Our Super Ring Spy Galadriel has chimed in once again with some news on the LOTR Production, let’s see who’s fate was sealed this time.
Oh, Canadian one,
It is I, Galadriel, I’ve yet again come across something that may be of interest to you. While completing an assignment where I had to off a target and make it look like a heart attack, I had an encounter with a strange man who knew I was in contact with you and your Lord Of The Rings Fanatics, so he gave me these fascinating bits of information.
The Helms Deep set at the Haywards Hill quarry has stopped production for a three week holiday. Upon completion of the final take, Peter Jackson announced free beer and champagne for the entire cast and crew, which included 200 Rohan warriors.
The quarry set pieces will be torn down and sections will be rebuilt, they are making another area of Helms Deep, the areas to be torn down are the brieched wall and the causeway.
The Stone Street Studios Helms Deep set is also almost complete, that studio is almost empty. there are plans to do much more Blue Screen work there, in the future.
The scenes in which we see the Uruk-Hai being created are complete.
The production will now move to Tongariro National Park for 3 weeks. What they are filming there may be of interest to you.
It’s the last alliance between Elves and Men
They are shooting the prologue to this entire Trilogy, the fight between Elves and Men against the Enemy, the park is going to be used only for the large scale battle scenes, and not for any close up ‘acting’ scenes.
That is all.
and for my heart attack victim? Let’s just say he won’t be getting on anyone nerves anymore….
but that is between me and my God’s, until next time
Please find inserted below and attached as a Word doc file, a media release from my client Future Reality regarding the installation of a Discreet inferno system to handle post-production duties on the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
Sorry – no pics are available.
Regards,
P
++++++++++++
NEWSRELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE USE
Weta Chooses Full Featured Discreet inferno* for Lord of the Rings
(April 2000) – Weta Digital, the renowned effects company based in Wellington, New Zealand, has installed the most powerful Discreet inferno* system in the Southern Hemisphere for use on the production The Lord of the Rings.
Unprecedented in scope, this film by director Peter Jackson breaks new ground in movie-making by filming the three titles in this saga – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King – not consecutively but concurrently, as though they were all one giant motion picture production. The trilogy is being produced for New Line Cinema.
Weta Digital is the effects company behind the Jackson directed features The Frighteners and Heavenly Creatures, and the television series Xena – Warrior Princess and Hercules.
“inferno* will be the hero compositing seat in our visual effects facility,” said Jon Labrie, Weta‘s Chief Technical Officer. “By working with Future Reality and SGI we were able to upgrade our in-house equipment. For our purposes there is nothing else out there that matches inferno*”
inferno* is running on an eight CPU SGI Onyx 2 rack system configured with 2 GB RAM. The installation includes half a terabyte of Discreet Stone R18 fibre channel disk arrays.
Weta Workshop is executing armour, miniatures, creatures and special effects make-up under the direction of supervisor Richard Taylor.
Weta Digital is executing the special visual effects under the direction of visual effects supervisor Mark Stetson. Visual effects producer for Weta is Charlie McClellan.
The Lord of the Rings began shooting throughout New Zealand on October 11, 1999 and will continue principle photography through to December 2000. Weta Digital will be producing visual effects shots through release of all three films.
“After years of preparation for this tremendous undertaking, inferno* is a key part of our post-production strategy,” said Labrie. “The inferno* configuration as powerful as anything I’ve seen in the world – it’s as good as it gets.”
Lord of the Rings Credits:
The Lord of the Rings is written by Jackson, his longtime production partner Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Stephen Sinclair. The producers are Barrie M. Osborne, Tim Sanders and Jackson. The executive producers are Saul Zaentz, Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein. Walsh and Rick Porras are associate producing under Jackson’s WingNut Films Banner.
About Future Reality:
Future Reality is a supplier of creative technology – systems, software and services for the Australian and New Zealand film, broadcast television, post-production and multimedia industries.
Future Reality provides real-time integrated turn-key systems for digital image creation, visual effects, image manipulation, production and creative editing.
For more information please contact Future Reality in Sydney Tel: +(61 2) 9906 5455, Melbourne Tel: +(61 3) 9876 8355, Auckland New Zealand Tel: (+(64 9) 360 3210, Email: info@future.com.au or visit the Web site at http://www.future.com.au.
ENDS
*From Discreet
Discreet’s inferno* and flame* visual effects tools were recently awarded a Scientific and Engineering Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in recognition of their definite influence upon the advancement of the motion picture industry.
Our Koga Ninja Spy Assassin (put that on a business card) Galadriel is back with news on costumes for Elves, filming at Helms Deep and some blue screen SFX shooting!
Oh Arguable one,
It is I Galadriel, having just returned from the 51st annual Assassin’s convention in downtown Wellington. 2000 trained killers in one room, and no coffee, very tense.
I received a phone call last night and made my way to a small Japanese Sushi bar and sat down next to an aging man with a long white beard. He then told me my assignment and how I was to receive payment, so I was off.
I headed down to Miramar and made my way secretly to the Stone Street Studios, currently being used to film a movie you have an obsession with, Lord of the Rings. What I saw next may be of interest to you.
I saw Craig Parker (Haldir) in all his glory, he wore his costume and was walking around the Blue screen set.
His costume consists of brown colored clothes mostly and he wears a cloak of Lorien which is a light brown woolen garment. He has blonde hair.
Parker was filming blue screen special effects shots, with Peter Jackson standing by. He was accompanied with body doubles for Gimli, Boromir, and Legolas, as well as the Hobbits.
I then killed 2 security guards who didn’t think much for someone walking around the set with a katana. They’ll never be missed.
I managed to slip into one of the offices at Miramar and leafed through some documents for you. This is what I learned:
Christopher Lee (Saruman) has finished his scenes and has left New Zealand. There is more work for Saruman however, but these scenes will be completed by his body double.
Right now the production is working on 3 fronts, filming the blue screen shots in Miramar, which, with the addition of Haldir must be the pre-Lorien scenes (since Cate Blanchett [Galadriel] has yet to arrive).
I’ve seen the Boromir body double, Boromir will have dirty blonde dark hair.
I’ve seen Elf ears.
They are very human looking except for a small point at the top, very discreet, nothing Spock like about them at all.
They are also filming the Caves of Orthanc scenes at the moment. With Jo Pearse, 1st Unit AD at the helm. The Caves scenes are very interesting, it will consist of an Uruk Hai assembly line, with the Uruks which have been bred with Wildmen ond Orcs..Uruks are born from cocoons and are usually ordered around by Orcs. The Uruks rebel against the Orcs and kill them. This is the Uruk army that Saruman uses.
As well as the Helms Deep set, which is still going on strong. They are filming night scenes at the moment, and I assume most of the cast is there at the moment. 2nd Unit with Richard and Chris are filming Helms Deep. More Uruk talk, at Helms the Uruks are in the Keep.
I slipped out of the office without making a sound. I then proceeded to my target, a rather large man with whom I’ve never met before, but like I always say, if I’m at your door something you did must have gotten me there.
What follows must remain between me and my Gods, rest assured, I cleaned up the mess….
Company Offers The Latest In Fast, High-Quality And Affordable Professional Software To Meet The Sophisticated Compositing Needs Of The New Millennium
LOS ANGELES, CA, Mar 27, 2000 (INTERNET WIRE via COMTEX) — Nothing
Real(TM), a leading high-end compositing software provider to the digital content creation market, announced today that it is now shipping Version 2.2 of its highly acclaimed Shake(TM) product line. The release sports significant improvements and features a new timeline-based compositing workspace, multiprocessor support, and tracking/stabilizing tools for added functionality. The enhancements in Shake Version 2.2 are designed to boost productivity and extend interoperability with other products and third- party solutions to provide users with an even faster, high quality compositing software feature set. Shake 2.2 is available on the Windows NT(R) and IRIX(R) platforms.
Shake Version 2.2 Highlights Shake is a high performance compositing tool that enables digital content creatives in feature film, broadcast, HDTV, video post-production and game development to more interactively, powerfully and creatively bring sophisticated composites to completion.
Highlights of Shake Version 2.2 include: Multi-processor support Shake has always been recognized as the fastest compositing software on the market. It is now even faster. Shake is now fully multi-threaded to take advantage of both Windows NT and SGI IRIX multi-processor based systems, which have now become standard in the industry.
Tracker/stabilizer 2.2 now has a very robust tracker/stabilizer. This feature will allow the artist to do more within the same Shake environment. This new technology will allow users to track and stabilize the position, rotation and scaling of a layer as well as perform four corner pinning with superior control over individual layers. Given the open nature of the Shake work environment, tracking information can also be applied to any parameter in the composite.
Shake is currently being used by leading entertainment companies worldwide including Black Logic, Blue Sky Studios, Cinesite, Das Werk, Digital Filmworks, Double Negative, Dream Quest Images, Dream Works, Glassworks, Gray Matter, Manex, Smoke and Mirrors, WETA Digital, and many others. It has been used to meet the compositing needs in films such as “Anna and the King,” “Bicentennial Man,” “Fight Club,” “Mission to Mars,” “The Matrix,” “Pleasantville,” “Titanic,” “The Million Dollar Hotel,” “The World is Not Enough,” and many others. It is currently being used to composite the upcoming films “2001 – A Space Travesty,” “Big Mama,” “Gladiator,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Mission Impossible 2”, “Navy Diver,” “Nutty Professor 2,” “Romeo Must Die,” and others.
For more on this and other computer jiggery pokery, visit our SFX section.
Fans of Humpty Dumpty’s Ringolos cheese chips will enjoy this newly announced contest sponsored by New Line Cinema.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jon Portly New Line Cinema/NY (212) 750-4945
Sonya Chang Humpty Dumpty Inc./LA (310) 856-6654
“THE LORD OF THE RINGS” PRODUCERS AND HUMPTY DUMPTY INC ANNOUNCE “LORD OF THE RINGOLOS CONTEST”
(New York City, March 31, 2000) “Lord of the Ringolos Contest” announced today will begin next month in North America, using the Humpty Dumpty brand of chips ‘Ringolos’.
Humpty Dumpty and New Line Cinema have worked out a promotional deal to boost interest in the Trilogy of films due out Christmas 2001, 2002 and 2003. Humpty Dumpty wishes to promote it’s most popular chip, the ‘Ringolo’ to an even wider audience.
‘The Lord of the Ringolos Contest’ will begin May 1st and last until all prizes are awarded. Prizes include; A home entertainment center, a trip to Barbadoes, as well as many smaller New Line Cinema and Humpty Dumpty prize packs.
The Rules for the contest: Each bag of specialy marked ‘Lord of the Ringolos’ chips may include a special Ringolo with Elf designs. If you recieve one of these Ringolos, fill out a self addressed stamped envilope to;
‘Lord of the Ringolos Contest’ C/O Humpty Dumpty P.O. Box 45723 New York, New York 10013
Founded in 1922, the Humpty Dumpty brand of products stands for quality and excellence. Our many brands of chips include, ‘Ruffles’ ‘Doritoes’ ‘Ripples’ ‘Ringolos’ and ‘Trail Mix’.
Founded in 1967, New Line Cinema is the entertainment industry’s leading independent producer and distributor of theatrical motion pictures. New Line licenses its films to ancillary markets including cable and broadcast television as well as to international venues. The company, which is a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc., operates several divisions including in-house theatrical distribution, marketing, home video, television, acquisitions, production, licensing and merchandising units.
Happy April Fools Day 🙂 (a bit early, but who cares!)
Don’t think the entire cast (minus 2 or 3) from LOTR never worked together before? Well think again! I’ve pieced together bits of info from the far reaches of my brain and have come up with this amazing chain! Take a deep breath (and more than enough grains of salt) at start right here!
Brad Dourif was in the Aliens series as well as Ian Holm. Ian Holm was in Animal Farm along with Patrick Stewart, Stewart meanwhile is in X-Men with Ian McKellen. Ian McKellen was in Last Action Hero with Arnold Swartzawhatzit, who was also in Batman and Robin with George Clooney, who was also in The Thin Red Line with Miranda Otto. Miranda Otto was in The Thin Red Line with Viggo Mortensen, who was in turn with Nicole Kidman in Portrait of a Lady, Kidman was also in a film called Eyes Wide Shut with Lelee Soboyeski, who was in turn in Deep Impact with Elijah Wood. Elijah Wood, meanwhile was in an Oliver Twist mini series, as well as Andy Serkis, meanwhile Andy Serkis was in Topsy Turvy with the then rumored ‘Gimli the Dwarf’ about a year ago Timothy Spall. The REAL Gimli John Rhys-Davies, was in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with Sean Connery, Connery in turn was in many a 007 film. Sean Bean was in a 007 film as well Goldeneye. Sean Bean was also in Ronin alongside Jean Reno, Reno was in Godzilla with Hank Azaria, Azaria in turn was in Gross Point Blank alongside John Cusack, Cusack was in Pushing Tin with Cate Blanchett. Cate Blanchett meanwhile was in The Talented Mr. Ripley with Matt Damon, who was also in Good Will Hunting with buddy Ban Affleck, Affleck meanwhile was in Armageddon with Liv Tyler. Liv Tyler was in Cookies Fortune alongside Glenn Close, Close was also in Mars Attacks! by director (God) Tim Burton, Burton also directed Sleepy Hollow with Christopher Lee. Christopher Lee was also in The Stupids alongside Kevin Conway. Kevin Conway was on a TV version of Titanic, while the big budget movie Titanic had Bernard Hill at the helm. Bernard Hill worked alongside Billy Zane in the Big Boat Film, Zane was also in Memphis Belle alongside a young Sean Astin. An even younger Sean Astin was in The Goonies alongside Jonathan Ke Quan, who was also in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom with Harrison Ford, Ford meanwhile was in a few George Lucas films, some of which Lucas wrote for Steven Spielberg, Spielberg meanwhile also directed Jurassic Park with Richard Attenburough, Attenburough was also in Elizabeth with Cate Blanchett, who was also in The Gift with Keanu Reeves. Reeves meanwhile was in a little film called The Martix with Hugo Weaving. Hugo Weaving was also in a film called Russian Doll with David Wenham, rumored to be playing Faramir.
So, by calculating all these variables, and plugging them into my trust computer, I can tell you with 97% accuracy that the next person to be cast will be named Yelnick Magwagwa keep an eye out for him!…or is it her?
THE MIRROR OF GALADRIEL
I saw Craig Parker (Haldir) in all his glory, he wore his costume and was walking around the Blue screen set.
Christopher Lee (Saruman) has finished his scenes and has left New Zealand. There is more work for Saruman however, but these scenes will be completed by his body double.
I’ve seen the Boromir body double, Boromir will have dirty blonde dark hair. 
Brad Dourif was in the Aliens series as well as 
Ian Holm. Ian Holm was in Animal Farm along with Patrick Stewart, Stewart meanwhile is in X-Men with 
Ian McKellen. Ian McKellen was in Last Action Hero with Arnold Swartzawhatzit, who was also in Batman and Robin with George Clooney, who was also in The Thin Red Line with 
Miranda Otto. Miranda Otto was in The Thin Red Line with 
Elijah Wood. Elijah Wood, meanwhile was in an Oliver Twist mini series, as well as 
Andy Serkis, meanwhile Andy Serkis was in Topsy Turvy with the then rumored ‘Gimli the Dwarf’ about a year ago Timothy Spall. The REAL Gimli 
Cate Blanchett. Cate Blanchett meanwhile was in The Talented Mr. Ripley with Matt Damon, who was also in Good Will Hunting with buddy Ban Affleck, Affleck meanwhile was in Armageddon with 
Liv Tyler. Liv Tyler was in Cookies Fortune alongside Glenn Close, Close was also in Mars Attacks! by director (God) Tim Burton, Burton also directed Sleepy Hollow with 
Kevin Conway. Kevin Conway was on a TV version of Titanic, while the big budget movie Titanic had 
Bernard Hill at the helm. Bernard Hill worked alongside Billy Zane in the Big Boat Film, Zane was also in Memphis Belle alongside a young 
Sean Astin. An even younger Sean Astin was in The Goonies alongside Jonathan Ke Quan, who was also in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom with Harrison Ford, Ford meanwhile was in a few George Lucas films, some of which Lucas wrote for Steven Spielberg, Spielberg meanwhile also directed Jurassic Park with Richard Attenburough, Attenburough was also in Elizabeth with 
Hugo Weaving. Hugo Weaving was also in a film called Russian Doll with David Wenham, rumored to be playing