TheOneRing.net is proud to be an active participant in the 2nd annual Lord of the Rings Pavilion at Comic Con 2003, taking place next week, July 17th-20th at the San Diego Convention Center.
Our booth (#2429) will be alive with activity: live chats in our popular Barliman’s chatroom; complete online access to TheOneRing.net website; a chance to express your love for The Lord of the Rings in our Tolkien confessional; watch exclusive interviews of cast and crew; and as always, free promotional items for your collecting pleasure.
And while you are there, stop by one of our two panel discussions:
• Thursday, July 17th – 4:30–5:30 TheOneRing.net: Lord of the Rings— TheOneRing®.net—Earth’s largest Tolkien website—presents a panel of "Tolkien experts" to answer all your burning questions. Topics will range from The Professor himself, The Lord of the Rings and other works both in and out of Middle-earth to Tolkien fandom over the decades and how LotR/JRRT is affecting life today on the Internet, in cultures across the globe, and of course, in the movies. Presenters will include four TORn staff, including Quickbeam and Ostadan, two contributing authors of The People’s Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien. If you miss the panel but want to get some TORn this weekend, visit their booth in the Exhibit Hall. Room 6A
• Sunday, July 20th – 3:00–4:00 TheOneRing.net Web site— The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is due in movie theaters this December. Panelists will take a good look at Return of the King images, cast, and characters and how the film will differ from the original text. You’ll also learn about what makes TheOneRing.net tick, how it grew from humble beginnings to daily visits from nearly 100,000 people, and its more than 1,000 pages of content in dozens of subsections. Room 6A
“But I can’t make it to the Comic con!” you say?
Do not fret! We will be bringing you as much coverage from the event as humanly possible. In our Comic Con section we will be hosting a live webcam (Updated every 10 seconds throughout the entirity of the event), posting daily image galleries in our scrapbook, and, of course, bringing you the latest news and headlines you have come to expect from TheOneRing.net.
This year’s Comic Con is shaping up to be a stellar event, so come on down!
Jess writes: I’m sending some info about some of the southern hemisphere’s splendid LotR stars.
Anyone in Sydney in October can catch Jay Laga’aia as Mufasa in the Aussie stage production of The Lion King. Oh, and for anyone who is wondering, you pronounce his last name “Lah-guy-ah”.
Miranda Otto’s new film Danny Deckchair opens in Oz on July 31. It tells the story of Danny, an idealistic cement contractor played by Notting Hill’s Rhys Ifans, who decides to escape his humdrum life by strapping helium balloons to a fold-up chair. After an unscheduled journey across Sydney, Danny lands in the backyard of Glenda, played by Otto.
In the crime-comedy Gettin’ Square, David Wenham plays Johnny “Spit” Spitieri, a crim trying to walk the staright and narrow after getting out of jail, but finds it hard to resist crime, the underworld and all things nefarious on Australia’s glittering Gold Coast. It opens in Oz in October.
This article: “Cate a soft touch for green things” was in Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph a few weeks ago:
Cate Blanchett has handed over a substantial donation to a US environmental group, Forest Guardians. Blanchett made the donation to the New Mexico-based group after filming Ron Howard’s The Missing in the Desert State. “The gift to Forest Guardians is meant both as a token of gratitude for the crew’s tireless contributions and also to help preserve the state’s natural splendour for generations to come” she said. She must have developed a soft spot for those other forest guardians, the Ents, while filming The Lord of the Rings in New Zealand.
A couple of days ago you ran a small report about Jay Laga’aia being on crutches due to a broken leg sustained during fight scenes on some movie (See Laga’aia’s Broken Leg Woes -Xo). The truth is a bit more mundane.
He actually dislocated his knee-cap while filming a light-hearted basketball segment for a low-low-low budget TV series here in NZ called “Pulp Sport”. The joke was that Jay was up to go up against one of the stars of the NZ basketball team (“The Tall Blacks”) in a game of one-on-one.
Jay went for a lay-up shot and then just crashed to the ground. The film crew showed a close-up of his knee and you could see the patella (knee-cap) sticking out to one side, clearly not where it was supposed to be.
They carted poor old Jay off in an ambulance. He seemed to be cheerful enough during the whole ordeal, but hey, the guys an actor after all. He must have been in agony.
Wow, I go to sleep for a few hours, and come back to dozens of translations in my inbox … Anyway, here’s a translation of the article for your reading enjoyment. Many thanks to the dozens of people who e-mailed spymaster.
One note – the bit about Aragorn fighting the dead is not a mistranslation. Hmmmm ….
Unique Pictures from the last “Lord of the Rings” film
Wellington. Now the last scenes are being filmed for “Return of the King”. Peter Jackson has again brought together the actors and built up Middle Earth’s environment. Aftonbladet is the only Swedish newspaper there. We go from Minas Tirith to the battlefields of Pelennor to Edoras.
“‘The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers” were just practice for this film” says Peter Jackson.
The Golden Hall in Edoras. It smells like a timber yard in the new building. Shouting extras have long hair like hard-rockers at a festival.
Aragorn walks amongst the Rohan soldiers. In front Gandalf looks on in amusement at a drinking contest. Aragorn draws pensively on his pipe while the two talk about the others in the company. What is Sauron thinking of doing?
New Scenes are recorded
Ian McKellan misses a line and they do another take. Viggo Mortensen gets help with keeping his pipe alight while the make-up artist sprays his hair with water.
New take. Everything goes well. Peter Jackson gives the thumbs up. The next scene is prepared in the studio close by.
“The third film has always been my favourite” says Peter Jackson ” I enjoyed the shooting the most and this film has the coolest action and the strongest feelings. The third film is the reason that we did all this.”
How long will the “Return of the King” be?
“I don’t know yet. It will be what’s needed, longer than the two previous films” says Peter Jackson “But it won’t be anything silly. Not four hours.”
What does New Line say?
“Before the two previous films we had a decree that they absolutely could not be longer than two and a half hours, which we didn’t bother about. Now the order is that it can’t be longer than three hours. So that’s progress, ha ha ha “
After two episodes and six hours that have built up the tension, now its time for the resolution. Frodo will take the ring to Mount Doom. Aragorn must decide if he dares to be a leader. Gandalf shall steer the battle against Sauron’s strength.
Many new environments. The battle of the Pelennor Fields where over 200, 000 orcs are mobilised. We get to see Minas Tirith. Frodo and Sam meet the terrifying giant spider, female monster Shelob. Aragorn fights against the dead armies.
More expensive than a feature film
Jackson devotes eight weeks of summer for completion. Only it costs more than a normal feature film. When he finished a rough cut of the film in January he saw what needed improving.
“This film is the one I will really be proud of” says Peter Jackson “the end must be as good as possible”
Most of the actors have come back to complete the film. A couple of lines here, a close up there, little clarifications.
But its difficult to work out the schedule. Orlando Bloom, who in the last year has filmed “Pirates of the Caribbean” and now “Troy”, did his Legolas scenes in April.
Viggo Mortensen has had a busy schedule with the film “Hidalgo”, about a Horse-riding competition in North Africa in 1890.
“Yesterday evening I actually had some more voice coaching for Hidalgo here in Wellington” says Viggo Mortensen “So in the middle of playing Aragorn I could speak like a cowboy from 1890″
What do the new scenes with you and Gandalf provide?
“They try to celebrate with the others after the battle of Helm’s Deep. But they know that many new dangers await” says Viggo Mortensen
“Is Frodo alive? They say one thing, but think another ” says Viggo “Pretending to be hopeful, but they are actually worried. The undertext is interesting, and its good to do such a scene with an actor like Ian. Now I have to do a scene with Legolas and he isn’t here. So I get to speak with a tennis ball”
Tennis Ball?
“Yes, sometimes it’s a bit of tape or a cross on the floor. I have acted with many tennis balls”
Ian McKellan has returned to New Zealand for completion every summer, 2001, 2002 and now. It makes it easy to get it right.
“Like a rock”
“Oh, one never forgets a role. Gandalf is like picking up an old rock. Before we start we look through much of what has already been filmed to wake the feelings” says Ian McKellan.
What do you look forward to seeing in “The Return of the King”?
“The battle scenes. When Gandalf crushes orcs’ skulls” says Ian McKellan “I have fought for gay rights for many years. Now I shall fight for the elderly. I like that the film shows an older man as a successful hero on the battle field.”
IGN has a review of Electronic Arts’ Return of the King game, and unsurprisingly there’s some news that will only muddy the spoiler waters. The vibe for the game itself is extremely promising. You can read the full review here, but I’ve grabbed a few excerpts to discuss the parts which may affect the movie.
There’s been a little bit of fuss about this article. First IGN amended its report (see below), now we have a statement from the EA Team working on the game via TORn Gaming Havens. Gaming Editor Flinch writes:
“As if this whole Sauron vs. Aragorn business couldn’t get more confusing, we now know for sure that in EA’s Return of the King you will not fight Sauron anywhere during the game. We have it on a relatively good authority that scenes were filmed portraying Aragorn fighting Sauron, but it was decided somewhere in the planning that a change like that wouldn’t work, and it has since [assumably] been changed back to the way it should be, no physical Sauron kicking folks around. So to put the rumor to rest, the official word from the team over at EA is “The Player will not fight Sauron in the game.”
As EA is dedicated to making this game as close as possible to the film, I think its safe to say Aragorn will not fight Sauron in the film either. If you have any questions on EA’s ROTK, or any of the LOTR Games, feel free to e-mail Gaming Havens@TheOneRing.net.”
That seems pretty conclusive news for fans of the game, and very promising for the Tolkien purists as well.
My original report below:
The game showed off some interesting twists that may reveal new things about the movie. For instance, in the Paths of the Dead level, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas must pass through a horribly dark underground passage in which they must fight the undead traitors from a previous war in order to earn their respect and thus get them to follow Elfstone to the enemy ships before Minas Tirith falls. But in the book, they don’t fight the ghosts, Aragorn, being the true heir and rightful king, beckons them to follow and when they reach the ships, he unleashes the horde of ghosts upon the enemy.
I cannot recall seeing this previously as a substantial and credible movie rumour. That being said, Jackson may want to up the ante on Paths of the Dead, and make it even more dangerous. The logic could well run something like this: Baldor died attempting the Paths, why should it be less dangerous for others?
Some very recent news via Swedish paper Aftonbladet may give a little bit of credence to this.
In another little twist, we already know that Sam must rescue Frodo from the tower (in the Cirith Ungul level). But in book, he basically ascends the tower unscathed, because the orcs have already killed themselves over Frodo’s mithril coat and other booty. But in the game he must sneak by and/or fight them to rescue Frodo.
Again, I can’t dig up any previous rumours or set reports describing anything like this.
Update: Someone also wrote to remind me of shots from the Cannes 2001 screening of Sam fighting at Cirith Ungol.
From our own Quickbeam’s report from Joram from Ringbearer.org over at Tolkien Online. Less specific, it only says that there is an Towers/RoTK scene where Sam yells: Sam “that’s for my old gipper!”
Interestingly enough, EA says there will be boss fights with predicable enemies such as Shelob and the Witch King (the leader of the Ring Wraiths in the attack on Minas Tirath), but more surprisingly, there is a “final showdown” with Sauron. What?!!!??!! That’ll be interesting given that there is no actual face-to-eye confrontation with Sauron himself in the book…
By far the most controversial of the possible changes, but seemingly the least likely in the light of information we received just a couple of days ago that indicated Jackson is rethinking everything about Sauron physically appearing in Return of the King. Check out this report for the background.
Very important note: IGN has since removed from its article references to a “final showdown” with Sauron in the game, possibly at the request of EA. This could well mean there will be no Sauron showdown in the game – and hence no reason for movie purists to tear their hair out. Maybe we will get some definitive word on this from EA soon (word which we now have – Dem.) …
It’s wise to consider that Jackson is still patching the film together, and will be working on it up till the very moment he has to deliver it to New Line. Things must still be open to change. And remember that Jackson said in the last issue of the LoTR fan mag, that of the three films, RoTK would be closest to the book:
Q. How closely will you be sticking to the book in The Return of the King?
A. The Return of the King is quite close to the book. There are notable exceptions. The first thing with RotK is that we still have to wrap up The Two Towers. We have the Isengard sequence—in which they go to Isengard to deal with Saruman, who is imprisoned at the top of a tower—which is at the tail end of TT book. It is now at the beginning of RotK. Likewise, we don’t have the scouring of the Shire, which is a major chapter at the end of the book….
…When the ring is destroyed at the end of RotK, that is really the climax of the film. Those two things are the notable major exceptions as well as Shelob [my emphasis], which is another spill-over from TT—Minas Morgul, the stairs of Cirith Ungol and into Shelob’s tunnel are now in RotK.
When fans of the book see that sequence, I think they will understand immediately how impossible it would have been for it to be in TT. It feels so right to be where we’ve got it from a story point of view—for reasons I can’t discuss now! At this point, we don’t have Ghân-buri-Ghân, the Wild Man that the Rohirrim come across on their way to Minas Tirith in there. I don’t know if this will change with us doing pickups, but I doubt it.
Having said that, the rest of RotK movie is going to follow the book reasonably well. What I like about RotK is that the story is the centerpiece of the film, more so than in the first two films.
Well, having put the Sauron rumour to bed for the moment, what can be said about the rest? In part, I stand by what I said – interpreting game scenes back into the movie is perilous stuff. Games scripts operate differently, and need much more action and conflict to drive them. These sorts of scenes are something I would expect to see in a game.
And – as several people have written in to point out – the Two Towers game diverged from the film in places (eg: a Orc/Troll battles in Fangorn Forest). So although EA does seem to indicate RoTK will follow the film more closely, it’s probably wise to keep this in mind as well.
However, we do have a tiny bit of separate evidence for fighting at both Cirith Ungol and the Paths of the Dead. Perhaps strangely, I’m not worried about the former – I think it’s a scene that could work in the context of the film and stay true to the book as well.
I think it’s still way too early to conclude “the worst”, but I am feeling a little bit anxious about Paths of the Dead.
‘THERE is a unique responsibility when you play someone who died so horrifically and so recently. The grief is disseminated, but it’s still there.”
Listening to Cate Blanchett talk about taking on the role of Veronica Guerin, one thing is clear – the Australian actress is respectful of the memory of our Irish crime journalist who was murdered so brutally on June 26, 1996. This is not just another part, where Blanchett can flaunt her acting skills. This is more serious than that. This time the character is a real person, a hero, and one of our own.
“It was daunting to take on this role, because of the weight Veronica Guerin has with modern Irish culture and the culture of the media and the fact that recordings do exist of her. But that was the challenge,” said Blanchett.
“Veronica has come to represent something, so in a way she has become iconic. It did make me approach it differently. In the end, not being Irish helped me. It sounds dreadful but I came to this as an outsider so I didn’t have a preconceived notion of what all this meant. Obviously I knew of her, and I’d seen the Sixty Minutes interview that she’d done, but I’d never read an article that she’d written.”
Blanchett is an award-winning actress who is renowned for her intelligent approach to her work. And she has the ability to transform utterly from role to role. She is a chameleon. Sitting down to watch the film Veronica Guerin , I was all set to see Cate Blanchett as Veronica Guerin. What was I not prepared for was the uncanny similarity between Cate and Veronica. Up on the screen, Cate was Veronica. The appearance, the manner, the walk, the accent – it was unsettling it was so real. So many film stars sail into Dublin and think that they will master the Irish accent and end up making a mess of it. Blanchett’s accuracy was astounding. And she has nailed every detail. There was Veronica’s athletic walk, the way she would always be well groomed with her hair done and small earrings on. Even when she was casual she was smartly dressed. There was the sense of fun, the cheeky impish charm, and still being a lady while working in a tough criminal world.
Watching the film, I didn’t feel like I was watching a film – it was like the real story up there on the screen. Together with the director Joel Schumacher (who has to be lauded for standing up for the principles of accuracy) and producer Jerry Bruckheimer (who was insistent on getting it right), and the entire team, they have made a powerful film. Watching Blanchett on the screen, one wonders how she managed to achieve such precision.
“First of all I wanted to know what the circumstances were. I’m not just playing a character and because Veronica had such a rich and varied life – like football was as big a part of her life as journalism was, as was her son. So it was important to saturate myself with all of that, to know what circumstances within which she was working.
“Then, very specifically, I watched repeatedly, incessantly, every single television interview she gave, listened to every radio interview she gave. It was part of the technical thing of learning another accent, I suppose. I found it fascinating learning the way she spoke; where her voice sat; how she took her breaths; when she paused; her omissions and self-censoring, what she couldn’t say giving interviews; and subsequently finding out the circumstances of her own life and the danger she was in and the interview ‘She was a human being, she wasn’t a saint, she wasn’t a crusader, she was someone with a very strong sense of injustice but also someone who liked to be at the centre of life. Everything she did, she wanted to be at the centre of it. What was the point sitting on the sidelines?’
she was giving at the time. It was the interface for me between what she chose to say, what she was allowed to say, and what was actually going on. I found that stress very interesting.
“She gave one interview on radio and it was a very intimate interview. There was something at the end, the interview just sort of trailed off, they asked her why she continued to do it. And she said: ‘Until you understand a problem, you cannot hope to solve it.’ I found that fascinating, as someone who really wanted to get inside somebody else’s skin. Then she paused and said: ‘I suppose that’s why I do it.’ And there was something about the way she said that, the pause before she said it, I could see her being lost for a moment. I could hear her as a 16-year-old, there was something fragile about it, and maybe it wasn’t there but I sort of held onto that little moment.”
As Blanchett talks, it is obvious that she was rigorous in her research. “Veronica was a phenomenal life force. I have never met so many people who said ‘I met Veronica’ or ‘I had dinner with her once’ or ‘She and I were this close.’ Everyone had opinions about her and that is an incredible positive for me as an actor.
“Somewhere between everyone’s varying opinions of her lies the truth of who Veronica Guerin was. She was a human being, she wasn’t a saint, she wasn’t a crusader, she was someone with a very strong sense of injustice but also someone who liked to be at the centre of life. Everything she did, she wanted to be at the centre of it. What was the point sitting on the sidelines?
“I watched her when she was on Questions and Answers – this had nothing to do with the story of the film. She was hauled over the coals for the Bishop Casey story. Everyone was butting in but what fascinated me was that she just sat there. If someone was describing her character they would say that she would be talking over everyone else, and maybe she did at work but on this particular forum she took it on the chin and she listened. She really listened. Unlike anybody else on the panel she was actively listening and I found the quality of her listening really interesting.
“I was in the position of being able to delve into a specific time through the film. It was horrific and fascinating. The sad thing is that things change immediately in the wake of someone’s death. At least something was achieved but she still died, the world moves on, the problem returns.”
As for Blanchett herself, we do not know that much about the 34-year-old actress. She likes it like that. But there are slim sketches. She lives in London with her screenwriter husband and their baby boy Dashiel. On the day I met her, he had just taken his first steps. She studied fine art and had travelled the world before she went back to Australia and signed up for an acting course.
“I am not one of those people who say I always wanted to be an actor.” To pigeonhole her, one could describe her as a character actress: “I’m not interested in making a part fit me. What fascinates me is what motivates other people. I’m not particularly interested in what motivates me.” She remains a bit of an enigma. Having worked with her on The Talented Mr Ripley , the director Anthony Minghella said that he only knew three things about her. When I repeat this to Blanchett, she smiles and concedes that she is a private person. “I don’t turn up on a set expecting to be everybody’s best friend. There are many aspects to my life and acting is just one of them.”
Cate Blanchett doesn’t just act the role of Veronica Guerin, she becomes her. It is both heart warming and heartbreaking to watch.
TheOneRing.net is proud to be an active participant in the 2nd annual Lord of the Rings Pavilion at Comic Con 2003, taking place next week, July 17th-20th at the San Diego Convention Center.
Anyone in Sydney in October can catch 
Miranda Otto’s new film Danny Deckchair opens in Oz on July 31. It tells the story of Danny, an idealistic cement contractor played by Notting Hill’s Rhys Ifans, who decides to escape his humdrum life by strapping helium balloons to a fold-up chair. After an unscheduled journey across Sydney, Danny lands in the backyard of Glenda, played by Otto. 
In the crime-comedy Gettin’ Square, David Wenham plays Johnny “Spit” Spitieri, a crim trying to walk the staright and narrow after getting out of jail, but finds it hard to resist crime, the underworld and all things nefarious on Australia’s glittering Gold Coast. It opens in Oz in October. 
This article: “Cate a soft touch for green things” was in Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph a few weeks ago: