Thorongil writes: About 400-500 fans packed the Book Revue on Long Island last night to meet Sean Astin and get a signed copy of his new book “There and Back Again”. What the people received was more then they could of hoped for. After some of the crowd had been for waiting hours, Sean showed up fresh from a taping of the Bill O’Reilly show. The crowd of people cheered and went wild as Sean made his way through the crowd and he met up with one of his former professors who obviously had a positive influence on Sean as they embraced like old friends. Even though tired from an exhausting day of TV appearances that started early in the morning, Sean showed no signs of fatigue as he warmly greeted each person in line. He flashed his great smile and gave a hearty handshake to each and every person even giving out a few hugs to the overly excited young girls. I had met Sean before on three other occasions and was just thoroughly impressed by his friendly actions this evening. He would attentively listen to what the people would have to say and would spend however long it took to respond to their questions. He posed for pictures and even talked on a few of the fan’s cell phones to eagerly awaiting people who couldn’t be there. But what impressed me the most was the way he interacted with all the small children who came up to the table. His face just lit up when they said hello to him and he would ask them if they had seen the movies or read the books and remarked to them countless times, “oh, you must read The Hobbit”. As people walked away and passed me, I can not tell you how many nice things people had to say about Sean. The highlight of the evening was when he asked one little girl her name and as she answered Sean became animated as he told her that was his daughters name too and then he proceeded to tell her what the Maori word for their name was, although don’t ask me to spell it as I don’t have a clue but it was cute sounding. The girl and her family walked by and the little girl squealed with delight and her brother remarked, “that was cool”.
After about 2 hours the line was finally done and I got to talk to Sean for a few minutes after he did a brief interview with his former professor for Five Towns College and before he raced back to New York City. I asked Sean to tell us about his book and in relation to Andy Serkis’ “Gollum” book, was it just about his role as Samwise Gamgee or did it expand upon that and involve more of his personal life. This is what he had to say, ” Well, I read Andy’s book too and thought it was wonderful, it was lovely and honest and heartfelt and I wanted to read more. I would love to say on TheOneRing.net, from my perspective my book isn’t authoritative, it isn’t definitive or comprehensive, it’s just my opportunity to express a lot of the things that might have been inappropriate to go into greater detail about sooner and taken in the context of the whole panoply of interviews and all the millions of things said by me and others. It is just a chance by me to share a particular sort of strand of my thinking and my feelings. Some of the more painful kind of introspective stuff that Elijah (Wood) or my wife would be aware of, who knew that I was given to torture myself throughout the process in my own head. I would say simply that the book is kind of a helicopter ride through the ten years of my professional life leading up to Lord of the Rings and relating to how I experienced the Lord of the Rings. Basically what I try to do with the book is place myself in Hollywood history and whether I deserve to do that or not is for others to decide. It is a presumptuous thing to do, but I had applied to the Graduate School of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA, I was rejected and I was sort of smarting from that when I was hired to play Sam. I took with me to New Zealand about 35-40 books about the history of Hollywood, History, Methodology, Criticism, Director’s Biographies, those kind of things, so that was the frame of mind I was in when I was having the experiences of The Lord of the Rings. So, the book is to satisfy that audience, actors and people or kids if they are interested in getting into the acting profession.
I read on TheOneRing.net or one of the other sites, why I didn’t write more about Sean Bean. I have nothing but love and affection for all the actors and all the cast and crew from the movie. The book, because it is in ink, it might seem to be authoritative or definitive about my feelings of some people, it is not. It is just some thoughts that occurred to me while I was writing them down, I hold them in the highest esteem and have great affection, particularly Ian McKellen and Peter Jackson. I hope people are not put off by the fact that I took the bold gesture of putting this out there. I am proud of it, it is honest, but it also is a little more abrasive then I probably would of liked it for it to be, so I want to apologize to the fans for this.
Oct 15 (Los Angeles)——- 8X Entertainment, the Hollywood-based production company which produced the 1999 hit film, “The Omega Code,” has begun a three week film shoot in northwestern India. The historical epic, “One Night With the King,” is based on the best selling novel, “Hadassah: One Night With The King” by author Tommy Tenney.
“One Night With The King” chronicles the life of the young Jewish girl, Hadassah, played by Hollywood newcomer, Tiffany Dupont. Dupont portrays the rags-to-riches heroine who goes on to become the Biblical Esther, the Queen of Persia (400–322 B.C.), who saves the Jewish nation from annihilation at the hands of its arch enemy Haman (played by James Callis; “Helen of Troy,” 2003) while winning the heart of the fiercely handsome King Xerxes, played by Luke Goss, 36 (“Blade II,” 2002; “ZigZag,” 1999).
“‘One Night With The King’ is a multi-million dollar epic teeming with romance and imagery and complete with suspense, political war conspiracies, and religious intrigue,” says the films publicist, Susan Zahn of WDC Media.
“Having motion picture legends Peter O’Toole (the Prophet Samuel) and Omar Sharif (Prince Memucan) starring on the same bill only adds to the film’s overall mystique,” says Zahn. “Who could forget the stunning epic, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1962) and its incredible visuals!” exclaims Zahn. “Or the mirage scene in which Omar Sharif appears from the desert mist or the scene where Peter O’Toole returns in Arab garb to be cheered as a hero by his army colleagues?”
The “One Night With The King” cast includes such notable talent as John Rhys-Davies as Mordecai and John Noble as Prince Admantha. Both actors starred in the blockbuster trilogy “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Two Towers,” and “Return of the King.” The film also features veteran actor Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister Jr. in the lead role of Hegai. Lister has appeared in over 80 films.
“The account of Esther is a passionate story,” relates Tommy Tenney. “It’s full of reversals of fortune as the tension of the story builds. It’s rooted deeply in two basic human emotions—love and hate,” says the best-selling author.
With the film’s historical background and its majestic sets, the actors cast in “One Night With The King” provide the movie with a rich landscape of ethnic diversity. “This project naturally lends itself to being multicultural,” states Tenney. “It stretches across huge cultural divides from religion to ethnicity. Esther, as an historical figure, appeals to both the Christian and Jewish communities worldwide. The fact that the storyline unfolds in ancient Iraq and Iran is of interest to Muslims as well,” explains Tenney.
Adapted for film by screenwriter Stephan Blinn, directed by Michael Sajbel and Produced by TBN Films, 8X Entertainment and Tommy Tenney. “One Night With The King” is scheduled for theatrical release on March 25, a date that coincides with the Christian Good Friday and Esther’s Jewish Feast of Purim.
Asphodel the PR Hobbit writes: A small farm southeast of Columbus Ohio was recently transformed into the Party Field to celebrate Bilbo Baggins’ birthday. The Ohio Ring Council fan club’s version of the Long Expected Party, held Sept. 18th, drew over 75 revelers from throughout the Shire and as far away as Ontario, and West Virginia. Hobbits, Elves, Men, Wizards, and even an Orc spent the day eating, dancing to live Celtic music by FinTan, eating, re-enacting scenes from the Lord of the Rings books, eating, flying kites, eating, taking pictures, getting rides on “Bill” the pony, eating, giving dramatic readings, eating, and watching fireworks.
Planning began in April, and all told, over 30 volunteers participated in one way or another—making decorations at a “BannerMoot,” “PennantMoot” and “LanternMoot,” and building a stage for the band. Gandalf’s cart—full of prop fireworks—was parked in the center of the field. Members brought Hobbit-inspired food to share, and, true to form, most Hobbits never stopped eating.
“Lass,” a young Hobbit who built the Bilbo costume worn by her father, said “It’s funny, because ORC is intended as a ‘local’ fanclub…yet a good many of our members travel great distances to participate. A fantastic fellowship? I’d say so.”
“Lady Of Lorien” agreed. “I feel like the ORCs are part of my family. So many really kind, down to earth people in one club. It’s just beautiful that this group exists where all different kinds of people can share their love of LOTR…I’m proud to be a part of it.”
A highlight of the event turned out to be dramatic readings from Tolkien’s works, including Sam’s thoughts about Frodo from LOTR, “The Lay of Luthien” from The Silmarillion, and Èowyn and Faramir’s scene atop the walls of Minas Tirith.
Most attendees arrived in Hobbit costume. Notable celebrity appearances included Bilbo, Gandalf the Gray, Eowyn, and Faramir. The party was later crashed by Sauruman, Grima Wormtongue and an Orc.
The Long Expected Party was ORC’s largest and most ambitious event to date, and the party’s success has already inspired members to start planning for LEP 2005, which will be open to the public.
As “Arwen’s Hubby” said, “I have become so much more of an enthusiast of Tolkien’s rich tapestries, in no small part due to the joyful madness you can find at any ORC event. My Lords and Ladies…I raise my mug of ale to ye!!!”
Ashby writes: Here’s a little tidbit from Sean’s book signing that took place tonight in Huntington, NY. It wasn’t quite the affair of the Barnes and Noble signing yesterday, but he did enter the book store to great fanfare. He jumped up onto the stage where he would be signing and then shouted: “So THIS is LONG ISLAND!”
When I finally reached the table where Sean was tirelessly signing, I shared a quick hello, adding how much we as fans at TORn appreciate his efforts, artistry and good natured personality. He looked up, with a bit of surprised recognition at first, upon hearing the TORn name. He then smiled broadly and said “I can’t thank you guys enough for all you’ve done at The One Ring. It’s so very much appreciated.” So I thought I would send Sean’s little ‘shout out’ to you.
Additionally, I got the impression that Sean may indeed be interviewing for the Ringers feature. He said he was supposed to meet some of the Ringers crew tomorrow for an interview of sorts. Perhaps we will soon see his name on the web page over at lordofthefans.net!
———-
PippinSkywalker writes: I know I have not told you all a good tale in a long time. I can only tell you Bag End and all the Shire has been very busy lately. But I am happy once again ad your Jedi Hobbit reporter to tell you another happy fireside story as in the old days.
Yesterday, October 14, I had immeasurable joy of attending the Sean Astin booksigning in Huntington with my whole family. Those who have read my previous storybook entries know that we have a long history of having gotten to know various cast members. Now a year after all the films have passed out of theaters the magic is still alive.
Yours truly got to the Book Revue in Huntington with the hobbit crew at about 8:30 pm. We stepped inside the very nice family owned bookstore which was just brimming over with excitement. I could feel myself beginning to float inside already and we hadn’t even gotten in line to see the kindly Samwise!
We immediately picked up Sean Astin’s book and meandered off to find a way up stairs. This was a bit of a concern for a bit since my mom is in a wheelchair and we weren’t sure if they had an elevator. As it turns out there was a very kind employee named Daniel behind the register who was kind enough not only to lead us to an elevator but usher right to the front of the line to see our dear hobbit friend! This was such a blessing since we otherwise would have waited for at least an hour to see Sean and that would have been hard on my mom.
We got up there got the booked signed and that was only the beginning! We had all had a nice, fairly long chat with Sean (thanks to the kindness of his assistant). My mom, beaming as she does so well, got to shakes Sean’s hand and tell him the story of how we had all met him at the London Premiere of Fellowship of the Ring. Sean was very sweet to my mom and actually thought she was my sister! When I gently corrected him saying she was my mom, Sean merrily replied “Well, I still like to think of her as your sister thats nicer.” My mom also went on to share that she and Sean actually shared a birthday (both born on February 25). Next this hobbit got to shake his hand and talk to him a bit. I said how we had met in New Zealand at the Premiere of Return of the King. He said “Oh you were there?!” and after I replied in the affirmative he said “Did I see you there?” This hobbit once again replied in the affirmative. Sean then said “Did you see my daughter there? Wasn’t she beautiful?” Yes his daughter was very lovely that day in NZ, with a lovely, happy little face always side by side her hobbit father. It had been a wonderful sight to see. 🙂 Sean told us of how he had explained to his daughter something to the effect that this was all not real (in NZ, describing the movie)and that it was all going to go away/end soon. Alexandra (his daughter) then replied “I know daddy, I want to enjoy it while it lasts” or something to that effect. 🙂
After talking about his daughter for a bit, I went on to say to Sean that his work in the films meant so much to so many people. I told him that I understood how many hardships he had gone through on set, and that he may have had hard times but that he meant so much to so many. I really meant what I said. Back in 2001 my family and I were going through hardships and trials. We were in England getting treatments for my mother who has had MS. It was the best of times and the worst of times. Then late in the year of 2001 my dad won tickets to the World Premiere of the Fellowship of the Ring. In such a time of sorrow and trials it meant so much not just to me but to all of as a family. When we won those tickets the only way I can describe the joy is this–I felt like my world was ending and beginning at the same time. I felt so alive with bliss and yet was almost passing out from the extreme joy and unspeakable elation I felt. It was like seeing a bright star in the middle of a dark winter.
All this I summed up in just those few words to Sean. He, and the rest of the LOTR cast and crew have meant so much to me and my family. They were so kind to us in those tough times and we will never forget them.
After telling him this, Sean said that what he had written in the book of his hard times on set was like an old snake skin–a thing of the past that he had gotten over by the time he began writing the book. But I also saw in his eyes that he was genuinely moved by what I said, because there was a quiet, thoughtful gratitude in his hobbit face. At last it came time for all us hobbits to part ways. Sean met my whole family and had nice things to say to everyone. He was very kind to my little sister. As we were leaving I had been shaking his hand and he held it firmly and in a kindly and very thoughtful manner said to me “You takecare of yourself”.
It was a truly magical evening which I will always remember. Not only did we get the kindly Samwise, but we also ran into Thorongil (who I’m sure is preparing a marvelous report of his own). We had a nice little chat and the all us hobbits headed for the door. For the rest of the world it was dark, mild, October evening. For me the stars were bright, the world alight with the joy of glad things. I had just had a wonderful evening with my family and I got to see two good friends again. I floated home on a cloud.
And that is all for this fireside story children. I’m sure there will be more to tell in the days and years to come, but for now I remain, and ever will be your faithful Jedi Hobbit Reporter.
“The treasure is likely to be your death, though the dragon is no more!” With these words Roäc, the old raven, predicts grim times for Thorin and Company. Although Dain and the dwarves of the Iron Hills will soon arrive to aid their kin, they can hardly outnumber the host of men and elves now besieging the Lonely Mountain. With winter is coming on all begins to seem hopeless.
Bilbo Baggins decides to take matters into his own hands. What he does may be considered ingenious or just plain sneaky, but there is no longer any doubt this descendant of Bullroarer Took is a real, true burglar. Was Bilbo justified in what he did? What is the power that the Arkenstone seems to have over all who see it? What is the background of Dain and his folk? What might have occurred had Bilbo not acted and where did Gandalf suddenly appear from?
Information, insight and speculation galore await you if you join us this week in #thehalloffire as we look at “The Hobbit: Chapter 16: A Thief in the Night”
=== Upcoming topics:
10/23/04, 10/24/04: “Political Systems in Middle Earth” 10/30/04, 10/31/04: “The Nazgul/Ringwraiths”
=== Place:
#thehalloffire on theonering.net IRC server. Need instructions? Go here: http://www.theonering.net/barlimans/instructions.html
=== Chat Times:
Saturday Chat: 5:30pm EST (17:30) [also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday morning AEST]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) CET [also 2:00pm (14:00) EST and 4:00am Monday morning AEST]
EST = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast CET = Central European Time, Central Europe AEST = Australian East Coast
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Smeagirl/Girllum writes: Hi, just got home from the Sean Astin signing at the Union Square Barnes & Noble in Manhattan. Wow, it was really amazing! He gave a fairly long speech before the signing, and I wasn’t recording or taking notes or anything so what I write here is only a tiny paraphrased percentage of what he said. But I was reading the book on the way home and luckily it looks like most of what he said regarding his philosophies on life and acting and book writing and so forth, are in the book anyway, so you’ll still get that info. if you read the book but missed the speech.
I guess I should start with when I got to the store (if you want to skip straight to Sean, scroll down to the “***********” I put below for your convenience). When I walked in there was a woman with a British accent asking if anyone was there for the Sean Astin signing, and handing out a flyer if you said you were. Here’s the flyer, with my own comments in brackets:
———————-
Event Guidelines for Wednesday, October 13th at 7:00 pm Barnes & Noble Union Square Welcomes Sean Astin – There and Back Again
Due to the anticipated large attendance at this event, we ask that you be aware of the following guidelines:
*Books for this event will be available at the first floor cash desk. [But they let me pay by credit card.] Please purchase books before going up to the fourth floor for the event. [Weird — I’ve been in this store dozens of times, and somehow I never knew they had a fourth floor!] Mr. Astin will only sign copies of There and Back Again. No other items or memorabilia of any kind will be signed.
*The seating area will be cleared at 5:00pm, and customers will then be able to fill the seats on a first-come, first-served basis. [The seating area was very large, maybe 300 seats? Sorry, I didn’t think to make a note of it. I got there a few minutes after 6:00 and at first it looked like there were no seats left, but I walked around the room and finally found a single seat available in the fourth row! It looked like everyone else had come in couples or groups, so a few single seats were left here and there. Luckily Smeagirl has no friends.] Seats cannot be saved for people not present. [People were saving seats anyway, but the staff started cracking down on this around 6:30.] Once the seating area is full, customers will be directed to a roped-off standing area. [This eventually filled up too, but I couldn’t see how far back it went from where I was.]
*Sean Astin will talk about his book and take a few questions from the audience if time permits before signing books.
*Due to the large number of people at this event, no cameras or cellphones will be permitted on the stage. Photographs may be taken from the floor during the booksigning. The author will be unable to pose for photographs.
*Members of the press/TV camera crews are requested to notify the names and accreditations of journalists and photographers who intend to be present at this event before 10:00 a.m. on Weds., October 13th. Please call 212-253-0819, or email crm2675@bn.com [This is a Barnes & Noble e-mail address.]
These guidelines are subject to change. Thank you for your cooperation.
——————————————
*********** So, everyone was sitting around between 6:00 and 7:00 waiting for him to come out. People were chatting and I got a couple comments on my TORn shirt (a red “lousy” shirt I just got in the mail a couple days ago — thanks to whoever sends these out for being so quick!), but it was hardly all LOTR fans by any means. Actually most people seemed to be bigger fans of his other movies, which I’ve never seen (I will, I promise!). People were shouting “Goonies!” and “Rudy!”
When Sean came out, the audience was cheering and hollering with unbelievable enthusiasm. These were definitely big fans! As he walked past the rows of people he shook hands with those people who were within reach. At first he sat down at a table and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to see him because there were about a half-dozen photographers standing between us, but after they took lots of photos of him holding the book, he got up and stood at a podium so everyone had a nice clear view of him.
Now I have to pause here to say that from a purely shallow fangirlish perspective, as far as looks go, Sean was about one of my least favorite LOTR actors (being more partial to Viggo and Elijah, personally). And I figured I’d find him even less attractive without his Hobbit wig and costume. But WOW — I’ve done a total turnaround on this. He looked so handsome, I was flabbergasted. Of course he looked a little older than in LOTR, but this hasn’t diminished his attractiveness in the least, in fact I’d say quite the opposite. Words like “dashing” and “sophisticated” were coming to mind, but mostly “handsome.” REALLY handsome, and this is coming from someone who was *not* a big Sean fan in any way, shape or form. Shouldn’t he be getting some serious leading man roles? (Maybe he is, I haven’t been following — if he isn’t he certainly should be.) He was also wonderfully well-spoken, very polished overall. For some reason I’m drawing a complete blank on what he was wearing, I guess I was just mesmerized by his face.
He started by saying that this is his very first book signing (which brought a huge cheer). Then he thanked Barnes & Noble, and he said that when he first got a call about the LOTR movies he went and bought his copy of the trilogy at a Barnes & Noble in CA. He also thanked St. Martin’s Press and his co-writer Joe Layden. He also read aloud his dedication in the book, thanking PJ, Fran Walsh, the entire cast & crew of LOTR, his wife and daughters, and this reading from the book brought another big cheer.
He also said that he wanted to clear up a couple of things that had been floating around the internet. He said some writers had referred to passages in the book describing “fights” with other people, and he said the book doesn’t describe “fights.” He said he describes some conflicts with other people, but taken in the context of the whole situation he describes, they shouldn’t be called fights. He also said he’s read some negative reviews of the book, but he learns more about himself from them and that’s a good thing. And he supports the right of anyone to have their own opinion about the book and buy it or not buy it as they wish. He said he had the idea for writing the book after seeing people pay $20, $30 or more just for an autograph or a meeting (it wasn’t really clear here if he was talking about himself or other actors) and he thought people should get more than that for their money, but he doesn’t have time to answer everyone’s questions individually so it makes sense to put it in a book. He said this shouldn’t be considered the “definitive” or “final” version of anything he relates, just a supplement to other information from other people.
At one point he gave a very heartfelt and moving request for people to vote (very sorry I can’t remember his exact words, it was really stirring though). He said he was hoping the event wouldn’t go too long as he wanted to watch the debate, and he said the issues being discussed in the debate are vital to the fate of the entire world. He didn’t endorse a particular candidate though.
As I said, I think most of what he discussed is in the book, but if I remember more specifics I’ll post it. (Sorry, getting late, mind getting foggy.) At one point he was describing something about the script, and he said (with his Sam accent sort of half on) “Don’t go where I can’t follow” and just about the whole audience collectively sighed and swooned, which was a really neat sound I don’t remember ever hearing before.
Then they went to questions but only had time for three or four. One person’s question wasn’t even a question, he just said “Can you do the speech from the locker room in Rudy?” And Sean jumped up on a chair and shouted something incoherent for a while. (Sorry, I haven’t seen the movie.) Of course this brought another big cheer. Another question was (paraphrased) “When you first read the LOTR books, did you most identify with Sam?” And he said that he had already been told the part he was trying out for was Sam, so he was reading the books with that in mind and focusing on Sam because of that, but that he did identify with Sam in terms of the love of nature. And I couldn’t hear the final question but it was apparently something along the lines of “What advise would you give an aspiring actor?” And he spoke for quite a while but most of it was things that would sound trite and stupid if I wrote them down, like “Believe in yourself” and “Be patient,” but they were obviously heartfelt and sounded quite moving when he said them. He also said that it’s a difficult field, because even though he’s from an acting family he still had difficulty for many years.
I’m leaving out lots of whooping, cheering and clapping from the audience. People were *really* enthusiastic.
After his speech he went and sat at the table again and the B&N staff was very organized in getting people lined up to get their books signed. They went row by row (which was nice, as I was in the fourth row) but it was still quite a long wait on line. Even though Sean wasn’t personalizing the books, he wasn’t rushing people either, but speaking a sentence or two with each person. Some people gave him letters and things which he was putting into a stack next to him. I got to speak to him longer than I expected and he was very gracious. Not friendly in a bubbly sort of way — it was kind of hard to read his mood — but certainly very nice. He signature includes a little smiley face.
