Louisville may have won the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament last night, but the only match-up that Middle-earth fans were watching was that between Thorin Oakenshield and Gandalf the Grey. After an initial significant lead, Thorin’s army of fans brought him back from the depths. These two popular Hobbit characters scraped and scrounged for every single vote resulting in an amazingly close final.
As promised, we carefully reviewed the voting process and as it turns out, we are pleased to report there was not a lot of significant over-voting. Any small adjustments made did not affect the final result. So without further delay, we are pleased to announce that the 2013 Middle-earth March Madness Champion is….
See the UPDATE below for final tallies and some additional notes on voting.
Gandalf had the early lead, but Thorin’s army has pulled him into a dramatic 50/50 split! Who will win the 2013 edition of Middle-earth March Madness? Your guess is as good as ours.
A note on voting. We implemented a single vote per user rule in the Elite Eight round. Behind the scenes, we can tell which users are abusing the system and voting much more than once. In all instances, those voters will have their votes stricken and counted only as a single vote. For this reason, we will not have a final result to share until Tuesday morning. Voting ends at 10pm ET tonight, so if you haven’t already voted in this classic match, place your vote today!
We’ve come to it at last. The final match-up of the 2013 Middle-earth March Madness is now set.
The finalists are Gandalf the Grey vs. Thorin Oakenshield.
Thorin’s story in this competition is one of significant achievement. He managed to handle some historic Middle-earth talent by off’ing Fingolfin, Beorn and Smaug. In the semi-finals, Thorin held off a Number 1 seed, Lady Galadriel, with 53% of the vote. He is now riding a wave of popularity into this final match-up with Gandalf.
Gandalf had a bit of a cake-walk in the early rounds of the Angmar Division, easily taking care of Arwen and Merry. He didn’t escape unscathed however. He had a bit more compeition when he faced Gollum and ultimately The One Ring, but he bested both foes. The semi-final match-up with Elrond seemed to be a simple road bump, easily beating the Lord of Rivendell with 80% of the vote.
Now we have a true ‘Hobbit’ final. Who will win? Will Thorin continue to defy the odds and best yet another great of Middle-earth? Will Gandalf finally put an end to Thorin’s streak? Will the Richard Armitage fans out-vote the Ian McKellen fans? So many questions – who will win?!
Voting for the Finals will end on Monday April 8th at 10pm ET. Vote now!
The Final Four combatants in the 2013 edition of Middle-earth March Madness are set! With thousands of votes cast in the last round, we can now announce the champions of each division….
The Shire Division
As the number one seed in The Shire, (1) Galadriel skated through the entire division easily handling Nori, Huan, Morgoth and now Luthien. Based on her popularity in these match-ups, she is going to be a tough one to beat in the Final Four.
The Erebor Division
The Lord of Rivendell, (6) Elrond, the lowest seed left in the tournament, had a tough second and third round to make it the division lead. But can Elrond handle his old friend Gandalf the Grey?
The Mordor Division
In a surprise victory, the third seed (3) Thorin Oakenshield took out number one seed (1) Smaug. It seems Thorin is still benefiting from the RA Army, but he now has his hands full with The Lady Galadriel. Thorin’s journey to the Final Four has been nothing short of miraculous, often causing most of the heated discussions in the comments of the entire tournament.
The Angmar Division
In a battle of top Angmar division seeds, (2) Gandalf took out early tournament favorite (1) The One Ring. It can be said Gandalf had an easy time dispatching his opponents to make it to the Final Four, but how will he fair against his friend Elrond?
Voting in the Final Four starts right now and will close on April 5th at 10pm ET!
If you missed the Live Sneak Peek at The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on March 24, and you can now access the archived version of the event at http://thehobbit.com/sneak if you have an access code from purchasing one of several versions of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. But for those of you who have not yet had the opportunity to get your hands on a copy of the film (perhaps you’re holding out for the Extended Edition, or you are in a country that it hasn’t been released in yet), don’t despair! Peter Jackson has released an excerpt from the live event on YouTube. The 6-minute clip includes Peter answering several “fan” questions, including those from Stephen Colbert and Billy Boyd.
Peter Jackson says, “Warner Bros have kindly let me post a six-minute excerpt of the Live Event we did to preview The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, to give anyone who missed it a sense of what it was like.”
HAPPY EASTER and welcome to WonderCon! Join us today as we bring amazing Hobbity goodness to all the attendees waiting for a real insider’s scoop! Today, March 31st, join TORn Staffers Garfeimao and Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway at WonderCon in Anaheim, California, for our special panel presentation at 12:00pm PDT in Room 207. The panel is titled TheOneRing.net’s Unauthorized Sneak Peek: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. This will be a wildly fun discussion regarding all things Hobbit… with special insights from those who have been on the New Zealand sets!
WonderCon is one of three conventions hosted by Comic Con International, the others being APE (Alternative Press Expo) and San Diego Comic-Con. Wondercon follows the same general format as San Diego Comic Con, but on a much smaller size, making it easier to attend the panels you wish and still have time to shop. It is returning to the Anahim Convention Center for the second year while the Moscone Center in San Francisco is getting a major renovation. If you have had problems getting into San Diego Comic Con the last few years, this is a really great alternative. See you all on Sunday.
From the HollywoodReporter.com: Warner Home Video easily snagged the top spot on both national home video sales charts the week ending March 24 with New Line’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
The fantasy flick, which earned $302.7 million in U.S. theaters and was directed by Lord of the Rings helmer Peter Jackson, easily outsold several other high-profile theatrical features that also bowed on disc the same week.
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Demand was high for all three titles, but Hobbit was clearly the cream of the crop. Nielsen figures show Les Miserables sold just 33.8 percent as many units as Hobbit, while Zero Dark Thirty trailed with 21.4 percent. (To be fair, Les Mis came out on a Friday, so it didn’t have a full week of sales in the tracking period.)
The Eighth Sort-of-Annual Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy Marathon takes place today, staring 9am Eastern. Feel free to join us any time during the day – we’re happy to tell you what part of the movies we’re at.
People from around the world are online with one common goal: to virtually gather with other fans to watch all three films straight through. Geeky? Yes. Fun? Absolutely.
Please browse through our FAQ below, you’ll find the answers to many of your questions.
We’ve reached the Elite 8 line-up for Middle-earth March Madness 2013! 68,000 votes were cast in our last round which eliminated some big names in Middle-earth: Sauron, Gollum, Gwaihir, Beorn, Pippin and more! Our list of eight remaining combatants contain three members of the white council, two unlikely romantics, an inanimate object, and two of the main characters from The Hobbit.
Here are your Elite Eight Match-ups…
The Shire Division
So after all is said and done in The Shire, the battle comes down to (1) Galadriel vs. (6) Luthien. While Galadriel may be the more popularly known character, Luthien will give her a run for her money. This is a match-up of some of Middle-earth’s most powerful female characters!
The Erebor Division
Luthien’s lover (4) Beren, a mortal man, has his hands full facing battle-tested (6) Elrond. Elrond is hot off a significant victory over another star-crossed elf lover, Aragorn. But can Beren pull out the victory to give us one of the most memorable semi-finals of all time?!?
The Mordor Division
That gold hungry worm, (1) Smaug, managed to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron and will now face the flawed stubbornness of (3) Thorin Oakenshield. As this played out in ‘The Hobbit,’ Smaug handled the dwarves with ease, but will it happen again?!
The Angmar Division
As this reporter predicted, the number one seed (1) The One Ring has made it to the divisional final with a resounding victory. This inanimate object however has its hands full (wait, it has no hands…) as it faces off against one of Middle-earth’s most popular characters, (2) Gandalf the Grey. In this round we’ll finally see just who would conquer whom in this epic battle.
Voting starts right now and will run until April 1 at 10pm ET.
If you missed the Peter Jackson hosted first look at The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, or just want to watch it over again, a modified version is now available and archived on the Trilogy’s official website: www.thehobbit.com/sneak. To access the footage, use your UltraViolet code on your copy The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack or 2-Disc Special Edition DVD. Please note, you will only be able to access the footage three times per code. So make good use of your opportunities! You will also notice the footage is now twenty minutes shorter than the live counterpart. And of course, if you want to geek out a bit celebrating the teasing of Smaug (aka Peter’s Dragon) check out our latest T-Shirt in our Emporium! [Hobbit Sneak] [T-Shirt]
The Round of 32 is over and we have the Sweet Sixteen line-up for Middle-earth March Madness 2013! 22,000 votes were cast, and if you expected this year’s competition to progress based solely on ‘film’ character popularity, you are mistaken! Many non-film characters have made their way into the final 16 combatants!
Here are your Round 3 Match-ups…
The Shire Division
Looks like we have a high chance the winner out of The Shire Division will be an elf! The Lady of the Light, and number one seed, (1) Galadriel has a match-up of mind-blowing proportions as she faces the definitive antagonist of Arda, (4) Morgoth. Helped a bit by his prevalence in Peter Jackson’s Desolation of Smaug tease, (7) Thranduil now has a significant challenge as he faces J.R.R. Tolkien’s favored elf princess (6) Luthien.
The Erebor Division
The Cinderella story continues as (16) Pippin has made it past Dwarven favorite Fili. But will that journey come to a dramatic end as he faces fourth seed (4) Beren? But far more interesting is the match-up between (6) Elrond and (7) Aragorn. The soon to be King Elessar better not underestimate the Lord of Rivendell.
The Mordor Division
The two baddies from Tolkien’s most popular works (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings respectively) will face off in Round 3! (1) Smaug the Magnificent hopes to defeat the all seeing eye of (4) Sauron! (Someone make up a cool graphic for this one and we’ll post it on FB) In the other match-up, two popular characters from The Hobbit butt heads as (3) Thorin Oakenshield, most likely helped by his RA army, will face everyone’s favorite mysterious shape-shifter, (2) Beorn.
The Angmar Division
Could this division be any more exciting? (1) The One Ring has made it past Frodo Baggins, but will it defeat the King of Arda (12) Manwe, in hopes to have a potential re-match with (3) Gollum?! Gollum shouldn’t count those eggses before they hatch though. He needs to make it by (2) Gandalf the Grey. Will Gandalf’s sympathy for the wretched creature be his downfall? We shall see!
Voting starts right now and will run until March 28th at 10pm ET.
Middle-earth March Madness round 2 ends at 10pmET tonight, so get your votes in. [Vote] [Round 2 Bracket]
Here is how Round 2 is shaping up right now…
The Shire Division
(8) Huan is being handed his walking papers by (1) Galadriel, while the most powerful of the Ainur (4) Morgoth has a solid lead over the eldest ent (5) Treebeard. (6) Luthien seems poised to take down (3) Bilbo Baggins. But the closest story in this round appears to be the match between the Mirkwood Elvenking (7) Thranduil with a slim lead over the head of the White Council (2) Saruman.
The Erebor Division
The current Cinderella seed (16) Pippin is soundly beating ‘Hot Dwarf’ (9) Fili, can the Heir of Durin put in a late push? Last year’s champ (12) Samwise Gamgee is facing an uphill battle with (4) Beren. The owner of the Last Homely Home, (6) Elrond, is currently leading against (14) Eowyn, unless she can get some support from other Warrior Women. Can she make to the Sweet 16, possibly against Aragorn!? Speaking of (7) Aragorn, he is soundly trouncing the windlord (2) Gwaihir.
The Mordor Division
(9) Gil-galad, the high kind of Noldor, seems destined to lose to the number one seed (1) Smaug. The Dark Lord (4) Sauron is handily beating his dwarven opponent (5) Dain Ironfoot. (11) Fingolfin has a slim lead over (3) Thorin Oakenshield, where is his ARmy? (2) Beorn seems ready to send (7) Shelob packing. If things keep going this way, we could have Smaug and Sauron in the Sweet 16.
The Angmar Division
Not quite a fair battle, but (1) The One Ring seems ready to abandon (8) Frodo Baggins. The Eldar King (12) Manwe, has a very solid lead over a descendant of Girion in (4) Bard the Bowman. Some call him ‘creepy’ and ‘sneaky’ (3) Gollum, but he’s got a lead over the imposing dwarf (6) Dwalin. And last but not least, (10) Merry seems rather outranked and outclassed by (2) Gandalf the Grey.
Voting continues until tonight at 10pm ET. [Vote Now!]
Middle-earth March Madness round 2 ends at 10pmET tonight, so get your votes in. [