The annual TORn event in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park is slated to take place on Saturday, September 23, starting at 11:30 a.m. in the Mineral Wells location we’ve been using for years.
One note for those driving in from the Valley. The North entrance to the park from the 134 freeway, past Forest Lawn and the Travel Town Railroad has major closures, so make sure to drive around to the 5 freeway, head south, and follow the directions into the park. The FB event page has directions, just visit the event page https://www.facebook.com/events/795815945664608 Simply click on the About button, then See More at the bottom of the brief description to see the full description, and driving directions.
We don’t quite know what the weather will be like, but there is usually lots of sunshine, so a popup tent, sunscreen, a hat, etc. is always a good idea. The Potluck is back, so read through the description on the FB event page for more details. If everyone brings at least enough food and drink for their party, and maybe to share with at least 3-4 other people, we should have more than enough food. But it doesn’t stop at food and drink, we will also want a supply of paper plates and cups, ice chests with ice in them, trash bags, plastic utensils, and paper towels. Beverages should be in bottles, if possible, in the case of yellowjackets, cans just can’t keep your beverage safe. There will be fun and games, as usual, with trivia and possibly some Golfimbul fun to be had. Costumes are welcome, and we will be doing the Middle-earth-themed Cake and Cupcake contest, so start considering your epic design and yumminess factor. There will be prizes for many of the games, cakes, and costumes.
To RSVP and let us know what food or supply items you intend to bring, please post on the facebook event page linked above, or email Garfeimao@TheOneRing.net.
Since 1973, The Tolkien Society have hosted a gathering to celebrate the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and this weekend they’re doing it again – for the 50th time. This coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Professor’s death, on September 2nd. Fans are gathering in Oxford from around the world for this special event; here’s what the society’s press release tells us:
350 Tolkien fans from around 25 different countries are meeting in Oxford next weekend to celebrate the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
The event, taking place at St Anne’s College, Oxford from Thursday 31st August to Sunday 3rd September, has sold out due to the increasing popularity of Tolkien’s works. The event follows the recent publication of The Fall of Númenor and the release of the Amazon TV-series The Rings of Power set in the Second Age of Middle-earth.
The event itself will include talks from leading Tolkien scholars – including Brian Sibley, editor of The Fall of Númenor, screenwriter of The Lord of the Rings radio series and biographer of Peter Jackson – quizzes, workshops, an art exhibition, a masquerade, a Hobbit bake-off, a party and even theatrical performances. The weekend concludes, as always, with Enyalie, a ceremony of remembrance at Tolkien’s grave in Wolvercote Cemetery on Sunday afternoon. With attendees from 25 different countries, this year’s Oxonmoot takes place following the publication of the Sunday Times bestseller, The Fall of Númenor, proving the continuing popularity of J.R.R. Tolkien as author relevant in the 21st Century. Tolkien’s best-known work was The Lord of the Rings, which has been translated into over 50 languages and estimates put sales at over 150 million copies worldwide.
Founded in 1969 by Vera Chapman, The Tolkien Society is an educational charity and literary society with the aim of promoting the life and works with J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien himself supported the organisation and gave it his seal of approval by agreeing to become The Tolkien Society’s President. On Tolkien’s death the family recommended he stay as President, so, to this day, he remains The Tolkien Society’s Honorary President in perpetuo. The Society has 4,000 members and hosts events up and down the country every week.
Shaun Gunner, Chair of The Tolkien Society, said: “Tolkien is as popular as ever as we’ve packed out St Anne’s College to have a celebratory weekend like no other! Not only will we be joined by Brian Sibley, but Bear McCreary – composer of the score of The Rings of Power – and other Tolkien scholars are joining us. People are coming over from 5 continents to share their love for Tolkien and their passion for his works. Oxonmoot has been going for 50 years and provides an excellent opportunity for hundreds of fans from around the world to come together for a weekend of fun and fellowship in Oxford, a location so important to Tolkien.” He added, “This year’s Oxonmoot is particularly special: the world’s longest-running Tolkien event reaches its 50th anniversary, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of Tolkien’s death.“
We’ve made it to Episode 10 of this very fun podcast; and for our tenth episode, we have a super special guest. I’ve had the chance to chat with him over the years at Comic-Con, but having the amazing Sir Richard Taylor sit down for almost 90 minutes to talk about collectibles was beyond anything for Jim and me. We had a blast chatting; and in the episode, there is even a tease for a new collectible coming. We hope you have as much fun watching this episode as the two of us had filming it.
As you no doubt know by now, there is a new production of The Lord of the Rings musical currently playing at The Watermill Theatre; it opened July 25th and runs until October 15th. Last week, staffer greendragon ventured into the Berkshire countryside and found herself in the Shire. Here’s her review of the production:
Sam – Nuwan Hugh Perera – and Frodo – Louis Maskell – with Gollum – Matthew Bugg – sneaking in the background… (Photography Pamela Raith)
The Lord of the Rings restaged
When The Lord of the Rings musical first appeared, in all its (at the time) ‘most expensive musical ever’ glory, I went to see it in London. I was not convinced. The extravagant, elaborate staging could not conceal the fact that the songs were not particularly memorable, and it just seemed like Tolkien’s story wasn’t really suited to this kind of telling. It was not surprising when the show was not the hoped for success.
Rediscovering the piece, in its new, MUCH smaller and more intimate staging, I am closer to being convinced. First of all, the setting is stunning. The audience arrive in a beautiful, bucolic location, where food and drink can be enjoyed by a slowly winding river. A large ring of woven willow decorates the front lawn of the venue. As show time approaches, everyone heads to behind the building – following signs to the ‘birthday party’. So the performance begins outside – where we are all guests at a Long-expected Party. (Though for some reason, it was referred to as a ‘long awaited party’. Perhaps this was a slip of the tongue? As this production is fully licensed by Middle-earth Enterprises, they certainly have the right to use the Professor’s phrase.)
The Shire is the perfect place for music, and so the show gets off to a very strong start. We are swept up in the party atmosphere; I delighted in seeing the Sackville-Bagginses looking suitably annoyed when they learned that Bilbo was making Frodo his heir, and Bilbo’s disappearance was very well handled. As the Shire-folk rushed around, wondering where he had gone, we joined them in their search – heading inside to the rustic wooden theatre.
This very small auditorium – with just under 100 seats downstairs and about the same again upstairs – is brilliantly used in every way possible to tell the epic story. The staging is incredibly inventive, with cast moving through the auditorium – and even climbing over it. Stunning puppets create suitably terrifying Ringwraiths and an astonishing Shelob. Elrond causes the river to rise, the doors of Moria glow, even the Balrog appears; every theatrical trick and device is called into play, including impressive lighting and projections, to create Middle-earth in front of and around the audience – and those watching the night I was there were clearly loving it.
Gimli – Folarin Akinmade – sings a lament in Moria. (Photography Pamela Raith)
An outstanding cast
The cast were mostly excellent. Stand outs for me were Nuwan Hugh Perera as a funny, warm, pitch-perfect Samwise; John O’Mahony’s charming Bilbo; and Matthew Bugg, whose astonishingly athletic and aggressive Gollum managed to be fully his own embodiment of the character, rather than being trapped in an Andy Serkis impression. I loved Folarin Akinmade’s Gimli, and wished the script allowed more time for his relationship with Legolas (Yazdan Qafouri) to be played out; one very touching moment between them towards the end of the show made me want more of these characters. Peter Dukes (Boromir) and Aaron Sidwell (Aragorn) were particularly moving in Boromir’s death scene. Louis Maskell didn’t entirely convince me as Frodo, being perhaps slightly overwrought; but it’s a demanding role which carries much of the show, and overall he proved himself equal to the task. Peter Marinker as Gandalf seemed to be still finding his way into the role, in the early performance I saw.
Condensing the plot
If you’re a Tolkien purist, you’ll may find fault with this version of the story. To fit the entire plot into one evening of theatre naturally requires much pruning and condensing – poor Tom Bombadil and Celeborn don’t make the cut, again! Denethor and Theoden are blended into one, as are the battles of Helm’s Deep and the Pelennor Fields. I think the condensation of the story is skilfully handled; I was more bothered, in a picky purist sort of a way, by the Hobbits wearing sandals – though I do understand the need for safety for actors’ feet!
The costuming – with influences of Bollywood in the elven outfits – is similar to the original production, and the revolving stage is still there (albeit in much smaller form). The show looks and sounds stunning; the cast are also the band, and though it may sound like a strange idea, somehow it works seamlessly when Pippin (the charming and highly energetic Amelia Gabriel) picks up an accordion and starts to play. Certainly in the Shire and at Bree, the songs work wonderfully. I’m still not sure about the rest of the music. Retelling such an intense, literary tale in musical form is not easy; Les Miserables comes to mind as the most obvious, successful literature-to-musical transformation. The writers of The Lord of the Rings musical haven’t quite pulled off this difficult transition, for me. It just doesn’t seem entirely plausible when Arwen and Aragorn sing a (rather Disney-ish) love duet on the eve of battle; but perhaps I’m just cynical.
A climax, and a tearjerker ending
The one song which stayed with me from the original production was Now and for Always – and that is still the high point of the show, beautifully and movingly performed. As the show approached its end, and the Hobbits returned to the Shire, to clear up the damage caused by Sharkey and his ruffians, we headed back outside with them. A sail was now unfurled where once a party banner had been; and I was moved to tears as Frodo made his farewells, and left Sam to carry on the story.
The lights in the party tree… (Photography greendragon)
In spite of my few misgivings, overall this is a beautiful, moving evening of theatre, and a wonderful chance to immerse yourself in Tolkien’s great story. It’s worth the price of admission just to be transported to the Shire. I imagine the producers may be hoping this production will transfer elsewhere after its run at the Watermill Theatre; but even if it does, this is the perfect setting in which to see it. Do go, if you can.
The Lord of the Rings will play at the Watermill from Tuesday 25 July until Sunday 15 October 2023. Tickets are on sale via watermill.org.uk/The-Lord-Of-The-Rings.
August 4-6 saw LeakyCon happening in Chicago, and various cast members from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies were there. (LeakyCon fully supported SAG-AFTRA members appearing at the con, stating, ‘… we have removed direct reference to their projects that fall under TV/Theatrical Contracts so that they can continue to appear without promoting these projects.’) So the fun was able to go ahead – and staffer Entmaiden attended for TORn. Here’s her write up:
ELIJAH WOOD AND SEAN ASTIN AT LEAKYCON
Since 2009, LeakyCon has been a community-focused fan event that provides opportunities to celebrate magical movie franchises with creators, artists and fans. TORn staffer Entmaiden was able to attend this weekend’s event in Chicago. LeakyCon originated with a focus on the Harry Potter movie series, but recently the organizers invited cast members from The Lord of the Rings movies. Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Miranda Otto and Kiran Shah participated this year.
Entmaiden was delighted to attend the spotlight sessions with Elijah Wood and Sean Astin on Saturday. In support of the on-going strike by members of SAG/AFTRA actors and WGA writers, Elijah and Sean did not speak specifically about their filming experiences. While we might not have been able to explore the behind-the-scenes film stories, the spotlight sessions gave the audience a chance to learn how Elijah and Sean became actors, and uncover a couple secrets about their personalities. Some elements of the journey for both Elijah and Sean are well-known: both started acting very young, and their early acting experience helped prepare them for the enormous success of LOTR films.
It’s been 20+ years since the first film was released, and both Sean and Elijah have seen changes in their lives. Sean’s youngest daughter is about to turn 21 and he is NOT READY! He reflected on his own childhood, where even as the son of famous parents (Patty Duke and John Astin), Sean was able to play Little League like the other kids. His daughters also had to navigate childhood with a famous father, with the complication of social media. Did you know that Sean is a ferocious Monopoly player? He has a thorough understanding of the rules, and applies them rigorously. Sean takes no prisoners when it comes to Monopoly, and some friends and family members avoid playing with him!
While Sean was married with children when filming in New Zealand, Elijah was single. He recently revealed he has two children with long-time partner Mette-Marie Kongsved, a Danish film producer. He didn’t speak much about his children at LeakyCon, but he frequently referenced how his life has changed now he’s a father. But some of the things long-time fans know are the same: Elijah is still a massive music lover, and a big-time foodie. He even gave the fans tips about good frozen pizza, which he confessed to eating as often as he can.
Thanks to LeakyCon for inviting TORn, and for such a fun event!
As you all know, the Magic The Gathering The Lord of the Rings cards have been a massive hit among fans. The collector booster boxes are going for a nice sum of cash on the market. Right before Comic-Con, I snagged a box and opened it. In this video, you’ll see all the cool cards I got – including a $200 Bag End Foil! I will definitely be tracking down another box.
As you all know, the