Monday, December 31, 2001
I have updated the Art Galleries, adding 5 images to Sakata's gallery, and creating galleries for R. L. Sharpe and William Wires.
Posted by Darth Tater @ 04:50 PM EST [Link]
Monday, December 24, 2001
By now, I'm sure you've seen the film. Please feel free to give your opinions in Entmoot's LotR movie forum.
The recent traffic increases have really been amazing. We've been getting well over 1000 unique visitors daily since mid-month, and got nearly 5000 on the 16th alone thanks to a mention on TORN and my local newspaper. Thanks for all the support! To our new visitors: if you like the site, why not buy some Tolkien Trail merchandise? (hehe)
Posted by bmilder @ 11:46 PM EST [Link]
Monday, December 17, 2001
We are pleased to announce the winners to the Parody Contest. The winning entries were parodies of "Jingle Bells" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." The first place winner will receive a custom silver One Ring from Badali Jewelry and the second place winner will receive a Gollum-Gold ring. Check out the winning entries and some of our other favorites.
Posted by bmilder @ 09:27 PM EST [Link]
NJ's major paper, The Star-Ledger, has written an article about me and the site. Visit NJ.com to read it.
Posted by bmilder @ 07:04 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, December 15, 2001
I had the opportunity to go to the North American premiere of the most anticipated film of all time. The excitement was palpable sitting in the darkened theater, a week before general release, with Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, and other cast members in the audience. To sum it up: "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" is a triumph of cinema and art which does justice to Tolkien's work.
I came to the movie with an open mind - I hadn't read the books in over a year, and had intentionally avoided most major movie "spoilers." That being said, I felt that the movie captured the spirit of the story without hanging on every word from the text. "Harry Potter" was an enjoyable experience, but it required (and assumed) prior familiarity to fully understand and appreciate it. Peter Jackson's LotR, on the other hand, is more than just an excellent copy of literature: it stands by itself as a wholly separate work.
Omissions of beloved scenes are hardly noticed with the quick pace of the story. The transition from the Shire to Bree is smooth. Certainly Tom Bombadil would have been a joy to see onscreen, but the episode would have tacked on another half hour to an already very long movie and perhaps tested the patience of nonfans. Yet even at three hours, the time breezes past.
Middle-earth has truly been brought to life. New Zealand's natural beauty provides ideal landscapes. The idyllic Shire is shown just as we had all imagined. The grotesque orcs and Balrog are terrifying. The evil atmosphere of Moria, Isengard, and Mordor is chilling, leaving the viewer anxious for a more extended glimpse into the Land of Shadow.
Another admirable aspect of the film is that even with epic battles and CG monsters, appropriate time is allotted to develop the major characters, the story's heart and soul. Frodo's friendship with Sam is given due prominence, and Ian McKellen's Gandalf is superb. A small gripe of mine is that the minor characters were not given the individuality that they deserved: by the end, I was still unsure over which Hobbit was Merry and which was Pippin; and Legolas and Gimli were peripheral figures. However, given that their friendship is more a focus in The Two Towers, this is not a big problem.
The film is destined to become a classic (and gross hundreds of millions of dollars in the process!). After such a long wait, the success is a satisfying relief. I will undoubtedly return to see it again many times, and I've already started counting the days until December 2002!
Posted by bmilder @ 02:55 PM EST [Link]
Here is an exclusive look at the special effects process of the film "Fellowship of the Ring". 
Click on the image to enlarge
Multiple cameras are used in the motion capture process to record the action of an Elf "massive agent" running up a ramp.
Courtesy: New Line Cinema.
Posted by Darth Tater @ 10:51 AM EST [Link]
Friday, December 14, 2001
I've just returned from the NY Premiere of LotR. The movie was phenomenal. My full review will come later (it's almost 1 am here, and I have school tomorrow followed by a lengthy band rehearsal), but I wanted to post a preliminary report on the premiere.
It was held in the spacious Ziegfeld Theatre. The average attendees sat in either the front or the back, with the center area reserved for the VIPs. The popcorn was free.
New Line executives made some opening remarks, then turned over the mike to Peter Jackson himself, who introduced New York Governor Pataki.
Next, selected cast members in attendance came to the front: Elijah Wood, Liv Tyler, John Rhys-Davies, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, and Sean Bean.
There were calls of "Frodo Lives" and "Gandalf for President" as the lights dimmed. Hearty applause greeted the introduction of major characters. The audience members were clearly enjoying themselves.
Aftewards, gift bags were distributed containing an action figure, a cap, a bookmark, a FotR book, and a commemorative glass. You heard it here first :).
Posted by bmilder @ 12:46 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, December 13, 2001
I'm going to the New York premiere of LotR tonight, and will have the full report up as soon as possible.
The judging process for the contest is taking longer than anticipated (it's very hard to choose between all the fabulous entries), but the winners should be selected by Saturday at the latest.
Posted by bmilder @ 04:18 PM EST [Link]
Saturday, December 8, 2001
We are no longer accepting entries to the Tolkien Trail Parody Contest. We'd like to thank everyone who entered for their wonderful submissions. We are going to be judging them over the weekend and will hopefully have the results by Monday.
Posted by Darth Tater @ 11:23 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, December 1, 2001
We're happy to announce that the Grey Havens has been released. The Havens will be the last new section for awhile. It is the ending section, with credits, an award you can win, and links. The story continues from Isengard on this page. The emphasis will now be on improving the site, as opposed to creating new areas.
In other news, 2 new scenes have been added to The One Ring Musical for your reading pleasure. Don't forget about the Parody Contest ending soon or our Signature Shop where you can order a Tolkien Trail t-shirt or mug. My shirts came the other day and they are very high-quality.
