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June 14, 2013 at 10:41 am by greendragon
The Hobbit theatrical Blu-ray
We’ve known for a while that there would be an Extended Edition of
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Warner Bros.’ press release back in March, at the time of the release of the Theatrical Edition DVD and Blu-ray, said that the Extended Edition would be ‘available just in time for the holidays’. Now we’ve learned that this extended cut has been given a rating by The Motion Picture Association of America. Their bulletin (seen
here) gives the movie the same rating as it had in theatrical release, PG-13. But here’s the interesting part – in theatres, the PG-13 rating was for ‘intense fantasy action violence and frightening images.’ Here’s what the rating says for the extended version:
‘Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence, frightening images and fleeting nudity.’
‘… and fleeting nudity.’ Now that is something to ponder. A glimpse of the dwarves wrecking Bilbo’s bathroom? A scene where Bilbo leaves his house in such haste, he forgets more than his pocket handkerchief?! Being serious for a moment, what could this be? My best guess is some dwarvish high jinks; what do you think?
Thanks to ringer spies kirkempk and An anonymous Ringer for bringing this to our attention!
TORn Staffer Demosthenes adds:
I think there is one possibility from The Hobbit that could fit the situation of fleeting nudity — when the Company bathe and wash their clothes in the Anduin after the Eagles drop them at the Carrock.
After that they stopped pleading. Then they took off their clothes and bathed in the river, which was shallow and clear and stony at the ford. When they had dried in the sun, which was now strong and warm, they were refreshed, if still sore and a little hungry. Soon they crossed the ford (carrying the hobbit), and then began to march through the long green grass and down the lines of the wide-armed oaks and the tall elms.
Queer Lodgings — The Hobbit.
Posted in Blu-Ray, DVDs, Hobbit Movie, Merchandise, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
June 13, 2013 at 9:59 am by greendragon
If, like us, you have been repeatedly watching the new The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug trailer over the last couple of days, you may have noticed something surprising at the end. In the second screen of credits, right after Tolkien’s name, the screenwriters are credited: ‘Screenplay by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson’. That’s it; unlike in the credits for An Unexpected Journey, Guillermo del Toro is not credited as a screenwriter for this second movie. (Not in this trailer, at any rate…)
What this means is anyone’s guess. We know of course that del Toro worked long and hard on the screenplays for the movies when he was in position as the films’ director. At that time the plan was for only two movies; it seems hard to imagine, however, that it would be possible to extricate del Toro’s contributions to the scripts to such an extent that it could safely be said that he had NO hand in the screenplay for Desolation of Smaug. Further, del Toro suggested that he would continue to be a part of the screenwriting even after he had left the movies as director; he wrote on TORn’s messageboards, ‘The writing team of PJ,FW,PB and myself will keep moving the screenplays forward.’ (See his post here.)
Perhaps it is simply that the film makers were only contractually obliged to acknowledge del Toro’s contributions in the credits for one movie; movie studios are sticklers for what’s in the contract! Perhaps del Toro himself asked only to be credited in the first movie - wishing the role he played to be acknowledged but also perhaps wanting to move forward from the project, having made that very difficult decision to leave Middle-earth behind. Perhaps, as for An Unexpected Journey, he will be credited at the end of the movie as ‘Project Consultant’. Perhaps he will again be credited as a writer on the third movie, There and Back Again. We’ll have to wait and see; meanwhile, it’s just one of those things which make you go, ‘Hmmm….’
Posted in Guillermo Del Toro, Hobbit Movie, Production, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Trailer
May 31, 2013 at 2:31 pm by greendragon
We know; the compulsion people feel to compare works of fantasy – and in particular, A Song of Ice and Fire with Tolkien’s Middle-earth tales – can get annoying. As writer Anne Hobson herself admits, ‘comparing the two masterpieces is in many ways “as useless as nipples on a breastplate,” as Tyrion Lannister would say…’ Nonetheless, many readers are fans of both George R R Martin and J R R Tolkien, and as both worlds are being brought to life at the moment - in the realms of television and cinema respectively – it is inevitable that comparisons will be drawn.
Hobson’s blog in ‘The American Spectator’ is an interesting piece, giving the subject careful thought. She suggests that there are core differences between the two writers, both in the origins of their creations and in their perceptions of morality. You can see what she had to say – and perhaps draw your own conclusions – here.
Posted in Hobbit Book, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, Miscellaneous, The Hobbit, Tolkien
May 31, 2013 at 1:57 pm by greendragon
It may only be the end of May, but many of us have already been thinking ahead to the end of the year, as we speculate about The Desolation of Smaug and wonder just how that dragon will look. Publishers HarperCollins are clearly thinking ahead too – it’s already possible to preorder their Tolkien Calendar 2014! This year the calendar features illustrations by British artist Jemima Catlin, and the ‘wicked worm’ himself takes pride of place on the cover. It’s great to see another take on the magnificent fellow!
Catlin is also the artist for a brand new illustrated edition of The Hobbit, which will be released this Fall and will contain 150 new, colour illustrations. More visual goodies from Middle-earth! You can preorder both the book and the calendar at Amazon – click on the links below!
[Pre-order Tolkien Calendar 2014] [Pre-order new Illustrated Hobbit]
Thanks to ringer spy Bomby for the heads up!
Posted in Books, Books Publications, Calendars, Calendars, Hobbit Book, Merchandise, Shop, The Hobbit, Tolkien
May 29, 2013 at 2:47 pm by greendragon
Here at TheOneRing.net we are of course huge Tolkien fans. We’re also fans of FANS – we really enjoy sharing the passion of other Middle-earth lovers! Recently we heard from film fan Brian Callahan, who, at his blog PSH for President, shared his thoughts about (as he puts it), ’Jackson’s role as a cinematic steward of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works.’ Here (after the break) is what he had to say:
(more…)
Posted in Creations, Fans, Hobbit Movie, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, The Hobbit
May 29, 2013 at 1:07 pm by greendragon
We may be too late for his birthday in New Zealand, but it’s still his day in some parts of the world! Amidst all the hard work going on in New Zealand just now, the Hobbit gang found time to celebrate Ori’s birthday – and co-star Stephen Hunter tweeted this great photo of some of the cast gathered for birthday fun! (After TORn retweeted Stephen’s pic, James Nesbitt and John Callen retweeted us! We’re all connected on one great big web; just like the dwarves in Mirkwood…)
Happy birthday to the dwarf who makes braids and chunky knits look good!
(Photo shows, left to right: Stephen Hunter (Bombur), James Nesbitt (Bofur), Dean O’Gorman (Fili), Mark Hadlow (Dori), Adam Brown (Ori) and Aidan Turner (Kili).)
Posted in Adam Brown, Aidan Turner, Dean O'Gorman, Hobbit Cast News, Hobbit Movie, James Nesbitt, Mark Hadlow, Stephen Hunter, The Hobbit
May 22, 2013 at 11:35 am by greendragon
As we all know, J R R Tolkien was, from an early age, fascinated by myth and heroic legend, reading all he could of the romances and epics of many nations. In a letter to Milton Waldman, which appears in the Preface to the second edition of The Silmarillion, he wrote that he was ‘grieved by the poverty of my own beloved country: it had no stories of its own … Of course there was and is all the Arthurian world, but powerful as it is, it is imperfectly naturalized, associated with the soil of Britain but not with the English; and does not replace what I felt to be missing…’
The Professor, then, had little time for the legends of King Arthur; but he did make one foray into those tales, and we are about to be able to read for ourselves the results of those labours! Tomorrow, publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt release Tolkien’s narrative poem The Fall of Arthur, edited as ever by his son Christopher. HMH’s press release tells us:
‘The Fall of Arthur, the only venture by J.R.R. Tolkien into the legends of Arthur, king of Britain, may well be regarded as his finest and most skillful achievement in the use of Old English alliterative meter, in which he brought to his transforming perceptions of the old narratives a pervasive sense of the grave and fateful nature of all that is told: of Arthur’s expedition overseas into distant heathen lands, of Guinevere’s flight from Camelot, of the great sea battle on Arthur’s return to Britain, in the portrait of the traitor Mordred, in the tormented doubts of Lancelot in his French castle.’
Alas, Tolkien never finished his poem; but amongst his manuscripts were sketches and drafts, which included ‘significant tantalizing notes. In these notes can be discerned clear if mysterious associations of the Arthurian conclusion with The Silmarillion, and the bitter ending of the love of Lancelot and Guinevere, which was never written.’
It’s a day of celebration for Tolkien fans whenever we have a chance to read more of the Professor’s work, and gain further insight into the explorations which lead to his great myth of Middle-earth. You can read Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s full information about the book here; and you can order your copy from Amazon by clicking here. The Fall of Arthur will also be available as an e-book. Happy reading!
[Order The Fall of Arthur from Amazon]
Posted in Books, Books Publications, Christopher Tolkien, Headlines, J.R.R. Tolkien, Merchandise, Other Tolkien books, Shop, Silmarillion, Tolkien
May 14, 2013 at 11:06 pm by greendragon
Our good friends over at our partner site Tolkiendrim.com reported here that shooting of pick ups for the next two Hobbit movies begins on May 15th – that’s already today in many parts of the world! And a good part of ‘today’ has already passed in New Zealand – so we’re assuming that filming is already underway. Shooting is scheduled to continue until the end of July.
Of course, the question we’re all pondering is: what scenes will be slated for this period of filming? We already know that 3 foot 7 were looking to cast extras with ‘character faces’, as described in their ad, here. Spanish Tolkien site elanillounico.com and French site Tolkiendrim.com both report that, apparently, these extras are sought for scenes which will take place in Bree; which of course does seem to fit with a need for character faces.
And this is where the wild speculation begins – get ready, because we’re guessing outside the box here! What scenes for The Hobbit movies might be set in Bree? Surely there is no need for An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition material to take us back to Bree on the journey of Bilbo and the dwarves? More interestingly, perhaps it could be a flashback to Gandalf and Thorin’s first meeting on the road, when they passed a night at Bree, as described in The Quest for Erebor? What important information might the film makers wish to disclose in such a scene – more about the back story of Azanulbizar and the disappearance of Thorin’s father, Thrain?
In their article, our French friends go even further and speculate that this may be a chance for some of the oft discussed ’bridge’ material between the stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Perhaps we will get to see Aragorn and Gandalf meeting in Bree, during Aragorn’s ranging days in the North, before the beginning of the hunt for Gollum. Viggo Mortensen only recently stated again, this time to Total Film magazine, that he would be keen to play a role in The Hobbit trilogy. He is reported here as having said, ‘Would I play Aragorn again? Sure, if it seemed sensible to do so. He’s not in the book of The Hobbit, but if they’re working with the appendices they may be intending to bridge the 60-year Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings gap.’ Mortensen went on to say, ‘I think I would have heard by now so I have to assume [not]… But Peter Jackson is famous for his reshoots, so you never know!’
Now that is something exciting to think about. Total idle speculation of course; we don’t even know for sure that scenes ARE being filmed in Bree. But it’s fun to dream of a little glimpse of Strider….
Thanks to our friends at Tolkiendrim.com for their report!
Posted in Hobbit Movie, Hobbit Movie Rumors, Lord of the Rings, LotR Cast News, LotR Movies, Production, The Hobbit, Viggo Mortensen
May 9, 2013 at 10:14 am by greendragon
As TORn readers will no doubt have heard by now, Ray Harryhausen, the man who pioneered stop motion photography and led the way to many of the special effects we take for granted today, died on Tuesday. He was 92. His classic films, such as Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans, inspired many future movie makers, with their wonderful scenes of monsters and mythical creatures, brought to life by Harryhausen’s brilliant use of stop motion technique. As a teenager, Harryhausen had himself been inspired by the 1933 King Kong; it seems fitting, then, that he in turn became a source of great inspiration for a teenage Peter Jackson, who of course made his own King Kong movie in 2005. USA Today quoted this statement from Peter Jackson: ‘The Lord of the Rings is my Ray Harryhausen movie. Without his lifelong love of his wondrous images and storytelling it would never have been made — not by me, at least.’
You can read more about Ray Harryhausen here. In 2010, BAFTA paid special tribute to Harryhausen in celebration of his 90th birthday. Peter Jackson was a surprise guest, and at the event he showed some of his earliest attempts as a teenage film maker, clearly inspired by Harryhausen’s movies. Jackson’s presentation – and those wonderful, early film clips – can be seen here.
The film industry has lost a legend; RIP Ray Harryhausen.
Posted in Director news, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, Miscellaneous, Peter Jackson
April 12, 2013 at 11:14 am by greendragon
Readers will already know about the hashtag war going on out there, from Rasputin the Evil Balrog’s post here and MrCere’s post here. The MTV Movie Awards are this weekend, so we have about twenty-four hours to go, to get as many #votebilbo counts out there as possible. Ringers cannot be beaten! – and here’s proof that, for amazing creativity, that’s certainly true. This brilliant video, created by Speigel Ei, shows that even Bella Swan would be won over by the genius that is Lord of the Rings. #votebilbo today!
single-bilboooo from Spiegel Ei on Vimeo.
Posted in Creations, Events, Fans, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, Other Events
April 3, 2013 at 9:25 am by greendragon
A story we posted a while back has recently resurfaced, and as we’re all thinking about dragons right now, it seemed worthy of a repeat visit! Forbes published a ‘rich list’ of fictional characters, and our favourite dragon, Smaug, comes out on top. Not surprising really; I’m not sure how they arrived at their figures, but $62 billion seems like a fair sum for the wealth of Erebor. Forbes suggest, however, that much of Smaug’s vast hoard comes from his work in movies and the excellent deal he negotiated to appear in The Hobbit movies! Check out the whole fictional rich list here; thanks to Ringer Eledium for the heads up!
Posted in Characters, Hobbit Book, Miscellaneous, The Hobbit
April 3, 2013 at 8:50 am by greendragon
T
here is a buzz in Tolkiendom right now about a gold ring dating from Roman times, which may have given Tolkien a seed of an idea for his own ’One Ring’. The ancient ring, found in 1785 in a field which was a Roman archaeological site in Silchester, Hampshire, UK, was associated with a ‘curse tablet’, cursing the man whom the original owner accused of stealing the gold trinket. Archeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler, investigating the wording of the curse, consulted with Tolkien about the ring in 1929; and that conversation may have been part of Tolkien’s inspiration to create his own magic ring.
The Roman artifact is now being shown in a new display at National Trust property The Vyne, also in Hampshire. The display includes a first edition of The Hobbit, and was arranged with the help of the Tolkien Trust. You can read more about this fascinating item, including an excellent explanation of the associated curse, in this article from the Guardian newspaper, here. Further articles can be found here and here.
Thanks to all who wrote in to tell us about this one ring!
Posted in Events, Exhibits, Hobbit Book, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Tolkien
