In addition, HarperCollins and Warner Bros. are teaming up to give away 10 Blu-ray™ Combo Packs of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as well as these first two books in the Hobbit series. The giveaway runs now through 4/9. [Giveaway]

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Official Synopsis:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles II: Creatures and Characters explores the amazing cast of heroes, villains, beasts, and beings that populate Middleearth in the fi rst chapter of Peter Jackson’s fi lm adaptations of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Richly illustrated with behind-the-scenes photographs, digital renders, and film stills, this comprehensive book goes species by species and character by character through the film’s huge ensemble cast and bustling menagerie of creatures, both physical and digital, and shows how each came to be realized for the film.

First-hand accounts from the actors, makeup artists, digital effects specialists, dialect coaches, prosthetics technicians, movement coaches, and many other crew members describe the process and how the production unfolded, while also sharing insights into the characters. A bonus feature, unique to this book, is the special fold-out character size chart, which compares all the major creatures and characters of the fi lm, from Radagast’s hedgehog friend to the towering Stone Giants!

Compiled by Weta Workshop designer Daniel Falconer and featuring a wealth of stunning imagery, this book puts the reader face-to-face with all the creatures and characters of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, from the Dwarf heroes to the dark denizens of Middle-earth–the Orcs, Goblins, Trolls, and Wargs–and, of course, the hobbit himself, Bilbo Baggins.

There are a limited number of access passes from both websites, with The Warehouse ending this offer at 12pm on 22/03/13. There are  a limited number of 500, so pre-order soon.

The webcast will be held on Monday, March 25th at 8am! NZTime.

TVNZ reports that it is believed the sneak peek of the second film will last somewhere between 10 to 20 minutes — but details are yet to be confirmed.

TVNZ says that there is no final word on whether an extended version of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released — but Jackson hinted one was in the works at the Wellington premiere of the film last year.

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Bootnote: Somewhat bizarrely, New Zealand Hobbit fans apparently have to wait until May 1 to purchase their copy, while it’s available in the UK from 8 April 2013.

There are several different versions available, all offering different goodies and extras. We recommend this excellent guide by TORn staffer MrCere and Ringer TheHutt if you want to compare the various versions and sets side-by-side.

Her job for “The Hobbit” filmmakers is to make sure that writers are not bringing in outside sources because the rights are for specific Tolkien works.

She said has made continuity suggestions as well. “They have fixed some of the things I have mentioned [in the first film], but I don’t know if it was because of what I noted,” she said. “They are changing things all the time; the film was different than the last script I saw.”

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If sharing your thoughts with the world is not enough incentive…we are going to be giving away some great prizes over the next week to randomly selected reviewers. We’ll be contacting winners with the email they use when submitting their review. Prizes will be doled out over the next few weeks, so stay tuned to TORn’s homepage for winner announcements!

Also, we are going to be working around the clock to approve your reviews as they come in, so please be patient with the dedicated efforts of the TORn staff.  [Ringer Reviews]

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:

In the spirit of trying to see who could invent the maddest rumour, our staff have put their heads together to try and come up with the most unbelievable rumour of all.

Surprise cameo: Tom Bombadil and Goldberry! Jackson has been quoted as saying “Dammit, I’m going to put those two in somewhere!” They will appear as specials guests at Beorn’s house. Ed Asner and Kate Winslet are rumored to be in talks to play the two roles.

Radagast is the true source of corruption. A major scoop has revealed that the secret purpose of Radagast’s role in these movies will be to serve as the source for Saruman’s corruption and ultimate turn to Sauron in ‘The Lord of the Rings.’

Smaug’s elaborate costume! A costume? Yes, it appears Smaug designs are being heavily based on the dragon from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, both in size and artistic form. Maleficent is widely regarded as one of the best cinematic dragons ever to grace a screen, one in which she was a two natured being: Maleficent the dangerous Sorceress and Maleficent the Dragon. With Benedict Cumberbatch voicing both roles in The Hobbit, it seems the idea has always been to have the Necromancer be the human form of Smaug. WETA is hard at work realizing how to emulate the original shapeshifting and still make this a unique creature design.

Even more Hot Dwarves! Peter Jackson has been actively recruiting male strippers from all over New Zealand to play Dain’s army. He claims that these dwarves will “put those soldiers from ’300′ to shame”.

Gollum’s grisly meal. In an effort to show the darker side of Gollum, in a scene leading up to the iconic “Riddles in the Dark” sequence, we will see Gollum viciously kill and eat a wayward goblin in a scene so gruesome that it will guarantee the movie receives an R rating in the USA. Peter Jackson is reportedly very proud of this sequence, as it harkens back to his early directorial years of grisly horror.

Legolas duets with Lindir. After Billy Boyd and Viggo Mortensen sang in the Lord of the Rings movies, Orlando Bloom is keen to show off his pipes. Our spies tell us he has volunteered to go ‘tra-la-la-lally’ with Bret Mckenzie.

Prancing Pony product placements. We’ve heard from an impeccable source that the Dwarves will stop at Bree and drink out of light-up glass goblets in a subtle Burger King product placement spot.

Beorn’s new secret sidekick. Wuzzle, an animal like creature that can talk, will be rendered by CGI. Negotiations are underway to have Wuzzle voiced by Eddie Murphy. Appearing at Beorn’s house, Wuzzle will provide comic relief in the second film.

First film drama! Jackson has decided that Balin will fall off a cliff in the Misty Mountains, seemingly to his death. He will then reappear in the second film. “I like to have at least one character fall off a cliff in each film,” Jackson told our source. “It doesn’t mean they can’t come back,” he quickly added, noting that Gandalf, Aragorn, and Gollum returned after suffering the same fate. Philippa Boyens observed that: “Sometimes I think Peter’s greatest influences as a child were Ray Harryhausen, Zulu, and Wile E. Coyote.”

A Goonies homage! While trying to escape the Goblins, Bilbo will discover Gollum’s cave after falling down a Goonies-style waterslide in a tense three-minute ride guaranteed to thrill film-goers. Bilbo’s falling down the Goonies-style waterslide ties in with the future plans for a Middle-earth theme park in Orlando. Other attractions include a One Ring toss game and whack-a-troll.

Even more Cumberbatch. Due to the phenomenal popularity of Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Jackson has decided not to confine him to motion-capture but to show him onscreen. He will play Elrond’s twin sons, Elrohir and Elladan, in Rivendell scenes and at the Battle of Five Armies. Weta Digital is updating the head-replacement technique used to allow Armie Hammer to play twins in The Social Network. When a reporter pointed out the twins do not figure in Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Jackson replied, “Well, they’re in The Lord of the Rings and we left them out of that, so it’s a fair swap.”

So. Many. Cameos! In order to get most of the cameos done in one grand sweep, Peter fills the distant shots of the Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf with Katie Jackson, Billy Jackson, Philippa Boyens, Dan Hennah, Andrew Lesnie, Richard Taylor, Peter King, Alan Lee, John Howe, Gino Acevedo, Howard Shore, Christian River, Daniel Falconer, with Fran Walsh as Gandalf and himself as Bilbo. We think this explains the screwy horizon silhouette a lot!

Contributed by TORn Staffers Greendragon, Sarumann, Celedor, Momosala, Kristin, Garfeimao and Grammaboodawg

Riddles for the Ring – Featuring Bilbo and Gollum and it looks like a small cave and Gollum’s boat.

Attack of the Wargs – Very blurry – so can’t make out specifics, but for sure Thorin, Bifur, a large Goblin/Orc on a white warg and a really cool LEGO® Tree. Looks like there are some cool flame pieces as well – some multi-colored. A little Gandalf magic?

The Goblin King Battle – Pics are blurry, but it looks to feature…Goblin King, three Goblins, Ori, Nori and Dori as well as Gandalf. The set looks immense with probably a lot of action items.

Barrel Escape – Features Bilbo, Oin and Gloin and a few elves. Unfortunately we can’t read the names.

Escape from Mirkwood Spiders – This should cause a bit of contraversy Here we can clearly see that Tauriel and Legolas are rescuing the dwarves from the spiders. Featured in the set Legolas, Tauriel, Kili and Fili.

As we mentioned, check out the pics from the Flickr Stream as well as a Video.

1. Thorin Oakenshield’s Silver Band $129
2. Thorin Oakenshield’s Dwarven Ring $195
3. Elrond’s Riding Ring $149
4. Elrond’s Council Ring $149
5. Lindir’s Ring $149

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Special announcement: TORn will also be hosting a LIVE trailer party chat in Barliman’s to celebrate and discuss the new trailer as soon as it hits the internet. Stay tuned for more details!