As you are aware, many Hobbit cast members have their own twitter accounts. After Evangeline Lilly participated in a live Twitter Q&A the other day, we thought it would be a great time to remind you of the official accounts. As far as we know each actor manages their twitter personally, offering a great way to keep up with them. (more…)
For those attending Comic-Con, Peter Jackson announced that he will not be sending actors or a sizzle reel to the giant popular culture show this year. However, TheOneRing.net does have a panel to talk about “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” on Thursday, July 18 at 5:30 to 6:30 in room 6A with a seating capacity of around 1,000. We will present our unofficial look at the film and we hope to spring a surprise guest or two at the affair as well. Be warned, there is always a line and never enough seats for TORn’s annual panel so plan ahead with many getting turned away every year. (We will also be selling shirts to keep our website alive financially at the Badali Jewelry booth and the Weta Workshop booth, come see us at both!)
For the rest of the world that doesn’t get to attend the San Diego even anyway, the team behind the scenes on the production presents a brand new production diary complete with what will surely be a new fitness fashion Dwarvercise! It also has some really good looks at the seldom seen storage facilities with the Art Department’s Ra Vincent, a glimpse of Evangeline Lily and Orlando Bloom riding a green creature and plenty of the crew getting the production back into the swing of pick up shooting, currently happening as you read.
The ten-minute diary is below. Enjoy!
Posted in Adam Brown, ComicCon, Conventions, Dean O'Gorman, Director news, Evangeline Lilly, Events, Graham McTavish, Hobbit Movie, Jed Brophy, John Bell, John Callen, Lee Pace, Locations Sets, Luke Evans, Mark Hadlow, Orlando Bloom, Peter Jackson, Ra Vincent, Sylvester McCoy, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, William Kircher
We may be too late for his birthday in New Zealand, but it’s still his day in some parts of the world! Amidst all the hard work going on in New Zealand just now, the Hobbit gang found time to celebrate Ori’s birthday – and co-star Stephen Hunter tweeted this great photo of some of the cast gathered for birthday fun! (After TORn retweeted Stephen’s pic, James Nesbitt and John Callen retweeted us! We’re all connected on one great big web; just like the dwarves in Mirkwood…)
Happy birthday to the dwarf who makes braids and chunky knits look good!
(Photo shows, left to right: Stephen Hunter (Bombur), James Nesbitt (Bofur), Dean O’Gorman (Fili), Mark Hadlow (Dori), Adam Brown (Ori) and Aidan Turner (Kili).)
Posted in Adam Brown, Aidan Turner, Dean O'Gorman, Hobbit Cast News, Hobbit Movie, James Nesbitt, Mark Hadlow, Stephen Hunter, The HobbitNote: 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.
Want to relive what you saw this afternoon? Reflecting on some of the moments, and trying to remember what was what? Well, don’t forget that, 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 will be 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.
Meanwhile, staffer Rasputin the Evil Balrog shares with us some commentary on the footage:
Posted in Aidan Turner, Billy Boyd, Blu-Ray, Director news, Dominic Monaghan, DVDs, Evangeline Lilly, Events, Hobbit Cast News, Hobbit Movie, Jed Brophy, Lee Pace, LotR Cast News, Luke Evans, Mark Hadlow, Martin Freeman, Merchandise, Orlando Bloom, Other Events, Peter Jackson, Production, Richard Armitage, Stephen Fry, The Hobbit
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!
One Ring to rule them all. Nine for the Dwarf Lords. Fifteen for the actors who were the principal cast of three Hobbit movies. Just after the world premiere of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” TheOneRing.net had a chance to talk to some of the actors playing key roles in Peter Jackson’s latest Middle-earth film trilogy at the Hobbiton Movie Set near Matamata, New Zealand. We also took extensive pictures of the amazing setting and have lots more video to share down the road, but the clip below focuses on how the actors commemorated the bond they formed while filming extensively in New Zealand. (Let us know if you want to see more videos!)
Posted in Elijah Wood, Hobbit Movie, John Callen, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, Mark Hadlow, Stephen Hunter, The HobbitIGN.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]
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 KircherCourtesy of Warner Bros Belgium, here is an amazing 13-minute look into The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. It features behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and many, many other key cast and crew members where they discuss the inspiration for, and direction of, the story the first film reveals. Plus there’s plenty of new, previously unseen (at least by me!) sneak previews of what you’ll see on the big screen! So I guess I’ll add: spoilers! (more…)
Posted in Aidan Turner, Alan Lee, Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Dean O'Gorman, Elijah Wood, Graham McTavish, Hobbit Movie, Ian McKellen, James Nesbitt, John Callen, John Howe, John Rawls, Ken Stott, Mark Hadlow, Martin Freeman, Peter Hambleton, Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, Production, Richard Armitage, Richard Taylor, Sylvester McCoy, The Hobbit
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.
UPDATED: We at TheOneRing.net where lucky enough to snare a really good spot right next to the three trolls created by Weta Workshop, on the Red Carpet at the Wellington Premier of the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on the 28th of November. In these videos are some of the actors we met, plus a few that flew past (Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Any Serkis) like the wind! I think I can safely say it was an amazing experience for all off us.
At TheOneRing.net party two nights earlier we were able to meet a few of these actors. So they recognised us as they went past — and as luck we where at the right place at the right time.
Watch our exclusive video from the red carpet below:
