Are you tired of seeing this holiday hijacked by commercial interests that are seeking to distort and bury its true meaning? We hope you’ll all join us in promoting this important cause by clicking here.
Thanks to HollywdLiz for the find.
Exit stage right…
Ewan McGregor’s run as Sky Masterson is over. Wah! To help lessen the pain, Rose at ewan_playground has posted some fantastic pictures.
Saving (right, click, save) them is fine, but please don’t hotlink directly to the pictures.
Orcs!
The Lord of the Rings musical moves closer a March 23 opening night in Toronto and the set designer isn’t even nervous!
It doesn’t sound like there’ll be a chorus line of dancing Orcs or a rendition of “Don’t Cry for Me Minas Tirith.” Ah well.
CS Lewis “absolutely opposed” to live-action films
A letter by CS Lewis has emerged indicating that the author of the Narnia books was “absolutely opposed” to live-action adaptations of his works.
In the letter, dated December 18 1959, Lewis made clear he approved of the radio version of the book produced by Lance Sieveking, a pioneering BBC radio and television producer. But in letters written shortly before the death of his wife, Joy, Lewis also said he was “absolutely opposed – adamant isn’t in it! – to a TV version” of any of the books. “Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare. At least, with photography,” he wrote.
A cartoon version would be “another matter”, he said. But Lewis, who died in 1963, added: “If only Disney did not combine so much vulgarity with his genius.” In conclusion, he said that “a human, pantomime Aslan would to me be blasphemy”.
It’s sad Lewis won’t be here to see it. Perhaps he’d have changed his mind.
Ringers: on DVD today
The definitive film about Lord of the Rings fans is now available on DVD.
Amazon.com says:
Of all the documentaries devoted to J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy classic, Ringers: Lord of the Fans is the first and only one to respectfully honor the good-natured depth and breadth of Lord of the Rings fandom… Actor Dominic Monaghan (“Merry” from Jackson’s trilogy, before joining the ensemble cast of Lost) perfectly delivers the film’s eloquent narration, which runs the LOTR gamut from intellectual appreciation to the hilarious eccentricities of über-fan obsession. Unfailingly noble in spirit and delightfully comprehensive, Ringers is a collector’s gift that can proudly stand alongside Tolkien’s books and Jackson’s timeless movie trilogy.
Something else for the Christmas list!
Just in time for the holidaze
From LUSH, the people who brought us “Buffy the Backside Slayer” massage bars, comes the Black Pearl bath bomb.
The Black Pearl is a dark, a mysterious Bath Bomb named in honour of Captain Jack Sparrow’s ship in Pirates of the Caribbean. This bath bomb is studded with crystals of sea salt and scented with lavender and blackcurrant.
Thanks to HollywdLiz for the find!
The Boston Globe covers ‘Star Wars Trilogy: Musical Edition”
The Boston Globe has posted a wonderful feature on “The Star Wars Trilogy: Musical Edition” which begins its latest run next week at MIT. You have to register (free) to see it, but it’s worth it.
Congratulations to Sir Rogue, Jeff and the entire cast and crew!
It’s Potter Time
Some 7,000 fans showed up at Sunday’s world premiere of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” in London’s Leicester Square.
Young fans tell “The Times” the newest film is the “best so far — by far”.
A Winnipeg-based band called the Wyrd Sisters has failed to get an injunction to block the release of the film in Canada. Members of the band claim JK Rowling stole the name from them. The lawsuit is still pending. (Errr… no comment)
And finally, Daniel Radcliffe hopes the bespectacled young hero he portrays in the films will buy the moisture farm in the last installment.
“I would like Harry to die at the end of that seventh book. I think it would be a very good ending if he had to die in order for evil Voldemort to die”, Radcliffe said.
Of course, it won’t matter much to him since he isn’t sure he’ll be back for the last two movies anyway.
No “Guys and Dolls” cast recording???
That’s the official word. But the people over at Ewan News are launching a campaign to get TPTB to change their minds.
It has been confirmed to Ewan News that there will be no cast recording from Guys and Dolls; the recording label has pulled its financial backing. One Ewan fan who attended the play on Monday spoke with the Guys and Dolls orchestra conductor who told her about it.
Numerous Ewan fans travelled from all over the world to see this play — some more than once! It would be so wonderful to have a lasting memory of the brilliant cast and the songs they sang. Many more were unable to make the journey and a cast recording would be their only way to share the remarkable Guys and Dolls experience.
We are going to try to sway the powers that be in our favor. We would like every Ewan fan — and that includes you! — to write to the theater between October 23 and 29 to let them know how much you want to be able to buy a cast recording. And while we’re at it, let’s really grab their attention: include a pair of dice with your letter. The play revolves around the love lives of craps players, and the game of craps is played with a pair of dice.
Here is the address to the Piccadilly Theater:
Piccadilly Theatre
16 Denman Street
London
W1D 7DYThank you! :-)
If you can’t send dice, send postcards! Me? I’m sending Luci!
“There will be sex and swearing” on Doctor Who spin-off
Hooray!
The BBC confirms there will be a Dr Who spin-off aimed at an adult audience. “Torchwood (an anagram of Doctor Who) will feature Captain Jack.
IMDB says:
An adult spin-off of Doctor Who which contains sex and bad language is set to shock fans of the classic family TV show… Torchwood is to be written by Doctor Who scriptwriter Russell T. Davies and will star that program’s John Barrowman.
It follows a team investigating crime and alien activities in contemporary Britain. Davies says, “Torchwood will be a dark, clever, wild, sexy, British crime/sci-fi paranoid thriller cop show with a sense of humor.”
BBC3 boss Stuart Murphy adds, “The people have affairs with one another. There will be sex and swearing, I assume. I’m quite relaxed about that.”