The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King

[mogwai]

there's a very funny easter egg on the first disc. if you go to the last chapter and press down there's a ring, you press enter and you'll see something very funny.

[Ghostboy]

I was in tears at the end of the appendices. It was actually more emotional than the film itself.

[matt35mm]

After watching "The End Of All Things" about how they were really really cramped for time and got the film out only a few days before the World Premiere, I'm convinced that the visual effects would've been significantly better if the digital effects people had been given more time.  That said, the movie looks pretty good, although it's a lot more "glowy" than the other two.

[ono]

although it's a lot more "glowy" than the other two.

Were the bad guys mean and yelly, too?

[El Duderino]

finally got around to watching the extended version, and man was i blown away. that scene when gandalf and pippin are riding to stop the steward from burning faramir and the nazgul lands in front. fucking hell, that was tense.

[MacGuffin]

there's a very funny easter egg on the first disc. if you go to the last chapter and press down there's a ring, you press enter and you'll see something very funny.

"Do you kick balls?"  

[matt35mm]

that scene when gandalf and pippin are riding to stop the steward from burning faramir and the nazgul lands in front. fucking hell, that was tense.

It was the Witch King!  (I feel like such a nerd knowing all this stuff--hell, I still haven't read the books; I've just studied the DVDs like mad crazy)

But after you hear Jackson's explanation on why it was cut, it hits you that it actually isn't that tense (which is pretty much why it was cut--for not being tense enough).  It IS tense for a moment, but ultimately he just lands, says "I'mma gonna kill you!" and then flies away.

The shot of the Witch King revving up his sword was awesome, though.

[El Duderino]

The shot of the Witch King revving up his sword was awesome, though.

someone's gonna cap it.

[Ultrahip]

Where are the easter eggs on the first two dvds?

[Myxo]

[matt35mm]

Nice, BUT! That should go in The Fellowship of the Ring thread.  It's not from Return.

[MacGuffin]

'The Lord of the Rings' Coming to Stage

A much-anticipated musical based on "The Lord of the Rings" will have its world premiere in Toronto next year, the show's producers announced Tuesday.

The $22 million show will open in March 2006 at the Princess of Wales Theatre with a largely Canadian cast, producer Kevin Wallace said.

Wallace had hoped to open the show in London in the fall, but no theater large enough to accommodate the technically complex production was available. The musical is now slated to open in London in autumn 2006.

Published 50 years ago, J.R.R. Tolkien's mystical adventure trilogy has been discovered by a new generation through Peter Jackson's Academy Award-winning trio of films, which have grossed more than $3 billion around the world.

The three-hour stage adaptation will feature book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna ("Lautrec," "Maddie") and Matthew Warchus (Tony nominated director of "Art" and "True West"), and music by A.R. Rahman ("Bombay Dreams") and Finnish group Varttina with Christopher Nightingale.

Warchus said the show, which has a cast of 50, would combine words, music, physical theater and spectacle to create a production in which the audience is "actually plunged into the events as they happen."

"We have not attempted to pull the novel towards the standard conventions of musical theater, but rather to expand those conventions so that they will accommodate Tolkien's material," he said.

[Myxo]

I hope they manage to work Tom Bombadil into the stage production. I think that portion of the book (left out of the film) would be outstanding stuff on stage.

[Redlum]

UNUSED
AUDIO COMMENTARY
BY HOWARD ZINN
AND NOAM CHOMSKY, RECORDED FOR THE RETURN OF THE KING (PLATINUM SERIES EXTENDED EDITION)
DVD, PART ONE
OF FOUR.

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2005/3/18ring.html

[Ravi]

I guess this goes here.  BTW, A.R. Rahman, who is doing the music for the stage version, is AWESOME.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4197640.stm

Filmmaker 'earns £94m from Rings'

A movie producer earned $168m (£94m) from The Lord of the Rings films even though he did not work on the trilogy, trade paper Variety has reported.

Saul Zaentz got the payout from film studio New Line because he bought the rights to JRR Tolkien's books in 1976.

The windfall is revealed in court papers after New Line settled a legal wrangle with Mr Zaentz, Variety said.

He sued New Line for a further $20m (£11m), saying they miscalculated the box office royalties he was owed.

The three Lord of the Rings films made more than $2.9bn (£1.6bn) at box offices around the world and the final instalment won 11 Oscars.

Mr Zaentz, 84, produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus and The English Patient.

He retained the rights to The Lord of the Rings after making an animated adventure in 1978.

Variety said neither side would reveal how much New Line paid Mr Zaentz to settle the legal action.

Mr Zaentz claimed New Line based his share of royalties from foreign distributors on net income but said it should have been worked out from the gross profits.

New Line still faces a legal challenge from the trilogy's director Peter Jackson, who says the company withheld his share of profits from the first film.