Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers
- Special
Extended Editions
Last Update: 22 August 2003
- Source: IGN
Filmforce
- LOTR Extended Edition Films Headed
for Theaters
See the extra-good versions of the first two before the third
opens this December.
August 22, 2003 - This December, lucky fans of The Lord of the
Rings will get the chance to
- see the ultimate in-theater movie marathon.
-
- New Line Cinema has announced that it
will be releasing the extended DVD versions of both
- The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two
Towers in select U.S. and Canadian markets two
- weeks before The Return of the King opens.
About 100 theaters in the U.S. and 20 in
- Canada will participate.
-
- Fellowship will be first, hitting venues
December 5th. The Two Towers will follow on the 12th,
- and on the 16th, there will be a marathon
in which audiences will be able to watch both
- films back-to-back, directly followed
by the first midnight showing of The Return of the King.
-
- Although this is quite a limited release,
New Line Cinema expects additional theaters to do
- one-time showings of the two extended
films.
-
- Source: Variety
- 21 August 2003
- 'Rings' will bow before the 'King'
Before any king can return, New Line Cinema will re-release of
the first two "Lord of the Rings"
- pics worldwide, this time with additional
scenes and footage added.
Just two weeks before the Dec. 17 release of "The Lord of
the Rings: The Return of the King" --
- the final installment of the Peter Jackson-helmed
epic trilogy -- the first two "Ring" entries will
- be unspooling worldwide.
In memoranda sent to exhibitors on Wednesday, New Line laid out
a game plan to promote the
- third film by refreshing filmgoers' memories
with "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two
- Towers."
Plan calls for putting the films on 100-150 screens in top 10
U.S. markets. Many other U.S.
- cities will have one cinema participating
in the special extended edition screenings. Running
- times for the extended editions are 208
minutes for "Fellowship of the Ring" and 214 minutes
- for "The Two Towers."
Advanced ticket sales are scheduled to begin in late September
or early October on exhibitor
- Web sites and movie ticketing sites like
Fandango, MovieFone and Movietickets.com.
"The release of the third film affords us a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to give audiences a
- compelling new theatrical experience of
Peter Jackson's sprawling vision for this trilogy," said
- Rolf Mittweg, prexy and chief operating
officer for worldwide distribution and marketing.
The cost, one New Line insider estimated, will be between $10
million and $15 million. Due to
- the extended length of the new prints,
the move is being cast as a promotional tool rather than
- a moneymaker.
"It is important to note," the memo says, "that
these events are produced as a marketing/publicity
- stunt and not as a revenue generating
opportunity" and that media support will be limited largely
- to the Internet and participating theaters.
Starting the week of Dec. 5, the extended DVD cut of "Fellowship
of the Ring" will be released
- in some 100 or so theaters in the U.S.
and in 20 theaters in Canada.
Then, the week of Dec. 12, sequel "Two Towers" will
unspool, just a month after having preemed
- on DVD, leading up to a worldwide Dec.
16 daylong marathon, during which all three films will be
- shown back-to-back. Exhib guidelines call
for a 3 p.m. showing of "Fellowship" followed by a
7
- p.m. screening of "Two Towers"
and then an 11 p.m. screening of "Return of the King,"
which will
- carry over into Dec. 17 -- the day of
its global release.
Overseas, it's not yet clear whether all exhibs will be showing
the new footage-added prints of
- the previous "Rings" pics. According
to one New Line insider, the decision is being left to exhibs,
- which will make their requests known to
New Line in the next few weeks.
Italy and Japan will not immediately be included in the foreign
promotional blitz. Italo comedies
- dominate that country around the holidays,
and corporate sibling Warner Bros. will be carpeting
- Japan with the next "Harry Potter"
pic. Triad of "Rings" pics will instead screen in January
in
- Italy and February in Japan.
"King" is produced by Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh
and Jackson, with a screenplay by Walsh
- & Philippa Boyens and Jackson, based
on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien.
- Source: Sci
Fi.com
- 22 August 2003
- Rings Films Re-Released
-
- New Line Cinema will re-release the first
two Lord of the Rings movies, with additional scenes
- and footage, two weeks before the Dec.
17 premiere of the third installment, The Return of the
- King, Variety reported. New Line plans
to put the film on 100-150 screens in the top 10 U.S.
- markets, the trade paper reported.
-
- Other U.S. cities will have one cinema
participating in the special extended-edition screenings,
- the trade paper reported. Advanced ticket
sales are scheduled to begin in late September or
- early October on exhibitor Web sites and
movie ticketing sites like Fandango, MovieFone
- and Movietickets.com.
-
- Starting the week of Dec. 5, the extended
DVD cut of Fellowship of the Ring will be released
- in some 100 or so theaters in the U.S.
and in 20 theaters in Canada, the trade paper reported.
- The week of Dec. 12, the sequel Two Towers
will screen, leading up to a worldwide Dec. 16
- daylong marathon during which all three
films will be shown back to back, the trade paper
- reported.
- Source: E!
Online
- Whole Lotta Hobbit Going On
- by Josh Grossberg
Aug 22, 2003, 10:30 AM PT
-
-
- Attention, Frodo fanatics: Better load
up on the popcorn and soda and invest in a comfy
- cushion--because you're in for a sore
butt.
-
- Two weeks before The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King wraps things up on December
- 17, New Line Cinema plans to unleash in
theaters special extended editions of the first two
- installments in director Peter Jackson's
epic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy.
-
- Cinephiles who couldn't get enough of
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- special edition DVD, which clocked in
at 208 minutes and included scenes not in the theatrical
- version, will be able to see the epic
on the big screen in all its glory starting on December 5 in
- about 100 movie houses in the U.S. and
20 in Canada.
-
- A week later, on December 12, New Line
will unspool the special 214-minute extended edition of
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
That version is slated to premiere as a DVD first on
- November 18 (the DVD of last year's "official"
theatrical release is due out on Tuesday).
-
- But wait! There's more!
-
- For those with serious Hobbit habits longing
to venture into Middle Earth for more than a few hours,
- New Line plans to screen all three films
back-to-back-to-back on December 16 in a daylong
- marathon that will carry over with The
Return of the King's global release on December 17.
-
- Per Daily Variety, New Line sent memos
out to exhibitors across the country this week informing
- them of the reissue and suggesting various
screening strategies to maximize promotion leading up
- to The Return of the King.
-
- The goal, according to the studio, is
not simply monetary, but it's intended to refresh moviegoers'
- memories of the good-vs.-evil saga that
has been lording over the box office and critics' lists for
- the past two years.
-
- "The release of the third film affords
us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give audiences a
- compelling new theatrical experience of
Peter Jackson's sprawling vision for this trilogy," Rolf
- Mittwg, New Line's head of worldwide distribution
and marketing, told Variety.
-
- The memo lays out guidelines for theaters
calling for Fellowship to begin screening at 3 p.m.
- on December 16, Two Towers to follow at
7 p.m., and the first official showing of Return of the
- King kicking off at 11 p.m. and concluding
early in the wee hours of the 17th.
-
- The final installment is going to be the
longest in the series, coming in at over three hours.
- Jackson promised fans in a recent USA
Today interview that the climactic clash between
- Middle Earthlings and the fiendish Lord
Sauron and his minions at Pelennor Fields will surpass
- Two Towers' Battle of Helm's Deep in breadth
and scope.
-
- Jackson says the most satisfying part
of Return of the King will be the emotional climax, something
- he had to bring the entire cast back for
additional shooting this spring and forced him to even
- rework some key scenes.
-
- "Everybody feels we are paying off
the story now," Jackson said. "The scenes tend to be
- more emotionally charged, which is why
the actors enjoyed them and I enjoyed filming them.
- It absolutely has to be the best. We owe
it to people."
-
- New Line is banking on the Lord of Rings
capper to build enough buzz to finally garner Jackson
- and his epic an Oscar. Despite a slew
of nominations (Two Towers being the first sequel since
- The Godfather Part II to be nominated
for Best Picture) and some wins in technical categories,
- the golden guy has proven elusive to the
filmmaker. Many show-biz insiders believe the usually
- fantasy-averse Motion Picture Academy
is waiting for the finale before anointing Jackson's work.
-
- Regardless of whether Jackson stocks up
his trophy case, his Rings cycle has put him in a league
- of his own.
-
- The filmmaker recently sealed a deal with
Universal Pictures for his next project, a massive retelling
- of King Kong that will see him earn $20
million up front as well as gross points on the back end,
- one of the most lucrative contracts ever
for a director.
-
- Advanced tickets for the rereleases are
slated to go on sale in late September or early October
- via movie-ticketing sites like Fandango,
Moviefone and Movietickets.com as well as exhibitor
- Websites.
-
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