Just added an 2 additional reports below...
Well it certainly seems that the news about Peter Jackson getting the go ahead (Officially) has excited the living hell out of a bunch of you. And it has been a deluge of mail at my end. Lots of New Zealand reporters checking in to say, "Harry, I will spy for ya even if it takes me 'In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie'" Then I had one fella from WETA write to tell me that I could dig with a big damn shovel, but I wasn't getting a single worm of information from people at WETA, because they are all, each and every one, singular in vision, united behind the man-god Peter Jackson. "Look to the heel," my goddess tells me. Here's some additional news from New Zealand... Enjoy...
Peter Jackson, as you might expect, was all over NZ TV news tonight.
Some of the main points.
- shooting starts May next year, expected to last about 6 months.
- filming entirely in NZ(?) - PJ considers it the ideal place ('has all the necessary scenery described by Tolkien')
- we saw shots of his office showing pins in a map of NZ and loads of photos of various locations in NZ
- planned locations include Milford Sound (a fiord), Ruapehu (a volcano) and the area around Ruapehu ('desert' like - not sand desert but bare tussocky/rocky type of desert).
Could someone provide us with a glimpse of what the above areas in New Zealand look like?
- no casting decided yet, but the main characters will be 'unknowns'. Casting to take place in NZ, Australia and the UK. PJ said though to "expect some familiar faces to pop up in minor/cameo roles"
- we saw shots of some storyboard pages. The drawings showed scenes of what looked like a small group of people in a fighting in castle interior. I haven't read the book so that might mean something to you. I guess someone will more than likely send you some screen grabs.
Ok New Zealanders, we need those Screen Grabs. If you taped it, let me know. We're in the Shaft mode of kicking ass on this project. Eyes gotta know...
- As mentioned previously, the hobbits will be played by normal sized people, and shrunk using computer techniques and the films will be released at 4 month intervals in 2000.
- They expect to require up to 15,000 extras!
Hope this was of interest
Pippin
Here's another set of eyes on this same program...
Bruno's Shotgun here.
Well, this is probably the 546674th email you've had about this, but Peter Jackson was on New Zealand's national TV news tonight talking about Lord Of The Rings. I watched TV3, but there was doubtless coverage on the other major network at the same time. I called up the armoury and asked Sister Shotgun to tape it so I could write up a transcription, but she managed to tape Blossom on another channel instead. Ahem.
Nevertheless, The article went something like this:
Reporter's voiceover giving the general press release details. Reporter declares that Jackson has lately been scouting locations.
Shot of Jackson and unnamed collaborator in front of map of New Zealand. Jackson points in the vague direction of Lake Taupo (surrounded by large snow-capped, Tolkeinesque mountains) and says something about a "really good swamp off State Highway One that we saw on that reccie".
Reporter: Other locations to include several of New Zealands' better known national parks, (Bruno note: including the one scouted by Spielberg for the Lost World). PJ applying for permission to use National Parks, PJ also applying for immigration clearance for large numbers of overseas film crew... Stock shots of pretty mountains, hills and fjords.
Jackson talking head (clad in beige and brown plaid) - PJ speculates that this is probably the biggest production ever outside Hollywood.
Voice-over about the LOTR being notoriously "Unfilmable"...
CLOSE UP OF JACKSON FLICKING THROUGH STORYBOARDS:
The shots seen were interiors, and included a close-up of Frodo(?) looking scared/worried. Drawing style was vaguely cartoonish/naive, aspect ratio looked WIDE.
Blah blah cast of thousands...
Blah blah local government should get involved...
Blah blah big names in lead roles...
Blah Blah $240 Million....
Jackson confirms he will make his usual cameo appearance:
Jackson: "I'll probably be some sort of Goblin or Orc or something..."
Thats it as far as I remember. Hopefully someone with motion-capture gear taped it, cause those were VERY clear shots of the storyboards.
And another New Zealander had this to say...
WOOHOO!
And now the news we've all been waiting for..... Peter Jacksons IS going to direct the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy!
Estimated budget for the Trilogy is $260 million (New Zealand Dollars), and along with the cast of approx. 300 there will be 15,000 extra's making it the biggest film to be shot outside of Hollywood or the UK.
It will all be shot locally here in the NZ and filming will begin around May.
Casting will begin around December and New Line Cinema is producing. When asked who he will play in his cameo roll, PJ replied as an ork or a goblin, "I think so, its the only roll I'm suitable for"
OK, controlling geekgasm's now, back to 'the real world.'
Reported by: Yashar
