2-29-00

Rivendell or Helm's Deep? Tehanu @ 00:19 EST Galadriel's recent report on the sets for Rivendell and Helm's Deep in the old chemical warehouse in Miramar sparked my interest, because not two days before I was talking to a contractor who had delivered "some stuff" to an indoor set in Miramar, and got to hang around and watch the Maori blessing on the site. (Why? I don't know. I didn't know there was a tapu on chemical warehouses.) My contact described a set that looked like a large amphitheatre the height of a two-storey house and maybe 30 metres across, paved with stone and apparently made of stone, though as usual it was polystyrene. There would have been room for a hundred people or more. At the top of the tiers there were carved faces looking inwards, with beards, he thought. I asked about crowns but he didn't think so. The surrounding walls were all blacked out so they wouldn't show up during filming. That was all he saw. There's no real use for something like this at Helm's Deep, but no reason why the Council of Elrond couldn't be held in such a structure, so maybe this is one of the sets that Galadriel was talking about. Though probably not the one they're filming in first, if Elrond's only just been cast.

2-28-00

Filming in Miramar! -UPDATE- Xoanon @ 21:47 EST TheoneRing.net Spy Galadriel sends in the following: I was out on an assassination assignment the other day, I was given special orders to off a local who was apparently into some nefarious business. yes, Galadriel is my name, yet I am no fair Elf, I'm a trained Koga Ninja who would easily kill you if someone paid me enough... ...so I tracked down this job and slipped into his room without making a sound. I slipped my sword right under his nose and he awoke and began so shoot off some info you may be interested in... 'Ok ok! I'll talk! They're filming at Miramar, a suburb of Wellington, near seatoun!... ...They are filming interior scenes inside a chemical warehouse, it'll be used as interiors for Helms Deep and Rivendell, they'll obviously fix it up inside.. ..They'll be there starting tomorrow and Peter Jackson may be there himself..that's all I know, Honest!' The rest will remain with me and my Gods...I thought you'd like to know UPDATE I recieved this in my mailbox this morning: They are using an old paint factory and an old cosmetics factory.. different areas of Miramar. the cosmetics factory has become "Camperdown Studios" as it is on Camperdown Rd. Weta productions is also housed in the same building.. (weta does all the Computer Effects) a weta is a native NZ insect.. quite menicing.. There is a big Castle that has been built in the Haywood Hills in the Lower Hutt Suburb of wellington for a lot of the Sceens.

A 15 Minute Preview Shown? Xoanon @ 09:05 EST TheOneRing.net was privy to some information regarding a 15 minute short, fully edited, from the Helms Deep set. The major cast and crew were shown this short a few weeks ago and apparently it was fairly stunning!

Preview of LOTR Shown Xoanon @ 09:00 EST Thanks to: Lance from Cate Blanchett Online The New Zealand Herald 28.02.2000 - By ROBERT WARD LOS ANGELES - It was a great way to show New Zealand to Hollywood's movie glitterati. New Zealand's ambassador to the US, former Prime Minister Jim Bolger, presided over a bash that included the best of New Zealand food and drink, rousing speeches from two of the country's best-known mayors and a six-minute preview of The Lord of the Rings. There was only one snag - the people the Kiwis really wanted to impress were not there. Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey and his Wellington counterpart, Mark Blumsky, are in Los Angeles drumming up support for New Zealand - especially Waitakere and Wellington - as a great place to make movies. The big prize they are angling for is the third Star Wars "prequel," due to be released in 2005. New Zealand missed out on Star Wars II, which is now being filmed in Sydney. But nobody from Lucasfilm, which makes the Star Wars movies, was at Mr Bolger's party. Neither were any other movie moguls - just people at various levels of film production. And Mr Harvey's scheduled meeting with an executive of Twentieth Century Fox, which distributes Star Wars, fell through. But the party, held at the home of Consul-General Jim Howe in Los Angeles on Saturday, was still good exposure for what movie magic and New Zealand scenery can achieve. The six-minute "showreel" of The Lord of the Rings was the highlight of the evening. It showed dark, hooded figures against magnificent New Zealand landscapes, some of the 20,000 extras and computer clones in battle scenes, a quaint, rustic Middle Earth village, artists' drawings that inspired the production design, and the stars - Sir Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler, Christopher Lee - in costume. Mr Bolger's guests greeted it with enthusiastic cheering and whistling. He encouraged them to make their films in New Zealand. As a logo saying "The World in One Country" was projected across the screen, Mr Bolger said he spoke for the embassy and consulate staff and Film Commission executives when he said: "We're from the Government. We're here to help." Actor Kevin Smith (Ares in Xena: Warrior Princess) did a down-home, Kiwi-bloke act as MC. And Mr Blumsky boasted about the range of films being made in Wellington, from the $1.8 million Stickman to the $400 million The Lord of the Rings. Mr Harvey did some boasting of his own, about Xena and the west coast beaches of Waitakere City. And Richard Ross, senior vice-president of production for Studios USA, which makes Xena, told his fellow American film-makers what a "wonderful" experience his company had filming in New Zealand. Partygoers were rewarded with cheeses, green-lipped mussels, eel fillet and smoked salmon rolls, seared lamb tenderloin and venison casserole.

2-27-00

Dragon Boat Race Pics and Info Xoanon @ 10:53 EST From: Kotukunui Attached are some vidcaps of the footage of four of the cast taking part in the Auckland Dragon Boat festival this weekend. Orlando "Legolas" Bloom, Elijah "Frodo" Wood, Billy "Pippin" Boyd and Dominic "Merry" Monaghan all took part in the celebrity bath tub race. The bath tubs turned out to be rather difficult to manoeuvre and the event degenerated into a swimming race. Elijah seemed to be the weakest swimmer as all thoughts of fellowship were abandoned, bath-tubs were boarded, pirate style and the contestants swam for the finish line. The actors happily posed for photo ops with fans and seemed to enjoy themselves tremendously. Orlando claimed victory but Elijah seemed to think that Dominic had taken the gold medal. Click on each image to enlarge in our scrapbook

2-26-00

'Lord of the Rings' Play in Montreal Xoanon @ 12:55 EST I reported on this a while back, and I was then disappointed to learn the the play had been scrapped, but it appears that I was mistaken! I received this in the mail today: Roughly translated from french: Poly-theatre Presents: The work of J.R.R. Tolkien the LORD OF the RINGS. March 2,3,4 2000, 7:30 PM Room Emile Legault / CÉGEP (College) the St. Lawrence 613 avenue Ste-Cross, City the St. Lawrence Subway Of the College regular Price: 10$ Student Price: 5$ Réservations: (514)340-4747 item 0 Poly-theatre is a theatre company made mainly of students of the Polytechnic School of Montreal. These future engineers, took their spare time to work on this project. The LORD OF the RINGS is the third production of Poly-Theatre this season. This méga-production will bring you into a fantastic world thanks to the decorations, costumes, lightings, sound environment and graphic data processing, the whole project is run by more than 100 people. All are fully invested there in order to present an unforgettable spectacle to you. For additional information, Click here Original French: Poly-Théâtre présente d'après l'oeuvre de J.R.R. Tolkien LE SEIGNEUR DES ANNEAUX les 2, 3, 4 mars 2000, 19h30 Salle Émile Legault / CÉGEP Saint-Laurent 613 avenue Ste-Croix, Ville Saint-Laurent Métro Du Collège Prix régulier: 10$ Prix étudiant: 5$ Réservations: (514)340-4747 poste 0 Poly-Théâtre est une troupe de théâtre formée principalement d'étudiants de l'École Polytechnique de Montréal. Ces futurs ingénieurs, quelque peu fous, inventent du temps libre dans leurs horaires afin de faire du théâtre. LE SEIGNEUR DES ANNEAUX est la troisième production de Poly-Théâtre cette saison. Cette méga-production vous amènera dans un monde fantastique grâce aux décors, costumes, éclairages, environnement sonore et infographie, le tout fruit du travail acharné de plus de 100 personnes. Tous s'y investissent pleinement afin de vous présenter un spectacle inoubliable. Pour renseignements supplémentaire, déclic ici I will more than likely be going to this event. If you live in the Montreal area and plan to go, drop me a line and perhaps we can gather a large group of us!

Boat Race Details Xoanon @ 12:30 EST More info regarding the Dragon Boat Race for charity event that's going on in NZ right now. My thanks to Annette Cullen, Festival Director for the info. Wellington Dragon Boat Festival MEDIA RELEASE For immediate release Contact: Waterway Events Limited Robert Lochhead or Annette Cullen Phone: 04 - 4710205 or Mobile 025 863995/025 2830420 Lord of the Rings Stars join in Bathtub challenge. The Lord of the Ring stars Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd and Orlando Bloom, will appear in the celebrity bathtub race being held at the Wellington Dragon Boat Festival, on Sunday 27th February, 12.00 noon to 1.00pm. The stars have agreed to appear and help with a fund raising effort organised by the Festival to raise money for Ronald McDonald House. They will be joining other local celebrities Ian Ferguson, Members of the Capital Shakers netball team and others. The festival organisers added bathtub racing to the event as a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House. With 2,700 participants and over10, 000 spectators expected over the weekend, the organisers felt there was an opportunity for some audience participation and to also benefit a worthy charity such as Ronald McDonald House. Participants and spectators are being asked to pay $5 for a bathtub race, which goes straight to Ronald McDonald House. Ronald McDonald collectors will collect donations during the weekend, with the celebrity race expected to draw a lot of support. -ENDS-

2-25-00

Rivendell Set Pics? Xoanon @ 20:59 EST Johnny from 'Realm of the Ring' (www.therealmofthering.cjb.net) sent along these great pics from what we think could be the Rivendell set. Enjoy! Click on each image to enlarge in our scrapbook

2-24-00

Lorien Set? Xoanon @ 21:39 EST From: Leo I went up to the farm were the crew build a few sets not so long ago. I wasn't able to look around freely because it's all private property. I talked a bit with the people who live there and asked them if they'd mind if I took a look around, this was not a problem although they didn't want me to take any pics on the sets, I assume because they were asked to by a guy named Barry Thompson, I believe he's head security for LOTR. They were kind to draw me a map of the area and point out the largest sets (they filmed all over the land, but mainly short shots). One of these sets was called Lothlorien Forest. It was a ten minute walk from the houses and looked like a normal forest, according to the owners the crew had brought in big fake trees to fill up the empty spots, in these trees were the flets on wich the Fellowship (I pressume) hid themselves from the orcs. There was nothing left of course apart from some sprinklers used to keep everything green. The trees brought in by the crew looked like ordinary trees, they weren't white or something. The other set was a 15 minute walk from Lorien, and it was hard to tell what it was, it was just a forest so they could have shot almost anything there. On the way I passed three water tanks in wich they kept the water to sprinkle the entire area. According to the people living here the crew stayed here for about three weeks to do all there shooting. I didn't take any pics of the area (I swear) for some reasons, first of all it was private property and I didn't have the permission from the owners, second because they trusted me on the ground alone (with my camera) and didn't ask me to give it to them while I was looking around. And last but not least they gave me some information wich I couldn't find out myself, they drew me a map and all, I could have walked there for hours and not knowing what I was looking at if I wouldn't have that. All together, its a trust thing.

Kids Audition, Future Filming Location? Xoanon @ 18:22 EST From: Pete Schoolkids in Westport, New Zealand, have been auditioned for roles in Lord of the Rings. The teacher who did the auditions, says filming will begin in Oparara Valley, Kahurangi National Park the in May. Kahurangi National Park The valley is clothed in a wonderful mossy rainforest and is full of limestone caves. 20 years ago it inspired veteran environmentalist and Tolkien fan, Tom Hay, to sprinkle the place with names from the Hobbit. So caves, lakes, limestone arches and streams now bear names like Moria Gate and Galadriel's Mirror.

Media Watch: Rip It Up Magazine Xoanon @ 09:27 EST The good folks at 'Rip It Up' magazine were kind enough to sent me this snippet of their interview with John Astin, Sean Astin (Sam) father. I visit The One Ring net almost daily and have a little something you might be interested in. I just interviewed John Astin, better known as the original Gomez Addams, who’s here in Adelaide to perform the one-man show Edgar Allan Poe: Once Upon A Midnight as part of the world famous (?) Adelaide Fringe. A lovely guy he was too. Any old how, we got to talking about his son, Sean and this is what happened: RIU:Tell me John, is the actor Sean Astin your son? JA:"He is indeed!" RIU:And he’s over in New Zealand working with a director you’ve worked with before, one Peter Jackson [John was the ghostly old judge in PJ’s The Frighteners]? JA:"That is… a fact!" RIU:That’ll be terrific for his career. JA:"I think so. As you probably know, he’s playing Samwise Gamgee and I think it’s a great part for him. He’s having a great time working with Peter and Fran. His wife Christine and his daughter Alexandra are down there with him and in fact, I think Ally is going to do a little bit in there too." RIU:Yes, I’ve heard she’s going to play his daughter at the end of the film. That’s a neat piece of casting! JA:"You heard that?" RIU:Oh yes, I’ve been following the films’ progress zealously. I thought it was a nicely… what’s the word… symmetrical (?) thing that the two of you will have worked with the same director… JA:"Yes, well they asked me to read for Gandalf, so I did. I think I came up with something that wasn’t what they were imagining. I tried to do what they were looking for but probably wasn’t prepared for it. I loved working with them on The Frighteners and they’re a terrific pair. Sean’s having a great time. I believe Ally’s been playing with Fran and Peter’s kids and having a good time with them. They’re such a… nice couple of people. I would be delighted to work with them anytime, in a large part or a small part. They’re just good people."It’d be great to see you turn up in there somewhere. "That’d be fun to do something. I don’t know. Schedules are tough. I don’t know if it’s possible even. But yeah! It would be fun." RIU:Was yours a Tolkien household? JA:"Oh! Not really. I was into other things. I read The Hobbit when it came out. Of course, when I grew up, it hadn’t been written! But in the household with Sean, oddly, it wasn’t one of the stories I read to him. Why, I don’t know. It just didn’t happen. It could’ve very well, it was that kind of a story… and of course The Lord Of The Rings trilogy is so powerful. "It’s a fascinating project. I think the idea behind it, that they’re going to film all three films back-to-back, I just think it’s fantastic. And unless something wild goes on, they’re going to have three huge hits. I can imagine, as an audience, going to see that first film and getting off on it, and then saying ‘wow, there’s going to be another one coming up!’ And know that it is in the works. That’s going to be a thrill." So we have some retro casting news here, John Astin was asked to read for Gandalf!

2-22-00

Ents in Helms Deep? Xoanon @ 08:43 EST The following should be taken as rumor: From: Tim The Ents will be at helms deep from today (Tuesday, February 22) on. Someone I know was calling on one of his customers and he told him that he would be doing a role in the LOTR as a Talking Tree at Helms Deep. The thing I cant understand is that this guy is Shorty and really stocky. So figure that one out for ya self?? That s all I know nothin for certain. The guy got the job through an agent or something like that.