Altariel got invited to the LOTR cast and crew ball that took place on Saturday August 5th. No press were invited, so we’re lucky to have got this glimpse into the party.
Wellington, New Zealand , 9.30 pm on a Saturday night and I was late for a ball I’d tried desperately to get invited to and only just managed to aattend. As i stood outside the ballroom dressed in my flash frock with my little seguined mask in hand I was suddenly not so sure I wanted to go inside.
Having been given only three days notice of this momentuous event I’d had to rush around town organising gown,shoes and hair and hadn’t given any thought to the fact that I would be spending up to seven hours talking and dancing with what I had previously considered to be the enemy i.e all the production people who had turned me down for the many jobs I had applied for.
Yes, and as usually happens this all occured to me about 20 metres from the ddoor, but after a few seconds of panic I reasoned that if it didn’t work out iit didn’t matter because at $130 a ticket the hors d’oeuvres at least would be worth the experience. So I donned my mask and entered into the wierd and wonderful world of the rich and famous.
There were two darkened rooms filled with around 200 production crew and two bands, I quickly exited the room with the jazz band and convinced my escort that leaning against the wall, in a corner was the best place to be . As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I could see girls dressed in fabulous period costumes and jewllery (costume department personell)and most of the others adorned in an astortment of black tie, evening wear and fancy dress. Then a hush fell over the crowd(well it should have) and in came the stars who dived straight into it all with an unrestrained amount of glee.
There was Orlando Bloom decked out in a white suit, dark eye makeup and his now trademark mohawk, getting down with his bad self alongside an incongrouosly short Darth Vader and a dancing ape enjoying his champagne through a straw. Presently there came sailing through the crowd of the now much amused production crew the green sequined head of a large bug-eyed creature which later revealed itself to be attached to Dominic Monaghan who could easily have gone home with the best mask award if only there had been one.
But as most of you will know the person everyone wanted to meet was Elijah Wood, and it was easy to pick where in the crowd he was as crowds of young women formed and reformed wherever he went. And it was not hard to see why as he introduced himself to a young lady across the room by bowing and kissing her hand, needless to say she was suitably impressed by his gentlemanly manner.
As the night wore on the rather unhelpfull waiters continued to refill my glass with wine whenever it even looked like getting close to half empty and somehow I ended up dancing the night away with the likes of Alan Lee and Viggo Mortenson dressed as Zorro (I believe I can die happy now).
By about 4 O’clock everyone had danced with everyone else and most of the helium balloons had been sucked empty. Almost everyone in the room had been up since 5.30 the previous morning and the fact that they were (mostly) still standing was testament to the long hours they must be used to working.
I left at about 4.30 in the morning and had danced and talked with almost everyone there. I won’t tell you too much because the people were relaxing, enjoying themselves away from the public eye, what I will do is answer the question “what is it like to party with the stars?”
Fantastic-they know how to have a great time,how to be real gentlemen and had no problems talking and dancing with anyone and everyone there(well they danced with me didn’t they?) And we mustn’t forget that all this jollity was due mainly to the extrodinary efforts of Jan……..(Not sure of name,) Peter Jackson’s Personal Assistant who along with a few other people (whose names were unfortunatly lost in the cheers for Jan) orchestrated what turned out to be an excellent party.
Well thats all I have for now!
Bye,Altariel
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Lots going on at the Wingate set, and the Hutt Hobbit dropped by to have a look:
Hi Tehanu, do I have a report today!
This morning I went down to the Wingate set to do a bit of spying, and struck gold again. Amongst the debris and props at the set were several horses, with some famous characters sitting on them. At the front was Ian McKellen dressed as Gandalf. He had long white robes, beard and hair. In his hand he held a long white staff, that had intricate designs at its end. His horse Shadowfax was standing calmly, even as the bright lights were switched on and bathed them in light. Gandalf was looking up and speaking at a camera set up on scaffolding about 20 feet above him. Possibly calling on Saruman at the tower?) Behind Gandalf were several brown horses. On one horse sat Legolas and Gimli. Legolas had long blond hair, a quiver full of arrows and his bow, while Gimli had a very large axe that looked very useful for chopping Orcs. Gimli had a full beard and a helmet, just like we see him in the internet preview. Beside Legolas’ horse there was another, but I could not recognize the rider. However the passenger was a hobbit. I could not quite see his face, but I am sure that it was Merry. A few more horses were about, being ridden by actors in armour. This set is a hive of activity, and there is plenty happening to keep a hobbit happy 🙂
A quick glance at my hobbit watch and I realised I was late for work. Jumping into my hobbitmobile, I sped off, vowing to return. Fortunately for me, my boss reads LOTR once a year, so he was not too upset at my tardiness.
Cheers
The Hutt Hobbit
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Greetings fellow fans. I have returned with more news regarding a certain movie project we all know and love. Just 2 kilometers from my hobbit hole there is a set that has been idle for some time, but now has jumped into life. The other morning on my way to work (Yes, even a hobbit like me needs a day job. Spying does not pay well :() I saw the familiar sight of large lights on cranes over at the Wingate set. I quickly spun my hobbitmobile around and broke several traffic laws in my haste to investigate this sight.
And I have struck gold here folks. This is most likely Isengard. There was a large wooden wheel-like prop lying at about 20 degrees that looked similar to a cable drum on the leftmost side of the set. To the far right was half of another wheel that had large spokes and some very nasty looking spikes about a meter long sticking out at regular intervals around it. You may have seen the photo at therealmofthering.com. The set was flooded about 2 feet deep, so it would appear that these objects were partially submerged. Between these two props there was a wooden frame that was lashed together with rope. At the top of this frame was a pulley with a rope through it. One end of the rope dangled in the water, while the other end was tangled around one of many dead trees that were scattered at random about the set. On closer inspection I also saw a couple of barrels floating near the frame. Broken lengths of timber were also scattered about. ‘Flotsam and Jetsam’ I thought to myself. I sped off in a cloud of smoke, determined to return.
Later that day I returned to carry on my observations. There were several trucks parked in front of the set to obscure it, but not enough to prevent me from seeing an actor in a green-ish outfit walking about. I saw an inflatable dinghy with an aluminium frame sitting by the set. Obviously they will be doing some shots on the water.But the best thing i saw there was an actor in white robes, with long white hair and beard. Saruman or Gandalf? I could not be sure. This set has my curiosity aroused. What is that large spiked wheel? Is it part of some type of seige equipment like a catapult? Or does it serve some other purpose? The frame with the pulley. Is it a crane or seige equipment? Regardless of the answers, this is a VERY IMPRESSIVE SET and we are going to see some magnificent scenes in the finished film. I will endeavour to keep you folks informed of any activity at Wingate, and keep you informed on the changes that are happening at the Helm’s Deep set.
Until the next report
The Hutt Hobbit
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From: Gorondir
Click on the above image to enlarge
I just read the latest issue of Empire and found FotR still on place on of the list of the most anticipated future films….
The article also gave some new information:
“Even better news is that Fellowship now has a UK release date – it’s all set to make its bow here on December 14, 2001, which apparently means that in an unusual coup, British cinema audiences get to see it a full five days before American moviegoers!”
“More teaser trailers are set to make their mark online [at www.lordoftherings.net] between now and Christmas”
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From: Rene
Mark Ferguson was on the Good Morning show last week talking about the scale of the filming. Mark said he’s playing Gil Galad, he also said his scenes were filmed on the Ruapehu location.
Mark has acted in such shows as ‘Xena’ ‘Hercules’ and ‘Shortland Street’ like most NZ actors (that show must employ more people than MacDonalds). More info on our cast page as soon as we update.
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From: The Jazza
Peter Jackson and Co. are having to truck in strips of tussock grass as the river beds around the set don’t have enough grass cover for shooting. The tussock is coming from the A&P showgrounds in Christchurch where it is being dug up and cut by hand. It is being sold to movie producers at a 1300% markup!!!!!!
Also, there aren’t many free holiday house left empty at Lake Clearwater. The movie producers are paying up to $40 per person per room per night to rent them out. One happy home-owner has rented his humble abode out for $27000 (NZ) for six months!!!
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