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August 03, 2000 - August 09, 2000

News for Aug. 09, 2000

More on Joel Tobeck

8/09/00, 11:36 pm EST - Xoanon

Joel Tobeck

While doing a bit of digging on the latest cast member to join LOTR, Joel Tobeck, I've discovered two things:

1) Amazingly he was never on Shortland Street (Actually, I'm hearing reports that he indeed WAS in SS, this thing is bigger than Amway)

2) He plays Creegan, the coolest looking dude from 'Cleopatra 2525'. [More]

Casting News: Young Smeagol!!!

8/09/00, 9:57 pm EST - Tookish

It looks like Joel Tobeck will be playing Smeagol! Straight from his Official International Fan Club:
LORD OF THE RINGS ROLE CONFIRMED! Joel is playing Young Smeagol and will begin filming sometime in September. Woohoo, congrats Joel!

Thanks to jincey for the tip :)

Amon Hen.

8/09/00, 6:43 pm EST - Tehanu

here is Scoop's new picture of the mysterious ruins that we think are Amon Hen. You can compare them with an earlier hand-sketch of an aerial photo here which we got over Christmas, during The Search for Middle Earth Our correspondent Matt also drew our attention to the paintings of ruins by the orientalist painter David Robert which you can see here They seem like a source for the inspiration behind some of these sets.

More on 'that' Pic

8/09/00, 12:30 pm EST - Xoanon

Well, ok no more info on it, but Ringer Spy Allan did manage to get a nice big version of the pic for us to post in our Scrapbook section. check it out by clicking here.

!!!Spoilers!!!

Cast News: Sean Bean Spotted

8/09/00, 11:02 am EST - Xoanon

Winona Kent from The Compleat Sean Bean sends in the following from Sean Bean (Boromir):

One of Sean Bean's fans was standing outside the cinema in Southend on July 10th when Sean attended the Gala Screening of his latest film, Essex Boys. He was also lucky enough to appear in the film as one of the locally-hired extras.

He got a great picture of Sean as he was signing autographs. Since this pic was taken during the recent short break in LOTR filming, Sean still has his "Boromir" beard :)

Sean Bean signs photos at the primere

LOTR Chess Set

8/09/00, 10:54 am EST - Xoanon

Ringer Spy The Jazza sends in the latest from a UK paper. A killer looking LOTR Chess set! [More]

Film footage thief sentenced to 12 months supervision.

8/09/00, 3:34 am EST - Tehanu

Whatever that means. Not jail, I take it. I hung round in court with a good book for hours and nothing happened. After I left, according to the TV, the 36-year-old man was given the sentence by Judge Robinson. The light sentence was due to the fact that the police said he'd handed over another 17 videotapes of film footage. Wow! That must have raised a bit of a cold sweat in the offices of New Line.

Expanding the Tolkien Silliness File....

8/09/00, 2:39 am EST - Tehanu

So silly I'm not sure it's true. Amargasaur sent us the text of a potted version of the year's LOTR developments through the eyes of the Irish Times. (more)
Update: It IS true. Thanks for those of you who sent in the link All I can think is that the Irish Times might think it's funny to rattle the bars of the Tolkien fan cage. Heh, we're so funny-looking when we get mad ; )

Scoop scoops again.....

8/09/00, 1:30 am EST - Tehanu

NZ internet news agency Scoop, which has often lead the way with first images on the Net (remember Bree last year?) has launched its one-stop shop for LOTR news, and to kick things off in a most impressive way, opens today with a totally new (or at least, I haven't seen it before) shot of the massive architecture of the Closeburn set. Last Christmas we brought you a blurry aerial picture of this mysterious structure; now you can see it up close on Scoop along with their archive of LOTR images to date.
The Closeburn set was built and used over the Christmas holidays, being a pine-covered hilltop between Queenstown and the Paradise set at Glenorchy.
Nice work, folks.

New Set News

8/09/00, 12:11 am EST - Xoanon

Ringer Spy GC sends in a bit of news regarding a new set in the Upper Hutt area. With a promise of more to come! [More]

News for Aug. 08, 2000

Grey Books Update - McKellen answers TheOneRing.net's Question!

8/08/00, 5:38 pm EST - Corvar

The staff over at McKellen.com are definitely being more productive this afternoon than I am. They have recently put up a quite sizable update to the Grey Book among other things.

Included in this installment of the Grey Book is Sir Ian McKellen's interactions with Sir Ian Holm. As always, Sir Ian McKellen's notes on the production are quite a read.

Last night after reading the Stuff article, Wizard death casts spell over spectators, I typed out a quick email to the staff at McKellen.com, and the answer to that question is included at the end of the most recent Grey Book entry.

I would like to thank Keith and everyone over at McKellen.com for getting the answer to the question all of us have been asking. [more]

"I believe I can die happy...."

8/08/00, 4:06 pm EST - Tehanu

Cinderella goes to the ball and dances with Aragorn...well almost. Altariel got an invite to the LOTR cast and crew ball on the 5th of August. She tells her story.... (more)

Cast Watch: Lee's 'Creeping Flesh'

8/08/00, 11:45 am EST - Xoanon

You can catch Christopher Lee (Saruman) in 'The Creeping Flesh' on TMN.

News for Aug. 07, 2000

Gandalf's Last Gasp?

8/07/00, 10:55 pm EST - Tehanu

News came to us over the wire - well, thanks to some friendly ghosts on the wire - about today's filming with Sir Ian McKellen. Curiouser and curiouser....

Xoanon Note: I tend to think this is how they'll finish off the character of Saruman, or it could be a dream sequence of Gandalf's while he is a prisoner, the best bet is to NEVER take what the local press says as 100% accurate. [More]

!!!!! MAJOR SPOILERS !!!!!

Media Watch: SFX Magazine

8/07/00, 2:58 pm EST - Xoanon

Our good buddies at SFX Magazine are covering LOTR more than any other UK Movie Mag I've seen to date. The latest issue (Sept. 2000) has two small news bites. Check them out here: 'Board of the Rings' and 'Ring of Truth'.

This Weeks Ebay Items

8/07/00, 10:02 am EST - Xoanon

Longer lasting than crystal ball table tennis! [More]

Cast Watch: Dourif on TMN

8/07/00, 9:48 am EST - Xoanon

You can catch Brad Dourif (Grima Wormtongue) in 'Child's Play' on TMN.

Tehanu's Notes, The Latest: Yin and Yang Quests.

8/07/00, 7:15 am EST - Tehanu

Are we really up to number 15? Cor! We've spent more than a year in pursuit of myth, fantasy and the source of creativity. Le Guin fans will like this one, I hope. Have Tolkien and Tao got anything in common? Tehanu's Notes considers the other side of fantasy.

The Hutt Hobbit strikes gold at Wingate set

8/07/00, 7:07 am EST - Tehanu

Lucky Hutt Hobbit. Probably saw Sir Ian McKellen saying some of the greatest lines of dialogue in the story.... (more)

Attention Tolkien Art Collectors!

8/07/00, 4:39 am EST - Tookish

Original Hildebrandt drafts and sketches are being offered by Spiderwebart.com. A great opportunity [here]!

Queen Beruthiel rides again.

8/07/00, 12:39 am EST - Tehanu

According to our correspondent BJ, the Dominion newspaper in Wellington has reprinted the UK Sunday Times article on Cate Blanchett, complete with the 'information' on Galadriel's role in saving the Fellowship from her sister the Evil Queen Beruthiel. I haven't seen the usually-reliable Dom myself today.
For those of you who missed this delightful episode in journalistic hoodwinking, don't email me and complain that 'Tolkien never said .......'
Just visit the culprit on the Tolkien Sarcasm Page

News for Aug. 06, 2000

July 2000 Movie Brief

8/06/00, 3:33 pm EST - Calisuri

Check out the latest Real Audio movie brief in our Broadcast section. This month's brief talks about the ShoWest footage, LotR Trailer rumors, and other major July happenings on the set of the Lord of the Rings movies. [more]

Media Watch: Sun Herald

8/06/00, 2:06 pm EST - Xoanon

Ringer Spy Resevoir Dog sends in this article on Hugo Weaving (Elrond), an interesting insight on the man who will play Elrond.


Click on the image to enlarge

Hugo on LOTR: "They're doing three films at once so it means you're jumping from one to three to two and there are four crews working on them non-stop"

Cast Watch: Liv and a big Rock

8/06/00, 1:57 pm EST - Xoanon

You can catch Liv Tyler (Arwen) in 'Armageddon' on TMN.

We may need to start a Tolkien Madness file or something...

8/06/00, 7:44 am EST - Tehanu

So _that's_ the story behind the auction of the signed LotR book set, and why there was only a cellphone contact number given. News from the Mighty Orc Hunter.... (more)

News for Aug. 05, 2000

August 5th Hall of Fire Chat!

8/05/00, 1:15 pm EST - Xoanon

I think you're going to really appreciate this topic. In the rush of today, it seems like so many things are chaepened, devalued, and lost. Will this happen when Peter Jackson translates The Lord of the Rings to the big screen? Thus our topic:

Preserving the Legacy of Tolkien's Work on Film

We all know and expect that PJ will make changes in the Professor's great tale. If, in the upcoming movie, you could have 5 minutes -give or take- of the film that was completely unaltered and just as you imagine it, what would it be and why? What one scene would
you like to see in the movie verbatum? Do you think after the movies are out and finished that Tolkien's vision of Middle-earth will be properly shown, and what impact will the films have on future readers of The Lord of the Rings?

Join your moderators this today at 5:30 EST [-5 hours GMT] or Sunday, August 6, at 6:00 p.m. GMT [7:00 p.m. Central Europe Time and 1:00 p.m. EDT]. Please send in your feedback and topic suggestions to us.

Cast Watch: LOTR Cast catch the 'All Backs'

8/05/00, 1:12 pm EST - Xoanon

Members of the cast of LOTR's turned out to watch the All Blacks (New Zealands rugby team) play Australia at Wellington's Westpack trust stadium. Ian McKellen (Gandalf), and Sean Astin (Sam) where they as well as other cast members. Sean Astin even stated that he had played rugby before.

Thanks to MetalMan for the tip!

Web Watch: loop.co.nz

8/05/00, 1:07 pm EST - Xoanon

Cauldron of Creativity

In March 2000, at the height of production on The Lord of the Rings, WETA Workshop Ltd is a sprawling rabbit warren of concentrated creativity. [More]

Thanks to Mr Fusion for the tip!

LOTR Trailer in a Theatre?

8/05/00, 1:04 pm EST - Xoanon

This Spy Report of sorts comes from Ghost of Deagol from Denmark, I'm not sure how or why, but they've managed to get some LOTR footage ready for the big screen. From the look of his report, it seems to be the ShoWEST footage, and it's the real deal. So read on! [More]

!!!Spoilers!!!

Wingate set flooded and ready for action.

8/05/00, 8:06 am EST - Tehanu

The Hutt Hobbit is keeping a close eye on movements around the sets in Wellington, and he's come up with a great Spy Report

News for Aug. 04, 2000

Cast Watch: Lee on TMN

8/04/00, 11:57 am EST - Xoanon

You can catch Christopher Lee (Saruman) in 'Dracula 1972 A.D.' on TMN.

Wingate Set News

8/04/00, 11:41 am EST - Xoanon

Ringer Spy Deepdelver sends in the word from the wingate set, looks like they're shooting scenes for the exterior of Orthanc, Saruman's stronghold. The report is short, so I left it here, highlight the space below to read.

!!!Spoilers!!!

This morning, as I passed in the train, there was activity at Wingate. They have flooded the set (as they did for the gates of Moria sequence) and what looks like a large wheel, driftwood logs, and other unrecognisable junk is lying in the water. Crew were working on the set, and lighting cranes were in position.

Tolkien Sucks

8/04/00, 11:35 am EST - Xoanon

Here's a small piece of satire from www.suck.com. Apparently these folks make fun of everything, so it was only a matter of time that they would find the good professor and Peter Jackson on their radar. [More]

Bigger than the Bible?

8/04/00, 11:28 am EST - Xoanon

Ringer Spy Daniel son of David sends in this report from the London paper 'Metro':

LORD OF THE RINGS MORE POPULAR THAN THE BIBLE

Lord of the Rings is more popular than the Bible, according to a new survey. [More]

News for Aug. 03, 2000

Pulp Satire

8/03/00, 10:54 pm EST - Tehanu

The NZ pop culture magazine 'Pulp' has let us reproduce their very funny article on the LOTR rumour mill. (more)

Howard Shore, composer.....on a collision course with rampant fame!

8/03/00, 10:50 pm EST - Tehanu

A short search uncovered a lot of praise for this musician, and the reviews for him sound very promising. (more)

What LOTR numberplates scam?

8/03/00, 9:26 pm EST - Tehanu

I've had an email or two on that. Well, last year somebody noticed a car with the 'Sauron' licence plate. Now, I think that vanity plates are a stupid idea, but on the other hand, other people seem to think they're worth buying. So I jumped on that bandwagon as quick as I could, narrowly beating out another buyer who had dibs on the same names. My recent correspondent mentions that his friend with the Sauron plate has been offered $6000 by an investor. Meanwhile the Mighty Orc Hunter has come up with the stats on vanity plate sales, showing a slight increase in the sales of LOTR-themed plates in the last two years. Before the last two years, most of the plates sold were as likely to be Hobbit or Silmarillion-related, like 'ARDA' or 'SMAUG', but things like 'ORC' and 'MORDOR' and LOTR character names are suddenly very popular this year and last.

Another day in court.....film thefts case drags on.

8/03/00, 9:20 pm EST - Tehanu

This is getting to be a habit. I've found the best coffee and a free park that the towtrucks haven't discovered yet, so it's a case of turning up and watching the cryptic mumblings of the law at work. (more)

AICN Confirms Howard Shore as Composer!

8/03/00, 2:39 pm EST - Xoanon

Harry and the gang over at AICN have confirmed the story that soundtrack.net and TheOneRing.net brought to you on July 23rd. Howard Shore is in final negotiations to compose all three LOTR films!

Here’s the scoop: YES Howard Shore IS in FINAL negotiations to score the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. But like in anything else – it isn’t a done deal till his music is synched with the film. [More]

Cast Watch: Bean on TV, Hugo on stage

8/03/00, 11:35 am EST - Xoanon

You can catch Sean Bean (Boromir) in 'Airborne' on Cinemax.

A new play opens next week called 'The White Devil' in Sydney, Australia starring Hugo Weaving (Elrond).

Thanks to Resevoir Dog for the tip!


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