Report of The One Ring Celebration 2006

[Disclaimer: The opinions and ideas expressed herein are reflected solely on the reporter and may not reflect the views of the actors, friends, or anyone else who attended ORC. Part of this is semi-report but more journal entry like so I’m entitled to my opinion in some areas. If that offends you…well…you’ve been warned]

This con almost didn’t happen for me: school obligations, family events, and an untimely flu virus hit me all on the same weekend, preventing me from going all three days. Despite the complications I made it to ORC 2006. My first and only day of fun and play was the last day of the con—Sunday. I knew a month in advance that Miranda Otto was slated to appear on Sunday so in reality it wasn’t a TERRIBLE loss that I could not be there all three days…but I can assure those of you reading that if my report is any indicator to the fun and excitement I had on Sunday, then all the days of the con were just as memorable! 

ORC 2006 will forever be remembered as the year that CREATION (the company that puts together these genre-specific conventions) got cheap and good. In reality it’s more like I was able to manage my expenses frugally! For one I was not staying in a hotel this year, I did NOT buy the Wizards Circle tickets, I didn’t buy any autograph tickets (Miranda Otto was the only actress I would’ve wanted one from if I had the money), nor did I buy any merchandise. Aside from a cheap $9 dollar meal from the grocery store, I managed to go to a CREATION con under $80.00! That included a day admission for Sunday plus two photo op tickets (splitting the cost of photo op tickets with friends really does help)!

 On that Sunday morning I woke up at my friend Bluejean07’s apartment and got ready in my “Traveling Frodo” costume. I was excited this time to wear it for two reasons: I completed a new vest that was more accurate than my old vest I had commissioned and I had an extremely well made Sting Sheath made by Pikminlink’s Cosplay Galleria! It’s the only sheath that can fit the FX Sting Swords. I highly recommend them if you would like a protective covering for your Sting when walking around a con.

 Not only was I excited about dressing up but I was very much enthusiastic about spending the day with Bluejeans07 and Alaria. This would be Alaria’s first time to an ORC convention and we knew she would have a blast!

 However as a returning convention attendee to ORC, this year’s ORC seemed sadly like a deserted picnic. Maybe it was just the fact we arrived on Sunday and I hadn’t been there the previous two days, but the main stage and screen were much smaller; the decorations were too sparse, and in general I wasn’t too terribly excited over the dealers’ hall.

But enough negativity, I just had to state my initial disappointments because what happened at the con quickly covered up for it.

 Moving along those first impressions the first people I immediately saw were “our Eowyn” and her Legolas and I only say ‘our’ affectionately because she’s our friend amongst all the other Eowyn cosplayers that I don’t know.

 After reacquainting we were heading for the Pippin & Denethor panel when I ran into the same Japanese Hobbit girls I met at last year’s ORC. There was massive hugs and ご挨拶(goaisatsu/greetings) and then of course we bolted to the Main Stage to check out the programming.

The Pippin & Denethor panel didn’t include any actors since it was more scholarly than the actor’s panels. It actually had to do with how their relationship is steeped in centuries old tradition of stewardship. For those that have read Tolkien’s book, we know that Pippin Took comes from a long line of Thain’s that are in a sense “stewards” of the Shire, in equal standing of position as Denethor is from a long line of stewards. The panel even went into the etymology of the word 'steward' and 'thain' and outlined a history of Scottish thains and stewards from the Franco-Flemish kingdom, indicating that Tolkien knew a lot about the kingships of the neighboring nations. It was a fascinating panel if not a short one, but it was definitely a delight to hear someone go through referencing Tolkien’s book in order to explain the reasons why Pippin offered his services to Gondor and why Denethor so greatly accepted.

 After the panel we didn’t go very far since we managed to snag some good seats towards the front (apparently no one was sitting in some of the rows normally reserved for Wizards Circle patrons so we sat there, only hoping that a potential patron wouldn’t ask us to move if they bought the seat…but of course we would’ve anyway if that happened). Billy Boyd came out and it was so good to see his smiling face again. He was clearly happy to be back.

 As far as what was said at the panel, a lot of it is a blur because now I feel I’ve heard the same questions, told a different way, too many times. But that’s ok because he did share other interesting tidbits about what was becoming of that record he wanted to record along with some funny anecdotes about Lord of the Rings. He also mentioned that he was disappointed that he and Dominic Monaghan didn’t make the blooper reel cut that Peter Jackson sent to the fans of ORC (we would check it out later in the day). There were jokes about fan gifts and jokes about playing the piano and the French horn…specifically one with a “handle” on it (although French Horns already have handles).

 After the panel, Alaria, Bluejeans07 and I headed to the photo op area so we could get a group shot with Billy. On the way we saw Lady Dian and it was good to catch up since we hadn’t seen each other since the Newport Beach Film Festival premiere of Ringers: Lord of the Fans.

 Some might wonder WHY take another photo with Billy since I was happy with the photo I took last year— we decided it HAD to be something funny, especially since it was Alaria’s first ORC. What we decided upon was “recreating” the scene at Weathertop where all four Hobbits were huddled together with their swords. I had my sword but obviously Billy and my friends didn’t have “swords”…which made it superbly funny, but I won’t say anymore since you’ll have to check the photo out yourself in the gallery! I will say that Billy was totally up for the idea and he is just so charming!

 Feeling very giddy after the photo we decided to check out the Dealers Hall. While doing so we ran into Peter S. Beagle (the guy who wrote the Last Unicorn and other novels) and had a very good conversation about the books, a supposed movie in the works, and opera of all things. During our conversation several raffles were going on and I was looking around noticing how a lot of attendees wore REALLY nicely made elf or hobbit ears. According to Bluejeans07 there was a booth making free pairs of ears, but after our conversation with Peter, we realized that they were already packed and gone for the weekend.

 Interestingly enough Stansborough fabric (the fabric used for the elven cloaks in the movies) was being sold at the convention. They had the elvish grey one infused with green thread and it made me ponder yet again the color of the Fellowship cloaks. The lady at the booth assured me they were green as she saw them in New Zealand and said that they were dyed in order to get that color. This makes me eternally confused since the whole time I thought they were grey but it only appeared green due to the digital grading. Oh well, I guess that would’ve been something the costuming panels could’ve answered at ORC, but sadly this year I did not attend any of the costuming panels.

 After checking the dealers’ hall we wanted to check if Daniel Reeve, the film’s official calligrapher, was going to be around. Bluejeans07 said he brought with him the red book from the film. We were very excited to look through it and to touch it, for lack of better words. Of course looking at that book and thinking back, I’m convinced that wasn’t the book that made the “final cut.” The final cut looked all leathery bound with lots of pages; this Red book had only thirty and the beginnings of what would become that massive Red book. It’s definitely a piece of movie memorabilia and I can see why he wanted to show it.

 Realizing I was a bit late for Miranda Otto’s panel both Alaria and I darted for the main stage, managing to get good seats again. I have to say that Miranda is such a beautiful person! She was quite pleasant, gracious, and a welcome addition to the ORC programming. I was marveling not only at her tales of working on Lord of the Rings, but also how the audience was EXTREMLY quiet. Many people I assumed respected who Miranda was, thus there were hardly any questions that border-lined on creepy or stalker-ish. It was obvious that the fans wanted to talk to Miranda on an intellectual level, seeing as every single fan made it apparent to thank Miranda for her interpretation of the Rohan heroine.

 Someone at the panel brought up an interesting question about whether Eowyn will be remembered as a deserter of her peopple or a heroine and it was a question apparently heavily debated amongst Ringers. Now, I haven’t been surfing any forums or chats lately…but Eowyn a deserter? Well Miranda put that one to bed by giving her reasons why she thought Eowyn really was a true heroine.

 Another question asked was whether, if given the choice, would Eowyn fight for her right to best Arwen for Aragorn’s affections. Miranda chided that it would be funny, but if it were real life she would just back off because she feels that not doing so disrespects the other woman. Her comment about it, although brief, really gave me a sense of Miranda’s personal strength and integrity, and I kept shaking my head thinking, it’s no wonder WHY Peter Jackson cast Miranda as Eowyn.

 After the panel she left to go and feed her baby before returning to do photo ops. Bluejeans07, Alaria and I all got a photo with her and decided to do something a bit more girly and cutesy. Bluejeans07 also hand-painted a lovely portrait of Eowyn and I could tell she was very grateful. Before leaving I got to shake her hand, which was good enough for me considering her panel touched me in such a profound way.

 As a side note Miranda REALLY knows how to dress! She was wearing such a cute ensemble of skirt, boots, and jacket that she really looked cosmopolitan and professional. I know those probably aren’t the best descriptors, but once you check out her photo in the gallery, you’ll get the idea.

 Following her photo op the last thing on our list was to watch the infamous “blooper reel.” Well it wasn’t a 30 minute extravaganza or anything, but it was seven minutes of solid comedic gold! A lot of the scenes had to do with technical situations with the crew (i.e. all standing up at the same time only to conk their heads on the extremely low roofed hobbit hole) and of course missed lines, made-up lines, and plenty of Hollywood cursing. Some of my favorite scenes were of the following (warning spoilers ahead if you were waiting for that extended of extended DVD’s to come out….. but if you’re really curious we all know how the movie ends up anyway):

 1. The "Crebain from Dunland" scene where Gandalf says spies of Saruman-In this one when Frodo asks, what they are, Gandalf says “Spies from Star Wars!” Boy was that rich!

 2. Gamling and the Rohirrim are doing what appears to be a drill march but it then turns into a hilarious booty dance on the countdown of 7 & 8. It’s funnier to watch, trust me!

 3. In the scene where Sam is eavesdropping he says “I wasn’t dropping eves, I just wanted a close-up, cuz you and everyone else has had a close-up….” Etc. etc., Gandalf falls on Sam and pushes him out the window. It’s rather hilarious. 

4. Stupid Arwen sticks her sword in the horse (or Frodo?) when facing the ringwraiths at the river banks.

 5. Even Hugo Weaving is in on the Mr. Anderson joke….

 Now the first time I didn’t get all of the jokes so we stuck around a second time to hear it all. It was good because we were laughing SO hard from the first one that some of the jokes got glossed over. It definitely spiked my interest for more bloopers and outtakes. Whenever Lord of the Rings is released in high definition DVD, I sure as heck hope they include an even LONGER blooper reel, hopefully with the funniest of hobbits-Merry & Pippin.

 That would’ve been the end of the con but we went to check and see if our photos with Billy Boyd were up. We knew that Miranda would not show up until after the convention but were hopeful that Billy Boyd was up. When we got the photo (or I should say photos since apparently there was a cropping problem with the original) we laughed so hard that we almost thought it was a shame we weren’t getting it autographed. However were able to just walk by and show Billy the photo. He agreed in jest that it was a “perfect likeness” of the Weathertop scene.

 All in all it was a great way to end a con that only started six hours earlier for me and Alaria, but was an entire weekend for Bluejeans07. I really hope that next year I can attend all three days of the convention, but hey, life happens and I’m just thankful to have a slice of heaven for one day with two of my closest friends. I missed all my other LOTR buddies that couldn’t be there, so I hope to see you all at ORC 2007.

Until next time, cheers and peace out!