Taken from the Iron Crown website (http://www.ironcrown.com/).
ICE CEASES THE PRODUCTION AND SALE OF
MIDDLE-EARTH PRODUCTS
21 September 1999
Effective 22 September 1999, ICE will no longer be filling
orders for Middle-earth products. Iron Crown
Enterprises ("ICE") has ceased the production and
sale of its Middle-earth series of games, puzzles, and
posters.
After working together for 18 years, ICE and Tolkien
Enterprises have agreed to part ways. Tolkien
Enterprises will be acquiring all of ICE's inventory
and work product. As the licensor of Middle-earth games
and the forthcoming motion picture series, they
will be reorganizing and reorienting the program. ICE will be
assisting them to make sure that there is a smooth transition.
With this and ICE filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection
I can't help but think it's all over.
--
Stephen Sangar
Coventry University
http://www.coventry.ac.uk/
Nope, it's just beginning -- with the eventual release of the LotR films
(about Christmas 2001?) there is a fantastic opportunity for developing the
product line and getting new people in.
But it has to happen.
(check out http://www.lordoftherings.net/ for some visuals for the film. Some
of the casting is just brilliant Ian Holm as Bilbo, Christopher Lee as
Saruman, Ian McKellen as Gandalf and I just got the Radio 4 tapes for my
birthday [Ian Holm as Frodo] -- Xenite.org has the best round-up on this
The same potential exists for the X-Men film (Ian McKellen as Magneto [busy
guy], Patrick Stewart as Prof X, -- try http://www.comicgas.com/ for this
one)
I can see the tagline now: Don't dream it, be it.
(Now where did I hear that before... ;-)
--
______________________________________________________________________
| |
| Steve Turnbull, Publisher publ...@visions-mag.com |
| |
| Visions Role-Playing Games Web-Mag http://www.visions-mag.com |
| Published by Tau Press http://www.tau-press.com |
| |
| Tau Press, Media House, Adlington Park, Macclesfield, SK10 4NP, UK |
|______________________________________________________________________|
I find that http://www.theonering.net is supurb for details on the film.
--
Darrell Impey
> I find that http://www.theonering.net is superb for details on the film.
Wow. Absolutely right ... I take it all back.
> After hacking through the undergrowth
> 'S. Sangar' emerged to utter the unforgettable lines...
> >
> > With this and ICE filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection
> > I can't help but think it's all over.
>
> Nope, it's just beginning -- with the eventual release of the LotR films
> (about Christmas 2001?) there is a fantastic opportunity for developing the
> product line and getting new people in.
I think he meant it was the end for ICE.
I don't know. If ICE expected this, and the WEG/Star Wars case should
have been a big warning flag, maybe they've factored this in to their
Chapter 11 recovery plans.
BTW, "Tolkien Enterprises" is nothing to do with the Tolkien Family, and
the stories which were around in Tolkien fandom, in the early Eighties,
suggest the company owns pretty well all the rights, except for
publishing the actual books. And it looks as though a lot of new spin-
off products are in the works.
--
David G. Bell -- Farmer, SF Fan, Filker, and Punslinger.
I have a friend who has been designing figures to be released with the
film (if not beforehand). At least some of the spin-off products will be
for gaming (even if it is miniature gaming rather than RPG).
--
Jas
<SNIP>