LOTR News 04/01

  • Sir Ian's Saturday Night Live Opening Monologue
  • Plane Sweet
  • CTO of Weta Digital discusses the technology behind the filming of 'The Lord of the Rings
  • Oscar winners see box-office boost
  • Tourists follow in Gandalf's footsteps
  • Soothsayer reviews Two Towers
  • Lured by the 'Rings'


    Oh, Lord, R-rated ''Lord of the Rings'' coming to DVD
    Entertainment Weekly

    Don't expect raunchy hobbit sex scenes, but a more explicit and probably R-rated extended version of ''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' is set for DVD release on November 12.

    The new version will add 30 minutes of unseen footage to the already-lengthy fantasy epic, some of which will be violent enough to merit a more restrictive rating than the film's original PG-13, according to New Line Home Entertainment. The original version of the movie will see a separate DVD release on August 6; it will include a 10-minute ''behind-the-scenes preview'' of the sequel "The Two Towers," due in theaters December 18....


    Plane sweet
    The Star

    Think the success of his film The Lord of the Rings has gone to Elijah Wood's head? Think again!

    On a recent flight from LA to Vancouver, the actor, who plays a pointy-eared hobbit was besieged by three young fans. The flight attendant asked him if he wanted her to send them back to their parents. Not at all, replied the gracious star who spent the rest of the long trip letting the tots take turns sitting next to him as he signed autographs, played games and told silly jokes.

    Try Seventeen, the Mandy Moore/Elijah Wood romantic comedy is expected to be released a few weeks before the second LOTR film


    CTO of Weta Digital discusses the technology behind the filming of 'The Lord of the Rings
    PR Newswire

    Storage Networking World (SNW) conference will open Wednesday morning with a keynote by Jon Labrie. Labrie will discuss the significant impact next generation storage technology has on the digital multimedia world, specifically addressing the digital archival of film. Weta Digital is the digital effects company of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings."

    Weta Digital spent approximately $8.3 million for an industry-leading IT infrastructure that could support the creation of next-generation digital effects for the Academy- Award winning "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." Each day during filming and post-production, between 200 and 400 gigabytes of digital data were moved between immediately available "online" disk systems and the Nearline(R) storage available on the StorageTek products.

    Full article...


    Oscar winners see box-office boost
    Reuters

    HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Oscar's help came in handy over Easter weekend for "A Beautiful Mind," "Monster's Ball," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Gosford Park."

    New Line's "Rings," which also picked up four Oscars, continued to perform impressively after 15 weeks in theaters, with $2.3 million at 1,120 engagements for a decline of only 3 percent and a 103-day domestic total of $301.2 million. The epic fantasy managed to maintain its drawing power despite leaving nearly 200 screens.

    Studio officials said inclusion of a trailer for the second installment of the film trilogy -- "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" -- also helped draw fans.

    Ful article...


    Tourists follow in Gandalf's footsteps
    ITV.com

    Tourism chiefs in New Zealand are poised for a flood of visitors from Britain following the Oscar wins for the film Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

    The spectacular movie, shot in majestic mountain scenery in New Zealand, scooped four Academy Awards, included best cinematography.

    "We are expecting even more interest in New Zealand among UK holidaymakers now," said a London-based Tourism New Zealand spokeswoman.

    "The good news is that other film producers are now scouring New Zealand for likely locations. Things are booming at the moment."

    Full article...


    Soothsayer reviews Two Towers
    Coming Soon

    On Mar 29th, New Line Cinema released a new cut of the first installment of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings into theatres. The new-cut involves how the film concludes into the credits. The new cut delays the dissension into the credits with an amazing look into the second film of the series, “The Two Towers”.

    For the most part there hasn’t been a huge advertising campaign to tell fans that this sneak-peek is now there. As you enjoy “Fellowship of the Ring” for the second, third or fourth time, that new little morsel is sure to make you gasp. The new 5 minute look at the next installment shows new characters, the evolution of Aragorn, epic battles and the return of an old friend.

    The trailer details a lot of where the trilogy’s stoic hero, Aragorn is headed. The trailer shows glimpses of a struggle and test for the love between Aragorn and Arwen. It shows Gandalf’s return and what plans he has for a reluctant Aragorn. There are a lot of new characters introduced and since I am not a Tolkienist so I can’t say exactly who they are.

    There is a new character played by character actor Brad Dourif and the sneak-peek shows glimpses of the kingdom of Gondor. The sneak ends with Gollum descending down onto the unsuspecting Hobbits. But the most impressive scene in this look is a giant battle scene like no other I have seen on film. Take the huge epic battle at the beginning of Fellowship and times it by ten. Like the 1980’s pop group Yello or the Kool-Aid man used to say “Oh Yeah!” That’s about all I screamed after I saw the sneak-peek. Nuff Said!


    Lured by the 'Rings'
    Anne Chalfant
    Bay Area

    Too bad they don't give Oscars for "best supporting land mass."

    If they did, New Zealand's role in the film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" would have swept that award, along with the five Academy Awards it won last week.

    The nation of two small islands with spurting volcanoes, misty fjords and jagged mountain peaks is a fantastical kingdom, playing roles that range from the dreamily gorgeous to the eerily surreal.

    Diva nation that it is, New Zealand provided 150 film sites for "Lord of the Rings," plus the two yet-to-be-released sequels.

    For the visitor to New Zealand, Middle-earth spine tingles are common. Outside Queenstown, the mountains called the Remarkables seem to claw against the sky. Can the evil land of Mordor be far away?

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