TheOneRing.net reached a milestone yesterday when the 15,000th soul signed up to follow the team on Twitter. To celebrate the mark, TheOneRing.net is sending that person a shirt from the deep Dwarven mines where the website is headquartered. TORn promoted the offer on the official account with 14,999 already tagging along but warned that the only shirts currently available were small. Not only does the winner wear a small shirt, it says in her Twitter profile that she is obsessed with shirts! And it turns out she uses the our homepage regularly The website you are currently reading, Founded in 1999 by a group of like-minded Tolkien fans, carries the moniker “Forged by and for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien,” which remains true of the all-volunteer staff and not-for-profit site. Here we have a thriving message board and live chat communities and the daily news. You can also participate and support us on Facebook with over 50,000 members or on the aforementioned Twitter account. And as always, you can always send news tips to Spymaster@TheOneRing.net. Look for us at conventions around the U.S. including C2E2 in Chicago in April and the San Diego Comic-Con in July. And of course, we have big things planned for 2012 and 2013 as we look forward to the big-screen adaptation of The Hobbit, a book that we celebrating in its 75th year of publication (#Hobbit on Twitter!) We would be remiss not to thank the other 14,999 Twitter supporters and the legion of readers and friends (Facebook and otherwise) who have bolstered the community since 1999. Thanks!

Join us LIVE at 5pm PDT tonight as TORn TUESDAY host Clifford Broadway, aka Quickbeam, and producer Justin Sewell join forces to explore in-depth the (mostly) revealing video production diaries that have been posted by Peter Jackson as THE HOBBIT continues apace! There’s more than meets the eye as we inspect freeze frames and see the nitty-gritty of what PJ is up to! Today’s live webcast launches at 5:00pm PDT — There’s a built-in Barliman’s chat room or come in via Skype in TheOneRing.net’s Stickam page. Check out the broadcast in our LIVE Event section right here every week! [LIVE Event Area] (See All Times)

If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.

This weekend, Saturday March 31 at 6.00pm EDT, Hall of Fire returns to our chapter-by-chapter read-through and discussion of Fellowship of The Ring.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time.”

FoTR Book 1, Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Past

Frodo Baggins is the new master of Bag End. And, to the enduring curiosity of his fellow-Hobbits, over the next 17 years he proves as “well-preserved” and eccentric — and as much of topic of gossip — as Bilbo ever was. Continue reading “Hall of Fire this weekend: FoTR — Book 1, Chapter 2”

We’ve reached the Elite Eight in our inaugural Middle-earth March Madness tournament! The match-ups in the second round proved to be quite historic, but none more than the Rankin/Bass Division. The top seed (1)Gandalf, narrowly won by a single vote. Yes, one vote out of 19,405 is all that defeated the great (4)Feanor! Proving once again that even the smallest of things can make a difference. In the other match-up, (6)Smaug lost to (2)Galadriel by only 100 votes in a competition that saw 20,616 total votes! The rest of the divisions were competitive, but did come down to less than 100 votes. (see all results here) Ultimately we’ve ended up with the number 1 and number 2 seeded competitors facing off in the Elite Eight!

(1)Gandalf will take on (2)Galadriel in a battle of characters that will be returning to the screen in the upcoming ‘Hobbit‘ films! In the Ralph Bakshi Division, (1)Bilbo Baggins will test his muster against a crowd-favorite (2)Aragorn. In the Tolkien Family Division, heavily favored heart-throb (1)Legolas will face off against the hardened savior of Middle-earth (2)Frodo Baggins. The Peter Jackson Division’s final competition comes served with a bit of irony. Peter’s division is the only one to have a competitor that was not represented on-screen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The match-up finds the top-seeded (1)Glorfindel versus a heavy crowd favorite (2)Samwise Gamgee.

Follow after the break to place your vote and see the latest version of the bracket. (download) Voting will remain open until March 30th at Noon ET. You may vote as often as you like, so please share with your friends and family.

Continue reading “Middle-earth March Madness 2012 – Round 3!”

Weta Workshop’s first helm in the relaunch of the 1:4 helm series is none other than the Uruk-hai General’s Helm. This is one of Weta Workshop’s helms, that if you have seen the Weta Collector’s Guide book, was under consideration before the line ended several years ago. Now, fans get a chance to get going again on collecting these awesome collectibles. Shipping for the Uruk-hai General’s Helm will not be until quarter three of this year allowing you time to make sure you have your fifty dollars ready. Make sure you order now though because at a 500 piece edition size this is sure to go fast. [Click Here]

From The Star:

Just back from a ‘top secret’ assignment with Wellington Weta Workshops, Fiona Thomson is happy to be back behind her work bench in her Glenview shop.

The In Hide Leatherworks owner is still excited at being part of the production of The Hobbit movie but everything she knows about the film and its wardrobe must be a secret till the official release in December.

All she will say about her four months stint in Wellywood is that she was involved in creating clothing and armour.

More after the break…

Continue reading “Leather worker finishes creating clothing and armour for The Hobbit.”