Production designer Dan Hennah and Joe Letteri from Weta Digital spoke to Medakdo Murphy from the New York Times about the challenges of bringing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey HFR 48fps to the big screen by using a combination of digital sets and normal sets and merging the two together.

Mr. Hennah supervised the building of a flexible set. “We set it up so that we could make every component something we could move, lift up, turn around, interchange,” he said. They had two studios full of these movable elements, from the rock walls to the walkways and ladders. A digital version of some of those elements was created by Mr. Letteri’s team and blended together with the on-set props to create a seamless environment. Spoilers ahead.

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The Tolkien Society has issued a press release today detailing its plans to celebrate J.R.R. Tolkien’s birthday on January 3rd with world-wide festivities. This is the 12th such annual event and the Society is using its platform to urge the public to read Tolkien’s The Hobbit with so many getting exposure to the work from Peter Jackson’s film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, in theaters now if you haven’t heard.

Here is the press release:

TOLKIEN FANS WORLDWIDE UNITE TO CELEBRATE AUTHOR’S BIRTHDAY

On 3rd January, Tolkien fans from across the world will join together to celebrate the Twelfty-First Birthday of the late Professor J.R.R. Tolkien CBE.

Tolkien aficionados in Brazil, USA, Canada, Spain, Australia, Japan, Italy, and the Netherlands will be uniting with events up and down the UK to hold birthday parties in honour of J.R.R. Tolkien. In the UK events are going on in many cities, including Brighton, London, Oxford, Bristol, Milton Keynes, and York. This is the 12th annual Birthday Toast and it will take place at 9pm on the 3rd January 2013.

This year, for Tolkien’s 121st birthday, the Tolkien Society is encouraging the public to read J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 book The Hobbit in light of the monumental success of Sir Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. This year’s Birthday Toast will tie together the man, the books and the films – the Society will be encouraging people to talk about all of these on Facebook, Twitter and on its website, www.tolkiensociety.org.

The Tolkien Society tradition of celebrating Tolkien’s birthday stems from Tolkien’s best-selling epic The Lord of the Rings. In the book, after Bilbo vanished on his eleventy-first birthday, Frodo continued to celebrate Bilbo’s birthday every single year. The Tolkien Society was founded in 1969 dedicated to promoting the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien; J.R.R. Tolkien remains the Society’s Honorary President in perpetuo whilst his daughter, Priscilla, is the Society’s Honorary Vice President.

J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa on 3rd January 1892 and died in Oxford on 2nd September 1973. He was the author of best-selling novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Warner Bros., New Line Cinema and MGM have announced that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has surpassed the $500 million benchmark at the worldwide box office.

To date, the blockbuster has earned an estimated $179.7 million in the USA. In addition, on the heels of its record-breaking release in Australia — the biggest Boxing Day opening of all time — the film has grossed an estimated $344 million internationally. The global total is $523.7 million, and steadily climbing. Continue reading “The Hobbit hits half a billion”

Spanish Tolkien website El Anillo Único is reporting that a teaser for The Desolation of Smaug will begin showing in theatres in Spain from January 4.

UPDATE: A few readers have informed us that December 28 is a traditional day of pranks (Called inocentadas) and jests in Spain in a similar way to April Fool’s Day. So best to take a huge grain of salt with this one. Well, that’s a bit of a pity.

To try and make up for the disappointment, here’s an animated GIF of Smaug’s eye. Continue reading “UPDATE: No Desolation of Smaug teaser just yet”

Christmas brings to mind the timeless, poignant image of a mother cradling her newborn child.

At this rather apt time of year then, TORn’s music geeks are pleased to bring you an exclusive interview with Hilary Summers.

An alto hailing from Wales, UK, Hilary recorded “Gilraen’s Song” that plays over the scene where Aragorn kneels in reverence before his mother Gilraen’s memorial in Rivendell, and whose lyrics hark back to the words once spoken by Gilraen herself.

Little boy, little one, night is falling, come into my arms, let me hold you safe.
But still you run through the twilight, lost in your play, slaying demons in the shadows.
Little boy, little one, full of grace, full of joy, oh, my heart will break,
F
or I see it in your eyes… you are your father’s son, not your mother’s child.

Join us in this exclusive interview as we talk to Hilary about her experience recording the song for The Lord of the Rings.

Continue reading “TORn Christmas Exclusive: Interview With Hilary Summers”

Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORN and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!

Continue reading “TORN Message Boards Weekly Roundup – December 27, 2012”