A number of different sources (including the two aviators) have confirmed that Hobbiton was not all burned down as we reported last week, and filming has continued in the remainder of it. It may be that only one or two buildings were destroyed for the purposes of the story.
Anyhow, filming is due to wrap up in Hobbiton over the next few days.
Category: Old Spy Reports
From: Cathy
Looks like they may have completed the first part of filming at Helms Deep. All of the lighting towers and equipment have been removed from the top set with the two long turreted walls.
There has been a lot of work done on the buildings at the bottom of the hill.The large white shapes that you can see in the site photos further down the page are starting to take shape. They appear to be part of a wall, which is being carved out to appear like stone. I think they are probably going to finish these in the same stone look finish as the large building behind them.They seem to form a kind of wall which would enclose a courtyard, or maybe they are going to be smaller buildings.
The large building is a square front with a huge archway in the centre with two smaller ones either side. Above this there is a row of 12 long thin slit type openings, which run right across the building. The building has been made to look like it is set back into a stone hillside.
The other 2 sets have also had a lot of finishing off done to them as well. One appears to be a rock wall with a tunnel in it and about 5 arch shapes doorways. To the right is a square section with a long slit window in it. Maybe this is part of a castle?
The last set appears to be quite complex, with several levels and large areas inside (which of course I can’t see) More later as this takes shape.
Visit our Scrapbook to take a looksee at pics from Helms Deep, as well as other sets.
OVERNIGHT REVIEWS’The Two Towers’ at Lifeline Theatre
By Chris Jones
SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, February 3, 2000
The perennially beloved tales of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien occupy a distinctive and rather peculiar niche in British literature history.
On the one hand, Tolkien’s works are a uniquely fantastic mixing of mythology, medieval archetypes and monsters. Given his singular penchant for rich detail and complex backstories, the South African-born scribe would doubtless have been welcomed to the Nintendo or Atari payrolls, had be been writing 50 years later. But then there’s also no denying the literary merit of remarkable Tolkien works like “The Hobbit” (written in 1937), a story that many of us read as a child and never quite forgot. When you add in the books that made up “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, there’s a good argument that Tolkien was greatly ahead of his time, anticipating our later obsessions with the works of Steven Spielberg or George Lucas.
Even today, Tolkien has dedicated fans of all ages. One could spot them easily enough at last Thursday’s opening of “The Two Towers” at the Lifeline Theatre. The people not of that church were simply entertained–if also slightly puzzled–by James Sie and Karjen Tarjan’s adroit dramatic adaptation of the fiendishly complex “The Two Towers” (Book 2 of “The Lord of the Rings”).
But the real Tolkienites leaned forward in their seats, nodded from time to time with recognition, and spent the evening sporting huge grins. It was clear that Ned Mochel’s epic production had impressed these devotees with its authenticity, veracity and faithfulness to the author.
Theatergoers who have never read the book will still enjoy a very entertaining and impressive effort. But since this is actually the second of a three-part series of stories, you might want to do some preliminary reading if you hope to actually follow the plot.
Despite Lifeline’s small size and far from extravagant budget, Mochel’s richly detailed production employs complex sound reinforcement, numerous puppets and models, live-action battles and a variety of other theatrical tricks. Since it’s far from easy dramatizing a novel featuring a huge and deadly spider (among other non-human things), this is really imaginative work
But it’s the exuberance of the acting that really makes the show. Even though the production has a sense of humor (and this Dark Kingdom stuff can be deadly without a light touch), Mochel obviously told his all-male cast that they had to convince their audience that all of the events in Tolkien’s Middle Earth are matters of life and death. As a result, the show is breathlessly paced and conveys much of the excitement of the novel.
The shows at Lifeline have been patchy of late, so it’s especially thrilling to sense this important theater return to its core mission with such power and passion.
Super Ringer Spy Leo has snapped a few pics of Tongariro National Park, and now we truly see why they want this area to be Mordor.
Click on the images to see them in full size in our Scrapbook
I’ve done some digging to find out more about this place destined to be an area of Middle-earth.
Established in 1887, Tongariro was NZ’s first national park. It is dotted with many still active volcanoes. In the winter is serves as a ski area, in summer a great place to hike.
Visit Volcano World for more info.
Located on the North Island
Well, we don’t know if she’s fighting or not. But our intrepid fly-on-the-wall at the Helm’s Deep set says that Liv Tyler is there, now, doing SOMETHING during all these battle scenes.