TheOneRing.net will be at Long Island Geek Convention this weekend (May 2nd and 3rd) along with Dwalin himself, Graham McTavish! In addition to having TOR.n t-shirts, buttons, and lanyards for sale at our fan table (or try your hand at Tolkien trivia for a fun prize!), we’re also participating in several panels throughout the weekend. Stop by and say hello!
Saturday –
11:00-12:00 Tales of the Hobbit with Graham McTavish; Graham McTavish tells tales of his adventures as Dwalin in the Hobbit movie trilogy. Hosted by Kirsten Cairns/Greendragon from TheOneRing.net
14:00–15:00 Extended Edition, Biopics … Silmarillion? What’s next for fans of Middle-earth?;
Staffers from TheOneRing.net speculate and share inside info on what may be in the Extended Edition of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. And once that is released – to what can fans look forward next? Could The Silmarillion ever make it on to the big screen?
20:00–21:00 There and Back Again – a look back over the 17 year journey through Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth; Staffers from TheOneRing.net get nostalgic! Join us as we recall the journey from Fellowship to Five Armies – the ups and downs, the quests to New Zealand, the fans and friends we met along the way. How has
your passion for Tolkien and for these movies enriched YOUR life?
Sunday –
10:00–11:00 Tales of the Hobbit with Graham McTavish; Graham McTavish tells tales of his adventures as Dwalin in the Hobbit movie trilogy. Hosted by Kirsten Cairns/Greendragon from TheOneRing.net
13:00–14:00 Kick the Hobbit! All the things we love and hate about Peter Jackson’s second Middle-earth trilogy; A love of Tolkien is the common bond shared by all staffers at TheOneRing.net; and most of us also love Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth movies. But we still have our personal pet peeves – and now is the chance to air them! Join us to let rip about those things which just didn’t work in The Hobbit trilogy – and maybe a few from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, too! (We say it all with a great deal of affection…)
WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES
MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION
Expanded Version of Award-Winning Action Game Will Include All Downloadable Content
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition. The expanded version of the award-winning third-person open world action game, developed by Monolith Productions will launch May 5 for $49.99 on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft and Steam on Windows PC.
Continue reading “Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition”
We’ve just heard the sad news that Andrew Lesnie has died of a heart attack at the age of 59.
The filmmaker from Sydney, Australia, won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Peter Jackson‘s “The Fellowship Of The Ring” in 2002. He is most associated for his work with Peter Jackson on the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” trilogy and on “The Hobbit.” But his film catalog is much larger, including the just released Russell Crow-directed film, “The Water Diviner.”
He also served as director of photography for the Australian “Babe,” movies which led Jackson to him. In an interview with DigitalProducer.com, Jackson talked about the series of events, including Lesnie leaving “Mission Impossible 2,” to come to the Tolkien films. Said Jackson:
“I’d never worked with him or even met him before, but he’d shot the Babe films and I thought they looked amazing, the way he’d used backlight and the sun and natural light to create a very magical effect. And Babe had that larger-than-life feel about it that I wanted. So when we began looking for DPs in early 1999, I first decided to get either an Australian or New Zealand DP as they’d be used to the way we make films. Every country is slightly different in that way, and I immediately thought of Andrew. But he was shooting MI2 in Sydney, so I was a bit stuck then. But then after three weeks he left MI2 — apparently there was a lot of friction on the set, and we called him the next day and persuaded him to fly over to meet. Then we showed him all the designs and sets and he got very excited, and I liked him a lot.”
Jackson and Lesnie made the six Tolkien films together but they also collaborated on “King Kong,” and “The Lovely Bones.” Other notable films he worked on:
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” and “I Am Legend,” among others.
He can be seen as a painter acting in the Sean Astin-directed short film, “The Long and Short of It.” He made a cameo in “Return of the King,” as a Corsair of Umbar sailing to battle. By all accounts and from personal observations, Lesnie was excellent to work with. He is immortalized through his work.
All of us here at TheOneRing.net send our best wishes and condolences to his family and friends.
Below is the video of Lesnie winning his Academy Award for “Fellowship,” where he is graceful, humorous and thanks many people person-to-person before walking on stage to accept the award. It is a fine example of his professionalism and good nature.
Namarië Andrew! You will be greatly missed.
Rest in Peace
MrCere contributed to this report.
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The next fantastic Weta item we’re going to be taking a look at made its debut at Comic-Con 2014. King Thror on Throne was a surprise to fans like myself, but it is not surprise that Weta has once again shown the ability to rip what we see on screen and put that right into our collections. The piece has amazing details, including the symbol of the Arkenstone on the back of the throne and the rings on Thror’s hands. Despite his all-to-short screen time, I would highly suggest adding this beautiful piece depicting the great king of the Dwarves, Thror, to your collection.
When TheOneRing.net marked its 10th anniversary in 2009, we celebrated in style. In fact, we had such a good time, we decided to continue to celebrate every year on April 26, the date that TORn was established.
Founders Day is TheOneRing.net’s official holiday, filled with the best that a virtual party can offer. If you’re new(er) to the site, it’s a chance to find out about the roots of the site, about the four founders, and to say thanks to the people who keep this place going.
If you’ve been around for a bit, it’s a great day to reminisce, tell war stories, and reflect on all the adventures and friendships that have been forged over the years.
Look for a few special party threads on our message boards (mostly on Main, Off Topic and Feedback) — so don’t be shy! Hunt around, find a party game you like, or a conversation you enjoy, and dive in!
Plus Barliman’s is always open. While we understand they don’t currently have a special event planned, they always welcome both old friends and new visitors, so why not drop in and say Hi!
Here’s to our Founders (from left to right below: Corvar, Xoanon, Tehanu, Calisuri).
Happy 16th TORniversary, TheOneRing.net!
As part of our celebrations every year we reprise posting the TORn ‘Valaquenta’ below. The TORn ‘Valaquenta’ was written by member Alassëa Eruvende and set most beautifully to paper by our dear friend Daniel Reeve, calligrapher and artist for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. Enjoy!
Artist Jerry Vanderstelt released four new items today covering both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. First up is the final entry of The Fellowship series with the fantastic Boromir print. If you’ve been holding off buying any of them you can now snag all nine of The Fellowship of the Ring set. Jerry is also unveiling one of the most beautiful prints I’ve ever seen: the print featured to the right that captures all nine members of The Fellowship in one amazing print. Finally, The Hobbit gets a little love with a print of Tauriel. The new prints range in size from 12×16 to 17×35 and prices ranging from $39-$325, depending on what print you get. Whatever your choice, you’ll be adding something to your collection that captures the heart and soul of Middle-earth.
