Adrian writes: I’ve written a short review of the ITV documentary about Ian McKellen that was shown on the 29th June. If you think it is good enough, you’re welcome to publish it on your site. [More]
Category: Original TORn
Adrian writes: I’ve written a short review of the ITV documentary about Ian McKellen that was shown on the 29th June. If you think it is good enough, you’re welcome to publish it on your site.
On Tuesday, 29th June 2004, ITV transmitted an hour long programme whose subject was Sir Ian McKellen. The documentary maker had followed Ian around for a year, and presented us with an intimate portrait of an actor in his prime during one of the most acclaimed periods of his acting career to date.
The programme commenced with backstage shots of the last night of “Dance of Death” in London’s West End (in which Ian starred with Frances De La Tour and Owen Teale, and which I was fortunate enough to attend, becoming a back-door Johnny by waiting for his autograph, and managing to thank him for his portrayal of Gandalf, and particularly for his vocal support of Gay Rights).
The programme then moved onto Ian’s final day of re-shoots for the Return of the King. We were treated to Ian getting made up as Gandalf the White and delivering his lines of “Now comes the Days of the King, may they be blessed….). As it was the last day of re-shoots, Ian and the crew decided to play a joke on Peter Jackson – they had created a white bouffant beehive wig adorned with pink flowers, which Ian proudly donned and then, dressed in Gandalf’s robes, delivered the line “Now comes the Days of the Queen, may they be blessed…..”. Both Peter Jackson and Elijah Wood cracked up – they even filmed the event, so hopefully it’ll make the blooper reel. Peter then gave Ian a peck on the cheek, which I thought was a fitting way to say goodbye to an actor who has for millions embodied Gandalf in a way no other actor could.
The documentary then moved onto the press junket and crowd hysteria at the premiere on the red carpet in Wellington. It was good to see the banter between Ian and the cast – with Ian commenting on Liv Tyler’s dress – she said she was going after a Polynesian princess look – which he said he thought was very apt.
In between all the hullabaloo of the worldwide whirlwind tour, Ian managed to find time to visit a school in Los Angeles whose pupils tended to come from underprivileged backgrounds, but who have cultivated a sincere love of the works of William Shakespeare. It is this shared love of the bard that connected Ian and the children and he said that he felt at home amongst them because of this shared passion.
Other highlights included seeing Ian on the set of a forthcoming film called Asylum in which he plays a psychiatrist, at home in London dealing with piles of correspondence, giving a lecture to students in Cambridge (his old university), and throughout the programme dealing openly and frankly with issues of being gay in an occasionally homophobic world.
The programme left us on a positive note with Ian gamboling on a beach having reached retirement age, (but with no intention of retiring!) – his next venture is to play a dame – Widow Twankie in Aladdin, but who knows, there’s always the prospect of reviving the role of Gandalf in a couple of years time when the rights to “The Hobbit” have been resolved and Peter Jackson feels ready to take on Middle Earth again….
Susanne sends along this story from the UK Sunday Times: There’s a story in Hollywood that, a few years ago, John Travolta was willing to work for peanuts for the role that would put his career back on track. Then Pulp Fiction restored his box-office appeal and he was back on the A-list. Now Jude Law has joined the Tinseltown elite. Not only is he said to be commanding $20m for his next role, but he can choose the director, his co-stars and have script control. It’s that power, and the pay check, that defines membership of the elite. But who are the Brits that have it? [More]
There’s a story in Hollywood that, a few years ago, John Travolta was willing to work for peanuts for the role that would put his career back on track. Then Pulp Fiction restored his box-office appeal and he was back on the A-list. Now Jude Law has joined the Tinseltown elite. Not only is he said to be commanding $20m for his next role, but he can choose the director, his co-stars and have script control. It’s that power, and the pay check, that defines membership of the elite. But who are the Brits that have it?
Directors, actors, producers whose films consistently generate huge profits; writers, executives and agents who can package a winning team. Here is the A-list of British big shots, the masters and commanders of movies and television, and the B-list — those for whom talent is currently not enough to win promotion.
A-LIST BRITS
Our writers scoured the industry for “insider” information in compiling this list. Our sources were both British and American Hollywood professionals and executives — those in the know from all branches of the industry who work daily with the names who can make or break projects. We have included television production.
Once a separate industry, it is now a prominent contributor to Hollywood names, projects and profits with crossover development and spin-off franchises.
…
#19. ORLANDO BLOOM, ACTOR
To ensure that we won’t just remember him as the elf Legolas in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, in the past year Orlando Bloom has appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean, Troy, and the “mockumentary” boxing film The Calcium Kid. Six feet tall with classical good looks, he has acquired heartthrob status and a place last year in People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” list. Luck was on his side in 1998 when he quickly recovered from breaking his back after falling three storeys from a rooftop terrace (he also broke a rib while filming Lord of the Rings). He’s certainly come a long way since playing bit parts in Casualty. Next up is the lead role in Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven, the sequel to Pirates, and Elizabethtown, with Kirsten Dunst. It all makes the 27-year-old from Canterbury, whose movie debut was as a rent boy in Wilde, in 1998, one of the biggest young stars.
More news for the Narnia fans out there: According to my local paper The Waitakere City News, the local Council will have no problem allowing a pack of 10 North American wolves onto its turf to be filmed as “Witch’s Minions” for The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe. [More]
This came in my local paper, the Waitakere City News, and should be of interest to all you Narnia fans out there:
Waitakere City Council has no problems allowing a pack of 10 North American wolves onto its turf to be filmed as “Witch’s Minions” for the C. S. Lewis classic The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe.
The council’s Environmental Compliance Team Manager Alan Ahmu says this is one of the more unusual requests handled by his office.
He told the film makers Lamp Post Productions that the Council has no objections to wolves being used within its district, so long as any conditions and controls stipulated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in relation to the importation, welfare, custody and use of the wolves, are complied with.
And, naturally, the Council wants to be informed immediately if any of the wolves escape.
The film’s North Island Location Manager, Peta Sinclair, says that the wolves will be “under tight regulations set by MAF, as their welfare will be of the utmost importance.” Conditions have been set as to how the animals are penned, transported and handled while on set. As soon s their scenes are over they
will be shipped home.
Mr [sic] Sinclair says the wolves have been trained to work in a controlled environment. They will feature as minions of the White Witch in the film version of the mystical land of Narnia, a land where there are no humans, only mythical and real animals.
The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe is a multi-million dollar production which is being filmed largely in and around Waitakere City. [The same area that served as a base for a lot of Hercules and Xena filming, in case you’re wondering – Tehanu]