Cool News
Various LOTR Goodness Up Online!
Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I think part of the fun of being a LORD OF THE RINGS fan right now is that sense of almost daily discovery, how there's always something popping up online, and how these huge communities of fandom have sprung up, created by people who love the books and just want to share excitement about the upcoming movies. Obviously, TheOneRing.Net has been a big part of that community, and so has The Official Site.
There's a good new documentary playing at the Official Site now about the creation of Hobbiton for the films, and even if I hate RealPlayer, I love LORD OF THE RINGS, and would definitely recommend you check it out.
I'd also say it's worth your time to head over to Tolkien-movies.com to check out the brief Q&A they ran today with a source they say is close to the film. There's even a bit of alleged script detail. This stuff all sounds accurate to me, and it's a good read, just enough to tide you over for the moment. Warning, though... there be spoilers lurking here...
"Moriarty" out.
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In a few days I will have the opportunity to see the 20 minutes of Cannes LotR footage! WooHoo!
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Aug 21, 2001 6:53:27 PM CDT
My goal until December 19: To remain totally "LOTR Spoiler Free
by smugbug
I want this movie to surprise me. And I don't want anymore info than what I receive from a "spoiler-free" report. I guess that means I have to also stay away from Matt Drudge.......he he he.
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Ahh, the struggle. I've followed the casting, the filming, and the current 6-month media coverage with detailed interest. But now, when all the good stuff is coming out, I want to pull away and let the December release be a fresh surprise. But what if I miss a lot of the good stuff? A geek ponders the impossible...
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Aug 21, 2001 7:47:46 PM CDT
THAT was the Hobbiton sequence they showed at the Comic-Con (wit
by iamlegolas
I was right, I was riiiight! Hoo hah! *ahem* anyway....
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Man I am getting excited counting down the days til x-mas. I,m re-reading the trilogy just to feed my patience. It just looks so fuckin awesome from what I've seen on the net. If alot of angry, disapointed because of impossibly unrealisic expectation friggin talk-backers start ripping it to shreds I'll just have to go away for awhile 'cause everytime we all build a movie up it just seems to happen( duh!). But it just seems so brilliantly dead-on so far. I mean just imagine the fucking Ents!
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Wow, I just heard of this new frase called," ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US." I think it's really funny, there's even a really funny video, you all should check it out. The video must have just came out, I've never seen it before. I kept laughing and laughing the firsttime I watched it. ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US. ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US. ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!!!
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Wow, I just heard of this new book called," THE LORD OF THE RINGS." I think it's really
funny, there's even a really funny Bakshi video, you all should check it out. The video must have just came out, I've never
seen it before. I kept laughing and laughing the firsttime I watched it. THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS. THE LORD OF THE RINGS!!! -
What's with the Dawn of the Dead thing?!? It's scary!!!!! I mean that. I saw Night of the Living Dead when I was like 8, and I've NEVER gotten over it. NEVER!!! Yeah, the Lord of the Rings. (which has that creepy army of dead people at the end!)
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I will definitely check out the final 3 minute trailer which comes out in September, but after that I'm not going to follow the LOTR news much anymore. I don't want to see every scene of the film beforehand as stills or video files. I want that the film can surprise me.
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but I succumbed and watched the Cannes footage. You should really check it out, there's almost no new images (if you've seen Hobbiton before) and lots of good cast interviews (all gushing about the film's greatness of course). It really is possible to spoil this movie even if you've read the books. I refuse to see images of major villains if they appear online (balrog, uncloaked nazgul, shelob, gollum etc), and Rivendell, Lorien, cos when I find out how they represent these I want to be sat in the cinema getting the full effect. Ditto the minor plot changes. Will they make the narrative smoothly flow, seamlessly incorporating their own bits (eg how do the hobbits get their swords?).Or will it be a Bakshi-ish mess? Not long now till we find out...
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Ahhh, the precious last few months of anticipation after a lifetime of waiting (no kidding). I certainly hope that the script sample on Tolkien-Movies (a site I have loyally checked daily for three years) was real--the last line, "Yes, but can you protect me from yourself?" truly captures the power of the Ring. Every sample of Jackson's script that I have seen is truly delicious. But to me, all these things are not spoilers--as others have said, we all know the story back and forth and sideways--this movie isn't about suspense, or about surprises, but rather about atmosphere and execution. Like a theater buff who goes to see yet another performance of Hamlet, we know what to expect, but go in order immerse ourselves in that story we know and love, and knowing the plot does nothing to detract from it. It's funny, because when Phantom Menace was being waited on, I told my friends to avoid spoilers, since the surprises were one thing that made the original Star Wars so memorable--we didn't know the great ride that we were in for. But with Lord of the Rings it's an entirely different issue. Those who wish to avoid spoilers I fully understand, and I'm sure you'll have a DIFFERENT experience than I will, but not necessarily a better one. Maybe I'm merely struggling to justify my addiction to these movies--I'm a Rings junkie, I admit it. But my words of wisdom to people are simple: Don't be afraid of spoilers on this particular film, as the true power will not be in surprises, but in overall atmosphere, feeling, writing, theme, and performance. New Line isn't releasing any more than is necessary to keep us sated, and after all, even a fully packed 3 minute trailer is only THREE minutes out of ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY FIVE minutes! There's plenty more to come. Okay, mad ramblings over. Hey, does anybody know of a Tolkien reading or fan club in the Tacoma/Seattle area?
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But the footage of hobbiton was awesome! at least what i could make out through the eye-straining fuzzyness... excuse me now as I close my eyes for a minute...
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As much as you want nothing to do with them, you can't help but be drawn to them. Drat those Spoilers! I can't help it!
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I agree. More than anything, I want to see what's been changed, and seeing if I agree it was necessary or not. So far, I haven't heard anyhting that makes me throw my arms up and say "Oy! They ruined it!" Which probably says a lot either about how good FOTR will be or how good the control of information from New Line has been. Still, I have to remain extremely skeptical in order to maintain my own sanity. I give the trilogy a 50-50 shot at maintianing the spirit of the book. That may seem low coming from a talkbacker who has defended PJ's decisions at almost every turn over the last couple of years, but we should never forget that none of us have really seen this movie. Hype is as hype does. I can't allow myself to give in to the expectation that LOTR will be a perfect adaptation, or even a good one. If it really sucks, I'll just be too devastated.
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Aug 22, 2001 9:03:48 AM CDT
Is that the official poster, over at "the bastards have landed"?
by samwave
Or is it just a mock-up? I just watched that old video Q&A with Peter Jackson. It looks like they're doing well with the trilogy.
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No matter how long the book has been "out", if someone hasn't read it, then these tb's contain spoilers. I tried to read LotR when I was about 13 but couldn't get involved enough to complete more than a few chapters. When I heard about the movie, I was like...uh, yeah, next tb... until I saw a few of the pictures. The beauty and "rightness" of the pictures captured my attention and initiated a spark of anticipation which has continued to build to vast proportions. I have read some of the articles and posts here but mainly pause to see if there are any new photos. Even when I have read the text, I just skimmed, learned a few names, and ignored the story line areas. So, yes, for others like me, there could be "spoilers". I am personally more concerned that I will not be able to follow everything if I haven't read the book, but do not wish to take the chance that, by reading LotR before the movie, it will detract from the magic and beauty that I hope the film will convey. I can honestly say I anticipate the LotR movies more than any other movie and will be, of course, "first in line"!____A Spoiler Free Bee
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Aug 22, 2001 1:56:42 PM CDT
I don't think i would be able to resist the temptation of the ri
by antoniusbloc
..because i can't even resist the temptation of spoilers! I don't want to do it, but i can't help myself!
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Yes I'm a big Tolkien fan, but the two Hobbiton RealPlayer clips are kinda treacly aren't they? (sickly sweet). Yeah Hobbiton's pretty and all, but it looks like a cutesy Renaissance Fair. I guess I always had a class-conscious, English countryside idea of the Shire, with some of the hobbits being poor 'n' dirty, lots of snobbery & disapproval of nonconformity, etc. Guess that's hard to portray in a 2 minute RealPlayer video, but gawd please don't let Bilbo's party turn into a RenFaire!
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My point was on spoilers was that I didn't want all of the cinematic spoilers ruined before the movies come out. I know everything that happens backwards and forwards, but I still want to have how it was filmed be fresh to me. The only bad thing about watching these movies is that I'm going to know what each character is going to say before they say it, and what's going to happen to all of them. It's in the "way" they tell it that's fresh and new to me, and that's what I don't want spoiled.
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I had a very similar response to the script piece as Game Master. Particularly with respect to Frodo's rejoinder to Aragorn but also with the description of the scene where Frodo flees the Uruk Hai. The script has his escape made possible by the sacrifice of his fellow Hobbits who run out of hiding toward the orcs to draw them away from their chase. It reminded me of something I had read from Tom Shippey's book on LOTR - that Tolkein's main concern with his Middle Earth books was the introduction into the lives of an otherwise self satisfied and indolent race (Hobbits a.k.a. moderns) the virtues of courage and sacrifice that typified the heroism of the epic. Implied in this was that moderns (who I Shippey suspects are represented by the Hobbit race) are at risk of falling into their own kind of indolence and leisure in a world rife with conveniences (and in so doing perhaps neglecting to face the common threats to their freedoms as represented in LOTR by characters like Saruman and Sauron). Salvation from such a fate would entail relearning the heroic virtues and much of the transformation that takes place in the Hobbits is precisely this kind of education. When reading this piece of the script, the Hobbits are described as hiding in the hollow of a very large tree. I recalled the images from the early part of the movie of these same Hobbits, including Frodo, hiding under a hollow in a small cliff trying to avoid detection from a Nazgul. I suspect Walsh is trying to communicate something about what has taken place between these two scenes. The fearful rabbit like Hobbits have learned something by the end of the movie - about courage especially - such that where once all they could do was hide and hope for Gandalf or Aragorn to save them, they could, by the end of the film, demonstrate a valor of their own. And this tells me a lot about Fran Walsh's script most fundementally that she has such a nuanced understanding of LOTR's underlying morality that she can introduce new plots details like this that only make more tangible Tolkein's intended spirit. This, to me, is more impressive than any of the striking images that have surfaced from the film, because if LOTR is going to succeed it will be because Tolkein's morality will have been successfully transposed to the cinematic form, not just his imagery. This scene goes a long way to assuaging my doubts in this respect.
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...excellent post! I agree completely. This theme reaches it's logical conclusion, in the book, just before the SOTS when Gandalf leaves them to visit Bombadil. He says that the Hobbits no longer require his help because they have grown and can take care of themselves. I'm worried that staunch LOTR fans are going to become so obsessed with the small detail changes from the book that they can't see the methods used by the script writers to emphasize JRRT's themes, which are far more important than the details. It wouldn't surprise me if the only people who don't enjoy this movie are the 10% of Tolkien fans who are so narrow sighted that they won't accept anything other than a 100%, word for word translation.
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I definitely agree with you, Pseudo. So far I'm pleased with all the liberties taken from the books. We don't know yet how Arwen will work, but it makes sense to replace Glorfindel with her. Lurz is a very smart creation and it makes sense to make Saruman responsible for the snowstorm and avalance at the misty mountains. It makes him a more powerful villain and gives him a bigger role in the film. It's better to have two major villains (Saruman and Sauron) and their minions than 20 minor villains causing trouble for the fellowship, because of the overall coherence.
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...I hear what you're saying. Originally I was going to say 5%, but I've been hearing a lot of negative feedback from different people regarding these latest spoilers, which caused me to over inflate my estimate. I agree that it's very subjective from one person to another, as to which details are essential to the story and which details are less so. In fact I have a bit of bad news for you, (small spoiler) one of the things the spy was able to confirm is that Aragorn gives the Hobbits their swords with no mention of their lineage. I guess the way I look at it is this: first and foremost I want these movies to be good movies, regardless (within reason) of how closely they follow the book. Lets take Merry's sword for instance (oh no! Here we go again!) If the significance of Merry's sword isn't stated in the film it doesn't matter because A): People who have read the book already know the significance of the blade, B): People who read the book after seeing the movie will then understand the deeper story behind the blade, and C): People who see these movies and still don't read the book probably only went for the action and fight scenes anyway and don't care about the history or back story (ignorant gits ;-). I guess I take the same line as PJ, just because something in the book isn't stated or shown in the movie it doesn't mean it didn't happen. I also like the idea that people who are inspired to read the book after seeing the film will discover all the left out bits, like Bombadil, and therefore still be able to experience the joy of that first read.
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Actually rings are a great image of binding.Consider the 3D physical world as 2D and the third dimension as the higher non material realms.Then a round cirlcle drawn in the physical world would translate ,in the non material higher realms, into a sphere.So that is why magicians draw a circle around somebody they wish to protect from nonmaterial spirits.And that is why pictures of pentacles are also important.They manifest ,inthe non material higher realms,as the shape biblical Tetratgrammaton.The Ultimate expression/definition of the Universe.Meanin' that the people inside the pentacle has the protection of God Himself.The black magicians(necromancers) bind theirs students using a one circle magic(thus stealin' their free will).Seen as second sight like a ring ofaura around both magician and student,centering on the magician.The white magician binds their student using a figure eight magic(thus leaving the will free) .Seen in second sight as two touching rings of aura centering(in both circles) on both magician and adept....
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...I'll try and list some of the spoilers from memory. Most of them aren't really spoilers, more confirmations of other rumours we've heard. The spy said the rumour about the 'levitating Elves' is not true, the elves merely pull the members of the fellowship up into the trees. One of the bits of script is from this first meeting, where Haldir and Legolas speak together in Elvish and Gimli gets angry because he doesn't understand what they're saying and makes a rude remark in Dwarvish. Aragorn then pulls Gimli aside and gives him a gentle warning to remain civil. The shot of Boromir holding the ring happens during the attack on Caradhras when Frodo loses the ring in an avalanche. During their assault on the mountain the movie will cut to Saruman where he will be shown conjuring the storm that defeats them. The only appearance farmer Maggot makes in the first film is when he is shown chasing Merry and Pippin who have stolen armfuls of vegetables from him. Merry and Pippin are also responsible for setting off the dragon firework at Bilbo's party earlier than scheduled. The movie will start with a voice over by Galadriel who actually speaks one of Treebeard's passages from the book, "The world has changed... " As she speaks a shot of the map of Middle Earth will be shown, centred on Lothlorien. Slowly the camera will pan across the map until it is centred on the Shire and the action will begin. The spy confirms that Lurtz leads a revolt against the other Isengard Orcs and is given the job, by Saruman, of attacking the fellowship and capturing the ring. Most of the rest of the report was concerned with the breaking of the fellowship, which other posters have mentioned. I believe it was mentioned that when Frodo sits on Amon Hen that one of the things he sees is the fate of every other person who has attempted to wield the ring. This may be one of the places in the film where some of the back-story can be shown. The visions of the downfall of all who wield the ring combined with the actions of Boromir convince Frodo of what must be done. The spy also mentions that in his script Aragorn's line is "Are you scared?" Whereas we all know from the end of the trailer that the line has changed to "Are you frightened?", so other things may also have changed.
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It seems very certain that we are going to see a new THREE minute trailer in September. Also there are many rumours that there will be two different versions, the other more action oriented and the other showing more romance of the film. Those two trailers would be shown in different kind of films in order to reach the biggest possible audience. But this is not confirmed yet. What interests me is that will the trailer show scenes from all the three films, or only from FOTR?
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Aug 29, 2001 9:13:26 AM CDT
[double-take, knuckling eyes] What the...! So THIS is where ever
by pallando blue
Sheesh! I been wanderin about idly fer days now, wondering what happened tuh ever'body. There were those three LOTR-related stories up in a matter of days, and then the last one got yanked (with nary a hulloo from AICN on the matter--coulda just updated! hrmph!) Was way too busy to post much then, but since, after the Yank, didn't know where to look! Been nosing around here and there, but no Tailenders seemed to be posting. Looking around, though, it's been fun reading some old old reports--y'all want a kick in the rear on a slow news week? Go back and read the Cannes review by Harry and 2-3 others! Just as exciting as it was in May. I crack up every time I read Harry's "what I want to talk about here is the EMOTIONAL DAMAGE this footage caused..."; but it's the fellow who'd-never-read-LOTR's review that consistently sends shivers down me spinal fluid. ....AAaaaannyway, then I flit around to this one--which only shows up only when "lotr" goes in the search box, not my usual "rings"--and lo and behold there's a Tail-end in progress. Woo hoo! Now I gotta play catch-up.
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Aug 29, 2001 11:24:14 AM CDT
AH, but only THIRTEEN AND A HALF weeks until December FIRST!
by pallando blue
A few quick replies from here and there about the TB... ** Firstly however, I shall share my own current means of dealing with our common torture, the slow march of time. I have, to hold me up, namely, the NCAA College Football Season. It astounded me to realize that the entire season, my USUAL annual obsession, will have progressed and passed on before FOTR is released! And so I am going to redirect my focus to these once-a-week milestones--though I realize this means nothing, nor will be any help, to most of you. Sorry! But now... Now it has come time to reveal myself to one of you specifically, once friend, now tragic foe...YOU Miami Mofo. Fellow Tailender, I am afraid we must soon become adversaries--as if I were Mr. Glass, this is the moment we shake hands and part ways. For I, sir, am a Hokie. I am a tried-and-true Virginia Tech Fighting Gobbler. (Don't bother, folx, we've heard 'em all; and yes, to those of you unfamiliar with the NCAA and/or my alma mater, yes our mascot DOES sound like something from the mind of John Cleese. We blissfully ignore your giggles.) This season, as I am sure you are well aware, VT and Miami will end their seasons in a direly combatted, season-ending head-to-head matchup, most likely for championship of the Big East, and potentially for a spot in the Rose Bowl. The national title may well be on the line. And you will coming to OUR house, where we DO NOT lose. And THAT day is December 1st. The FOTR release may be on your birthday, MM, but the 1st is the day before mine, and I... smell.. Victory (it's kinda like, oh, I dunno, napalm? you know, in the a.m.? but that's neither here nor there. where was I? oh yes, exclamation points)!!!!!!!!! Until that day, I suppose it is in our best interests to root for each other's teams. Strength of schedule, strength of conference, etc. And I will root for the Hurricanes, oh yes. But I will be watching, too. Watching, and Waiting... *** Ahem. Other bits. *** What pseudoplotinus said, i.e., ditto. And well said at that. *** I actually think the Arwen-Ford bit a li'l erroneous on PJ's part, an unnecessary change but certainly there's no harm done. Sits perfectly fine with me, as long as her "Elvish spell" doesn't entail flash powder and Liv yelling "Gabba Gabba Hey!" --or crossing her arms, blinking twice, and wiggling her nose with a piano-tinkle on the soundtrack. (I now challenge you all to not mentally hum the "I Dream of Jeanie" theme when the river rises up! Deeeee deet, deet doot de-deeee doot! mwahahahahaaa) *** Glorfindel sighting! Yep his stint at the Ford is chopped, but that fellow Leo, at one point or another in his thread (TORN wouldn't know it for their council pic breakdown, they don't seem to read it), has pointed him out at the Council. The tall, thin-faced elf gent sitting on Legolas' left (our right) is none other than the born-again Balrog-buster hisownself! Take a good look, you got your Glorfindel right there. And I'd venture to say the latest New Line crackdown gives pretty much Leo's whole thread a new level of credibility. *** BTW, remember the old "who's getting that retina scan?" debate from the first internet teaser, that laser passing over the scaley face? I put it to Leo and, though he was purely speculative on the matter (perhaps his source was too skittish to ask), his "educated guess" was that it's the Cave Troll. Hmmmm! *** There was something else, dagnurbit, but one thing drives out another as they say... Well it'll hit me later. And then I'll forget it when I'm next w/in five feet of a PC, natch. *** Aw jinkies, Miami, you didn't put the kibosh on nuthin! (fans? pshaw! flatter all you like, the 'canes are still the enemy! ;D ) I WILL get to dropping HOME meanderings, and soon, no really I swear no really I mean it I swear no really. But, honestly, it's been since December that I finished Vol I, The Book of Lost Tales Part One, and I'd like to riffle through it and remind myself of the parts worth remarking on. The good news is, circumstances have arisen that'll give me some unlooked for free time to do so. Tomorrow though I'm gonna waste company time over my first 2-4 cupsa java giving a big overview of What I Know About HOME Now That I Didn't When I Started, which is something that'll keep popping up throughout the rest of em, and give y'all an idea of WHY OH WHY I'm going through with this, and what I've been getting out of it. I mean, these ain't traditional "reviews"; it ain't like I'm gonna say "Sucks!" "Cool!" "This blows chunks!" "That rocks, dudes!" I'm thinking more of a buyer's guide, a heftier bookflaplike in-depth blurbing if'n ya would--what you can expect from each HOME volume, and let YOU decide if they're yer flavor of tea. ...I mean, I'm self-indulgent, but I'm not FUCKING self-indulgent! :~D *** Durn me, one more thing! Re: that script change, Strider saying "Are you frightened?" in the trailer as opposed to "scared" in the script. I'm right there in FOTR (the pure JOY of un-annotated fiction! WHHEEEEE) and here's the passage: [Strider] 'Perhaps I know more about these pursuers than you do. You fear them, but you do not fear them enough, yet. Tomorrow you will have to escape...' etc etc etc. A nice example of PJ making dialogue out of monologue--good for film! Mirrors book--good for everyone AND film! Okay, I simply must sign off now, Butterbur's just yammering away and they STILL haven't opened the damn letter! Yadda yadda yadda yeah yeah yeah, come ON, Frodo, open it already!
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Aug 29, 2001 1:15:37 PM CDT
But Lee Suggs, WITH Vick on the team, scored THIRTY (30!) touchd
by pallando blue
AND there's a dispute as to how many fumbles he had -- two, one, or ZERO -- because they all occurred during handoffs! Basically, it gets in his arms, and he's a ROCK, ROLLING FAST. AND we picked up the #1 HS running back, who's good enough to go already! Wotta tandem! AND our D is right up there with our '99 squad! ....AND this Saturday we get to welcome U-Conn, soon to be the newest member of the Big East, to a whole new World of Pain hehehehehehehehehehhh Welcome to Lane Stadium, and your new conference! oh it's gonna be delicious. As for Vick, yep broke our hearts his leaving, but no hard feelings, obviously the time was right and by all indications he's already ready to learn the pros (and dropping jaws). ...Actually, I think we would have had just as good a chance against Miami last year if he'd been kept out ENTIRELY. Meyers was/is solid (backing up Peyton Manning now!), and putting a hobbled Vick in for most of a half did more harm than good. Ah well, water under the Argonath. btw, me own Pa did law school at ol G-Dub, so I guess that'll have to thin the animosity some. ;) But hell YEAH, it's FOOTBALL SEASON! Man, I still can't believe it'll be BOWL season before FOTR comes out! GAAAAHHH *** ERRR.... This not being a sports board I'll be VEERING ONTO TOPIC HERE... yes indeed that new poster kicks butt. But I never had a problem with the Frodo one, either.
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...just give me a second here... hehehe... to get myself off the floor... hehehaha... to catch my breath and wipe the tears out of my eyes... hehehahaHAHAHAA! Sorry... hehe... I must regain control of myself... hehehaha... so funny... hehehehaha... VT Fighting Gobbler bwhaHAHAHAHAASplutter!... cough! Sorry... I can't help it... So I'm guessing your main team tactic is to run in as many touch downs as possible while the opposition fall over each other laughing...HAHAHAHAAA! Sorry... that was a bit of a cheap shot... what I really wanted to say was if you do a search on 'ring' instead of 'rings' you will get all lotr stories (plus a few others)... hehe... sorry, but that's really funny!
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On a weekly pub this ain't no joke, but tossing in a quickie while I choke down lunch. FOIST, don't flatter yerself, Miami, y'all ain't that hated--merely in the unfortunate position of being our sole worthy adversary this admittedly weak-scheduled season, and a regularly tough competitor in the Big East. So we keep a steady eye on you, but it's a respectful antagonism. Our HATED RIVALRY is in-state, much like yours--those dandified foppish pathetic little cross-dressing feather-hatted "Cavaliers" over in C-ville. UVA, morG? BAH! Those bums have been riding on their faded pedigree for too long now, and all those Ivy-wannabe Daddy's-car-driving parvenus have left propping them up is an English department over-reliant on guest authors (academic equivalent of stunt-casting) and... well, okay a damn fine medical school. But that's IT! UVA?!? BASTARDS!! Ahem. Also, Mofo, we hate those hillbillies right up the road in WV--Mountaineers have just about the worst fans in the NCAA, love to hate 'em. Btw, in yer Butch Davis era down there my friends and I always affectionately referred to him as "Bootch," in the voice of the cabbie in Pulp Fiction. That won't let up, even if he's in Cleveland. Booootch. *** Secondses. BG, believe me, we laugh WITH you. :) But note that our mascot's a Fighter, not a Stuffer, and a turkey bred for fighting was much larger, faster, and generally more vicious than the traditional rooster! BIG muthas, and not fat but leeeeaan. Everyone's heard of cockfighting, but for backwoods bestial gladitatorial bloody splendor, turkeyfightin was the shiznit of the 18-19th centuries. Or so the legend goes. You may also be interested to learn that our mascot's costume struts around with gigantic proud pecs propping up the felt turkey costume, but by halftime the "pecs" have inevitably shifted south into obvious beer-belly territory. Lastly, although our stadium says in large letters "Home of the Fighting Gobblers" we are universally referred to as the "Hokies"--and everyone asks what the hell's a Hokie. It's a nonsense word made up by a student for a cheer (like "Rah" or "Yahoo") way back in the 20s or earlier or later or thereabouts, and somehow it ended up sticking as a nickname (probably by us, to quell the giggling over "the fighting gobblers") and now it's even official: The VA Tech Hokies. So everyone calls us the Hokies, even though our mascot's a turkey and we're really "The Fighting Gobblers." Sort of like how we all call you BG, even though you live in New Zealand and you're really "Peter Jackson." *** Thoidly, SORRY for hijacking this TB into NCAA F-ball land in the first place! I just KNOW I've got something here LOTR-related... there WAS something, hold on it's coming to me.... Oh yes! morG, your jest about "withdrawing your suport" --haw!-- over the Argonath catastrophe --haw haw!-- while indeed tres humorous brought to my mind a question regarding the avg. railing and wailing fanboy. Taking your gag as an example--or the classic martinez whine "plate armor?!? I am agog, sir!"--do y'all notice how a lot of these particular beefs are production design questions? And yet still the fanatic jumps down PJ's throat. But these, THESE are the work of the fanboys' heroes, Lee and Howe! I have never, ever read of one of these silly nits complaining "Man, PJ's been doin' AWESOME looks like, but he got saddled with all these STUPID costumes and settings that are so NOT in the book--show me where Lee or Howe read "plate armor" and I'll EAT the book--all for Hollywood crowd-pandering. I mean, swords! At the Argonath! WTF was Alan Lee THINKING??? Lee and Howe are just churnin' out the hackwork, man. Get ready to be majorly disappointed." Though it'd be fun to read that. *** Gah! "A quickie"? If this was a Single it was the Disco Version! HOME chattering tomorrow! I hope! (great sandwich! back to work)
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HUBBA HUBBA! Maybelle from "Forgotten Silver"! Hooo-WEE Sam's one lucky gardener! YOWZA!
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...now that I've regained control of my faculties I must apologise to Pallando, I'm sorry I mocked your team. I too am passionate about the sports teams I support so I should have known better. Good luck for the season! If you mentioned the word 'Hokie' to a NZer they'd think you were talking about a deep-sea fish that is currently the corner stone of our fishing industry (bloody ugly, but very tasty). Miami - if the turkey had become your national bird, wouldn't that have caused a bit of a dilemma on thanks giving? morGoth - TORN still has Nathaniel Lees listed to play Ugluk on their casting page, so lets hope he takes over from Lurtz in the second film. Oh, and Pallando, please don't mention the theme from 'I dream of Jeanie', less than 5 meters from where a sit at work somebody has a cell phone which plays that tune every time it rings, and it's driving me MAD! MAD I TELL YOU!!!
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...the thought crossed my mind on more than one occasion. But the three main reasons I didn't try for a part in the film are, 1) The filming coincided with my last year at University and at that time completing my degree and getting some decent grades was FAR more important to me than exploring my hitherto untapped acting talent, 2) The Auckland area (where I live) must be the only place in the country where no filming took place, and 3) I'm PJ so I get to have a cameo part in each film anyway ;-) Something else I thought about was, even though being part of the production would be a fantastic adventure, wouldn't it remove some of the magic of watching the finished film? One of the things that slightly worry me is, while the scenery in the film will seem wild and exotic to all of you, to me it will seem all too familiar. I remember when I went to see Willow at the movies, there were so many places I recognised that it destroyed any believability the movie had (admittedly it didn't have much to begin with). In fact there was one shot from the fjords of Milford Sound, where I had literally been standing, less than two days before, in the exact same position as the camera and looking in the exact same direction. To get back to my original point (if, indeed, there was one), if I was lucky enough to get a part as an extra, I'm sure my first viewing of the film would involve a large amount of "Look, there's me! Third orc from the left, at the back." or "That's my foot! You can just see my foot in the corner of the screen!" Maybe it's just me, but I'd like to think that 5 seconds after the opening credits I would be there, in Middle-Earth, sharing Frodo's adventure, but I don't know how easy that would be for people who were involved closely with the production. Miami - yes, excellent pics over at TORN. I hope when Pippin knocks all that stuff down the well that Gandalf says "Fool of a Took!" That's a great line and I hope PJ(I) left it in. morGoth - Since I'm PJ let me explain the situation. Legolas is an Elf, therefore just as he releases his bow string any sleeves or hair will 'Magically' move themselves out of harms way ;-) Blimey mate, if something that picky worries you, wait till you see Legolas sliding down the stairs at Helm's Deep on a shield, while rapidly firing arrows and admiring his good looks in a hand mirror all at the same time ;-) I was looking at the pic, over at E!online, of Elrond gesturing towards the ring during the council, and for a second I couldn't see the ring on it's pedestal. I could just imagine Elrond giving his big speech about the ring then looking down and stopping abruptly when he notices the ring missing. Then he'd say "Alright, which one of you smart asses took the ring... come on, own up... nobody here will be getting any lunch until somebody owns up... I can wait all day if I have too... Boromir, I'm looking in your direction!"
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morG - your very welcome, however my motives were not completly altruistic. Those reports came out while I was visting relatives out in the country and very far away from my pc. I knew that geenie had them and why not share the info with a sooty old Vala? BTW, thanks for the heads up on the fan-made trailer. Without the endorsements I most likely would have passed that one by. I liked their use of The One Ring verse and the shot of the Ring at the end. Cool beans! *** Speaking of Elrond, try as I might I'm still having a terrible time envisioning Hugo Weaving in the role. I know it's left-over baggage from The Matrix, but I just CAN'T envision Agent Smith as the kindly and benevolent Lore Master of the Last Homely House. Well, if Hugo could convince me that he was evil and vindictive then, hopefully, he can make me believe the opposite. Until December, I'll just have to trust in BG. Well, I'm off to enjoy my holiday and hope that those of you in the US do the same.
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...the new pics and movie quotes over at TORN. My favourite is "A Wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."
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...because I can't help myself. Reading through those quotes and pics I started putting together the movie in my head from all the images and reports we've seen. Then I had to quickly stop myself because I was in serious danger of death due to extreme excitment overload. Just thinking about the scenes of the happy shire, with all the Hobbits enjoying themselves, all the time knowing the terrible events that await them. Man, these films are going to be fantastic! I almost wish I'd never read the book, so I could see these films without knowing what happens!Bloody hell, I wish time would hurry up!!!
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Sep 04, 2001 8:11:04 AM CDT
Suggs Out For Season. Ithryn Luin Inconsolable. And Other Rambli
by pallando blue
Sigh. This was gonna be his Heismann year, dangit. That guy is serious 1st-round long pro career caliber. But the good news for him is, he's just a junior. He'll have all of next year to prove himself to the big leagues. And I haven't heard if they'll take the option, but he may qualify for a medical redshirt, if he wants, and stay for two more years after this. He's just such a nice, quiet, sweet, humble preacher's son kinda guy (his little sis is a friend of a friend), I'm hoping for nothing but the best for him. As for the Hokies, it's time for Beamer Ball--a whole lotta D and special teams action. At least we've got a cushy schedule to work out on, get the rookie running back up to full speed, until our tests in Pitt and... Miami! (which now earns a >gulp!PANT! GASP! PANT! BLINK! BLINK! PANT!< ....Maybe we shouldn't be worrying how we're going to make it to Decemebr as much as we should worry how we're going to make it to January! GAAAAAAHH THESE MOVIES ARE GOING TO BE SO FREAKING COOL!! *** HOME talk this afternoon!
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To be inserted in the sequence goodness knows where: The Last Alliance battle, apparently cut into 4 or 5 segments to be interlaced into the narrative over the course of the movie; (assumed) the death of Isildur, and the loss of the Ring; young Smeagol and Deagol; Bilbo's backstory, and the finding of the Ring; The Uruk-hai "hatcheries" below Isengard; Lurtz's revolt; Saruman's praising Lurtz and exposing him (it?) to sunlight; Lurtz getting the order to Hunt Down the Fellowship and Capture All Hobbits; (possibly) scenes of the advancing Uruk-hai. *** ....Sakes alive, and this is all stuff we KNOW is in the movie! It'll be intersting to see how much is in the 2 hr. 45 min. cut and how much is in the 3 hr. 25 min. cut! Slap my ass and call me a squint-eyed southerner, these flicks are gonna PACKED TO THE BRIM!
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To be inserted in the sequence goodness knows where: The Last Alliance battle, apparently cut into 4 or 5 segments to be interlaced into the narrative over the course of the movie; (assumed) the death of Isildur, and the loss of the Ring; young Smeagol and Deagol; Bilbo's backstory, and the finding of the Ring; The Uruk-hai "hatcheries" below Isengard; Lurtz's revolt; Saruman's praising Lurtz and exposing him (it?) to sunlight; Lurtz getting the order to Hunt Down the Fellowship and Capture All Hobbits; (possibly) scenes of the advancing Uruk-hai. *** ....Sakes alive, and this is all stuff we KNOW is in the movie! It'll be intersting to see how much is in the 2 hr. 45 min. cut and how much is in the 3 hr. 25 min. cut! Slap my ass and call me a squint-eyed southerner, these flicks are gonna be PACKED TO THE BRIM!
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...is what jittered my jittery digit into a double-post. D'OH! The finger's faster than the back-button! See if you can catch the edit! :~)
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Sep 04, 2001 1:17:49 PM CDT
A little bit about the History of Middle-Earth series (so far)
by pallando blue
[firstly though, what'll a dollar wager win me, MM? looks like a sounder bet than the powerball lottery!] [as for catching my "be"--no prizes listed, no prizes awarded. gotta read the fine print! ;-)] *** Expect me here to trip over a dozen traintracks of thought--good luck finding any logical flow of reasoning, and blimey if won't repeat myself. No time for revisions or editorial self-help. All right then. "The History of Middle-Earth." Let's start with the basics, because before I ever looked at one of these I had Zero Idea what was in em or why they were published. Knew that "The Silmarillion" was posthumous, and probably incomplete. Didn't even know where "Unfinished Tales" fell in the mix, if that was part of HOME or what. AND SO THEN. "The History of Middle-Earth" is itself a slight misnomer, a bit of a confusion to the average bookstore peruser. The series is NOT the detailed history of the land we learned about by reading The Hobbit, LOTR, and/or The Silmarillion. It has no new stories, in the sense of characters whose tales just weren't touched on by LOTR etc. It isn't a near encyclopedic compendium, filling in all the missing cracks, providing all the links and names and stories and timelines and genealogies that flesh out the previously known narratives. "The History of Middle-Earth" is not the fictional history of the fictional Middle-earth, OUR Middle-earth--it is the history of that Middle-earth's creation and (de- and re-) construction by its author over the course of his life. These books are more than anything else a literary biography, the retelling of the life-story of one author's lifework in it's many forms, evolutions and revisions, in (mostly) the chronological order that they were written over the course of J.R.R. Tolkien's life. If one wanted to be pathetically finicky about the series' title, one might insist on adding another depth of quotes around "Middle-earth" -- "The History of 'Middle-earth'" would be less misleading. *** The bulk of the writing in each volume is J.R.R.'s, but this is definitely the labor of his son Christopher. Not just the organization of the great magnitude of work, but in supplying the context of each work within the timeline of his father's efforts. This 12-volume series, which I'm less than halfway through, may very well be the single greatest editorial achievement of the 20th century, not just in literary value but in the sheer scope of the labor. Once I got the idea of what CT had accomplished (or was trying to accomplish, each volume being published while the next "still in preparation"; he self-corrects many times) I was amazed and, well, grateful. There are biographies of all great writers; there are even notes on authorial revisions and manuscript changes over the course of publication of some of the masterpieces of literature. But never have I ever heard of one author, with a singular creation ("Middle-earth"), delved into so deeply, from the very beginning of their beginnings through his every draft and revision, annotated and clarified by the editor every step of the way. CT's style may ofetn be stuffy and textbookish (tho he can also whip out a dry wit that had me in tears), but these volumes ARE works to be studied. I honestly believe every aspiring writer and literature major should seek these out, whether Tolkien's their bag or not, even if they think his work merely amusing or pulp trash. I don't mean that HOME will change people's minds on Tolkien's literary merit (though it's hard to imagine one coming away without a heightened respect for the man's efforts); I mean that even if one finds no merit in his published work, it is fascinating to witness over the course of these books the evolution and emergence of a writer and a witer's singular vision, displayed so honestly, and painstakingly completely. In that sense, HOME is a constantly amazing documentary, in the filmic sense. These are works of nonfiction, concerning fiction. [That's it! Quote that!] Yet, they have been assembled so that one can also bypass all of CT's footnotes and commentaries, and move from chapter to chapter as J.R.R. would have wanted his work to have been read (until he wanted to revise everything;). CT's work is exhaustive and informative but never intrusive. ....I went into this expecting to come across whole piles of arcane knowledge, the definitive answers to "Balrog-wing" questions, or at least further evidence and quotables, stuff to win bets with, that sort of thing. But, like Reiner sez at the beginning of This is Spinal Tap, "I got more than that. Much more. But hey, enough of my yakkin'! Let's boogie!" Maybe, tomorrow, I think, I'll do vol. I, "The Book of Lost Tales, Part I," and also explain why if you don't like "The Silmarillion" you'll hate HOME! (Perfectly natural! Don't worry about it!) And maybe clarify some the above gibberish, once I get a chance to read it. Now to blow some money on a corporate-movie-tie-in fan-exploitation merchandising-whore sellout calendar! Woo-HOO!! B&N better not be sold out! (Then I'm gettin' a Whopper(tm) and One-ion Rings(tm) !!!!!!!!!)
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Rhadagast is replaced in the movie by a moth!!! WTF?!?
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