HobbitTORn

As contests go, this is one for the ages. And it should be, since it heralds the beginning of the end of the final installment of Middle-earth movies at the hands of Peter Jackson and his movie-making team. It’s also the final cinematic trumpet blast from the director’s home country of New Zealand that has stood in as a real-world wonder for the fictional world of author J.R.R. Tolkien.

Fans from around the world will have a chance to win a trip to see New Zealand in all its glory if they win the trip that will take them eventually to Wellington to watch the first screening of “The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies,” with its director. Along the way they will stop at iconic locations the length of the island nation that helped create the cinematic Middle-earth. No doubt that will include a stop to the Hobbiton Movie Set on the farm where more than a decade ago, the literary village and home of Frodo Baggins left the imagination and books to became tangible as it was constructed for Jackson’s LOTR trilogy.

Many websites will help host the contest and TheOneRing.net will sponsor the portion of the contest that is for “the rest of the world.” Read on for details!

HOW TO ENTER

Entering the contest is a multi-step process (and this is not a replacement for the rules) but each entrant will need a Twitter or Facebook account to get things started. Then four challenges will be presented by each contest sponsor website but the primary judging is to be based on a video participants are asked to submit (two minutes or less). If you want to participate, we urge you to read the rules completely and to comply.

WHO CAN ENTER

Through TheOneRing.net, you can enter if you aren’t from one of the following nations: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mainland China, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom (including Channel Islands & Isle of Man), United States and any country to or on which the United States has embargoed goods or imposed targeted sanctions, such as Cuba.

So readers in Austria, Greece, Romania and the like (just picking off the top of the writer’s head), welcome to the show. For the readers from the nations listed above, your portal to the contest will be elsewhere. For example, those in the United States can go right here.

If you do enter from a nation that isn’t yours, you aren’t eligible so we recommend not trying it. Those wishing to enter TORn’s portal and are from the correct nation need only click RIGHT HERE!

Since it was first announced at Comic-Con International in San Diego on 27 July 2014, upwards of 25,000 people have already registered their interest to participate. We at TORn expect that number to be obliterated quickly.

ABOUT THE PRIZE

Contest winners will land in Auckland, New Zealand, before embarking on a specially designed itinerary to iconic filming locations–the highlight being a special visit to Hobbiton, the famous home of the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins. Fans will enjoy a private tour through the 12-acre site, with a close-up look at the 44 Hobbit homes. (We have been and maybe its time to trot out those photos and video!)

The Hobbit Fan Fellowship will also visit other key film sites throughout New Zealand’s Middle-earth chosen by Sir Peter Jackson and end in Wellington for the ultimate film fan’s dream – a private screening of the final film, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” with Sir Peter Jackson.

About The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Directed by Peter Jackson, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies features a screenplay by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Jackson also produced the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh. The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood, with Philippa Boyens and Eileen Moran serving as co-producers. Production took place at Jackson’s own facilities in Miramar, Wellington, and on location around New Zealand. Post production took place at Park Road Post Production in Wellington.

For more information and to enter The Hobbit Fan Fellowship Contest visit
TheHobbitFanContest.com

DJEWoodSALT LAKE CITY — Elijah Wood isn’t joining fellow Fellowship actors Billy Boyd, Sean Astin and John Rhys-Davies for autographs and panels at FantasyCon July 3 – 5, but he is joining the adventure in other ways. The Daily Herald broke the news yesterday that Wood will DJ an evening event the night before it all starts to get FantasyCon rolling.

The event follows an invite-only charity event that same evening for seven different children’s charities that helps kids get access to FantasyCon that otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend an event like a big public convention. You can read more about Wood’s event RIGHT HERE and read more about the guests at FantasyCon here. Those who purchase VIP tickets (ticketing here) to FantasyCon look to have access to the event that will likely have very limited availability to the public. Continue reading “DJ E-Wood? FantasyCon lands Elijah Wood for its opening night party”

Lindsey Stirling-0036 In addition to writing stuff in my spare time for TORn, yours truly also reviews and photographs a lot of live music. Normally, the two hobbies don’t intersect, but on Saturday evening I caught rock-violinist Lindsey Stirling at The Powerhouse Theatre in Brisbane. I was able to both photograph and review the performance for a small Australian publication.

I figured a few of you might be fans of Stirling, having previously seen her extremely popular video medley of music from The Lord of the Rings soundtrack (it’s had some 13 million views, which is not too shabby). So here’s my review, and a selection of the best photos I took on the night. If this is your thing, enjoy!


Act: Lindsey Stirling
Venue: Brisbane Powerhouse
Date: August 24, 2013

There’s a long wait for rock-violinist Lindsey Stirling this evening at The Powerhouse — at least 15 minutes long, to be honest. For a touch over an hour, Kiwi DJ 1000 Ninjas labours manfully from a cubbyhole spot almost side-of-stage. In a club environment his chill-out grooves and odd samples would probably win a better reception, but this crowd is expecting action and movement, and that’s something beyond 1000 Ninjas’ scritchy-glitchy stillness tonight.

By contrast, Stirling is all movement. Over the course of an hour and twenty minutes she barely halts — whirling, twirling, jumping and pirouetting. Formal ballet it isn’t, still Stirling’s show is as much an act of dance as it is a musical performance. All with a carbon-fibre violin jammed under her left ear. And the capacity crowd — a peculiar mixture of young and old; gamers and geeks reflective of the diversity of her fanbase — laps it up.

It could all easily come off as a gimmick, yet Stirling’s undeniable chops on the fiddle allow her to deliver a set of engaging tunes high on verve while avoiding the cheese factor.

Many of the highlights flow from her self-titled long-player: Anti-gravity is a punchy and aggressive opener, the livewire drumming of Drew Steen lends bottom-end grunt to Electric Daisy Violin, while the lurching percussion and insistent see-sawing violin of Moon Trance make a strong contender for tune of the night.

[Read Full Review] | [View Photo Gallery]

 


Lord of the Rings medley performed by Lindsey Stirling