Bronwyn writes:
This news is Australian specific.
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ALL THREE EPIC FILMS. ONE LEGENDARY WEEKEND.
Greater Union and Birch Carroll & Coyle cinemas announce a movie event like no other. For the weekend of Friday, March 12 to Sunday, March 14 2004, our cinemas will screen all three films of Peter Jackson’s magnificent film trilogy of J R R Tolkien?s masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings.
On each of the three days, during one mammoth session commencing at 1.30pm, the quest to save Middle Earth will be seen in its entirety in with Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, with a short break between each film.
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More information can be found [Here]
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Some of us in LA for the TORn party were thrilled beyond words to stumble upon the unheralded WORLD PREMIERE of Hidalgo tonight at the El Capitan theater on Hollywood Blvd. We stood out in the rain for about an hour to watch Viggo make a sensational entrance, riding Hidalgo (TJ) down the red carpet!!
Viggo looked fabulous in his black tux, light blue tie, no hat. Hopefully I’ll have some pics when I get home.
They were giving out brown Hidalgo hats to all the lucky guests invited to the premiere. John Rhys Davies attended and very kindly stopped to say hello to the fans.
When I was walking back to my hotel, only a block away, I took a shortcut through the Kodak theater only to run face-to-face into Elijah Wood!
What a night!
Laurelin ~
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[Excerpt from Hollywood Reporter, 3/1/04, p. 7]
“Not far from New Line Cinema’s Oscar party -where talent and execs involved
with “King” lifted champagne glasses- bands of hobbit lovers surely hgoisted
sets of commemorative goblets snapped up at conventions after learning that
Oscar’s final envelope of the evening had “King’s” mystical name inside.
One Rings’ fan site, TheOneRing.net, even offered a toast that Ring dings
could simultaneously celebrate with.
“As MC. of tonight’s Return of the One Party in Hollywood” read one posting
on the Web site, “I am holding a special toast in honor of Peter Jackson and
his cast, crew and supporters. The magic happens immediately when the Oscar
telecast ends (after the best picture winner is announced). Whether you’re
at the party or at your own gathering with friends, folks at home and around
the world can raise their glasses simultaneously. This is for the entire JRR
Tolkien community to share in a special moment. Feel free to toast with this
text or in your own way!”.
The toast itself included incantations such as “Ladies and gentlemen: hobbit
lads and lasses”, “the wonders of Middle Earth have unfolded before our
eyes, shining on the silver screen as never before” and “tonight we raise
our glasses in toast to a gentle Kiwi filmmaker with a singular vision”.
c. 2004 Hollywood Reporter
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Here is a list of Oscar wins for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The film was nominated for eleven categories, and ruled them all.
Grant Major, Dan Hennah and Alan Lee won the Oscar for Best Art Direction.
Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor won for Best Costume.
Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke for Best Visual Effects.
Richard Taylor and Peter King for Best Makeup.
Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek for Best Sound Mixing.
Howard Shore won for Best Original Score.
James Selkirk won for Best Film Editing.
Annie Lennox, Fran Walsh and Howard Shore won for Best Music (Song).
Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens won for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Peter Jackson won for Best Director.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won for Best Picture.
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Partying with the fellowship of the fans
Forget the Vanity Fair soiree, the hottest bash in town last night was at
the Hollywood American Legion.
By Mary McNamara, Times Staff Writer
Fifteen hundred fans of “The Lord of the Rings,” Ringers as they call
themselves, swept down Highland Boulevard like the horsemen of Rohan
charging onto the Pelennor Fields during the climactic battle scene in “The
Return of the King.” From around the world they came, in fancy gowns and
Elvish cloaks, in hobbit feet and designer tuxedos, to watch director Peter
Jackson and his colleagues collect the gold on Oscar night.
Even the most ardent of them were unprepared for the army of statues that
ensued. “I prayed to God for a sweep,” said Katherine Eppich, who came from
Kansas for awards night. “We love this movie because we love heroes and we
need heroes right now.”
Forget the Vanity Fair soiree, or even the party for New Line Cinema (which
made the “Lord” trilogy), a more sedate affair in the belly of the Pacific
Design Center. The hottest bash in town last night was at the Hollywood
American Legion; the dress code was black tie, pointy ears optional, and the
last pair of available tickets was auctioned off on EBay days ago for
$7,100.
No other films have spanned the chasm between fan culture and critical
acclaim in quite the way “The Lord of the Rings” did, and this will never be
as clear as at the party thrown by http://www.theonering.net, a website
created five years ago to chronicle and discuss the creation of Jackson’s
epic from the moment filming began. If the epic was a masterwork of new
technology, so was its fan base
All those years of fantasy-geek-hood finally paid off.
The cheering from the overwhelmingly female crowd began at 5:29 when Elijah
Wood and Jackson were corralled on the red carpet during the pre-show, which
was broadcast on screens throughout the building – cheering as if Elvis had
entered.
Women in evening gowns by way of the Renaissance Faire screamed and clapped,
hoisted Hobgoblin ale and stamped their high-heeled feet. Metallic streamers
burst from canons when Jackson won best director. And, when the film grabbed
its 11th Oscar at 9:05 p.m., the shrieks grew operatic.
In the basement bar renamed the Green Dragon, half a dozen women in formal
dress ate roast beef and talked about author J.R.R. Tolkien. Amanda Ebright
from Rochester, Minn., made her husband read the trilogy on their honeymoon;
Charlotte Marks from Springfield, Mass., was the one who mischievously
started a rumor two years ago that the actor who played Faramir had quit;
Moira Fracassa from Detroit had never joined a fan club or message board in
her life until “the Fellowship of the Ring” came out. “But then I loved it
so much I had to talk to someone, anyone,” she said.
Delwyn Masters flew in from New Zealand, Anne Giffels came from Chicago and
Geoff Dellimore from outside London. Though they have rarely met on the
website, they greeted one another as if they were very old friends. “For so
many years, our love of this book has been a solitary thing,” said Ebright.
“Now we have a community. In the last four years I’ve met some of the
brightest, funniest people on the planet.”
The Web group has held Oscar parties for the last two years at the Hollywood
Athletic Club – the first with 300 guests, the second with 1,100 – and the
founders knew that this would be a blowout. Still, when they put the $125
tickets on sale Dec.10, they were shocked.
Within 10 minutes, they had sold all 1,200 and pretty much blown out their
server. “It was unreal,” said Chris Pirrotta, the co-webmaster, a Web
designer who lives in Valencia. “We watched the numbers go up so fast it was
a blur.”
Neither he nor any of the website founders was invited to the official
party, but Pirotta, who says that New Line has been very supportive –
supplying merchandise for a silent auction and assuring that Jackson and the
cast would show up at some point during the evening – says they prefer to
celebrate with their peers. “This is the ultimate night for people who have
lived so long in the shadows,” he said.
So many devotees found themselves with plane tickets and no party that fans
organized a second smaller gala. About 400 attended the “Into the West”
event at the Hollywood Athletic Club, which, by now, is used to being
over-run by the creatures of Middle-earth at Oscar time. Pre-event confusion
over which party was where led to some testiness, but as “Into the West”
organizer Diane Rooney said: “It’s about celebrating the books and the
community, not about which party you’re going to.”
The American Legion was transformed for the evening from the outside
entrance where a bronzed soldier was draped in an Elvish cloak and a beacon
of Gondor glowed from atop the roof. (The silken flames were so realistic
they drew questions from the fire marshal.) Inside signs pointed to the
Green Dragon; to Mordor, where the food was served; and to the Great Hall,
where guests were entertained by One Ring Circus, a costume troupe that
spoofed last year’s winner, “Chicago,” and wound up in a kick line, all in
full “Lord of the Rings” regalia.
The costumes were echoed in the audience. Paul Mullins, Jeanette
Christiansen and Teresa Seffel, all from Los Angeles, were dressed as a
hobbit and two elves, respectively. Seffel is a longtime “Star Wars” fan,
but when “The Fellowship” premiered, she said, Frodo replaced Luke Skywalker
in her heart forever. “Now I’m involved in medieval costuming and
Renaissance festivals,” she said.
That sentiment was repeated over and over on a large placard in the foyer.
Addressed as a thank you to Jackson and his crew, it was signed by hundreds
of fans. “Thank you for bringing our dreams to life … for making the best
movie of all time … for changing my life….”
From the moment New Line announced that Jackson would be making not one but
three movies, Ringers were caught in a whirl of elation and anxiety over the
liberties that would have to be taken with the text. The website began with
photographs taken on location in New Zealand during shooting by Erica
Challis, a musician with the Auckland Philharmonia. But with these photos
came rumor and fear: What was Liv Tyler, who played Arwen, doing on
horseback? Was it true that Tom Bombadil did not make the final script?
(Yes.) That Merry and Pippin had be excised from the Fellowship?(No.)
When “The Fellowship” opened, the only sound louder than the beeping of box
office cash registers – the three movies broke the billion-dollar mark last
week in international sales – was the collective sigh of relief from Tolkien
fans.So what will happen to the fans and their innumerable clubs now that
it’s all over?
“It’s so bittersweet,” said Christiansen. “We have nothing to look forward
to now.”
“There were die-hard fans before the movies were ever made,” said Rooney.
“There may be some falloff, but there will always be interest in the books
and the movies.”
And besides, it’s not over until the DVD sings. (It’s due in December.)
c. 2004 The LA Times
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Ladies and Gentlemen: Hobbit lads and lasses,
We are met tonight at the crossroads of cinema history: where both Art and Commerce intersect in a magnificent collision, where critics and audiences both applaud the power of movies.
The wonders of Middle-earth have unfolded before our eyes, shining on the silver screen as never before. We have witnessed visions of such staggering beauty, created by a dedicated team of artists and craftsmen and musicians. In such cynical times as these, how miraculous it is to see unsullied hope carried on the shoulders of our favorite heroes.
For 50 years now, through Professor Tolkien’s exquisite words, we have learned that nothing moves the human heart as much as good storytelling. And now we embrace the power of such storytelling in another medium. Tonight we raise our glasses in toast to a gentle Kiwi filmmaker with a singular vision.
{Participants raise glasses.}
To Peter Jackson and his many, many supporting players who helped bring this story to a new generation of fans. We congratulate you all.
The road goes ever on…. Cheers!
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