7-20-01 Latest News

Billy Boyd Talks LOTR
Xoanon @ 11:12 am EST

Ringer Spy M sends along these scans from SFX Magazine I'm working on getting a better scan for the first page, so from now, just play 'fill in the blanks'. Check out Billy Boyd (Pippin) talking about LOTR and his time down in New Zealand.

New Line and the ALA
Xoanon @ 10:48 am EST

July 19, 2001

NEW LINE CINEMA PARTNERS WITH AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION TO SPONSOR TEEN READ WEEK

National Literacy Initiative To Feature Highly Anticipated "The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy

(Los Angeles, July 19, 2001) -- The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is proud to announce its association with New Line Cinema and "The Lord of the Rings," as a sponsor of 2001 Teen Read Week. Teen Read Week is a national literacy initiative sponsored by YALSA, that encourages teenagers to "read for the fun of it." YALSA is a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

Teen Read Week will be celebrated in hundreds of schools and public libraries across the country, October 14-20, 2001. The celebration will highlight the popularity of fantasy literature with teens, who will be encouraged to "Make Reading A Hobbit," as a special salute to the fantasy classics of J.R.R. Tolkien.

New Line Cinema is producing the Trilogy of films based on this much-loved novel. The first installment of the trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" will be released in theaters globally on December 19, 2001.

As part of its partnership with the ALA, New Line Cinema has provided exclusive imagery from the forthcoming film for use in Teen Read Week posters and bookmarks, which are available through ALA Graphics: (alastore.ala.org). The artwork features Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins and Liv Tyler as Arwen, two of the stars in the upcoming trilogy. Plans are also in works for special events and promotions.

"The posters and bookmarks are a big hit," said Kathryn Leide, director of ALA Graphics. "If sales continue on pace, I expect these materials to be among our best sellers." Watch for other special materials and events related to "Lord of the Rings" in the coming months.

Now in its fourth year, Teen Read Week reminds teens, parents and educators of the importance of reading for pleasure. Reading not only improves grades; it leads to a lifetime of learning and enjoyment.

"The American Library Association is an extraordinary organization," said Rose Polidoro, executive vice president of national promotion for New Line Cinema. "The efforts to encourage kids and teens to read and enjoy the experience is unparalleled. New Line Cinema is proud to be associated with the ALA in this unprecedented Lord of the Rings/Teen Read Week partnership."

More than 100 million copies of "The Lord of the Rings" have been published around the globe in 45 languages. Indeed, generations have grown up with the legend of Frodo Baggins' quest to destroy a powerful ring. Just last year the book was proclaimed the most popular novel of the 20th Century by Amazon.com. In addition, surveys taken by the ALA during previous Teen Read Week festivities cite Tolkien's "The Hobbit" as a teen favorite.

"This is an exciting and opportune partnership that will benefit teens who are readers and movie fans," said YALSA Past President Mary Arnold. "It is the perfect time to have New Line Cinema join the ALA in inviting teens to ‘get in the reading hobbit.’ Teens can celebrate Teen Read Week ‘@ your library’ and see the movie ‘@ your neighborhood theater!’"

Teen Read Week partners include: American Association of School Administrators, American Booksellers Association, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Council of Teachers of English, National Education Association, National School Boards Association, Speak Up Press, International Reading Association, and TeenInk.

For more information visit www.ala.org/teenread, or contact YALSA by e-mail at yalsa@ala.org, or by phone at 800-545-2433, ext. 4391. The official Web site for Lord of the Rings is: www.lordoftherings.net.

ABOUT THE FILM

The Lord of the Rings trilogy will collectively retell the story of Frodo Baggins, who battles against the Dark Lord Sauron to save Middle Earth from the grip of evil. In the films, Frodo and The Fellowship embark on a journey to rid the earth of the source of Sauron's greatest strength, the One Ring -- a ring of such power that it cannot be destroyed. His extraordinary adventure across the treacherous landscape of Middle Earth reveals how the power of friendship and courage can hold the forces of evil at bay.

Directed by Peter Jackson, the films feature a strong international cast that include (in alphabetical order) Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Bernard Hill, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, John Rhys Davies, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, and Elijah Wood. But the real star of the films is the story itself -- a classic hero's quest in which the smallest of beings changes the course of the future with the vastness of his courage.

Founded in 1967, New Line Cinema is the entertainment industry's leading independent producer and distributor of theatrical motion pictures. New Line licenses its films to ancillary markets including cable and broadcast television as well as to international venues. The company, which is a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner Inc, operates several divisions including in-house theatrical distribution, marketing, home video, television, acquisitions, production, licensing and merchandising units. More information about New Line Cinema can be obtained at www.newline.com.

Comic-Con Day 1.5
Tookish @ 7:35 pm EST

Stay tuned for further updates from Comic-Con!

Sideshow Toys at Comic-Con
Xoanon @ 12:42 pm EST

PREVIEW UPCOMING 2001 PRODUCTS AT SAN DIEGO COMIC CON

We would like to invite you to join us at the San Diego Comicon, July 19th through the 24th to preview our upcoming product lines for 2001.

Be the first to view up close Series 3 and 4 of our Lord of the Rings collectible figures, busts and helmets from the upcoming New Line Cinema release. Series 1 and 2 will also be on display.

We will be showcasing our highly sought after 12" lines including the Universal Classic Monsters, Monty Python and the Holy Grail figures, Dark Crystal, Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey 'Motivational Figure' and a few surprises!

For our military and history fans, Series 2 of our World War 1 and Civil War lines will be available for viewing as well!

Show Information:

San Diego Comic Con
San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, California
Convention# - 619-414-1020
Booth Number 429

Comic-Con Details
Tookish @ 12:42 am EST

We’ve learned a bit about what the New Line presentation and literature panel will offer this weekend at Com-Con. For details about TORN’s show and Comic-Con itself please link here.

The literature panel: ”…In their programing listing there is the following for Friday, July20. ‘1:00 Tolkien's Lord of the Rings as Literature - Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is considered a "modern classic," having inspired an international cult, serious academic interest, two generations of movies, and much of contemporary fantasy. But how "classic" is the famous trilogy? How does it stand up in the tradition of its literary predecessors—such mythic tales and romances as Beowulf, Orlando Furioso, Morte d'Arthur and The Faerie Queene? Has LOTR attained the status of these true classics, and will it maintain its reputation in the future? Moderator Stephen Potts teaches Tolkien at the University of California at San Diego. Room 12.’ “

And New Line: ”Saturday, July 21 at 12:00 noon in the San Diego Convention Center, there will be an hour long presentation/sneak preview of the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie on the same level of detail as what was presented at the Cannes festival…” Woohoo!! I wonder who’s gonna be there…

Thanks to LN and MrCere for the help.

Weekly Cast Watch
Xoanon @ 11:18 pm EST

Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn)

Walk on the Moon, A (1999) UK
Perfect Murder, A (1998) UK
Thin Red Line, The (1998) UK
Psycho (1998) UK
Prophecy, The (1995)
Floundering (1994)
American Yakuza (1994)
Ruby Cairo (1993)
Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990) UK
Young Guns II (1990) UK
Witness (1985)

Liv Tyler (Arwen)

Plunkett & Macleane (1999) UK
Onegin (1999) UK
Cookie's Fortune (1999)
Can't Hardly Wait (1998) UK
Stealing Beauty (1996)
Empire Records (1995)
Silent Fall (1994)

Ian Holm (Bilbo)

Joe Gould's Secret (2000)
eXistenZ (1999)
Alice Through the Looking Glass (1999) (TV)
Fifth Element, The (1997) UK
Sweet Hereafter, The (1997)
Loch Ness (1995) UK
Naked Lunch (1991) UK
Wetherby (1985)
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) UK
Time Bandits (1981) UK
Alien (1979) UK
S.O.S. Titanic (1979) (TV)
Young Winston (1972) UK
Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)
Fixer, The (1968) UK

Sean Bean (Boromir)

Black Beauty (1994) UK
Patriot Games (1992) UK
Stormy Monday (1988)

Hugo Weaving (Elrond)

Strange Planet (1999)
Matrix, The (1999) UK
Bedrooms and Hallways (1998)
Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The (1994) UK
Exile (1994) UK

Miranda Otto (Eowyn)

Jack Bull, The (1999) (TV) UK
Thin Red Line, The (1998) UK
Love Serenade (1996)

Ian Mune (Farmer Maggot)

Piano, The (1993)

Elijah Wood (Frodo)

Bumblebee Flies Anyway, The (2000)
Black and White (1999)
Faculty, The (1998) UK
North (1994)
Good Son, The (1993)
Forever Young (1992) UK
Paradise (1991)
Avalon (1990)
Internal Affairs (1990) UK

Cate Blanchett (Galadriel)

Pushing Tin (1999) UK
Talented Mr. Ripley, The (1999)
Ideal Husband, An (1999) UK

Ian McKellen (Gandalf)

X-Men (2000)
Gods and Monsters (1998)
Apt Pupil (1998) UK
Rasputin (1996) (TV)
Restoration (1995) UK
Ballad of Little Jo, The (1993) UK
Six Degrees of Separation (1993) UK
And the Band Played On (1993) (TV)
Last Action Hero (1993)
Alfred the Great (1969) UK

John Rhys-Davies (Gimli)

Secret of the Andes (1998) UK
Cyborg Cop (1994)
Sunset Grill (1993)
Canvas (1992)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam (1987) (TV)
No Man's Land (1984) (TV)
Nairobi Affair (1984) (TV) UK

Andy Serkis (Gollum)

Among Giants (1998)

Craig Parker (Haldir)

Tommyknockers, The (1993) (TV)

Dominic Monaghan (Merry)

Hostile Waters (1997) (TV)

Bruce Spence (Mouth of Sauron)

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

Sean Astin (Sam)

Kimberly (1999)
Icebreaker (1999)
Bulworth (1998) UK
Dish Dogs (1998)
Long Way Home, The (1997) UK
Teresa's Tattoo (1994)
Low Life, The (1994/I)
Encino Man (1992) UK
Toy Soldiers (1991) UK
Memphis Belle (1990)
Staying Together (1989)
War of the Roses, The (1989)
Goonies, The (1985)

Christopher Lee (Saruman)

Sleepy Hollow (1999) UK
Jinnah (1998) UK
Tale of the Mummy (1998) UK
Death Train (1993) (TV) UK
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) UK
Last Unicorn, The (1982)
Safari 3000 (1982) UK
1941 (1979)
Arabian Adventure (1979)
Return from Witch Mountain (1978) UK
Four Musketeers, The (1974) UK
Creeping Flesh, The (1973)
Nothing But the Night (1972)
Horror Express (1972)
Five Golden Dragons (1967)
Theatre of Death (1967) UK
Gorgon, The (1964) UK
Longest Day, The (1962)
City of the Dead, The (1960)
Tempi duri per i vampiri (1959)
Dracula (1958)
Cockleshell Heroes, The (1955)

Bernard Hill (Theoden)

Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1999) UK
True Crime (1999) UK
Loss of Sexual Innocence, The (1999) UK
Mountains of the Moon (1990)
Gandhi (1982) UK

Brad Dourif (Wormtongue)

Shadow Hours (2000)
Bride of Chucky (1998) UK
Death Machine (1995)
Phoenix (1995)
Color of Night (1994)
Amos & Andrew (1993)
Body Parts (1991) UK
Exorcist III, The (1990)
Child's Play 2 (1990)
Hidden Agenda (1990)
Mississippi Burning (1988)
Blue Velvet (1986)

Jim Rygiel (SFX)

102 Dalmatians (2000)
Anna and the King (1999)
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Multiplicity (1996)
Cliffhanger (1993)
Last Action Hero (1993)
Last of the Mohicans, The (1992)
Alien³ (1992)
Ghost (1990)
2010 (1984)

Howard Shore (Composer)

Yards, The (2000)
High Fidelity (2000)
eXistenZ (1999)
Dogma (1999)
Analyze This (1999)
Cop Land (1997)
Se7en (1995)
Ed Wood (1994)
Guilty as Sin (1993)
Sliver (1993)
Single White Female (1992)
Prelude to a Kiss (1992)
Naked Lunch (1991)
Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
She-Devil (1989)
Moving (1988)
Fly, The (1986)
After Hours (1985)

Peter Jackson (Director)

To get more information, use the sites I use like:

mydigiguide.com, tv-now.com and IMDB.com

Media Watch: Vanity Fair
Xoanon @ 1:43 pm EST

Nona from The Compleat Sean Bean sends along the great scans from Vanity Fair article we reported about a while back.

Media Watch: Cincinnati Enquirer
Xoanon @ 1:25 pm EST

From: The 10th Nazgul

I discovered a newspaper article from the April 29th issue of the "Cincinnati Enquirer" featuring plans for a stage adaptation of "The Fellowship of the Ring". It is being performed September 20-29 by Cincinnati's acclaimed Ovation Theatre Group at the Jarson-Kaplan stage in the Aronoff Theater. The story will be told with "puppets, music, stage combat, lighting and sound effects."

The Ovation Group also has a website with info about the play : www.cincinnatiovation.com/fellowship.

LOTR Premiere to be held in London?
Tehanu @ 11:59 pm EST

In a surprise move reported in NZ's 'Sunday Star Times,' it was revealed today that New Line plans to premiere LOTR in London, as a tribute Tolkien's homeland. Further details are expected in about a week.

There may be a further premiere in NY before the general release date, and another in NZ's Embassy Theatre in Wellington, a few days before general release on December 19. Some of the stars including Elijah Wood and Liv Tyler will most likely be there.

Tyler was back in Wellington to re-record dialogue, as Sean Astin and Elijah have done too. Someone I know spotted her at a dance party they were at, so it seems that Liv's still the same fun-loving party girl.

Meanwhile, the Wellington City Council is working on plans to have a street party and special screenings. They've allocated $50,000 towards a free public event.

What WON'T be free are tickets to the premiere, unless you're good friends with somebody like one of the actors. Tickets are available for $250. Don't, I repeat DON'T, email me and ask how to get on their list.

DO email me (tehanu@theonering.net) and get on our TheOneRing.net list of people interested in attending a Tolkien fan event in Wellington on Dec. 19th. If we get the numbers behind us, we can pull off the kind of glamour party that you'll never forget.

Comic-Con 2001 or Bust!
Tookish @ 2:46 pm EST

I'm pleased to report that TORN will have full representation again for Comic-Con International, held each year in San Diego, California. This is, "America's biggest comic book and pop culture event," and TheOneRing.net will be on board with a one-hour presentation for Thursday, July 19, from 6:00 - 7:00 pm. This blurb will appear in the convention's program publication:

TheOneRing.net is excited to take you one step closer to the Lord of the Rings movies at Comic-Con! TORN will offer a one hour presentation highlighting locations, cast, crew, movie information, and rumors. Come meet some of TheOneRing.net staff and take a bite out of Tolkien fandom!

Our staffers at this con will be yours truly and the illustrious Quickbeam of GreenBooks fame. We look forward to meeting and greeting you TORNados and the rest of the folks at the Con. If you miss us at the presentation, we're sure to be near the LOTR New Line action too.

To read more about Comic-Con or find out how to get there link here. You may not find TORN on the internet program yet as we just finalized this plan, but don't doubt we'll be there! Drop me a line if you have any questions or you think you'll come see the show.

LotR and ComicCon
Tookish @ 2:16 pm EST

From the Comic-Con website

Saturday - 12:00 New Line Cinema Presents Lord of the Rings – It's among the most ambitious feature film projects in recent memory, Peter Jackson's big screen adaptation of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Shrouded in secrecy, this film is at the center of everyone's radar but little has been seen until now. New Line Cinema will present an exclusive look at Lord of the Rings made especially for Comic-Con.

Woohoo! I just may see some of you there!!

The International LOTR Brochure
Calisuri @ 11:47 am EST

This is a small overview of the "Lord of the Rings International Brochure" that can currently be purchased at the Official New Line Shop. Nothing is better then actually touching and feeling this brochure, but I'm going to try and duplicate that effect using scans of each page.

According to the New Line store only 2500 of these were printed, which means this is going to be a big time collectors item. It was originally printed in the Spring of 1999 (when TORn was born!).

"The cover is a die-cut cardboard that opens from the middle, revealing an initial Vellum page, which is followed by seven heavyweight cardboard pages. Each page has an exquisite image of the film as well as a few notes about to novel, the director, or plans for the movie. Since the brochure was designed before production began, the images were chosen by Peter Jackson to be the first publicly seen images from the film trilogy and were finished specifically for this item." - New Line Shop

So lets see it! If you click on the image, another window will open up and you'll probably have to scroll to see the full image for the interior pages. Each image is about 2000 pixels wide and about 350k. So those of you with a modem, it might be a little slow in loading. Enjoy!

Cover with die-cut/vellum (left) - Cover with vellum(right)

Cover (opened and vellum removed)

Page 01

Page 02

Page 03

Page 04

Page 05

Page 06

Page 07

The brochure sells for $60 at the New Line store. I highly recommend it. Like I said earlier, its going to be quite valuable in the future.

Exciting new Tolkien biography!
Tehanu @ 12:49 am EST

Recently we were contacted by a Michael White, a writer who's preparing a new biography of Tolkien. In his words, "I'm just writing to let you know that I've been approached to write a biography of Tolkien for global publication in late November this year. I'm working flat out on the book for delivery in mid-Sept. The book will be published by Alpha in the US and my regular publishers in a collection of territories around the world.

"I know some of you will be aware of the very good biography by Humphrey Carpenter, but I hope mine will be a little lighter and right up to date. I am of course a huge fan of Tolkien and have been for a quarter of a century and I intend my book to be a respectful and entertaining tale. Watch this space!"

His name might ring a bell for some of you. He is the author of twenty books: These include the international best-seller, Stephen Hawking - A Life In Science which has been translated into 15 languages; Einstein - A Life in Science and Darwin -- A Life In Science (with John Gribbin). Early solo efforts included a collection of biographies for teenagers - Newton, Galileo, Lennon and Mozart and a biography of Isaac Asimov - Asimov - The Unauthorised Life (1994). Since then he has written the internationally best-selling: The Science of the X-Files (1996), an alternative biography of Isaac Newton, Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer which concentrates upon Newton's obsession
with magic and alchemy. This was nominated by four British newspapers as 'biography of the year' in 1997 and was awarded 'Book of the Year' in the science category by Bookman Associates in the U.S, an honour he shared with Astronomer Royal, Martin Rees. He followed this with Life Out There - a detailed look at the question of extraterrestrial life and Super Science, a continuation of the theme begun with The Science of the X-Files.