Souder writes: Movie-poster-art by John Alvin, inspired by LOTR, will be on display Sept. 15 & 16 at Artinsights gallery in Reston, VA (Washington, DC area). From the website: ‘We’re very excited to welcome John Alvin to ArtInsights, and this is the only appearance through the end of this year. We will have some wonderful new creations representing Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, and many others, as well as his newly released limited editions from Pirates of the Caribbean, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and the art for which he just gained the worldwide exclusive from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We will actually have a hand embellished set for sale at the event.’ [More]
Category: Original TORn
Peter Jackson’s spokespeople continue to deny that Wingnut Films has been approached by MGM or anyone else to make The Hobbit, however the interest is there, according to a report from Wellington’s Dominion Post newspaper, which is keeping a close eye on proceedings. [More]
Dr. Lynnette Porter will present “A Tolkien Travelogue” on Thursday, September 14, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the Port Orange Library, 1005 City Center Circle Point Drive, Port Orange, Florida. Dr. Porter will discuss locations in England that influenced Tolkien’s descriptions in The Lord of the Rings. She also will feature some of New Zealand’s South Island locations for Jackson’s The Two Towers and Return of the King. The presentation, open to the public, is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. For more information, please call the library at (386) 322-5152.
A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our ‘DVD Tuesday’ feature…every Monday! Check out some TV goodies like ‘The Office: Season 2’, ‘Smallville: Season 5’. Be sure to check out the original un-messed-with editions of ‘Star Wars – The Original Trilogy’, plus a whole lot more! [More]
Source: Variety (via comingsoon.net): In a Variety article talking about MGM’s move back into the tentpole business, the trade mentions a few highly-anticipated projects that are in the works:
Over the next few years, MGM is planning to release half a dozen films, some in the $150 million to $200 million-plus range. Studio is ready to unveil such high-profile projects as “Terminator 4”; one or two installments of “The Hobbit,” which Sloan hopes will be directed by Peter Jackson; and a sequel to “The Thomas Crown Affair” with Pierce Brosnan.
It has already announced a “Pink Panther” sequel and the next 007 pic “Bond 22,” due out in November 2008. “Rocky Balboa” unspools in February.
The pics are all franchises that MGM owns the rights to through its 4,000-title library. The goal is to release two or three tentpoles a year, all of which will be made with financial partners, including Wall Street money or other studios.
One of our new men out in NZ, John, sends these photos from Stone Street Studios in Wellington. This is a studio located about 2 minutes away from the coolest place on earth, also known as WETA Workshop & WETA Digital, and in between that is Park Road Post, where some LOTR work, and most of the work on King Kong was done..basically this neighborhood is the trifecta of movie-geek heaven.
When I was down in Wellington last April I caught up with LOTR producer Barrie Osbourne, we was hard at work on his next film ‘The Water Horse’. I also had a chance to meet the director Jay Russell. At the time they were just about ready to begin shooting, this looks like they may be in re-shoot phase, the shoot in Scotland may or may not have happened yet, who knows. As you can see in the photos they seem to be planning something quite BIG to be on the blue screen…anyone who has read ‘The Water Horse’ already knows the answer to what that ‘something’ may be. Take a look at the photos and what John has to say! [More]