ALLIANCE ATLANTIS MOTION PICTURE DISTRIBUTION AND CASA LOMA TEAM UP TO BRING THE MAGIC OF MIDDLE-EARTH TO TORONTO
A JOURNEY TO MIDDLE-EARTH
TO BE DESIGNED AND INSTALLED BY DAN HENNAH, SUPERVISING ART DIRECTOR AND CHRIS HENNAH, ART DEPARTMENT MANAGER OF THE EAGERLY ANTICIPATED THE LORD OF THE RINGS THEATRICAL TRILOGY
Toronto, September 27, 2001 — Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution announced today that on October 31, 2001, A JOURNEY TO MIDDLE EARTH, an exhibition containing artifacts from the theatrical production of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING will launch in Toronto for a 12-day period at Casa Loma.
Residents of Toronto, tourists and legions of fans alike will be given a rare opportunity to see remarkably detailed plans, drawings, photographs, props and costumes from New Line Cinema’s epic adventure THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING theatrical production. Pieces of the exhibition being brought in from New Zealand will include swords of Gandalf, Aragorn and Frodo; Elven glassware; hobbit prosthetics and Bilbo Baggins’ collection of furniture to name a few. A special attraction will be exclusive sepia-toned portraits of the cast of the film in character taken by Montreal native Pierre Vinet, the stills photographer of the trilogy. Toronto is the only place in North America that will play host to an exhibit of this magnitude.
Dan and Chris Hennah, acclaimed artists of the theatrical trilogy and their team of visionaries have created pieces with extraordinary attention to detail that originated from the fantastical writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. “After seeing photography of the individual pieces from the exhibition, it is clear that they have fully captured the essence of the trilogy”, comments Frank Mendicino, VP of Marketing for Alliance Atlantis Motion Pictures. “We are thrilled that Dan and Chris have embraced this exhibit and honoured by Director Peter Jackson’s willingness to participate by bringing this extraordinary exhibit to the people of Toronto”.
Dan Hennah comments, “On my journey through Middle-earth, I found a few things to share with you. They will be exhibited in Toronto at Casa Loma from October 31st to November 11th. While the film will bring Middle Earth to a whole new audience, the exhibition will help to explain how far the film makers have gone in trying to be true to the original story. This exhibition is a small selection of the many thousands of props, sets and costumes that were created for the film. I hope they help to show how “even the smallest person can change the course of the future”.”
The Hennah’s have returned to their home in New Zealand with the Casa Loma floor plans in hand and are currently designing the exhibit. They will return to Toronto in late October to oversee the installation.
The exhibit is being sponsored in part by Harper Collins Books Canada, The Toronto Star, Burger King Restaurants of Canada, Air Canada, and HMV.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at all Ticketmaster locations, by calling 416-870-8000 or by visiting http://www.ticketmaster.ca, and will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday September 28th. The prices for advance tickets are as follows (included taxes and service charges)
Seniors (60+years) $10.50
Youths (14-17 years) $10.50
Children (4-13 years) $10.00
DAY OF SALES tickets through CASA LOMA ONLY (taxes included):
Adults (18-59 years) $10.00
Seniors (60+years) $6.50
Youths (14-17 years) $6.50
Children (4-13 years) $6.00
Please note: Any existing Casa Loma incentive coupons can only be redeemed at the Casa Loma box office and will not be accepted by Ticketmaster.
HOURS OF OPERATION:
9:30 to 5:00 PM with the last admittance at 4:00 pm
Hours will be extended on November 6 & 7 from 9:30 am to 9:00 pm, with the last admittance at 8:00 pm.
New Line Cinema is producing the Trilogy of films based on the much-loved novel. The first instalment of the trilogy, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING will be released across Canada by Alliance Atlantis Motion Pictures on December 19.
Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. is a leading vertically integrated broadcaster, creator and distributor of filmed entertainment with ownership interests in 18 specialty channels, including five Operating Channels: Showcase, Life Network, History Television, HGTV Canada, and Food Network Canada; nine Developing Channels: Series+, Historia, Showcase Action, Showcase Diva, The Independent Film Channel Canada (subject to CRTC approval), Discovery Health Channel Canada, National Geographic Channel, BBC Canada, and BBC Kids; and four channels in which the Company has minority interests: Scream, The Score, Pride Vision and One: the Body, Mind and Spirit Channel.
The Company’s principal business activities are conducted through three operating groups: Broadcast, Motion Picture and Television. Headquartered in Toronto, Alliance Atlantis operates offices in Los Angeles, Edmonton, Montreal, Halifax, Shannon, London 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
