and another four hours of DVD audio in full surround sound, is here to refresh your memory. Having worked on scores for Martin Scorsese (The Departed) and David Fincher (Se7en and Panic Room), not to mention his long-standing working relationship with David Cronenberg, Shore knows drama and tension. This experience serves him well in the inevitable battle sequences, but he proves equally capable of pulling off delightfully wistful fare throughout. It is the well balanced, always compelling, sound that makes this rather lengthy collection worthy of your ears from start to finish. Despite just how long it will take you to hear all of Shore’s work, there is not much fat to be found. Like the film itself, there are a few lulls, like plodding “Marshalling At Dunharrow”, but thankfully no repeated false endings or moments where you wish the credits would start rolling already. Howard Shore – The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King – The Complete Recordings
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