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Kristin here–<\/p>\n
The Frodo Franchise<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n The Frodo Franchise<\/em>, my book on the Lord of the Rings<\/em> film phenomenon, is now available for pre-order from Amazon<\/a> or directly from the University of California Press<\/a>. It should be in bookstores in August. The cover illustration above is by the wonderful caricaturist Victor Juhasz. Check out another example of his work here<\/a>; I especially like the image of Jack Nicholson.<\/p>\n (In New Zealand, The Frodo Franchise<\/em> will be published by Penguin New Zealand, also in August. I’ll add a link to their website when pre-orders become available.)<\/p>\n I\u2019ll be writing more about the book and the Lord of the Rings<\/em> film between now and August, including, I hope, reporting from Wellington during David\u2019s and my visit to New Zealand in May.<\/p>\n The Hobbit<\/span><\/em>: Faint signs of movement<\/span><\/p>\n The April issue of Wired <\/em>(I can\u2019t find this on their website as of now) has a brief interview with Bob Shaye (p. 88), whose second feature film as a director, The Last Mimzy<\/em>, was released on March 23. Naturally the subject of the Hobbit<\/em> film gets mentioned.<\/p>\n On October 2<\/a>, in the infancy of this blog, I discussed Peter Jackson\u2019s other projects and whether they allowed him enough leeway to take on directing The Hobbit<\/em>. I suggested that he had built considerable flexibility into his apparently crowded schedule. At that point it looked as though he might well get the offer.<\/p>\n Then, on January 13<\/a> I reported on Shaye\u2019s recent declaration that because Jackson was suing New Line concerning money possibly owed him from Fellowship of the Ring<\/em> and its related products, the director would not be making The Hobbit<\/em> for New Line (and MGM, which is co-producing the film).<\/p>\n Since the flutter of anger expressed over that decision, there has been virtually no news on the subject. Now, asked by Wired<\/em> about his January statement, Shaye replied, \u201cYou know, we\u2019re being sued right now, so I can\u2019t comment on ongoing litigation. But I said some things publicly, and I\u2019m sorry that I\u2019ve lost a colleague and a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n Wired<\/em> then asked, \u201cIs The Hobbit<\/em> still a viable project?\u201d Shaye responded, \u201cI can only say we\u2019re going to do the best we can with it. I respect the fans a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Given that a large majority of the fans consider Jackson\u2019s direction key to the film being the best New Line could do, perhaps we\u2019re getting a hint that Shaye is relenting.<\/p>\n Matt Zoller Seitz and friends in Newsweek<\/em>!<\/span><\/p>\n Matt\u2019s site The House Next Door sends us business every now and then, and it was a treat to see it mentioned in \u201cBlog Watch\u201d in the April 9 issue of Newsweek<\/em> (also online)<\/a>: \u201c\u2018The Sopranos\u2019 returns to HBO on April 8, and mob fans can\u2019t wait to get deep inside the remaining episodes. For insightful commentary, check out mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com.\u201d<\/p>\n A variety of commentators contributed to the \u201cSopranos Week\u201d daily postings: April 2<\/a>, April 3<\/a>, April 4<\/a>, April 5<\/a>, April 6<\/a>, April 7<\/a>, and April 8<\/a>.<\/p>\n Congratulations, Matt and company!<\/p>\n David\u2019s film-viewing activities do not go unnoticed<\/span><\/p>\n Lester Hunt, who teaches philosophy here at the University of Wisconsin, has been blogging about students who don\u2019t take notes in class. He considers, not unreasonably, that they should take notes. Not everyone agrees with him, however.<\/p>\n Lester defends his position staunchly in a new post, “Why you should take notes<\/a>,” citing David\u2019s note-taking and shot-counting during movies as evidence to bolster his case. As the one who often sits beside David during his very active viewings, I can testify that Lester’s description is quite accurate.<\/p>\n Ebertfest coming up<\/span><\/p>\n Jim Emerson\u2019s Scanners<\/a> blog provides information about the upcoming Roger Ebert\u2019s Overlooked Film Festival<\/a> (next year to be officially renamed what many of us call it anyway, \u201cEbertfest\u201d), April 25-28. As Jim mentions, David and I are among the guests, and you can read the opening of my program notes for this year\u2019s silent-film-with-live-musical-accompaniment presentation, Raoul Walsh\u2019s Sadie Thompson<\/em>. Along with others, we\u2019ll be pitching in to try and fill in for Roger as he continues to recover from his health problem of last summer.<\/p>\n Fortunately Roger will be able to attend. As he writes in his recent description<\/a> of his progress, “I think of the festival as the first step on my return to action.” The first of many such steps, I hope. We all look forward to 2008, when he will move once more to center stage as the heart and soul of Ebertfest.<\/p>\n Aardman\u2019s new home<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, I have groused about how DreamWorks failed to exploit the potential of British animation company Aardman\u2019s product. (See here<\/a> and here<\/a>.) Distributing films like Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit<\/em> and Flushed Away<\/em>, Dreamworks showed little inclination to try and turn Aardman into a brand comparable to Pixar.<\/p>\n