  TheOneRing.net: A Look Back at 2011
 Discuss »More about Barlimans, Blu-Ray, ComicCon, Contests, Conventions, DragonCon, Events, Fans, Film Screenings, Hobbit Movie, Locations Sets, Merchandise, MrCere in New Zealand, New Zealand, NYCC, Other Events, Production, Television, The Hobbit, TheOneRing.net Community, TORn TUESDAYS Live!, Warner Bros., WETA Cave, WETA Digital, WETA Workshop Collecting The Precious – Weta Orthanc Pre-Ruin Naming Contest Winner Announced
When Weta announced the Orthanc Pre-Ruin environment during Comic-Con 2011 they together with TORn it had a very special contest attached tothis announcement. Weta would be allowing the fans to submit suggestions with one of them becoming the official name to this truly amazing environment. Well, after many submissions Weta and TORn are pleased to announce the name and the Winners of the Orthanc Contest. The grand prize winner is Christopher Turner whose entry was Orthanc – Black Tower of Isengard. Mr. Turner’s prize is the awesome Bag End Collectors Edition while the two runners up Tom Barber and Chris Endicott both will receive a really cool Sauron T-Shirt. You can check out the full release of information from Weta here. Discuss »More about Collectibles, Collectibles, ComicCon, Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, LotR Movies, Merchandise, Movie Fellowship of the Ring, Movie Return of the King, Movie The Two Towers, Return of the King, The Two Towers, Uncategorized, WETA Cave, Weta Collectibles, WETA Digital, WETA Workshop War in the North Event at Comic-Con 2011The folks from WB Games have sent along this video from their event at Comic-Con last month. Exclusive: Andy Serkis talks ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes,’ ‘Hobbit’ with TORn
When the screenwriters threw in some character twists of the twisted character for Return of the King (for good or for ill, but don’t blame the actor) Serkis did it again. And of course his return as the same character to The Hobbit is as essential a tie between the films as any character. He went from Middle-earth to Monster Island with King Kong and even got to die a horrible death in his own skin on screen. Weta went on to create Pandora and its blue skinned inhabitants with James Cameron in Avatar then teamed up again on Tintin with Serkis playing a human in the hilarious Captain Haddock. But his role as Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, just about to open in theaters everywhere, is his greatest performance yet. He moves from being a central character in a big movie to being the center of the film and stealing the show from the actors who get flesh and blood on screen. A Look Back: Has Comic-Con Really Jumped The Shark?
This year at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 we brought tons of Hobbity goodness to all the fans who joined us to celebrate our shared love of Tolkien. It was a huge success by all accounts. Our Hobbit panel launched the weekend with wonderful buzz. We got a nice interview with Bard (Luke Evans) before he even stepped foot in New Zealand for his first day of filming! I got a brief, single question in to the legendary Francis Ford Coppola. I was delighted to feature WETA’s own Daniel Falconer and Greg Broadmore in our live feed. Here’s the big kick in the pants: overall viewership of our innovative live streaming video beat G4′s audience; proving that Ringer fans know how to bring it better than anyone! Way to go TORn! But I look back with a bittersweet reflection on how SDCC has evolved over time. Because “much that once was… is now lost.” At first blush any newcomer attending the mega-event titled San Diego Comic-Con International (mind you, I’m talking about the truly virginal), would expect to walk into the main hall and they would ostensibly find: comic books. Stephen Fry heading to ‘Hobbit’ setWith the break in filming (that including filming in the U.K. with Christopher Lee) players in the two-part Hobbit movie are heading back to New Zealand. Word is that Peter Jackson is there now after his surprise stop at Comic-Con and we learned today from his own Twitter (@stephenfry) that Stephen Fry as the Master of Laketown is headed there at well. He tweeted:
Luke Evans (Bard the Bowman) told us at the Con that he hasn’t stepped a foot on set yet but is scheduled for training and costume fitting soon. We do know the production is busy with decorating sets and getting costumes and extras ready for the ramp up of another 200 days of filming. Discuss »More about Characters, ComicCon, Conventions, Director news, Hobbit Cast News, Hobbit Movie, Peter Jackson, The Hobbit Comic-Con 2011 Hobbit Panel by TheOneRing.netTheOneRing.net kicked off San Diego Comic Con 2011 with the very first panel of the convention, Thursday 10 a.m. in room 7AB. Over 1,500 people lined up to secure one of only 480 seats in the room! Hosted by Larry D. Curtis (MrCere) and Cliff Broadway (Quickbeam), with special guest Daniel Falconer of Weta and our friends at Warner Brothers, TheOneRing.net previewed all the Hobbit actors in character and demoed a voiceover clip from Benedict Cumberpatch, the voice of Smaug doing a reading. TORn also announced its fan event surrounding two Sideshow/Weta Gandalf statues that fans in the U.S. and Europe can participate in. (Fandalf@TheOneRing.net) Each fan at the panel was then invited to an exclusively War In The North event and prizes were awarded from Badali Jewelry. Comic-Con 2011 Panel Pt 2 Discuss »More about Characters, ComicCon, Contests, Events, Fans, Hobbit Book, Hobbit Movie, The Hobbit, TheOneRing.net Community Francis Ford Coppola at Comic Con 2011Our very own Quickbeam spoke with Francis Ford Coppola at Comic-con about the staying power of fantasy films. Be on the lookout for our complete Hobbit panel to be re-posted on YouTube very shortly! MTV at Comic-Con – Celebrity Geeks or PosersAt Comic-Con 2011, MTV interviewed a few celebrities to test their Geek knowledge. As you will see in this video, most fail miserably, especially when it comes to the first question. Thank God for Twilight’s Taylor Lautner knew confidently answered the name of the character Elijah Wood portrayed in The Lord of the Rings! I think we can say we are particularly disappointed in Patrick Stewart, and pretty sure that Jon Favreau is a true geek! [MTV Post] Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog Comic-Con wraps but coverage continues from TORn Spielberg and Jackson together at Comic-Con 2011 The annual popular culture celebration is over but our coverage continues. If you visit TheOneRing.net/live you can see highlights from our streaming experience. In addition we have articles coming from our one-on-one with actor and director Andy Serkis and the press conference with Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg (not to be confused with the panel discussion) so look for more content in the coming week. We also will feature updates on our Traveling Gandalf that all fans can hopefully participate in. Thanks sincerely to those who purchased t-shirts, watched us live and read our stories. Finally, expect The Hobbit to impact SDCC in a huge way in 2012 and TORn will be there to bring it to you but we suggest getting tickets before it sells out as it always does. Come join the fun in 2012. Some TORn coverage from Comic-Con 2011: Sideshow Collectibles Make-a-Wish Auction – Unique LOTR Items
Luke Evans Talks Bard The BowmanIt’s not been a bad year for Luke Evans, what with turns in Immortals, The Raven and The Three Musketeers all in the bag. He was in San Diego to promote at least two of those movies, so naturally we grabbed him and asked about his latest, and most geek-friendly, role: Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. More.. |
 
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(The following is an opinion piece from long-time staffer Quickbeam aka Clifford Broadway)