The folks from Continuum Books send this along: J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is one of the most popular books of the twentieth century and the recent film adaptations have made box office records. This book provides a comprehensive critical and theoretical analysis of both the book and films. [More]
Category: Original TORn
Conservative leader David Cameron has announced his new baby son is to be called Arthur Elwen. Mr Cameron’s wife Samantha, 34, gave birth to their third child by Caesarean section on Valentine’s Day. The Tory leader said the names did not have any particular significance but he believed somebody on his father’s side of his family was called Arthur. “Arthur we’ve always liked as a name and Samantha found Elwen in a book. We thought it was a good name,” he said. Elwen is a name apparently of English origin which means “elf-wise friend”. Newspaper reports have previously suggested that Mr Cameron’s supporters play a game in which they imagine themselves in a political version of Middle Earth, with their leader cast as the Tory version of Lord of the Rings’ Frodo. But a Tory spokeswoman stressed the couple had simply chosen the name from a book of baby names and it had nothing to do with Lord of the Rings. [More]
Garfeimao writes: Wow, just got this update from Gentle Giant, and it appears they will be taking over the partnership with WETA from Dark Horse.
New license – Lord of the Rings
The vast collection of Lord of the Rings products certainly require no complement, and Gentle Giant would not have embarked on this enterprise without the full blessing of the masters at Weta Collectibles. But given that blessing, Gentle Giant is proud to announce that it will be creating new collectible products based on its take of the now-classic franchise. Among the new products will be an animated-style maquette line, similar in look and feel to Gentle Giant’s previous animated releases in the Star Wars line. This animated look is being co-developed by New Line and Gentle Giant Studios. Look for the first releases in Fall 2006. [gentlegiantltd.com]
Actor Andy Serkis wants to meet serial killer Ian Brady – in preparation for his portrayal of the infamous murderer on a new TV production Serkis, the body behind King Kong in the 2005 remake, claims he’d like to come face to face with the child killer, so he can give a more convincing performance. He says, “I’m not sure if my views of Brady have changed since researching the role – I just know a lot more about him and if it would be possible to get in touch with him then I would. “It’s very difficult as he is in Ashworth Hospital, where he has been held for six years.” The 37-year-old actor insists he has no qualms about playing such a controversial character, as the film explores a vital philosophical question. [More]
Sean Bean has been tapped to play a fed eral prosecutor, the lead role in Fox’s drama pilot “Faceless.” Bean’s character goes undercover as a criminal in order to take down a sprawling underworld organization. After playing Boromir in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Bean appeared in four features last year: “The Dark,” “The Island,” “Flightplan” and “North Country.” [nypost.com]
Ringers: Lord of the Fans has been nominated for a Saturn Award! It has been nominated for BEST DVD RELEASE, up against; Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows (Buena Vista), Boo (Ventura), Cube Zero (Lionsgate), Dead & Breakfast (Anchor Bay) & Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection (Sparkhill).
The Saturn Awards honor the most popular and successful film releases of the year. The genre film continues to dominate and control the box office with its’ imaginative and creative stories. These films are the crowd pleasers.
This year’s show will be hosted by top comedian Jeffrey Ross. The show will take place on May 2 in Universal City. For additional information, please go the Academy website: saturnawards.org.