THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS EXHIBIT TO BE DESIGNED AND INSTALLED BY THE ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATED DESIGNING TEAM OF THE EAGERLY ANTICIPATED THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
TORONTO, Sept. 30 /CNW/ – Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution announced today that on October 31, 2002, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS EXHIBIT, an experiential exhibition containing artefacts from New Line Cinema’s theatrical production of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS will launch in Toronto for a four-week period at the Royal Ontario Museum’s former McLaughlin Planetarium. Toronto is the only city in North America where this exhibit will be presented.
Due to the phenomenal success of last year’s record-breaking exhibit for The Fellowship of the Ring at Casa Loma and the staggering box office performance of the film ($53.5 million representing 17.25 % of the North American box office), Toronto will play host to this remarkable event again. This year’s exhibit at the ROM’s former McLaughlin Planetarium will be more experiential than the last and guests will actually feel as though they are entering the Middle-earth of The Two Towers.
Starting in the greenery of the Fangorn Forest and ending in the opulence of Rivendell, throughout their journey guests will pass through such areas as The Golden Hall; the parapets of Helm’s Deep; the Glittering Caves and the Isengard Caverns. Interspersed in these environments will be costumes, drawings, props, exclusive never-before-seen footage from THE TWO TOWERS and of course the One Ring.
The new venue offers a self-contained environment for the exhibit and will permit extended hours into most evenings and facilitate higher attendance numbers than last year. Its ideal location on the subway line also provides easy access for all.
The acclaimed Oscar-nominated visionaries, Dan and Chris Hennah, responsible for the design work of the theatrical trilogy and last year’s exhibit are returning from New Zealand to oversee the installation. Joining them is a 10-member crew who helped to develop the specialized techniques throughout the filming of this trilogy.
“Come with us to Middle-earth!” quips art director Dan Hennah, “Using the same technicians and techniques that we utilized in the making of THE TWO TOWERS, we will create small pockets of Middle-earth for you to travel through. While anxious not to spoil the movie experience, we will screen footage from the film that will enhance your journey through the Riddermark and beyond. Props and dressings from the film will be displayed to further enrich the encounter. After living through the Peter Jackson experience, I can assure you that Middle-earth is real!”
Frank Mendicino, VP of Marketing for Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution is elated to present another exhibit. “We are extremely excited to build on the overwhelming success that the previous exhibit enjoyed in Toronto. And to that point, we are pleased to offer this extraordinary new adventure to significantly more fans of this film through additional seating, shows, and an overall spectacular experience.”
“Very shortly we will be moving staff and collections into the former McLaughlin Planetarium as we prepare for groundbreaking and construction for Renaissance ROM. We were fortunate to find a window of opportunity to host this exciting exhibit and are confident that it will be of interest to ROM visitors as well as fans of Middle-earth,” comments Joel Peters, Vice President, Marketing & Commercial Development.
“Bell ExpressVu is proud to bring the excitement and the entertainment of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS EXHIBIT to Toronto,” said Paul Nathanielsz, Bell ExpressVu’s Vice President of Marketing. “The Two Towers exhibition is a true reflection of Bell ExpressVu’s commitment to deliver great content and entertainment – something we have been doing over the past five years as Canada’s largest digital TV provider.”
The exhibit is brought to you by Alliance Atlantis Motion Pictures and Bell ExpressVu and through our official media sponsors The Toronto Star, Mix 99.9 FM and Showcase Action. Special thanks to our sponsors Sharp Electronics, the official electronics sponsor, Harper Collins Canada Ltd., and HMV.
The ticket prices are as follows:
Adults (18-59 years) $15.00
Seniors (with valid seniors card) $12.00
Students (with valid student card) $12.00
Children (5-14 years) $7.50
Tickets can be purchased in advance at all TicketKing locations starting October 1, 2002 by calling 416-872-1212 or 1-800-461-3333 or by visiting www.ticketking.com. (Service charges and taxes will be added for advance sales)
New Line Cinema is producing the Trilogy of films based on the much-loved novel. The second instalment of the trilogy, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS will be released across Canada by Alliance Atlantis Motion Pictures on December 18.
Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. is a leading vertically integrated broadcaster, creator and distributor of filmed entertainment with ownership interests in 18 specialty channels, including seven established operating channels: Showcase, Life Network, History Television, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, Series+ and Historia; seven recently launched developing channels: Showcase Action, Showcase Diva, IFC – The Independent Film Channel Canada, Discovery Health Channel, BBC Canada, BBC Kids, and National Geographic Channel; and four channels in which the Company has minority interests: SCREAM, The Score, PrideVision TV and One: the Body, Mind and Spirit Channel.
The Company’s principal business activities are conducted through three operating groups: the Broadcast Group, the Motion Picture Distribution Group and the Entertainment Group. Headquartered in Toronto, Alliance Atlantis operates offices in Los Angeles, London, Montreal, Dublin, Edmonton, Halifax, Shannon and Sydney. The Company’s common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange – trading symbols AAC.A, AAC.B and on NASDAQ – trading symbol AACB. The Company’s Web site is www.allianceatlantis.com.
With more than one million customers, Bell ExpressVu is Canada’s leader in digital home entertainment and broadcasts over 275 video digital channels. Bell ExpressVu was launched in September 1997 and since then has become the largest and fastest-growing direct-to-home broadcast company in Canada. Bell ExpressVu is a limited partnership, wholly owned by BCE Inc.
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is an agency of the Government of Ontario.
