# The "Ringers: Lord of the Fans" Thread



## Barliman Butterbur (Jan 11, 2005)

There is a new documentary coming out entitled _Ringers: Lord of the Fans_ coming out soon. This thread follows its progress.

The first post referencing this movie is at http://www.thetolkienforum.com/showpost.php?p=436043&postcount=1

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (Jan 11, 2005)

*The Quest for 'RINGERS'*

1-10-05 Latest News

Quickbeam @ 3:51 am EST

The creative team behind RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS share a common love of J.R.R. Tolkien's magnificent books.

In January 2002, playwright and Tolkien scholar Cliff Broadway enjoyed a chance meeting with director Carlene Cordova while standing in line to meet Sir Ian McKellen at a book signing. Aside from meddling in the affairs of wizards, two minds began burning brightly together that day, and a new writing partnership was born.

The timing of this meeting was fortuitous. It had been a mere month since the U.S. theatrical release of Peter Jackson's stunning Fellowship of the Ring, and the "newest wave" of fans made a clear showing. In attendance were several older folks who had been reading "The Lord of the Rings" since the 1960s -- standing alongside them were new Ringer fans many years younger. This combination of old-school fans with kids learning about hobbits for the first time caught Carlene's eye.

Soon the director was asking herself: "The Lord of the Rings" is nearly 50 years old -- how does such a huge, unwieldy book have such staying power? How did so many generations fall into its pages?

Carlene and Cliff starting working together to interview the stars for TheOneRing.net -- the most insanely popular Tolkien resource on the Net. Building on the momentum of Jackson's three-film release pattern, a genuine phenomenon was unfolding right before their eyes. Working with TheOneRing.net allowed the intrepid director and interviewer rare access to both the actors and the creative forces behind The Lord of the Rings Trilogy; but the road would carry them much farther as they explored Tolkien's ongoing pop legacy.

As the filmmakers researched myriad pieces of pop culture influenced by Tolkien, the idea to create RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS took shape. There was a long list of classic rock music one could point to that was Tolkien influenced. There was an entire "fantasy book" section in the bookstore that would never have been there if not for the breakthrough of Tolkien's trilogy. And there were parents doing the unheard of -- spending time reading to their kids while they awaited the next two films to hit their local theatres. Book sales reached record heights as the films reaped box-office gold. The time had come to put this whole thing into perspective, and nobody was in a better position than Carlene and Cliff at the time RINGERS started rolling film in earnest.

The director soon recruited Josh Mandel, a UCLA [Yayyy!] Film School graduate, to be the Director of Photography and Co-Producer. Long-time friend Danny Lukic (director/writer of the comedic short musical Dogs) came on board as producer, while Catherine Frizat became Associate Producer. A remarkable creative force was added with the inclusion of Editor Arnaud Gerardy (editor of the Joe Strummer documentary Let's Rock Again). The additional support of producer Jeff Marchelletta would complete the team.

The fans themselves were to become an integral part of RINGERS. The summer of 2003 was spent pursuing and taping the original true-blue community that was the bedrock of Tolkien's popularity. The RINGERS team would visit the largest genre fan events in the world, including the San Diego Comic-Con International and the annual Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia. Soon additional events were recorded by other Units shooting in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Bonn, Germany. 

The complete (and absolutely fascinating!) article may be read at http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1105347106

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (Jan 22, 2005)

*A review of Ringers*

Xoanon @ 2:21 pm EST

Sarumann writes: Tonight, I was granted a special privilege and saw Ringers. Carlene asked if I'd post my reactions, so here's my review.

Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Men and Wizards unite! The exponentially growing fan community of The Lord of the Rings finally get their moment to shine in the new documentary: Ringers: Lord of the Fans.

First, let's get the obligatory comparisons with that other genre fan documentary, Trekkies, out of the way. This is NOT Trekkies at all! Where Trekkies looks at fandom with a rather bemused detachment, Ringers gets in there with the fans. The filmmakers are not afraid to sit with Ringers in a lineparty or galavant with fans across New Zealand on a Red Carpet tour. Most importantly, while Trekkies singled out the jewels of freaky fans and paraded them about in a terribly embarrassing way, Ringers never ceases to empathize, understand, and geek out with the best of us. The Ringers depicted in this film are not mad pseudo Orli/Lij/Viggo/etc. stalkers, but intelligent, eloquent, and very mature people. So, there's your comparison: Trekkies is a freak parade while Ringers is a celebration of a common love. In truth, there really is no comparison.

Ringers takes us through the evolution of Tolkien fandom over the past 50 years; from the small Tolkien Societies of the 60s all the way through the bustling internet fan groups of today. We are treated with a wonderfully witty Terry Gilliam-esque animation sequence depicting the first years of the publication of LOTR and the polarized criticism that came with it. We are given gilmpses at the many failed attempts to bring LOTR to the big screen starting with Forrest Ackerman in the 50s and going all the way to John Lennon's attempt decades later. We are also shown Tolkien's influence music; from Led Zeppelin's classic "Ramble On" to Leonard Nimoy's truly absurd "Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" and on into today with World Without Sundays' incredible cover of "Where There's a Whip There's a Way". It shows us a history of fandom the likes of which the world has never known.

There are so many aspects of Ringer fandom that the film is only granted a few precious minutes to focus on any one before having to move on to the next. But these snippets of fandom are not short changed, as the filmmakers do their best to make sure every unique part of Ringerdom gets its moment to shine. Some of the best moments include a trip to the serene and simple Hobbitton, USA; a hilarious dramatization of Cassie Claire's "Very Secret Diaries" using action figures and disturbingly accurate impressions of various actors' voices; and a manic montage of the merchandising blitz from the movies done to an original mariachi song.

The documentary is tied together with superb narration by Dominic Monaghan, who projects the perfect balance of intellectual and fan. His narration is as engaging as any visual stimulus on the screen. The interviews of fans, cast, crew, and scholars are also equally engaging. Every single interview shows a true understanding of Tolkien and LOTR. There is a passion in everybody's voice that is unmistakeable.

Full article is at http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1106335280

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (Jan 25, 2005)

*The Fellowship of the Ringers*

*Fifty years after the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Slamdance unveils a celebratory documentary by a pair of authentic ‘Ringers.'*

By Pam Grady 

Two and a half years ago, producer Cliff Broadway and director Carlene Cordova were in the middle of a project interviewing the stars and makers of The Lord of the Rings trilogy for the LOTR fan site TheOneRing.net. The digital segments were meant as a special treat for the movies' fans, but Broadway and Cordova soon realized there was a bigger phenomenon at work.

"It was getting bigger and bigger," Broadway remembers during a recent interview with FilmStew. “We realized that we were in the right place at the right time to document what was happening and put it into perspective."

The result is the feature-length documentary Ringers: The Lord of the Fans, which had its world premiere this past Friday, January 21th, Park City, Utah's Slamdance Film Festival. Narrated by LOTR's Dominic Monaghan, the movie features interviews with director Peter Jackson and most of the cast, including Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellan, and Sean Astin.

Complete (very long and fascinating, with excellent pictures of Dominic Monaghan and JRR Tolkien!) article at http://www.filmstew.com/Content/Article.asp?Pg=1&ContentID=10649

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (Jan 28, 2005)

*A film about the Tolkien's 'cultists'*

Jan. 27, 2005. 07:37 AM

GEOFF PEVERE

PARK CITY, UTAH—The late J.R.R. Tolkien called them "my deplorable cultists" and there is much in Ringers: Lord of the Fans, the new documentary about Tolkien's ever-swelling legion of intemperate enthusiasts that has just premiered at the Park City alt-Sundance festival called Slamdance, that the author would certainly deplore.

Certainly he would wonder about the Ring-wild twin teenage girls interviewed in the movie, both of whom seem to have had cosmetic enhancement to their incisors and eyes, the more to presumably look like vampires. (What teenage girl would spend good money to look like a Hobbit?) And he might well wonder about having Lemmy Kilmister, the feral-looking, evil-vibing, veteran heart and soul of the undying heavy-metal unit Motorhead, as one of those who proudly call themselves "Ringers."

You can bet he'd shake his head at the woman who sold her home in America in order to attend the premiere screening of The Return of the King in New Zealand. Indeed, he'd probably deplore the movies themselves, which have expanded the Ringer legions several millionfold. After all, as one interviewee in Ringers reminds us, was it not Tolkien himself who called his Middle-earth trilogy "unfilmable"?

But Tolkien created the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he did not create the cult, and that crucial difference is what Carlene Cordova's Ringers is about.

It tells the story of a fandom strangely independent of the works that generated it, which means it's really a case study in fandom itself, for fandom is what is sparked spontaneously from the alchemy between an artefact and its reception. It begins at the moment the creator relinquishes control, and evolves into something both rooted in the creation and an organism utterly unto itself. Sorry, Professor.

Tracing the growth of the Rings' cult through the decades of its growth and along the various branches of its mutations, Ringers culminates with the release of Peter Jackson's globally blockbusting movie adaptations. Much of the movie's non-fan interviews are with the likes of Peter Jackson, Sir Ian McKellan, Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortensen, and the movies are acknowledged as the catapult that vaulted the phenomenon, bigger than ever, from the last century to the current one.

Indeed, a huge number of the "Ringers" interviewed seem to be caught either in a state of twitchy pre-screening anticipation or blissful post-screening rapture.

One woman mentions how she spent nine consecutive afternoons watching The Fellowship of the Ring, while another makes the impressive claim that she and he her husband have already seen the movies "hundreds" of times. Considering that the films in question range anywhere from 13 months to three years old, and that each is a hefty three hours or so in length, you've got to wonder if she and her husband have done anything else but watch the chronicles of Frodo.

Fandom is of course just a couple of syllables away from fanaticism, and while Cordova's movie doesn't shy from the line where enthusiasm crosses over to obsession, it's a little too breezy and good-tempered to dwell for long on the other side. But it's a fan-generated project after all (it's produced by the massively popular Ringer website TheOneRing.net), and its goal is ultimately not to question the cult but to honour it and, let's be honest, appeal to it.

But even within the restrictions such a positive inclination implies, Ringers is comprehensive, entertaining and informative pop cultural history.

It reminds you that there is an alternative history linking LOTR with the rise of heavy metal and prog rock in the '70s (Rush's Geddy Lee is on hand to testify to that), and its most tantalizing what-if scenario involves John Lennon trying to interest both David Lean and Stanley Kubrick into making a movie of Tolkien's fantasy epic.

It looks at the rack upon rack of thick-spined fantasy novels found in every bookstore today and suggests, quite reasonably, that none of these would exist without Lord of the Rings. Nor, very possibly, would Star Wars, which is basically Lord of the Rings in blue-screen space.

Although marred somewhat by cheesy, low-budget sequences designed to evoke various periods of the cult's history (from the black-and-white 1950s, through the psychedelic '60s and so forth onward), the movie offers a convincing portrait of a cult with sufficient innate organic energy to reproduce itself no matter what the historical context.

This probably says as much about the enduring, deep-mythical metaphoric power of the original stories as it does about fandom, and it's therefore fascinating to learn that no one resisted metaphoric readings of the books as Tolkien himself. Then again, it's not his baby. He only gave birth to it.

Ringers: Lord of the Fans has no distribution arrangement as of yet, but it's almost inconceivable that it won't appear somewhere, in some form, sometime very soon.

Those "deplorable cultists" will see to that.

Source: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...le&cid=1106779811466&call_pageid=970599119419

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (Jan 31, 2005)

*Tolkien Gets Ringing Endorsement*

By Jason Silverman 

02:00 AM Jan. 28, 2005 PT

After the 2004 Academy Awards, the filmmaking team behind The Lord of the Rings headed out to celebrate. That's no surprise -- they had just won 11 Oscars.

What was unusual was the party -- it wasn't the one put on by New Line, the studio that invested more than $300 million to produce the Lord of the Rings trilogy. No, director Peter Jackson, cast and crew headed to an event produced by fan site TheOneRing.net, where they took the stage, hoisted their statues and mixed and mingled.

Among the celebrities interviewed in *Ringers: Lord of the Fans are Peter Jackson (left), Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Clive Barker, David Carradine and Rush's Geddy Lee.Filmmakers Carlene Cordova and Cliff Broadway field questions about Ringers: Lord of the Fans, which premiered at the 2005 Slamdance Film Festival being held this week in Park City, Utah.Josh Mandel shoots on location in New Zealand for Ringers: Lord of the Fans

Hollywood insiders probably gasped -- the biggest Oscar sweep in history and these guys are partying with geeks! But Jackson and company recognized something essential about the success of The Lord of the Rings: It happened because of its rabid fans.

At least that's the case made by a new documentary, Ringers: Lord of the Fans, which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival this week in Park City, Utah.

The film traces the history of Tolkien mania, which took off with the original publication of The Lord of the Rings in 1954. The book was quickly adopted by sci-fi fans and by some literati, including W.H. Auden and C.S. Lewis, and by the late 1960s, it had become countercultural gospel (hobbits, elves and Gandalfs were plentiful at Woodstock). Beginning in the 1970s, rock 'n' rollers such as Led Zeppelin and Rush immersed themselves in the Middle Earth mythology, and in 1977, publication of Tolkien's Silmarillion set off a new round of Tolkienism. 

Full article at http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,66417,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1

Barley*


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## Barliman Butterbur (Feb 8, 2005)

*"Ringers" to come to DVD?*

I’ve been in touch with Josh Mandel, the producer of the new documentary _Ringers: Lord of the Fans_ (which covers the Tolkien movement over the last 50 years) to ask him when he thought it might be released on DVD. Unfortunately, they have no idea. 

However, one way of expediting the release of _Ringers_ to its worldwide audience, he suggests, could be for fans of the film to submit requests to all of the major motion picture distributors (such as New Line Cinema; Fine Line Features; Focus Features; Fox Searchlight; Paramount Classics; Screen Gems; Lions Gate ; Warner Bros. Independent; Miramax , etc.), and asking them to bring Ringers to its audience as soon as possible. I suppose that the addresses can be gotten by googling.

Josh can be reached at [email protected], and their official website is at http://www.lordofthefans.net .

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (Mar 11, 2005)

RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS was reviewed recently on that most 
excellent of websites www.filmthreat.com/. And with
quotes like "Ringers inspires the need to revisit the books just as 
much as the movies."And "See it, absorb it, love it." You'll see why 
we're so thrilled.

Read it for yourself here! http://www.theonering.net/ringers/chat.shtml

RINGERS Chat here! http://www.theonering.net/ringers/chat.shtml

Visit our message boards here! http://www.planetbb.com/forums/

Shop the RINGERS Store while you still can... Shop Ringers Now! 
http://www.cafepress.com/ringers

Noro Lim!

Asfaloth

Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Visit our website!
http://www.lordofthefans.net

=================================

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (Mar 13, 2005)

*YOU CAN HELP GET "LORD OF THE FANS" OUT TO THE WORLD!*

I got the following email from Josh Mandel yesterday, which is self-explanatory:

=================================

Hi Barley-

Thank you for your interest in Ringers: Lord of the Fans. To answer 
your question about where and when Ringers will appear in other 
theaters around the world, and on dvd, we have absolutely no idea of 
such information at the time. We are not entertaining the option of 
burning our own dvds right now because we intend for this film to be 
released by a Distributor. One way of expediting the release of 
Ringers to the world could be for fans like you to submit requests to 
all of the major Motion Picture Distributors, both Foreign and 
Domestic, asking to bring Ringers to its world wide audience as soon 
as possible. We cannot provide you with actual names of personnel or 
specific contact info for Distributors. But, you can start by 
looking up info for the following candidates:

New Line Cinema	
Fine Line Features
Focus Features
Fox Searchlight
Paramount Classics
Screen Gems
Lions Gate
Warner Bros. Independent
Miramax


Beyond that, the best way to find out which distributors to target, 
especially oversees, is to look up any film on the IMDB, go to the 
"company credits," and then look at all of the different distributors 
that worked in each market (the UK, Germany, France, Italy, 
Argentina, Japan, etc).


Keep up to date by checking our website frequently.

Take care

Josh Mandel

"Ringers: Lord of the Fans" Producer
Planet BB Entertainment
2658 Griffith Park Blvd., #243
Los Angeles, CA 90039
office: +1 323-669-1173
fax: +1 310-652-6743
[email protected]

http://www.lordofthefans.net



On Mar 11, 2005, at 8:24 AM, Barliman Butterbur wrote:

> I was just wondering how close you are to getting the movie on to 
> DVD. Surely there must be some way to contract with a duplication 
> studio to produce DVDs on an "order-to-go" basis at the very least? 
> This film will be forgotten about if it isn't distributed to all 
> the people who want to see it.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (Mar 28, 2005)

*RINGERS West Coast Premiere Extravaganza!*

Ringer fans rejoice! A very special event is being planned for the 
West Coast Premiere of "Ringers: Lord of the Fans!" The documentary 
phenomenon that made such a huge splash at Slamdance in Park City 
last January is now being screened again at an exclusive engagement 
with the 2005 Newport Beach Film Festival on April 23, 2005. This 
theatrical presentation of the hottest film in the Tolkien universe 
also includes a rare screening of Billy Boyd's short film "Instant 
Credit!" A huge after-party is scheduled at the Hard Rock Cafe 
immediately following. For full details and how to get your tickets 
to this fantastic event! Visit the NBFF official site. 
http://www.newportbeachfilmfest.com

***************


*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS WEST COAST PREMIERE
AT THE 2005 NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL
ON APRIL 23, 2005*

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA -- MARCH 24, 2005 -- Southern California’s 
Ringer fans will enjoy the long-awaited chance to see RINGERS: LORD 
OF THE FANS at the 2005 Newport Beach Film Festival. Enthusiasts of 
Tolkien’s books are legion, expanded by the success of Peter 
Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” Oscar-sweeping trilogy; but fans will 
only be able to catch the hot documentary phenomenon that took over 
Park City at NBFF’s exclusive screening. The event is scheduled 
Saturday, April 23, 2005, at 7:30pm at the classic LIDO CINEMA 
located at 3459 Via Lido, Newport Beach, CA, 92663 -- Tel: 
949-673-8350.

As a special treat for fans, Billy Boyd’s critically lauded short 
film INSTANT CREDIT has been added to the evening program. The short 
will screen immediately before RINGERS. After the premiere, join us 
for a RINGERS PREMIERE PARTY with hosted bar and appetizers at The 
FASHION ISLAND HARD ROCK CAFE located at 451 Newport Center Dr. 
Newport Beach, CA, 92660 -- Tel: 949-640-8844. The event is ages 21 
and over ONLY! Live music and performances are being scheduled, 
details TBA. Tickets for both the screening and the party go on sale 
April 1, 2005, and can be purchased at the Festival’s official site 
http://www.newportbeachfilmfest.com or by phone at 866-NBFF-TIX. 
Combo price for both screening ticket and party is $50.00/each. 
Screening tickets only $15.00/each. Reserve tickets early -- they 
are expected to sell out.

RINGERS debuted at the 2005 Slamdance Film Festival this January to 
sell-out crowds and great reviews. The Toronto Star called it 
“…comprehensive, entertaining and informative pop cultural history." 
Independent film ubersite FilmThreat proclaimed: “It is a documentary 
that will always be a salient part of Lord of the Rings history.... 
See it, absorb it, love it!”

RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS serves as a remarkable dénouement to the 
past 50 years of the worldwide following of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The 
Lord of the Rings.”

Current “Ringers” Interviewees include:
Actor - Dominic Monaghan, Writer/Director/Producer - Peter Jackson, 
Actor - Elijah Wood, Actor - Sir Ian McKellen, Actor - Viggo 
Mortensen, Actor - Sean Astin, Actor - Billy Boyd, Actor - Andy 
Serkis, Actor - John Rhys-Davies, Actor - John Noble, Screenwriter - 
Philippa Boyens, Producer - Barrie Osborne, Author/Interviewer - 
Cliff Broadway, Author/Filmmaker - Clive Barker, 
Writer/Director/Producer - Cameron Crowe, Actor - David Carradine, 
Author - Terry Pratchett, Author - Peter S. Beagle, Author - Terry 
Brooks, Musician - Lemmy Kilmister, Musician - Geddy Lee, Tolkien 
Scholar - Dr. Jane Chance, Chairperson of the Tolkien Society - 
Christine Crawshaw, Author - Colin Duriez, Filmmaker/Critic - Chris 
Gore, Writer/Publisher - Forrest J. Ackerman, Actor - Bill Mumy, 
Author/Broadcaster - Brian Sibley, Illustrator/Author - Colleen 
Doran, Illustrator/Author - Jill Thompson, and hundreds of Tolkien 
fans!

For more information visit - http://www.lordofthefans.net
...

Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Visit our website!
http://www.lordofthefans.net
_________________________________________
Ringers_Announce mailing list
[email protected]
http://www.theonering.net/mailman/listinfo/ringers_announce

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (Apr 10, 2005)

*Premiere Magazine Talks Ringers!*

*Greetings fellow Ringers!*

The May issue of Premiere Magazine features a nice little article 
about RINGERS on page 27. This is issue is sure to appeal of geeks of 
all stripes as it features Anakin Skywalker on the cover and 
discusses the upcoming summer movies.

Click here to see scans of the article: 
http://www.theonering.net/ringers/premieremag_press.shtml

Learn the Real Dirt on the Making of RINGERS from Director Carlene Cordova 

Carlene will speak on the Documentary Filmmaking panel which is 
part of the Free Seminar Series for the 2005 Newport Beach Film 
Festival. Vision & Craft: The Art of Filmmaking, The Documentary 
Filmmaking panel will be held from 2:30pm – 4:00pm on Sunday April 
24th.

Location:
Newport Beach Public Library
Friends Meeting Room
1000 Avocado Avenue
Newport Beach, CA 92660


Don't miss the West Coast Premiere of Ringers: Lord of the Fans! The 
documentary phenomenon that made such a huge splash at Slamdance in 
Park City last January is now being screened again at an exclusive 
engagement with the 2005 Newport Beach Film Festival on April 23, 
2005. This theatrical presentation of the hottest film in the 
Tolkien universe also includes a rare screening of Billy Boyd's short 
film Instant Credit! A huge after-party is scheduled at the Hard 
Rock Cafe immediately following. For full details and how to get 
your tickets to this fantastic event! Visit the NBFF official site 
here. http://www.newportbeachfilmfest.com/

UPDATE! The $15 Screening only tickets are now sold out. There are 
plenty of Screening/party combo tickets left.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION. 
http://www.theonering.net/ringers/newportbeach_info1.shtml

Discuss the film festival screening, Premiere magazine article and 
more on our message boards! http://www.planetbb.com/forums/

Buy that RINGERS coffee mug you've been dreaming about here: 
http://www.cafepress.com/ringers

Noro Lim!

Asfaloth

===============================

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (Apr 24, 2005)

*Can’t Break the Hobbit*

*Ringers’ Elvish love letter to the fannish legions*

by GREG STACY

Fandom

Carlene Cordova is the director of the new documentary Ringers: Lord of the Fans, a loving look at the worldwide cult that’s sprung up around J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novels. Cordova is herself a world-class geek for all things Tolkien, having fallen in love with the books in her early teens. She met her pal Cliff Broadway (the film’s onscreen interviewer) a few years ago when they were both working for the Rings fan site, www.theonering.net, and what began as a short film for the site eventually transformed into a feature that was sometimes as trying, in its own way, as Frodo’s trip to Mount Doom.

OC Weekly: I’ve read that one of your first boyfriends used to write you letters in [Tolkien’s made-up language] Elvish. Do you really speak Elvish?

Carlene Cordova: That was back when I was 15, and I think my Elvish knowledge has probably lapsed by now. It’s a beautiful language. I taught myself to read it, but we couldn’t really speak it because nobody knew how to pronounce it back then. We Rings fans were all very isolated; it wasn’t like today, where you can find out all this stuff online and there are all sorts of fan communities.

Growing up as a sci-fi/fantasy geek myself, I’ve found that usually when people get into fandom in a big way as kids, they’re trying to escape something or they’re looking for someplace to belong. Was Tolkien fandom like that for you? Were you an unhappy kid?

Well, I was kind of unusual in that I was really, really into Tolkien and other fannish things, but I wasn’t really a nerd. I was one of the cool kids at my school! We kind of redefined what was cool. It was a little school in Ohio, and to be the smartest meant you were the coolest. We didn’t know it doesn’t always work that way in the rest of the world.

What was it that drew you to the books?

Well, we talk in the film about the spirituality of the books. Tolkien was very well-versed in mythology, of course, and with Lord of the Rings he set out to create a mythology for England. That mythology attracts a lot of people who are maybe disenchanted with the major religions. I was raised Catholic, but that religion did nothing for me, while Frodo’s struggle did. I got into Lord of the Rings during the ’70s and ’80s, and I watched it go from being these things you read if you were cool to things where it was like, “Yuck! You read those?” Back then it was kind of a secret, hippie thing; you’d get together with friends in your dorm at midnight and talk about the books for hours.

That was the period of the cartoons, the Rankin and Bass and Ralph Bakshi versions. I have some leftover childhood affection for those things, but apparently Rings fans just detest them. There are no clips from either in your film . . .

Well, the Rankin and Bass versions kind of turned Tolkien’s work into dumb kiddie stories. And we couldn’t use clips because of the rights issues; it just would have been too expensive. But we did license some of the music, and in the film we have some bands do incredible versions of those Rankin and Bass songs from way back when.

Did you really finance the film by selling your Rings collectibles on eBay?

No. It was mostly Cliff selling his stuff on eBay, although I did it some too. And it wasn’t to finance the film, it was to survive! We basically put three years of our lives into making this film, and we weren’t earning anything from it, so we had to sell some things to put food on the table.

How did you finance the film, then?

We were very fortunate to have our producer, Tom DeSanto. He produced X-Men and a lot of other high-profile projects, and he found us some investors. So we had some money for the film, but it wasn’t a lot. The film required a lot of travel, and we were on a shoestring travel budget. We’d pack our own lunches, stay in the same hotel room . . . often in the same bed!

I’ve heard that Broadway hosted some of the official Rings Oscar after-parties in drag. Was he dressed as characters from the film?

[Laughs] Oh, he just dressed in drag once. It was a fun thing for the Return of the King after-party. Billy Crystal did these quick costume changes throughout the Oscar ceremony, so Cliff did the same thing. He was dressed as Elrond, then he was Eowyn. He did that line, “I am no man!” Then he pulled off his helmet and, of course, he was a man. He had an awful wig. It was just funny drag.

Your film is getting compared to Trekkies a lot; people seem to feel that Trekkies was really mean to fans, that it focused only on the worst aspects of fandom, something I don’t agree with. Your film is definitely a sunnier view of fandom, and I wondered if you encountered some of those more extreme fans, people who really took it too far, and you decided not to focus on them.

Actually, the most extreme people that we encountered are in the film. Trekkies was reviled within the fan community—it really ridiculed fans. That’s why Trekkies 2 bombed, because the fans had been burned so badly by the first one and they stayed away. We had to overcome a lot of resistance from the fans. They were worried we were making another Trekkies and we’d make fun of them. But then when they found out we were fans too, they were like, “Oh, well, then . . . you’re okay.”

NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL’S SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT IS RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS AT REGENCY LIDO. SAT., 7:30 P.M. $15; THAT’S FOLLOWED BY A RINGERS FANDOM CELEBRATION AT FASHION ISLAND’S HARD ROCK CAFE. $50 FOR BOTH.

Source: http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/05/33/film-stacy3.php

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (Jul 9, 2005)

*RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS at Comic Con 2005*

It's that time of year again for fans to gather at the biggest Genre 
convention of all, Comic-Con! (http://www.comic-con.org) Held 
annually in San Diego, California - this is the Mother of all Cons. 
And the third year in a row *RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS will have a 
large presence.*

In 2003, RINGERS shared TheOneRing.net's booth in the huge "Lord of 
the Rings" pavilion. Some of you may remember the Confessional Booth 
and that the cameras were everywhere! (Who can forget the web-cam 
debut of "TanPants?") Last year, in 2004 RINGERS hosted a panel with 
author Peter S. Beagle where roughly 2500 fans cheered at the first 
sneak peak of this documentary. But for Comic-Con 2005, there are 
some special things in store for you!

RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS will host a panel on Friday, July 15 at 
12:00 Noon. Filmmakers Carlene Cordova (Sony Pictures Digital 
Entertainment) and Cliff "Quickbeam" Broadway (TheOneRing.net) join 
Executive Producer Tom DeSanto (X-Men I & II, Transformers) as they 
show exclusive clips from RINGERS. They will be announcing the 
distribution plans for this award winning documentary, narrated by 
Dominic Monaghan (LOST, The Lord of the Rings). A special surprise 
guest may even join them for the panel. Come and see why RINGERS: 
LORD OF THE FANS has generated so much excitement with sold-out film 
festival audiences!

After the panel, the RINGERS team will be signing autographs and 
meeting and greeting fellow Ringers at the RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS 
booth #1118 in the main Exhibition Hall. Tom DeSanto, Carlene Cordova 
and Cliff Broadway will be signing from 1:45PM to 3pm. Another 
signing/meet & greet will take place on Saturday, July 16th from 2:00 
to 3:00PM in booth #1118.

The RINGERS booth will be open for the entire run of Comic-Con 2005. 
From preview night, Wednesday, July 13, 6:00 to 9:00PM through 
Sunday, July 15th. Comic-Con hours are 10:00AM to 7:00PM Thursday 
through Saturday, and 10:00AM to 5:00PM on Sunday. Come and get your 
free RINGERS buttons and removable tattoos. Proclaim your LOTR Fan 
status by purchasing a special Comic-Con exclusive RINGERS T-shirt. 
Free RINGERS Lanyard included with every purchase!

Come and meet up with other Ringers and display your costuming in the 
RINGERS booth! See you there in Comic-Con 2005.

Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Visit our website!
http://www.lordofthefans.net


Discuss this and other RINGERS news on our forums:
http://www.planetbb.com/forums/

Barley


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