I trust this further word from one of the stars, who is a huge Tolkien fan and a cool guy to boot, Christopher Lee:
“Waheeey! ‘Duck!’ Get it?”
“Errr… No…”
“Duck! Sounds almost exactly like fu-”
Later on the “2000 Year Old Man” album, in a sketch which is called, I believe, “The Coffeehouse,” Carl Reiner plays an interviewer who goes into an artsy coffeehouse and interviews various artists there. One of them is a musician who plays a stringed instrument, so Carl asks him to compose a song on the spot. The song he composes is called “22 Men”, and the lyrics are:
“22 men fell down and hurt their knees.
22 men fell down and hurt their knees.
22 men fell down,
down to the ground,
22 men fell down and hurt their knees.”
Carl’s not too impressed, so he says something along the lines of, “well, okay, but can you come up with something bigger, more topical?” So Mel thinks for a minute, and then, to the same tune, sings,
“Big Dick Nixon hurt his knee.” The political situation being what it was at the time, laughter erupts from the audience almost immediately.
Rich
And I just had to dig out my copy last night, but of course couldn’t find it. Grrr.
The cave anthem went something like:
“All the other caves can go to hell
Except for cave 746.”
-andros-
“Listen Children Eternal Father Eternally One!” Exceptions? None!
-Doc Bronner
"THE LORD OF THE RINGS" TO BEGIN PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY IN NEW ZEALAND
Peter Jackson Directs International Cast
In Production of Unprecedented Scope
(Los Angeles, October 7, 1999) - The Lord of the Rings film trilogy begins principal photography in Wellington, New Zealand, on October 11, 1999, under the direction of Peter Jackson, it was jointly announced today by Robert Shaye, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of New Line Cinema; Michael Lynne, President and Chief Operating Officer of New Line Cinema; Michael De Luca, President and Chief Operating Officer of New Line Productions; Mark Ordesky, President of Fine Line Features; and Jackson, who is also a writer and producer of the production.
Unprecedented in scope, the production breaks new ground in movie-making by filming the three titles in this saga – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King - not consecutively but concurrently, as though they were all one giant motion picture production.
Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved series of fantasy novels, The Lord of the Rings franchise stars (in alphabetical order) Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif, Sir Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Sir Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, John Rhys-Davies, Stuart Townsend, Liv Tyler and Elijah Wood, whose casting was previously announced.
The screenplay is written by Jackson (The Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures); his longtime production partner, Fran Walsh (The Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures); Philippa Boyens; and Stephen Sinclair (Braindead, Meet the Feebles). The producers are Barrie M. Osborne (The Matrix, Face/Off) and Tim Sanders (Aberration, The Frighteners) and Jackson, and the executive producers are Saul Zaentz (The English Patient, Amadeus), and Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein (co-chairmen of Miramax). Walsh and Rich Porras (Contact) are associate producing under Jackson’s WingNut Films Banner.
Other members of the distinguished behind-the-camera crew include director of photography Andrew Lesnie (Babe, Babe: Pig in the City), production designer Grant Major (The Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures), costume designer Ngila Dickson (Xena, Warrior Princess; Hercules; Heavenly Creatures), and makeup and hair designer Peter Owen (Oscar and Lucinda, Philadelphia).
WETA Workshop is executing armor, miniatures, creatures and special effects make-up under the direction of supervisor Richard Taylor. WETA Digital is executing the special visual effects under the direction of visual effects supervisor Mark Stetson (The Fifth Element and upcoming Super Nova). Visual effects producer for WETA is Charlie McClellan (The Frighteners, Contact). The conceptual artists are Alan Lee and John Howe, renowned for their illustrations of Tolkien’s work. The official The Lord of the Rings website is www.lordoftherings.net.
Coinciding with the start of principal photography, Houghton Mifflin is publishing a one-time-only millennium edition of The Lord of the Rings. For the first time, the Rings saga is being presented in a boxed set of seven hard-cover volumes, one for each of its six parts plus a seventh volume containing the appendices. One of the most beloved stories of the 20th century, The Lord of the Rings has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide in 25 different languages.
Michael De Luca, President and Chief Operating Officer of New Line Productions, said: “The Lord of the Rings is among the greatest adventures ever written, and making this film is proving to be a wonderful adventure in its own right. Like Frodo, the hero of this saga, we’re on a film ‘quest,’ and I can’t think of anyone better to lead us than Peter Jackson.”
Mark Ordesky, President of Fine Line Features, said: “Filming three features simultaneously is a pretty daring proposition, but we have a wonderful team of filmmakers and actors who are more than up to the job and who are going to make this saga a deeply felt experience for moviegoers everywhere.”
Jackson said: “My team and I have poured our hearts into this project for the past three years, so it’s a great thrill to begin actual photography. Filming three films at once has never been done before, in addition to which the project features state-of-the-art special effects, so it was essential to plan everything down to the last detail. We owe Professor Tolkien and his legion of fans worldwide our very best efforts to make these films with the integrity they deserve.”
As previously announced, Elijah Wood (Deep Impact, The War) stars as Frodo, a young hobbit who, by inheriting a seemingly innocent magic ring, finds himself launched on a perilous quest to save all of Middle Earth from encroaching evil.
Other members of the cast include Sean Astin as Sam Gamgee, Frodo’s most faithful friend. Astin gained early attention for his starring role in The Goonies and has since appeared in numerous films and TV productions, including Bulworth, Courage Under Fire, Rudy and Memphis Belle. He was nominated for an Oscar® for the short film Kangaroo Court, which he directed and produced.
Sean Bean stars as Boromir, a human and the hot-blooded elder son of the ruler of the kingdom of Gondor. The rugged English actor has appeared in Ronin, GoldenEye, Patriot Games and The Field, among other films, and starred in the title role of Sharpe’s Waterloo, Sharpe’s Justice and the many other installments in the Sharpe series based on Bernard Cornwell’s novels.
Cate Blanchett stars as the elf Galadriel, the wise visionary queen of Lorien. For her performance in the title role of Elizabeth last year, the Australian actress won the Golden Globe and BAFTA awards as well as an Oscar® nomination. She has also been lauded for her performances in such films as An Ideal Husband, Thank God He Met Lizzie, and Oscar and Lucinda.
Orlando Bloom stars as Legolas, a valiant elf who joins Frodo on his quest. Bloom has just graduated from Guildhall and has appeared in the television production Midsomer Murders.
Billy Boyd stars as Pippin, a young hobbit and close friend of Frodo who accompanies him on his mission to destroy the magic ring. He has appeared in the TV miniseries Coming Soon and the feature Urban Ghost Story.
Brad Dourif stars as Wormtongue, the manipulative adviser to King Theodon and a pawn of the evil wizard Saruman. Since making his film debut in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, for which he earned an Academy Award® nomination, a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award, Dourif has appeared in over 40 films. Among these are Ragtime, Wise Blood, Blue Velvet, Alien Resurrection and all four of the Chucky movies, in which he provided the voice of Chucky.
Sir Ian Holm stars as the hobbit Bilbo, Frodo’s cousin and the original bearer of the magic ring. One of Britain’s most distinguished actors, Sir Ian received BAFTA Awards for Chariots of Fire and The Bofors Gun. His many other credits include The Match, eXistenZ, King Lear, The Sweet Hereafter, The Madness of King George, Hamlet, Brazil, Greystoke and Alien. He also earned a Tony Award for his performance in Moonlight, and in 1989 he was awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire).
Christopher Lee stars as Saruman, the chief of all wizards who hopes to snare the magic ring for himself. During a career spanning five decades, Lee has appeared in dozens of film and television productions. Recently, he starred in the title role of Jinnah, the story of Pakistan’s founder. Other films include Tim Burton’s upcoming Sleepy Hollow, Police Academy: Mission to Moscow, The Man With the Golden Gun, The Three Musketeers, The Wicker Man, the classic 1959 production of The Mummy and numerous horror films.
Sir Ian McKellen stars as the wise wizard Gandalf, who is Frodo’s mentor and protector. Sir Ian, who was knighted for his contributions to the performing arts, recently starred in Gods and Monsters, for which he received many awards and an Oscar® nomination. His screen successes include Apt Pupil, Scandal, And the Band Played On (Emmy nomination and C
As fas as Christopher Lee is concerned, he can suck my (oh, wait a minute, that’s not very nice). . . well he’s a big doodyhead, even if he does say he loves Tolkien. If the “public” can’t handle the thing word-for-word, the “public” can bloody well do without it.
My recruiter promised they’d teach me calculus in Nuclear Power School. I want my eleven yars back.
And who wants to bet that Liv Tyler as Arwen ends up with WAY more time in the movies than the original books give her? As I recall, she sings one song in Rivendell, and then is wholly absent from the story until after the destruction of the ring, when she arrives in Gondor to wed Aragorn. Oh, yeah, they booked Liv Tyler for her singing…
This thing is gonna be mutilated < sigh >
The ring gets DESTROYED?? Damn spoilers. . .
Rich
Hey guys, why are you judging this movie before it gets made? Can’t you just wait and see first before casting stones?
Nobody can turn a book into a movie without some altered elements. Otherwise it’ll be a boring piece of crap - all talking heads and no visual excitement.
I don’t think you guys understand how moviemaking works. And you’re being a tad unfair reviewing a movie that hasn’t been made yet.
“Waheeey! ‘Duck!’ Get it?”
“Errr… No…”
“Duck! Sounds almost exactly like fu-”
The main problem with the LotR movie is that it will inevitably suffer from what I call the Silmarillion Effect…singularly appropriate in that it’s a Tolkien topic. What the S.E. is in my mind is the idea that when something is eagerly expected as a follow-up to something else known and loved, no matter how good it is, it’ll inevitably fall short of one’s hopes.
IF the movie in question was an adaptation of some relatively minor work, then you would be right.
But adapting the LotR to a movie is taking on a piece of VERY loved literature, with millions of already existing fans. Those of us who are fans of the books understand not every piece of the books can make it into the movie. But we CAN complain when it is evident that the movie will ADD things that didn’t exist in the books. In part, we do this because we have previously experienced efforts to render the books into movie format, and were horribly dissapointed in the process.
Certainly you can express concern, and you can proclaim your love of the originals. You can even worry if you like.
But you’re judging the film before it has been even filmed. I think you’re being premature, that’s all.
When you see some screenshots and clips, or hear about what the script actually contains, then you can complain. Until then, I think you should give this effort the benefit of the doubt. It’s going to be different to any other adaptation out there.
For example, when you look at the various pieces of artwork that people like Alan Lee and John Howe create, and their versions of Galadriel’s Mirror differ not only from your imaginings, but from each other’s, do you dismiss their whole effort? Or do you say, “Wow, cool artwork, but I imagined them differently”?
I think the least you can do is have the latter approach when it comes to these movies, until you have good cause to dislike them.
“Waheeey! ‘Duck!’ Get it?”
“Errr… No…”
“Duck! Sounds almost exactly like fu-”
I can’t speak for the others here, Guano, but I’m treating these films as I treated Phantom Menace:
I’m bashing them big time.
Because I know a film adaptation of LotR can not live up to my hopes. so I’m lowering my expectations.
By trying to convince myself that it will suck, when it does come out I’ll be ecstatic that it doesn’t. And if it does happen to suck (I don’t think it will), I won’t be crushed.
Bear in mind that the folks posting will not let their concerns stop them from seeing the movies.
-andros-
“Listen Children Eternal Father Eternally One!” Exceptions? None!
-Doc Bronner
Andros, you’re my kind of pessimist…
“A pessimist is always prepared for the worst. He’s never disappointed. On the rare occasions that something good happens, he’s pleasantly surprised.”
I heard this back in the 60’s and memorized it, but I have no idea who originally said it.
I think that was Benjamin Franklin when he appeared on that TV show Bewitched.
DHR
Hmmm…
For what it’s worth, I was totally hyped to see the Phantome Menace (after 15 years of waiting) and I loved it.
I guess I’m sort of unique in that.
“To me, socks are like sex. Tons of it about, and I don’t seem to get any.”
This misses the point of the criticisms entirely. I and others are not saying: well, we aren’t going to like what they make the balrog look like, or the nazgûl look like, so they will be bad. We are saying: Taking out Tom Bombadil makes it hard to explain later aspects of the movie without making something up, and looks like they intend to have Arwen be more involved than Tolkein had her be, etc. In other words, to use your own image, suppose that an artist painst the scene of Galadriel’s mirror, but shows that Aragorn was present with Frodo and Sam. In that case, YES, I would criticize the picture, because it wouldn’t be correct.
I must say that my opinion is:
Why make a movie at all? If someone is interested in the story of the Lord of the Rings, why can’t they go read the book?
I’m being disingenuous, because of course the reason for making a movie is to capitalize on the success of the book. But with all the talented screenwriters in the world, why not come up with a new story? Wouldn’t we be worse off if instead of writing “The Lord of the Rings”, Tolkien re-wrote the story of Robin Hood?
J’ai assez vécu pour voir que différence engendre haine.
Henri B. Stendhal
I don’t believe that’s necessarily the case. There have been many films based on unsuccessful books.
As for the rest:
By your reasoning, then, there should be no films based on books, stories, or legends? Well, geez. I guess The Iliad shouldn’t be translated, then? If we want to read it we can just learn ancient Greek?
-andros-
“Listen Children Eternal Father Eternally One!” Exceptions? None!
-Doc Bronner
You’re right, I meant to say “The reason for making this movie is to capitalize on the success of the book.”
First, I didn’t say anything about translation.
But yes, I think it shows a lack of imagination to make a film version of a popular book.
In some cases, the movie can add some additional insight to the tale, but in most cases, it ends up being a chopped-up “condensed” copy of the book.
J’ai assez vécu pour voir que différence engendre haine.
Henri B. Stendhal
I enjoy reading science fiction and fantasy. I enjoy some SF movies. I have rarely seen a science fiction or fantasy movie that I have enjoyed where it has been adapted from a book I have enjoyed.
Three (or five) exceptions, and my reasons why:
[ul][li]Jurassic Park and The Lost World (counting as one entry) Some of the concepts Crichton explored in the book were lost in the movie, but the technical excellence of the movies and their plotlines carried them, at least as far as I was concerned.[/li][li]2001 and 2012. In both these cases, the movie and the book were done simultaneously by a good writer and a good moviemaker collaborating on the general plotline. One absolutely fascinating point to me was that the metaphysical underpinnings of 2012 were almost antithetical between book and movie.[/li][li]Starship Troopers. This is the exception that proves the rule, for me. Though the script went relatively far afield from what Heinlein did in the novel, it remained true to his conception; the theme was the same. It was a true adaptation to the screen.[/ul][/li]
I am absolutely certain that there is no way on Earth, short of a 50- or 100-hour miniseries, that The Lord of the Rings can be placed on screen as is. The books are too intricate, carrying too finely designed a world structure, with too many paralleling plot elements, to be successfully converted to the screen. I have high hopes that Jackson will do a successful adaptation. To hypothesize three book elements that might not survive intact on the screen, I guarantee that anyone interested in picking nits will find themselves upset by the minimization of Barleyman Butterbur, the characterization given to Treebeard, or the short shrift given to the battle scenes in Rohan. (Disclaimer: I have no inside information; these items are hypothetical.) On the other hand, if they look at what is actually placed on screen as a dramatic entity, and judge it not by one-to-one correspondence to the LotR books but by its attempt to remain true to Tolkien’s world and concepts, it could be a very successful adaptation.