Have you ever attended an Oscar party? If not, now you can say you know someone who has. Paul Badali, local jeweler and president of Badali Jewelry Specialties Inc., is attending the Oscars with style.
Paul was commissioned after the first Lord of The Rings movie to create a pin that was presented to the cast members for good luck at the Oscars from TheOneRing.net. Every year thereafter Paul has created a pin that has been presented to the actors, director, producers, and crew of The Lord of The Rings movie. In February Paul and his business manager, Loria Badali, will be attending TheOneRing.net Oscar party as VIP’s. “I look forward to meeting the people behind The Lord of The Rings movies, those who hold our company in high regard. I am looking forward to knowing them on a personal level.”
So, what would Paul enjoy most of all? “I would really like to meet Peter Jackson; I feel that we have a real kinship. The ideas and thoughts he has about The Lord of The Rings, shown by his extraordinary work, is much the same as mine. Tolkien has given us a great work to admire for a lifetime.”
The creation of the three pins for the Oscars is only a small part of the connection Badali has to The Lord of The Rings saga. Paul and his staff have been licensed by Tolkien Enterprise to create versions of The Lord of The Rings jewelry as depicted in the novels written by J.R.R. Tolkien. “It’s been a long road to success. I am humble and grateful for this experience,” Paul stated while polishing a 14k gold One Ring of PowerTM.
Along the path to fame Badali Jewelry became a global company, “It feels a bit incredible. I don’t feel that it was myself that made my company so successful, I feel that my hard work and determination played a large part, but the company is what it is today because of my employees.” He said leaning back from his work.
“I contribute my success with the people I have surrounded myself with. You can’t manage people, you can just devise a system that works and find extraordinary people to run it. If you are getting bad results it’s not the people, it’s the system.”
Would you be interested in who his incredible employees are? Would you be surprised if they consisted primarily of his family members? “My oldest daughter is the business manager, my second to oldest daughter is the product manager, and my second youngest daughter does all our graphic artwork. Our first line jeweler, who I feel is the son I never had, (being a father of four girls) has been with the company for six years.”
When viewing the Badali Jewelry Specialties Inc. website (www.badalijewelry.com) you can see the expertise and precisions that are placed in Badali’s works. “The challenge is to stretch my limits and make something that makes a difference in life. To be happy and satisfied with the work I perform. Success is as simple as feeling like you have accomplished what you set out to do that day. My jewelry is a personal contribution to others of my commit to quality of life.”
There’s a reason why Paul is so dedicated to his work: “I have always felt that life will throw you a curve ball. You have to be determined and refuse to give up. It has been a lifelong dream to create The One Ring of PowerTM, but to see our company soar so high was beyond my comprehension.”
When asked what moments led up to Paul’s success he said, “Failure. Failure, failure, and failure. I banged my head against a rock for 20 years trying to find a business that would work. This go around I found the correct product with a key market and the perfect people to run my business.”
“Again, I feel humble and grateful. It’s a sense of self-actualization to finally succeed. We strive to make customized jewelry products that are as flawless as humanly possible. It feels great to be recognized for our efforts.”
In Paul’s personal life he enjoys scuba diving and fly fishing. “My passion in life is fly fishing. I have a very scientific and methodical way of catching fish. Success in fishing, in my mind, is virtually guaranteed. I have learned a system that works, the right tools, and how to apply them. This type of system can be applied to most things in life and equal success.”
Well, we will be sure to keep our eye on Paul. Success comes in many ways and Paul is determined to keep on succeeding, “Life is short. I am here to find out who I am and what it is that I choose to do: serve my selfish goals or help others. Life is a do-it-to-yourself experience.”
(Suffern, New York) – Don’t miss the return of Paul “Turk” Henry of the band Hobbit to the Kweevak Radio Show on Thursday February 26, 2004, starting at 8pm EST. Paul will be back on the worldwide Internet radio show for the second installment of his interview with Kweevak’s Rockin Rich Lynch. Mr. Henry will continue the conversation about his band’s latest CD called “All For The One” – based on the Tolkien Lord of the Rings trilogy. More songs from the CD will be aired.
Also being discussed will be the Academy Awards presentations taking place on February 29, 2004 in Hollywood, California. “The Return of The King” is nominated for several Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. The radio show will also announce a Hobbit and Lord of the Rings book discussion and web chat that will take place later in 2004 on the Kweevak Radio Show.
The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings theme starts with our in-studio guest – solo artist Peter Sando, a founder of the band Gandalf who released a psychedelic self-titled record on Capital Records in 1969.
Starting off the show will be a telephone conversation with European indie rocker Dave Adrian to discuss his new book, film, TV & recording projects. Dave always has insightful comments and we anticipate that this appearance will be no different.
For more information on this week’s artists and to listen please follow the link to the Kweevak Radio Show on the Kweevak main page at:
http://www.kweevak.com
Fans and listeners are invited and encouraged to interact with the Kweevak Radio Show at all times via:
* CALL US Toll-Free at 866.369.6788 * AOL IM: kweevak * CHAT Room on the station’s home page
This edition of The Kweevak Radio Show will kick off the weekend-long “Great Leap Forward” listener drive on the revolutionary Internet radio station – http://www.rocklandworldradio.com – broadcasting independent music and original programming to the world – 24 Hours a Day, Seven Days a Week!
===== Kweevak.com: Music Promotion Portal http://www.kweevak.com
I have just returned from the Howard Shore book-signing event at the Archambault Bookstore in Montreal. Howard is in town for the ‘The Montreal Highlights Festival’ event and will be conducting some of his work from The Lord of the Rings on Monday, February 23rd.
As we arrived at the bookstore we were greeted by a large group of fans that were patiently waiting outside the store to get their goods signed by Howard. Inside a small group of TV personalities were waiting for their chance to ask Howard a few questions after the signing was over. Howard specifically asked the media to wait until the singing was over in order to make the fans feel comfortable around him without the whole spectacle of lights and cameras in the way. His lovely wife Elizabeth watched patiently as Howard met countless fans and signed hundreds of autographs. Many people brought CD’s for him to sign, but there were copies of LOTR books, DVDs and other interesting things they carried with them. After about two hours the announcement was made that Howard would not be doing any more autographs. That didn’t stop a few eager fans from getting around the line and sneaking in to see him, Howard was gracious enough to sign every single one and speak with each fan individually.
While I waited for my chance to interview him on camera I was speaking with one of his personal assistants who told me Howard has been on a grueling schedule lately. He was recently in the UK for the BAFTA Awards, and in the States for Grammys. Of course next week he’s off to LA for the Academy Awards and after that it’s back to London to score the Extended Edition scenes of The Return of the King!
While speaking to Howard he told me he was eager to do this concert in Montreal, he said being a Canadian it is always nice to get back to his home country. Mind you, being back in familiar grounds can have its risks, while getting ready to pack up for the day a woman arrived and greeted Howard with a big hug. Howard called his wife over and introduced her to the mystery woman, who happed to be his girlfriend back when he was a teenager!
Howard is next working on Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Aviator’ and then Peter Jackson’s ‘King Kong’. I asked him if he would be heading back down to New Zealand while PJ is filming Kong, he told me that he would most likely be going down there again. He said that seeing the sets and the designs gives him a better feel for the film and almost always influences his work.
As for the Extended Edition of ROTK, Howard is STILL writing it at this moment. His work is never complete.
Howard invited me to his dress rehearsal the afternoon before the concert this Monday. I in turn invited him to the Return of the Oscar Party the night of the Oscars.
Thanks to the folks at Archambault for allowing us to film the event (check for a new episode of TORN Digital soon!). Thanks also to Miriam, Robbie, & Kathy!
I see that you’ve posted the info about Elijah and Dominic riding in two of the Mardi Gras parades, so I wanted to send you the sketch of the “Hobbits of The Shire” float and a photo of how the actual float turned out.
The sketch is from the Bacchus website, and the float photos were taken by me yesterday.
Elijah will throwing red doubloons (coins) with his likeness on them and very special Bacchus “One” rings. For more info on them and about the hand signed lithographs, go here. And each float in the parade throws a medallion bead that represents that particular floats title. The “Hobbits of the Shire” float will be throwing a beautiful ceramic likeness of Gandalf smoking his pipe. I’ll try to get a photo of that to you later.
Also, Elijah informed the krewe yesterday that he will be bringing a few “special friends” with him to ride in the parade. : )
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Ringer Spies Dragongrrl and Taro told us about one of Elijah’s “special friends”! SPOILER, mouse-over to view!
We spoke to a Security Guard and he told us Sean Astin was here and slated to be a surprise rider in the Bacchus parade.
Bilbo Baggins is smoking his pipe and minding his own business when one day the wizard Gandalf arrives at his front door. Gandalf asks if Bilbo would be interested in going on an adventure, but Bilbo declines. He invites the wizard to come over for tea some time so as not to seem rude, but excuses himself not wanting anything to do with adventures. The next afternoon his doorbell rings and a Dwarf pushes past him and sits down to eat by Bilbos table. He’s followed promptly by 12 others of his kind and Gandalf. An unexpected party begins.
It soon becomes clear that Gandalf has volunteered Bilbo to be a burglar for the Dwarves on their adventure. Bilbo of course wants none of this and the Dwarves don’t find the Hobbit suited at all, but Gandalf sees something in Bilbo.
Gandalf brings out an old map and shows the company a secret entrance to which Thorin the chief Dward holds a key, and Thorin tells Bilbo the tale of his people and Smaug the dragon. After some discussion, Bilbo shows his guests to his guest-quarters and goes to bed to spend a night in troubled sleep.
What are we told about Hobbits and their customs in this chapter? What are the two sides of Bilbo Baggins? What did you first make of the Dwarves and how did Bilbo manage during his trials? How does Bilbo function as a contrast to the Dwarves and Gandalf and the dragon? Join us in #thehalloffire as we discuss ‘An unexpected Party’ – Chapter I of ‘The Hobbit’.
Times: Saturday Chat: 5:30pm ET (17:30) [also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 9:30am Sunday (09:30) AET]
Sunday Chat: 7:00 pm (19:00) CET [also 1:00pm (13:00) ET and 5:00am (05:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast CET = Central European Time, Central Europe AET = Australian East Coast
Do you have a possible topic for Hall of Fire? Drop us a line at halloffire@theonering.net
From TORn Oscar Party Staffer Garfeimao: Here is a little preview of some of the great auction and raffle items we’ll have on display at the Oscar Party.
First off, you have probably already seen on the Party website the Bronze Gandalf statue. That will be a special raffle for which we’ll post the specifics in the next few days. Some of our standard raffle items will include TTT extended DVDs and TTT Extended Gift box sets. There will also be some special handmade tiles, signed posters and at least one large movie banner. Remember that to bid, you’ll have to bring cash, credit cards, traveller’s checks or personal checks from domestic (US) bank accounts.
+ 5×10 Movie banner, signed by Andy Serkis, Alex Funke, Sean Astin, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Barrie Osbourne and Peter Jackson.
+ 5×10 movie banner, unsigned, same design as above
+ Large outdoor movie banner, 10×30, different design
+ Signed ‘Gollum’ Standee from Andy Serkis
+ Signed Oscar posters – professional framed
+ No. 7 Orthanc Statue from Sideshow/Weta Collectibles (of 750 total worldwide)
