Gil-Estel writes: I had the pleasure of attending the Tolkien Lecture at the University of South Carolina on Thursday evening (thanks to the spy reports from TORN). It was a very interesting, and delightful experience to listen to the U.S.A.’s leading authority on Tolkien discuss the Modern and Medievel aspects of Tolkein’s literature.
After introductions were given, Dr. Micheal Drout walked into the lecture hall reciting the first twenty lines of “Beowulf” in old Anglo-Saxon, just the same way that Tolkien began all of his lectures. Five minutes into the lecture gave all the impression that he was an amiable, and likable man. And he spoke to all as though he was not above them, more on their level (even though we all knew that this man was a genious!).
I took notes on all he said about Tolkien’s literature and Medievel literature so here is an overview of the presentation.
*First of all, I must point out that Dr. Drout has read all of Tolkien’s manuscripts and is currently putting together Tolkien’s writings from a book he wrote that will be published this summer called Beowulf: The Monsters and Critics.
-All of the names of people, places, and things began all derived from the old Anglo-Saxon toungue, but a Tolkien revised, only the Rohirrim kept the names. For example, all the kings of Rohan’s names mean “King” in Anglo-Saxon (Fengel, Thengel, Theoden, Eomer, etc.). But as you journey farther back to the first king in the Mark, their names begin to be derived from the Goth’s language (Visigoths). This symbolizes the fact that, although it has never been proven, Tolkien believed that the Angles and Saxons where from the Geats and them from the Goths. There were many more instances like this from the book, and the reason for this is because Tolkien’s ideas were so controversial, he was afraid to publish them in any other documents. (more Anglo-Saxon words he used were Ent:giant. Eored: Troop, and although nobody knows what it means, Tolkien used the Arkenstone in the Hobbit that was from “Beowulf”).
-The complexity in Beowulf is in it’s people, not the situations, but in LOTR, it is quite the opposite. None of the LOTR characters are exactly what literary critics would call “well-rounded.”
-Also, everything in all of Tolkien’s fantasy literature came from other sources, like orcs, elves, dwarfs, dragons, etc. but the one and only thing that was truly Tolkien was the Hobbits. Tolkien invented the hobbits so that normal people could relate to the book. Like Dr. Drout said, ” I mean, how many people do you really know are like Aragorn. Seriously, who’s as superhuman as he is, whacking orc’s heads off and becoming king and everything while the hobbits stand by and are like, ‘Okay!” The hobbits are meant to be the median for us. These creatures are not “slaughter happy” and it totally contradicts the medievel ways. Medievel writers would have looked at this and thought Tolkien was an idiot, and that is where the modernism comes in: the hobbits are a simple people that have no desire to kill unless it becomes a requirement. Even in the Lord of the Rings, Frodo and Sam kill no one (except for an orc or something).
-Also, King Leer, from Shakespeare, forms almost a triangle between the similarities between Denethor, Eomer, and the Witch King (I can’t really expand on that because Dr. Drout assumed we all knew King Leer, but I don’t so…) What is furthermore, is that all three people (Denethor, Eomer, and the Witchking) stem from what King Leer was. They all made choices that led them in different paths and thus creating a whole new character.
-The whole idea of good and evil is fully presented through the theme of sacrifice (verily embodied by Frodo and Sam). Frodo and Sam made ultimate decisions of sacrifice and put themselves in the situation where they HAD to do the right thing, the only thing they could do was succeed. Here again, we depart from modernism, because, left out of 20th century literature was heroism.
-As Dr. Drout ties up his lecture, he concludes with the statement that “Tolkien presents ways of looking at problems, but never actually gives the answers except through the actions of the characters in the books.”
Afterwards Answer and Question:
“Obviously, C.S. Lewis wrote all of his stories and books as complete allgories, and many people make the mistake in believing that the Lord of the Rings an allegory. But why is it not considered one.”
Dr. Drout answers by saying that even though LOTR was not created to be allegorical, the Christ image does come through, but in an allgory there can only be one Christ figure, whereas the LOTR has the seperate attributes to Christ alloted into at least three different characters. Many people also make the mistake of saying things about how Bill Clinton or George Bush represents Saruman, but there is no truth to that. Tolkien just made the books so general so we could relate to them in our own way, not that they really represented any one thing.
Another comment was brought up, by a woman, about Tolkien’s distance towards women in the books, but Dr. Drout fully disaggreed that women were distant. Although the women were not brought up to the forefront of the story for most of the time, they were constantly the driving force for the book. For instance, Arwen could only marry Aragorn if he succeed in his journey to become King. She was the one that kept Aragorn on his path, if ever he got the idea to turn around (not like he did), he would remember their love for eachother and keep going. Also, through Tolkien’s personal experiences in WWI, were these painted images of women. The elves stood for the perfect angels that the men thought of in the trenches, Eowyn was the brave nurses and other women who risked their lives to help, and Rosie Cotton can even be seen as a mans simple, but wonderful wife waiting back home for him. The only bad woman in all of Tolkien’s writings is Shelob, but by doing this, Tolkien almost makes women look too good, becuase he gives all the evil attributes to an insect/spider, making it seem as though the attributes aren’t even womanlike. Shelob also had a part in the WWI, she was like the prostitute woman who was greedy and wanted it her own way. Dr. Drout said that if you read the encounter with Shelob again, you will notice much sexual inuendoes and evilness Tolkien shows towards her. So Tolkien’s image of women are really not cold and distant at all.
Many people there were also interested in the movies as well. Dr. Drout actually, instead of criticizing the movies, he liked them. He said “it is the best that Hollywood could do for The Lord of The Rings at this point in time.” But on a side note he said, “Sure, I am not someone who would watch the DVD at home about 9-10 times…But I would watch it about eight times!” So even he, a really scholarly kind of man, enjoyed the movies. (Obviously this shows evidence that Peter Jackson did the impossible!).
One last thing Dr. Drout said was that Tolkien had revised, revised, and revised. He wrote the first chapter in the Lord of the Rings almost 36 times! Also, the character of Aragorn began a hobbit named “Trotter” and had wooden feet because he lost them in past encounters with Sauron. I believe revision is a good thing!
If anyone ever hears that Proffeser/Dr. Micheal Drout is giving a lecture on Tolkien, I highly advise them to see and hear what he has to say (although many were dissappointed that he only spoke for an hour- I never knew I could learn so much in one hour!) The experience was very delightful and I would definatley do it again!
Viggo Mortensen at the ROTK Premiere in Los Angeles
If there was one interview or person I was looking forward to meet above all others it was this one. In the flesh, Viggo Mortensen is an unassuming, softly spoken and attentive interview subject, looking quite different in the flesh to his rugged Aragorn character; barefoot, seemingly five-foot 10-inches with closely shorn blond hair with grey tinges. Yet his blue eyes glimmer with unflinchingly genuine care and attention for all that surrounds him. Modest and devoid of any negative ego, his quiet presence and considered responses were quite captivating; particularly because you knew he was going out of his way to present a sincere attempt to meet each person on a human level no matter what their question.
Of all the remarkable talent I spoke to that day, I had both the most pleasure after and the greatest anticipation for this one (as a fan for over 10 years – I even sent what I believe was one of the first, if not the first e-mail of support regarding him to the OneRingNet way back when he was first cast and several readers, unfamiliar with Viggo’s best work, showed some concern about his casting. Now his success is seen as academic and I couldn’t be prouder. You think I can find that e-mail now? Dammit!).
He shuffles into the interview room with little fanfare, barefoot, and holding a stainless steel individual tea urn sporting a metal straw not unlike the kind I’ve seen my Middle-Eastern friends using.
Viggo: “Are you all getting along?”
Everyone agrees – it was a surprisingly amicable table where people understood and respected that each different publication had its own requirements and line of questioning.
[Me] Did you enjoy the show the night before?
Viggo: “Which one?”
[Me] The Howard Shore concert (as I’d seen him perform at the show)?
Viggo: “Oh yeah. It was amazing to see them up there and to see Howard Shore, the consummate professional, whose done an amazing job over all these years, to actually see him looking nervous [laughs].
“It was very touching and obviously meant a great deal to him and I think he was very moved by the peoples’ response. Were you there?”
[Me] Yes.
Viggo: “Did you like it?”
[Me] Was the song you did an Elvish version of the Lay Of Luthien (at this point I’d seen it once and was too staggered to gather what it was and had assumed it may have been the entire Lay Of Luthien which we only heard him sing a few words of in The Fellowship Of The Ring)?
Viggo: “No, no it wasn’t that. It was the song that Aragorn sings at the coronation.”
[Me] I was actually wondering if the song you’d done at the coronation might not have been more of the Lay Of Luthien.
Viggo: “From the first movie? No that would’ve been interesting though. What I sang is in the book though. I mean those words and I just made up the melody for that. It’s the words Elendil, his ancestor, first spoke when he came to Middle-Earth from across the sea.
“He says, ‘I come across the sea, to Middle-earth, in this place I will dwell with my heirs until the end of time.’ Or something like that. It’s sort of a ritual performance – I don’t know if Tolkien says it – but I imagined that each king in the past had probably spoken these same words even though they, after Elendil and like Aragorn, were born in Middle-Earth. It’s almost like if it was a Maori thing, it would be a song from Hawaki or something like that. Even though they’re not from there, but there’s this notion out of respect for the past and looking forward to continuing the tradition. It was nice to be able to do that.
“And it was a very last minute thing to do that [laughs]! He [Howard] asked me a few days ago if I wanted to [perform the song with him as part of the symphony]. I said, ‘I’m not sure if that’s going to be a good idea. I’m not going to be able to rehearse I don’t think or anything. And I couldn’t. So I got there whilst they were under way. In the intermission, I met the gentleman who was going to do it and said, ‘it’s not my idea. It was Howard’s suggestion [laughs loudly]!’
“It was fun. I don’t think I’ll be singing with a symphony again [laughs]! It was a once in a lifetime thing. But because Howard wanted that, I certainly wanted to support him and his wishes; so I got up there and did my best,” he giggles coyly. “But it was nice. It was a really good – and deserved – night of recognition for Howard I think. People responded to him very strongly to him. It was great to see that and be part of it.”
[Male NZ reporter] Have you sung in front of large audiences before? I know you’ve done recordings.
Viggo: “Yeah, that’s mostly in the studio. I’ve sometimes done poetry readings where I’ve sung a cappella. It’s harder when you’re singing with someone. There’s like a Twilight Zone sort of moment. I had made up that melody for those words originally when we did it years ago. I got a hold of the CD of the song – that is out now – and I was desperately trying to find it on the walkman before I had to go on. The guy I was with – Roger was his name – said, ‘don’t worry about it, let’s just practise.’ So we practised and I was trying to sing like he was, in tone, but on the other hand he was as unfamiliar with Elvish as I was with professional singing like he does. He was very kind and patient with me [laughs]. But it was interesting because I think I was able to help him a little bit with singing in Elvish or singing it this way or that. So there I was, backstage at the symphony, telling this man how to sing in Elvish! But, uhh, I think it worked okay. I think we more or less got through it. Fortunately it was brief and thank God it was a language that no one understands.
“It was interesting being back there by the way. All the musicians’ cases were open and they had all their family pictures in their instrument cases. That was interesting just to be backstage.”
[Corey, Triple M, Melbourne] Viggo you’re now at the stage where you could get the majority of roles you wanted. You’ve had love scenes with Gwyneth Paltrow and now Liv Tyler. Is there anyone you aspire to have a love scene with, in the world?
Viggo: “Gimli? That was cut from the movie – maybe it’ll be in the Extended Version.”
[Me] I did hear about you and the bearded ladies.
Viggo: “There was a very nice beard tugging moment between me and Sean, if they ever go back and make a more extended version. You can ask Sean about it. He may pretend not to remember. And there were bearded ladies on this production, quite a few.”
[Female NZ reporter] Aragorn will probably be one of the most fondly and strongly remembered romantic heroes of cinema – how are you going to cope with that?
Viggo: “[deep breath] I don’t know. I may have nothing. If the first movie hadn’t done so well, I don’t think we’d all be sitting here or had a week long party. It just had a domino effect, the second one then did very well and the third will probably do better than the first two. Not regardless of content but, in a way, yes. Regardless of how it’s seen historically or if it’s the Extended Version or any of that, I think there’s so much affection and has been such a positive response to the effort Peter made – and that we did our best to help him with – that a lot of other things go with it for the other actors and crew members involved. But whether movie does well or whatever the movie is on the screen, and certainly is in regards to those reactions you’re talking about, to me or anyone else they are not things I can control. I can do the things I can do. I obviously learned as much as I could about the part and the man and [the reaction is] not something I would really know how to I don’t really have any input there. You know what I mean? That’s someone else’s concern.”
[Queensland press?] Have you bought your stretch of land in NZ or are you still looking?
Viggo: “Awww, I think a lot of us have done that. Yes, there are some places I really like but I would hesitate to point you in any direction north or south. I wouldn’t want to ruin the fishing! I dunno. In a way, you certainly don’t need to buy land to love a place or visit a place. I think New Zealand is ahead of most countries in their efforts. And I know there are problems and differences of opinions and lumber companies with the forests, and use of public land. But New Zealand has made a real effort as a society to take care of their environment and preserve what is really a place to treasure.
“I will always come back and travel around. But whether I have a place in the woodsŠ I would like that very much but I don’t think one needs to own land to love a place.”
[Sydney Morning Herald?] You obviously have a passion for the arts with painting, photography, poetry and other writing. I was wondering where this passion came from?
Viggo: “Well like most kids I liked to draw and having stories told then making them up and enacting them. Here after all, that’s what we got to do as adults play acting at being in perilous situations and helping our friends; running from disaster over and over again. They were the same sort of games but with better equipment [the room erupts with laughter] and more dangerous.”
[Sydney Morning Herald?] Did you find you have any preference or leaning one way or another?
Viggo: “No, and I would have a hard time in separating them – and I have no inclination to do so. I find them all to be connected. Each activity fuels the other. It all comes down to tuning into where I am, being present as much as possible. When we were shooting at times, we’d get a lunch break and some people would go take a nap. For me it was drawing, photography or just taking a walk. There are so many beautiful places.
“You’re exercising different muscles but it’s the same approach: what’s going on here? I should jot this down; keep looking and I find if I don’t make that effort, then things go by. Especially when I’m stressed or working – or not. Here I am sitting with you, but I’m not just here. I mean I’m now in the habit of doing it anyway [being present] so it’s not like I have to harness anything. I’m better able to somehow deal with this thing and that’s what it’s about for me. Being in the moment.”
[Second NZ female reporter] You have all these talents. Is there anything you’re not good at?
Viggo: “Awww sleeping.”
[Queensland press?] You’ve referred to that a number of times.
Viggo: “I think it’s probably true. Sometimes my brain gets a little scrambled towards the end of the day. I space out like I’m just about to right now.”
[Me] The world knows you now as Aragorn but you’ve done many other roles, including The Indian Runner which was where I was first made aware of you and found you electrifying. Are there any that were specific landmark achievements in your own life?
Viggo: “Well I’ve never played a character I didn’t have affection for. I’ve never worked on a movie when I knew going in that it wasn’t a very good script but that I was just lucky I had a job. Coz for most of us actors, we’re lucky to work at all. Many fine actors, for some reason, don’t make a living from it, in this country or any other. So I think fortunately I’ve always been able to learn something or gotten to know someone or something new about production. I wouldn’t be able to point out any experience in particular. Obviously, for The Indian Runner, it was a very interesting experience. I loved working on with Jane Campion [in Portrait Of A Lady] as well. I didn’t have as big a role as I did in say, The Indian Runner, but it’s not always about that. For me it can be about the connections you make with people and what you can learn. I like the way she works a great deal.
“But there’s so many people I’ve worked with over time. I have been very lucky in a relatively short time, to have worked with such fine actors and technicians. In this movie, especially for the young actors – and I’m thinking of those who had done no movies such as Orlando Bloom [Legolas] in particular and Dominic [Monaghan, Merry Brandybuck] to a degree and some of the others; for them to have this as their first experience is really they were very fortunate I think. We all were but especially for this to be the way you break in – regardless of the end result and popularity – but just the process of it: every way of shooting a movie and every trick in the book, was used by Peter. And many were invented by Peter and his team. In any kind of weather condition, any sort of dialogue scene or action scene, blue screen anything you can imagine, any challenge was like the best possible school for an actor they could have had. Plus being in an ensemble. It was almost like a repertory group in a way. You’re with these people whether you like it or not for a very long time, of all ages, from different countries, different personalities, different approaches to acting. I think that must’ve been I mean any experience those guys have from now on is going to seem relatively easy.”
[Queensland press?] What’s the difference in that collaborative process of acting with your solo projects in the past?
Viggo: “The difference is I don’t control the end result.”
Is that frustrating?
Viggo: “It can be sometimes. There are certainly sequences, not just of mine but of others, I would like to have seen in each of the movies, but then eventually most people are going to get the Extended Versions so there’s a certain satisfaction there. I don’t know about the third one but certainly with the first two movies, in my opinion, those extended versions will be the legitimate ones in time, the ones that people will prefer to rent, buy or watch. I certainly would watch the Extended Versions of the first two, if I had a choice, before the Theatrical Versions because they’re more complete. And liking them both as I do, they’ve just got more material.”
When asked about what souvenirs they were allowed to keep, Mortensen offered this:
“Like everyone I got my sword or whatever prop seemed most particular to their character, but if that sword doesn’t get through customs or gets stolen, lost or damaged, in the end it’s not that a big deal. It’s just an object. The thing that I know I take with me – and everyone else does – is something that’s inside: the friendships and memory of the experience of making these movies and getting through ‘Tolkien school’ for four years. That’s the gift I take away with me.”
The moderator enters the room to call time.
Viggo: “Thank you. Good luck today.”
[Me] Is that a Middle-Eastern drink, Viggo?
Viggo: “No it’s Argentinian a mata. Would you like some?”
[Me] Absolutely.
Viggo: “I’ve had a few shots so it’s not as strong as it might be. You can put other things in it. It’s not lawn clippings, I promise.”
A BIG thank you to AELFWINE for sending us this transcript of Andy Serkis’ appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” last night.
Jimmy: We’re back with Enrique Iglesias. Monet Mazur on the show tonight. Dave Anthony on the show tonight. From the capital city of Gondor to the fiery climbs of Mt. Doom, our first guest tonight slithered and hissed his way into our lives as Gollum in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. If you haven’t seen it already, see him now in ‘The Return of the King’ and read about him in his new book ‘Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic.’ Please say hello to the precious Andy Serkis.
[Cheers and applause; Andy enters and shakes hands with Jimmy and Enrique before sitting down. He’s wearing a black blazer over a yellow shirt with shiny stripes, and jeans.]
Jimmy: So this is what you look like!
Andy (in a jokingly candid fashion): Apparently. Well, ok, I’m a CG manifestation of an actor who plays me.
Jimmy: This is not you?
Andy: No, no, no, no, no.
Jimmy: Is the hair real and everything?
Andy (touches his hair): I think so.
Jimmy: It;s real. It;s surprising. You can see a little bit in there of Gollum.
Andy: Yeah, you would because the whole face of Gollum is actually based on, believe it or not, the facial structure of the way Gollum is supposed to be is based on the muscles in my face.
Jimmy: Wow.
Andy: That’s what the animators did over the years. They redesigned it to move in the same way.
Jimmy: Was it scary for your mom to see?
Andy (laughs): Very scary. And very scary for my wife. But it has its charms.
Jimmy: I heard that, how did you get to picked to play Gollum?
Andy: It was a straight-forward auditioning process. They said, ‘Andy, they’re doing a little film called ‘The Lord of the Rings’ in New Zealand.’ They were looking for, at the time it was going to be more of a voice for an animated character or so I thought and then Peter Jackson came to London and he saw the tape I did and said, “no I want the CG character to be the most interactive and real character in a live-action film.”So he wanted an actor to play the role.
Jimmy: Is it true that Vern Troyer tried to kill himself when he heard you got his part? [Light audience laughter]
Andy (smiling): Yeah
[Laughter]
Jimmy: It’s amazing. It really is an amazing-looking character. Let’s look at a clip for the two of you who have not seen ‘Lord of the Rings.’ (Andy laughs) Here is Andy as Gollum. Take a look.
[Clip of when Gollum frames Sam of eating the lembas bread and convinces Frodo of Sam’s ‘disloyalty’]
[Cheers and applause, shot of Enrique clapping his hands]
Jimmy: Yeah. That’s great. And so you that’s your head, and they put your head on that, on that deal?
Andy: Yeah. We shot everything on the set. Every scene we shot in the movie, on the volcano or on the stream or in a forest, me, Elijah and Sean, we shot all those scenes. And then the animators painted frame by frame over my movements or use a technique called motion capture wearing a suit with dots on it. That controls the computer-generated movements of Gollum; it moves in real time. I move and he moves in exactly the same way.
Jimmy: And the voice is that computer altered at all?
Andy: Nope.
Jimmy: How did you do that? Was it based on anyone?
Andy: It was based on my cats. You know, fur gets trapped in the back of their throats when they lick their bodies, and then they go through a [wretches, makes throaty noises].
Jimmy: I do that too.
[Light audience laughter]
Andy: I do it sometimes too.
Jimmy: Yeah.
Andy: And so that became [as Gollum] ‘gollum, gollum.’
Jimmy: Wow. Can you a little bit of it for us?
Andy: Well, you know, people do ask me to do the voice.
Jimmy: I’ll bet.
Andy: One of your writers on your team just asked me to do an answering phone message.
Jimmy (bit concerned, but in a humorous manner): Oh really. Oh really. Who is it? Do you remember his name?
Andy: ‘yeah Tony. [as Smeagol; the transmission of this part of the show had some audio problems, so this part isn’t that clear] Hello precious, Tony is not here right now ‘[as Gollum, angrily] no, he’s on the toilet doing drugs!
[Audience cheers and whistles loudly]
Jimmy: That’s pretty good. That’s really good. You do Gollum well. That’s something else. Do you do other do you do other voiceover work and characters and stuff?
Andy: no, I’m a regular actor. The whole point was that wasn’t just a voice part. I’ve never done this before.
Jimmy: It’s pretty great. And you’re in a movie with Jennifer Garner, as well.
Andy: Yes. I know you’re fond of Jennifer.
Jimmy (excitedly): I was the guy she was talking about through the whole thing, probably. I’m the Jimmy she’s talking about!
Andy: It’s famous in England. Your reputation for being your talk show, your thing for Jennifer Garner.
Jimmy: She’s a lovely woman. She is. [propping up ‘Gollum’ book] This is a fascinating book. Is it true you wrote this book just so people could stop asking you questions all the time?
Andy: You know its just really kind of you know you go to conventions and you meet a lot of fans you meet
(Jimmy: I’ll bet you do [Audience laughs lightly].)
Andy: a lot of people who ask you how it was done and everything. I just thought it would be a cool way of summing it all up instead of explaining.
Jimmy: So you can say, you know what, for $11.95 or whatever, $9.95 I’ll tell you the whole story. Do you get along with the ‘Lord of the Rings’ fans?
Andy: They’re the best.
Jimmy: Are they really?
Andy: They’re fantastic. They’ve supported the movies for a long, long time. There was funny enough not too long ago, I did a convention where, you know, mums always come with their kids and ‘look, look Johnny can do a really good Smeagol impersonation’ or ‘a really good Gollum impersonation.’ And I go ‘okay.’ And she’s like ‘they say to me ‘can you do the voice for him’ and I go [as Gollum, scarily] ‘HELLO, PRECIOUSSS.’ And actually the poor kid he nearly had a heart attack. [Audience laughter] They had to nearly call the paramedics. He had palpitations.
Jimmy: Really? Wow. You almost murdered a child with your voice (laughs). That’s the great thing about being famous, you know?
Andy: Terrible.
[Audience laughs]
Jimmy: That’s something else. Wow. That’s great. Are there any pictures of Jennifer Garner in the book?
Andy (jokingly): Yeah. There’s a whole, there’s the back
Jimmy: Really? All right. There you go. Gollum and Jennifer Garner. [Addressing audience and viewers] Andy Serkis is here. Enrique Iglesias is here. We’ll be back with Torque’s leading lady the lovely Monet Mazur.
[Right before commercial, there’s an advertisment for peole who want to be in the studio audience of the show. Andy, as Gollum, advertises this, in a prerecorded bit: [as Gollum] Hello precious if you want to see the show go to abc.com, AOL key word ‘kimmel’ [as Smeagol] Oh oh [it’s not very audible, but Smeagol sounds afraid (of Gollum)]
It’s time for the Great annual Whine and Cheese Party. Each year after people have had some time to digest the new offering from Peter Jackson, we gather in #thehalloffire and talk about the scenes we loved the most, what irked us, what actors played their parts best etc. Or perhaps you want to talk about the score or the special effects or just why you think this is the best movie ever made?
Upcoming topics:
weekend 240104-250104 Villains in RoTK the movie
weekend 310104-010204 Frodo/Sam/Gollum in the movies
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
Tigerlily Gamgee writes: Show Biz Starz presents an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit Adaptation by Patricia Gray
The play is being performed at the Trenton Village Theatre 2447 W. Jefferson, Trenton MI
Admission: Adults $7, Children/Seniors $6
To order tickets by phone, or for more info call 734-837-6730
This theatre group is a very talented group of young performers, mostly in their teens. I have seen their shows in the past, and they do a very good job.
Friday, January 16 at 7:30pm Saturday, January 17 at 7:30pm Friday, January 23, at 7:30pm Saturday, January 24, at 7:30pm
I was lucky enough to see Andy Serkis speak a the University of Washington in Seattle last night as part of his book tour. He didn’t have a lot of time to speak because he had about a thousand autographs to do, but he had time to do a reading of the “Leave now and never come back” scene from TTT and to answer a handful of questions. When he had time for only one more question, the woman he picked said “I’m still not clear on the filmmaking process…” and Andy mock-fainted onto the floor, then stood up and said “You know, I’ve just written this book…”
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Sûlien
I was lucky enough to get a ticket to attend Andy Serkis’ book signing at the University of Washington in Seattle last night and gladly made the 270 mile round trip journey in order to be there. I have to admit that I utterly LOATHED Gollum from the first time I read The Lord of the Rings over 25 years ago. I could not see anything redeemable in the character and always thought that he got what he deserved. That is, until I saw Andy Serkis’ performance as that character in Peter Jackson’s movie “The Two Towers”. Andy was able to show us a side of the creature that reminded me very much of survivors of abuse of various sorts and his “dialog” with himself nearly broke my heart. Tonight, we were treated to a reenactment of that particular scene from “The Two Towers” and, if anything at all, it was even more powerful watching Andy perform it in person without the aid of computer generated effects. The man is truly amazing!
And to top it all off, he is a genuinely nice human being! He exhibited an amazing amount of patience with a woman in the audience (who happened to be selected to ask the last question of the Q and A portion of the evening) who wanted to know how they filmed the sequences with Gollum and kept interrupting him, asking for elaboration on how things were done. Andy displayed a great sense of humor throughout it all and took the time to explain how they went about it, even though the process is detailed minutely in the book which the woman was holding in her hands! Andy also ensured that everyone in the auditorium who wanted an autograph received one, even though there were more than 1200 people in attendance, most with 2 items (the stated limit) to be signed. To top the evening off, he very graciously agreed to stay for a few moments after things wrapped up for group photos with the folk of the Northwesternesse fan group and suggested that we say “Precioussss!” and “Rrraw and wrrrigggling!” instead of the standard phrases to evoke smiles as one of the UW staff took photos with several peoples’ cameras.
I’ve been a fan of Andy Serkis’ performance as Gollum since my first viewing of “The Two Towers” and am now very much a fan of the man himself. I sincerely hope that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences elects to do the right thing and give this man the recognition he so truly deserves by nominating him for an award in the Best Supporting Actor category this year!
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Elven Alias:
Andy Serkis talked to a packed (read: overflowing) auditorium at the University of Washington in Seattle yesterday evening. I think it was fairly safe to say that the audience was impressed by the nature of this truly talented performer – a witty speaker, and an engaging and patient answerer of questions.
The talk was loosely based around his new book in which he discusses and comments on Gollum as a character in Tolkien’s books, and the challenges in making him manifest in a movie production. Not only that, but I think one of the (many) evident factors, was the degree of consideration and sensitivity that Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis (along with Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens) put into ‘crystalizing’ Gollum’s presence in this movie production. Far more than just a CGI character, Serkis gave some intriguing insights into how Gollum truly crossed the boundary from human to CGI character – like none other before him. The fact that they shot the Smeagol/Deagol scene in ROTK several times in order to play out different themes (such as cold-blooded Smeagol, versus spoilt rich kid Smeagol), says an awful lot about how much care and attention was embedded within the filmmakers’ reflections on each character, their context, etc, etc. The highlight of the evening (by a long way), was Andy giving a live performance of the whole ‘schitzophrenic scene’ seen at the end of The Two Towers. A truly mind-blowing performance. In moments, Andy had become Gollum(and Smeagol), and we were all transported back to Middle Earth…
