Confirmed: ‘Hobbit’ filming resumes Monday
Peter Jackson talks to Graham McTavish while Martin Freeman, dressed as Bilbo Baggins, looks on.
Benedict Cumberbatch in the Star Trek franchise.
Archive for the ‘Adam Brown’ Category
TORn TUESDAY Webcast: Dwarven History Pt. 3 with ORI Adam Brown!
Welcome everyone to our wonderful live show — affectionately known as TORn TUESDAY — a unique webcast where you can come into the chat and participate live with our *very special* guest ADAM BROWN, who plays Ori the Dwarf in Thorin’s Company in the new Hobbit films! Yes, you read that right, “Have they got any chips?!”
We are thrilled to have our first actor from the traveling Company on our show! Adam Brown has arrived in Los Angeles to bring some Hobbity goodness to the 3rd part in our ongoing series of discussions on the history of the Dwarves who undertake the Quest of Erebor. Bring your questions and join us LIVE for what will surely be a show of surprises!
Join us for TORn TUESDAY every week at 5:00PM Pacific: brought to you by host Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway and producer Justin “I Haven’t Read The Books Yet” Sewell — as we discuss the unique characteristics of each Dwarf. We shall learn how they fit into the larger history of Tolkien’s legends — and what Peter Jackson & WETA did to help us distinguish these rough and tumble travelers from each other (using more than just colored hoods). Our innovative live show includes worldwide fans who join us on the Live Event page with a built-in IRC chat (affectionately known as Barliman’s Chat room). Be part of the fun and mischief every week as we broadcast *live* from Meltdown Comics in the heart of Hollywood, U.S.A.!
NEXT WEEK: Bifur, Bofur….. and Bombur!
——————————————————————-
Follow Cliff ‘Quickbeam’ Broadway on Twitter: @quickbeam2000
Posted in Adam Brown, Barlimans, Fans, Headlines, Hobbit Cast News, Hobbit Movie, Production, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, TORn TUESDAYS Live!Want to visit Middle-earth? Try the Hobbiton Movie Set
Note: A photo gallery follows the text and videos, click for larger versions.
The mill at Hobbiton Movie Set
After all, Tourism New Zealand’s motto is “New Zealand is Middle-earth” and this is true in so many ways and for much longer than just the weeks after the debut of the film. For example, above is the video made for TORn by fellow filmmaker Dan McBride who shot and edited the video tour you probably have already watched. We, and a gaggle of other media, toured the Hobbiton Movie Set and witnessed Prime Minister John Key open the new Green Dragon building accompanied by a bunch of actors who reminded us a whole lot of a company of Dwarves. (Incidentally, we had just talked to him the day before so when he showed up again, we wondered why we were being followed and what we had done wrong.)
The video speaks for itself but this remarkable property is, as far as I know, unique in all the world for its ability to transport visitors inside a book, or a movie for that matter. Being there doesn’t feel like walking on a set, rather it feels like immersion. It looks, smells, sounds and feels like one imagines Hobbiton would if you could take a magic wardrobe to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The Hobbit holes scattered about are, more or less, as they were for filming of “The Hobbit,” movies. It seems safe to assume we will see more of The Shire in subsequent movies and in the Extended Edition on home video before the end of the year.
At the Green Dragon
Hamilton is also near with more accommodations and an airport. Not far from Auckland, 160 kilometers in fact, visitors can easily manage the two hour car ride. It goes without saying that driving through the countryside is spectacular as well. My dream would be to meet with TheOneRing.net staff and friends in The Green Dragon, which can be reserved for private functions. They serve food and drink and I just bet you can guess what size the ale comes in. Weddings have and will happen here. The atmosphere and the finish on the place are just as good as you hope they are. In truth, for movies fans and Tolkien fans, the entire movie set experience is simply magic.
Waitomo Caves Black Water Rafting
The region is full of food and drink, excellent accommodations and plenty more worth-while excursions. We will tackle them all in a future story. But add the farm visit and Waitomo Caves to your bucket lists. They really are wold-class destinations not to be missed but especially not by Tolkienites.
While you are here, please enjoy other videos from the premiere. First, actors talking about rings:
And Red Carpet highlights.
-
- New Zealand
-
- A map of the New Zealand region with Auckland and Matamata.
-
- A detailed map of where The Hobbit Move Set is located near Matamata.
-
- The door of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.
-
- Seems like a good place for a party
-
- An average human male (Dan McBride) stands in front of a small Hobbit door.
-
- The mill at Hobbiton Movie Set
-
- Water at Hobbiton Movie set
-
- They may not like boats but Hobbits have docks.
-
- The visitor’s center in Matamata, New Zealand.
-
- Flower at Hobbiton Movie Set
-
- Hobbiton water
-
- Actors look on at the opening ceremony of the Green Dragon
-
- Still water, a view of Hobbiton Movie Set
-
- For scale, an average sized adult (MrCere) at a Hobbit door.
-
- A Hobbit window at Hobbiton Movie Set
-
- Flowers and door at Hobbiton Movie Set
-
- The interior of the Green Dragon
-
- At the Green Dragon
-
- By the lake and the mill sits the Green Dragon
-
- The exterior of the Green Dragon
-
- The bar at The Green Dragon
-
- Detail of the carved green dragon in the Green Dragon
-
- Floor plan on the wall of the Green Dragon of the Green Dragon.
-
- Inside the Green Dragon
-
- Door and menu at the Green Dragon
-
- At the Green Dragon
-
- Interior of the Green Dragon
-
- Waitomo Caves black water rafting with glow worms.
-
- Waitomo Caves Black Water Rafting
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey wins Best SciFi/Fantasy film at Jameson Empire Awards
Whilst most of us were busy being excited about Peter Jackson’s ‘sneak peek’ going on live today, over in the UK our friends at Empire were busy with their very own movie awards! The Jameson Empire Awards 2013 were held tonight at the Grosvenor House Hotel, in a cold and snowy London. These awards are voted for by movie fans themselves – and in a demonstration of the impeccable taste of fans everywhere, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was awarded Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Film. Sir Ian McKellen was there to collect the award, and he gave a shout out from the stage to his two cast mates who also attended the ceremony, Martin Freeman and Adam Brown.
Freeman soon had his own moment in the spotlight, as he beat nominees including Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln to win the award for Best Actor! In typically tongue-in-cheek style, Freeman commented, ‘I always wondered if it was possible to quantify the best actor, and now I realise that it is, and it’s me! What a load of old rubbish I was in with…’ He later went on to say, modest as ever, ’It’s possible that my performance was not the best of the year, but I’ll take it!’ What a charming chap he is; ever ready with a wink and a smile, as Empire’s picture of him shows!
Empire’s blog of the awards ceremony can be read here; check back to their homepage later for more pics and reports from the night, and to find out who the other winners were. Many congratulations on their awards, to Martin Freeman and to all our friends involved with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey!
Posted in Adam Brown, Events, Hobbit Cast News, Hobbit Movie, Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Other Events, The HobbitTORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – February 25, 2013
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!
A festive mathom for all readers of TheOneRing.net!
greendragon with actor John Bell, who plays Bain in The Hobbit movies
On 12th December staffer greendragon was lucky enough to attend the red (well, actually it was green!) carpet in Leicester Square, London, for the Royal Film Performance of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Many of the film’s stars – and other celebs who were there to see the movie – stopped by to say hi, and were delighted to see TheOneRing.net (‘our special friends,’ as Peter Hambleton said) represented there. This is because YOU, our readers, are all so fabulous – everyone involved with the films knows that the best fans are the ones who visit TORn. 
So here, as a little festive mathom offered to you all from us, the staffers at TORn, is a video of some greetings (and some ‘woohoos’!) to you all, from the folks who work in Middle-earth.
After a little footage of the set up in Leicester Square to set the scene, you’ll see John Bell (Bain) and his parents, Graham McTavish (Dwalin), James Nesbitt (Bofur), William Kircher (Bifur) and his beautiful wife Nicole, artist Alan Lee, Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Adam Brown (Ori), and of course Dominic Monaghan (Merry) and Billy Boyd (Pippin)- who were there to see the movie and revisit old haunts! Enjoy! Wishing you all happy holidays!
Posted in Adam Brown, Alan Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Events, Graham McTavish, Hobbit Movie, James Nesbitt, Peter Hambleton, Premieres, Production, Stephen Hunter, The Hobbit, William KircherIGN Quizzes The Dwarves – Humor, Exclusive Film Clips and More!
IGN.com has a great video interview with the dwarven cast of ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ that is well worth 8 minutes of your time today. Watch the company squibble and squirm as they try to answer a variety of Tolkien trivia. In-between the humorous answers, you’ll see some great clips from the film. (Who knew Galadriel was the name of Gandalf’s sword? 
) Enjoy! [Video]
Hobbit Week: Video greetings from stars to fans at World Premiere of ‘Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’
With the public screenings now on in New Zealand and England and a day away in the U.S. and Canada, it seems a good time to continue to celebrate Hobbit Week and share some of the footage we gathered on the red carpet in Wellington, New Zealand. And this time instead of speaking to the media in general, they are speaking directly to you, the community that makes up TheOneRing.net. We have saved this footage for just the right time but here in the states it feels like ‘Hobbit Eve’ and there hasn’t been a lull in the media for weeks so it is now or never! Hope you enjoy some short visits and appearances by Adam Brown, Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, James Cameron, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Martin Freeman, Peter Hambleton, Richard Armitage, Stephen Hunter and William Kircher. Enjoy!
Posted in Adam Brown, Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, Events, Fans, Film Screenings, Hobbit Movie, Hugo Weaving, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Martin Freeman, Peter Hambleton, Premieres, Press Conferences, Richard Armitage, Stephen Hunter, The Hobbit, Wellington, William KircherUnspoiled for ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ – Arathorn’s Review
Editor Note: Arathorn was an original staffer of TheOneRing.net back in the early days of the site. His involvement in the site has waned in recent years due to professional and familial responsiblities. His perspective on ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ is unique as he has remained completely unspoiled and out-of-the-loop for nearly 10 years. Spoilers Ahead!
So, the question you probably want to hear answered is how The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey compares with LoTR. From my perspective, it’s pretty favourable – it worked much better for me than RoTK and FoTR, and probably slightly better than TTT. For context however, this is coming from someone who seriously undermined their enjoyment of LoTR by spoiling themselves rotten – whereas I’ve deliberately kept myself unspoilt for The Hobbit.
The pacing of The Hobbit: AUJ is gentler and more consistent than LoTR – the storytelling unfolds at a much more metered and less rushed pace. At no point did I feel bored – it felt like a leisurely but appropriate telling of the story. Also, where story padding is added, it generally feels that it’s actually dramatically required in order to provide additional context for the ‘real’ story, rather than a jarring and illadvised substitution from the books. For instance, the presence of Radagast is a much-needed and legitimate extension to portray the rise of evil in Mirkwood and Dol Guldur which would otherwise have to be shown as a slightly forced flashback.
Posted in Adam Brown, Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Hobbit Movie, Ian McKellen, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Martin Freeman, Peter Jackson, Production, Richard Armitage, The Hobbit‘The Long Expected Movie’ – another TORn staffer Hobbit review
For most folks, this is it: this is the week when we finally get to go back to Middle-earth, and experience Peter Jackson’s first Hobbit movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Some of us, however, have had the great good fortune of seeing the film already, at press events around the globe. I was one such lucky viewer – and I present here my more-or-less spoiler-free review of what I saw.
Walking through the morning commuting crowds, heading to the cinema, it was slightly bewildering to think that I was finally going to see this movie. It’s been YEARS – hoping since The Return of the King that we would get to go ‘back again’; handing out ‘Make the Hobbit Happen!’ buttons at conventions; watching the ‘snakes and ladders’ game of waiting for that greenlight; eagerly taking in every moment of Peter Jackson’s production diaries… And now, at last, here it is. Would the anticipation prove too much? Would I be disappointed?
As the opening credits came up, I knew immediately that the answer, whatever was in store, would be NO. I was revisiting old friends – and what a great pleasure it was. I wanted to cry, as Frodo does in The Fellowship of the Ring, ‘It’s wonderful to see you Gandalf!’ What a treat to be back in the Shire, and to delight again in its green beauty. What fun to explore Bag End some more, and to see Ian Holm and Elijah Wood back where they belong – in furry feet!
Posted in Adam Brown, Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Hobbit Movie, Ian McKellen, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Martin Freeman, Peter Jackson, Production, Richard Armitage, The HobbitTop photos of NZ ‘Hobbit’ press conference
Richard Armitage listens to a question during a press conference before the World Premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Wellington, New Zealand.
Only hours before the stars walked the red carpet in front of 100,000 fans on the street of Wellington, nearly the entire cast gathered at Te Papa Museum for a pair of press conferences.
Peter Jackson and stars Richard Armitage and Martin Freeman attended both press events while most of the rest of the principal cast and screenwriter Philippa Boyens attended one event or the other.
Media was invited by Warner Bros., the studio that was handling press from around the world during the week. TheOneRing.net was included in the press invite, not the only online fan site to get the call, as our friends from herr-der-ringe were also there. MGM and New Line were also announced as presenting the press conferences.
John Callen sits with his “Team Oin” jacket on during the press conference at Te Papa Museum in Wellington, New Zealand. Each actor choose a unique approach to wardrobe, just as in the movie, showing their personality when there was little dialog to go around.
Te Papa, a world-class museum, arranged a long table for the events and switched name cards in front of native Maori art. Called a Marae, translated as “big house” but serving as the symbolic center of Maori tradition, the event started with singing and then a forehead-to-forehead welcome to the participants. With the unique and beautiful colors behind, each of the question and answer sessions lasted about 40 minutes and was moderated.
Flash photography was not allowed, although clearly TheOneRing took quite a few stills. In the back of the room rows of cameras shot video, including for TORn. We audio recorded the event as well and hope to present a transcript of it in a day or two. Meanwhile enjoy some of the best handful of photos. The participants included: Cate Blanchette, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Stephen Hunter, Peter Hambleton William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Graham McTavish, Andy Serkis and Elijah Wood.
-
- Philippa Boyens (l to r) Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and Dean O’Gormann react to a question from the media. The reporter asked Freeman if he could eat dinner with anybody, living or dead, who it would be. Martin seemed a little stunted by the question.
-
- Martin Freeman, who plays the leading role in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, tries on his Hobbit Halo next to Peter Jackson.
-
- John Callen sits with his “Team Oin” jacket on during the press conference at Te Papa Museum in Wellington, New Zealand. Each actor choose a unique approach to wardrobe, just as in the movie, showing their personality when there was little dialog to go around.
-
- Richard Armitage listens to a question during a press conference before the World Premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Wellington, New Zealand.
-
- Jed Brophy and William Kircher, fresh from playing Red Carpet Tours and TheOneRing.net’s combined party two nights before, speak earnestly about their experiences acting on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Green Dragon opens in Hobbiton for thirsty fans, New Zealand
With the help of a group of Dwarves and New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Keys, the Green Dragon officially opened for business Thursday. Located on the Hobbiton Movie Set near small-town Matamata, New Zealand, visitors can now have some ale as part of their visiting to the fully immersive movie immersion.
Press from around the globe were on hand for a full day showcase of what the site has to offer as they dispersed from the World Premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Wellington, New Zealand the previous day.
Keys cut the chains on the door as the Alexander family, who owns the sheep farm the set is built on, welcomed him and the new addition to the set tour with the help of the actors who played dwarves in the latest Middle-earth film. Dean O’Gorman, Aiden Turner, Adam Brown, James Nesbit, John Callen, Stephen Hunter, Jed Brophy, Mark Hadlow, William Kircher, Peter Hambleton and Graham McTavish were all on hand for photos at the door and media interviews around the Hobbiton setting. Royd Tolkien was also in attendance along with key figures from the farm and New Zealand tourism.
Visitors were then treated to New Zealand’s finest wines, tasty snacks and cheeses and of course, ale. Several of the dwarves wore matching rings and revealed that just as the original Fellowship of actors in the LOTR movies all were tattooed together, this group, including lead Martin Freeman all share these specially crafted rings.
Hadlow summed it up, calling the rings a symbol of the actor’s brotherhood.
Please enjoy a few pictures from the event and from the Red Carpet the previous day.
Note: Correspondent Larry D. Curtis is in New Zealand but is having computer failures. Expect much more content in the days to come.
