11/30 -

David is a member of the jury at the Festival International du Film de Marrakech, which is being held from Dec. 1 - 9 in Morocco.

Also, David is on the list of nominees for the AFI News Limited Reader's Choice Award, to be decided by YOU THE FILMGOER.  Only residents of Australia are eligible to vote.  Please take a moment to register and give David your support.  You'll win the eternal gratitude of Daisy addicts worldwide, and possibly a trip to Utah.

11/29 -

Christmas is in the air!  And the water, and the soil, and your broccoli.  Time to write to your local EPA representative and complain.

Or, if you'd rather not be a Scrooge, you can celebrate the season starting December 1st with the 2006 Dessicated Coconut Animated Advent Calendar.  Directions for playing with the calendar are here, and the calendar is here.  But no peeking ahead.  You'll make Santa cry.

300: First Look, at ugo.com, reports on a preview screening of 300 that took place in New York on November 20th.

11/20 -

David arrives at the 2006 Hisense Inside Film awards
(photo by Getty Images, sneeeeaked from their website like a freshly baked brownie from the cookie jar.  But not hot-linked.  Hot-linking is wrong, and contributes to global warming.)

Susie Porter and David Wenham presented the Animal Logic IF Award for Best Direction to Rolf de Heer for Ten Canoes at Friday's IF awards.

11/14 -

On Friday, David will join Sam Worthington, Susie Porter, Andrew Upton, and many others in presenting at the 2006 IF awards, which are being held at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre in Queensland.   More details at http://www.ifawards.com.au/.

The AFI awards are scheduled for Dec. 6 & 7 in Melbourne.  David was nominated for "Best Lead Actor In A Television Drama".  Answered By Fire is a strong contender in the "Best Telefeature/Miniseries" and "Best Direction In Television" categories.  Enough Rope with Andrew Denton (on which David appeared earlier this year) is up for the "Light Entertainment" award.

11/7 - The Lexis-Nexis Fairy left a little note in my mailbox this morning, to say that David made the Courier-Mail's "Hot 100 Best Dressed Australians" list.  Among the criteria for making the list: immaculate dress, well-cut and styled hair, buffed fingernails, and clean toenails.

I, personally, would like to see a list of the "100 Cleanest Toenails In Australia".

The Mount Franklin auction ended yesterday, and it appears to have been a great success.  David's canvas went for $599.69, and the Panasonic LCD TV went for $1925.  Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everybody who bid!

It's a quiet news day, so I agreed to let the Incredible Hulk review "Three Dollars" over in the Sacred Grove.  Hulk enjoy complex drama.

Miscellaneous tidbits snorfled up from around the net:

At YouTube, you can watch a clip of David Wenham Talking About Playing Faramir In The LOTR game.

Interview with David and Gerry Butler  at Collider.com (scroll down the page a wee bit)

WETA Sideshow Collectibles has confirmed that they will be releasing a 12-inch Faramir figure:  Podcasters who tuned in to our October 12th edition of Sideshow Radio discovered that our next LOTR 12-inch figure will indeed be Faramir! Stay tuned to our Production Blog and newsletters in the coming weeks for all the information about this Ranger of Ithilien! If you missed the teaser pic, download our September 28th enhanced podcast to view it.  (Note: Fileg was kind enough to repost the teaser pic in the Oct. 20th Daisy Daily)

With less than 3 days to go in the Mount Franklin auction to benefit the National Breast Cancer Foundation, David's canvas is up to AU$275, and the LCD TV is currently at $1600.   When asked about the inspiration behind his artwork, David commented:

After I had agreed that it would be a privilege and a pleasure to be part of the Mount Franklin Feel Good in Springtime campaign my following phone conservation was with a friend who was bursting with joy having just seen a couple of whales frolicking in front of her on a beach in Malibu. It was the end of the spring and the beginning of summer in the United States . It was serendipity! This would be my design.

I agreed to participate in the Mount Franklin Feel Good in Springtime campaign because if my anecdotal evidence suggests anything it would be that incidents of breast cancer are currently increasing. I am not an expert. I do not how many cases are diagnosed each year. However, over the past two years, four of my friends have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The shock, the stress, the treatment, the effect upon families has been evident. With a positive approach each of my four friends are doing well. Six years ago a great friend of mine lost his wife to breast cancer. It is with each of these friends in mind that I agreed to help raise awareness about breast cancer.

The campaign staff member who shared this statement with us noted that "David was very happy with the end result [of the painting]."

David will be providing narration for a new documentary program, Policing The Pacific.  Over four half-hour episodes, Policing The Pacific will follow the real-life drama as a volunteer group of Australian and Pacific cops joins a multinational force working to end lawlessness in the Solomon Islands.

Produced in association with Essential Viewing, produced by Chris Hilton and directed by Alan Erson and Andrew Merrifield, the series will screen on SBS TV.  The air date is currently scheduled for Jan. 17, 2007.  (Source: imdb.com, "Sport, fashion and security feature in new Film Australia documentaries")

David’s artwork for the Mt. Franklin "Feel Good In Springtime" campaign has just been released to auction.  All funds from the auction will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. His canvas artwork is the only one of its kind. Also up for grabs: a 32” LCD TV & Hi Definition set top box donated by David. Bids are only open for a limited time, ending Thursday November 2^nd.  Log on to www.ebay.com.au and search for “Mount Franklin”, or check out www.feelgoodinspringtime.com.au for further information about David’s involvement with the campaign.

Today, we offer a selection of majestic Motivational Posters for home and office, inspired by the David characters we all know and love:

Good news...David has received a 2006 AFI nomination for "Best Lead Actor In A Television Drama", for his portrayal of Mark Waldman in Answered By Fire.  Congratulations, David!

The full list of 2006 nominees is available at the AFI website.

By popular(ish) demand, the original "Going To Osgiliath" dictionary now has a spinoff, "Going To Oz-giliath", for word definitions inspired by David characters and movies.  With terms like "Carling iron" and "Lukelele", your vocabulary will be just that much richer.  Going to Oz-giliath: Special David Section

Spotted in last week's New Yorker:

"Eddie the Engineer" is also popular, but for some reason, "Johnny the Junkie" isn't selling nearly as well.

Here are a couple of photos from the Mount Franklin "Feel Good In Springtime" exhibition party on Oct. 12, taken at the Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House (thanks to cousinshelley at Daisy Daily for finding these):

Wenham Works Out For Role  Now that filming has ended on 300, according to News.com.au, our boy has discontinued the daily regime of merciless bungee windsprints, hanging from rings, and flipping over 80-pound tractor tires.

HE could do with a seachange himself, but David Wenham has just surfaced after a gruelling five-month film shoot in Montreal.

The Marrickville boy was making the big-budget epic 300, which required the actor to work out every day.

The physical regimen had an upside - Wenham got fit for the first time in his life.

"I wish I could say I continued the regimen but I haven't. Not a bit," he said.

Instead, he's taken a casual approach enjoying the Bondi surf and sun with his young daughter Eliza and partner Kate Agnew.

Back in Sydney last week, Wenham lent his support to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, joining Sarah Murdoch and other local celebrities by designing a special edition sparkling mineral water bottle for the charity.

This is just shocking.  Back in my day, actors routinely got up at 3:30 am, unloaded half-ton cable spools down at the docks for three hours, then went for an underwater jog towing a double-hulled nuclear submarine behind them.  Audrey Hepburn could still bench-press 345 six months after Roman Holiday came out.  These crazy modern thespians.  Sheesh.

whoa. The official 300 trailer is out, and it's a doozy.  Go visit the Apple/WB website, and watch.  You might want to write your name and address on your socks first, because they're gonna be knocked off.

Viewers in Spain were recently treated to a 30 minute preview of '300' which included six full scenes from the upcoming movie:

-Scene 1: The beginning of the movie, what better way to start. One Spartan soldier speaks, his voice will narrate the whole story throughout the film, incarnated by non other than David Wenham (Faramir, to fans of Lord of the Ring). He tells the tale of a hero's life (from birth to manhood), the life of King Leonidas. We see him face a beast in his adolescence, harldy 10 minutes into the film, we find it impossible to detach our attention from the screen, realizing that we are witnessing each and every drawing of the graphic novel coming to life right before our eyes.

From October 13 - 15, Mount Franklin Sparkling Water labels designed by David and other celebrities will be on display at the Sydney Opera House to benefit the National Breast Cancer Foundation's Feel Good In Springtime campaign.

There's a new Japanese website called David Wenham Japan which has a short video message from Milton Keynes, and a message to Japanese fans.  More websites = more support & publicity for David, so we wish them the best of success!

Speaking of worthy causes, Kelly has donated another nice snapshot of David at Collectormania:

We'd like to remind viewers that all photographic donations to this website are tax-deductible, and likely to prove very distracting to IRS attorneys when you're audited next spring.

From Collectormania (which sounds like a small Iron Curtain country specializing in gymnastics), here's a photo taken by a fan who got to meet David:

(thank you Ulrike!)

Unfortunately, the Swans suffered a disappointing one-point loss to the West Coast Eagles in the AFL Grand Final.  Wait till last year!

U.K. fans (and people with airline tickets) will have a chance to meet David in person this weekend at CollectorMania in Milton Keynes.  David will be appearing Saturday, Sept. 30th and Sunday, Oct. 1st.

Wenham Signs On  Short Herald Sun article about David's involvement in "Marriage".  The article mentions only that it's a "support role".  Pierce Brosnan enjoyed working with him.

Wenham's poetic tribute (Sunshine Coast Daily)  David speaks about the difficulty of reading Rupert McCall's moving tribute to Steve Irwin at the memorial service.  As he told ABC Brisbane, "I think it’s very difficult to deliver that material in this environment and not get emotional... It’s got to be the hardest gig I’ve ever had to do in my life, without a doubt."

The Sydney Swans have made the AFL Grand Final, for the second year in a row.  From today's Sydney Morning Herald:

HIS PRECIOUS SWANNIES

This afternoon Swans supporters will be flooding the streets of Melbourne for the footy grand final, but despite being a diehard fan of 24 years, the actor David Wenham won't be among them. This year The Lord of the Rings star will be in London for work meetings. "You run the gamut of emotions at football games - depression, despair, elation," Wenham told PS . "I love it. It's just the greatest drama. My great dream: if physically I was different I would have loved to have been an AFL player."

In any case Wenham has his own way of helping the Swans to win.

"My personal ritual is buying the footy record, the official program," he said. "I have to search out a female seller of the football record as I have an 80 per cent win rate purchasing off a female seller."

When he was in Greece while a game was on he had his sister read the scores live down a phone. In Montreal last year Wenham phoned all the sports bars until he found one willing to show a feed of the game. This year he has the routine down pat. "I shall be watching," he said. "I shall be finding a television somewhere, anywhere. Whatever hour it is I'll be glued."

So if you think you glimpse Faramir wearing a red-and-white scarf and beanie wandering the streets of London early this morning searching for a lone ex-pat female selling an AFL guide, it's definitely him.

Here's a fluffy interview with Sigrid Thornton about what it was like to kiss Diver Dan.

The Daily Telegraph ran an article the other day about David's early bingo-calling career.  Read the sordid details in Bits and Pieces 2.

Tran the Man (an early Rowan woods short film starring David) is now available online, at the recently launched Australian version of Google video.

In September of 1965, the Flaming Angel of Storytelling looked down upon the earth, and mused to herself: "Lo, this planet is dull.  They could use some decent entertainment."  And so David was gifted unto the world upon the 21st day of that month.  And the hearts of filmgoers rejoiced; and they sang "Allelulia", and bought region-free DVD players in great quantities.

The trailer for '300' was released briefly last week, and then Warner Brothers pulled it for some reason (too much publicity?  not enough arrows?)  So it would be ethically irresponsible to mention that it's still being hosted on various blogs and websites, including one that rhymes with "erardbutler.net".  So be very careful as you tiptoe past this innocent link that's just minding its own business, because it would be a shame if your finger happened to slip and you clicked it by mistake.

David read a Rupert McCall poem, 'The Crocodiles Are Crying', at Steve Irwin's memorial service last week.  The service was held at the Australia Zoo in Queensland.  You can watch the full ceremony here, courtesy of Sky News: Steve Irwin Memorial Service: He Changed Our World.  (David appears in part 8).

Here is the text of the poem:

THE CROCODILES ARE CRYING

Endless visions fill my head – this man – as large as life
And instantly my heart mourns for his angels and his wife
Because the way I see Steve Irwin – just put everything aside
It comes back to his family – it comes back to his pride

His animals inclusive – Crikey – light the place with love!
Shine his star with everything he fought to rise above
The crazy-man of Khaki from the day he left the pouch
Living out his dream and in that classic ‘Stevo’ crouch

Exploding forth with character and redefining cheek
It’s one thing to be honoured as a champion unique
It’s one thing to have microphones and spotlight cameras shoved
It’s another to be taken in and genuinely loved

But that was where he had it right – I guess he always knew
From his fathers’ modest reptile park and then Australia Zoo
We cringed at times and shook our heads – but true to natures call
There was something very Irwin in the make up of us all

Yes the more I care to think of it – the more he had it right
If you’re going to make a difference – make it big and make it bright!
Yes - he was a lunatic! Yes - he went head first!
But he made the world feel happy with his energetic burst

A world so large and loyal that it’s hard to comprehend
I doubt we truly count the warmth until life meets an end
To count it now I say a prayer with words of inspiration
May the spotlight shine forever on his dream for conservation

…My daughter broke the news to me – my six year old in tears
It was like she’d just turned old enough to show her honest fears
I tried to make some sense of it but whilst her Dad was trying
His little girl explained it best…she said “The crocodiles are crying”

Their best mate’s up in heaven now – the crocs up there are smiling!
And as sure as flowers, poems and cards and memories are piling
As sure as we’ll continue with the trademarks of his spiel
Of all the tributes worthy – he was rough…but he was real

As sure as ‘Crikey!’ fills the sky
I think we’ll miss ya Steve…goodbye.

9/12 - For Canadian viewers, Answered By Fire debuts tonight on CBC at 8 pm.  Check out the Program Guide for more details.

TODAY'S TOTAL TIME-WASTER  The Simpsomaker allows you to create your own Simpsons characters.  For example, Brett Sprague eating a donut in prison.

Two articles of interest from smh.com:

Gore In Sydney For Film's Premiere

FORMER US vice-president Al Gore jets into Sydney today to attend the Australian premiere of his global warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Business leaders, politicians and lobbyists will join film stars at the film's opening at Fox Studios.

Those scheduled to attend include actors David Wenham and Daniel MacPherson, media heavyweights Maxine McKew and George Negus, swimmer Kieren Perkins, and environmentalists Don Henry and Jon Dee. Private screenings are also being held across Sydney hosted by political parties including the Greens and the ALP, and conservation groups.

Bottled Fame

A water distributor will this month launch a "limited design [bottle]" from three of our favourite celebrities: Sarah Murdoch, the actor David Wenham and the Getaway presenter Catriona Rowntree. Murdoch's bottle comes with a whimsical yacht-under-the-starry skies pattern and David Wenham's has whales on it, we're not quite sure why.

But we must disclose that this particular marketing venture is for a good cause, not just to further fatten the coffers of the stars involved. The drinks company in question is raising money for breast cancer awareness, an issue which has long been a pet cause of Murdoch.

Steve Irwin
1962 - 2006

"Totally devoid of pretension, he was the real deal. What you saw is what you got.  His passion and love of life, family and nature was boundless."  -- David Wenham

Release Date Change: 300  /FILM and Coming Soon report that the release date for 300 has been changed.  imdb gives the US release date as March 9, for the UK March 30, for Germany and the Netherlands April 5.

Here's some Marriage set photos posted last week on pierce_daily.  If nothing else, you can have a few minutes of fun going "Hey! That blurry guy in the background! I think that's Dav -- ohhh, no."

Butler, Wenham on bringing '300' to life in Now Playing magazine

imdb.com now has David listed in the cast of Marriage, but his role still remains a mystery.  Now, why does that feel so strangely familiar?

Top 3 Rejected Movie Titles For Three Dollars

1.  East of Edam

2.  Dude, Where's My Job?

3.  Thirty Million Dollars, A Yacht, And A Summer House In Aspen

Top 3 Rejected Movie Titles For 300

1.  Oh, Codpiece!  The Musical

2.  You've Got Spear

3.  Greekback Mountain

"300 will own all of your [buttock regions] next year.  Mark my words."
-- "Actionman" at Ain't It Cool News

While we're waiting to hear more about Marriage, here's a couple of boy-fight photos from one of the 300 video journals.

At the Warner Brothers '300' blog site, Zack Snyder has posted the artwork for the 3 movie posters.  Unfortunately, due to extreme nudity, blood, and violence, MPAA regulations prevent him from posting the Comic Con teaser trailer, but he'll have another trailer ready within a month or so.  A nicer version, in which the Spartans and Persians put on down ski parkas and have a teddy bear tea party.

Video Journal #7 is now up.

Preview of 300 at indieLondon, by Jack Foley

If you have a lot of time on your hands, and aren't sure how to safely dispose of it, go to YouTube and watch their startlingly large collection of emo-Faramir videos.  I particularly recommend "Faramir Kills Grima".  (If the link doesn't work, just do a search on "Faramir").

Here are some links to articles about

Mawwiage

Starstruck by Chris Herrington in the Memphis Flyer

Brosnan, Cooper, Clarkson and McAdams Get 'Married' by Srdjan Milosavljevic in Ion Cinema

Shooting began in mid-July and will run through October.  There hasn't been any official confirmation of our man's involvement, but news travels slowly in the Davidverse.

The "Brand New Day" video has been posted at the TWiN website, for anybody who hasn't seen it or would like to enjoy it again.  Jonathan Baker, one of the directors, writes:

"Just updated our website [atwinthing.com] with the new Alex Lloyd video yesterday, so go and take a squizz [similar to a 'wizz', but less messy]. It was a fun project to work on... Alex's music is truely great, everyone was real relax, and we ended up DIRECTING FARAMIR!!! [that's nerd for 'David Wenham']. Ha. He was an absolute pleasure - completely professional, unjaded and a seriously nice guy. We still can't believe he said yes! It's funny, cause the whole thing started by us explaining to Alex that "the character needs to be a regular guy, fairly likable and easy to watch... sorta like David Wenham". Then we laughed. Then we talked about who we could actually get. The whole thing just really proves to go with your gut... and I guess to aim for the top. Sometimes you hit it."

Meanwhile, over in the Grove, we tackle the topic of Beards.

THE DILIOS MAKEOVER

Before

After

(Dilios portraits by Siromaru, reproduced here with her permission)

More Comic Con links:

ifilm video interview with David  (click "Skip Ad" and then scroll to the link under "Video Clips")

Movieweb video interview with David

5-part video of the Comic Con panel at imeem

Dark Horizons recap of the panel

Interview photo of David at ropeofsilicon

Video of David in the leather codpiece, juggling chainsaws and singing "Nessun Dorma"   Ha ha!  Made you click.

7/28 - Are there more interviews and videos of David from Comic Con 2006?  Yes.  Are more blog reports being filed?  Yes.  Is the entire world writhing in anticipation over 300?  Yes.  Do I sound like Donald Rumsfeld?  Absolutely.

One on One with David Wenham from "300" at about.com.  Includes three 3-minute video clips.

Fatter than Fat Comic Con Report at Film Ick

San Diego Comic Con International 2006 by Steve

More Comic Con photos at Daisy Daily

In the IESB video David mentions that his next project is an independent film called Marriage, a 1940s crime drama being filmed in Vancouver.  Ira Sachs is directing.  The cast includes Pierce Brosnan, Patricia Clarkson, and Chris Cooper.

New Warner Bros. promotional photo for 300

Even Gerry and David were completely floored by the 300 trailer.

Update: Moviebox.net is giving the release date of '300' as March 16, 2007.

IGN posted an interview with David today.  There's also an exclusive video interview at IESB.  Go forth: read, watch, and learn.  The power of the leather undies compels you.

There's that dark-haired guy again.  The one who keeps appearing in all the photos with David.  What is up with that?!

Ember Pepper (of GB.net) had the foresight to tape the entire 300 panel.  She's posted her video at YouTube, divided into 16 segments.  12 are up already.

By all accounts, the trailer was jaw-droppingly stunning.  The crowd response was so positive, it was aired three times.  More details in 3 Big Kahunas At Comic Con and a CHUD review

A couple of LiveJournal accounts, by shipotl and mycenae.

Raichel:  Thank you, thank you -- from the bottom of this website -- for finding this photo of astounding loveliness.

7/24 - A cornucopia of goodies from Saturday's 300 panel at Comic Con:

(images courtesy of gerardbutler.net)

Transcript  (partial)

Comic Con Live: Warner Brothers Presents '300'

Articles

300 Teaser Debuts At Comic Con at comingsoon.net

CCI, Day 3: Warner Bros. Presents "300" at Comic Book Resources

Slithering Good Times from the Toronto Star. "The audience yelled for two encores of the 300 footage, and stars Gerard Butler and David Wenham repeatedly got out of their chairs to get a better look at themselves. The story of the Battle of Thermopylae, which has a March 16 release date, required them to wear little but codpieces and Butler said he'd "never felt so stupid in his life" as walking on the set amidst snickering French-Canadian technicians and carpenters."

Butler Not Too Chafed By 300 at Sci Fi Wire.  One thing did constrain the actors: Their skimpy costumes, which were akin to a leather Speedo. "That was one of my concerns when I was first cast, and I spoke to some friends, and they said, 'Oh, man, you're going to get a mess of chafing.' I didn't experience it," Wenham said.

Butler added: "I did."

Wenham: "Did you? You had chafing?"

"Yeah."

"Mine was always a little bit looser."

"Yeah, I guess my thighs were just too big," Butler said with a laugh. "I should have worked less on the thighs. No, I had a bit of chafing, nothing to write home about."

Secular eyewitness accounts

Sdcc 300 movie panel

Celebrities Drinking Water At Comic Con

Spider-man 3 will rock your world. So will 300 and Grind House.

Comic Con 2006 - Day 3

Comic Con 2006: Panels has a gallery of photos.  In front of David is a bronze statue of Faramir given to him by collectors.

Photos

At Daisy Daily, davidov101 has posted her photos from the panel.  There's also some videos for download, but hurry...the link will expire soon.

Gerard Butler Gals has a bunch of thumbnails, mostly of Gerry.  Some of them accidentally include David.  Your painful task is to scrutinize each one carefully until you find what you seek.

Videos

Gerard Butler Gals has fan videos of the event available (you must register and sign in to access these)

Special Bonus Prize for reading this far:  a gallery of beautiful screen caps from episode 6 of Seachange, posted by myth_adventure (and lavishly cross-posted elsewhere).

Over at the official 300 production blog, Video #5 was posted five weeks ago fairly recently.  The subject is stunts.

Having done due diligence with Dili (Answered By Fire) and Dilios (300), David's next three projects will revolve around Dilys Derwent (Harry Potter), dilithium crystals (Star Trek LXXVIII: The Final Arthroscopy), and Dylan Thomas eating dill pickles.

Just kidding.  Sorry, I'm a little punchy after three solid months of rain.

If you're really bored, there's some new pictures in the Gallery, and the Osgiliath Dictionary is finished.

No, it's not a new Swiss Guard film role...David received his honorary doctorate from Australian Catholic University last Thursday, and delivered the keynote speech. 

On accepting his Doctorate, David said: “I am extraordinarily privileged to be receiving an honorary doctorate from a university that puts so much emphasis on social justice. It’s exciting to be here with all the graduates as they celebrate their academic success and I would like to congratulate them. It’s a momentous occasion for them as they begin their professional careers and can touch the lives of our community."   Read more in the Bits & Pieces section.

The first installment of Answered By Fire aired Sunday night on ABC, against the backdrop of renewed violence in East Timor last week.  Clare Morgan writes:  "David Wenham gives a beautifully understated performance as Mark Waldman, one of the international volunteers overseeing voter registration. He wants to make a difference but finds himself in a political quagmire he can neither understand nor tolerate. The other standout is screen novice Alex Tilman, who is memorable as the interpreter Ismenio."

There's now a video clip available from the Enough Rope interview. (screen cap courtesy of Elizabetta)

ABC has moved the broadcast premiere of Answered By Fire back one week, to May 28.  Channel Nine is airing a show about the Beaconsfield miners this Sunday.  The decision was made to move the two-part miniseries in order to give Australian viewers an opportunity to view both stories, and provide Answered By Fire with the best possible ratings support.

Here's a link to a four-part scan of a new interview, The Invisible Man, by Gerard Wright.

If the link doesn't work for you, the text of the interview is available on Bits and Pieces 2.

The transcript from the Enough Rope Interview is up.  Delights await!

The Osgiliath Dictionary has been updated with two more volumes:  D - F and G - L.

ABC has also posted a program summary of Answered By Fire, which will be broadcast May 21 & 28.

As Faramir confessed his love to Eowyn, Chitters awaited the signal to attack from below.

In response to some recent requests, I've added navigation buttons at the top of the DC home page, to make it easier to get around the site.  No longer will you have to scroll down past six months of ancient updates to get to the rest of the site.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately), I had to deep-six the "Evil Wiggle" quote in order to do it.  The page layout is severely restricted by the Trellix template, and I can't move things around or format them the way I'd like.  (If you've ever thought to yourself "Gee, I wish she'd move the Magical World Of David Wenham headline up, so there isn't so much white space", you're not alone.)

This particular layout came with a purple blob at the top of the home page, which appears to be permanent.  I tried scrubbing the monitor with bleach and White-Out, then covering it with duct tape.  The blob wouldn't go away.  I tried every HTML delete code in the book.  Still it persisted.  Then I tried to disguise its blobby nature with a David quote.   Now, it's found a new lease on life, as a decorative (and maddeningly asymmetrical) backdrop for the new buttons.

For convenience, the new button menu may eventually get added to the other header pages, but not to all 100+ pages on DC. (Gack.)  In the meantime, the existing navigation links at the bottom of each page will remain there, for your continued clicking enjoyment.

Wait a minute.  Why am I blathering on about purple blobs?  Cousinshelley at Daisy Daily has 6 stunning new photos of David from an outdoor photo shoot (courtesy of LJ user sairalinde).  She's been posting one per day:

Last update for today...The Osgiliath Dictionary links (in the Humor section) haven't worked for quite a long while.  To remedy that, I'm going to start hosting dictionary entries here on DC.  Volume A - C is now up, with more to follow.

Answered By Fire is set to air on ABC (that's Australian ABC, not American ABC or Azerbaijani ABC) on May 21 and May 28.
ABC To Screen Mini-Series On East Timor

Featured fan-fic of the week... Avoidance by Stefania (those of you at TORC know her as LadySteff).  A lovely exploration of Eowyn and Faramir's love story during one "perfect day".  Faramir is written as movie-verse.

Stupid Van Helsing joke of the week: 

Q:  What did Carl say when he ran into the concrete wall?
A:  Dam!

Exclusive Interview: David Wenham (The Proposition) by Devin Faraci at chud.com (thanks EJ!)

Here's some interesting video clips and interviews from The Proposition, found by meaningofhaste.

5/2 - Garfeimao has posted a report at TORN about Three Dollars and David's appearance at the Newport Film Festival:  (Sorry for the lengthy link.  I just wanted to make sure you didn't miss when you clicked on it.)

The crowd turn out wasn't what was hoped for, but with a 5pm screening on a Tuesday, it was nice to see more than 20 people there. David Wenham came up and introduced the film and his history working with the director before. It seemed like the audience enjoyed the film, and they should have, it was quite a nice little gem to discover at the festival.

Click on the photo above the article for a small gallery of pics from the event.

More festival photos are available at Daisy Daily.  I am, frankly, mesmerized by the endless plasticity of David's hair.

One can't help but speculate....why the visit to L.A.?  Could this be a hopeful omen of a new project?  An ancient prophecy runs thus:

David in Montreal,
Foretells an armored brawl.
David in Prague,
You'll soon smell wet dog.
David in New Zealand,
Signals the Houses of Healin'.
David in Macedonia,
There'll be gunplay at Casa Pony-a.
David in L.A.,
What's the next role he'll play?

(Okay, you try rhyming Macedonia.)

These are excerpted from J.W.'s LOTR Fansite (one of the longest-running LOTR pages).

#   All of the actors (except for some of the extras) were wigged. The actors had to have their real hair slicked back with a gel that when dry had a texture similar to concrete. The wig was then glued onto the forehead and pinned in the back. Orlando cut his hair off to make the process easier.

#   Originally, Eowyn was going to be a redhead. When shooting started, Miranda Otto wore a golden red wig, twisted back in a Pre-Raphaelite style. Then it was decided her hair would be blonde and allowed to fly free to make her look more feminine.

#   Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies nearly ended up father and son onscreen. Originally, John auditioned for the part of Denethor and Orlando auditioned for Faramir.

#   The props were so realistic, they often fooled various cast and crew members. Forty prop horses were made to be used as dead horses after battles. Some people asked the horse wranglers how the horses had been trained to lie still for so long! In addition, a technician spotted what appeared to be David Wenham, looking sickly, passed out on the floor. After trying to get David something to drink, the technician learned he was looking at a prop.

meaningofhaste contributes this article (dated April 26) which reports on the progress of Last Man Standing, the Fred Schepisi project mentioned earlier in which David had expressed interest.  Funding has started to come in, but final casting decisions will have to wait until the project has full financial backing.  Last Man Standing by Steve Dow

An alert reader sent in this excerpt from an interview with Hugo Weaving, in which the topic of Russian Doll came up:

That's me and Daisy (David Wenham). He hated me for getting him
   involved in that film. I was nominally a producer, but I did
   nothing except ring him a few times and say 'Come on, you'll love
   it!' And he didn't. He hated it. He and the director didn't see
   eye to eye. But it's a lovely film...

Unfortunately, players will be limited to the role of King Leonidas, fighting solo and alongside the other Spartans.  (C'mon....can't they let us play from Dilios' point of view?  Even though half the screen would be dark due to the bandage?)

Click here for the full article

Awhile ago, PrincessFaz and I wrote a story called "Lawd Of Them Hills", which was a sort of Deliverance/Lord Of The Rings hybrid, set deep in the backwoods of Appalachia.  Denethor, Faramir, and Boromir were reimagined as hillbillies in tattered overalls, unaware of the malignant (and highly caffeinated) threat rapidly bearing down on them from the outside world.

Chapter 1 was posted at fanfic.net in early 2005.  Then PFaz lost the password, and we never got around to posting the rest of it.  So now Lawd of Them Hills has a new home.  The first four chapters, anyway.  Enjoy!

While rummaging through the file cabinet, we found this under "A" for "awwww!"   It's from the 2000 AFI awards:

E.J. shared this photo, from the video shoot for "A Brand New Day":

The Proposition is currently making the independent film festival rounds in the US: San Francisco, Portland, New York, Philadelphia, Boston.  Steven Rea of the Philadelphia Inquirer enjoyed it.

Whelan a rare simple charmer  The Brush-Off aired on New Zealand television last weekend, earning a warm review from Jane Clifton, who writes, "The humour is quite sophisticated, but there's nothing like slapping a three-storey inflatable woman wearing a very pointy bra into the narrative to stop a script getting too carried away with itself."

How beautiful maleness is, if it finds its right expression.  -- D.H. Lawrence

Several weeks ago I promised to review The Proposition.  I finally got around to doing that, over at Daisy's Sacred Grove.  Warning: spoilers and gore.

Now that I've had 24 hours to gaze at the 10-pound LOTR bank note (see below), perhaps there is some merit to the idea of using Faramir as a unit of currency.  He's stable, intrinsically valuable, and not prone to inflation (considering his dad is always telling him he's a loser).  Therefore, the gold standard should be superseded by the Faramir standard, OPEC should replace petrodollars with petrofaramirs, and Faramir index funds should be opened up to investors.  One question that would have to be settled: the conversion rate between "old faramirs" (book-style) and "new faramirs" (movie-style).

I wonder if the IRS would notice if we all wrote out this year's tax check in Faramirs.

300 Video Journal #4 was posted briefly at the Warner Brothers site, but it's now been taken down.  Once it's back up, we'll link to it.

This time we have clear and unmistakeable evidence of David's presence, unlike the grainy "Zapruder film" glimpses we've been getting heretofore.

More photos are at fileg's live journal.   (Incidentally, why wasn't Muscle Definition Makeup Artist listed as an option on my high school career aptitude test?)

The rest of today's update will be presented in the form of inscrutable coffee-house poetry.

He tossed and turned, his lethargic claw flapping uselessly...
What did David Wenham have in his eye?

1.  Scroll down to Music and click "Rage".

2.  Enter your player settings at the top of the screen (if necessary). 

3. Click "Alex Lloyd featuring David Wenham" in the right hand pane.

Alex Shoots New Video; Oz Legend David Wenham Gets On Board

Literally! Alex Lloyd shot the video for his upcoming new single 'Brand New Day' on Saturday, on a bus (yes, you read right) cruising around the northern suburbs of Sydney - and none other than Australian film legend David Wenham makes the journey with him. Check out our behind the scenes pics now...

Just Outside The Limelight, from the Mar. 18 Sydney Morning Herald, about a man who had a considerable effect on the career of a young actor named David Wenham.

If you're a Monty Python fan in need of cheering up, this might amuse.  (Thanks, Rosie....)
La Charge Futile

Now the ladies can savour the more sophisticated talents of the fine David Wenham, the protagonist in the clip for Alex Lloyd's new single, Brand New Day.

The actor, who has long been a fan of Lloyd's music, signed on for the clip because he loved the song.

Wenham and Lloyd (pictured) became good mates during last weekend's filming in Sydney's inner-west, with the clip following an office worker starting his groundhog day in not the best frame of mind.

sh_wulff writes:

this link connects to a radio show about songs from the yellow room.

there is a recording of david wenham's performance, some of the music and of course discussion

he is describes as looking very much like Van Gogh.. with his half open striped shirt. pants and suspenders/ braces (depending on which sied of the ocean you are on)

you need real player and it's only available for the next three weeks

enjoy

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/exhibita/default.htm

Mr David Wenham will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate and give the occasional address at the 10.30am ceremony. It is yet to be announced who will give the occasional address at the 2.30pm ceremony. The Wiggles will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate and Mr Murray Cook, member of The Wiggles, will give the occasional address at the 7.00pm ceremony.

Dr. Wenham can be seen in the new music video of Alex Lloyd's latest single, "Brand New Day", which was shot in Sydney last Saturday.  The Courier-Mail elaborates... (thank you MoH!)...

Intimate gigs planned

MULTI-TALENTED singer Alex Lloyd has announced a new tour -- yes he's coming to Brisneyland. He will steer clear of soulless giant entertainment centres and will appear at RSLs, Workers Clubs and Hotels around the country. All part of his push to sell his fourth album and his new single Brand New Day. Lloyd has taken the Paul Simon, Jack Johnson-approach to promote the single and got a well known actor to appear in his new film clip. Aussie hunk David Wenham will feature in the video clip, which will give the ladeez twice the reason to watch music video shows.

David Wenham as Van Gogh in Songs From The Yellow Bedroom
(photo courtesy of EJ)

PASSENGERS, ARGUING OVER "SECOND AGE" ELVEN COURTSHIP RITUALS, FAIL TO NOTICE ICEBERG:
http://www.fanficloverscruise.com/

The Advertiser - Songs from the Yellow Bedroom

Australian Youth Orchestra with David Wenham, Bernadette Cullen, mezzo soprano, and Keith Lewis, tenor

Van Gogh's letters, while certainly of interest, are clearly not his central work and the theatrical presentation of such intensely private musings serves only to put them at a further remove. David Wenham's mysteriously accented, drawcard recitation of the letters was, for this audience at least, inevitably effective.

Beyond Wenham's skillful presence, and a chair or two for props, it was a little difficult to discern what actually constituted this much-vaunted ''theatrical production''.

The Australian - Van Gogh and Mahler In Parallel Universes

Delivered with engrossing conviction by actor David Wenham, the readings laid bare Van Gogh's passionate idealism, his love of colour and nature, and his knowledge of his encroaching insanity. But juxtaposed against Mahler's music, the readings only served to highlight fundamental differences of personality and artistic purpose.

The 300 production blog has been updated with some background about Mark Twight, the trainer responsible for getting the cast into fighting trim for the movie.  You can visit the website of Mark's gym, Gym Jones (as in "Jim Jones", of Jonestown Koolaid massacre fame) to find out more about his training techniques.  Before they can even join, applicants are required to "stand on the porch" for three minutes or three hours or three days, a la Fight Club, and prove their worthiness before they are accepted into the program.  You need to raise an army of Spartans overnight, no questions asked?  Contact this guy.

I saw The Proposition recently, and hope to update the movie review section as soon as the tranquilizers wear off.  In the meantime, enjoy these production notes.  Says David:  "Eden [Fletcher] is the money and power of the town.  He essentially owns the town.  It's an early decision that he makes that causes the action to spiral in one particular direction - that's his power."

Oh, go on.  You'll never guess.

 
(scanned by the wondrously talented athelas63)

Ben McEachen talks to David re: Van Gogh in David Walks On The Festival's Wild Side, from the March 3 Advertiser. 

Meaningofhaste found a lovely interview in the Feb. 26 Sunday Mail, in which David reflects on Van Gogh, the intense research and preparation he's undergoing for the Adelaide festival, and the fraught relationship he had with his horse while filming Lord of the Rings.  Read the full text of Hail The Lord Of The Letters in the Bits & Pieces section.

"And I can already see myself one day in the future enjoying some small success, and missing the solitude and the anguish as I watched the reaper in the field below through the iron bars of my cell. It's an ill wind . . . . " (Letter 605, 7/8 Sept. 1889)

"Old fellow, having thought it over, I do not say that my work is good, but the thing is that I can do less bad stuff. Everything else, relations with people, is very secondary, because I haven't the gift for that. I can't help that."  (Letter 636, 21 May 1890)

"And I say what I think, because you quite understand that I take an interest in my little nephew and am anxious for his well-being; since you were good enough to call him after me, I should like him to have a soul less unquiet than mine, which is foundering." (Letter 648, 24 May 1890)

If you're interested, the VG Gallery has the complete texts of the Van Gogh letters online.

The Feb. 19th Sunday Telegraph mentions that "Answered by Fire" will premiere in May on ABC.  No specific air date was given.

Recently I came across this interesting review of Three Dollars by Jake Wilson.  Although he wasn't enamored of the book, he has some profound insights into David's performance, and the extra dimension he brings to Eddie's character beyond the written page.

Yolanda reports that David is an AFC Big Screen patron.  The Big Screen is an Australian film festival currently touring regional Australia.  Big Screen patrons will be attending selected events to present their works to the public.  The Proposition is among the films being screened.

Here's an interesting nugget from Minkey:

Herald Sun
TUE 17 JAN 2006
Schepisi finds success no guarantee
By Harbant Gill

LEADING Australian director Fred Schepisi is still hunting for funding for an all-Australian film called Last Man.

Word is he has been knocked back by Australian funding bodies for the drama, to be shot in Australia and tipped to star David Wenham and Joel Edgerton.

Despite Schepisi's successes, which include many films, movie awards and an AO (Officer of the Order of Australia) in 2004, he has been waiting for more than a year to make Last Man.

The film, based on the book by Graham Brammer (who also wrote An Uncertain Fate), is about a five-man team of Australian special force troops trapped behind enemy lines in the last days of the Vietnam War.

"Ya, girly-men!  We're going to pump   *clap*   you up!"

For fans who've been eager for David to play Vincent Van Gogh, you're about to get your wish.  In today's (tomorrow's) (Feb. 15th's) Queensland Courier-Mail, Rosemary Sorenson writes:

"YES, please. . .David Wenham in anything at all, but how about David Wenham as Vincent Van Gogh. The splendid actor will perform in Songs from the Yellow Bedroom, a staged reading of Van Gogh's letters to his brother, Theo. An idea of the late Richard Wherett, the performance will be directed and adapted by Adam Cook for the Adelaide festival in March."

Performances are scheduled for March 4th and 5th at Adelaide Town Hall.  The Van Gogh readings will be interspersed with a concert staging of Mahler's Song of the Earth.  Read more about Songs from the Yellow Bedroom at the festival website.

(Thank you, meaningofhaste, for the update!)

Yes, it's Valentine's Day.  That special time of year, when a young website's fancy turns lightly to thoughts of love.

To celebrate, we've obtained copies of the first tender, blushing valentines exchanged by Eowyn and Faramir:

Today's random trivia:  Ann Wesley Hardin, author of the spicy romance novel Coffee, Tea, or Lea?, confessed in her blog that she used David Wenham's Faramir as the physical model for the novel's hero, Coop Masterson.  A sample excerpt:

Longish shaggy blond hair framed his unusual face, and made him appear more like a medieval knight than a hired killer.

Wouldn't that make a great bumper sticker?

On the Interviews page, added links to a couple of profiles that were not there previously:  MSN Profile: David Wenham dated April 25, 1999; and How To Be A Player from FilmInk.

Warner Brothers now has an official video journal site for 300.  The site features video podcasts, a production blog, artwork, storyboards, and more.  Bookmark the page, and keep an eye out for periodic updates.  Here's an image from the site:

David is believed to be second from the left (in the background).

Here's another shot that was taken during filming.  David is all the way on the right, facing King Leonidas.

A free promo soundtrack clip for 300 is available for download at http://www.tylerbates.com/.

Today's historical tidbit, from Herodotus' History:  For his force of 300 men, Leonidas selected only fathers of sons, so that if any man fell in battle, no Spartan family would be extinguished.  That means there was at least one Dilios Jr. running around back at home, practicing his storytelling and playing Spartans 'n' Persians (as opposed to Cops 'n' Robbers).

It is our sorrowful duty to report that the nun bun, the original inspiration for The Farabun, was stolen out of a coffee shop in Tennessee on Christmas Day.  Police have so far failed to locate any suspects.

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