For the latest international news check out

Click on any picture to see a larger version. Move mouse over picture for explanatory text. IMPORTANT NOTICE: All images on this site are Copyright Ian Smith and may not be reproduced or sold on Ebay, or copied outright to other fan sites without my express permission! Quotes are based on a mini-disc recording and may contain errors owing to high noise levels from party attendees.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of Ian Smith (this IS a personal web site and a PERSONAL report!) and do not reflect the views and opinions of any other organisations or clubs that Ian Smith belongs to or may be involved with. Specifically this article does not purport to represent in any shape or form the views or opinions of TheOneRing.net or the Official Lord of the Rings Movie Fan Club or any of its members. Outside the main hall the press were already in position for the arrival of the celebrities. Although I had a fairly good position at the top of a ramp (the front barrier area was already crowded) I decided to risk losing it to catch up on what was happening in the VIP area and on the main stage as Quickbeam, having changed out of a series of constantly changing costumes, introduced the main OneRing.net players and other visiting luminaries.
		Given my experience of the 'real' professionals at other events (always jokey and good-humoured despite the crush and long waiting around) this was very different and most of the press seemed ridiculously impatient, as if they expected PJ and crew to appear within seconds of the oscar broadcast completing. I derived some cynical amusement from the rave review of the party given in the 'LA Times' the next morning ('the hottest ticket in town') which jarred somewhat with the comments from that paper's reporter at the event itself! To be fair to her, it was cold outside and she had a ridiculous deadline she was trying to meet, and stress and worry do tend to manifest themselves as a series of vocal complaints that aren't necessarily warranted ( as regular acquantances of mine can well attest ;-) )! For my part, I decided that there would be a long wait before anybody arrived and I used the time to pop into the main hall where the fans were and where the celtic band Emerald Rose were now playing. I don't know if I caught them during one of their 'slow down the pace a bit' numbers and hence recieved an unrealistic representation of their music, but I heard enough to decide the party had dampened somewhat and came to the conclusion, echoed by other Brits who'd seen the band at last year's party, that their music just wasn't 'my cup of mead', so it was back outside again to join the press crowd. As last year, John Rhys-Davies turned up first and on his own. He was earlier than last year, leaving me looking foolish having told fellow press members 'We've got quite a time to wait yet if last year's party was anything to go by'. John is a unique character and I'm always impressed with his patience and professionalism, even more so after sitting in on a TORn film interview with him at RingCon 2003 (report to follow). Here on the blue carpet, adopting an almost trade-mark hands-in-pockets relaxed posture he seemed more than happy to answer the same tired old questions I've heard him answer a gazillion times before, all the time giving the impression it was the first time he'd been asked the question. I think I can quote word-for-word his answers to specific questions about Gimli or Orlando Bloom and I was rather bored by the lack of imagination on display from the press. If I'm like that after just a handful of these events I can't begin to imagine how much worse it must be for the actor himself, having done hundreds of these things all around the globe. Because of these logs and the fan club magazine articles I'm often asked 'What are the actors really like?' (as if I would know!). While it's somewhat ridiculous to make any kind of remarks about what people are really like based on simply taking photo's at press gatherings or conventions, I HAVE formed my own impressions of what different cast and crew members are like, based on what I've been priveleged to see at events like this one. Sometimes those impressions are at wide variance from what I had assumed before I started on this whole LOTR weblog journey a couple of years ago. It would be foolish to share those impressions with an audience that has grown far beyond the 'close friends and family' these weblogs were originally written for, but, that being said, I do think it is only fair to point out that alone, out of all the cast, John Rhys-Davies appears to suffer from what I can only call 'unfair bad press' (albeit bad press the average fan might not even be aware of). There seems to be a huge diversity between how JRD is viewed by the fans (who love him) and how he is perceived by many of those 'behind the scenes' or in the press. It's a diversity I really don't understand. I've been witness (on more than one occasion!) to bad-mouthing of the actor for his tardiness when signing for fans, seemingly just because he comes from the old school that says if people have taken the trouble to travel a long way to meet you, you should at least spend some time having a few words and posing for a photo with them. Why is the same criticism never levelled at the younger cast members who frequently exhibit the same 'fault'?. Could it be that youth and physical attractiveness are the reason? Somewhat rehearsed answers to certain questions also appear to draw unwarranted criticism from hacks and organisers, as if it's the actor's duty to give a hundred different quotes that vary, according to the time zone, country and event he's at. Worse, in the UK the press seem to have, almost en masse, labelled him a racist because he's had the temerity to point out a few facts about Europe's changing demographic (although I'd agree that a recent quote about his reasons for not having a tattoo done were a classic case of an actor shooting himself in the foot at the worst possible time!). This whole unfairness of industry perception is an area I find fascinating - why is one actor hyped up and another hyped down, for no apparent reason? Why is one particular film a disaster (until re-released on DVD when suddenly it's 'a classic' and in most of the 'Top 10 movies of all time' lists) and another lesser one a huge success? It's frankly bizarre, and one of those quirks of the business that as an outsider I have been surprised to see 'inside the industry'. I've (over)heard JRD referred to by those working in the industry in terms that make no sense, and which are never applied to other actors. OK, so the actor can be a rather eccentric figure in some ways - John is an 'ac-TOR' in the old-fashioned sense of the word, one who comes from an era where meeting the press and the fans is 'part of the job' whether one enjoys it or not and where complaining about it, the way many modern actors do, is simply not an option. What I'm trying to say here is that I cannot help but be impressed with his unfailing 'sense of duty' where the fans are concerned, where one feels that less talented and less well-known actors would be throwing a 'high maintenance' fit if ever faced with similar situations, and am puzzled by the frequent amount of carping and criticism I've heard thrown at him from those 'contemporaries' around me. I've rambled a bit, but in response to the constant bitching that "the problem with Ian Smith's weblogs is that they're all about him": well duh! Have you tried keying in 'web log' to see what the Google definition of a web log is! :-P Anyway, to get back on topic, it's hopefully suffice to say that after being more than generous with his time answering questions from the press, John left the blue carpet area and went straight to the main stage to say 'Hi' to the fans. John knows exactly what the fans want and while a few of us tired old hacks inwardly groaned at hearing the same one-liner sound bites and Orlando Bloom wisecracks we've heard or read several times before, that's our problem not his. There was no doubting the fact the actor delivered exactly what the fans wanted and helped whip them up to an enthusiastic and excited state of anticipation that I felt had got lost during Emerald Rose's set. The actor didn't stay around to 'mix and mingle' as he had done last year, but again that's not a criticism in any way - it was a wise move given the need to attend other 'industry' parties and the reality of what happens if you try to meet and greet 1100 fans without risking at least offending some of them by having to call time at some point. As last year, we were honoured to have the actor take time out of a hectic schedule to come and personally thank us for our support. Forward to page 4 of report Back to page 2 of report Celebrity arrivals and quotes (original report)
Don't forget you can check out reports of lots of other Lord of the Rings -themed events in the Web Logs section

Email: ian@iansmith.co.uk