Old Special Reports | Lord of the Rings & Tolkien News - TheOneRing.net Fan Community, since 1999

Aya was lucky enough to see the NYC press screening last night. Read on to get your fill of spoilers …

The Two Towers – ‘phenomenal’

I saw the press screening of the movie last night in NYC (I guess hanging out with radio folk has its perks!) – Before I go any further I have to say this : I thought it was a phenomenal movie!! If I dwell too much on criticisms in my review, it is not because I thought it was a bad movie or didn’t like it in the slightest – it is because I am sure that these are the sorts of things that people probably want to hear about (Goodness!! I can’t imagine any hardcore fan out there is saying to themself “I wonder if it’s any good?”).

I think that there are already several good summaries of the movie out there already, so I won’t bore you with talking about how huge the battle of Helm’s deep was, how cool the cleansing of Isengard was, or how absolutely hilarious Gimli’s lines were!

Andy Serkis is “perfect” as Gollum

The one thing that DOES bear repeating (over and over and over) is Gollum! How perfect is Andy Serkis? It was the best acting I have seen in a long time – and he was never even physically on screen!! The voice was AMAZING!

It was so reminiscent of JRR Tolkien’s voicing of Gollum – I cannot fathom how he produced such delightful coraking, gurgling, choking, rasping noises! The distinction between Smeagol and Gollum was so clear, as well – to me, the animation of the character (which was flawless), was a far second to his voice. As an aside, I was quite worried from the few clips of Gollum we had seen thusfar – between his appearances in FotR and in the trailer, I was afraid he’d be animated far to spiderlike and fake – but he is actually quite believable; you can see that he could have once been a hobbit.

What was utterly frustrating to me is that for those who have been following the various reports of the movies for the past year, it is very obvious that they cut out so many scenes from the movie! Once again, scenes from the trailers and commercials have not made the movie. There is no scene with Arwen running out to Elrond, there is no scene in Aglarond with Eowyn fighting an Uruk-hai (They even made a DOLL based on that scene!), Frodo and sam go through no sewers in Osgiliath, there is no scene with Deagol and Smeagol in a boat… alas!

Helm’s Deep over too quickly

The end of the Helm’s deep battle also seems a bit too quickly over. From the Visual companion (that had the pull out map/guide to the battle), we know that at least conceptually, the ents showed up to cut off the orcs retreat, just as they did in the book. This is not even hinted at in the movie. Gandalf shows up with some men on horseback, and suddenly the battle is over. Yay and hurrah – but where are the ents??

Busy in Isengard, I suppose – I love the ent with the burning hair that quenched it in the flooding river!!

Interestingly, in the way this movie was edited, it did not deviate from the books so much as rumored. The elves leave rivendell, but they do not seem to leave for Lorien – it is implied that they leave for the grey havens (and perhaps they indeed are doing so?). Still, when Haldir shows up at Helm’s deep with his force of elves, he says that he comes on behalf of Elrond. Not exactly explained, but no matter.

Ithilien rangers too fearless?

One minor gripe I had was that the Rangers did not seem appropriately afraid of the Nagul and fellbeast in Osgiliath!

The rumors that Aragorn must tame Brego (why did they choose to name his horse Brego in this movie?) by speaking to him in Sindarin appear false; there is a touching scene when Brego comes to get Aragorn after he takes a bit of a swim.

One theme that was pounded over and over and over in this movie was that of hope; the dialogue seems to consist largely of “We have no hope” “You must not give up on hope” “Where is our hope?” “We must trust in hope!” – by the end, Sam has a little monologue where he says essentially “There is one thing left worth fighting for in this world” (I look at my friend – HOPE?) – ah, but I will let you find out what that is when you see the movie!

Two Towers is bigger and darker

This definitely had a different feel from FotR, not only in the sense that it was much BIGGER and much darker, but I think because of the necessity of cutting from subplot to subplot. In the FotR, you got a real feeling that you were on a journey along with the fellowship; you were moving through middle earth and fighting baddies along the way.

In TTT there is not that same feeling. Although Frodo and Sam do progress through the Emyn Muil, through the Dead Marshes, through Ithilien and up to Osgiliath, since that journey visually takes such a back seat to the massive (no pun intended) battle, one does not feel as swept up with them as in FotR.

More accesible to non-fans

I think that this film is much more accessible to non-fans than the first installment; whereas in FotR it was rather important to understand the characters and their motives for doing what they did, in TTT it is pretty clear: there are good guys, bad guys, and a huge battle.

If you don’t know who the Rohirrim are and how they relate to the Gondorians, if you don’t know who the Haradrim and the Easterlings are, if you don’t know what ents are, it doesn’t really matter. I think the one character where it really DOES matter is in Gollum; and as in the book, the conversations he has with himself serve to let the viewers know why he is doing what he is doing.

One minor mistake I caught: in the scene in Fangorn, watch Legolas. They clearly flipped a shot or two (“these woods are old”) – easily noticed if you watch his leaf-pin and the buckle on his quiver!

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Vardia writes: There is a competition on Channel 9, in Sydney (Australia) to win a flight to NZ and tickets to the Australasian premiere of TTT for two people. There are two prizes to be won.

However, it’s only for people in Sydney.

People need to ring 1902 554 633 and leave their name, address, daytime phone number, and the word “Gondor”.

(Apparently you needed to watch a TV prgram to find this out, so we’re giving you a tip along!)

The competition closes at 9am Thursday 5 December. They will be announcing winners on the episode of Survivor shown on Channel 9 that night (I think it’s 9.30pm(?)).

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LOS ANGELES, Calif., December 2, 2002 – Black Label Games, a studio of Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games), has announced it has entered into a production agreement with Liquid Entertainment to develop “The Lord of the Rings™: The War of the Ring,” a real-time strategy (RTS) game for the PC platform. The game will be developed through VU Games’ long-term agreement with Tolkien Enterprises to create interactive entertainment based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic novel “The Lord of the Rings.” The game will be released in early 2004.

Expanding on the world of Middle-earth and its inhabitants as introduced by J.R.R. Tolkien, the game allows players to engage in the epic story though both a good and an evil single-player campaign. Players also will be able to play on both sides in an extensive multi-player mode.

“The selection of Liquid Entertainment, recognized in the gaming industry for their PC strategy title, ‘Battle Realms,’ as the developer for ‘The War of the Ring’ underscores our long-term commitment to creating high-quality titles based on the Tolkien works,” said Torrie Dorrell, general manager of Black Label Games.

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Have you ever wondered what it was like on the sets of The Lord of the Rings in New Zealand and how the magic of Middle-earth was created? Then we invite you to join us Saturday, December 7 at 6pm GMT (1pm EST) in #TheHallofFire for a live, moderated chat with Brian Sibley, author of “The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy”, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Insiders’ Guide”, and “The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide” among many other works.

The well-respected BBC broadcaster Sibley already had an enduring interest in Tolkien and fantasy fiction when he first joined up with artist John Howe 20 years ago to provide text to Howe’s HarperCollins-published maps on Tolkien¹s “The Hobbit”, “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Silmarillion”.

Much like Peter Jackson, Sibley’s reading of Tolkien’s works as a child and teen, followed by viewing of Ralph Bakshi’s film production, laid the foundation for what would become his own masterwork: the acclaimed BBC dramatization of ‘Lord of the Rings’ — beloved by fans, respected by scholars, and much-referred to by Peter Jackson’s crew, actors, and executives.

Sibley’s intimate knowledge of Tolkien’s works, as well as his tremendous research skills, made him a natural choice as chronicler of Jackson’s own Rings odyssey. Granted unprecedented access to all areas of production, Sibley’s “Official Movie Guide” and “Making of the Movie Trilogy” put the reader alongside the films’ creators as they brought the massive project to life.

Brian Sibley’s long career includes not only numerous works focused on Tolkien, but also examinations of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia, the history of Walt Disney Studio, and several volumes focusing on film animation and A.A. Milne.

Bibliography:
The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy
The J.R.R. Tolkien Handbook: A Concise Guide to His Life, Writings, and World of Middle-Earth (with Colin Duriez)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Insiders’ Guide
The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide
Three Cheers for Pooh: The Best Bear in All the World (Ernest Shepard, Illustrator)
Chicken Run: Hatching the Movie
The Wisdom of C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis Through the Shadowlands: The Story of His Life With Joy Davidman
Creating 3-D Animation: The Aardman Book of Filmmaking (with Peter Lord)
The Pooh Sketchbook (Winnie-The-Pooh Collection) (Ernest Shepard, Illustrator)
The Land of Narnia: Brian Sibley Explores the World of C.S. Lewis
There and Back Again: The Map of the Hobbit (John Howe, Illustrator)
The Map of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth (John Howe, Illustrator)
Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs & the Making of the Classic Film (with Richard Holliss)
The Great Food Feud or a Little Give and Take (Rosslyn Moran, Illustrator)
The Disney Studio Story (with Richard Holliss)

We’d like to thank Megan at Houghton Mifflin Publishers for helping set up this chat! Thanks Megan! You rock!!!

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Tigerlilly Gamgee sent in this Two Towers review that is largely absent of spoilers. Those who want a feel of the performances in the film may enjoy this one, though if you’re trying to avoid spoilers regarding who may or may not be at Helm’s Deep, perhaps you should steer clear.

The Two Towers – What Of The Cast Performances?

I had the priveledge of attending an advanced screening of TTT this morning here in Chicago (along with Roger Ebert… and many other contest winners). My opinion is still forming for this movie; it is just so strange because you are accustomed to FOTR and then you see the characters in a new story (which you probably already know the ending to). Overall, I did like it. I was not disappointed. I need to see it again!

It varies away from the books a lot more than FOTR did. Some parts didn’t even exist in the books, and in other cases you are seeing the same story from different perspectives. Sam and Gimli stole the show, in my opinion. Everyone voted that Pippin would be the comic relief in this movie, but I think that Gimli has stolen his trophy on that account. Many of Sam’s greatest moments from the books are left in the movie (Sam fans will be cheering at these parts!), and some really nice new scenes are given to him. Legolas is also more likeable in this movie. He becomes a little more “humanistic” in quality, as opposed to the slightly “magical” nature he had about him in the first film (his kind-of “aloofness”). Elijah Wood does a great job with Frodo as he becomes possessed by the ring. There are some heart-breaking moments for him and Sam (one really huge one at the end; which is from a shot in the trailer, but you wouldn’t know that that shot of Frodo is actually in a scene with Sam and not Gollum).

The new characters are all lovely. Eowyn has a very nice introduction and she doesn’t whip out the sword quite yet (at least, not in a big way). Theoden is well played and Wormtongue is great. Eomer is also a lot better than I expected (no offense to Karl Urban, it’s just that he seemed a little dryer in the books; but new life is good). There is also some nice stuff with the Rohan refugees, some of it is very emotional and may move some to tears (look for the Jackson kids in the caves – boy they get around don’t they!).

Gollum and Treebeard, in my opinion, have not fallen in the “Jar-Jar trap”, but those who have not read the books may not like them. I can see how putting an Ent on screen is a difficult task (with their not wanting to be hasty and all – I don’t think that people will quite understand them if they haven’t read the books). Merry has a lovely speech at the Entmoot (addition); Dominic is really stepping up to the plate. Gollum is done very well, though slightly different from my impressions of him in the book (though, I have never really liked him – so don’t listen to me). I never felt pity for him while reading the book, but that aspect is brought into the movie very nicely. His relationship with Frodo and Sam is great! It really made me see why Frodo trusts him.

You get to see Merry and Pippin start to grow up in this film. I mentioned the speech Merry has… great! Pippin also has a nice moment with Treebeard when they have left the Moot. He’s not so much of a “fool” anymore.

The scene between Arwen and Elrond is very well done. Everyone is worrying about her being in the movie, but I enjoyed that scene (though her picture on the poster need not be so big). The flash-forward was very moving and it let’s the audience see more of what Arwen is sacrificing to be with Aragorn (that was probably unclear to non-readers in the first movie). Fear not, she does not come to Helm’s Deep (though I can’t speak for Haldir’s troops on that matter)! I, personally, liked the elves at Helm’s Deep. It gave the movie a slight Silmarillion-like moment. I think it added to the relationships of the characters, and it showed more where the fate of Middle Earth is heading. Helm’s Deep is spectacular!!!!!!!! ‘Nuff said there…

The movie has a great climax accompanied by a speech with Sam. I was accompanied by Rosemunde Brownlocks (from my Line Party) and she made an excellent point that… at one point or another in the movie each character has a moment where they realize that this is their fight. All of Middle Earth is in peril, not just an individual race or kingdom. This speech is the climax of those moments. Very well done… go Sean Astin!!!!!

Well, this is already long, so I will end here. I tried not to spoil too much, so hopefully I didn’t ruin anything for anyone. Now, I am eager to see what Ebert is going to say (though something tells me he’s probably going to be skeptical about it). Fans will not be disappointed, though I am beginning to think that maybe I shouldn’t have re-read the book so close to the movie’s release date (because of the differences – it made them much more noticeable). They are each in their own, different, yet the same. Be ready for moments that will blow you away!

~Tigerlily Gamgee~

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Yesterday we provided one of the articles from the Mail on Sunday magazine special. Today, we’ve put together a few images (the more unusual ones, rather than the ones that we’ve seen over and over) and another article for your reading – and viewing – enjoyment. Thanks to Ringer Spies IC, Aragorn_is_Mine and Arwenelf for sending in these scans.

These aren’t in any particular order, and spoiler warnings apply.