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More News on LORD OF THE RINGS
Just added an 2 additional reports below...
Well it certainly seems that the news about Peter Jackson getting the go ahead (Officially) has excited the living hell out of a bunch of you. And it has been a deluge of mail at my end. Lots of New Zealand reporters checking in to say, "Harry, I will spy for ya even if it takes me 'In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie'" Then I had one fella from WETA write to tell me that I could dig with a big damn shovel, but I wasn't getting a single worm of information from people at WETA, because they are all, each and every one, singular in vision, united behind the man-god Peter Jackson. "Look to the heel," my goddess tells me. Here's some additional news from New Zealand... Enjoy...
Peter Jackson, as you might expect, was all over NZ TV news
tonight.
Some of the main points.
- shooting starts May next year, expected to last about 6 months.
- filming entirely in NZ(?) - PJ considers it the ideal place
('has all the necessary scenery described by Tolkien')
- we saw shots of his office showing pins in a map of NZ and
loads of photos of various locations in NZ
- planned locations include Milford Sound (a fiord), Ruapehu
(a volcano) and the area around Ruapehu ('desert' like -
not sand desert but bare tussocky/rocky type of desert).
Could someone provide us with a glimpse of what the above areas in New Zealand look like?
- no casting decided yet, but the main characters will be
'unknowns'. Casting to take place in NZ, Australia and the
UK. PJ said though to "expect some familiar faces to pop
up in minor/cameo roles"
- we saw shots of some storyboard pages. The drawings showed
scenes of what looked like a small group of people in a
fighting in castle interior. I haven't read the book so that
might mean something to you. I guess someone will more than
likely send you some screen grabs.
Ok New Zealanders, we need those Screen Grabs. If you taped it, let me know. We're in the Shaft mode of kicking ass on this project. Eyes gotta know...
- As mentioned previously, the hobbits will be played by normal
sized people, and shrunk using computer techniques and the films
will be released at 4 month intervals in 2000.
- They expect to require up to 15,000 extras!
Hope this was of interest
Pippin
Here's another set of eyes on this same program...
Bruno's Shotgun here.
Well, this is probably the 546674th email you've had about this, but Peter
Jackson was on New Zealand's national TV news tonight talking about Lord Of
The Rings. I watched TV3, but there was doubtless coverage on the other
major network at the same time. I called up the armoury and asked Sister
Shotgun to tape it so I could write up a transcription, but she managed to
tape Blossom on another channel instead. Ahem.
Nevertheless, The article went something like this:
Reporter's voiceover giving the general press release details. Reporter
declares that Jackson has lately been scouting locations.
Shot of Jackson and unnamed collaborator in front of map of New Zealand.
Jackson points in the vague direction of Lake Taupo (surrounded by large
snow-capped, Tolkeinesque mountains) and says something about a "really good
swamp off State Highway One that we saw on that reccie".
Reporter: Other locations to include several of New Zealands' better known
national parks, (Bruno note: including the one scouted by Spielberg for the
Lost World). PJ applying for permission to use National Parks, PJ also
applying for immigration clearance for large numbers of overseas film
crew... Stock shots of pretty mountains, hills and fjords.
Jackson talking head (clad in beige and brown plaid) - PJ speculates that
this is probably the biggest production ever outside Hollywood.
Voice-over about the LOTR being notoriously "Unfilmable"...
CLOSE UP OF JACKSON FLICKING THROUGH STORYBOARDS:
The shots seen were interiors, and included a close-up of Frodo(?) looking
scared/worried. Drawing style was vaguely cartoonish/naive, aspect ratio
looked WIDE.
Blah blah cast of thousands...
Blah blah local government should get involved...
Blah blah big names in lead roles...
Blah Blah $240 Million....
Jackson confirms he will make his usual cameo appearance:
Jackson: "I'll probably be some sort of Goblin or Orc or something..."
Thats it as far as I remember. Hopefully someone with motion-capture gear
taped it, cause those were VERY clear shots of the storyboards.
And another New Zealander had this to say...
WOOHOO!
And now the news we've all been waiting for.....
Peter Jacksons IS going to direct the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy!
Estimated budget for the Trilogy is $260 million (New Zealand Dollars), and along with the
cast of approx. 300 there will be 15,000 extra's making it the biggest
film to be shot outside of Hollywood or the UK.
It will all be shot locally here in the NZ and filming will begin around
May.
Casting will begin around December and New Line Cinema is producing.
When asked who he will play in his cameo roll, PJ replied as an ork or a
goblin, "I think so, its the only roll I'm suitable for"
OK, controlling geekgasm's now, back to 'the real world.'
Reported by: Yashar
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+ Expand All
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David, your post from yesterday re: tone was dead on in every way... i cant comment on whether Jackson will be right for this film, i can only hope with the rest of us that he is, but i wanted to support your analysis, without the zepplin (arguably correct) reference... this work is serious above all (though of course there are moments of whimsy and humor), and needs NO updating for "modern" sensibilities... this is a mythic, and "grand" (to use a tolkien ref) work that demands a serious and decidely non- "quirky" (and yes, sorry to say, traditional) approach to filming... the overriding emotion is indeed sorrow- that we cant have lived there, that things of such beauty have passed into the west, that the world we inhabit is a pale shadow of what once was...
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I just wonder how one two to three hour movie can do the trilogy any justice. Just too much material to cover.
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The Hobbits are going to be played by normal-sized people and shrunk down by computers?
But Hobbits didn't look like normal-sized people who were just "shrunk down." That is, Hobbits weren't human-proportioned. They were more thick round the middle, I thought.
Isn't this going to be an expensive way to make Hobbits look different than they should? -
Replying to a few of the posts already put up today on Harry's LOTR update...SETHOS: I spent all of 1994 in New Zealand, and Jackson (who has been a minor deity in NZ for some time now) is assuredly correct in saying that New Zealand has the scenery to pull off a Tolkienesque world. The only thing it doesn't have is desert (not needed), or the desolation of Mordor, which no place on earth possesses (with the possible exception of Cleveland). Milford Sound is usually described as "the kind of place where you run out of film" and it's no lie. The South Island has some scenery that just takes your breath away, and the best part is that most of it is unspoiled. Whatever reservations I have about this, Jackson could do no better for principal photography locations for LOTR. BRIAN.D: I couldn't agree more. The sense of sadness and loss -- even in the midst of victory -- that permeates LOTR and Tolkien's other Middle Earth works is critical to its success. I hope Jackson can capture some of it. PRANKSTER: You aren't the first to make this criticism of Tolkien, and it's one that Tolkien himself brought up on occasion, though I think he was a tad hard on himself. What sets Tolkien head and shoulders above other fantasists is his acheivement in creating a believable, rich world, with fully developed histories, languages, geography, botany, and mythos, largely by skillfully weaving so much real mythology and history from our own world. Any movie is going to require significant compromises to adapt the book (meaning it isn't necessarily "holy writ") but a successful movie WILL keep intact as much of this mythos and the sense of loss that Brian D. mentioned. FINAL NOT: Don't remember who mentioned it, but LOTR will be shot as three movies of undetermined length -- thank the Valar:-). Which will be barely sufficient to any justice to the story at all.
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I think someone asked if they wheree going to use Humans and shrink them down with computers, and i think i have the answer:I would think they would use Midjets,and parhaps use (very small) fat suits so they can look...well, plump, like Hobbets do. And for all of you Tolkin Zelots, I couldn't think of a better name, and don't acuse me of Disgraceing Tolkins charactor or anything. I only disgrace the stupid Hobbet amimation Movie,which had Folk Songs by John Tesh.
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In LOTR, the Hobbits are always being mistaken for young children. Read Pippen's adventures in Gondor when he meets Beregond's son. In Tolkien's letters, he answers several people's queries about how Hobbits looked, and he describes them as looking like smaller versions of people, albeit with harry feet and with a tendency to plumpness. Jackson's decision to use non-midgets in the role is totally appropriate and in keeping with Tolkien's vision.
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The Lords of the Rings movies is the greatest movie news since Star Trek! (but I hope it turns out much better!)
As for casting...please NOT Sean Connery, he's too HIMSELF to be Gandalf...
Aragorn-Arian Paul would be just fine.
Thanks for keeping us posted! -
Ooops, sorry about my previous post. That's what I get for drinking and surfing. Noble Smith's description of Hobbits is right on the money. Those of you who've read the books or seen the films, remember that one of the last things they revealed is that Hobbits were slowly growing taller and would eventually meld with the human race. The youngest Hobbits were fairly tall (compared to the others) and not overly plump. Using normal humans (shrunk down) and the occasional fat suit should do nicely.
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I think all agree that PJ is going to have to take some leaps in style and tone to achieve the epic look and FEEL of the trilogy. But what about WETA? Can the best of NZ's film industry really pull off Middle Earth? If it were my money, I would settle for nothing less than ILM and at least 100 Million per picture. . . Dunno, kids.
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Correction to a post above by Andy: Your notion that that "Hobbits were slowly growing taller and would eventually meld with the human race" is quite mistaken. This bizarre notion somehow made it into the final scene of the horrible "Return of the King" animated film, and it is flatly contradicted by Tolkien in LOTR. Tolkien actually asserts that hobbits eventually became SMALLER and more reclusive with the ascendency of Men. I think Jackson is on the right track, in any case, to use some CGI magic on normal-size actors and dispense with midgets (see my post under Harry's other update today on this subject). He's going to need CGI to get the extra growth Pippin and Merry pick up from drinking ent-draughts in The Two Towers anyway...
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Y'know, Harry, It warms my cockles to see ya so excited about the LOTR films become a reality ... I've been waiting for a decent version to get on the ball ever since I figeted through Bakshi's patched-together rotoscope-fest in 1978. However, ya think that you coulda a least sent a thank you my way for forwarding over that press release. This lack of gratitude makes me want to just unleash my balrog on your lil' ol' crack of doom.
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Sorry about that. Guess I need to go back and read the books again. The animated films seem to be pretty unpopular in the postings. I liked them, but that may be in part cause I was so thrilled to see the books made into a movie. I know some people thought the characters looked bad, but what else did people dislike about them?
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As cheesy as the original cartoon version of The Hobbit is, it has one redeeming feature: John Huston as the voice of Gandalf. For me, Gandalf will always speak with Huston's voice. Too bad he's been dead for awhile now. I agree that Sam Neil would be a good choice. I've also often thought that Tom Baker, the fourth (or was it fifth?) Dr. Who, would make a great Gandalf. Especially now that he's older, I think he would have just the right prescence in the role. Otherwise, I'm just happy that someone's making a film version of the triology. It'll probably be enjoyable even if it does suck.
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I've had a couple of days to think about this now, and you know what? I think 6 hours is right on the money. Oberon (not to pick on someone specific, but he was the most eloquent so far) spoke of the rich world that Tolkien created: the history, the languages etc. Certainly these would be impossible to do justice to in a movie format. But you know what? Peter doesn't have to! All of us here have read the trilogy, and the Hobbit, and I'll bet a vast chunk of us have some knowledge of the other Middle-Earth works (Silmarillion etc.) Most of the movie's audience will have done the same. So why do we need to see it onscreen? Peter can throw in occasional references to those things and we will all nod our heads knowingly and say, "Ah yes, he was one of the thirteen who accompanied Bilbo to the Lonely Mountain." And if, heaven forbid, someone in the audience hasn't read any Tolkien, then they'll be too wrapped up in the kick-ass story to miss it! Don't you see? Peter can rely on the fact that 90+% of his audience knows Middle-Earth very well already and leave out great chunks of otherwise necessary exposition. It's perfect! This is the big one, folks. Prequel? What the heck's a Prequel?
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I could be mistaken (it's happened before), but on NZ TV last night I'm sure they mentioned the LOTR is actually going to be three films (duh), released in 2000 at four month intervals.
It'll allow PJ to keep a bit more of the grandeur in the film...
Mike. -
Since it seems PJ isn't using "little people" in the roles, I wonder if the roles could be filled by short people. I'm talking about the Dustin Hoffmans and Danny DeVitos of this world. Use a cast entirely of under-five-foot unknowns. (Okay, so Hoffman would be Gandalf since he's 5'6")
Not midgets, but very short people. Have a massive casting call and find people who can act who are short and there's your cast.
Just a crazy thought ...
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Aug 25, 1998 3:09:28 PM CDT
WHO SUCKS WORSE TOLKIEN OR HARRY????
by who sucks worse tolkien or harry????
I GUESS TOLKIEN DOES SINCE HE HASN'T WRITTEN A DECENT NOVEL IN NEARLY 100 YEARS. AT LEAST, HARRY UPDATES THIS SHIT HOLE PRETTY OFTEN.
HARRY SUCKS, BUT NOT AS BAD AS THAT TOLKIEN FREAK!!!!!! -
I may be accused of occasional ego trips, but when I see blasphemy like the above I simply have to ground me. I am a grub worm. I am the sod that bottom dwellers feed upon. I am not even scum that rises to the top. Tolkien is the sun, the moon and the stars. Twinkling, beaming light down upon this slimy mudhole of which I bore through. I am less than a one celled organism. I eat the feces of fish. Of course I eat them damn fish too. In fact I eat a lot of things. I eat deer, dogs, cats (vietnamese restaurants), cows, bulls, sheep, brussel sprouts, Dots, Ice Cream, quiche, lasagna, women (many varieties), pies, cakes, tarts (see women), chocolate covered cherries, Cherries (see w..) you get the idea. So I'm somewhere in the food chain, with only a couple of big mean fuckers that can eat me. Though I often establish a reciprical relationship with the tarts. Harry signing off.
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I am a huge Tolkien nut, but I am not going to pass judgement yet on whether or not Mr. Jackson can pull these films off.I think that most people don't realze what the most important thing is. These films are going to be made by someone who loves The Lord of the Rings as much as you or me. For this alone I feel blessed. The worst thing that could have happened would have been for the studio to take the project away from him and run it through the Hollywood meatgrinder of mediocrity in order to squeeze as much money as they could get out of it, and all at the expense of the story that we all love. Well thats not going to happen so I'm going to sit back and hope for the best knowing that we have about as good of a chance as we could possibly get that these will be great films.
P.S. As far as budget is concerned, I think it will be fine. If you use the money right it can go far. -
It's Tolkien. T-O-L-K-I-E-N. Not Tolkein. Nor is it Tolkin.
(I'm not even going to mention villain, weird or caffeine) :)
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Let's hope that Boromir won't be clothed in furs and a Viking helmet as he was in the comics and the animated version. After all, he was a nobleman from arguably the greatest bastion of civilization, Gondor. And let us hope that hobbits are not created by simply scaling normal people down. That would leave their heads too small, which would make them look decidedly weird (and no-one would think that they were children). In fact, I would have thought that the best way would have been to use talented child actors and dub their lines afterwards with adult actors. As it is, I will be satisfied if they speak like normal people. Finnish TV filmed LOTR a couple of years back and ruined it completely by giving the hobbits stupid voices.
IMHO the best visualization of the Fellowship of the Ring is one of the covers of the Middle-Earth Roleplaying game rulebooks, by Angus McBride. All the characters agree with my internal visualization, at least.
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I would just like to say this: All of us Tolkienites should be glad that the films are being done at all, and by a person who loved the books. Also, I think that everyone should be graateful that the films are to be made as a trilogy, rather than two films or even one. Nothing could have been worse than seeing LotR cut down to fit into less than the minimum 6 hours. Also, here's a little tidbit for discussion: How do you pronounce Tolkien? I myself have heard two different ways: 1.) tol-ki(i sounds like long e) en. and 2.) tol-kine.
I prefer the latter.
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In response to JJ Karhu: while I haven't seen the covers of the RPG books, there's a whole body of art of overall very high quality in the Middle Earth: the Wizards collectable card game by Iron Crown. I still buy cards from this game occassionally, even though I no longer play, because the art is often both excellent and well-suited to my images from the books, as well. The esteemed Mr. Mcbride has a fair amount of art on the cards, and is joined by many very talented artists.
Regarding the looks of hobbits and Boromir: from what I'm hearing, the director seems likely to know as much as we do about how they ought to look--I'm willing to presume he'll do his homework about it.
Guesses about the storyboards: if they look like a fight in a castle, the only possibilities I can think of (unless there's an awful lot of expansion on the books) are:
the fight in Moria
the siege of Minas Tirith
perhaps the battle at Morannon (depending on the angle, you might have a large gate in a curtain wall flanked by towers in the background--could look castle-esque)
For the last two, they clearly aren't small groups, but it doens't seem inconceivable that a particular storyboard might include only a few characters of a larger army. Still, my money says they were storyboards from Moria, if the description is accurate (haven't seen any of it myself). -
Howdy,
No news, but I would love to see Nicol Williamson cast in the role of Saruman!
Frodo Lives! -
Nicol Williamson is a fine idea, but if you wanted to go a little younger (with makeup) how about Gary Oldman? I originally suggested Sir Derek Jacobi as Gandalf, but he could easily play a power crazed evil wizard. Or How about the inimitable Patrick Stewart?
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Okay, I hate it when people do this, but I'm so jazzed about this news that I'm going to throw in my ridiculous two-bits for casting.
Aragorn- Daniel Day Lewis or Ralph Fiennes younger brother.
Gandalf- Peter O'Toole
Denethor- Jurgen Prochnow
Theoden- Sean Connery
Wormtongue- John Hurt (not William Hurt, John Hurt!)
Gollum- Me!
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I'd read that New Line would be giving Jackson $130. mil. for the trilogy, but in U.S. dollars, that doesn't go very far. That's roughly $44. mil. per picture.
How does that translate to NZ dollars, and why are they not filming The Hobbit, too?
Greg Espinoza
"There are two kinds of people in this world; those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig." -- The Man with No Name
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Do we really want a trilogy that is identical to the original books? David Lynch tried that with DUNE and while the book ruled, the movie was one of the most boring abominations I've ever seen. I wouldn't be able to sit through the movie had I not read the book first. THESE MOVIES RUN A RISK OF BECOMING VERY VERY BORING.
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In my humble opinion, one of the most difficult characters to cast will probably be Gandalf. He must be strong but not rash, wise but the sort to over-rationalize. He must be quick witted but also know when to hold his tongue. And he must command respect. Well, I don't know how many of you saw the excellent miniseries of Merlin, but I almost took Sam Neil's performance as a very long audition tape. He embodied Merlin, but I also visualized him as Gandalf. I am sure that there are many who will disagree, but he just seemed almost perfect. I believe I read somewhere that he had spoken with Jackson about the films, but I don't know if this report is valid and if it is in what capacity they spoke. For me, Merlin made me forgive Sam Neil for The Event Horizon.
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I would like to begin by saying it is about time someone is finally going to do a full-fledged
live action version of LOTR. Willow had some decent moments and yes SETHOS, it did have some wonderful locations, but with the money they spent on that piece of garbage, I found myself even more disappointed to find out the filmakers were under the impression that they were inspired by the writings of Tolkien. Aside from title character being an obvious Hobbit clone, I found myself straining to see the other inspirations. There were more references to classic fairy tales than LOTR. Also, I love dragons and movies with dragons in them, but the cheesy dragon sequence in Willow was a huge letdown. The dragon itself looked stupid, the action involving it was less than stimulating and the way they defeated it just plain sucked.
I want to say one other quick thing, in regards to Pranksters comments about Tolkien's prose being somewhat cumbersome. Have you ever read any of Herman Melville's works? Like Moby Dick?
Did you notice how in the middle of telling his story, he stops to give a disertation on the various species of whales? And yet Moby Dick is considered a classic American piece of adventure storytelling. In more modern terms, how about Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, where he goes into great detail about genetics and the cloning process? But this book is considered to be one of the most exciting tales he has written and is also considered far better than the Spielberg movie which excited fans to the sum of just under 1 billion dollars worldwide.
It doesn't matter how slow the pace gets, as long as the writer keeps the story alive by adding mystery, important details or character development. And, as many people will testify, LOTR breathes with life. -
I think Tom Bombadil should most definitely be Robin Williams.
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For anyone that's read it. For anyone that understands. There is one thing that stands head and shoulders above Star Wars and LOTR
Dan Simmons Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion.
Lucas and Tolkie don't even come close to these masterpieces.
I am sure anyone that has read and seen all of the above would agree.
THIS IS THE FUTURE OF ENTERTAINMENT -
I've been waiting for this to happen for 20 years. The time has come. Judging from PJ's past work, I felt at first a little ancy about him directing the greatest fantasy work off all time, but I do agree completely with his preliminary choices. I've always thought exactly that Hobbits should be shrunken down versions of people our size, and not midgets; I never visualized them with a midget's proportions. The idea to CGI them sounds definately the way to go. Now about casting: I feel real strongly about this too, and I've read here on Harry's site that what PJ intends to do is indeed ONLY use known actors for a few cameo or smaller roles. The rest of the MAIN cast would be unknows. DEFINATELY the way to go because: These are characters that are so powerful on their own merit, they would be spoiled by known stars' faces. Let the character drive the actors performance, not the other way around. If Sean Connery does Gandalf, then all we're going to say to ourselves when we see it is; "oh there's Sean Connery as Gandalf" Gandalf don't deserve that. He'd be much MORE effective played by someone we've never seen before or seen rarely; the power of the character would rip into us full force. Lucas was so correct when he did just this for Star Wars and these were characters no one knew anything about. We all know these guys. Don't let a known face "become" Aragorn. Smaller roles would be fine for stars. Someone mentioned Gary Oldman as crazy Denethor or maybe Patrick Stewart as Saruman; obviously the voice is what counts there. Those choices seem fine. But for Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf, Sam, Gollum, Boromir, Legolas and Gimli, use unknowns; If PJ directs their performances in staying with the books, we'll all be blown away. Ain't that the whole idea here?
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You are one cruel dude. I'm gonna have nightmares about Schumacher now.
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Rumour in the UK, that Sean "I'll play any part with a Scot's accent and make it totally believable" Connery is up for the role of Gandalf the Grey/White in LOTR.
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Hrm...What about Max von Sydow? I think he would make a great Gandalf..just my humble opinion : )
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