Battle of Helm’s Deep Pre-Release Event Wizards of the Coast, Westminster Mall – Westminster, CA February 22, 2003
Tournament Director: Norman C. Lao
Before I begin, if you would like to visually experience the tournament, then please our Battle of Helm’s Deep Pre-Release PHOTO GALLERY and take a look at all of the images of the tournament. Thanks to FLINCH for posting these!
And now…for the Real Deal!
Lao of Gondor’s Tournament Diary:
When I woke up on Saturday Feb. 22nd, I knew that I was in for one helluva day! My mind was going in ten different places at once, and for many of you who know me – that’s a very dangerous thing. I checked, rechecked and triple checked all of my prize support, all of my player lists and made several calls to my host store to make sure all is going according to “Hoyle” (ahem – yes a shameless card term). And, once I rolled up on 10 am – the dust began to settle, the smoke began to clear and I headed out the door to begin the tournament…
As soon as I arrived at the Wizards of the Coast store in the Westminster Mall (Southern CA), I felt an energy inside the store that buzzed with a fevered pitch! You definitely knew that something BIG was going to happen – soon! There were already 10 players who were anxiously awaiting to start. Unfortunately for them that wouldn’t happen for another excruciating 2 and a half hours! Believe me, everything was pretty hectic right up until start time as player after registered player, walk-ins and fans alike swarmed into this tiny little back area which was literally about to bust at the seams! It is safe to say that this store has NEVER hosted a LOTR TCG crowd as big as this. Players began competing for space as the gaming tables became cramped. The Wizards’ staff underestimated the sheer amount of square footage needed to play this type of game and raced to clear off shelf space in order to find more seating accommodations. Well, at least it was a positive learning experience for next time.
The time now was 11:30 and panic and pressure began to rise in the store as 36 players from all over Southern California – including one player who came as far as Las Vegas – sold out this event in record time! 22 of these players were pre-registered and 14 walked-in right up until the last minute of registration! As the clock ticked towards 12 noon, I realized that there was no more space, there was no more patience, there was nowhere left to hide and there was no more time, and that is when I brought out the coveted boxes of The Battle of Helm’s Deep Tournament Support! Then, the crowd silenced – for about a second!
As all 36 players frantically rushed through their packs and starter decks to construct their tournament decks, I circled the room and was incredibly surprised to see that – aside from the obvious number of high level tournament players in attendance, there was a significant amount of beginners as well. This was probably for me, the most exciting aspect of the whole event as these newcomers threw their proverbial gloves down and joined the gauntlet of tournament players with an attitude becoming of the Lord of the Rings mission statement: they thought, played and were FIERCE. It was a quite a refreshing change to say the least.
The tournament schedule was slated for four – 45 minute games which lasted over the course of 5 hours. During that time, there were emotions which ranged the spectrum of elation to frustration as these new cards literally wreaked havoc across the span of all the tables. Veterans and beginners alike found victory and defeat delivered to them by the hand of either the Wargs, the Mumaks or the dreaded Gollum: Stinker. New and unpredictable, unique tactical scenarios, which may never be duplicated again, were tested or bested; nonetheless played in lieu of the newness of the cards and the scarcity of sealed deck resources. It was a real treat to just observe and watch how the cards fell and what the players’ reactions were to all the new cards seen and played over the span of 4 games.
Yet, when it was all said and done, and when the last point was tallied – if I may steal a line from Highlander: In the End, There Can Be Only One!
Undefeated 4-0 Garrhet Noda of Culver City, Ca took the coveted First Place spot, earning himself the top prize – a limited edition 2003 Return of the King Calendar from New Line Cinema! Travis Frazier of Trabujco Canyon, CA won second place – a FIERCE T-Shirt – with his surprising and last minute upset in his fourth and final game. And, much to my surprise, first time tournament player Dustin McCurdy, who began the game only several months ago – found himself amongst the rankings of higher level tournament players and earned himself the Fellowship Participation award.
Aside from myself, Flinch from Gaming Havens and Quickbeam representing GreenBooks (who also played in the tournament) were also on hand capturing each and every exciting moment for the TheOneRing.net. They both helped me tremendously with exciting and challenging Trivia sessions which occurred between rounds. Thanks fellas – everyone LOVED the trivia games.
The pre-release tournament was a great success overall and the players all walked away with smiles and great booster pack prizes and promo cards from Decipher, and limited edition OneRing Bookmarks and strategy guides from Black Label Games – promoting their Lord of the Rings video game (thanks Anson).
I want to thank Decipher for all of their support – especially Tracey Halliday and Scott Gaeta for their efforts in helping me run the smoothest – and largest – tournament I have ever organized. And I would like to specially thank PC’s Cat Ceder and Garrhet Noda who really helped me at the end of the tourney, organizing the ratings and making sure everything in that aspect was taken care of. At the end of the day, as many of you well know, its difficult to keep it all straight and without their help, it definitely would have been a lot more difficult. Thanks guys!
It was a great time had by all and I’m sure we can expect more of this in the near future. Thanks Decipher! Let’s do it again sometime.
Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien”s “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” know the meaning of The One Ring. And Paul Badali, who has recreated the ring, is one of those fans.
When Badali learned the movie “Lord of the Rings” was going to be made, he set out to create The One Ring.
Badali said he first read “The Hobbit” as a junior in high school.
“The reading of “The Hobbit” that first time was a turning point in my life. I have been shaped and molded by that first experience with J.R.R. Tolkien in very real ways,” he said.
Then when Badali was going to school at Brigham Young University, he read “The Lord of the Rings.”
“It is a college-age rite of passage,” Badali said. “Freshmen and sophomores in college read it. I have been a Tolkien fan since then.”
It was the second book that helped Badali continue down the path to creating the ring. He is now a jeweler, crafting “The Ruling Ring” and other fantasy-related jewelry — dragons, snakes, spiders and custom Norse Rune rings.
Symbol of sacrifice
Fantasy has played a role in his life. When he and his wife were choosing a name for their first daughter in 1975, he suggested Lothlorian from the Lord of the Rings. His wife liked it, but shortened it to Loria.
Badali said The One Ring may be thought of as evil, but to him it has another meaning.
Badali cleans up the engraving on one such ring.
“The One Ring is a symbol much like that of the cross to Christians,” he said. Badali said the crucifix is about evil done in the world, but it has become a symbol of the greatest sacrifice.
“I feel that the One Ring, as well, is a symbol of Frodo”s willing sacrifice to rid the world of a great evil,” he said.
The One Ring represents middle earth. To Badali it represents Gandalf”s wisdom and commitment, Galadriel”s beautiful heart, Aragorn”s patience and strength, and Sam”s constancy, loyalty, and humility.
It represents the sacrifice each was willing to make.
“It reminds us that right will always triumph where good people refuse to tolerate evil and that one individual can make a difference,” Badali said.
Badali has loved natural stones since he found his first crystal at the age of 5. He has hunted stones in various parts of the states and has mined gold.
In 1970, he saw a friend cutting and polishing stones and became interested in doing that himself. He studied design classes at Weber State College and later went back to teach that same class at Weber State University.
Badali opened his first jewelry store in 1975 and tried to make The One Ring. He tried again in earnest in 1997. By 1998, he finally had a ring good enough to sell. Then in 1999, he made the ring into a more rounded, flattened style.
When Badali began making and selling the rings, he said he had no idea there were trademarks involved. A customer asked him if he was licensed with Tolkien Enterprises.
Badali said he had never heard of the company, so he did some research and found that the Tolkien Family Estate had sold the rights of “The Hobbit” to Saul Zaentz, owner of Fantasy Records and a movie producer.
Badali contacted Tolkien Enterprises and got licensing rights to continue making The One Ring.
Badali has owned several jewelry stores, but said he found out they didn”t pay.
“I”m a five-time loser with stores,” Badali said. “In 1998, I found that 30 percent of our sales were on the Internet and 95 percent of my expenses are at the front door.” So he closed his store and went to work for Ari Diamonds where he worked for two years.
“That was the gap between closing the store and going to the Internet and making jewelry that is appealing to a niche audience,” he said.
Local factory
He now has a factory in Layton where he makes all of his jewelry.
“Most of our jewelry is science fiction,” he said.
The One Ring has an inscription on the outside that translates to: “One Ring to Rule them all, One Ring to find them.” Inside of the ring it says: “One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.”
The elfish runes are deeply engraved into the metal. The rings are made of several different gold weights, beginning in price at $480 and going to about $739.
All of the jewelry is sold on his Internet site: badalijewlry.com and is sold to people around the world.
“We ooh and aah about a sale in Utah. We sell them all over the world. A sale in Utah is unusual. It would not be possible to sell them without the Internet,” Badali said.
jainsafel writes: I’ve attached a translation I did of a review of the Two Towers movie by none other than Mamoru Oshii, director of Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, Angel’s Egg, ect, taken from the film program book. I hope it’s of interest!
“Never-Before Seen Action and Undreamt-Of Battle”
Translation by jainsafel, 03/03/03
The Lord of the Rings’ great achievement is its crafting of a heretofore unsurpassed work of creative fantasy that can weather the scrutiny of adults. For once, long ago, “Fantasy” meant the smell of blood. There would fate and destiny unfold together with the murder of family or the cruel death of innocents, all holding true to the balance between Beauty and Blood.
And that balance of Light and Dark is even more pronounced in The Two Towers than in its predecessor. The first film left me with the strong image of scene after (beautiful) scene of the Hobbit countryside or the Valley of the Elves, which I felt could have been made shorter. On the one hand you must care for the story’s rhythm, but on the other, create a sense of the Fairy-Tale. In practice this is fraught with danger and it is all too easy to break the delicate balance between the two.
But this time, I didn’t feel the passing of time at all. The opening feels just right, unsullied as it is by any summary of the previous chapter, and the film as a whole is easy to watch – but even better was how characters introduced in Fellowship suddenly begin to live and breathe. Depicting the three separate journeys of the divided Fellowship by cutting back and forth between them makes for a far more cinematic experience. Even when taken from a visual standpoint, I believe that groups of about three work far better than nine people leisurely walking about.
Besides, whatever else you want to say about it, there are the battles. If I were to give the greatest reason for this installment’s success, I would start with the making of “battle” into its theme, and end there. When you hold the fighting as your ultimate objective, you can accomplish many things with clarity. The film begins flowing towards that end automatically, and so everything else snaps into place. With the incredibly powerful technique of “battle” at one’s disposal, you can push and push and push.
The most magnificent battle of all is, as you might well imagine, the finale – the attack of Helm’s Deep. I don’t think the scene where the horse-riders charge and penetrate the enemy lines would normally be cut in that way. Typically whenever I had a situation with two sides crashing into each other, I thought of it as the movie’s task to show it all in one cut, with the characters approaching only so far – an idea that The Two Towers successfully discards. To do so is truly remarkable. Of course, it wouldn’t even have been possible without special effects, and yet the effect used turns out to be an almost absurdly small, simple job. Digital effects are often likened to magic, but in reality they take a ridiculous amount of labor and time. Only the constant efforts of human beings keep them bound to reality. And yet in spite of all this they use effects for such small details, and I can only sit in amazement.
Speaking of the tactics of that scene – the long-spear wielding Uruk Hai form a screen of spears and await the cavalry led by Gandalf. That is an actual battle strategy, and the only way to defend against a cavalry charge. It’s not something one can pull off without studying group warfare. And just as surely, by mimicking the great nostalgic battles of movie past, such as those in El Cid or Ben Hur, a style of action that had all but disappeared has been revived. This time, unlike before in Fellowship, action scenes like the above highlight were mounted like jewels throughout the film, and I watched and waited with eager anticipation for the next battle.
In order for these battle scenes to live, helmets, armor, and weapons become very important, but in this too the film excels. As I said previously, the great achievement of this series is its ability to depict a Fairy-Tale fantasy with both its feet firmly planted on the ground. Our heroes are merely “human”; they walk and sleep in the fields, and their hair gets dirty and tangled. When they gird themselves for battle, the armor seems almost too heavy for them to bear, and when they fell an enemy, they stay felled. These and other details the film depicts with precision. The design-work on the helmets and armor vary depending on the clan who wear them, and you can sense the painstaking craftsmanship that went into their creation.
As for the artwork, as always no corners are cut. Take for example the Hall of Rohan, built in the midst of natural desolation. The scene where Eowyn stands motionless before that Hall made of wood and stone is such a wonderful shot – it seems to say “Ah, so people live in such a forlorn place…” I actually prefer this to the much more “fantasy-style” Tower of Isengard.
This outing introduces many more creatures than the first. The dragon-like flying creature that the Nazgul rides is called a wyvern [translator’s note: I thought it was just a “Fell Beast”…?] – a yokuryuu (“winged dragon”), in other words. It’s quite famous in the world of fantasy, but the film version is unusual. I had a few problems with how it flaps its wings to fly, but the long-necked design is simply perfect. The way the wyvern makes its appearance is a very satisfactory shot. As for the warg ridden by the Uruk Hai, they are also famous fantasy creatures – we’d call them marou (“demon wolves”) in Japanese. I don’t much care for their design, but their movement isn’t bad. More to my liking are the elephant-like oliphaunts. They are well made and resemble the now-extinct mammoths.
The most decisive “creature” of all is the CG character Gollum, a very gutsy move indeed. To have a CG character act – in the most important acting role of the movie – is normally so terrifying as to be unfeasible. This touches very close to my own professional world (animation director), and when I look at it through those eyes I wonder if there isn’t a tenuous thread between it and the viability of animated acting?
Character-wise, there are many delicious scenes, many of them involving Legolas the Elf, but in the end Aragorn dominates. In the first film he came off as very easy-going due to the many love scenes, but this time those scenes are lessened, and he becomes more fierce. There is a scene he has, a conversation with a young soldier in the stronghold of Helm’s Deep, that comes on the heels of the outpouring of his all-too human nature in the supply room, where war-weary old men and young boys are given their weapons and armor. He wants to tell the boy something, but cannot find the words. Even though the boy will probably not live to see the dawn – all this emotion is condensed into this small episode, and it is among my favorite scenes. In this way are we able to keep a vigilant eye on the characters, and see the seeds sown in the first movie begin to bloom. Also working in its favor is the series’ one-year-per book organization, which keeps them fresh in everyone’s memories.
Come to think of it, I’ve been watching movies on the big screen only ever since Fellowship. I have little doubt that I will also see the upcoming Return of the King in theaters as well.
My partner Kathy J and I have just returned from Canton, NY where we were lucky enough to attend a poetry reading, gallery opening and book signing with Viggo Mortensen.
Friday afternoon we packed our bags and headed over to border into New York State, as the sun dipped down below the horizon we slowly made our way across dimly lit back roads and small towns towards the University.
We finally arrived at the University just as Viggo was prepared to open the gallery to students, faculty and specially invited guests. The opening reception was held in the Richard F Brush gallery, a small, two-room gallery with excellent lighting and sound. Viggo’s many portraits from ‘Signlanguage’, his latest book, were displayed. Each image, some several feet long, were laminated in glass and the extra glossy look gave you the feeling that they were just exposed and were hanging to dry in some darkroom.
Many of the attendees spent their time waiting for Viggo to arrive looking at his photos and poetry on display. The gallery managed to re-create some of his written work on the walls of the exhibit.
Before Viggo spoke one of the teachers at the University gave a delightfully candid speech about Viggo’s time at the school, and his time as a guest at the teacher’s house for the summer.
Viggo came to the mic and thanked everyone for attending, he told the students to enjoy their time in Canton and to try and become part of the entire village and not just the school. He expressed a want for the students to see beyond their immediate needs of homework and study and take the time to look around them.
Instead of making a grand speech Viggo spoke only for a short time then proceeded to mingle in the crowd the best he could. Fans were told not to ask for autographs or photos with Viggo, but you can imagine how quickly that rule was ignored.
I managed to speak with Viggo at the second gallery opening later that night. I told him how many emails we received in regards to his appearance on the Charlie Rose show last December. I told him how upset I was that I missed him in New York for the TTT premiere, and he told me he wasn’t able to make it either due to work.
For both gallery openings the two rooms were packed full with friends and family alike. Viggo’s Mother and stepfather were in attendance as well. Viggo seemed somewhat adrift among the endless amount of fans begging for his attention. When Kathy and I left for some dinner I couldn’t help think Viggo would love for some quiet time. Even if he was very glad to be back at St. Lawrence, all this attention was clearly not something he craved.
Saturday was one of the warmest we’ve had (in Canton as well as Montreal), this winter has been harsher than most, and being out in the melting snow and beautiful sunshine is something that my friends to the south will never experience, and it is a sad thought.
Viggo was slated to read poetry at the theatre early in the afternoon. We arrived early to speak to some hardcore fans and see what they had to say about meeting Viggo. We ran into a looney bunch of Viggo-maniacs from the Viggo fan base website. Some of them had traveled as far as Vancouver to be there today.
They have made a local name for themselves when they arrived a few weeks earlier to queue up for tickets at 7 in the morning. The local newspapers and radio stations were calling them ‘The Fellowship of HIM’.
As 2:30 slowly approached fans eagerly awaited a chance to hear Viggo recite some of his poetry to the audience. He arrived on stage and was immediately bathed in flashing camera lights and applause. We were asked by his manager Pilar not to film his poetry reading and we respectfully agreed. We did get his introduction and a few words before the recital, more about that later.
Viggo read a few selections from various works, and even treated us to a new poem he had written recently. He also mentioned the impending war with Iraq and his thoughts and feelings about it. He told the audience in attendance that no one person should tell them what to think about this war, but that everyone has the right to discuss and debate it in the open. The crowd applauded his speech, and the poetry reading continued.
After the reading Viggo headed back to the Richard F Brush gallery to prepare for the book-signing event. He was available for almost 4 hours signing books for fans. This is a task that I would not envy! When we managed to use our press passes to get our books singed he was very courteous and asked me if I covered the poetry reading, I told him no, and he arranged for me to get a copy of the video from the school ‘If anyone gives you any trouble, tell them I said it’s ok’ (yes, Viggo has my back folks).
Many fans young and old arrived for the book signing, and Viggo was courteous and respectful to all, he asked many people the origins of their names, as I recalled, he seemed interested in heritage and cultures.
Kathy and I headed back to our hotel for some R&R and to get prepared for the screening of the ‘Fellowship’ Extended DVD at the Gulick theatre.
An opening band entertained the eager fans as they waited for Viggo to introduce the film. He arrived slightly late (as he states, his artistic and free-loving lifestyle is just an excuse for his general lack of co-ordination). He told the fans that he was glad they were watching the extended version, a version, in his opinion, is the better version and actually feels much more faster in pace than the theatrical version.
Viggo then dipped off to the Underground theatre to open the Fellowship for those eager fans, and then headed home for some well-deserved rest.
We will be cutting a new chapter of TORN Digital with highlights from this weekend. Stay tuned for that!
You can catch Viggo’s Signlanguage exhibit all this month at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY.
Special thanks goes to Macreena Doyle, Pilar from Perceval Press, St. Lawrence and of course my Kathy for taking these wonderful photos and navigating (part) of the way!
The most famous dwarf in the world, or rather say – the marvelous actor who played the part of Gimli – Mr. John Rhys-Davies, is currently in Bulgaria. He is shooting here another adventure film with dragons and malicious kings… “Guess, who I am playing!” said JRD while being the special guest on the most popular TV Talk-show here.
In that show JRD proved to be a charming entertainer and a wise and intelligent man with subtle sense of humor. In fact, we here have known the actor for many years, from the film-hits like “Indiana Jones”, “I Claudius” and a lot of other film productions. But he is probably most popular for his role in the “Shogun” – mega production. The thing is that JRD is well known to the Bulgarian movie-fans just as he usually looks like. So, believe me, almost nobody could recognize him at first in the role of Gimli! I, who am personally a great fan of JRD, could hardly believe it!!!
I know that JRD has explained hundreds of times about how he played his character – a dwarf – HIM!!!! – Being such a big man! However, he had nothing against explaining it once again and even more! – He demonstrated it! Well, that was such a fun! JRD got up from the cozy sofa he was sitting on, fell on his knees and showed the audience how from this position he, being Gimli, HAD to fight with “full strength”. And when he would swing his famous axe to strike a mighty blow he…. just crashed face down on the floor! Of course, he was playing! But he did all with such a grace and humor that the whole audience strongly applauded his brief but brilliant performance and. you know, even in his smart suit, he still looked like Gimli! Charming!!
JRD admitted to the Bulgarian audience he had not read the LOTR-book before he was offered the part of Gimli. Now, he said, he has read it at least four times and he is convinced that this is the greatest fiction written in the 20th century. He also admitted that he loved his Gimli and that he would never forget this character for he had played it with love… Though, of course, JRD could not avoid mentioning about the heavy hours of putting up the whole make up that made JRD into Gimli the Dwarf!
To me, personally, JRD’s appearance on that TV-show was even more thrilling. First, because the film he is shooting now in my country is being done in an ancient fortress found in my own native town! I spent my childhood there! I know the fortress like the backyard of my house! And, on the other hand, he was presented with an ancient coin from the oldest golden treasure in the world (dated around 5000 to even 9000 years BC!), found near the city where I live now!!! Well!! What a coincidence! BTW, JRD is famous for his ancient coins collecting passion and he was deeply moved to receive such a precious object.
As for the LOTR-movie-trilogy, JRD said that this production is one of those films that live forever in people’s minds. And that ROTK will prove it!
So, if you think that Gimli had departed with Legolas to Aman, believe me you’re wrong! Not to the West but to the East he had gone! And it seems he likes it a lot being in the lands of the Easterlings, because he promised to return as often and as soon as possible to Bulgaria!
It is the first of March and I find myself deep in the bowels of the Century Plaza Hotel in Beverly Hills, with Asfaloth by my side. She carries a camera, I carry a microphone. The two of us have been bustling about all evening, trying to get the best video footage of Peter Jackson and Cate Blanchett.
We have already seen a crazy song n’ dance number from Sean Astin, but we’ll post that later.
Tonight, the venerable DGA honors the very best directors of all stripes; including those working in feature films, television, commercials, daytime serials and yes, even documentaries! (Let’s hear it for the docu crews…. woo-hoo!)
Standing in the painfully crowded and brightly lit Press Room, we watch the monitors with delight as Cate Blanchett speaks to the audience in the main auditorium. She acknowledges her director for all his time and dedication on The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Peter is given a huge, shiny award medallion just for being one of the five nominees in the feature film category. Whether he wins tonight or not seems beside the point, for he has his name on a very short list of the world’s greatest — including Roman Polanski and Martin Scorsese (himself a living legend)! Peter seems thrilled and perhaps a bit tired. You must realize he has just gotten off an 18 hour flight from New Zealand and has been running around all day with no proper sleep. He accepts the medallion with typical Kiwi grace, very soft-spoken but full of potency.
After thanking his partner Fran Walsh, Peter is showered with applause. He and Cate are now arm in arm; both coming back to join us in the Press Room. The reporters rev up their cameras as the pair step towards the lights. PJ comes right up to the mic and the first question comes straight from me. I ask, “How do you use camera work when you are creating such an epic film and then bring it down to such intimate details at the same time?” He speaks with confidence about working with the epic scale of Tolkien’s story, something he admits also works as “very intimate in its storytelling and its emotions. Really we’ve taken our ‘guide’ from the book.” He also confesses that he is eager to get back home to finish work on The Return of the King: “It’s my favorite of the three.”
Cate seems strangely bashful tonight; and looks suspiciously like she is blushing. Asfaloth captures an excellent close up of Cate, zooming in with her digital lens. When she was given the opportunity to work as Galadriel, Cate admits: “I was on the next plane. I think he’s a genius! And to make one of these films…. let alone three at the one time, I just think is unheard of. A phenomenal, Olympic feat!”
The other reporters seem eager to ask more of him and Cate, but the stage manager is impatient. Everything moves at quite a clip around here, and soon the next award recipient will be arriving. They stand for a few moments more — and the paparazzi goes nuts.
* * *
Later in the evening, a stunning upset! Most folks were assured that Martin Scorsese would win best feature film director for Gangs of New York (while privately I was hoping against hope that PJ would really win). But in the end, it was given to Rob Marshall for Chicago. Everyone in the press room gasps with surprise. Just goes to show, you never know with these things. The big finish for all of us LOTR fans will probably be next year.
When all the excitement of tonight is forgotten…. we will, all of us, still have the promise of ROTK. PJ’s goal, to bring the story to a massive “bang” of a conclusion, will thus be the final chapter that brings him the acknowledgement from his peers, the Director’s Guild.
