Bradley’s Almanac

Checking In: ROTK & the Exhibition

Posted on December 18, 2003 at 2:05 pm | No Comments

All’s been quiet on this northeastern blog … been alternately too busy or too unmotivated to write. Rather than force it, I’ve just been taking a little break. Better a quiet blog than a blah blah blog, right?

Saw Return of the King yesterday, and you can probably guess what I thought of it. Took the day off and drove down to Randolph to meet up with my old friend Randy, just as we did for parts one and two. Hard to believe how quickly the years seem to have passed since I first heard Peter Jackson was planning to make it happen. I remember the first one feeling so far away… and here I sit the day after the final chapter. Freaky.

I won’t go on and on about everything I loved about it… you can read gushing reviews all over the internet. No one could possibly have done a better job bringing those books to screen than Jackson & company did. I anxiously await the extended DVD (over an hour of cut footage!), which will probably arrive next fall.

Before it does, though, Boston gets a very, very special treat…

The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy Exhibition at the Boston Museum of Science. Unbelievable. I’ve been reading about this thing for months, and it ends up the U.S. Premiere is right here in town. From the M.O.S. website

On August 1, 2004, the Museum of Science will open the much-anticipated The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy�The Exhibition. The Museum will be the U.S. premiere site for this international touring exhibition.

The exhibition features hundreds of pieces of memorabilia from the epic film trilogy including original costumes and jewelry, as well as the One Ring. Immersed in film props, visitors can explore the groundbreaking technology used in the films such as computer-generated special effects and animatronics, and hear from cast, crew, and director in exclusive �behind-the-scenes� interviews shown on videos throughout the exhibit.

The exhibit includes massive models, an �armor corridor�, and a display on prosthetics including Hobbit feet and Orc teeth. An interactive scaling activity reveals how filmmakers can make the actors appear to be tiny Hobbit-sized or large wizard-sized, using an ingenious mix of trick photography, forced perspectives, and props made at different scales. Visitors can also see themselves transformed as Hobbit or wizard-sized in their own photo.

The exhibit was developed by the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa in partnership with New Line Cinema, the producers of the film trilogy. Following its run at the Science Museum in London on January 11, 2004, the exhibit will show in Singapore before coming to the Museum of Science, Boston in July 2004. The next city on the tour after Boston is Sydney.

This exhibition was made possible through the support of the New Zealand Government. Check out The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy – The Exhibition at the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa.

The bittersweetness of the end of the trilogy is replaced with another year of anticipation. I cannot freakin’ wait.

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  • BOSTON-AREA LIVE SHOW ACTION
    Saturday, December 20th
    The Del Fuegos
    early & late shows
    @ City Winery

    Sunday, December 21st
    Samantha Fish
    Cedric Burnside
    Jon Spencer
    @ the Wilbur

    Saturday, December 27th
    John Oliver
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Sunday, December 28th
    The Felice Brothers
    Charlotte Cornfield
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday & Tuesday
    December 29th & 30th
    The Disco Biscuits
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    Tuesday @ the Royale

    Thursday, January 8th
    Ms. Ezra Furman
    doing what she wants
    with Ryan Walsh
    (of Hallelujah the Hills)
    opening with a solo set
    @ the Rockwell

    Wednesday, January 14th
    Bishop Allen
    Mates of State
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, January 15th
    Cate Le Bon
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    Thursday, January 15th
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    "Piano & Voice" performance
    @ the MFA Boston

    Saturday, January 17th
    Silver Screams
    Static Friction
    Screw Cart
    Fear is a Mind Killer
    @ the Midway Cafe

    Monday, January 19th
    Shame
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Thursday, January 22nd
    Bill Murray and His Blood Brothers
    @ the House of Blues

    Thursday, January 27th
    The Residents
    Eskimo Live! Tour
    @ Brighton Music Hall

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    Bad Bad Hats
    performing "Psychic Reader"
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, January 30th
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    Golomb
    @ the Red Room at Cafe 939

    Saturday & Sunday
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    with Explosions In The Sky,
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    Graham Hunt, Horse Jumper of Love,
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    Park National, Pool Kids, Sheer Mag,
    Wicca Phase Springs Eternal,
    and Teen Suicide
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    @ TD Garden

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    Nine Inch Nails
    @ TD Garden

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    Marissa Nadler
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Saturday, February 21st
    Margo Price
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    February 28th
    Ratboys
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    @ the Sinclair

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    Michael Shannon,
    Jason Narducy,
    & friends play REM's
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    @ the Royale

    Friday, March 13th
    Quarters
    Paper Lady
    @ the Royale

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    Dropkick Murphys
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    Tuesday, March 17th
    Dropkick Murphys
    @ House of Blues

    Thursday, March 19th
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    & Mary Lattimore
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Friday, March 20th
    The Hives
    The Chats
    @ House of Blues

    Saturday, March 21st
    Cass McCombs
    Chris Cohen
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Saturday, March 21st
    Joyce Manor
    Militarie Gun
    Teen Mortgage
    Combat
    @ House of Blues

    Sunday, March 22nd
    Maria Somerville
    @ the ICA Boston

    Monday, March 23rd
    Westerman
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, March 26th
    The Format
    Piebald
    Adult Mom
    @ Roadrunner

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    On Cinema Live! with
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    & Gregg Turkington
    @ the Wilbur

    Friday, April 3rd
    Patrick Watson
    @ Somerville Theatre

    Friday & Saturday
    April 3rd & 4th
    Hayley Williams
    Water From Your Eyes
    @ House of Blues

    Saturday, April 4th
    The Dirty Three
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, April 4th
    Puscifer
    Dave Hill
    @ the Wang Theatre

    Wednesday, April 8th
    Mclusky
    Pile
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday, April 9th
    Circle Jerks
    Gorilla Biscuits
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday, April 16th
    Rhiannon Giddens
    @ the Orpheum

    Saturday, April 18th
    The Last Dinner Party
    Florence Road
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, April 19th
    Heavenly
    Swansea Sound
    Jeanines
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, April 30th
    Oklou
    @ the Royale

    Monday, May 4th
    Yumi Zouma
    Ducks Ltd.
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, May 14th
    Melody's Echo Chamber
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday & Wednesday
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    Belle and Sebastian
    play "Tigermilk" (19th) and
    "If You're Feeling Sinister" (20th)
    @ the Orpheum

    Thursday, June 11th
    Echo & the Bunnymen
    @ Roadrunner

    Tuesday, June 23rd
    Wolfmother
    @ House of Blues

    Wednesday, June 24th
    The Church
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    (rescheduled from 8/1/25)
    @ Somerville Theatre

    Tuesday, July 14th
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    Friday, September 4th
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    Saturday, September 12th
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