Summermoot is an opportunity for TS members (& others) to join together and visit an area: whether for walking or browsing bookshops, in the Speyside region of Scotland, close to Inverness and Elgin. [More]
Speyside
Speyside is famous for its malt whisky. It also has dolphins, castles and walks, as well as the Cairngorm Mountains, amongst many other attractions. Cawdor Castle of Macbeth fame is just down the road, along with Culloden Moor, the site of the end of the failed 1745 Jacobite rising.
We are trying to arrange a visit to Darnaway Castle, which is owned and lived in by the Earl of Moray. In the castle is Randalf’s Hall, an impressive room with pictures of many of the Stuarts. The castle is not normally open to the public and this would be a private visit.
A few miles south, and only about ten minutes or so by car, is Lochindorb; completely different scenery to Darnaway: open moorland, heather. The roads through the moorland are marked by snow poles and they can be closed by snow gates. The transition from forest to moorland is quite sudden. Get in the right spot and you can see for miles, and miles, and miles. Consequently the roads can be quite fast, though they are sufficiently narrow (at least in places) to require a certain amount of caution when passing another vehicle. They are also twisty, with many gradients. Lochindorb itself is the shell of a 14th-century castle on an island in the loch where Alexander Stewart, the Wolf of Badenoch, had his stronghold and was also imprisoned; he razed Elgin Cathedral, the ruins of which can still be seen. The Loch itself is an excellent venue for windsurfing; there are many places to pull off the road that runs along the side of it from where to either go windsurfing or to watch those who are. However, the only way to reach the castle on the island is by boat; though I suspect that it would also be possible to windsurf to it.
There is also Randalf’s Leap, a local walk along the edge of the River Findhorn, where the river runs through a deep, spectacular sandstone chasm. There are fishermen’s steps down to the river. Another castle is Brodie Castle, which dates from 1567.
For shopping there is Brodie Country fair. Alternatively, there are a variety of woodland walks, where it may be possible to see the local wildlife: hares, ospreys, red squirrels, herons and roe deer. For the more adventurous and a little further a-field, there are the Cairngorms to explore: though for those less inclined to walk or climb to the top there are Chair Lifts—however, warm clothing is recommended regardless of the method used to get to the top.
Attending Attending Summermoot is free; however, you will need to arrange your own accommodation and food.
For accommodation there are local B&Bs. These can be found on the Highlands of Scotland tourism board website or by phone: 0845 22 55 121 (+44 1506 832 121 outside the UK). Alternatively, there is free camping available. If there is sufficient interest the local village hall could be made available.
Please register your interest in Summermoot by emailing: summermoot AT tolkiensociety DOT org. Accommodation Some accommodation information for establishments close to Darnaway. Please be aware that the Tolkien Society is not responsible for these establishments, nor is the Society connected with them in any way. The Society has not vetted them and so are unable to verify their suitability. B&Bs in Nairn Hilary McLeod: 01667 453 330
Sarah Marwick: 01667 455 309
Hannah McLeod: 01667 452 457 B&Bs just north of Darnaway The Old Kirk, Dyke By Forres, Morayshire. IV36 2TL oldkirk AT gms DOT net Tel: 01309 641 414 Fax: 01309 641 057 [More]
There are many other B&Bs in the area. Contact the Aberdeen & Grampian Tourist Board The Forres Tourist Information Centre: 116 High Street, Forres. Tel: +44(0)1309 672 938
BRAZILIAN TOLKIEN SOCIETIES UNITED IN THE 4TH JEDICON
Four major Brazilian Tolkien Communities joined forces to honor our Friends of the Jedi Council, participating of a huge event in São Paulo, Brazil, last weekend. The 4th Jedicon was lauched by Star Wars fans, but invited all fans of Sci Fi and Fantasy. The result was the collision of many Universes – fortunately, nothing dangerous happened, and one could find Elves walking with Stormtroopers, Harry Potter talking to Princess Leia, and the Enterprise crew contacting Hobbits. The Brazilian Tolkiendili communities involved were: the White Council (Conselho Branco), Na Toca do Hobbit, Valinor and Heren Hyarmeno. All stayed together to help trekkies, excers, pottermaniacs, jedi masters and everyone else, from each alternate universe, to get a glimpse of Middle Earth. There was a Super Tolkien Quiz, disputed by Elves, Humans, Ents and Nazgul. Surprisingly, the winner was the Morgul Team… More information and pictures may be found in www.conselhosp.com.br.
Lisse writes: I e-mailed the Science Museum in London about the LOTR exhibit, and was told that tickets go on sale on Tuesday (July 8th, 2003) at 9am (London time). I am told that the exhibit will have over 700 props (costumes, weapons, jewellery, etc.), and 15 stations showing roughly 40 documentaries on making the films. It’s a timed ticket event, and will include props, special effects and advanced cinema techniques. The show runs from September 16 to January 11. Ticket prices (in pounds sterling) are as follows:
The booking line number is 0870 870 4868 (country code: 44)
At 11am on June 21 in Wellington as in the rest of the world, the Fifth book of Harry Potter is out: in the very same day Frodo, protected by Sam, was fighting for his life in the enormous spider Shelob’s lair, in an ambush setup by Gollum, during the traditional Pick-ups. Harry Potter was, at least in the cinema, the best rival for The Lord Of The Rings, at least until the second installment gained less then the first one. The opposite was true for The Two Towers, which overcame FotR by many millions of dollars. If it will run all as anticipated, The Return Of The King, the last installment, should gain more than a billion dollars overseas.
It’s been seven years that Peter Jackson has worked on what he always considered a whole, one movie, divided in three parts, exactly like Tolkien’s novels, divided in three books by the editor. And it’s been seven years that he say he lives his personal ‘marmot’s day’, that is to live the same day every day, as in the 1993 Bill Murray movie ‘Groundhog Day’. I.e., today, June 22, he woke up at 5am, put on his very famous shorts, began the shooting at 8am, and, in spite of the rain, moved from a set to another, as usual on his red bicycle Challenge model, recognizable by the skull on the handle. The skull is a souvenir from Shelob’s lair, where there are also some dangling, mummified corpses, which are imprisoned in synthetic webs made by an elasticized fiber of boiled-vegetal-oil (220°C!!!).
Frodo and Sam continue to fight her in front of a Blue Screen, because Shelob, female spider, it’s under ‘gestation’ in Weta Digital! During the years she is continuously changed (the movies were shot at the same time in 274 days between 1999 and 2000). At the beginning, she was a little 30-cm model who didn’t frighten anybody. In the end, she will be a 5-meters high monster, destined to frighten first of all Peter Jackson, who loves splatter movies but is arachnophobic (like Tolkien too!). The last model is a NZ spider called Tunnel Web, that is little and innocuous, but was super-sized by the computer! Shelob, who is different from the other spiders of the cinema, will be really fast, but stops in a second to fix her eyes on her prey.
Jackson’s pickups are not re-shootings, but little additions, sometime only a sentence, a glance, looking for a psychological deepening. Jackson says: ‘RotK is the movie that has to justify the other two installments’. He shoots every scene ten times, from multiple angles. He decided this in the very beginning of the production, inserting this ‘vice’ in the production budget of $310 millions. In the end he will exceed 500 hours of film, reducing them to only 10 hours.
Every Friday the troupe organize a raffle with prizes taken from merchandising, but every month of pick-ups (they will end on July 10) was a long feast. Every time an actor came back home, they had a party and gifts. It’s happened with Arwen (Liv Tyler), Eowyn (Miranda Otto), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gandalf (Ian McKellen). The 4 hobbits have to do another week, while Saruman (Christopher Lee) has not arrived yet. It’s a soft atmosphere, like in the end of the movie when most of the characters leave Middle Earth in the Grey Heavens. Elijah Wood, who promised an annual assembly with all the members of the cast and crew, says: ‘Do you know when I could shoot another time the most important movie of my life?’
The RotK is PJ most-liked part of the trilogy. Producer Barrie Osborne says ‘go to the cinema with tissues!’. Hobbit Merry (Dominic Monaghan), who saw a pre-edited copy of the movie, cried during the whole last 8 minutes. The plot is full of weddings, coronations, ambushes, suicides, betrayal, but also the biggest battle of the history of cinema: 200,000 orcs in Pelennor field! We’ll see a new, sophisticated city (Minas Tirith) and a new race: The Pirates (oriental in origin). Faramir will have his 15 minutes of fame, while a new entry, Denethor (Australian actor John Noble), steward of Gondor, is a Shakespearian-tragic character. We will see him in the longer version of TTT (47 minutes longer!!) which contains three key- scenes: Eowyn’s declaration of love to Aragorn, Aragorn’s declaration of age (87 years old!) and the growth of 10 cm. of Marry and Pippin after drinking an Ent-drink. If we had a ‘The Middle Earth Times’, here we would have the last news:
-World premiere of RotK on December 1
-European premiere on December 10 in Berlin
-Italian premiere in Rome on December 13
After LotR, Peter Jackson is going to direct a remake: King Kong, the most famous gorilla of the planet. It will be a digital creature, but humanized like Gollum: voices speak about the same actor to give life to Kong: Andy Serkis.
ODENSE: They’re at the door. Dressed in yellow. “Control” is says on their shirts, like it was a logo from an expensive clothing line. Five harsh looking men are to keep the women away. Nothing is left unnoticed when a star comes to town. Not even when it’s the third day he’s there- nor when the occasion is something as harmless as poetry.
Autographs
Slowly the big crowd of press people and women of all ages are let in to Magasinet – in to Viggo, who everybody calls the world-famous star from the Lord of the Rings films, Viggo Mortensen. But one is kept standing and waiting. It’s Connie Albrechtsen. Next to two tables by the stairs she’s standing handing out notes.
– It’s in case people want autographs. Then they get a piece of paper to write their names on. It’s easier for Viggo if the name is already written, so he can spell it correctly, she says. And only two autographs each. There’s no time for any more.
Cameras, no thank you Inside the room they are waiting. On 400 chairs are women chatting like only women do. Excited, with their fingers on their cameras. In just a moment he’ll be there, the prince on the white horse. Aragorn, as he’s called in the films. Or Viggo, as everyone here calls him. The doors are closing and the excitement rises. Viggo is coming. But first a message.
– I’m asking you not to take ant photos whilst Viggo reading his poems, says Lis from Magasinet and gets startled by all the flashing cameras, when the curtains are pulled. Viggo, the prince, knows exactly what to do. He picks a flower from the flowerpot with pink roses and timidly hands in to Lis.
In three languages – and singing And so there he is. Viggo. Reading his poems. He’s barefoot, cause as a nature child he could never dream of trapping his feet inside evil shoes. His hair is messy and he hardly ever looks up. Just like the misunderstood artist he is. In Danish he tries to read the poems, that he once wrote. But then they were in English. And now they’re translated into Danish and much more difficult. He often stops, and tries again. But the message gets through. Clear as sunshine.
– I wrote this poem the first time USA attacked Iraq, he says about the poem Letters from Nebraska, before he nervously stutters the words. Later on the language changes. First to English. Then Spanish. All alone he sings something about the silence, the flowers and the evenings. In Spanish. But the women understand him. They applaud him afterwards. In audience And suddenly it’s over. There won’t be any more poems that evening. But there will be many autographs.
– If you all will get in line and get up here one by one, I’ll write on a paper, a book or wherever now you want it, Viggo lures. And the women are lured. Waving their papers they line up in the heat and watch Viggo, the prince from the Lord of the Rings. And everybody gets what they came for. Two autographs for everyone. At least.
– We won’t stop until everyone has got an autograph, says a security guard. No, nothing is spared when a world-famous star comes to town.
I know this has been debated before, but John son of Joe sent this along and I had to post it:
I have always liked the detail that they put into all the swords in the movies, but when I saw the new teaser poster of Aragorn holding Narsil, I said “Hey, wait a minute. Narsil and Anduril are full two handed swords. And Aragorn isn’t holding a two handed sword.”
So I went out and got a teaser poster image and a shot of Narsil and over laid one on the other and low and behold, after I rezised them to match, I find that they cropped Anduril! That just ain’t right. I thought that those elves were good smiths. Guess they should have sent it back to the dwarves and had Telchar do it.
Summermoot in Scotland, August 2nd & 3rd
Lisse writes: I e-mailed the Science Museum in London about the LOTR exhibit, and was told that tickets go on sale on Tuesday (July 8th, 2003) at 9am (London time). I am told that the exhibit will have over 700 props (costumes, weapons, jewellery, etc.), and 15 stations showing roughly 40 documentaries on making the films. It’s a timed ticket event, and will include props, special effects and advanced cinema techniques. The show runs from September 16 to January 11. Ticket prices (in pounds sterling) are as follows: 