Where better to attend the trilogy than at The Embassy, Wellington? Phil Capper was on location and wrote up this report for us.
The day was bright and sparkling as we all arrived in mid afternoon. A bit like the world premiere day actually. The fell beast leaned out over us. But there weren’t very many to intimidate. Unlike the North American trilogies the Wellington event was not a sell out. There were two reasons for this;
1. Those who had ‘bought’ personal seats to fund the restoration had their seats held until quite late. Thus many people had gained the impression that the event was a sell out when it actually wasn’t. 2. Wellington is a small city, so fans this committeed are in shorter supply.
In the foyer beautiful harp renditions of parts of the score soothed us as we waited. There was a definite sense of a fellowship setting out on a joint adventure as we all went in. The beautiful new seats were ideal for this sort of thing – we would be here for the same length of time as for a Los Angeles to Auckland flight, but with much more comfort than an economy class airline seat.
At the end of FOTR we all collected our collectible and went out blinking into the warm evening sun for a little before returning to more harp music and TTT. We had exercised incredible self discipline and NOT so far watched our EE DVD at home. By the end of TTT we were so inside Middle Earth that I was scanning Courtenay Place suspiciously for orcs. The fell beast on top of The Embassy seemed to have got more ominous.
Yet more harp music, but now the foyer was very full of all the ‘latecomers’ who only had tickets for the midnight ROTK. I was so much ‘inside’ the story by now that my detached critical faculties were nowhere to be heard, and all the grumpy analysis I am now reading on the boards all seem to be incredibly petty. To tell the truth despite over 40 years of reading the books, FOTR and TTT had so drawn me in to the Middle Earth of PJ that I went through the whole of ROTK without making a comparison more than once – and that was to say to myself ‘Oh, he DID finish the right way’ at the very end.
Only on the way home in the cool morning air did we begin to make comparisons. But we silently agreed to stop. We wanted to hold on to the magic of total engagement for a little longer, falling asleep to dreams of beacons coming alive on long-loved mountain tops.
Here’s a few more Trilogy Tuesday reports to whet your appetite …
Ringer Paul, Fort Wayne
Don’t know if you’re collecting information on Trilogy Tuesday experiences, but thought I’d pass along what we saw in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Tuesday.
We arrived at the theater at 10:15. We had been told that the doors would be opened at 10:00 and the theater would start seating about an hour before showtime (1:45). The doors were still locked, but opened for the 50-60 people in the cold at about 10:25.
We turned in our tickets to the usher and were given a 6″ length of yellow yarn to tie around our wrists. Our ticket stubs would get us back in the building if we wanted to go out for something and the yellow yarn would get us into the theater.
We were allowed to get into the theater immediately and a manager made an announcement about how things were going to be run. They passed out name tags and allowed everyone to stick a nametag to their seat so we didn’t have to worry about losing a seat if we left for some reason. The manager also said to stay in our seats after the Fellowship credits because they had a surprise for us. They had a huge number of pizzas delivered and everyone got at least one good sized slice (with seconds available to quite a few people). They got it done within about 20 minutes and it didn’t seem to hold up the start of the Two Towers.
They had a framing problem at the beginning of ROTK, but got it corrected within a few minutes so it was only a minor inconvenience. After ROTK, everyone was handed their Film Frame Collectible as we exited the theater.
I don’t know how this compares to other theaters, but I’d like to publicly thank the Rave Motion Picture theater in Fort Wayne for making my Trilogy Tuesday experience a truly great one.
Ringer Lance, Kansas City
I thought I would send you a quick note on the happenings at the Trilogy Tuesday event at the AMC Studio 30 Theatre in Olathe, Kansas (Kansas City). It goes without saying that the movies were as fantastic as we knew they would be. My comments have to do with the venue itself.
It was an extremely cold morning in Kansas City, yesterday. The Wind chill was about 10 degrees. I arrived at the theatre at 5:40AM thinking (foolishly) I would be first in line. When I arrived, I was 15th. At that point, my hopes of getting seats on my favorite row were dashed. Especially since many of those 15 were saving spots for others. And although many people arrived and “cut in line”, the crowd stayed pretty well behaved. But… I was just glad to be going.
As time grew closer to the event, the theatre management kept the line members informed on what would happen once we got in the door. They informed everyone they would receive a lanyard for their ticket; they told us they were having many discounted concession choices; and that they were going to let us directly in the theatre once the doors opened at 11AM. At that point, the thought of a 72 degree theatre cheered everyone up.
As promised, they let us in at exactly 11AM. The theatre staff was well prepared. They quickly got us in the theatre. I was extremely impressed of how they set it up. This theatre was roped off. The lanyards allowed theatre staff to quickly recognize if you were authorized in the “holy” area. They had even roped off a section of the concession area to tailor specifically to Trilogy Tuesday patrons. They even provided Pizza for the entire audience between the TT and ROTK. Even “THAT” was done in an orderly fashion. The staff knew this was something special and they treated the event as such.
Kudos to the management team and staff at the AMC Studio 30 theatre.
Ringer Julie, Cleveland
Just thought you might want to hear reports about Trilogy Tuesday from various cities (plus, I can’t really get my mind on work yet this morning!) Our theater management worked hard to make it an incredible experience for everyone. My husband and I got there about 8:30 a.m. and we were 15th in line. We were able to wait inside the lobby, although as the line grew, some fans had to wait outside in the cold. We were told that we could save one seat each in the auditorium, that we’d be served a free lunch, no outside food (although we were allowed to have it in line), and our bags would be searched. Once we were seated, the theater manager jotted our names on a chart so that we didn’t have to worry about seats being stolen.
The worst part of the day was the “free lunch” that was catered by a local restaurant. It turned out to be a tiny sandwich (about 1/4 of a sandwich), and we were only allowed one! They served personal pizzas at the second break, and that went better.
A New Line rep turned up before ROTK, and after the movie we got a LOTR memorabilia thingy (I think it has frames from the movies.) It was OK; we would have liked a T-shirt better. We stumbled outside about 2:30 a.m. Several TV stations came and interviewed people in costume. Overall it was an incredible experience, and I wish you all could have participated!
Ringer Anthony, Unknown Location
There and Back Again, A Moviegoer’s Tale
When I first purchased my ticket so long ago for New Line Cinema’s Lord of the Rings “Trilogy Tuesday” I was ecstatic. The fact that I was going to be a part of this unique piece of cinematic history, available to only a select few, was a thought I could have only dreamt of. Little did I know, however, that something seemingly so simple and trivial would affect me so greatly.
I am sure many others, like myself, were tempted to sell their tickets to the event, even if only for a moment, at many times their face value. In fact, I am sure many of the original buyers did sell their tickets. For those of you who did indeed sell your tickets and are now reading this: you missed out. I wouldn’t have traded anything in the world for what I was a part of today.
On the Big Day, I awoke after a scant night’s rest, thanks to work the previous night, and stumbled into the shower…being driven only by the thought of getting to the theatre and securing a good seat. The thought of being stuck in the far corner of the front row, doomed for the entire show to crane my neck to look at the screen, spurned me on faster.
By the time I arrived at the theatre the line of people waiting had already been let inside. I entered the auditorium armed and ready for battle with my giant cup of coffee, an energy bar, and a Game Boy…it was three hours until show time. To my dismay, many of the seats had been taken, and those not filled by a human being were marked clearly with jackets and sweatshirts, indicating that they were not vacant. I despaired briefly, visions of the front row filling my mind, before spotting the Perfect Seat – halfway up, directly in the middle; this was the single advantage of being alone…it was much easier to find a good seat. No person, jacket or sweatshirt marked this seat as taken. Just to the left of it, a man slept soundly.
I hurriedly asked the people around if the seat was being held…no one knew. I took a gamble, hoping the slumbering man was not holding it for anyone, and sat down. I pulled out my Game Boy and prepared to do battle with time. Everywhere around people were talking and laughing excitedly…the atmosphere was very positive. I was about forty-five minutes into my duel with boredom when the man sleeping next to me awoke. I took notice of it, but said nothing. He looked at me dazedly.
“How long have you been here?” he asked.
I turned off the Game Boy and looked at him. He had a very thick accent, and it made him somewhat hard to understand.
“About two hours”, I replied, before quickly rethinking…it had only seemed that long. I corrected myself.
“I mean, forty-five minutes.”
Down below, at the foot of the screen, an impersonation contest was being held.
“That’s my bahs’ seat,” he said, his accent making him almost unintelligible.
“What?” I asked, although I already knew what was coming.
“That’s my boss’ seat,” he repeated.
This was a fatal blow … not only had I lost the Perfect Seat, but also now that even more time had passed I was almost certainly doomed to a front-row seat.
I apologized and got up, and watched the remainder of the impersonation contest from the aisle, all while scanning for another decent seat. It was during this search that a very courteous woman offered me a seat only four places to the right of the Perfect Seat. I thanked her profusely while settling in to my newfound property, and resumed my duel with boredom.
This woman’s courtesy was a perfect example of the attitude of everyone in the theatre. Not once, throughout the entire show, did I hear ill words spoken. And while everyone did boo and hiss Britney Spears when she came on the screen, it was all in good fun.
As for the films themselves…they were wonderful to see on the big screen, back to back…to back. While the audience watched Frodo and Sam embark on their quest, we were all embarking on a quest of our own. I formed bonds with the people I sat next to, and even though I will probably never see them again, I will always remember them and this one small piece of history that we shared.
Like the fellowship, we endured our own hardships, though they were of a different nature. Instead of Ringwraiths and orcs, we had sore backs and full bladders to contend with (by the time RotK ended I was afraid my bladder was going to explode). But we endured to the end. We received our complimentary gifts, which are quite wonderful, and were sent on our separate ways.
On my way to the parking lot I was filled with sadness – sadness for the event being over, and sadness for the movies being finished. However, I was at the same time filled with hope for the future…the films, RotK especially, were an inspiration to me. They helped me overcome an emotional hurdle I had been attempting to jump for a very long time.
And now that I have seen Return of the King for the first time, I am ready to embark on the final part of Tolkien’s adventure a second time…and a third … and a fourth …
Ringer Lilania, Springfield
I’ve seen Return of the King and it was, of course, beyond incredible, but I’m hoping that everyone else’s Trilogy Tuesday experience didn’t quite match ours. Springfield, MO had an unplanned intermission. Halfway through Shelob’s lair, the screen changed to some unusual effects which changed to the film frying before our eyes. It was restarted in just a few minutes, and I *think* we only missed a couple seconds of the movie, but in the meantime, Springfield nearly saw the rioting of 400 geeks.
Here is my official unofficial report from the Trilogy Tuesday event in Mobile, Alabama! Fans from all over the area came together for what was truly an amazing experience. This is my story of the Mobile event; if you were there and want to add anything (stories, photos, etc), email me at starlady@theonering.net and we’ll add them to the report!
My day began at…
7:30 am. Despite my best efforts to stay up late in preparation for tonight’s festivities, I was so tired from driving all weekend (Pennsylvania to Alabama, woot!) that I wound up falling asleep at 10:30 pm and am now wide awake. Ah well… I’ll just have to caffeinate myself heavily to make it to ROTK. I imagine once it starts I won’t have any trouble staying awake!
8:30. I give up trying to go back to sleep and instead decide to put together a trivia contest for the show. Rummaging through my accumulated LOTR stuff (from conventions, oscar parties, etc) produces two WETA orc medallions (yes, they’re collectible, but they really don’t go with my décor), a couple of hundred TORn bookmarks, a few luggage tags, one Saruman and Wormtongue miniatures set from Games Workshop (see above about collectible, but not useful), three Two Towers creatures books, and a partridge in a pear tree. Just kidding… the last prize is an extra copy of The People’s Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien (don’t worry, I didn’t give away my autographed copy!). I make a dozen “Frodo Lives” buttons and add them to the pile, whose size leads me to two inescapable conclusions:
1. I have accumulated way too much LOTR stuff. 2. I need some hard trivia questions.
Off to TORn’s trivia contest (in Greenbooks) for the questions! Everything into a bag and I am ready to meet my line party for lunch.
11:30. I meet Heather, our line party leader, and her daughter Brittany, who impresses me with her encyclopedic knowledge of the films, at the restaurant. We are joined later by Clark and Stephanie, and the five of us geek out happily for an hour and a half (all wearing our TORn shirts go us!) until I get a phone call from my sister informing me that the theater is already seating, an hour and a half before FOTR starts!
Luckily, the restaurant is in the parking lot of the theater, and so we are able to get checked in and seated within about five minutes. The theater (well, probably actually New Line) has provided passes hung from lanyards, which are universally acclaimed as a Good Thing as they make it extremely easy to leave for bathroom and snack breaks. My sister Sarah and our friend Caitlin have saved me a great seat in the center of the second row of the stadium seats and we settle in for the long haul.
1:30 pm. The theater is already three-quarters full and the movie isn’t starting for another 45 minutes, so I decide it’s time for trivia! Heather comes down to help me and we manage to get rid of all the stuff in short order. The crowd is even geekier than I’d expected and there isn’t a single question that SOMEONE doesn’t know the answer to (though the classic “How many teeth does Gollum have?” does take several guesses).
The funniest moment, however, is when we ask “What actor plays Faramir?” and before I can call on one of the people with their hand raised, someone positively screams “DAVID WENHAM!” obviously a committed fan! We hand out all the big prizes and then pass out all the remaining bookmarks and buttons. Everyone seems to enjoy it, and as usual the mention of TORn elicits a huge cheer!
1:45. My fifteen minutes at the front of the theater have made me a fairly visible target for the reporter for the local newspaper, who wants to interview me for an article about Trilogy Tuesday. I successfully manage to pass him off to Heather (though he did corner me later, drat) and spend a few minutes getting to know my seat neighbors.
Wilson and Matthews (I swear these are their first names, I double checked) drove in from Birmingham, Alabama about three and a half hours away and Brad and Steve have come in from Rome, Georgia a six hour drive! Their markets (Birmingham and Atlanta) sold out too quickly for them to get tickets and so they made plans to drive down and join us instead! We commiserate about long drives and the lengths (literally!) we will go to for LOTR.
2:00. A local gym has donated free daypasses to give out to audience members. Some of us have a good chuckle about what is either a brilliant marketing move (target the sedentary geek population) or an absolute waste of time (see above). After those make the rounds, the manager of the theater comes down to brief us on the schedule for the next twelve hours. The plan is: movie, food, movie, mingle, movie, get free stuff from New Line, go home.
2:15. The Fellowship of the Ring begins. Massive cheering at the “Lord of the Rings” title this is the great thing about seeing films like this on opening night, the audience really gets into it! I note several places when seeing it on the big screen really makes a difference; for example, I can actually see the midges in the Midgewater Marsh on my television, I sort of have to imagine they’re there (Ringers with humongous televisions can just ignore that bit).
6:00. FOTR ends and food arrives. Barbecue sandwiches, yum! A local radio station drops by to give out t-shirts and light-up ring necklaces and for a few hectic minutes, the theatre looks like Mardi Gras (a Mobile tradition) as everyone screams and yells for the free stuff.
6:30. The Two Towers begins. Cheering again at the LOTR title and at the end. This is my first time to see the Extended Edition; graduate school being what it is, I haven’t had a chance to buy it on DVD, so I ooh and ahh and gasp at all the appropriate moments, prompting chuckles from my neighbors who have obviously already worn out their DVD copies.
10:00. TTT ends and the theater decides to get in on the free stuff act by cleaning out the poster closet and giving away several dozen movie posters. I experience one of the happiest moments of my life when I discover that this theater sells espresso drinks I am a mocha addict and I really need the caffeine, as it is approaching my bedtime! While I am away securing the caffeiny goodness, the radio station guy comes back and gives a prize to the fan who traveled the longest distance my friends from Rome lose out to a fan from Finland!
I chat with several TORn fans in the lobby, including some I met at DragonCon… hi again guys! A representative from New Line (at least we assume that’s who she was) comes and reads a statement about the collectible giveaway at the end of the film, warning us to proceed in an orderly fashion to get our film frame… which seems a bit hasty, as Ringers are probably the best behaved fans in the world, but we nod politely anyway. Finally, after a few false starts to get the film focused and framed correctly…
11:00. The Return of the King begins. This isn’t a review, so no spoiler worries, but I will say that I cry like a little girl for the last twenty minutes of the film. Truly deserving of every accolade it receives. The biggest cheer of all when the credits begin to roll… what a journey for us all!
2:30. The final credits roll by and I only just now realize how tired I am. I wish my new friends a safe journey home, collect my film frame thingy from New Line, and drive home. Somewhere along the way I realize what an amazing experience it was, and how lucky I was to be able to take part in it.
Mad props to:
Heather, for coordinating this and Wednesday night’s line party.
Caitlin, for physically driving to the theatre and getting the tickets on October 9 when Fandango.com broke.
Brad, Steve, Wilson, Matthews, and probably countless others for truly going the distance for LOTR.
Everyone who brought pillows. You are smarter than me.
The staff at the Wynnsong 16. You guys were absolutely amazing. A better-planned event one couldn’t hope for, and a more courteous and understanding staff one couldn’t even imagine.
Sideshow Weta, for the nifty film frame collectibles.
New Line, for your commitment to the fans.
PJ and everyone involved in the films. There aren’t words, so I’ll just have to say: thank you.
You Cannot Always Be Torn In Two Return of the King Reviewed Press Screening Embassy Theatre, Wellington November 29, 2003
“I’ve seen FX – I know what cool stuff looks like. I don’t care how pretty your christmas decorations are: if the tree is dead, the tree is dead. You can hang as many pretty baubles on it as you like, but that’s still a dead tree.” – Ben Wootten, Senior Designer, WETA Workshop.
This quote pithily encapsulates the greatest fear I had about Lord of the Rings – that it might turn into an action/FX fest without a depth of characterisation to make it more than junk food.
Sure, junk food is tasty in its way, but what I most enjoy is a delicious meal prepared by a skilled cook. Cuisine rather than junk food – this was my secret hope for LoTR. And my secret fear.
In fact, I went into the press screening of Return of the King more concerned that I might not like it, than expecting that I would enjoy it.
Nevertheless, I wanted to give the film every opportunity to shine – both individually and as an arc of three films with its siblings – Towers and Fellowship.
But I felt no certainty that it would. The thing is, I didn’t like Towers that much – I felt it suffered from junk food syndrome, elevating action at the expense of character. And when I first saw Fellowship, all the textual deviations prevented me from really enjoying what was going on. In the end, I feel Fellowship is a good film, but I’d never liked a Rings film on a first showing.
So there was more than a bit of trepidation within me when I wandered up to the Embassy Theatre in Wellington on November 29. I didn’t want it to suck, but there was always a chance that might be the case.
By the by, the refurbished Embassy is absolutely gorgeous. If you’re ever in Wellington, you must check it out. The seats are wondrously conmfortable. Roomy, large … and leather!
As the 200-300 Australian and New Zealand press take their seats, the lights start to go down. There is warm applause as the New Line logo flashes up on the huge screen … and we begin …
About three and a half hours later, I emerge feeling pleasantly surprised.
Now, this may feel like faint praise – it is not.
I never expected to like and enjoy Return of the King on the first viewing. I expected to feel far more conflicted when I walked out into the fading sunlight on Courtney Place. Yet that was not the case. As I walked out I was … at peace.
Why?
The answer is very simple – Return of the King is largely character driven. And the performances, dialogue and emotional impact is sufficient that – for me – it outweighs the deviations from the text.
And indeed, despite the deviations, it still feels largely true to the “spirit” of Tolkien. Of course, a term such as “spirit” is easily written, much harder to nail down definitely. But what I mean is that themematically it reveals many of the same lessons about power, death, corruption, forgiveness, loss and redemption that I believe lie at the centre of what Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings conveys to the reader.
And there are some major deviations – both sins of commission and sins of ommission. Not a lot, but some of these instances will have people (both “purists” and not-so-purists) jumping up and down for weeks.
But I discovered at the end of the film that these deviations didn’t matter so much in the balance of things.
Return of the King flows smoothly from scene to scene. Yet it rarely feels rushed – a remarkable effort in distilling so much into such a compact space. Yet, just as importantly, it doesn’t drag. There aren’t lengthy self-indulgent battle scenes, and virtually all the major and minor characters get plenty of screentime. (Eomer and Faramir are perhaps the two exceptions – they both get cyphered substantially)
What’s more, it is a great ensemble performance. To me, Towers felt like it was overshadowed by the power of Andy Serkis’ performance as Smeagol/Gollum. Return of the King, on the other hand, does not belong to any single actress or actor. I think this is a good thing – it’s how it should be when you have so many strong characters in a script.
And although this may cost it awards, in truth Astin and McKellen are just as impressive as Mortensen and Wood. Noble really is Denethor (albeit it an abridged version that plays up the madness and despair at the expense of his inner nobility) and Hill and Otto are also quite wonderful.
I think some dramatic tension is lost after the climax at Mount Doom – several of the press people observed that there seemed to be several endings. It is a noticeable thing, though of less concern and confusion to one who has read Lord of the Rings. But I don’t know how I would have done it differently.
Regardless, the ending is as poignant as anyone could wish for, and I doubt that anyone will complain on that account.
Frodo says near the end: “Sam, you cannot always be torn in two …”. This was my moment of clarity; the point where I realised that just like Sam, the viewer has a choice.
Will you accept the idiosyncracies in Jackson’s vision? Will you accept the differences in his filmic adaptation/interpretation of the text?
I’ve stopped wanting the film to be the book. I am at peace. I liked Jackson’s Lord of the Rings for what it is, rather than mourning it for what it is not. In this sense, my journey has been as long as Frodo’s, and just as painful as well. It’s not been completed without loss, confusion and annoyance.
But what of you?
I don’t know your answer. That’s your choice to make. But do go. you’ll be delighted in parts, disturbed and confronted in others.
And like me, you might also emerge at the end feeling “pleasantly surprised”.
A brief sleep after Return of the Ringers, and it was time for a jolt of Wellington’s excellent coffee before hitting the streets for Premiere Day. Wellington can sure put on a party. Famous for its awful weather, the capital defied expectations by providing a warm, clear sunny day. From mid-morning there was a sense that tools were being downed and offices emptied. By midday the best spots around the parade route were filling up with a festive crowd. I walked around between the waterfront and Courtenay Place. As described in other reports, the city was full of LOTR references, from the giant Weta sculptures on the buildings to the NZ Post banners on every other lamp post. Various businesses large and small were finding tongue-in-cheek ways to mention LOTR in their advertising.
I was in a funny position in that I was supposedly part of TORN’s reporting crew – I had limited access as a photographer. Our print reporter Demosthenes had a camera too (and permission to be in more places) and the Ringers film documentary crew had a lot of coverage too, so I wasn’t particularly needed. I did want to get to the press conference that morning. But as well as being a sort-of reporter, I was also somebody that the other media wanted to get soundbytes from. Radio NZ wanted to interview me at the same time as the press conference, but were delayed by events so I managed to attend the whole thing without feeling conflicted.
I had some fool notion that I might be able to represent LOTR fans on radio as intelligent and loveable people . The interview got pushed back from the morning show to the afternoon show to the evening show , and ended up being a 60-second soundbyte at 6pm while we were all crushed in the press pen outside the embassy and the radio producers had spent all day juggling time and talent like air traffic controllers trying to manage LAX without computers. By that time I was a gibbering wreck who’d had no food since early morning and no sleep since the Jurassic age. Not a stellar moment and I probably did nothing for Tolkien fandom. Whoops.
Back to the press conference earlier that day – the most notable thing was Mark Ordesky saying that New Line was certainly looking into the complicated situation regarding film rights to The Hobbit. Since then it’s become general knowledge that there is a definite move to film The Hobbit. “It wants to be made,” as Gandalf might say.
Most of the questions were directed at Peter Jackson. I asked him if he had any insight into how he and Fran seemed to understand the essential character of the people he cast or worked with so quickly . I guess I wanted an impossible answer – he seems to have a talent for sizing up a person at a glance, and like anyone with an inborn gift, it must be very hard to think about or explain how it works, and harder still to explain what it feels like to have that talent. PJ seemed tired and the press conference no place to go into things in any depth. So he just answered that he picked people who’d be easy to get on with since he knew they would spend a lot of time together. Which didn’t answer the question of how he almost always picked the RIGHT person.
Howard Shore was there. I wanted to ask why he’d called the concert piece played recently aTrilogy Symphony , since there was no symphonic development to any of the themes – it was really just a episodic stringing-together of ideas. By movements 5 and 6 I felt it was out of fresh ideas and badly needed some logical elaboration of the themes we’d heard a hundred times before. (Cut to memory of one of the hornplayers catching my eye and doing the Universal Hornplayer’s Signlanguage for ‘My face will fall off if I have to play much more of this.’) But my question would have been churlish – The three film scores have been a monumental work, and it’d be insane to expect that Howard Shore could have had time, in the last four years, to develop a full symphonic treatment of the music from LOTR as well. But it’s annoying to hear those so-short snippets of such wondrous music, like the hardanger fiddle’s Rohan theme, and not hear them developed and extended over a longer period of time.
I spent some time in the press pen in the afternoon, which was sort of interesting – when somebody’s been sent 10,000 miles to grab a soundbyte from one of the stars for their news organisation, there’s a certain amount of sheer feral competitiveness going on that’s fun to watch for a while. Not sure why a short reporter would ever get this sort of gig. Tall people had such an advantage.
The questions seemed numbingly inane and once again I wondered how the actors stand it. I gave Fran Walsh a thumbs up mentally for steering clear of it all.
Quickbeam and the Ringers crew were doing a great job of attracting the talent over to their spot beside the red carpet – they’d already proved during the previous day’s press junket that they can ask interesting, intelligent questions. So the stars looked relieved to see them among the line-up.
Geez, I’m supposed to be writing about what the stars looked like and what they did. I give up. They looked like themselves, and they acted as happy and friendly as we’ve come to expect. Weird, but peering at Viggo Mortensen from a few yards away between a whole press of press didn’t make him seem realer or closer than what he is onscreen. There are moments in the films where the actors’ performances seem to have an honestly or insight into the essential character of the person that I could never see if I happened to make eye contact for a moment in a big crowd like the premiere. I’m happy enough with that.
Late in the day I was expected for an interview on the balcony that TV3 had commandeered overlooking the Embassy. The interview was brief – I tried to convey how much fun it’s been to be part of the world of Tolkien fandom and meet such a variety of great people from around the world as a result, but couldn’t really get it across.
The interviewer John Campbell had a ticket to the premiere but had realized that he wouldn’t be able to get away in time to make it to the film. In an act of great kindness, he gave me his ticket. I couldn’t thank him enough and he was busy busy busy, so I hugged him and ran, getting into the Embassy just as the opening credits rolled up.
Don’t all go thinking ‘Oh I wish I could have been at the premiere,’ because it was an odd experience – yes, PJ and the stars were there, somewhere way way behind me in the dark. But around me were a whole lot of rich, famous, important people with no real interest in Middle-earth. The gimmicky Hollywood action moments got their applause; I didn’t hear the roar of applause I expected after Eowyn’s scene with the Witchking. It was an honour and a privilege to be there, and I felt like I was taking part in a great moment of our time, at least in terms of pop culture. Not quite like being able to say ‘Woodstock, yeah, I was there,’ but something along those lines. But it wasn’t the ultimate viewing experience – for me that will be tomorrow, when I share the film with a theatre full of diehard fans who’ve made it to the midnight showing. Who’ve been waiting for years and years for this moment. If you’re at a midnight showing, I expect your memory of the night will be every bit as good.
And of the film itself? It felt right. I liked the structure of it very much. The ‘slow start’ that other critics have commented on feels like the only way to go, because we’re gathering in a widely scattered skein of storylines and winding them in tighter and tighter. So at first it’s confusing and we’re jumping around between a whole lot of different conflicts in Gondor, Rohan, Mordor and Osgiliath. It’s like TTT and it’s confusing. Then the stories start to weave togther more and more closely and the events of each story start to refer to each other more. As they do so, the tension is ratcheted up, like a rope that’s being twisted together . And then the ending is a long, lingering farewell – like the book. I’d long dreaded that ROTK would end like the first Star Wars movies, with their victory parades (for me they always bore a frightening resemblence to something out of Lena Riefenstahl’s admiring documentaries of the Third Reich.) The Return of the King does not end like that. It is as bittersweet and soft a farewell as I could wish.
K9 writes: Although it will not be formally announced until later in the week, word is that several cast members from “The Lord of the Rings” will be in attendance at the 2004 Santa Barbara Film Festival in January of 2004.
Variety has already announced that Peter Jackson has been chosen to receive the festival’s 2004 Modern Masters Award, on January 31, 2004. The awards ceremony involves a Q-and-A with the recipient, along with a retrospective involving highlights of his work. The event is held at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theatre.
This year, the cast of the film has been invited to be present as well. Additionally, script co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are expected to participate in the festival’s panel on screenwriting, also to be held on January 31, 2004.
