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January 09, 2000 - January 15, 2000

News for Jan. 15, 2000

WETA looking for a few good men

1/15/00, 21:45 EST - Tehanu

From: Amyd

Weta Digital has posted this announcement:

"Weta Digital (Wellington, New Zealand) is seeking Senior Shader Writers/Senior Texture Painters..."

The announcement is posted on http://www.vfxpro.com, on the main page/right side.

The announcement in full runs like this:

"Senior Shader Writers/Senior Texture Painters Weta Digital Weta Digital, based in Wellington, New Zealand, is searching for candidates to work on Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings." We are currently searching for Senior Shader Writers and Senior Texture Painters.

Contact Information Please apply via our website: Weta Digital Wed Jan 12, 2000, 10:59 AM PST"

A Shader Writer is a person who writes shaders(small to medium programs written in a special language that plug in into a rendering engine such as Pixar's RenderMan, and that generate various texture effects, such as skin, fur, hair, volumetric gas, etc. Texture Painter is a person who either controls the placing of the materials on the surface of the objects, or a person who actually paints this objects with texture information, with a special program (btw. WETA Dig is in process of beta testing a 3D paint solution called Deep Paint 3D from a NZ company named Right Hemisphere... perhaps they finished the deal and they are searching for ppl to use the aquired software).

For more SFX magic, visit our SFX section.

A different kind of army gathering at Hobbiton....

1/15/00, 12:21 EST - Tehanu

Kotukunui chimes in with his Eagle's-eye view of the goings-on at the Hobbiton set. Read his news in Spy Reports

News for Jan. 14, 2000

Viggo heading back to NZ

1/14/00, 23:01 EST - Xoanon

From: Lady Arcane

Look for Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) to be heading to NZ in this upcoming week. I have it from a very reliable source (snip) that he was only going to be in LA for approximately another week and then he would be in NZ until December.


SFX: Supernova Opens in the US

1/14/00, 10:53 EST - Xoanon

Want to catch a view of the style and skill of LOTR Visual Effects Supervisor Mark Stetson? Check out the sci-fi thriller 'Supernova' [More]

For more CGI related jiggery pokery check out our SFX Section

Web Watch: The Times Online

1/14/00, 00:14 EST - Xoanon

Dark lord at the Peake of his powers Links

No one looms quite like Christopher Lee. In Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, he looms over Johnny Depp's hapless, gadget-obsessed detective. In the forthcoming film of the Lord of the Rings, he'll be looming alongside Ian McKellen and Liv Tyler; and on Monday, viewers will cower as Lee takes on the role of Mr Flay, faithful retainer to the 76th Earl of Gormenghast in BBC2's eagerly awaited adaptation of Mervyn Peake's epic trilogy. [More]

Thanks to Bruce S for the tip!

News for Jan. 13, 2000

Book of the Century (of course WE already knew that)

1/13/00, 23:41 EST - Quickbeam

Greetings-Quickbeam here.

Fresh in the glow of 2000, our friend Turgon takes a close look at the new MILLENNIUM EDITION of The Lord of the Rings in his new Bookshelf. Click here to learn the full six names of the Six Books, restored from Tolkien's original notes (instead of Trilogy should we now say Hexilogy?).

Also you'll find a very cool item by noted Tolkien historian Douglas A. Anderson. His detailed "Note on the Text" is presented here through a special arrangement, giving us further insight into the publishing history of LOTR. I myself am the proud owner of Douglas A. Anderson's The Annotated Hobbit, an excellent and increasingly hard-to-find edition.

Also note we've made it easier to share Green Books with your online friends... For those who have never visited us, just tell them to do a simple search in Yahoo for the words "Green Books" in quotes. We are eager to explore more of the Professor's world in the coming year. Thanks for being with us!

Much too hasty,
Quickbeam

P.S. Coming soon from "Out on a Limb"-- Quickbeam gets an awesome tattoo in Elvish script (you won't believe it 'til you see it)! Anwyn answers your tough questions! A new Brain Bender sure to confound! All this and more coming to Green Books, so stay tuned. :)

Live in Toronto?

1/13/00, 12:27 EST - Xoanon

Sargon a regular in the Barliman's Chatroom wants to get all you T.O. Ringers together and meet somewhere to talk Tolkien [More]

Cast News: Dourif and Holm on TMN

1/13/00, 12:19 EST - Xoanon

You can catch the eerie Brad Dourif (wormtongue) in an episode of 'The Hunger' called Sin Seer tonight (apparently someone gouges out their eyes...eww)

You can also see Ian Holm (Bilbo) in 'The Sweet Hereafter', no ocular mutilation in this film, I promise.

News for Jan. 12, 2000

Sssssmokin! UPDATED!!

1/12/00, 22:01 EST - Xoanon

Beau from Fingolfin.com sent me this rather funny pic of 2 Nazgul Riders on down time... [More]

!!!Warning Medium Spoilers Ahead!!!

Two seconds after the above post comes a great email from my good friends at Scoop with more of these new pics! check them out in The Spy Reports!!

Ask and you shall receive...

1/12/00, 15:42 EST - Calisuri

Check out shop.TheOneRing.net for the official announcement of TheOneRing.net™ T-shirts! Thanks to Greek 101.com for making the shirts available for only $12!!!

Check out shop.TheOneRing.net for more info.

LOTR The Scrapbook!

1/12/00, 12:49 EST - Xoanon

It's with great pleasure I announce the latest addition to TheOneRing.net™, The Scrapbook! In it you'll find more than 100 images from the past months of our coverage of the LOTR production, we also have newspaper clippings and TV stills. All these images are gathered in one place for you to look over!

You are also able to specify what you want to look for, you can choose to look at newspaper articles or spy pictures, or simply check out the whole thing!

!!!WARNING, MORE SPOILERS THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE!!!

TheOneRing.net™ Scrapbook


Cast News: Brad, Ethan and Uma oh my!

1/12/00, 10:03 EST - Xoanon

You can catch these three LOTR Stars on TV today:

The Brad Dourif (Wormtongue) film 'The Bride of Chucky' on TMN.

The Uma Thurman (Eowyn, still rumored) Ethan Hawke (Faramir) funky future film 'Gattaca' on TMN as well.

E! Online Get's Behind the lines...

1/12/00, 09:47 EST - Xoanon

The E! Entertainment Station has launched a website regarding LOTR, while filled with the usual information regarding staff and stats, the behind-the-scenes section is the most interesting. Below is a small snippet from the reporter regarding filming.

11:07 a.m.: Hearts flutter when Sean Bean (Boromir) and Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) arrive. Most of Aragorn's outfit is concealed beneath an enormous, mud-splattered coat. The jeweled Sword of Elendil hangs from Mortensen's belt. With his rugged, unshaven features and long, greasy hair, he looks every inch the nomadic hero. Bean wears a red tunic with gold stenciling on the sleeves, chain mail, leather gloves and knee-high leather boots (obviously the new look in Middle Earth this summer) under a full-length leather coat. [ More]

Mithril News

1/12/00, 09:06 EST - Xoanon

The good folks at Mithril Miniatures sent me an update [More]

Media Watch: The Evening Post

1/12/00, 09:02 EST - Xoanon

\[ Movie Gandalf Flies In \]

From: The Evening Post
By: Simon Beattie

Movie Gandalf Flies In

Gandalf the Wizard flew into Middle earth this week without and fanfare or fireworks.

British actor Sir Ian McKellen, 61, arrived in Wellington over the weekend to take up one of the plum roles in Peter Jackson's $360 million moive trilogy The Lord of the Rings.

Filming on the project, whick wrapped up in Queenstown and Wanaka just before Christmas, is set to resume next week in Wellington and Waikato.

Producer Barrie Osborne said Sir Ian was getting settled in and preparing for his role by working with makeup artists and wardrobe fitters.

The remainder of the article goes on to describe Sir Ian's career on stage and screen.

Thanks to Kevin R for the tip!

News for Jan. 11, 2000

Media Watch: The National Enquirer

1/11/00, 21:05 EST - Xoanon

Far be it from me to even know that the Enquirer even reported mildly true news, but as Amber S reports, Liv Tyler (Arwen) and that Elijah Wood (Frodo) dummy are in the latest issue:


Liv and 'Frodo'

"The National Enquirer" Jan 18, 00 issue. Text reads as follows: "LIV-LY: LIV TYLER is all smiles on the set of "The fellowship of the Ring" in New Zealand. Her hooded co-star plays a mythical Hobbit in the film. based on J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy."

Cast News: Cate, Hannibal awaits...

1/11/00, 15:33 EST - Xoanon

Cate Rates as Foster Replacement

Universal may have been jilted by Jodie Foster, but the wedding, er, Hannibal, hasn't been called off yet. "Bring in the replacement!" Seems to have been the rallying cry at the studio. Buzz now has it that Foster's nonparticipation won't be the death of the Silence of the Lambs sequel.

Who's the front-runner to take over for the two-time Oscar-winner? According to Variety, it's the talented Cate Blanchett, whose 1998 Oscar for Elizabeth was inexplicably handed to Gwyneth Paltrow by mistake.

The Australian actress is part of the ensemble filming the Lord of the Rings trilogy Down Under, although her relatively small role of Galadriel may be wrapped by now. She's also set to start filming The Gift opposite Keanu Reeves for Sam Raimi in February and was mentioned for Spielberg's in-limbo production of Minority Report. (The director's rumored to have abandoned that film altogether.)

Industry sources now give Hannibal an April start date. In the aftermath of Foster's official refusal, Hollywood trades had Universal still hopeful to re-sign Foster, but that hope seems to have faded. According to Variety, another unnamed actress is also on the short list. Speculation has touched on Gillian Anderson, Angelina Jolie, and Helen Hunt, among other actresses who might be ripe for the part.

Today's Variety implies that a Foster replacement would be considered a "new character," which would help the distracting reality of another actress being called Clarice Starling. That would mean yet another go at the much-revised script, which by now must barely resemble Thomas Harris' novel.

Thanks to Jon for the tip!

Source: Showbiz

Bueller? Bueller?

1/11/00, 15:25 EST - Xoanon

Ok, so whoever is lucky enough to get Comedy Central knows about the show 'Win Ben Stein's Money' it's a great game show that basically pits you against the famous teacher from 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'. It's got some great deadpan humor (they make you wear a dunce cap if you make your answer in the form of a question). Anyway good ol' Ben is usually on the mark with these answers, but as degolas tells me, he's not a Tolkien fan I guess:

Ben Stein apparently isn't so smart after all :) on win ben stein's money, one of the questions last night was, "what type of animal was smaug in the hobbit?" Stein immediately depressed his button. the answer? "a pig". sadly, neither of the other two contestants knew the answer either.


Source: Win Ben Stein's Cyber Money

News for Jan. 10, 2000

Helm's Deep: Ready, Steady, Go!

1/10/00, 21:46 EST - Tehanu

For those of us that don't already wish they lived in Wellington, check out the news in Spy Reports where a fan has noticed the pace has picked up at the Helm's Deep set.
"So if the filming at Harcourt Park was anything to go by, the next month is going to go off."

SFX: Supernova TV Commercials

1/10/00, 21:44 EST - Xoanon

The Official Supernova Website has posted the TV commercials now airing for the film. It's an interesting sneek peek into the style and skill of visual effects supervisor Mark Stetson. Stetson worked on Supernova before heading down to NZ to work on LOTR.

You can download the 3 different trailers here. For more info on SFX in Lord of the Rings check out our SFX site.

Cate In Hannibal?

1/10/00, 17:03 EST - Xoanon

Blanchett In ‘Hannibal’?

In spite of recent rumors that Universal might pass on the Hannibal project, there’s word that Cate Blanchett has risen up to the top of Universal’s short list as a possible candidate to take on the role of FBI agent Clarice Starling.

According to Variety, Universal has "ruled out" Foster coming back and has decided to see if they can fill the role with another notable good actress. The trade reports that Blanchett is one of two actresses that the studio is said to be considering offering the role. Still, Blanchett does have her own previous obligations to fill, including Sam Raimi’s The Gift as well as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy

Source: Cinescape Online

Hildebrandt Original Art!!

1/10/00, 14:17 EST - Xoanon

From the folks at Spiderwebart.

The Hildebrandt brothers are lending their creative talent to paint a rather cool magazine cover! check it out!


A sample of original Hildebrandt art

Greg and Tim are painting a new cover for Inquest Magazine on Tolkien. The magazine will be on the stands in September I think. We will be using the faces of the actors from the film for this painting.

AOL/Time Warner Merger

1/10/00, 12:33 EST - Xoanon

You may think that this big business merger between AOL and Time Warner has little to do with Middle earth...think again. Time Warner is the parent company of New Line Cinema...you can work out the rest for yourself. Since this is a new breaking story I've heard nothing from my contacts at New Line regarding changes to the Official Website, if any. [More]

Aussie Toys in Another Universe

1/10/00, 09:33 EST - Xoanon

Resevoir Dog chimes in from Another Universe [More]

Cast News: Ethan and Uma in NW magazine

1/10/00, 09:31 EST - Xoanon

Super Ringer Spy Resevoir Dog Sends me this magazine article in the Aussie mag 'NW'. It's an interview with Ethan Hawke (Faramir) no mention of LOTR unfortunately.



Thanks to RD for the tip!

News for Jan. 09, 2000

More Info on the Helms Deep Set!

1/09/00, 22:33 EST - Xoanon

Check out the Spy Reports for a new image from The Wellington Dominion and a report from another Ringer Spy who's been to the set!

!!!WARNING MEDIUM SPOILERS!!!

Mckellen Updates Grey Book

1/09/00, 13:36 EST - Xoanon

The Official Ian McKellen Website has updated their 'Grey Book' page. The latest is a small note from Ian laying out his travel plans :)[More]

Latest Ebay Items

1/09/00, 11:59 EST - Xoanon

This weeks Ebay items are up and ready for your perusal :) [More]

Tolkien 2000 Contest Update

1/09/00, 11:27 EST - Xoanon

Nob has been keeping me up to date on the amount of entries in the Tolkien 2000 contest, we now have 4, with word that many more are on the way! Why not try your hand at writing, and see what you can win! [More]

Cast News: Catch 'em all Prt 2

1/09/00, 11:23 EST - Xoanon

Yet again, today you can catch a variety of LOTR cast members on TV:

(as if we don't have enough Ethan Hawke)you can catch Hawke (Faramir) in 'Great Expectations' on TMN

Take a gander at Ian Holm (Bilbo) in 'The Sweet Hereafter' on TMN as well.

John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) will be on 'Britannic' a made for TV movie on the Fox Family Channel tonight at 8 PM EST.

Thanks to Gamgee for the tip!


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