From: jsavard@tenMAPSONeerf.edmonton.ab.ca (John Savard) Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien Subject: Re: Lord of the Rings Movie Officially Announced Date: Thu, 07 Oct 1999 20:23:11 GMT Organization: PowerSurfr - High Speed Internet Lines: 31 Message-ID: <37fcffc4.9444577@news.prosurfr.com> References: <7titeo$d0_002@Org.xenite.org> NNTP-Posting-Host: c9169-003.v-wave.com X-Trace: dagger.ab.videon.ca 939327719 17711 24.108.21.103 (7 Oct 1999 20:21:59 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@powersurfr.com NNTP-Posting-Date: 7 Oct 1999 20:21:59 GMT X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.11/32.235 Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!isdnet!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!newsflash.concordia.ca!canopus.cc.umanitoba.ca!tribune.usask.ca!rover.ucs.ualberta.ca!news.ab.videon.ca!not-for-mail Michael@xenite.org (Michael Martinez) wrote, in part: >New Line Cinema's long-awaited press release has finally gone out and the >movie project, in production for more than a year, is officially underway. > >The press release is available at: >[http://www.xenite.org/faqs/lotr_movie/press-release.html] For some reason, the text part of your page with the release itself, which ought to load very quickly, even if images take time, was slow to load. Except for considerable use of tables, I couldn't find anything in the page source to explain it. The press release lists the major cast members, and is certainly interesting for that reason alone. On the official site, I note they have a slogan saying that the book event of the 20th Century will be the movie event of the 21st. Since they're filming three movies at once, I suppose it is not at all surprising that the movies may not hit the theatres until 2001, but I'm wondering if that was what they really intended to say (i.e. so many people have forgotten that, even if Jan. 1st, 2000 is a day to celebrate, beginning a new decade and a new millenium, the new century doesn't begin for another year). One thing, though, about the casting: one reading of LotR might suggest that the same actor - rather than two different actors, as with this project - should play both Gandalf and Saruman. John Savard ( teneerf<- ) http://www.ecn.ab.ca/~jsavard/crypto.htm ###### Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien From: Michael@xenite.org (Michael Martinez) Subject: Re: Lord of the Rings Movie Officially Announced Organization: Xenite.Org: Worlds of Imagination on the Web Distribution: world Message-ID: <7tj1sk$158_006@Org.xenite.org> References: <7titeo$d0_002@Org.xenite.org> <37fcffc4.9444577@news.prosurfr.com> X-Newsreader: News Xpress 2.01 Lines: 57 Date: Thu, 07 Oct 1999 21:04:20 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 207.224.147.112 X-Trace: news.uswest.net 939330316 207.224.147.112 (Thu, 07 Oct 1999 16:05:16 CDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 07 Oct 1999 16:05:16 CDT Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!news-out.uswest.net!news.uswest.net!Xenite In article <37fcffc4.9444577@news.prosurfr.com>, jsavard@tenMAPSONeerf.edmonton.ab.ca (John Savard) wrote: >Michael@xenite.org (Michael Martinez) wrote, in part: > >>New Line Cinema's long-awaited press release has finally gone out and the >>movie project, in production for more than a year, is officially underway. >> >>The press release is available at: >>[http://www.xenite.org/faqs/lotr_movie/press-release.html] > >For some reason, the text part of your page with the release itself, >which ought to load very quickly, even if images take time, was slow >to load. Except for considerable use of tables, I couldn't find >anything in the page source to explain it. The slow-load time is probably due to factors unrelated to my page. It loads quickly for me (from the Web site, not my hard drive) and I don't have a fast connection. On the other hand, I've encountered a number of "Internet burps" today, including pages that stop loading for no reason, news servers not responding quickly, etc. Even rebooting my PC doesn't seem to have fixed all those problems. >The press release lists the major cast members, and is certainly >interesting for that reason alone. > >On the official site, I note they have a slogan saying that the book >event of the 20th Century will be the movie event of the 21st. Since >they're filming three movies at once, I suppose it is not at all >surprising that the movies may not hit the theatres until 2001, but >I'm wondering if that was what they really intended to say (i.e. so >many people have forgotten that, even if Jan. 1st, 2000 is a day to >celebrate, beginning a new decade and a new millenium, the new century >doesn't begin for another year). No movie's life ends when the box office closes, however. But, actually, Jan 1, 2000 does NOT begin either a new decade or a new millenium. The calendar system begins with 1, not 0. Hence, 1 - 10 was the first decade, 1 - 100 was the first century, and 1 - 1000 was the first millenium of the Common Era (or the Anno Domini years). Hence, 1001 - 2000 is the second millenium. >One thing, though, about the casting: one reading of LotR might >suggest that the same actor - rather than two different actors, as >with this project - should play both Gandalf and Saruman. Maybe, but the decision to have two actors has already been made. If the current reports about Sean Connery actually being in New Zealand despite what his agent says are true, and that he is in fact going to have some part in the movies, I'm wondering if he won't be Sauron. -- \\ // Worlds of Imagination on the Web info@xenite.org \\// FREE! Watch Internet TV shows at Xenite.Org! //\\ [http://www.xenite.org/index.htm] // \\ENITE.org............................................... ###### From: Robert Brady Subject: Re: Lord of the Rings Movie Officially Announced Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien References: <7titeo$d0_002@Org.xenite.org> <37fcffc4.9444577@news.prosurfr.com> <7tj1sk$158_006@Org.xenite.org> Reply-To: rwb197@ecs.soton.ac.uk Distribution: world X-URL: http://www.aber.mud.org/ X-Conspiracy: There is no conspiracy User-Agent: tin/pre-1.4-19990805 ("Preacher Man") (UNIX) (Linux/2.2.11 (i686)) NNTP-Posting-Host: soolin.ecs.soton.ac.uk Message-ID: <37fd490d@news.ecs.soton.ac.uk> Date: 8 Oct 1999 02:29:49 GMT X-Trace: 8 Oct 1999 02:29:49 GMT, soolin.ecs.soton.ac.uk Lines: 11 Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!isdnet!193.190.198.17.MISMATCH!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!colt.net!baron.netcom.net.uk!netcom.net.uk!server3.netnews.ja.net!news-spool.soton.ac.uk!news.ecs.soton.ac.uk!not-for-mail Michael Martinez wrote: >If the current reports about Sean Connery actually being in New Zealand >despite what his agent says are true, and that he is in fact going to have >some part in the movies, I'm wondering if he won't be Sauron. But surely Sauron should be played by a giant eye! *ducks* -- Robert ###### Message-ID: <37FF51B4.A5FF1A08@indigo.ie> From: Michael O'Neill Organization: O'Neill Quigley & Associates X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.08 [en] (Win95; I) MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien Subject: Re: Lord of the Rings Movie Officially Announced References: <7titeo$d0_002@Org.xenite.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 28 Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 15:31:16 +0100 NNTP-Posting-Host: 194.125.145.148 X-Complaints-To: news@indigo.ie X-Trace: news.indigo.ie 939479527 194.125.145.148 (Sat, 09 Oct 1999 15:32:07 GMT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 15:32:07 GMT Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!isdnet!newsfeed.icl.net!iol.ie!news.indigo.ie!not-for-mail Michael Martinez wrote: > > New Line Cinema's long-awaited press release has finally gone out and the > movie project, in production for more than a year, is officially underway. First impressions, and open to much review, subject to later clarification. Quotable quotes #1;- "Liv Tyler stars as Arwen, a young elf warrior and princess who is prepared to give up her immortality for love of Aragorn." So the subtlety of the Faramir/Eowyn thing is lost and the brood mare becomes a central player. Elf warrior? My arse. You just know when they start putting in blurb like Quotable quotes #2;- "We owe Professor Tolkien and his legion of fans worldwide our very best efforts to make these films with the integrity they deserve." That you're going to be VERY pissed off with the resultant plot changes. I don't care though. Christopher Lee *is* Saruman!!! M. ###### Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien From: Michael@xenite.org (Michael Martinez) Subject: Re: Lord of the Rings Movie Officially Announced Organization: Xenite.Org: Worlds of Imagination on the Web Distribution: world Message-ID: <7tnsee$238_032@Org.xenite.org> References: <7titeo$d0_002@Org.xenite.org> <37FF51B4.A5FF1A08@indigo.ie> X-Newsreader: News Xpress 2.01 Lines: 45 Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 17:02:06 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 207.224.149.199 X-Trace: news.uswest.net 939488593 207.224.149.199 (Sat, 09 Oct 1999 12:03:13 CDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 12:03:13 CDT Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!news-fra1.dfn.de!news0.de.colt.net!colt.net!newsfeed.icl.net!logbridge.uoregon.edu!news-out.uswest.net!news.uswest.net!Xenite In article <37FF51B4.A5FF1A08@indigo.ie>, Michael O'Neill wrote: >Michael Martinez wrote: >> >> New Line Cinema's long-awaited press release has finally gone out and the >> movie project, in production for more than a year, is officially underway. > >First impressions, and open to much review, subject to later >clarification. > >Quotable quotes #1;- > >"Liv Tyler stars as Arwen, a young elf warrior and princess who is >prepared to give up her immortality for love of Aragorn." > >So the subtlety of the Faramir/Eowyn thing is lost and the brood mare >becomes a central player. Not necessarily. >Elf warrior? My arse. It will probably not go over well with hardcore fans. >You just know when they start putting in blurb like Quotable quotes #2;- > >"We owe Professor Tolkien and his legion of fans worldwide our very best >efforts to make these films with the integrity they deserve." > >That you're going to be VERY pissed off with the resultant plot changes. Come, come, now. Tolkien himself engaged in considerable plot-changing. The story goes on. :) >I don't care though. Christopher Lee *is* Saruman!!! I'm rather coming to accept Ian McKellen as Gandalf. He's a very accomplished actor. They definitely didn't go second rate in that department. -- \\ // Worlds of Imagination on the Web info@xenite.org \\// FREE! Watch Internet TV shows at Xenite.Org! //\\ [http://www.xenite.org/index.htm] // \\ENITE.org............................................... ###### Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien From: Michael@xenite.org (Michael Martinez) Subject: Re: Lord of the Rings Movie Officially Announced Organization: Xenite.Org: Worlds of Imagination on the Web Distribution: world Message-ID: <7to4ev$3bo_006@Org.xenite.org> References: <7titeo$d0_002@Org.xenite.org> <37FF51B4.A5FF1A08@indigo.ie> <7tnsee$238_032@Org.xenite.org> <37FF8F02.7BE3157C@indigo.ie> X-Newsreader: News Xpress 2.01 Lines: 60 Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 19:18:55 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 207.224.149.199 X-Trace: news.uswest.net 939496799 207.224.149.199 (Sat, 09 Oct 1999 14:19:59 CDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 14:19:59 CDT Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.direct.ca!logbridge.uoregon.edu!news-out.uswest.net!news.uswest.net!Xenite In article <37FF8F02.7BE3157C@indigo.ie>, Michael O'Neill wrote: >Michael Martinez wrote: >> >> In article <37FF51B4.A5FF1A08@indigo.ie>, Michael O'Neill > wrote: >> > >> >So the subtlety of the Faramir/Eowyn thing is lost and the brood mare >> >becomes a central player. >> >> Not necessarily. > >Ah come on MM. What else could it mean? > >*you wanted me to ask that... :-)* I did? Oh, right, right, I DID, didn't I? Um, why did I? >> >Elf warrior? My arse. >> >> It will probably not go over well with hardcore fans. > >My arse? Oh. You mean... no. It won't I expect. The whole idea of Arwen >and Eowyn's roles playing off each other in the plot will go and the >work will suffer. Well, as for the arse, that's between you, your ladyfriends, and any guys who get caught in-between. But I meant the idea of Arwen as an Elf warrior. Hopefully it won't be a slinky warrior maid costume revealing all sorts of flesh and femininity, or else Tyler with liv up to her reputation.... >> >I don't care though. Christopher Lee *is* Saruman!!! >> >> I'm rather coming to accept Ian McKellen as Gandalf. He's a very >> accomplished actor. They definitely didn't go second rate in that >> department. > >Nope. :-) > >As regards McKellan's role, the essence of who should play Gandalf was >tossed back and forth by me amongst others and I initially favoured >Connery. Well, I would still like to see Connery do it, and I mean no disrespect to Sir Ian. I think Connery has that natural arrogance that so pervades Gandalf. I don't think Connery would be "trapped" or limited by the role at all, if that was what you were getting at. If it makes you folks feel any better, I've sent Michael DeLuca an email asking about Eowyn, and if he is unable to give a satisfying yes-or-no answer, I'll try a more subtle (and perhaps direct) approach. -- \\ // Worlds of Imagination on the Web info@xenite.org \\// FREE! Watch Internet TV shows at Xenite.Org! //\\ [http://www.xenite.org/index.htm] // \\ENITE.org............................................... ###### Message-ID: <37FF8F02.7BE3157C@indigo.ie> From: Michael O'Neill Organization: O'Neill Quigley & Associates X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.08 [en] (Win95; I) MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien Subject: Re: Lord of the Rings Movie Officially Announced References: <7titeo$d0_002@Org.xenite.org> <37FF51B4.A5FF1A08@indigo.ie> <7tnsee$238_032@Org.xenite.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 75 Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 19:52:50 +0100 NNTP-Posting-Host: 194.125.145.156 X-Complaints-To: news@indigo.ie X-Trace: news.indigo.ie 939495222 194.125.145.156 (Sat, 09 Oct 1999 19:53:42 GMT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 19:53:42 GMT Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!newsfeed-zh.ip-plus.net!news.ip-plus.net!news.datacomm.ch!newscore.gigabell.net!newsfeed.icl.net!colt.net!iol.ie!news.indigo.ie!not-for-mail Michael Martinez wrote: > > In article <37FF51B4.A5FF1A08@indigo.ie>, Michael O'Neill wrote: > >Michael Martinez wrote: > >> > >> New Line Cinema's long-awaited press release has finally gone out and the > >> movie project, in production for more than a year, is officially underway. > > > >First impressions, and open to much review, subject to later > >clarification. > > > >Quotable quotes #1;- > > > >"Liv Tyler stars as Arwen, a young elf warrior and princess who is > >prepared to give up her immortality for love of Aragorn." > > > >So the subtlety of the Faramir/Eowyn thing is lost and the brood mare > >becomes a central player. > > Not necessarily. Ah come on MM. What else could it mean? *you wanted me to ask that... :-)* > >Elf warrior? My arse. > > It will probably not go over well with hardcore fans. My arse? Oh. You mean... no. It won't I expect. The whole idea of Arwen and Eowyn's roles playing off each other in the plot will go and the work will suffer. > >You just know when they start putting in blurb like Quotable quotes #2;- > > > >"We owe Professor Tolkien and his legion of fans worldwide our very best > >efforts to make these films with the integrity they deserve." > > > >That you're going to be VERY pissed off with the resultant plot changes. > > Come, come, now. Tolkien himself engaged in considerable plot-changing. > The story goes on. :) Hoist by my own petard. Sore thing. :-) > >I don't care though. Christopher Lee *is* Saruman!!! > > I'm rather coming to accept Ian McKellen as Gandalf. He's a very > accomplished actor. They definitely didn't go second rate in that > department. Nope. :-) As regards McKellan's role, the essence of who should play Gandalf was tossed back and forth by me amongst others and I initially favoured Connery. I have since come to agree with teh opinion that a film with Connery in so central a role could be devalued precisely because Connery was cast in a pre-defined character. Not because I feel Connery is a poor actor, the opposite, but because he is now so well established. In that I agree with what I perceive as the calibre of actors and actresses chosen. Enough experience and exposure [pardon?] to be ably to carry their roles, but most not so well known internationally as to over shadow the roles they're playing. As for Christopher Lee, I'm just waiting to see Saruman smile for the first time, checking those canines... :-) M. ###### From: Ermanna Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien Subject: Re: Lord of the Rings Movie Officially Announced Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1999 09:39:55 -0400 Lines: 18 Message-ID: <38009729.C0B303FD@erols.com> References: <7titeo$d0_002@Org.xenite.org> <37FF51B4.A5FF1A08@indigo.ie> <7tnsee$238_032@Org.xenite.org> <37FF8F02.7BE3157C@indigo.ie> <7to4ev$3bo_006@Org.xenite.org> Reply-To: jsolinas@erols.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: WTPUxgCi2n/lnrLrx4TE+OXHaMEQYVgtVZ/BdcIZnr4= X-Complaints-To: abuse@rcn.com NNTP-Posting-Date: 10 Oct 1999 14:09:17 GMT X-Accept-Language: en X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 (Macintosh; I; PPC) Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!isdnet!howland.erols.net!outgoing.news.rcn.net.MISMATCH!feed1.news.rcn.net!rcn!not-for-mail Michael Martinez wrote: > I think Connery has that natural arrogance that so pervades > Gandalf. Gandalf is NOT arrogant! Ermanna the Angery Elven Jedi Knight See, I know where I am, and where I want to go, I've got angels to show me the way! ###### From: orius@webtv.net (David Sulger) Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien Subject: Re: Lord of the Rings Movie Officially Announced Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 03:40:03 -0400 (EDT) Organization: WebTV Subscriber Lines: 10 Message-ID: <21559-38019453-48@newsd-251.iap.bryant.webtv.net> References: <37FF51B4.A5FF1A08@indigo.ie> NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost.webtv.net Mime-Version: 1.0 (WebTV) Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit X-WebTV-Signature: 1 ETAsAhQ0jlqA+eUnHCVxmD7TROJEwd45uAIUXRBWG9wTYc/JDywC8tFhKAy1WZo= Content-Disposition: Inline Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!newsfeed-zh.ip-plus.net!news.ip-plus.net!News.Amsterdam.UnisourceCS!uunet!ams.uu.net!ffx.uu.net!webtv.net!not-for-mail Michael O'Neill wrote: >Christopher Lee *is* Saruman!!! I agree. I really think he will be able to pull the roll off well. This is one of the few things I've heard about the movie that I really like. --Dave ###### From: "Robert B. Marks" Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien References: <7titeo$d0_002@Org.xenite.org> <37FF51B4.A5FF1A08@indigo.ie> <7tnsee$238_032@Org.xenite.org> <37FF8F02.7BE3157C@indigo.ie> <7to4ev$3bo_006@Org.xenite.org> Subject: Re: Lord of the Rings Movie Officially Announced Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 23:18:05 -0400 Lines: 38 Organization: None at present... X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 NNTP-Posting-Host: p37.triton2.sentex.ca Message-ID: <380e85f0.0@flint.sentex.net> X-Trace: 20 Oct 1999 23:18:08 -0400, p37.triton2.sentex.ca Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!newsfeed-zh.ip-plus.net!news.ip-plus.net!News.Amsterdam.UnisourceCS!newshunter!cosy.sbg.ac.at!news-feed.inet.tele.dk!bofh.vszbr.cz!nntp.primenet.com!nntp.gctr.net!newsfeed.direct.ca!news1.tor.metronet.ca!nnrp1.tor.metronet.ca!flint.sentex.net!p37.triton2.sentex.ca Michael Martinez wrote in message news:7to4ev$3bo_006@Org.xenite.org... [Snipping bit about somebody's rear end...] > But I meant the idea of Arwen as an Elf warrior. Hopefully it won't be a > slinky warrior maid costume revealing all sorts of flesh and femininity, or > else Tyler with liv up to her reputation.... Actually, come to think about it, if they follow the book, it won't matter anyway. After all, Arwen shows up once at Rivendell and again at the end once Sauron is defeated. She could be wearing a coat of mail and bearing a machine gun and still have little to no effect on the film. Okay, maybe the machine gun would be a bit much... > >As regards McKellan's role, the essence of who should play Gandalf was > >tossed back and forth by me amongst others and I initially favoured > >Connery. > > Well, I would still like to see Connery do it, and I mean no disrespect to > Sir Ian. I think Connery has that natural arrogance that so pervades > Gandalf. I don't think Connery would be "trapped" or limited by the role > at all, if that was what you were getting at. I always wanted to see Nicol Williamson as Gandalf. After seeing his Merlin in Excalibur, I thought he would be perfect for the part. I guess that won't happen now, though. Robert Marks -- The future has not been written, / The past is set in stone, And I am but a lonely wanderer / With time as my only home. -- From Magus Draconum