Emily writes: I thought you might like a heads up on this incase you hadn’t heard about it. I got given tickets for my birthday and thought you might like to know.
Tolkien: Fiction and Films In partnership with the Victoria University Alumni Association
We are pleased to offer this sequel to The Lord of the Rings and Medieval Literature run in November 2001. This series focuses further on Tolkien’s influences and inspirations in The Lord of the Rings.
03352A 1 October Tolkien: scholar and author with Robert Easting and Christine Franzen How Tolkien’s career as a philologist affects his fiction. (Repeat of November 2001 lecture.)
03352B 8 October The language and the songs of The Lord of the Rings with Robert Easting Tolkien’s attention to choices of language and style in The Lord of the Rings, and an examination of the range of verses incorporated in the story.
03352C 15 October The Silmarillion: pre-history of The Lord of the Rings with Christine Franzen An introduction to the larger history of Middle Earth during the First and Second Ages as depicted in The Silmarillion.
03352D 22 October Reaching the Grey Havens with Richard Taylor The long journey to the completion of the film trilogy.
When enrolling, please indicate which lecture(s) you wish to attend.
Robert Easting is a Reader and Christine Franzen a Senior Lecturer in English Language and Literature at Victoria University.
Richard Taylor is Director of Weta Workshop, responsible for the special effects, costumes, make-up, miniature sets, props, etc, for The Lord of the Rings, and has been working on the filming for the last six years.
Wednesdays 1, 8, 15 and 22 October 7pm-9pm Lecture Theatre 105, Hugh Mackenzie Building, VUW – Kelburn Fee per lecture: $25 ($22) Fee per series: $88 ($79) NB $16 per lecture, $58 for series to current Victoria University Alumni Association members Course 03352
Well, I made it there yet again. My best highlight of San Diego Con I am compelled to share. This experience made it one of the best San Diego Cons ever. I must add that I’ve posted nothing at all in recent months because I’ve been in school and now am finished with it. After all, this is a graduation treat to myself. I’m so glad to have seen most of all of the ‘Ringers’ at the 2 moots. Much thanks to Donna ‘Eridana’ H. and is as aver such a pleasure to see everyone again. My apologies to those I may have missed in passing by.
Unfortunately I could not camp out early on line outside of the big meeting Room 20 due to Art Show and networking. The line was so long that I didn’t get into Rm. 20 till about 2:35 and Sala Baker made up as an oc was up on stage doing the Saruman’s orc army stomp fest that was done at Helm’s Deep. I was there not 5 minutes, when a friend of mine found me in there and said, “Make a decision to either stay or come right now to be first on line, because the LOTR actors are signing after this panel – say nothing just follow me.” I went with her – a good call. Through the hard work of this friend (Helen) who’s a real good autograph hound, I was able to personally meet Sean, Andy, Dominic and Elijah that afternoon. Needless to say I took a trip from Horton Plaza Mall on foot and back, bringing her a veggie burrito dinner afterward. She had not left the 3rd floor ‘sails’ open area all day. Andy is a truly sweet and I should say a helpful fellow. He’d earlier clued in my friend Helen about the as yet unannounced signing after the panel. She went and told the Con staff overseeing the autograph signing area, who knew nothing. Because they were grateful for the ‘heads up’, they arranged for us to be first in line after disabled fans and some exhibitor volunteers going first.
As we wait for our turn, I watch through people’s shoulders – I can’t help but be fascinated by the candid exchange between Elijah and Dominic. Very animated and close. One thing that had me amused in particular is Elijah seeming to consult with Dominic about the state of his breath. Then he tests this by exhaling into his hand near his nose to check it – funny! Priceless. I tell my friend what I saw and wished I caught it on the camera. She says, “Nah, better that you didn’t – it would look bad and be uncool like ‘paparazzi’ did it”. Still, I was disappointed because it would’ve looked great in TheOneRing.net scrapbook.
I get there. Sean remembered me from the Brentano’s signing and Dominic remembered me from the special breakfast at last years con. Even Sala remembered me again when he was signing at the New Line booth earlier on Fri. I didn’t think they would since they’re very busy and see hundreds of fans over time.
Back to Sean – he is so genuinely happy to see me and I say to him that I’m amazed that he remembers me after all that time. Then I remembered what I forgot to tell him at Brentano’s. My Mom’s been dogging me about it ever since. She wanted me to convey to him for her that she absolutely adores him and his Mom and that his performance in “Rudy” is her most favorite. Well that really tickled Sean and he thanked me most graciously. Then (and I still don’t believe this) he took my hand and kissed it! What a sweet fellow. I don’t do well in heat with high humidity. Here I am hot, tired, dank and sweating – not at all looking my best, feeling as ugly as an old toad and without hesitation he kissed my hand all the same. Still smiling over it and I’ll always cherish that moment.
Andy – also so nice and gracious man. He also remembered me from doing signing on Fri. at another booth (not at the New Line one). I don’t quite remember what I said to him (divided brain trouble), nice cordial small talk I think, because I was still dazed from Sean’s kiss. Oh I know – divided 3 ways because I was taking pictures of my autograph friend ahead of me with Dominic and Elijah and she was turning back and taking pics of me after her with Sean and Andy.
Then I move on to Dominic. He says, ” Hey you , how’ve you been?” I said I’d just finished school and had art in the Art Show, elaborated a little on it, saying I was selling some and also displaying some book illustration I did – that hopefully he could make it over there to see it while at the Con. “That’s great and I’ll try” (or something like it), he said and signed a ‘Merry’ picture for me. Well I tried, but I greatly doubt he could’ve made it since it is known that it would not be without some difficulty.
While at the same time as my friend ahead was finished and leaving, Elijah turns back and picks up on our conversation and looking at my Con badge sees my name says, “Ah, ‘Ann’, oh – Anne with an “e”! Actually, both Elijah and Dominic are making a big thing about seeing the name ‘Anne’ with an “e” on the end like they encountered it as a rarity. How excited they get! – so cute! Then Dominic leaves off as the next person comes up behind me – a small petite lady who’d qualify as a real hobbit in size and very nice. I took a picture of her with Dominic and Andy and Sean in the background – I hope I can contact her to send her the picture eventually.
Now this is my first time meeting with Elijah. ‘Frodo’ has always been my favorite, so Elijah is now special to me for his performance as ‘Frodo’. I think he’s amazing as himself as well, as I do of all the other actors and crew. I’m so totally honored to finally meet him and I admit I’ve found myself quite taken with him – and suddenly very nervous in his presence. He finishes with signing his ‘Frodo’ picture for me. We shake hands – his is strong and warm like the others, yet there’s a gentle softness about it. I can’t help but to look at him quite closely. I look at him like I scan for black heads on my brother’s back. It’s true. His skin is flawless – a 22 year old man with the skin of a 2 year old – with more thickening in his short beard along his jaw. He’s looks back at me. Such a sweet nature. I, I try to glean what he is behind those eyes and fall in. I go, “Yep – they are that blue”. …. Lame and unoriginal. His eyes seem to glaze over – a sense of emptiness. At which point I (think I say “bye”) back off and he turns back to Dominic and the next one in line. Totally blew it. I so truly regret that slip and am currently beating myself up over it. Gawd! If I was going to comment about his exterior perfection, maybe I should’ve said he was a “freak of nature”. Too late.
An apology: Elijah, if you happen to get some report of this, please accept my apology. I’m mature enough and better than that. Should we meet in person again, I’ll strive to say something interesting. If my mind draws a blank, I’ll wave or nod and keep going. I need to get around that. There is more to you than your appearance. And I assure you, I really do have a life.
It was great to see Richard Taylor and get another picture with him and the scale size Gollum statue at the LOTR Pavillion. This guy is so great, so accessible and appreciative of the fans most of all. He showed us pictures of his baby. A cute blonde baby boy. I don’t recall him giving us the baby’s name. One of the other fans surrounding him asked if the baby was used to seeing all the creatures at the WETA Workshop. Richard T. said he once introduced the baby to one of the extras in the process of costuming or in full finished orc costume. The orc said “boo” and Richard said the baby (a toddler on foot by then I think) fell on his behind and messed himself.
Other stuff: Thursday was my day for taking in panel discussions, networking and meeting some long time friends – going back to 1980 Comic-Con. Some of Friday and all of Saturday were my big LOTR days – the crown jewel of the entire run. Sunday was quiet discussion with another fan artist friend in the Art Show, getting the scoop on my display. I didn’t sell much of my earlier art works, but got good response on the other recent book illustration art. It seems people were asking if it’s pieces were for sale, which would be of interest to my collaborators on it. After getting it out of the Art Show, I took it to show Colleen Doran, another professional illustrator who’s work I’ve admired for years. She had given me advice on doing the book illustration and I wanted her to see the result of my labor. She liked it. If there were something wrong or off with it, she would have said so. Me and my friends left and the dealers hall closed soon after.
I admire all the cast and crew for delivering on the near impossible job of bringing Tolkein’s work to life, which other studios or directors who had so far balked at to even attempt. Any thing less than what New Line, Peter Jackson and WETA have done, would have been a mockery. So, I love you all and like many of you I have loved and wept over the Tolkein books for a long time. Now if only I can meet Billy B., Ian M., Christopher Lee, Cate, Miranda, Liv – someday.
I look forward to seeing all of you at the next Oscar Party for the Return of the King. I got a feeling that this will be our victory year. The year of Peter Jackson for Best Director and ROTK for Best Picture. At the next San Diego Comic-Con, I’ll do my best to be able to see you all again and we will all join in a victory dance.
I have pictures to share, but they will follow later – they still have to be developed.
That’s a question many Lord of the Rings fans asked about The Fellowship of the Ring film, which omitted this popular character from the first novel of the trilogy. But even though he didn’t appear on screen, he’ll be coming to The Lord of the Rings TCG – and you’ll be able to get an exclusive preview version of his card as a bonus when you complete the Countdown to the King! Here’s how it works.
Decipher has selected 18 rare cards, representing some of the most important characters, possessions, and artifacts from the Fellowship and Tower blocks – from The Balrog, Terror of Flame and Shadow, to Aragorn, Defender of Free Peoples – for reproduction with new lore and alternate template artwork. (There is no duplication with the Fellowship Anthology cards.) Each week of the Countdown to the King, you’ll be able to get one of these exclusive cards from participating retailers with a $10 (or €10) purchase of Fellowship or Tower block booster packs. With your first purchase, you’ll receive an oversized checklist card to track your progress toward earning these rewards
At the end of six weeks, after you have collected the first six cards, you will receive a Fellowship of the Ring poster depicting every card in the Fellowship block.
At the end of 12 weeks, after you have collected the second six cards, you will receive a Two Towers poster depicting every card in the Tower block.
After the full 18 weeks, when you have collected all 18 cards, you will earn an exclusive collector’s binder to house your 18 cards – plus four bonus preview cards depicting characters that did not appear in the motion pictures, including Tom Bombadil!
The countdown begins August 25th and runs through December 29, 2003. Offer available through participating retailers only, while supplies last. Talk to your local retailer today to make sure they’re on board, and watch www.decipher.com for weekly previews of the upcoming week’s new card.
Join us in the Countdown to the King, and get your very own answer to the question, “Where’s Tom Bombadil?”
My Adventures as “Estella Bolger” at the WETA/New Line Panel
How I Got There
A few people have asked me how I got to be chosen as the Hobbit Costume model during this panel. Well, it all started in November of 2002 when
I was one of the winners of the costume contest at New Line’s FOTR Extended DVD Marathon in LA. (I was Samwise Gamgee….that’s my one and only costume!) Someone remembered me as a Hobbit from that event and my name got dropped later at New Line. I’m also a member of the One Ring Circus costuming group which boosted the name recognition. Other than also being willing to spend most of Saturday at the Con in makeup, that was it. (Thank you Laura, Adrianna, and Sharon!!!!!! You guys rule.)
Backstage
I was escorted from the exhibition floor to a curtained section at the back of Ballroom 20 by New Line Staff. I was allowed to enter with Sharon who is working with New Line right now on some projects. Security was very tight and once I entered it was obvious why. An interview was just finishing up, with Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Elijah Wood and Kevin Smith of “Clerks” and “Jay and Silent Bob” fame, wearing Hobbit ears, about ten feet in front of us. We were quite stunned and were unable to get the camera out in time to get a shot of this. (Drat!) Before we could shake ourselves back into awareness, Elijah had ducked out of the curtains and was heading for the Main Hall to enjoy the Con, followed closely by two sprinting bodyguards.
This prompted a lot of security-related discussion backstage. Everyone else vanished somewhere in that high-security celebrity way. Little did I know this was only the beginning!
For another couple of hours we were prepping for the panel itself. I was introduced to the WETA guys, including Richard Taylor, Greg (costumes) and Ben (makeup/prosthetics). Greg showed me the costume and gave me a list of what was in the costume and what order they should be put on. I was very pleased. Butterscotch, Gold, Apricot, and Green plaid! Very pretty and super-Hobbity….and I couldn’t wait to put it on.
But…..problem. In the restroom everything went on okay but the bodice. Um….hello…..a size 8 maybe? It was so small and I couldn’t fit my arms in too well…..but Richard and Greg paid close attention to my costuming dilemma and made it fit. I really appreciated how nice WETA people were to me during the whole thing. In a while I had some brief instructions from New Line, some pizza and soda, and was well-dressed. It was very interesting watching the Elf Warrior and the Rohan Warrior get dressed into their armor while I waited. But the coolest thing ever was watching Sala Baker’s transformation into the leader of the Uruk-Hai. Super-scary and super-cool!
I anticipated what I was to do onstage while sitting at the makeup table on a tall chair that was still warm from Sala Baker. It seemed pretty easy, I was just supposed to get up on some boxes and pose. I had been told something about “interaction” with Dominic Monaghan and I wondered what that was going to be. During my musings I chatted happily with Ben who started in on my feet. My feet took the majority of the makeup process. First, my feet were put in the squishy foot-slippers (I loved the fact that they used the Pippin feet for me….apparently Billy Boyd and I have the same food size!) and very cold silicone-based glue was painted on my soles and heels. Two people were working on me, one for each foot. After pasting, the techs glued thin strips around my ankles to smooth out and to fill gaps. Then they sponged makeup on my feet up to my legs in three different skin tones to blend everything in. The foot hairpieces and the final touch-ups were going to be done onstage as a live demo. But looking down, my feet already looked like they had naturally grown about five inches longer! And the hair on my toes was already in…..and boy was it long. I laughed about this and many other things with Ben, we had a lot of fun chatting.
Then it was time for ears. These were latex ears that were molded for Elijah Wood. I thought they looked very natural and Ben pointed out they had a slight translucence to them. No additional painting was needed. They went on quite easily, around my entire ear, and just a little gluing and disguising along the edges was needed to transform my ears into Hobbit ears! Hooray! I got a rather girly brown curly wig with bows in the back. Ben test-fit that and then saved it for the onstage demo. He was also saving the foot hairpiece for the demo, and he showed it to Sharon and I beforehand, and we both were very excited that the box was labeled “Sam-Hero”…….Yay! This meant that I got Pippin’s feet, Frodo’s ears, and Sam’s foot hair! I felt very very lucky to see and wear all the real Hobbit items!!!!
Ben and Sala both declared me Hobbity….done!
Backstage time. It was dark and I could not wear my glasses, so Ben and Sharon had to take good care of me and lead me around. I instructed Sharon to tell me if any celebrities showed up. I also let her know that I had a book to give to Sean and told her where it was. We sat and listened to the Orc chant that was raised during the panel. The audience sounded very large and I was a little nervous.
Ben and I walked up to just behind the curtain to wait for our cue. Then Dominic walked up the steps alone behind us. I turned around and recognized him even with my poor eyesight, and called “Dom!” and waved excitedly. His response to this was to walk up and kiss me right on the lips. I learned, one, that Dom is a great kisser. And two, that he doesn’t believe in wasting time! Immediately after the smooch, I walked onstage into some very bright lights. I probably looked a little dazed. Um, yeah.
The Panel
Aside from the fact that I couldn’t hear or see anything, I had a great time posing on the little platform and being Hobbity. I held up my skirts while Ben talked about my feet and worked on attaching the foot hair. Then he carefully applied different colors of liquid makeup to my feet and ankles using a spatter brush technique. The wig went on and made a huge difference in my appearance. I became aware that Dominic was then supposed to check out what a good job they had done making a Hobbit. He came over and checked me out down to my feet, then lifted up one of my hastily applied foot hairpieces and called Ben out on it, all in good humor, of course. Then he commented on how Hobbits had bosoms and Elves didn’t. Dom then quickly gave me a hug and another stealth kiss on the way in. I made a sound similar to “Whoop!” (the dialogue for this little episode was covered more completely by TORN’s earlier article on the subject. I was a little dazed, still…..) Neither Dom nor I could hear very well nor could we see because the audience was basically too dark. Dom squinted for a while into the audience while the talking went on and tried to wave to some people. Dom looked warm so I fanned him a little with my scarf and he laughed. Andy Serkis said something funny at one point, and Sean and Elijah came out which was of course a huge uproar. I couldn’t believe I was standing on the stage with all of them! The best part was when Sean moved in to talk to me for a second, he leaned over and said “Thank you *so* much!!” It turns out that backstage my dear friend Sharon had gone and retrieved the book and given it to Sean himself, at which point he had opened it AND read my letter on the spot before he got onstage. Sharon also got to meet Elijah briefly on the way in, while he was attempting to peek out the curtain to check out what was going on. The report from her is that his eyes are indeed amazing in person. Everyone was in good spirits. Go Hobbit actors! We love you all. *thumbs up*
As I said before, Dom and I were kind of at loose ends up there since we couldn’t hear anything so we started talking a bit. I’ve had some requests for a complete transcript of what Dom and I were gossiping about on stage. I think I’ll just keep that between Dom and I. Let’s just say that Dom darling, our ten-minute whirlwind romance was something I will never forget. *saucy wink*
Then it was time to head down to the main Exhibition Hall to cause a little hubbub at the WETA booth. I followed Sala, because he was tall, but I was such a tiny Hobbit that I kind of felt lost behind him. No matter, it was fun parading and watching all the stares he and the Armored folks behind me got!!!!! The four of us were placed behind stanchions next to the incredible Gollum statue, and the photographers moved in. We all posed in our various ways. The Elven warrior struck poses with her sword and was very impressive. Sala Baker, the mighty Uruk-Hai, posed and growled and was generally the belle of the ball. He growled at me a little bit too, I cowered, and the crowd though that was kind of funny to see. I worked it and did the best I could to get attention with my furry feet and actually got some gawking and furry foot close-up snapshots. This lasted for the better part of an hour and then we were all escorted back.
To the curtained area to have my feet and ears removed, which was a quick and enjoyable process. Basically, having your feet massaged by charming New Zealanders is a fine way to top things off! Ben, did I thank you already? 😉 I also got to watch the incredible Orc leader strip all the stuff off to turn back into Sala. Richard Taylor thanked me for being such a good subject and everyone wished me well and said goodbye. It wasn’t the last I’d be seeing of everyone that weekend, though, since the One Ring Circus still was up to perform at the Masquerade. I joked with Ben as he was removing my feet that I was just going to go off and put new ones back on for Sam! I had been informing everyone about our LOTR costumed group the whole time and they were really interested. Sporting a One Ring Circus T-shirt, I reminded Richard and all the WETA folks once again to be sure to come and see us with a “One Ring Circus! WHOOOOOO!” sort of goodbye as I exited the curtain. As it turns out, they did attend the Masquerade…..and stood up and cheered for us….Wow! Thanks Richard and WETA guys, I’m glad you all could make it and I’m so glad you enjoyed yourselves!!!!! And thanks to New Line for making it happen for me. It was truly one of the best and most exciting experiences in my entire life!!!!!!
(THANK YOU SHARON for taking all those pictures with my camera…..) (SPECIAL THANKS TO EMMA ABRAHAM and IAN SMITH for granting me permission to use your photos in this report.)
Manelmacar wrote in to tell us that Wargames Workshop has officially closed down business. Wargames Workshop was a very popular online store allowing fans to purchase miniatures, and often times at pretty good prices. Fans have been e-mailing us since Games Workshop announced they were no longer going to permit online sites to sell their product, many of these fans were insulted, and confused, not sure why Games Workshop would close stores that have served them so well. I felt this was a good opportunity to explore the various sides of this story, and hopefully everyone will understand why the choice was made.
From the Consumers stand point, this change came as quite a shock. Many fans have relied on Online Retailers for their Hobby needs, especially fans who live in smaller towns and do not have Games Workshop Hobby Centers. These are the fans who truly loose from this change. Games Workshop Mail Order is of course the alternative for fans who live outside of the range of one of Games Workshop’s Hobby Centers, but many fans have been disapointed in the quality of service of Games Workshop’s Mail Order service. These smaller Online Retailers did not have the volume of orders as Games Workshop’s services, and thus were able to fill orders quickly and often times with a personal attention to each customer, something that you do find in GW Hobby Centers, but not through their automated services.
From the stand point of the Retailer, the Online Market Place has been consuming sales as items have been so readily available online, point, click, have. It was that simple. The question we have to ask ourselves is, where do we game? Across the country Retailers and Hobby Centers alike have been pouring money into making areas available for Wargamers to play. Terrain tables are not cheap, and setting aside an extra room to facilitate players is not something that is easily done for many places. Players then spend their money online, buy their hobby supplies online, and then take their armies into a Hobby Center to play. Thus taking advantage of the Gaming Tables in their local Hobby Centers, without spending a dime in the actual store.
The economy is hurting, money is not in abundance, so every way we gamers can save some money is a great thing, but at the same time by saving that money we are starving the profits of the gaming stores that house us. So in time, if we do not support those gaming stores, they will slowly disappear and take the Terrain Tables with them, leaving us players no where to play. Obviously, not every retailer hosts their gamers to the best of their abilities, and that unfortunate lack of customer service is why many gamers turned to the Online Marketplace for their Hobby needs in the first place.
So we’re in an odd place, while us gamers are trying to save money every way we can, the retailers suffer as our purchases are made outside of their establishments. So Games Workshop made the call of limiting Online Retailers in an attempt to bring sales back into the Game Stores, and hopefully revitalize the War-gaming Hobby. We here at Gaming Havens want to hear your thoughts on the subject, as I’m sure everyone has mixed feelings about this recent decision. So please feel free to e-mail us at Havens@TheOneRing.net and share your individual experiences, be it with an experience purchasing from an online retailer, an experience with a gaming store near you, or an experience purchasing through Games Workshop’s Mail Order. We want to hear what you have to say, and we will be sharing your comments here on Gaming Havens.
Each week Havens will start checking ebay for the latest in lotr gaming auctions. Check out this weeks finds! Keep in mind that TheOneRing.net does not make any money off of these auctions, and we are not responsible for the outcome of each auction. We just point you at some of the nifty ones!
