TheOneRing.net is posting reports from fans who attended yesterday’s special theatrical screenings of the extended version of The Fellowship of the Ring. (More will be added as they are received.) As I suspected, the screenings were digital copies, which is one reason I didn’t go to the local screening at the Star Cinema here in Madison. (That and the fact that I’ve experienced bad projection there once too often and try to avoid it if a film is playing anywhere else in town.) Most fans seemed to think the projection quality was good, though there were also mentions of glitches.

The reports posted so far are full of anecdotes. One person attending the screening at the newly restored Roxy cinema in Miramar reports that Jamie Selkirk and his wife (who are among the co-owners of the Roxy) were present and greeted fans. Now there’s one screening I would have attended–if only I were in Wellington!

Fans also report that screenings were not always well publicized, and there were empty seats in some theaters. Don’t forget that next Tuesday will see screenings of The Two Towers and the Tuesday after that will have The Return of the King. Check here for a list of venues.

Variety has a story announcing upcoming concert tours in 2011, 2012, and 2013:

“The Lord of the Rings in Concert: The Fellowship of the Ring,” which had its American preem in Gotham in 2009, will play a handful of states in the western U.S. beginning in Glendale, Ariz.

Film will be projected on a 60-foot screen while the Munich Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Chorale and the Phoenix Boys Choir — all conducted by Ludwig Wicki — performs the movie’s score.

Tour kicks off a three-year program that will see a similar live-music version of the trilogy’s other two films, “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King,” hit the road in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Tours are timed to the 10th anniversaries of the releases of the three films.

The story does not give a complete list of the concert venues for Fellowship, but they will include  San Diego, Las Vegas, Anaheim, Seattle, and, as mentioned above, Glendale.

[Added the same day: Here’s the official website and schedule.]

[More on the same day: Loyal reader Mary Norton tells me she attended a concert screening of The Fellowship of the Ring, with Ludwig Wicki conducting, at Wolf Trap on May 22, 2008, which would mean that the 2009 premiere date given by Variety is incorrect. Which probably means the press release is incorrect; that’s most likely where Variety got that info. Thanks, Mary!]

TheOneRing.net has put up links for information concerning the theatrical screenings of the LOTR trilogy’s extended editions, coming in June. There’s also a link for ticket purchases.

I can’t find any information about what format the three parts will be shown in. I’m dubious that Warner Bros. would print up 35mm copies of The Return of the King extended version for a single screening on that many screens. (Lots of screens, but none in or near Madison, Wisconsin.)* I imagine the prints will be digital, but will those be regular theatrical 2K copies–or could AMC actually be planning on projecting the Blu-ray discs?

[I am told that despite the lack of Madison screenings listed on the site linked by TORN, the Star Cinema multiplex in Madison will be showing the extended versions of LOTR in June. Thanks to Natasha Akulenko and her husband Dan for that information! I can’t find any notice online so far, but Dan called the theater and got confirmation on this.]

TheOneRing.net has announced that in June there will be theatrical screenings of the three extended versions of the LOTR trilogy. These will be one-time-only screenings as opposed to regular runs. They’re playing in AMC theaters in major cities. To check if there’s one near you, search on something like “AMC Fellowship of the Rings Director’s Cut Event.”

FOTR will play on June 14, TTT on June 21, and ROTK on June 28. That’s all we know so far.

This is a surprising announcement, since up to now there have been no 35mm prints of the extended ROTK. Those of you who remember Trilogy Tuesday will know that we saw the extended versions of the first two films, on 35mm film, and the premiere of the theatrical version of ROTK. (FOTR and TTT played for a week each in 35mm extended versions, as a lead-up to the release of ROTK.)

It seems odd that that many 35mm prints (which cost thousands of dollars each to make) would be struck for a single screening. AMC is notorious for its lack of attention to good projection. (The last time I tried to watch a film in an AMC house, the projection was so bad that my husband and I asked for our money back, and I haven’t patronized that multiplex since.) I wonder if they’re just showing the DVDs, or perhaps 2K digital prints that were struck off the DVD masters. If either of these scenarios is the case, then this isn’t quite such a big deal as it might seem.

Doug Adams has issued an alert on his “The Music of the Lord of the Rings Film” blog. Concerts purporting to be of music by Howard Shore are taking place in Germany, using re-written versions. These do not have Shore’s consent. One would think that these violate both copyright and trademark restrictions, but in the comments section Doug says that the legal situation is complicated (and, of course, confidential).

The comments also point out that these concerts are not to be confused with ones which have been put on with Shore himself conducting or others by the Tolkien Ensemble, who have performed at times with Christopher Lee. These have been authorized. Those who are contemplating buying tickets to any concert should make sure that what they plan to attend is authorized.

(Thanks for Timdalf for the heads up on this!)

In 1995, Turner Classic Movies started airing an annual series called “31 Days of Oscar.” That was back when the awards ceremony took place in March. The Oscars have moved to February, but TCM keeps up its tradition by showing their series of Oscar-winning and nominated films from February 1 to March 3. This year The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will be shown. It’s scheduled for 10 pm eastern standard time on February 19. Given the 201-minute running time listed, it is clearly the theatrical edition. Fair enough, that’s the version that won eleven Oscars on that memorable February 29 evening back in 2004.

I’m sure anyone reading this has seen the trilogy many times and probably won’t actually be watching the Turner showing. Still, back in 2004 it was hailed as a triumph that a fantasy film had finally won Best Picture. Here’s the third part, playing in this distinguished context. Maybe a few people who have been inclined to dismiss Peter Jackson’s film will find that impressive.

I note with some amusement that the printed schedule (which just arrived by mail) lists the cast as Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, and Ian McKellan [sic], while the online schedule lists Alan Howard, Noel Appleby, Alexandra Astin, and Sean Astin.

For those of you who live in the New England area or might be in the neighborhood in March, there’s going to be a one-day conference on all things Tolkien. It’s on March 26 in Westford, Massachusetts (not far from Boston). Here’s the basic description:

Come to Middle-earth!

It’s time to get together at the Green Dragon for a nosh and a natter.

Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo!

It’s been a while since I chaired the First (1969) and Second (1971) Conferences on Middle-earth. Life got in the way of my plans for a third conference. Years passed. Then a chance meeting, as we say in Middle-earth, brought the idea of holding, finally, the Third Conference On Middle-earth. How could I resist.

So, I call you here to speak of J.R.R. Tolkien, his works, works based on Tolkien and his works, criticism, teaching Tolkien in the classroom, the impact of the books on yourself, friends, family, and/or the world, the films & the film industry, the music, the art, the fannish side of this universe and its impact, and anything and lots more.

This is a gathering where you can sit in the Green Dragon and discuss Elvish or Orcish table manners, if they have any. This is a celebration of Middle-earth, and all that it implies.

Welcome! Enjoy the celebration!

Thain Peregrin Took II
[aka jan howard finder]

For more information, check out the event’s website.

As you can tell from the dates, the first two conferences came early in the growth of Tolkien fandom and scholarship in the U.S. Today their most tangible result of conferences is Jared Lobdell’s edited volume, A Tolkien Compass, including papers given at the conference. (I’ve got the Open Court edition, published in 1975.) These include Richard West’s classic “The Interlace Structure of The Lord of the Rings” and Tolkien’s own “Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings,” a fascinating document he compiled to aid translators. (This piece is not in the new edition of Lobdell’s book, but there are used copies of the original on booksellers’ sites for quite reasonable prices, some under $5.)

Fan and academic attention to Tolkien has grown immensely since those early days, of course, but with luck the 3rd Conference will be as fruitful as its predecessors–but this time there will be films to talk about as well. The call for papers is here, and the deadline is November 2 (or earlier if enough papers to fill the program are accepted).

I have to admit that I haven’t kept up with every new film-related piece of LOTR merchandise. There are quite a few of them, considering that it’s going on seven years since the last part of the trilogy was released.

Weta Workshop has been busy turning out swords, busts, models, and clothing. Now two new items are announced as premiering at Comic-Con: a model Bag End and a model Prancing Pony, as well as a necklace with the One Ring on a chain, housed in a wooden box. Check out the descriptions and images here.

The Giffoni Film Festival turns 40 this year. It’s the largest children’s film festival in the world, held in a small Italian town a bit inland from Salerno, on the Amalfi Coast. The festival offers new films, which compete for prizes and are judged by children from all over the world.

This year the festival will also present a marathon screening of all three parts of the LOTR trilogy. (No indication whether these are theatrical or extended versions.) The website promises “unseen videos and backstage action” along with the screening. It’s not mentioned on the website, but Variety has announced that Elijah Wood will be there in person to present the program. He was honored by the festival in 2006 and must have enjoyed the experience.

It’s a beautiful part of Italy, though no doubt packed with tourists at this time of year. At some point during his visit Elijah might see and even visit a real “Mount Doom,” Vesuvius itself, a short way to the northwest. (It looks terrific on Google Earth!)

(Vesuvius is hard to miss. It dominates the horizon in that region. Scroll down to the bottom of this entry on the other blog for a shot of it from Pompeii.)

Genevieve Valentine has posted a review of the “Behind the Music” panel that was held in the wake of the live performances of the Fellowship score at Radio City Music Hall. The presenters included David Salo, who talked about how he was hired to act as “Tolkien linguist” for the films. (Readers of The Frodo Franchise will be familiar with that process, which is described on pp. 95-96, including a quotation from a message from John Howe to David–who was one of my interviewees.)

There was also a documentary on Howard Shore’s creative process, made by Elizabeth Cotnoir, and a dialogue between Doug Adams and Shore himself. Doug’s book, The Music of The Lord of the Rings, seems to be approaching publication at a maddeningly slow pace. It’s in the layout stage, which is probably pretty complicated for a book like this one, which I imagine contains musical extracts and film frames. Check out his website for an update and for future news.

Thanks to David Ivory for sending me this link!