| Lord Of The Rings actor 'had
nightmares' about new character |
John Rhys-Davies says he's had nightmares about providing the voice
of Treebeard in the new Lord Of The Rings film.
As well as voicing the new character, Rhys-Davies will again be seen
playing the dwarf Gimli in The Two Towers.
He says when director Peter Jackson first asked him to provide the
voice of the Ent he thought "Oh good, more money!"
"Then my nightmares began," Rhys-Davies tells www.scifi.com.
"I've had more cold sweats, more waking up in the middle of the
night thinking, 'God, how do I play this bloody thing?' than you can
imagine.
"How the hell do you make a walking and talking tree work? What
does a tree sound like? I asked this question to a talk-show host in New
York City. He had three friends who were Tolkien experts and he faxed
them the question, 'How does a tree talk?'" he says.
"They each sent back a letter. Every one of them disagreed with
my own instinctive way of doing it. And one of them actually said the
only person who really could do this was James Earl Jones. And with that
I concur utterly. But you've got to try these things."
Story filed: 12:34 Thursday 3rd October 2002
|
| Of The Rings hits top
note |
| Lord Of The Rings has beaten a host
of cinema classics to be voted the greatest film soundtrack of
all time.
It came ahead of such memorable movie scores as Doctor
Zhivago, Gone With The Wind and Chariots of Fire.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was released
only last year but it topped the poll carried out by Classic FM.
Star Wars was voted in second place, followed by Schindler's
List, The Empire Strikes Back and Gladiator.
Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore, who picked up an
Oscar for the soundtrack, said he was "thrilled" with
the results in the poll of more than 52,000 listeners.
Meanwhile the year's other wizard release, Harry Potter and
the Philosopher's Stone, made it to number 14. |
|
| That score was the work of American
John Williams, who was the most popular composer on the list and
the man behind the famous Star Wars theme.
Three of his soundtracks were in the top 50 and he has a
total of nine in the top 30, including ET, Raiders of the Lost
Ark and Superman.
British composer John Barry merited three mentions on the
list - for Out Of Africa, Dances With Wolves and the 1968 film
The Lion In Winter.
Lawrence of Arabia is at number 8, Doctor Zhivago at number
11, The Magnificent Seven at number 15 and Brief Encounter at
number 18.
The oldest film on the list is Gone With The Wind, released
in 1939, with a score by Max Steiner.
Story filed: 03:39 Tuesday 27th August 2002 |
|
| Lord Of The Rings fans offered
tour of filming locations |
A company is offering tours of New Zealand where the Lord Of The
Rings trilogy was filmed.
The tour takes about three hours and visits Paradise near Glenorchy,
the Greenstone Valley and other areas in the greater Wakatipu area.
Glenorchy Air's Robert Rutherford says his company's 'Trilogy Trails'
tours are sure to be popular with fans of Tolkien and director Peter
Jackson.
He told New Zealand's
Otago Times: "They can visit the real Lothlorien, view the
scenery where the battle of Amon Hen took place, smell the smells and
see the sights Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee felt.
"Being able to put our visitors in the places that inspired
Peter Jackson to recreate Middle-earth and the Lord of the Rings for
themselves is exciting for us."
The tour has only been advertised on the Internet so far, but
bookings are already coming in.
Demand is expected to rise with the release of the second film, The
Two Towers, later this year.
Story filed: 23:25 Tuesday 2nd July 2002 |
| Ian McKellen says The Two
Towers title will not be changed |
Ian McKellen says the title of the second Lord Of The Rings film will
not be changed.
An online petition had urged director Peter Jackson to abandon plans
to call the sequel The Two Towers.
Some fans wanted it to be renamed following the attacks on the twin
towers of the World Trade Centre.
But McKellen says: "The notion that the title should be changed
in respect to New York City's sensibilities has rightly been
resisted."
Writing in his online journal at www.mckellen.com,
he says the film's US premiere will be in Manhattan and the first
European showing will be in Paris.
McKellen says he has seen some of the footage from the new film:
"I have seen the Balrog again on screen - wowee fans! - marvelled
at the first heart-stopping entrance of the super-equine Shadowfax and
some of the Helm's Deep battling as Gandalf commits himself Samurai-like
to the fray."
The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers will be released in the UK on
December 13.
Story filed: 10:58 Thursday 27th June 2002 |
| French and Saunders to spoof
Lord Of The Rings |
| Dawn French and Jennifer
Saunders have filmed a parody of Lord Of The Rings for their
Easter Special. |
| The parody also features Dale Winton
and sees the pair go in search of an Oscar.
Dawn French will be seen with pointed ears like a Hobbit and
wearing a Blue Peter badge.
The programme will be on BBC1 on Good Friday and is the first
French and Saunders show since 1999.
Bono and Sophie Ellis Bextor will also appear on the show.
Story filed: 13:08 Tuesday 19th March 2002 |
 |
|
|
