Variety credits Internet with changing movie marketing practices

by Michael Martinez, Tuesday, September 19, 2000

It was a slow news day in Tolkien Web site land when she walked into my dusty, smoke-laden office. 'I have a news story for you,' she said. 'Variety thinks you Webmasters make a difference.' I couldn't help but wonder if she knew what she was talking about. Variety reports about big movie studios, stars who can't decide which multi-million dollar contract to sign, industry boondoggles that bring on shareholder lawsuits, and which side of the airplane Jane Fonda rides in when she and Ted go on vacation. Nonetheless, I was intrigued. I took my feet off the desk, I rolled down my shirt sleeves, I straightened my tie...only to find she had walked out on me on her way to the next Webmaster. But she had left behind a link to a pretty interesting news article. Okay, we fan Webmasters make a difference. But that don't pay the bills, I thought, as I reached to turn on a light that wouldn't work any more because I forgot to pay the bill last month. Well, better luck next time, kid. And remember, Dead Hobbits Don't Wear Tartans.

Meet Rachel McNeilly, future Kiwi star

by Michael Martinez, Sunday, September 17, 2000

Rachel and her brother Todd and sister Kylie, of Riverton New Zealand, are shown waiting to be measured along with hundreds of other hopefuls auditioning to be extras in Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies. The auditions were held in Queenstown, and Three Foot Six Ltd. was looking for elderly men and women, women of all ages (from 13 on up), and teenage boys with light brown, red, or grey hair. The extras are needed for scenes to be filmed at Deer Park Heights next month and in Queenstown in November. The hair colorings don't imply much judging strictly by the literary story. The article about the casting call suggested the extras would be used for depicting the Rohirrim and/or Middle-earth soldiers. Red-haired Rohirrim. Hm....

Guardian looks for stars at Edoras

by Michael Martinez, Sunday, September 17, 2000

Tolkien Online has published an article from The Guardian which suggests Liv Tyler, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, and Sir Ian McKellen may film some scenes at the Edoras set of Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies. Although Tolkien Online's Jonathon doesn't feel there is any reason for the actors to be there, it's possible that Theoden's funeral will appear in one of the movies. Tolkien Online also published another story from Christchurch Press which managed to spell "Edoras" correctly. The New Zealand news media seem to be having a very difficult time in accurately reporting news about Tolkien's Rohirrim (who are usually called "The Rohans" in news reports down there).

OneNews posts video footage of Edoras

by Michael Martinez, Sunday, September 17, 2000

Although they don't know how to spell the name of Theoden's city, OneNews has posted an article with accompanying video footage about Edoras. Local residents who want to see the set construction left intact when the filming is completed are interviewed. The shots of the Rohirric city are blurred, perhaps intentionally to help preserve the mystique and keep people wondering. "The Fellowship of the Ring", the first of the three films Peter Jackson is making based on J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings", is scheduled for world-wide release on December 14, 2001. Thanks to TheOneRing.Net for the heads up.

Edoras is doomed

by Michael Martinez, Saturday, September 16, 2000

Well, the set is, anyway. The Press reports that the set of Edoras from Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies will be torn down after about two weeks' worth of filming. John Keast, the article writer, somehow confuses the city on a hill-top with a castle. Well, we can forgive the press a few more errors. The picture accompanying the story is a new one, however, and that makes up for everything else.

Exclusive: A little bit of news from Edoras

by Michael Martinez, Friday, September 15, 2000

TheOneRing.Net is famous for collecting spy reports from New Zealand. Unfortunately, many of the spy reports often contain little information of real value themselves, and one must be patient and build up a gradual picture from report after report of what is happening on Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" movies. Over the past couple of days a few reports have trickled in. TV One News has produced a new picture of two of the Edoras set buildings (which are bolted down, according to E! Online's Insider, John Forde, to withstand the 140 KPH winds). An intrepid fan dared to traverse the rough countryside to get close enough to take a few dark images of the hilltop set from afar. And an extra on the set reports that he was finally called back because he had blond hair (thanks to a handy dye job) but that filming has been delayed because of weather. Apparently few or no horses will be present. The extra will just be a village person, but it may be that he will be a part of the impromptu assembly Theoden calls after Gandalf has healed the aging king of his depression and unmasked the treachery of Grima Wormtongue. The Realm of the Ring is another site which occasionally produces good spy reports, and they have been building up a library of Edoras pictures which includes some new shots not yet picked up by other sites. Although none of these current spy reports make that mistake, a curious habit of the New Zealanders is to refer to the Rohirrim as "the Rohans". Journalists, actors, and production staff members alike have used the term on numerous occasions. With as much attention to detail as Peter Jackson's people are reporting devoting to their efforts to recreate Middle-earth, one would expect them to be more careful in their terminology. It is conceivable, however, that such a gaffe may emerge in one or more of the films.

Before the Numenoreans came

by Michael Martinez, Friday, September 15, 2000

Things in Middle-earth changed radically as a result of the War of Wrath. The war lasted about 42 years, beginning in the year 545 of the First Age and ending in the year 587. During that time huge parts of Middle-earth -- Beleriand, the far northern lands, the inland sea of Helcar -- were ruined or reshaped. In Morgoth's Ring Christopher Tolkien presents a previously unpublished essay by his father which ponders the motives of the various forces in the Silmarillion. In the first and second parts of the essay JRRT explains how Melkor diminished himself gradually by incarnating himself (as Morgoth) permanently. He did this so as to control the hroa, the 'flesh' or physical matter, of Arda. He attempted to identify himself with it. A vaster, and more perilous, procedure, though of similar sort to the operations of Sauron with the Rings. Thus, outside the Blessed Realm, all 'matter' was likely to have a 'Melkor ingredient', and those who had bodies, nourished by the hroa of Arda, had as it were a tendency, small or great, towards Melkor: they were none of them wholly free of him in their incarnate form, and their bodies had an effect upon their spirits. Read the rest of the article here.

Sir Ian McKellen: "They're being a bit precious about it"

by Michael Martinez, Friday, September 15, 2000

Bryn Somerville of The Press in New Zealand got a rare opportunity to talk with Sir Ian McKellen. The article, mostly a roundup of recent news and some information from Sir Ian's Web site, includes a couple of brief comments from the actor and summarizes his delighted experience in New Zealand. His website has been helping reporters, too. While the movie managers have been trying hard to keep it under wraps, Sir Ian thinks it is a bit over the top. "I suppose the Internet has made a difference. A photograph can be all over the world in a matter of minutes. That's anathema to a film company that wants total control of how it releases its publicity. But with this film they're probably being a bit precious about it." McKellen is playing Gandalf in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" movies, which are being filmed in New Zealand. "The Fellowship of the Ring" is scheduled for world-wide release on December 14, 2001, but will be shown on dozens of United States college campuses sometime in advance of that date.

Decipher removes the audition script posts, bans Khamul

by Michael Martinez, Thursday, September 14, 2000

If you've been following all the Tolkien movie news sites, then you're aware that someone posting as Khamul the Easterling has been posting audition scripts on Decipher's Lord of the Rings message board for about two weeks. Today the scripts were taken down and Khamul was apparently banned. The scripts were leaked last year and Khamul noted that they came with a copyright notice but disregarded that and posted them to the Decipher board anyway. As soon as the postings were brought to the attention of various LOTR movie Web sites on Wednesday, September 13, it was pointed out to Decipher and they removed the posts. Decipher was awarded the contract for producing a LOTR-movie inspired card game. They should be reasonably expected to enforce copyrights when abuse is brought to their attention.

Robyn Malcolm in the news

by Michael Martinez, Thursday, September 14, 2000

Tolkien fans were introduced to Robyn Malcolm a few months ago when it was revealed the New Zealand actress would play a small role in Peter Jakcson's 'The Lord of the Rings'. Malcolm's character, Morwen, a woman of Rohan, is completely non-canonical but relatively uncontroversial. Her part in the movies is finished and she has moved on to other projects. In fact, Malcolm has gone on to help found The New Zealand Actors Company, a traveling theater troupe which is currently staging "A Midsummer Night's Dream", a popular Shakespearean play. The company plans to stage 2 or 3 productions in 2001, and has already selected a New Zealan!d playwright's work for its next production. At the end of July Malcolm found time to share with some theater students at Morrinsville College. Even when she injured a leg muscle during rehearsal, Malcolm found time to entertain and a willing audience in the children's ward of the hospital which treated her. The production has merited enough notice in the New Zealand press that even the costume designer has gotten some attention. The amazing thing about Peter Jackson's production is that he has been able to tap a relatively large pool of accomplished actors in the small island nation of New Zealand. So, when Tolkien fans around the world finally see these unfamiliar faces, many of whom may never appear in a large international production again, they should be comforted in the knowledge that they are not all one-time wonders, but in many cases are professional career actors. Malcolm, like so many other New Zealand actors, spent several years working on the television drama Shortland Stree, and has earned some internatonal recognition for her role there in the markets outside New Zealand where the show has aired.

Peter Jackson caricatured by Murray Webb

by Michael Martinez, Thursday, September 14, 2000

In a somewhat bizarre looking cartoon, artist Murray Webb has drawn a new caricature of Peter Jackson, writer/director/producer/possible cameo actor for the upcoming 'Lord of the Rings' movies. The caricature shows Jackson as a large-headed squat, dwarf-like creature in medieval garb with what may be intended to pass a green Elf shoes.

Hobbit Hole provides a virtual look at Middle-earth

by Michael Martinez, Thursday, September 14, 2000

A very remarkable Web site, The Hobbit Hole provides a 3-dimensional look at Middle-earth via Apple's Quicktime technology. We were quite impressed with what we saw. The entry page is the first hint that something special lies beyond the 'Click here' notice. Michael Shur, the 16-year-old Webmeister behind the Hobbit Hole, has prepared an imaginative and entertaining, if all too brief, tour of J.R.R. Tolkien's world. To speed download time, we've reduced the color depth of the image included with this article. The rich presentations to be found on the Hobbit Hole are much more detailed than you can see in this example. The Dining Room of the Hobbit offers information about Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" movies and the books on which they are based. You'll find brief character bios, scans of maps, and pictures much like any other informative Web site. But visit The Kitchen and you can check out the Virtual Middle-earth Project. This is the feather in Shur's cap, the heart of the Hobbit Hole. We were most impressed with what we found here. The project is an ongoing process, and right now only a few areas of Middle-earth have been documented. Visitors can look at Bree, the Shire, Rivendell, Lothlorien, Barad-Dur, Edoras, Minas Tirith, and Mount Doom. Instead of creating static pictures, Shur has provided rotating 3-D perspectives. You cannot move through the images but you can swivel the view and look all the way around the perspective. When we asked how he created the movies Mr. Shur told us he used Bryce 4 to create the scenes, each of which required about 5 hours on average. He examined the books for descriptions before starting the each project. The accuracy or inaccuracy of! Mr. Shur's interpretations are less important than the fact that Middle-earth seems to spring to life as soon as the images finish loading and the viewer allows you to look around. Shur is trying to produce a new video every two weeks, and he is working on an animation which explains the whole project. His eventual goal is to allow the visitor to move through the 3-dimensional landscapes at will, following the course of Frodo's journey through The Lord of the Rings. The project is ambitious and even if never fully realized is nonetheless well worth a word of praise, especially considering the artist/webmaster is currently only a sophomore in high school. The Hobbit Hole is a must-see Web experience for any dedicated Tolkien fan.

Tolkien Online reviews the new LOTR board game

by Michael Martinez, Thursday, September 14, 2000

Kaspian has contributed a lengthy and informative review of the upcoming 'Lord of the Rings' board game to Tolkien Online. The review includes information on the designer's background, which companies will be selling the game in the United States, and comments from a developer and someone who has played the game.

Vanity Fair LOTR pictures now on the Web

by Michael Martinez, Wednesday, September 13, 2000

Two Tolkien fan sites have gone where many others will soon be going. When Sir Ian McKellen's official Web site posted two pictures of the actor as Gandalf, Webmasters scrambled to find a copy of the October issue of Vanity Fair.Joram Manka at Ringbearer has posted scans of the entire article, which shows Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, Liv Tyler as Arwen, and Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan as hobbits.TheOneRing.Net also has scans of the pictures up on the Web now.The most impressive shot in the layout is probably Gandalf standing in front of The Water, the little lake or pond between Hobbiton and Bywater. The pictures were taken in January and, according to Sir Ian, originally scheduled for the April issue. Vanity Fair delayed publication until now.

LOTR Casting call in Queenstown

by Michael Martinez, Tuesday, September 12, 2000

Tolkien Online found the latest casting call article for Peter Jackon's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies from The Southland Times. The extras are required to play Rohirrim or soldiers over the course of 2-3 days. Casting takes place this coming weekend. "Only fit men and women over 60, teenage boys aged between 13 and 18, women aged between 13 and 60, men 5ft 9in plus (174cm) and aged between 18 and 50 years and mothers and children aged two to 10 need apply." "Auditions would take place from 10am until 4pm on Saturday for men and women over 60, teenage boys and women at the Wakatipu High School sports stadium. "Women and children should audition on Saturday between 2pm and 4pm or between 10am and 12pm on Sunday. "The younger men were to audition on Sunday from 11pm until 4pm."

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