He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water

by Michael Martinez, Friday, April 20, 2001

Why did the Ents end up in Fangorn Forest? How, and when, did they make the trek across Middle-earth to the southern end of the Misty Mountains. And why did they move all the way down there? Fangorn tells Merry and Pippin that he once wandered through the willow-meads of Tasarinan. "Willow-meads" is a curious turn of phrase. Trees don't grow in meadows. But Tolkien loved to scatter willows around Middle-earth, along with rivers and lakes. And willows do grow beside rivers and lakes. The willow has long been used as a symbol of regret and lost love in English literature. As Fangorn sings about his youth in Beleriand, he begins with the Willow-meads of Tasarinan (Nan-Tathren on the map of Beleriand, a region between the Mouths of Sirion and the Gates of Sirion, to the south of Doriath). When Frodo and Sam wander through Mordor, and they are thirsty, Sam thinks wistfully of willow trees beside rivers where they had stopped on their journey. And as Theoden leads his Riders of Rohan out of Harrowdale, they pass willow trees along the Snowbourne river. The most poetic description of the willows in Middle-earth is probably Voronwe's description of Nan-Tathren for Tuor in "Of Tuor and his coming to Gondolin": "...In that land Narog joins Sirion, and they haste no more, but flow broad and quiet through living meads; and all about the shining river are flaglilies like a blossoming forest, and the grass is filled with flowers, like gems, like bells, like flames of red and gold, like a waste of many-coloured stars in a firmament of green. Yet fairest of all are the willows of Nan-Tathren, pale green, or silver in the wind, and the rustle of their innumerable leaves is a spell of music: day and night would flicker by uncounted, while still I stood knee-deep in grass and listened. There I was enchanted, and forgot the Sea in my heart...." For all its beauty and bliss, however, Nan-Tathren seems never to have attracted a permanent Elven population. Tuor and Idril led the exiles of Gondolin to the region and stayed there for a while, holding a feast and making songs of regret and sorrow for Gondolin, and to remember the courage of Glorfindel. But they did not remain long in the region. Read the full article here.

The Complete Sean Bean Interview

by Michael Martinez, Friday, April 20, 2001

Winona Kent of The Complete Sean Bean has scored a major coup. She recently spent some time talking with the actor about his life, career, and work on Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings". Plenty of pictures are provided in the interview.

AICN posts pictures of LOTR busts and statues

by Michael Martinez, Wednesday, April 18, 2001

Wave 1 of the busts includes Gandalf, Frodo, Aragorn, and a couple of Orcs. The busts are modelled on actors from the movies. The Orcs are just Orcs, not Peter Jackson's weird Uruk-hai. Wave 1 of the statues includes Gandalf, Frodo, and the Orc Overseer (also included in the busts). Presumably this Overseer works for Saruman. The images are of Sideshow Weta Collectibles. Pages and images may take a long time to download.

Brad Dourif says Fran scarier than Peter

by Michael Martinez, Wednesday, April 18, 2001

SciFiTalk has an interview with Brad Dourif on their 365live radio program, and we have a sound clip. Brad Dourif talks about working with Peter and Fran on the "Lord of the Rings" movies in a press conference he recorded at the recent I-CON 2001. The full press conference is repeated three times in a ten-hour program. They have a 56K or less connection broadcast channel and a broadband connection channel. Xena fans will be thrilled to hear Adrienne Wilkinson do a station break at the end of the sound clip.

Welcome to Wellywood -- four full scans

by Michael Martinez, Wednesday, April 18, 2001

Jeremy has sent us scans of a 'Welcome to Wellywood' article which runs to four full-page scans. We did our best to reduce the images, but resolution is lost if we try to squeeze the images into a normal Xenite.Org page, so we're including four small versions of the images below. Just click on the images and a new browser window will open with the full scan. We did reduce the scans to about 40% from the original size anyway to help them fit in your browser window, but they should be legible. The full-size files range from 300,000 bytes to 360,000 bytes so it will take some time for the images to fully load. Just close your browser windows when you are finished reading the pages (we won't tell if you save them). Cate Blanchett and Liv Tyler fans should enjoy the article. Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" movies are scheduled for release in December 2001, December 2002, and December 2003. Thanks to Jeremy for the scans. The scans are from "The Exchange", a customers' magazine published by WestPac Trust in New Zealand and Australia.

Ancanar.com announces 'Creation', mini-making of Webfilm

by Michael Martinez, Tuesday, April 17, 2001

Ancanar.com has released a new Quicktime promotional short called 'Creation'. The mini-documentary is about five minutes long and includes interviews with the principal actors and Sam R. Balcomb, writer/director for the independent movie. The short was first screened at the American Film Festival in February 2001 and it includes the first footage released from the movie. The movie, "Ancanar", stars Gregory Lee Kenyon as a young man who seeks out a hidden city of the Elves after his own people are destroyed. Read the full article at Xenite.Org.

Orlando Bloom fans organizing a club

by Michael Martinez, Monday, April 16, 2001

Seems Orlando Bloom may give Cate Blanchett and Liv Tyler some competition in the Best Peter Jackson Elf category. Malia is a determined fan who has been in touch with Orlando Bloom's people, and now she needs to show them that there are other people who want to stay apace with the hottest blond-haired Elf warrior ever to grace the silver screen (okay, so far, he's only graced a few million PCs, but you just wait'n'see!). "Here's the deal," Malia wrote on Xenite.Org's Lord of the Rings movie forum. "In order to start an Official fan club, we have to have 'signatures', and quite a few of them, showing that there is a large enough fan base. This is basically a petition campaign. I have been working on this for a long time, and I would appreciate it if any of you who want to be included would please send me an email including your name and address, stating that you wish to have an Official Fan Club started and you wish to become a member. It would even be good if you have access to a scanner to sign your name and scan it and send it with the email as an attachment." Full addresses are not necessary, Malia adds. It should be enough to just give your name, city, and state or country. For more information, contact webmaster@orlandofanclub.zzn.com.

The ethereal Cate Blanchett

by Michael Martinez, Sunday, April 15, 2001

Cate Blanchett's publicity steam roller swamps the New Zealand Herald Online. Ostensibly talking about her "current" film, "The Gift", the article cannot help but mention the upcoming "Lord of the Rings" movies, in which Cate plays the Elven queen Galadriel. "I think the price (of being immortalized in plastic) may be a bit prohibitive," she tells the NZ Herald, "because the hair is going to be so long so maybe I will stay on the shelf." Thanks to Jeremy for the tip.

News roundup for mid-April

by Michael Martinez, Sunday, April 15, 2001

There actually hasn't been anything Earth-shaking over the past few weeks, so Xenite.Org has not been flooding Speculative Vision with headlines about various newspaper interviews, birthdays, generic Web site updates, etc. We carry plenty of daily headlines at The Lord of the Rings movie / Hobbit movie Fact/Rumor Roundup if you want to scour a few on occasion. Tolkien Online did pick up two pictures of Orc Maquettes recently. These small busts are used as models for the makeup, costuming, and special effects people. TheOneRing.Net has a brief report on who is back in New Zealand for looping. Reportedly, over 90 per cent of the dialogue shot on location was unusable, so virtually all three movies will have to be looped. Looping is the process of adding in dialogue in syncronization with existing footage. Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf) updated his Grey Book, the personal diary the actor has published on his official Web site concerning his activities in the movies. The Grey Book is now being used to answer fan questions. NOTE FROM MICHAEL MARTINEZ: Sir Ian is correct in principle about Hobbit aging. Ain't It Cool News is reporting that the Fox Broadcasting Network will show several short features to promote the upcoming movies in November. The features are being produced by Ardeen Entertainment, about which we have no information. Liv Tyler reportedly features prominently in the productions, and she will narrate an overview of footage, discuss props, and the history of several items such as Narsil and the Palantir. Wired Magazine will be running a feature article on Tolkien fandom this fall. No word yet on whether the article will appear on the Web site, but more than 30 people have been interviewed to date. Word slipped out last week over a mailing list. Tolkien Online reprinted an interview with John Howe which had been posted by Cirdan in Germany. Zentertainment has reported that Fandom.Com, which assumed ownership over Ringbearer.Org in 2000, has announced it is shutting down. The numerous fan sites which Fandom bought up are expected to revert to previous owners. Fandom recently bought Creation Entertainment, which has now been sold off to Gary Berman and Adam Malin. Cinescape Magazine, another Fandom acquisition, will continue operation. Fandom tried unsuccessfully to trademark the word "fandom" in 2000, and even aggressively pursued the domain name Fandom.Tv. Our sources in non-Tolkien fandom groups tell us few tears are being shed over the demise of the commercialized Fandom.Com. There appears to be no confirmation of the shutdown at Fandom's Web site.

Lonely wanderers and the tales that almost were

by Michael Martinez, Saturday, April 14, 2001

I think I know when Mithrellas left Imrazor the Numenorean. Nothing happens in Tolkien without a reason. Regardless of what elements Tolkien utilized in his story-telling, he always made sure that his characters took action for a reason. And if Mithrellas was going to leave Imrazor before he died, there had to be some compelling reason for her to do so. Elves didn't marry just on a whim. Mithrellas had to have found a soulmate in Imrazor. The story of Mithrellas and Imrazor has often been overlooked by Tolkien's readers. We first learn a piece of that tale when Legolas meets Imrahil in Minas Tirith. Legolas bows before Imrahil and greets him as a descendant of Elves, a fact that Imrahil acknowledges. Imrahil's ancestry is finally explained in Unfinished Tales, where we are told that a handmaiden of the Elven lady Nimrodel had become separated from her mistress. That handmaiden, Mithrellas, is Imrahil's foremother. The story is repeated and expanded in The Peoples of Middle-earth. In the tradition of his house Angelimir was the twentieth in unbroken descent from Galador, first lord of Dol Amroth (c. T.A. 2004-2129). According to the same traditions Galador was the son of Imrazor the Numenorean who dwelt in Belfalas, and the Elven-lady Mithrellas. She was one of the companions of Nimrodel, among many of the Elves of Lorien that fled to the coast about T.A. 1980, when evil arose in Moria; and Nimrodel and her maidens strayed in the wooded hills, and were lost. But in this tale it is said that Imrazor harboured Mithrellas, and took her to wife. But when she had borne him a son, Galador, and a daughter, Gilmith, she slipped away by night, and he saw her no more. But though Mithrellas was of the lesser Silvan race (and not of the High Elves or the Grey) it was ever held that the house and kin of the Lords of Dol Amroth were noble by blood, as they were fair in face and mind. In so few words, we are told so much. Or, rather, we are given so much to look for. That is, the whole story is summarized there, like a brief plot synopsis for a movie or book being sold on the basis of a writer's reputation. This note is exemplary of Tolkien's method of introducing a story or legend as an aside which would, ultimately, take on a life of its own. Of course, people will be quick to point out that we are never told a fuller version of the tale. Well, yes and no. Tolkien was careful to weave his little tales into the greater fabric. He didn't write a great tragedy about Imrazor and Mithrellas, but most of the pieces were put into place. Read the full article here

Themestream: Over the Hill and through Mirkwood, a tourist's dream of Middle-earth

by Michael Martinez, Saturday, April 7, 2001

It's already been proposed. Heck, it may even happen. It's almost certain to happen. It's just a matter of time and money, really. Someone, some day, somewhere, is going to build a Middle-earth theme park. I doubt it will happen in New Zealand. It's nice that Peter Jackson filmed the three upcoming movies ("The Fellowship of the Ring" -- 2001, "The Two Towers" -- 2002, and "The Return of the King" -- 2003) in New Zealand. They have beautiful landscapes and a great pool of actors, but put yourself in the shoes of the investment community. Do you really want to plunk several hundred million dollars down on an island in the southern hemisphere that most people cannot get to? New Zealand has only 4,000,000 people. Australia has about 20,000,000. They deserve to have theme parks, but if theme park investors hop on board the Hobbit Express in the next year or two, they will probably insist the project be established either in North America or western Europe. The bulk of the world's traveling middle classes live on those two continents. I'm sure the Tolkien family would be appalled at the prospect of seeing their father's life-long achievement reduced to a collection of faux museums and splashy rides. Cheesy Orcs would come lunging out of the woods to frighten children. Oversized Hobbits (park employees in hot, heavy costumes) would wander down Main Street, Minas Tirith. Gandalf's fireworks would go off every night over the dining hall of Thror's Kingdom under the Mountain. Lovers and sight-seers would be rowed across the Long Lake as a Smaug balloon floats overhead, fire breathing from its nostrils. The picture of a Middle-earth theme park need not be horrifying. Disney has proven that the educated masses love to take their children around the bend in tea cups and gondolas. Multitudes of theme parks inundate us with rides and exhibits, merchandise and meals, all inspired by history, fantasy, science, the movies, and literature. We love our pirates and spinning spaceships. Why shouldn't we enjoy a swift jaunt through Mirkwood, or stroll down the streets of Minas Tirith, Dale, and Edoras? Wouldn't it be cool to have lunch at Theoden's Golden Hall, to ride the rapids of Sarn Gebir, or to look upon Tol Brandir and the falls of Rauros? If I were to take the plunge and design a Middle-earth theme park I'd say, "To heck with the movies! Let's do the real thing." Well, with a few modern amenities. I'd rather not have to wander through the woods like an Elf if they didn't have showers and modern plumbing. I've spent a lot of years in the woods. They're fun until you brace yourself against the wrong tree and get sap all over your hand, or you slip down an embankment into the mud. Then it's time to return to civilization. Tolkien's Elves weren't sap-covered mud-bathers. I'm pretty sure of that. Read the full article at Themestream

Topps doing trading cards

by Michael Martinez, Friday, April 6, 2001

TheOneRing.Net reported a blurb about Topps doing LoTR trading cards.

Unwritten Tales of love and war in Middle-earth

by Michael Martinez, Friday, April 6, 2001

If someone were to turn up a lost manuscript written by J.R.R. Tolkien, I would hope it provided a comprehensive narrative for the Second Age. We have only one brief narrative for the Second Age in the form of the first chronological table in Appendix B to The Lord of the Rings. The only other information provided on the Second Age comes in glimpses scattered through "Akallabeth", "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age", and Unfinished Tales' "A description of the island of Numenor", "Aldarion and Erendis", "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn...", and "The Line of Elros". These sources don't just provide slim pickings for the Tolkien researcher, they provide dangling storylines, contradictions, what ifs, and a maze of unanswered questions. So let's talk about the First Age for a while. Specifically, what is it about the First Age which makes that time so interesting? Tolkien created a whole mythology which dealt with the creation of the world all the way up through the final defeat of the first incarnation of evil. But a lot of the storyline just sort of whizzes past the reader. "Iluvatar created the Ainur...and they sang...and he created the World...and they became the Valar...and Melkor claimed Arda for his own...Tulkas rested and Nessa danced...Melkor toppled the two Lamps...the Valar raised the Pelori...the Elves awoke...the War of the Powers raged in the north...Melkor was imprisoned for three ages...Feanor made the Silmarils...Melkor was released...Melkor murdered Finwe and stole the Silmarils...Feanor led the Noldor out of Tirion...the Noldor attacke Alqualonde...Feanor abandoned Fingolfin in Araman....etc., etc." The story of Feanor is the first real Elf tale which spans more than one chapter of The Silmarillion. But Feanor is nonetheless a brief character whose death seems more of a relief than anything else. By the time he's cut off and surrounded by Balrogs, the reader is ready to ask, "Can this guy make things any worse for his people?" Feanor may be tragic, but he's also a bit insufferable, and many a reader has demanded to know why they should care about Feanor? Read the full article here

Novelization rumors explained?

by Michael Martinez, Monday, April 2, 2001

In March we reported that Diamond Previews had announced a novelization for Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" movies would be published this Spring. No, we were subsequently told, it's just a reprint of the classic novel with a movie cover and some additional pictures and information. Well, that turns out not to be the case. Jane Johnson, HarperCollins' Science Fiction and Fantasy publisher, is publishing a Visual Companion to the Fellowship of the Ring (November 2001) and a Two Towers Visual Companion (October 2002) under the pen name of Jude Fisher. The books are not yet published, but several book news sites reported in November, 2000 that the Jude Fisher books would be novelizations for the movies. The books contain pictures from the movies and background information on characters and cultures (reportedly only about 10,000 words of text for the first book). No information on the third book is yet available. It appears that Diamond Previews' announcement was no more in error than previous announcements. The visual companions have either been mistaken for novelizations, or else more news is on the way.

Snow angel, snow demon, s'no way!

by Michael Martinez, Sunday, April 1, 2001

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a large creature in the Alps, dubbing it 'Snow Angel'. (Zurich, Switzerland) -- March 30, 2001. Scientists working high in Switzerland's Alps have uncovered the remains a large prehistoric creature buried in what they describe as an "impact crater" on a mountainside. The discovery was made in early January during a rescue operation but archaeologists were unable to investigate the site until mid-March. Dr. Reinhard van Gelder, a Dutch paleoarchaeologist on loan from the Royal Museum of Antiquities in Amsterdam, discussed the find with reporters at a news conference. "It is a most unusual creature," he said, pointing to a diagram. The creature, according to Dr. van Gelder, would have stood approximately 3 metres in height. Its skeletal structure, however, is still being examined by paleoarchaeologists. Read the full article here

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