TORn TUESDAY Exclusive *Live* Chat with DOUG JONES from Hellboy & Pan’s Labyrinth!

April 3rd, 2012 by Quickbeam | No Comments »

We are proud to announce fantasy-film legend DOUG JONES will be our special guest *live* today on TORn TUESDAY!  Doug is famously known as Guillermo del Toro’s right-hand-man and favorite character actor — with consummate physical skill that shines through tons of effects make-up, Doug has brought the most phantasmagorical creatures to life! His credits include Abe Sapien (HELLBOY), Pan and the terrifying Pale Man (PAN’S LABYRINTH), and Marvel’s Silver Surfer (FANTASTIC 4), among many others! Doug will share his amazing stories of working with del Toro (and his “almost-but-not-quite” moment with THE HOBBIT) and tell us about the newly released “Mime Very Own Book,” featuring his remarkable double-jointed work. Join the *live* chat today and present your questions to Doug! Today’s webcast launches at 5:00pm PDT — There’s a built-in Barliman’s chat room or come in via Skype in TheOneRing.net’s Stickam page. Check out our LIVE Event section right here every week! [LIVE Event Area] (See All Times)

Middle-earth March Madness 2012 Championship Round!

April 2nd, 2012 by admin | No Comments »

After weeks of competition and a series of amazing match-ups, it all comes down to this! The final two combatants in our inaugural Middle-earth March Madness are Samwise Gamgee and Aragorn! Just when it looked like Legolas was simply unstoppable, Samwise proved his muster by soundly defeating the elf by nearly 13 percentage points! Gandalf was primed for defeat when he barely advanced (by one vote) against Feanor in round 1, so it was no surprise to see Aragorn pull away and beat him by 9 percent. Both characters were number two seeds throughout a tournament that seemed to heavily favor the number 1 seeds.  (Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Final Four )

Samwise Gamgee: The Trilogy starts and ends with him, the coolest landscape architect ever. After a stellar turn as Frodo’s backbone he came home to a beautiful family and a rewarding political career. “Well, I’m back,” he said.

Aragorn: This man claimed the Crown, brought powers of healing through strange herbal remedies, and kept the lovefires burning for a certain Elven Princess… He had it all, even choosing his own exit on his own terms. Now that’s why it’s good to be the King.

This historic match-up will last until April 4th at Noon ET. If you are passionate about either choice, please take a moment to share with your friends and family! We’ll keep you updated on the match-up throughout the week.

Middle-earth March Madness 2012 – The Final Four!

March 30th, 2012 by newsfrombree | No Comments »

Middle-earth March Madness is down to the Final Four! Coming out of the Rankin/Bass Division, battered and bruised by some close calls, is none other than everyone’s favorite wizard, Gandalf! From the Ralph Bakshi Division, with a final match that was not nearly as close as one might expect, is Aragorn! From the Tolkien Family Division is the solid number one seed Legolas, coming hot off his latest victory over the Ringbearer himself, Frodo. Last, but certainly not least, out of the Peter Jackson Division, is tournament dark horse, and the only remaining Hobbit…Samwise Gamgee! Voting in for the Final Four will last until April 1st at 6pm ET. Check out the results from the previous rounds: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3.

Follow after the break to place your vote and see the latest version of the bracket. (Download) Good luck to all of our competitors!

Middle-earth March Madness 2012 – Round 3!

March 27th, 2012 by newsfrombree | No Comments »

We’ve reached the Elite Eight in our inaugural Middle-earth March Madness tournament! The match-ups in the second round proved to be quite historic, but none more than the Rankin/Bass Division. The top seed (1)Gandalf, narrowly won by a single vote. Yes, one vote out of 19,405 is all that defeated the great (4)Feanor! Proving once again that even the smallest of things can make a difference. In the other match-up, (6)Smaug lost to (2)Galadriel by only 100 votes in a competition that saw 20,616 total votes! The rest of the divisions were competitive, but did come down to less than 100 votes. (see all results here) Ultimately we’ve ended up with the number 1 and number 2 seeded competitors facing off in the Elite Eight!

(1)Gandalf will take on (2)Galadriel in a battle of characters that will be returning to the screen in the upcoming ‘Hobbit‘ films! In the Ralph Bakshi Division, (1)Bilbo Baggins will test his muster against a crowd-favorite (2)Aragorn. In the Tolkien Family Division, heavily favored heart-throb (1)Legolas will face off against the hardened savior of Middle-earth (2)Frodo Baggins. The Peter Jackson Division’s final competition comes served with a bit of irony. Peter’s division is the only one to have a competitor that was not represented on-screen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The match-up finds the top-seeded (1)Glorfindel versus a heavy crowd favorite (2)Samwise Gamgee.

Follow after the break to place your vote and see the latest version of the bracket. (download) Voting will remain open until March 30th at Noon ET. You may vote as often as you like, so please share with your friends and family.

First images of the DALE film set?

March 22nd, 2012 by greendragon | No Comments »

Our friends at herr-der-ringe-film.de have exclusive new images posted on their site!  An anonymous source sent them photos which supposedly show the set for Dale.  The pictures show tall structures and elaborate stonework; you can check out the images here.  A translation of the page follows after the break – read no further if you want to stay spoiler free!

Middle-earth Madness 2012 – Round 2!

March 22nd, 2012 by newsfrombree | No Comments »

Round 1 of Middle-earth Madness is over and the results were surprising! Two of the match-ups were separated by approximately 30 votes: (5) Merry narrowly outlasted (4) Eowyn (results) and (4) Gollum barely beat out previous leader (5) Treebeard (results). The only ‘big’ upset in the last round was (6) Smaug taking down (3) Arwen. All of the match-up results can be seen on our ‘Round 1′ page (click here). In Round 2, the Sweet Sixteen, we have some historical competitions. In the Ralph Bakshi Division, the battle for the Ring takes on new meaning when (1) Bilbo faces (4) Gollum. Then we have the battle of manly actors as (3) Thorin Oakensheild takes on (2) Aragorn. In the Rankin/Bass Division, the only remaining Silmarillion character, (4) Feanor, will have his hands full with the top seed (1) Gandalf. And (2) Galadriel could possible feel the extreme wrath of everyone’s favorite Middle-earth dragon (6) Smaug. In the Tolkien Family Division, poor little ole (4) Pippin faces off against the top seed (1) Legolas, fresh off his too-close-for-comfort battle with Elrond. (3) Faramir may have been tempted by the Ring in TTT, but can he overcome the temptation to beat (2) Frodo? And finally, in the Peter Jackson Division. Non-film character (1) Glorfindel takes on yet another Hobbit (5) Merry! And we know (3) Boromir tried to snag the Ring from Frodo, but can he handle the onslaught of (2) Sam? These Round 2 match-ups are going to be close, so vote now, and vote often! This round ends on March 26th 2012 at Noon ET. Continue after the break for the updated bracket (download) and some additional notes!

Viggo Mortensen part 3 – the philosophy of Viggo. (Includes new video!)

March 17th, 2012 by greendragon | No Comments »

Apologies for the delay in this post; it took longer than expected to wrestle my thoughts into (hopefully!) coherent form!  It’s not easy to craft a post – without writing an entire book (and this isn’t far off)! –  which captures the essence of all that Viggo Mortensen had to say when he attended the Coolidge Award here in Boston.  In this final part of the write-up, I wanted to try to capture Mortensen’s philosophy of life, as revealed through remarks he made during the various gatherings at the Coolidge Theatre.  In the three sessions at the Coolidge – press Q&A, questions after the Eastern Promises screening, and the evening discussion with WBUR’s Robin Young – Mortensen was asked many questions, and his thoughtful way of looking at the world, (and at the art he wishes to create in that world), was revealed in the answers he gave.

Mortensen is often referred to as a ‘Renaissance man’, because of his seeming ability to turn his hand to all manner of talents.  He has written poetry, exhibited photography and paintings, even composed music.  He told the audience at the Coolidge, ‘I might like to try directing at some point.’  He is an excellent horseman and was praised by the late swordmaster Bob Anderson (in the Two Towers DVD extras) as being ‘the best swordsman I’ve ever trained’.  On top of all that, he’s a rather good actor….  In spite of all this ability, Mortensen continues to be known as ‘No ego Viggo’; how is it that he stays so humble?  And what drives him to try his hand in so many different fields?

Today TheOneRing.net Provides Grand Opening Panel for WONDERCON!

March 16th, 2012 by Quickbeam | No Comments »

Greetings all Ringers!  By now you now that WonderCon has moved for 2012 down to Anaheim, providing a new opportunity for the dedicated volunteer staff of TORn to bring their sunny best to a rainy weekend in Southern California!

We open the festivities with our much anticipated panel on THE HOBBIT at 12:30pm today… check out the Programming Schedule here:

“12:30-1:30 TheOneRing.net Hobbit Movie Insider’s Preview— Ringers everywhere are eagerly awaiting Peter Jackson’s new Hobbit films during the 75th anniversary year of the book’s publication! Staff writers and scholars from TheOneRing.net web portal invite you to join this lively panel revealing film production surprises and a zealous shredding of rumors! Led by Clifford Broadway (Ringers: Lord of the Fans), Josh Rubinstein (Star Trek: TNG Blu-ray), Cathy Udovch (Cruise to Middle-earth), and Mike Urban (The People’s Guide to J. R. R. Tolkien). Room 207 ”

We are also joined by the legendary Larry Curtis - MrCere – who recently went down to visit the New Zealand production and has a first-hand account.  With tons of juicy bits and some fun surprises, you’re sure to get your Hobbity fix on your first day at WonderCon! Come join us in Room 207!

Middle-earth Madness 2012 – Round 1

March 15th, 2012 by newsfrombree | No Comments »

Middle-earth Madness officially starts today! We’ve split our field of 32 characters into four divisions: The Rankin/Bass Division, The Ralph Bakshi Division, The Tolkien Family Division, and The Peter Jackson Division.

Voting in Round 1 will remain open until March 21st at Noon ET. At that point, we’ll calculate the winners and post the next round on March 22nd. Follow after the break for a complete bracket image (download it), and to vote on all of our Round 1 match-ups!

Updates on The Hobbit pub issue

March 15th, 2012 by Garfeimao | No Comments »

Since the news of problems for the long standing The Hobbit pub in Southampton surfaced a few days ago, many fans have jumped onboard to support the pub, including a few involved in the current movie production. Stephen Fry pretty much brought the story to everyone’s attention a few days back, and now Sir Ian McKellen is adding his support. You can read his reaction on his Blog.

*Breaking News*

And just as details of this latest news were coming in, reports now appear that might indicate a solution is on the horizon. You can read details at the Daily Echo. They will be updating that blog shortly with reaction from locals, so raise a pint everyone and keep your Hobbity fingers crossed this hiccup is resolved.

Selection Sunday – Middle-earth Madness soon to be revealed

March 11th, 2012 by MrCere | No Comments »

Middle-earth Madness and all the fun that implies, is soon to be released to fans of J.R.R. Tolkien everywhere. Readers and moviegoers will be able to vote as we pit character vs. character in a showdown to determine the 2012 Middle-earth character champion.

In the spirit of the U.S.’ NCAA college basketball tournament, known as March Madness, we will create matchups that pit the likes of Gollum vs. Treebeard and Boromir vs. Balin. Unlike the NCAA bracket, ours will be a 32 team showdown. Using voting fan input and finally our own selection committee.

And, because there are hundreds of great characters across the Middle-earth catalog, we know not everybody’s favorite character can fit in a field of 32 and just like in the NCAA tournament, some deserving characters may not get in. (Unlike the basketball tournament however, all of the characters are fictional and none will have his or her feelings hurt and they all have “next year” to be a contender.) So, we hope you will join us for our voting and enjoy Middle-earth Madness! The Bracket will be revealed soon!

Subscribe to Today in Middle-earth using iCal or XML

March 11th, 2012 by newsfrombree | Discuss | | No Comments »

We’ve gotten a lot of great reaction to yesterday’s reveal of our Today in Middle-earth Calendar and want to share a quick update for those of you looking to add it to your feed or Apple’s iCal. For iCal, simply click on this link and the calendar will be automatically added to your iCal application (from there you can share it on your iPHone, etc). When we make updates to the calendar they should automatically populate your calendar as well.  If you are looking for a XML feed of this calendar, click here.  [XML Feed] [iCal Download] [TIME Calendar]

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