OSCAR(R) WINNER PETER JACKSON — LEADING CAST OF “LORD OF THE RINGS” TRILOGY — AND “X-MEN” PRODUCER TOM DeSANTO — COMBINE FORCES FOR DOCUMENTARY “RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS”

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA –TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2004 — The “Ring” has now come full circle for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien. The director, co-writer, producer, and the stellar leading cast of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy will appear in RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS, executive produced by Tom DeSanto (Apt Pupil, X-Men, Transformers), and directed by first-time writer/director Carlene Cordova. RINGERS is a feature-length documentary that explores how “The Lord of the Rings” has influenced Western popular culture for the past 50 years. The film reveals many layers of history and artistic inspiration behind Tolkien’s books, while reveling in the pop frenzy carried forward by the Hippie movement, the rockers, the fantasists, the activists, and legions of screaming fans.

Three-time Academy Award(R) winner Peter Jackson, now synonymous with the global phenomenon spurred by his “LOTR” trilogy, has granted an exclusive interview. Mr. Jackson is joined by his creative team and ensemble cast — including Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Andy Serkis, John Rhys-Davies, and Academy Award(R) winners Barrie M. Osborne (Producer) and Philippa Boyens (Co-screenwriter) — all of whom provide remarkable insight into the enduring fandom that is the heart of RINGERS.
The four leading hobbits from the cinematic Fellowship appear in RINGERS: Elijah Wood (Frodo), Sean Astin (Sam), Dominic Monaghan (Merry), and Billy Boyd (Pippin) — offering their personal perspectives on how Tolkien’s masterpiece has stood the test of time, and in many ways changed their own lives. Veteran actor John Rhys-Davies (Gimli, the voice of Treebeard) is equal parts gregarious and wise — his interview shows the same affection for Tolkien as seen among his legions of fans. Philippa Boyens, a hardcore Ringer fan herself, explained the unique challenges she faced while adapting the epic novel for the silver screen — while Barrie Osborne (The Matrix) confessed the power of mythology is just under the surface of the Rings Trilogy’s exceptional popularity. Viggo Mortensen gave a most revealing interview, wherein the audience can see deep considerations of Tolkien’s complicated themes would become the bedrock of Mr. Mortensen’s interpretation of Aragorn.

Tom DeSanto has come aboard as Executive Producer. Lauded by genre fans for his energetic support and passion for comic book, fantasy, and sci-fi projects, Mr. DeSanto was a perfect fit for RINGERS. He co-wrote the story and executive produced X-Men, a movie he wanted to make since he was twelve. Mr. DeSanto’s love for genre projects continued into restarting Battlestar Galactica and returning to the mutants that he loved for X2: X-Men United. The X-Men franchise has grossed over $700 million worldwide. Currently Mr. DeSanto is producing a live-action version of Transformers for DreamWorks and Paramount, which Steven Spielberg is executive producing. RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS is repped by the William Morris Agency. The film has been submitted for several major film festivals; with an expected debut in the Winter of 2005.

RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS serves as a remarkable dénouement to the past 50 years of the worldwide following of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.”

About the documentary:

RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS shows how, after 50 years, “The Lord of the Rings” continues to spark the minds and hearts of millions. RINGERS explores the real foundations of Middle-earth; a community of true fans who share a common bond. Moving beyond “cult classic” and over several different generations, the film unearths countless people gathered under the banner of ‘Ringer’ — academics, musicians, movie stars, authors, filmmakers, and a plethora of pop junkies. Celebrity interviewees include Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Clive Barker, and David Carradine.

RINGERS features a dynamic rock-driven score with musicians who were influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien. Several indie recording artists have provided new covers of songs from previous “Rings” adaptations. Produced in association with the popular fan-site TheOneRing.net, RINGERS stands as the most comprehensive film document of the ongoing fandom of “The Lord of the Rings.”

From the hippie counter-culture to the electronic age; from the Bakshi animated film to Jackson’s epic trilogy; this documentary brings together extensive footage collected over 21 months — across three continents. Our cameras have captured the most energetic “Lord of the Rings” events.

What began as the private amusement of a tweedy Oxford professor has now become a new mythology for the 21st century. RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS shows how an adventure story published in 1954 has had dynamic ripple-effects through Western pop-culture. RINGERS carefully pulls away the veil between Tolkien’s book and the creations of art, music, and community that have been inspired by it.

RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS spent 21 months shooting on three continents. Produced in association with the popular Tolkien fan-site TheOneRing.net, Ringers stands as the most comprehensive film document of the ongoing fandom of “The Lord of the Rings.”

Current “Ringers” Interviewees include:

Actor – Dominic Monaghan, Writer/Director/Producer – Peter Jackson, Actor – Elijah Wood, Actor – Sir Ian McKellen, Actor – Viggo Mortensen, Actor – Sean Astin, Actor – Billy Boyd, Actor – Andy Serkis, Actor – John Rhys-Davies, Actor – John Noble, Screenwriter – Philippa Boyens, Producer – Barrie Osborne, Author/Interviewer – Cliff Broadway, Author/Filmmaker – Clive Barker, Writer/Director/Producer – Cameron Crowe, Actor – David Carradine, Author – Terry Pratchett, Author – Peter S. Beagle, Author – Terry Brooks, Musician – Lemmy Kilmister, Musician – Geddy Lee, Tolkien Scholar – Dr. Jane Chance, Chairperson of the Tolkien Society – Christine Crawshaw, Author – Colin Duriez, Filmmaker/Critic – Chris Gore, Writer/Publisher – Forrest J. Ackerman, Actor – Sala Baker, Actor – Bill Mumy, Author/Broadcaster – Brian Sibley, Illustrator/Author – Colleen Doran, Illustrator/Author – Jill Thompson, Film Critic – Elvis Mitchell, and hundreds of Tolkien fans!

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Eileen writes: Just thought I’d let you know that the Sean Astin Book Signing that was supposed to take place this Friday, November 19th at ‘A Clean Well Lighted Place For Books’ has been rescheduled to Friday, December 10th at 7pm. Follow this link for a complete list of Sean’s appearances. [More]

The store is deciding at this time if they will be handing out tickets so that they don’t get overwhelmed with a large line outside their store.

Sean will be in Corte Madera (about 10 miles north of SF, actually) December 11th. This is a new date and location added to his schedule – maybe because he had cancelled his Nov. 19th?

Also, and unfortunately, that is the same day that Alan Lee will be signing books at Booksmith on Haight Street. Actually, the store is too small so it will take place at the library on Page Street (right around the corner). More information will be coming.

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The Lord of the Rings the Third Age is definitely one of the better RPG’s of our time. It is probably the first of its kind for EA games, but hopefully not the last. There is a deep storyline into the game, one much different than the movies themselves. By the halfway point in the game, you will have gotten all 6 of the playable characters, each with unique abilities and traits. Berethor is the main character, the citadel guard from gondor, and the main story revolves around his life. You will also come across other races such as the elf Idrial, who is sent to protect Berethor, and begins to form a bond with him. There is a stubborn dwarf, Hadhod, somewhat like Gimli, but able to cast magic, Eaoden, a rider of rohan with energy powers, Elegost, a Dunedain ranger with bowcraft, and Morwen, a mistress who once served Denethor. As you progress through the game, each character has a story to reveal, and you gain new powers and weapons to use. This RPG follows the same combat style as Final Fantasy, a turn-based one. It may be slow at times, but you get used to it after a while. The gameplay is definitely a 10 rating, there are many missions to complete in each realm, and you can go back in evil mode to gain new weapons by killing your people with the evil guys, like the Balrog. There is a co-op mode to the game also that has its benefits when playing with friends, and over 100 scenes from the movie, each telling a story, which is extremely awesome, and hopefully there may be some scenes from the extended RotK, but i have yet to get there. Once you get through at least fifty percent of the game, the true story unfolds, Berethor’s past is revealed, and Idrial’s job to save him is beginning. It all forms a deep, true, one-of-a-kind RPG with extrememly detailed graphics of the worlds, deep gameplay, and overall few, if any, problems. This is definitely ONE RPG TO RULE THEM ALL.

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Michael Scasserra, Web and Publications Editor for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center writes: We have some exciting LORD OF THE RINGS news to share with you and your readers. On Dec. 3 and 4, the NY-Metropolitan area premiere of Howard Shore’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS SYMPHONY (a symphonic adaptation of his score for all three RINGS films) is taking place at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. This spectacular event will be performed by over 200 performers, including full symphony orchestra and chorus (which will sing in “Elvish”), and will also include projections of storyboard art from the films and illustrations from recent editions of Tolkien’s books. Oscar-winning composer Howard Shore will be in attendance at the Dec. 3 performance, in part for a Q and A with the audience prior to the performance. Questions for the evening will be selected from suggestions submitted via email to ringquestions@njpac.org. We’re hoping you will be able to post this information on your site for LORD OF THE RINGS fans.

Here’s a link to our home page, which includes information on this event.

Here’s a link directly to the LORD OF THE RINGS SYMPHONY page on our site, with all the details on the performances.

Here’s a link to our exclusive interview with Mr. Shore, in which he discusses his work on the trilogy and his adaptation of the score to symphonic format.

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SGD writes: Starz is premiering ROTK Thanksgiving weekend on the 27th. They will be showing back to back viewings of TTT and ROTK non-extended edition. [More]

In other news Electronic Arts has posted inside the battle volume 8 for LOTR: Battle for Middle-earth video game. [More]

IGN has also posted another update highlighting the Mordor aspect of the game over at their website. [More]

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Wing-ap-o writes: I write on behalf of a group of fans of Lord of the Rings from Spain which met at first through the internet in a movie forum called Cinelandia. We’re known as the ringers there (‘anilleros’ in Spanish) and our nicks are Miss Blanchett, Rondador, BudWhite, Dandreemex, SombraGris and J.R.R.T.

As you surely know, last weekend the city of Seville (Spain) had the honor to be part of the Lord of the Rings Symphony tour. The Maestranza Theater brought together people from all the country for two consecutive nights, and joined them in a tremendously emotional experience. Howard Shore conducted the Seville Royal Symphony Orchestra accompanied by the Cajasur Opera Choir, the ‘El Mesias’ voice Choir and the Choirboys of ‘Los Palacios’. Sissel also attended the concert and amazed the audience with her beautiful voice and performance.

It was a very special night for us. We were lucky enough to attend the show on saturday after plenty of trouble getting tickets (they literally ran out in a snap). It was a wonderful surprise to find how humble and kind Mr. Shore is. He signed and had a few words with hundreds of fans after the concert for more than one and a half hour. And after that he had a photograph taken with those who were waiting outside the theater.

I’m sending you some photos from that evening, in case you want to include them in your “scrapbook” section.

Thank you very much and keep up the good work! Greetings from Spain.

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