Robert writes: This is a great week for Tolkien fans in Italy. Indeed, two very interesting events are occurring these days.
The first is called Verso la Contea (Towards the Shire) and is happening at Trani between 10 and 13 of july, in the charming set of the Colonna Monastery. “It will become the Hobbiton of the south of Italy”, said Oronzo Cilly, promoter of the happening and Italian Tolkien Society Foreign Events Organiser, referring to the most important event happening every year in Udine and promoted by the Italian Tolkien Society. Verso la Contea is going to host a great exhibition with a hundred works (between original paintings and copies) and a hundred objects connected with Tolkien’s world and with the movies. There will be many meetings, with the presence of the Italian Tolkien Society president Paolo Paron, representatives of the english and french Tolkien Societies, two people (Francesco Vairano and Pino Insegno) involved in the dubbing of the movie and a manager from Medusa (the company which gets the rights for the movie here), who will announce officially that ROTK will be released in december in our country. Moreover, it will be introduced the great event of Bruxelles 2004 (which could be the most important one occurring in Europe next year), created by the Italian Tolkien Society with the support of the english one. Last but not least, many diplomatics and politicians will join the celebration. Among them, the New Zealand ambassador in Italy Peter Bennett, the mayor of Trani Giuseppe Tarantini, the President of the Levante Fiera Luigi Lobuono, the President of the Puglia region Raffaele Fitto and the member of the european Parliament Roberto Bigliardo. You can read the full program (in italian) by clicking here: [More]
The second event, Festa Tolkieniana (Tolkienian Fest) will occur in Florence in Villa Favard Park between the 10th and the 12th of july. The first day will see an exhibition of european folklore realised by La Compagnia della Forca. The second day the audience might listen to some readings of Tolkien works, made by actors of the Terra di Prato group. On saturday, the event is ending with a show of traditional dances. The program is available here: [More]
Posted in:
Share:
Orangeblossom Brambleburr writes: The Rocky Horror Ringer Show in Portland went great! We have a full recap with pictures on Bit of Earth now.
[Click here for the images]
The event began slowly, and in proper BitofEarth tradition, with ticket sale issues. Once again, we’ve had difficulty with false sell-out notices; this is, sadly, one of those things that will happen when you sub-book an event with a theater. We have done as much as we can to counter it, and will continue to do so. This event, being such a short-notice fundraiser, was particularly vulnerable. Our apologies to the many people who were erroneously turned away.
The good news is that our event was more than two-thirds filled, and the crowd was more than rowdy enough to suffice! We had a high population of fun and energetic fans, all of whom were amazingly quick with the jokes (in fact, I think many of the fans in attendance had been waiting for a chance to yell out what they usually whisper to their neighbor).
The festivities started out with Orangeblossom as emcee, leading a virgin call. There were eight people who had either never seen the movie, or hadn’t seen it for more than three months (at least, there were three who would admit to such a thing!). The first contest was for three folks to do their best Boromir death scene. First went the youngest attendee, aged eight (who quickly acquired the nickname of “Little Boromir”), who eschewed Boromir’s big-shield-like-dinner-plate and turned forth the most realistic of the three scenes. Contestant number two was also Orangeblossom’s mother, who performed a very dramatic (and properly guilt inspiring) death. “You tried to kill me with your grades!” (arrow to chest). “You tried to kill me with your friends!” (arrow to chest) “You tried to kill me with your cooking!” (arrow to chest) “But the wait to get into the theater! That did it!” (collapses). Contestant number three (after thanking the academy) put on a very nearly endless, staggering, protesting scene, wherein her friend threw the arrows at her. The performance continued until Orangeblossom asked Legolas to shoot her again. Audience cheers indicated Little Boromir was the winner, and he was duly presented with the arrows and shield as his prize.
The second event was a contest for the best Nazgul scream. Two brave (if somewhat daunted) young women hashed it out with their most piercing shrieks, the first contestant walking away with an Eye of Sauron keychain.
The third and final virgin call involved three very surprised young women being presented with hobby horses and informed that they were now the Riders of Rohan, and would be expected to perform in two scenes as cast memebers. They were very brave, and were tremendously good sports, and the staff and cast were very grateful.
The calls done with, we announced the costume contest, judged by Bit of Earth Staffer and professional costume designer Vanadriel. We had an excellent turnout, although our runway dancing was cut off when the cd player attempted to consume the disc–evidently, it disapproved of RuPaul.
Still, the contestants put on a great show. First prize (a Two Towers
Aragorn action figure) went to a lovely Galadriel costume; second prize (Fellowship of the Ring CD cards) to cast member Legolas (who declared it to be Lembas and attempted to take a bite), and third prize (a Sam and Frodo bookmark) went to a young elf maiden.
Rules were announced (keep it PG-13, don’t throw anything sticky, wet,
sharp, or alive, and have fun) and the reels began. Trailers for Dumb and Dumberer and Final Destination were shown, to great jeering and booing.
Once the movie proper started, the wisecracks were fast and furious, as were great cheers as people saw actors they liked (particular shrieks for Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Sean Bean, and Billy Boyd. Surprisingly few squeals for Orlando). There were many references to the fanfic The Very Secret Diaries, Monty Python and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, among countless other Pop Culture remarks, as well as a sustantial
Arwen-bashing. Other memorable quotes included (in no particular order):
(as the camera slowly pans over Caradharas) Ok, we’ve established there are mountains!
(as Gandalf catches Glamdring) By the Power of Greyskull! I have the Power!
(upon seeing Faramir) It’s Diet Boromir! Tastes Great, Less Annoying!
(at the death of the first orc at Helms Deep) Oh my god! They killed Kenny!
(Sam: What’s that horrid stench?) It’s Frodo’s feet!
(entrance of Wormtongue) Sorry Jack, Chucky’s back!
(as Frodo coaxes Gollum) Here boy! *whistles*
(Theoden: Where is my son?, cut to shot of a flower) He turned into a
flower?!
In addition to the great showcasing of geekly wit, cast members acted out selected scenes from the movie (as the movie played in the background). All performances were lit by a spotlight, acquired and manned by our Technical Specialist, Moerwen. Though it does it little justice, here is a description of the skits that were performed:
The Taming of Smeagol: Acted out by Mr. Frodo (as guess who), Shireling (as Sam) and Little Sam (as Gollum). Little Sam’s performance as Gollum (though she was dressed in a white bodysuit with a pair of underwear on her head, to mock up Andy Serkis’s motion capture suit) was particularly amazing, as she mimiced Gollum’s writhings to an almost creepy degree.
During all scenes of Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas running through Rohan, our cast ran back and forth, up and down the aisle. Shopping Cart Bob (as Gimli) trailed behind our Aragorn (who goes by the handle of Snoodle Girl at The Prancing Pony) and Legolas (Christened Steve of Mirkwood, who joined the cast by showing up, in full costume, at our dress rehersal). They were joined by our last-minute Riders of Rohan, who bravely trotted their hobby horses down the aisle as Eomer appeared on screen. If this particular skit had any more Ham in it, we’d have had to open a deli.
At the pile of Dead Smoking Orcs, Orangeblossom crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue to simulate the staked head.
In the dead marshes, our Frodo stood on a theater seat to do a dramatic face plant, then staggered about in blue spotlight as hands reached up to pull him underwater (well, at least to pull him offstage).
As the first Ringwraith appeared, a teddy bear dressed as a dragon and
tied on a string to a stick was “flown” across the screen.
The arrival of Gandalf the White: Our Gimli, Aragorn and Legolas cowered before a white robed figure, who finally cast off the hood to reveal Orangeblossom, sporting a forehead scar and a pair of rounded black glasses. Harry Potter the White was very nearly booed offstage. Blasphemy! But with much laughter.
As Gandalf summoned Shadowfax, a sparkly hobbyhorse was trotted across the screen.
Treebeard carrying Merry and Pippin after presenting them to the White
Wizard: Treebeard (really Shopping Cart Bob in a sheet, with a paper bag covered in leaves on his head) carried Merry (Little Sam again,
recostumed) on his shoulders and Pippin (Diamond) at his side down the
aisle.
As Gandalf casts off his grey cloak before Theoden, Orangeblossom stood up in a gray cloak, then with a flourish showed it to be reversible. The cloak was courtesy of costumer Vanadriel and costume-wearer Gandalf, who we are very grateful to.
Eowyn showing off her sword skills: Our Eowyn (Diamond, recostumed)
matched lightsabres with Aragorn. Diamond’s swordwork was very nearly
perfectly accurate–go her!
On the Road to Helm’s Deep: Gimli and Aragorn rode hobbyhorses down the aisle, Eowyn walking beside Gimli. Gimli took a spectacular tumble off his hobbyhorse, landing offstage at th feet of a very surprised Orangeblossom, who’d never assumed that “a little shoulder roll” would be so spectacular. Don’t worry–in this case it was deliberate
Aragorn dreams of Arwen: Amidst the howls and catcalls, Gollum crept up to the screen and made a highly inappropriate grabbing motion. We won’t tell you exactly what scene, or what he did, but if you know what we’re talking about, you know enough.
Gollum goes Schizophrenic / Herbs and Stewed Rabbit: Little Sam, perched on the back of a theater seat, turned out another amazing performance as Gollum, then presented Frodo with a pair of oversized and cartoonish toy bunnies. Erm, coneys. Which Sam snatched away in great indignance. Also, as Sam discussed Po-Tay-Toes with Gollum, a potato and a box of Instant Mashed Potatoes were held up in front of the screen.
Oliphants: A pair of Beanie Baby mammoths on sticks strutted across the screen.
The Forbidden Pool: Gollum beat a small, stuffed dolphin to death on a theater seat before being lured up the aisle by Frodo.
Return of Aragron at Helm’s Deep: With much fanfare, our Aragorn was greeted by Gimli and Legolas, mugged a tremendous amount, then burst open the theater doors. Again, great quantities of hamminess, and much cheese to boot. The three of them together is a dangerous mix.
As the torch-bearing-orc runs toward the Deeping Wall, a valiant audience member (grabbed as our Orc, Milton, was unable to attend at the last moment) carried a flashlight down the aisle, running in slow motion as the entire audience hummed Chariots of Fire.
The explosion at Helm’s Deep: The audience in the first several rows was quite surprised to be showered with large chunks of styrofoam.
As Legolas pulled Gimli and Aragorn up the rope, Our Gimli and Aragorn staggered up the aisle, pulled by Legolas at the top row of seats.
Treebeard summoning the Ents to Isenguard: TreeBob carried Merry and Pippin down the aisle, then threw his head back and howled in anguish. Except that Our Ent was heard to yell “FRITOOOOOoooooooooooooooos!” Bob’s weird.
First Nazgul at Osgiliath: The dragon-costumed-bear did a second flight across the screen.
The Horn of Helm Hammerhand: Gimli (Bobli?) blew, with great style and enthusiasm, on a pair of PVC pipes wrapped in duct tape.
As Gandalf Saves the Day: Orangeblossom donned her cloak and Blasphemous Harry Potter glasses again and rode her faithful hobbyhorse down the aisle, accompanied by the three brave Riders of Rohan. We call this scene Gandalf ex Machina
Frodo offers the Ring to the Nazgul: Our Frodo stood on a theater seat and solemnly offered the ring to the flying TeddyBear/Dragon, until our Sam yanked him offstage.
Finally, as Gollum spoke eerily of “Her,” a small stuffed spider was waved across the screen.
After the event, most of the cast and a few others went to the International House of Pancakes for a post-show feast. No lembas was served, so Legolas made do with vanilla ice cream. The hobbits put away vast amounts of pancakes, and a good time was had by all.
[Click here for the images]
Posted in:
Share:
Thanks to Ringer Di0nne we have a translation of the Aftonbladet article from Swedish to English.
———
Viggo celebrated his award with Swedish flag
The “Lord of the Rings” star accepts Filmstar in New Zeeland
Aftonbladet’s readers voted him best foreign actor of 2002. Aragorn, aka Viggo Mortensen, was so happy that he drew a Swedish flag.
“Many thanks! I’ll have to go and show this to my son Henry”
Viggo Mortensen has received Aftonbladet’s award Filmstar. Dressed as Aragorn, he is there to film a new scene for “the Return of the King”.
Then he comes running and finds me again.
“Look at what I’ve done. That’s a bit better, don’t you think?” says Viggo Mortensen.
In his hand he has a Swedish flag. Stuck to a pen.
Fluent Danish
Viggo Mortensen has a Danish father and an American mother and speaks several languages fluently. With me he’s speaking Danish.
He is in New Zealand’s capital city Wellington to complete further scenes for “The Return of the King”. His son Henry is with him. It was him that convinced his dad that he must say yes to the role of Aragorn.
Viggo Mortensen shakes my hand several times whilst thanking me for the award. He has a half gauntlet on his right hand and a couple of his fingers are bleeding.
Jackson is mad
“Yes we are filming a battle scene with the army of the dead” he says “Peter Jackson is totally mad”
But the director himself looks calm and happy when we meet him a little later to give him his Filmstar for the years best foreign film 2002 “The Two Towers”.
“Tolkein would have appreciated this award for the film. He was very influenced by the Scandanavian sagas when he created his mythology” says Peter Jackson “Aftonbladet’s readers have good taste”
How is the third film going?
“Everything is under control. Its relaxed and cheerful. It’s the most enjoyable post-production out of all three films despite it being more complicated” says Peter Jackson.
Jens Peterson
05/07/2003
Aftonbladet
——–
See the original article here
Posted in:
Share:
Intent on drawing forth Sauron’s hidden strength, the Army of the West marches on Mordor. Seemingly bent on self destruction, they provocatively cross the Anduin, set the fields of Morgul Vale aflame and proclaim the return of the Lords of Gondor.
The Black Gates Open
At the Morannon, Aragorn arrays his host on two great hills before the Towers of the Teeth, and the Captains of the West ride to parley with the mysterious Mouth of Sauron, an ambassador of the Dark Tower. Bt instead they are shocked with the display of Sam and Frodo’s gear – as Denethor put it, it does indeed semm as though the fool’s hope has failed. Soon Sauron’s forces pour out of the Black gate, surrounding the Army of the West.
What do you think about the strategies of Gandalf and Aragorn? Are they heedless to even enter Morgul Vale, and why does Gandalf insist on Aragorn’s return be heralded? Who is the Mouth of Sauron? What is his background? And does Gandalf merely hope at the very end, or does he realise something that his companions do not?
We’ll also take a closer look at Pippin. What are his motivations, and how does this cheerful hobbit face up to the challenge of being a soldier of the White Tower?
Join us this weekend in #thehallofire as we explore the final chapter of Book 5 of Lord of the Rings.
Upcoming Topics:
July 12-13: Trees & Tolkien:
July 19-20: Tooks and Brandybucks
July 26-27: What fascinates you most about LoTR and Middle-earth?
August 2-3: RoTK, Book 6, Chapter 1: The Tower of Cirith Ungol.
August 9-10: Tolkien and Canon
August 16-17: Colours in Tolkien’s World
August 23-24: RoTK, Book 6, Chapter 2: The Land of Shadow:
Times:
Saturday Chat:
5:30pm ET (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday (07:30) AET]
Sunday Chat:
7:00 pm (19:00) CET
[also 1:00pm (13:00) ET and 3:00am (03:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
AET = Australian East Coast
Having trouble working out a time zone near you? Try this.
Do you have a possible topic for Hall of Fire? Drop us a line at halloffire@theonering.net. And don’t forget that you can check out previous chats here.
Posted in:
Share:
Orangeblossom from BitofEarth.net sends along this announcement of a Rocky Horror-style showing of Two Towers in the Portland area on July 5. If you’re a fan of MST3k-ing and Rocky Horror – and LoTR – this could be a great night out for you!
BitofEarth.net, the website that brought you the Long Expected Party and Project Elanor, is putting on a fundraising event like no other. The Rocky Horror Ringer show is a fun, quirky, irreverent showing of The Two Towers with a twist, perfect for all those Northwest Rings fans who are tired of being told to sit down, shut up, and keep their hairy feet to themselves during their favourite movie.
What: An MST3K/Rocky Horror-style showing of the movie where everyone is free to snark, plus a variety of other cool events including an Emcee, a lowest-bidder Minion Auction, a Costume Contest (for best AND worst costumes), a Virgin Call, and a Live-Cast performance of selected scenes.
Where: The Avalon Theatre, 3451 SE Belmont St., Portland, Oregon
When: 8:30-Midnight, July 5
Who: Up to 65* Hobbits, Dwarves, Men, Elves, Ents, Dark Forces, and yes, even dates.
Why: A fundraiser for the December LotR convention TentMoot 2003
How Much: $10, includes movie ticket
How To Buy Tickets: Payment may be mailed or brought in person (checks or money order made out to Bit of Earth, cash also acceptable) to 9629 SE 43rd Ave Milwaukie, OR 97222 prior to Wednesday, July 2. After that, tickets may be purchased at the door on the night of the event. First come first serve, no reserve tickets, NO EXCEPTIONS. Please call 503-353-3095 with any questions.
BitofEarth is also putting out a casting call for anyone interested in participating in the live-cast performance. Actors must have no shame, supply their own costumes and transportation, and be willing to come to a rehearsal on the evening of the 3rd, exact time to be decided dependant on the schedules of whoever winds up offering to come make fools of themselves. Actors may be male or female, age 13 to Immortal. Resemblance is a plus, but takes a distant second place to willingness to have fun!
WE NEED:
Gimli
Legolas
Aragorn
Sam
IT WOULD BE COOL IF WE COULD GET:
Gandalf
Pippin
DON’T BOTHER, WE ALREADY HAVE A:
Eowyn
Frodo
Gollum
Treebeard
Merry
DON’T BOTHER, WE’RE NOT INTERESTED IN:
Anyone else!
See you there!
The Staff of BitofEarth.net
Enquiries to orangeblossom@bitofearth.net
* Admission will be sold on a first come, first served basis. STRICTLY LIMITED to 65, so get your tickets early!
Posted in:
Share:
