LoTR: Return of the King - Pictures, spy reports and spoilers thread (ongoing)

many

[HairOfTheDog]

I'll start:

Larger version of below image here

'Let it be a light for you, in dark places,
when all other lights go out.'

Frodo gazed in wonder at this marvellous gift that he had so long carried, not guessing its full worth and potency. Seldom had he remembered it on the road, until they came to Morgul Vale, and never had he used it for fear of its revealing light. Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima! he cried, and knew not what he had spoken; for it seemed that another voice spoke through his, clear, untroubled by the foul air of the pit.

~Tolkien "Shelob's Lair

---

‘I have received this,’ said Denethor, and laying down his rod he lifted from his lap the thing that he had been gazing at. In each hand he held up one half of a great horn cloven through the middle: a wild-ox horn bound with silver.

‘That is the horn that Boromir always wore!’ cried Pippin.

‘Verily,’ said Denethor. ‘And in my turn I bore it, and so did each eldest son of our house, far back into the vanished years before the failing of the kings, since Vorondil father of Mardil hunted the wild kine of Araw in the far fields of Rhûn. I heard it blowing dim upon the northern marches thirteen days ago, and the River brought it to me, broken: it will wind no more.’ He paused and there was a heavy silence…

~Tolkien "Minas Tirith"

[HairOfTheDog]

Spoiler alert!

Pinging the Two Towers Spoiler list... Let me know if you want to remain on this list as the reports come in this year for RoTK!

You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet!
Demosthenes @ 5:18 pm EST

TORn staffer Arathorn typed up part of the Mail on Sunday magazine special for our reading enjoyment. Some very interesting RoTK information in this article ... and, of course, spoilers!

You ain't seen nothing yet

The final part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King, promises to be the most thrilling, says Karyn Miller (Mail on Sunday reporter, I presume).

When The Return of the King, the final and most spectacular film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is finally released in December next year, it will have been eight years in the making. It promises to provide a fitting finale to the series.

There will only be a few new characters in the first film, including Denethor, the Steward of the Kingdom of Gondor and the father of Boromir, who is played by respected Australian actor John Noble.

"Denethor resents never being king, and Boromir inherited that bitterness," says Noble. "It's what led Boromir to try to steal the Ring in the first film"

When Gondor is besieged by enemy forces, Denethor, who has fallen under Sauron's influence, becomes desperate and deranged.

"It is my job to show the humanity of the man," says Noble. "He is literally driven mad by grief and fear."

Sauron's henchman, the Mouth of Sauron, also makes his first appearance, although his head is covered by a large helment and all that can be seen of his face is his nose and gaping, decomposing jaws.

We may also see more of Sauron himself. "You can't reduce him to being a big guy striding around in black armour, but he cannot be limited to a flaming eye, either," says Jackson.

"The Sauron in the books is sketchy at best, which makes it hard to turn to turn him (sic.) into a screen villain. But imagine not really seeing Darth Vader for all three Star Wars films. You just can't do it."

This is from an old interview we think, see our earlier report here.

Despite such qualms, Jackson has high hopes for The Return of the King.

"The battles will be the biggest you have ever seen," he says. He can make such a claim with confidence thanks to the help of his special effects company, Weta.

"We have poilted a piece of software that allows us to have 200,000 computer-generated extras fight each other," he says.

"You simply press a button, sit back and watch these enormous battles unfold before your eyes."

The incredible effects can be seen during the opening scenes of The Fellowship of the Ring, and again during the Battle of Helm's Deep in The Two Towers. However, it is in the concluding chapter of the trilogy that this ground-breaking software will be utilised to create the most incredible effects.

Jackson has already earmarked the film's final scene, which takes place amid the sweeping landscape of the Grey Havens, as his favourite.

"To me, it's a culmination of the entire story; it represents what it is to give and what it is to lose," he says. "That scene is probably the most powerful part of the entire film."

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[HairOfTheDog]

Jackson & Woods on Return of the King

Wednesday, December 25, 2002 10:35 CST

The Chicago Sun-Times talked to both Elijah Wood and director Peter Jackson about The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Here's a clip...

It might be much longer," says Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo Baggins, indicating that the last journey, "The Return of the King," will be inching toward the 3-1/2-hour mark.

"It will be as long as it needs to be," says director Peter Jackson, who is busy editing the film right now. "The third is my favorite one in the trilogy. It's almost biblical and makes me cry. It's about incredible courage and the last part of it is just mind-boggling."

Wood adds, "The third movie has always been my favorite. I've seen moments from it and they just break my heart," he says. "You've grown to care about these characters and they lose quite a lot in the process of the third movie. Frodo, Sam, Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn will never be the same."

[Sam Cree]

Well, I note that the fellow who plays Denethor is, sadly, exactly my age. My, how fast water flows under the bridge.

However, I will not mind if Peter Jackson decides to release this one early.

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, I note that the fellow who plays Denethor is, sadly, exactly my age. My, how fast water flows under the bridge.

Oh ouch sam.... Yes, we are older before we know it!

Denethor

Larger Image Here

[Sam Cree]

I don't mind being at this age, like it well enough, it's just that I am now ready for getting older to stop. That is, if I could continue being alive.

[Long Cut]

Hi, Hair! Please put me ON your "spoiler ping list". I love this kind of stuff!

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, there's the rub Sam. If you stop living, you won't get any older, so be thankful you are getting older!

Unless of course, you had this... ... But even then, you may not look older, but you end up thin and stretched, like butter over too much bread.

[HairOfTheDog]

Certainly!

So "Daddy", will the new one's name be "Short Cut"? LOL!

[HairOfTheDog]

From here: JS Online: Concluding film of trilogy will be darkest, saddest

Concluding film of trilogy will be darkest, saddest

Last Updated: Dec. 12, 2002

The most remarkable thing about Peter Jackson's films of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, besides their massive scope, is the way the New Zealand-based director churns them out.

The first film, "The Fellowship of the Ring" was released last year and is now in stores on video and DVD. The new film, "The Two Towers," will be released theatrically Wednesday.

So it's not too soon to look ahead to the film, "The Return of the King," due for release in December 2003. Screenwriter Philippa Boyens said that someone suggested that Part 2 end with the words "To be concluded," to suggest that momentous events lay ahead.

She quoted what she called "a great line from the book" about the ring bearer Frodo's companion Sam: " 'His will was set and only death would break it.' And that's the third film."

"It's all about what will happen first: death or the success of the quest," she said.

Producer Barrie M. Osborne, who has seen Jackson's rough cut of "Return of the King," said, "It's a very dramatic, emotionally moving movie, but it's also of epic scale. You come to an emotionally moving resolution in almost every character's case."

Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo, said the third film is also "the darkest."

"Ultimately, good wins, and if you read the book, you know that," Wood said. "But the beauty of Tolkien and the way the books are written is that, yes, ultimately good triumphs over evil, but at what cost? That's what's great about the third film. Our heroes have won but have also lost massive pieces of themselves and will carry those scars for the rest of their lives."

In the end, Frodo "ceases to be Frodo," Wood said.

Yet, said Jackson, the third film is also "more optimistic. It obviously has a resolution. It has a triumphant, biblical-sized kind of action. And it also has incredible sadness. It has incredible sadness. I cry in several places in the film.

"It's my favorite of the three. Frodo and Sam are just incredible in the third film. They're just so brave."

Wood said the third is "my favorite as well. These characters that you've spent all this time with and care about, they lose everything. It's heartbreaking."

- Duane Dudek

[2Jedismom]

Woohooo! The new spoiler thread looks fabulous!

Good job!

I saw that picture of Frodo in the calendar, but didn't realize what I was looking at!!

[Sam Cree]

This is freaking me out a little, that it's not here yet.

[HairOfTheDog]

`Frodo, Mr. Frodo! ' he called. 'Don't leave me here alone! It's your Sam calling. Don't go where I can't follow! Wake up, Mr. Frodo! O wake up, Frodo, me dear, me dear. Wake up!'...

...`What shall I do, what shall I do? ' he said. `Did I come all this way with him for nothing? ' And then he remembered his own voice speaking words that at the time he did not understand himself, at the beginning of their journey: "I have something to do before the end. I must see it through, sir, if you understand.

~Tolkien: "The Choices of Master Samwise"

[HairOfTheDog]

FROM HERE: Tolkien Online | The Lord of the Rings Source

SPOILERS: Some things we'll get to see in Return of the King -- Projections based on what we know
January 06, 2003 - Monday

Here’s a small list of a few things from the book that will almost certainly be in ROTK next December. There’s been some questions about whether some locations from the books would be skipped by PJ and his team, but the book ‘The Making of The Lord of the Rings’ gives us a little more insight.

- We will certainly see the Paths of the Dead in ROTK. The author of the book, Brian Sibley, has visited the miniature builders and claims he saw one of them work on the set of the Paths of the Dead. Exactly how the set will look, is not mentioned. However, Sibley does mention black polystyrene walls, with destroyed builings carved out of them, concisting of several stairs, doors, towers and domes.

- The Corsairs of Umbar, who attack the south of Gondor at sea in the book, will also most probably be featured in the film. ‘The Making of the Lord of the Rings’ discusses a Corsair ship being built by a model maker, John Baster. The ship will have a lot of armour, inlcuding crossbows, arrows, and some sort of sharp edges on both sides to cut the ropes of enemy ships. This amazing model even features a skipper’s toilet at the very end of the ship!

- The large battering ram called Grond, used by the Orcs to attack Minas Tirith in the final book, will also appear in the film. Grond was made as a large wooden contruction with a scary wolf-like creature captured in it. His head is used as the battering ram. The wolf-like creature will look aggressive, almost like trying to escape. His mouth and eyes will be able to move, and he will be pulling his shackles.

- The room above the Cracks of Doom in the Orodruin mountain, where Frodo has to destroy the Ring, will be extensively shown in the final film. Obviously, it is a set featuring a lot of fire, explosions and lava.

- The Grey Havens, where all the Ringbearers finally leave Middle-earth, will have an architecture a bit similar to that of Rivendell and Lothlorien. Says Alan Lee (conceptual designer): “However, the architecture is adjusted to buildings of stone, unlike the wooden builings of Rivendell.”

- The Houses of Healing at Minas Tirith, where the wounded from the Field of Pelennor are taken care of, will also be in the film. But hey, I guess that was pretty obvious… The design will probably look a lot like Alan Lee’s impression: a small, peaceful courtyard with grass and trees, surrounded by nice archways.

- For the Battle of the Field of Pelennor, about 700 horsemen (and horses) were used, in addition the the hundreds of other soldiers. So this promises to be a big helluva battle, ey?

Well, that’s it for now. I hope I didn’t spoil all the surprises for you now! If you happen to have some ROTK facts of yourself (from a reliable source) please share it with the rest of us! Good luck waiting for december everyone…

Reported By: Minalcar_Romendacil

[Ladysmith]

Oh yeah, keep me on this one! :o)

[maquiladora]

Fantastic stuff Hair! I was wondering when you'd be getting around to starting this thread!

I'm in two minds whether to read spoilers or not this time. There's a lot I don't know about what PJ's intends to do with ROTK and I think I'd like to be surprised more so than I was with TTT.

SO I think I'll come here and have a look at the pics/trailers etc, but I think I'm going to stay clear of story spoilers this time! It wil be difficult, but I'm going to try! :-)

[Pippin]

Good morming, HOTD!

Thanks for the ping!

This hobbit had a great day yesterday!

[Guenevere]

Please keep me on the ping list.

I can't decide whether to read the spoilers or not......probably not, but ping me anyway :)
I like seeing the pictures.

The movie sounds powerful!!!

[Alkhin]

Well, hello there, world's tallest hobbit!!! Read your bio...greetings from an Associate in the Order of Saint Benedict (Anglican)!! I love the way you designed your page...

I am guessing that from your change from one username to 'Pippin' that YOU TOO are a fan of that character (I'm surprised no one has warned you about me...)

Anyway, THANKS FOR THE PING...DO KEEP ME ON THE LIST.

I am now arrived at that point where I don't care if I see spoilers or not.