PACKAGING

The overall graphic layout for Bofur’s box stays the same as we’ve seen with previous entries in the line. Per the format we’ve come to know, the front of the box gives you a great shot of Bofur, graphic work for the title of the movie, and of course the Weta logo. The sides of the box for Bofur also present a familiar format with different looks at the statue. While the other side of the box presents some of the various products you can get in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey line of collectibles. The back of the box contains a great story on Bofur as well as information regarding details of the character and statue. The Styrofoam on the inside is typical with what we’ve become used to getting with these statues.

SCULPTING

Lindsey Crummett is back at it again with Bofur. This will be the third Dwarve she’s sculpted in this series following Baling and Kili. As we mentioned in our Kili review she is also responsible for the amazing Azog the Defiler on Warg we saw during Comic-Con 2013. As been the case so far with every item she’s worked on Bofur is another exceptional addition to our collections.

The likeness of Bofur is pretty darn good. You get the solid likeness that James Nesbitt has while wearing the entire getup to play Bofur and you also have that ornery smile that he has in multiple parts of the movie. The work on the hair is also nicely done once again giving the real life appearance as well as the work done on his very unique looking beard. Bofur’s outfit is a little closer to Bombur but you also get some nice blend of leather with the cloth. So you get some great design work on the edging of his outfit in the sleeve area and on his vest. His boots have a great fur design on them, which comes through from the actual costume. I also love the little details of this piece with the little leather pouch having great stitch work, his awesome scarf, and that cool hat which blends the wool/leather look.

Bofur also comes ready for battle as he’s about to swing that giant mace. I’m really impressed with the detail in this wepon. The wooden detail in the staff of this weapon has a great worn wood look to it and near the top it appears to be wrapped some leather. Of course the end has been recreated to match the prop from the movie in spectacular fashion. It has all the beat up metal markings sculpted into it that make it appear to have actually been used.

PAINT

Bofur continues the streak of very well painted statues from Weta Workshop. The skin tones use the proper paint mixture to not only make the statue look like a shrunken Dwarf. I also love the work done on the eyes of Bofur in that they help sell the ornery look that he has. Once, again I think after making sure that you create a mini-Dwarf is making the outfit look real. The paint department did this in spades. The outfit has a real dirty look to it that helps show off the wear and tear this outfit has scene, but you do not lose the little details in the outfit. You also get the proper color of the outfit as we saw it on screen. Bofur’s weapon also has a fantastic paint job with it helping to create a old used weapon. The wood has the proper worn look as does the metal piece at the top both working with the sculpting job.

Overall

Bofur retails for $249, which is in line with most of the statues so far in the line. I’ve loved Bofur from the start with his unique look and personality in the film. He looks great and helps create a really great looking Hobbit display. I want to add that with every release in this line Weta is just continuing to show how great they with these statues.

SPECIFICATIONS

Bofur is limited to just 1000 pieces worldwide and in-stock ready to purchase. Get your order in now before he sells out.

Dimensions:

10.6″ x 9.1″ x 5.9″ (H x W x D)
27 cm x 23 cm x 15 cm

Weight:

2.2 lbs (1.0 kg)

PHOTOS

Peter Jackson stands in front of a set as photographed by DGAQuarterly / Louise Hatton.

We call it a kitchen sink interview because it contains so much depth and covers a wide array of topics, touching on many of Jackson’s most important films while keeping in focus that his work on Middle-earth movies is so far, his greatest triumph and what he is most likely to be known for.

The Q&A with writer Jeffrey Ressner ranges over the Kiwi’s whole career with fascinating bits on his earliest days:

My first movie, Bad Taste, was really made up as we went along over four years, and it didn’t even have a script. Not having actors or a script tends to be somewhat limiting. [Laughs]

Jackson adds to the lore that surrounds the making of the “Lord of the Rings,” films with an amazing story about how his shooting studio in New Zealand came to be:

We thought, ‘Well, if The Lord of the Rings happens, this is exactly the sort of place we’d need. This is absolutely incredible.’ But it was very expensive. At the time it was just Fran and I, and if we committed to it and for some reason the film didn’t happen, we’d be in big, big trouble. I mean, we were mortgaging our house just to make the down payment on the place. One day the real estate agent was showing us around; the paint factory had been closed for six months, so it was mothballed and covered in dust. The cafeteria was dull and gray, and there were a lot of old Formica tables with chairs stuck up on top of them. Just before we left, I saw a paperback book sitting on one of the cafeteria tables—it was a copy of The Lord of the Rings. I called Fran over and pointed to it, and we looked at each other and then said to the guy, ‘OK, we’ll take it.’ And that became Stone Street Studios.

He also drops this gem that almost sent me back to my Blu-ray player:

I have to say, I saw a bit of my Kong about a year ago, and I actually think the last half-hour—those scenes in New York through the end of the Empire State Building sequence—is probably the piece of filmmaking of which I’m the proudest.

There is a lot more to this interview if you follow the link above. It may be one of the best Jackson interviews in print. We at TheOneRing have a good one in our pocket we hope to share before we see Smaug again in theaters, but this DGA piece is highly recommended.

If you missed the link, try this: http://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/1303-Summer-2013/DGA-Interview-Peter-Jackson.aspx.

The image at right, part of Lee’s analysis, is certainly food for thought.

I know I’m late to this party, but I finally got around to seeing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey after hearing much belly-aching over how the story of a single book is split into three separate movies: it seems like a blatant cash grab by the studios, a cynical move that put franchise movie economics ahead of things like storytelling and pacing.

After seeing the movie, I can definitely sympathize with these complaints. It felt slow at times, particularly during the multiple expository scenes in the first half and the interminably long action sequence in the second half. Most importantly, I felt like the story didn’t advance far enough to justify taking up an entire movie on its own, especially compared to the Lord of the Rings movies.

So me being me, I decided to put this issue into quantitative terms. Specifically, I wanted to compare the length of the Hobbit movie to that of the source text, and run the same analysis for the three Lord of the Rings movies.

[Read More]

Ringer Rohirrim Rider on the messageboards noted one odd thing about the Netflix version: “opening it up to have a look at it I noticed that it has the MGM logo/animation up first, followed by the Warners/New Line logo. The music is the same although the new order doesn’t fit as well – the Lion now roars right over the opening melody (previously it was in a lull) and the soaring strings suited to flying WB/NL logos much better.”

Kelvarhin: What are your thoughts on superstring theory?

MrCere: Well, theoretical physics isn’t quite my area of specialty, mostly because math is my own personal Durin’s Bane. But like others, I am troubled by the five different string theories. However, I buy into some of the possible crazy, theoretical ramifications of the theory, especially when dealing with the eternal nature of intelligences.

Wait – that question was a joke, wasn’t it? (Kelvarhin: Paging Demosthenes )

Kelvarhin: Which is your preferred form of transport; Planes, Trains or Automobiles?

MrCere: The correct answer is, “It depends” but for purposes of getting to know me better, I will say that money makes all the difference when it comes to transportation and I don’t have much these days.  To really answer I need to know: Am I driving a Bugatti or riding in a crowded Pinto or driving through a hurricane with Quickbeam, Justin and Grimlock?  If I have top-notch rail accommodations, “train” is my answer. Windows and scenery and freedom to move or recline are pretty great and the point of the journey is not always to arrive.

Having said that, I never fly first class but due to the kindness of one person, one time, I have. And wow, that was a great experience. I have travelled a lot in the last three years and I enjoyed some of each but the more money a person can spend on transportation, the better it is.  There is nothing wrong with a bicycle or a bus.  Thinking a bit, I think in the last three years I have more miles behind me than the rest of my life combined.

Kelvarhin: Do you buy any of the movie related Collectibles?

MrCere: Is this another trick question? [Kelvarhin:  Now would *I* do anything like that? 3:) ]

Assuming that Middle-earth movies are what is being asked about, yes. I was a heavy collector during the LOTR days and I also did freelance writing for Sideshow Collectibles, which allowed me to pick up items way beyond my reach otherwise.

I find the high-end collectibles of Middle-earth monsters to be much more satisfying than the character figures.  I love, love, love the series of mini-helms that Sideshow made and Weta Workshop now releases. I have many, including some really rare ones (the crown of the Witch King and King Elessar’s crown) but I am missing a few in the line and they are all but impossible to get now. They are all displayed and look cool.

I also bought all the LOTR action figures, and family literally gave them to me as Christmas presents, but they are boxed and in storage and I should sell them. I display some LOTR things in my Man Cave other than just the helms. The most dramatic piece I have is a large armoured Sauron figure that is displayed with a different piece, his mace, and a large, heavy and metal helm that might be 1:4 scale so I guess it is a shrine to Sauron on one shelf. I have a sweet Lurtz and a few others.

Now I really only collect Middle-earth books, including Tolkien books, because I am a student instead of a working man and there is no disposable income. I haven’t picked up Weta’s Hobbit movie books yet but I saw them in the production phase and they are mind-alteringly good. How can everybody not want those?

Really crazy pop-culture stuff still entices me though. For example I have a two full sets of the Burger King FOTR toys; one set opened, one set still in individual plastic bags. I had to eat a lot of Whoppers to get those. When the LOTR Pez sets came out, they were a must-buy.

What I really collect are comic book character Daredevil items which has been a life-long effort, but nobody here wants to read about that.  I am a hopeless collector is so many ways.

Kelvarhin: How did you find TORn and why did you stick around?

MrCere: Well, the short version is Chris (Calisuri) adopted me. A couple of face-to-face exposures to him and he invited me to contribute, which changed my life. I love being part of a team that I feel is working for a good cause and I admired and still admire the TORn staff for doing what they do because of passion and not money. I also was really passionate about TORn Line Parties for the LOTR films.

But, before being asked to join the staff, I read the message boards from very early on but didn’t contribute for a long, long while and then contributed a lot. I am back to not contributing these days because my exposure to the Hobbit films is such that anything I type there can and will be used against me in a court of law and because I don’t quite feel like I fit in with all the speculating that goes on. I make it less fun for others I suspect.

Kelvarhin: And how is it to be invited by WB to attend the world premiere of The Hobbit? How much stress does it bring along? Can you do anything fun or is it just being ordered around where you have to be for the next press moment?

MrCere: Warner’s invitation brought zero stress with it. I was a journalist for much of my adult life and covering things like that event are pretty easy. I was very anxious before the invitation came because I felt strongly that TORn should be there and should be reporting and needed to not only regurgitate other news agencies but understand the fan’s viewpoint in our coverage.

This might be too much disclosure but that was shortly after the death of my father and so in real life perspective, covering a studio-generated event to generate press for its film is super easy, even relaxing and fun.

The real stress started when the logic board on my laptop died on the day of the premiere, which means I had no way to send news back to TORn. I had to beg and borrow time on others’ computers to even post what I managed to post. I hated that and felt that I let the site down and fans down. There was abundant coverage, but not doing all I could, as well as I could, left me heartsick. However, we had the live feed, so that was better than anything I could write.

The saving grace? I had a video camera and friend Dan who paid his own way to be there, to shoot it and edit it. So, there was things like this I could share later.

Also, the rest of the TORn staff killed it that day, so no readers suffered.

I did some other stories from the same trip.

The answer to the second part of the question: Nearly all my time was scheduled, which was absolutely fine with me. We visited and reported on a lot of the people who made the films, not just the one-day event.

This item is the stunning Arwen mini-statue from The Return of the King. Sculpted by the artists at Weta Workshop, this piece is going to be one you want to add to your collection and for only $75 it’s quite affordable.

The Arwen mini-statue isn’t the only new item to go up for order, too. If you’d like a great looking bookmark for the next time you read The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit then Weta has something for you. From The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Weta has a beautiful red leather bookmark with Thorin and Company on it while from The Lord of the Rings you have The Fellowship worked in stunning brown leather. These two bookmarks can be had for $10 a-piece and are in-stock and ready to ship.

As many of you know Weta comes every year to the United States during the month of July for Comic-Con in San Diego. Now the Workshop will attend its second U.S. show, this one in Salt Lake City, where TheOneRing.net will also be! Sept. 5 – 7 is the first ever Salt Lake Comic Con. TORn will present a panel about “The Desolation of Smaug,” and will also participate on other panels and host a booth during the event. If you happen to be planning on attending Salt Lake Comic-Con or can get there from the surrounding western states, this is a chance to go to a show that isn’t sold out and where you can get a hotel room. Salt Lake has a rail line as well so you can stay immediately by the convention or in one of the suburbs and still travel relatively easily to the event. Weta will be attending this show in September with its booth, which looks significant on the retailer map. (Although they are listed as Weta Digital, we think an error.) If you haven’t gotten your ticket to the show yet then now is the time. Salt Lake Comic-Con runs from Thursday, September 5th through to Saturday, September 7th.

You can read the full press release from Weta here.

As a surprise for all of you, we were sent this little teaser from our friends at United Cutlery and BudK, it’s an image of the Orcrist Scabbard coming out this fall. We hope you enjoy this teaser.

Richard E. Jr.

Richard, you will be contacted shortly via email! If you didn’t win, consider owning this impressive piece. The Dark Rider of Mordor Premium format figure may be a bit pricey, but if you have ever seen this monstrous piece in person, it is well worth it. And heck, Sideshow has a FLEXPay option for no cost. [Click here]

In the ever popular Reading Room, Lightfoot is re-reading LOTR and asked us this, “I was re-reading the Lord of The Rings today and noticed something new in the chapter “The Council of Elrond” Two quotes mention Saruman having/making his one rings. I am intrigued as I have never noticed this before. Does this mean that he actually forged his own ring of power?? Your thoughts…”

On LOTR Movie Board, Radagast-Aiwendil wants to know if you cried when Gandalf fell in The Fellowship of the Ring?

All the talk on Hobbit Movie Board has been about the announcement of the Extended Editions release and speculating on what the extended scenes will be.  Add your voice here.

We’ll share more topics next week. We hope you’ll come and join in the conversations!  Don’t forget, TheOneRing.net’s message boards have over 9,900 registered Tolkien fans, just like you.  Let your voice be heard!

Let’s dive right in and look at the goodies that are going to be on the discs.

The Filmmakers’ Commentary. Director/writer/producer Peter Jackson and writer/co-producer Philippa Boyens provide their perspective and stories on creating the first film.

New Zealand: Home of Middle-Earth. From Matamata to Queenstown, travel with Peter Jackson and his team across the stunning locations of New Zealand, transformed by the filmmakers into Middle-Earth.

The Appendices Part 7: A Long-Expected Journey. A 14-part chronological history of the filming of An Unexpected Journey, covering pre-production in the various departments of the film in the months leading up to the start of principal photography, the boot camp training for the main cast, and the work done on set chronologically through the three shooting blocks and in the world of its digital effects.

The individual chapters (and notice that a lot of them take titles from individual chapter of The Hobbit) include:

* The Journey Back to Middle-Earth
* Riddles in the Dark: Gollum’s Cave
* An Unexpected Party: Bag End
* Roast Mutton: Trollshaws Forest
* Bastion of the Greenwood: Rhosgobel
* A Short Rest: Rivendell and London
* Over Hill: The Misty Mountains
* Under Hill: Goblin Town
* Out of the Frying Pan: The Forest Ledge
* Return to Hobbiton: The Shire
* The Epic of Scene 88: Strath Taieri
* The Battle of Moria: Azanulbizar
* Edge of the Wilderland: Pick-ups and the Carrock
* Home Is Behind, the World Is Ahead

The Appendices Part 8: Return to Middle-Earth. Another selection of documentaries and featurettes await, further detailing the development, design and production of An Unexpected Journey:

The Company of Thorin. Explores the characters and backgrounds of the five families of dwarves and the company of actors chosen to play Thorin’s company on the Quest of the Lonely Mountain. Chapters include:

* Assembling the Dwarves
* Thorin, Fili and Kili
* Balin and Dwalin
* Oin and Gloin
* Dori, Nori and Ori
* Bifur, Bofur and Bombur

Mr. Baggins: The 14th Member. A revealing look at the film’s charismatic and talented lead actor, Martin Freeman.

Durin’s Folk: Creating the Dwarves Reveals the journey and process of designing, conceptualizing and physically realizing the dwarves in The Hobbit.

The Peoples and Denizens of Middle-Earth. Focuses on the realization of new characters and creatures encountered in the first film, from casting to characterization to physical and digital design. Chapters include:

* The Stone Trolls
* Radagast the Brown
* Goblins
* Azog the Defiler

Realms of the Third Age: From Bag End to Goblin Town. Follows the creation of the Middle-Earth locations from conceptual design to set and prop building to fully digital realities. Realms explored include:

* Hobbiton
* Rhosgobel
* The Misty Mountains
* Goblin Town

The Songs of The Hobbit. A look at the realization of Tolkien’s songs in An Unexpected Journey.

Pre-order your copy of the AUJ: EE at Amazon

The AUJ EE is already available for pre-order over on Amazon.com in a few different flavours — the collector’s edition gift set with bonus WETA statue, a Blu-ray 3D version and normal, non-3D Blu-ray edition.

Bootnote: We believe that the numbering of the EE appendices begins from seven because it carries on from the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions, which had six appendices on the extra DVD discs.

Alternative theory is that Tolkien also had six appendices for the LOTR books (labelled from A to F), but that seems much less likely.

Order your gift set via this link: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition with Amazon Exclusive Bilbo/Gollum Statue (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + UltraViolet)

5-Disc Specs: 5 Disc BD: BD 1: 3D Ext Edition Feature + NZ Trailer BD 2: 3D Ext Edition Feature BD 3: 2D Ext Edition Feature + Filmmaker’s Commentary BD 4: • “The Appendices Part 7 – A Long Expected Journey: The Chronicles of The Hobbit – Part 1” • “The Appendices Part 8 – Return to Middle-Earth: Creating the World of The Hobbit” UV Copy of Ext Edition

Statue Specs: “Riddles in the Dark” was sculpted by Gary Hunt from Weta Workshop. Gary is part of the wider Weta team who worked on the film. The figurine is approximately 2.07 lbs. Size: 8” wide, 5.25” deep and 7” tall. The outer giftset box is illustrated by the film’s concept artists Alan Lee and John Howe. -

UPDATE: You can also get the gift set with regular Blu-ray (non-3D) via this link right here. The product details are nearly the same with a slightly smaller price for those who don’t have and will not have 3D televisions in the future. (The 3D version comes with a regular Blu-ray version also.)

[Gift Set] [Blu-Ray 3D + Blu-Ray + Ultraviolet] [Blu-Ray + Ultraviolet]

PACKAGING

The overall graphic layout for Kili’s box stays the same as we’ve seen with previous entries in the line. Per the format we’ve come to know the front of the box gives you a great shot of Kili, graphic work for the title of the movie, and of course the Weta logo. The sides of the box for Kili also present a familiar format with different looks at the statue. While the other side of the box presents some of the various products you can get for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey line of collectibles. The back of the box contains a great story on Kili as well as information regarding details of the character and statue. The Styrofoam on the inside is typical with what we’ve come used to getting with these statues.

SCULPTING

Lindsey Crummett was given the task of sculpting Kili in order for him to make it to our collection. This is the second statue Ms. Crummett has completed in this line with her first being the superbly well-done Balin. She is also responsible for the Bofur statue, which we will be reviewing soon as well as the uber awesome Azog the Defiler on Warg we saw during Comic-Con 2013. Much like with Balin this statue is very well done and is a fantastic representation of the character Kili.

There’s been quite a bit of debate on various message boards in regards to the likeness of Kili. After having received mine I can say without a doubt that it looks very much like Aidan Turner. I love the fierce yet focused look of Kili has, as he is about to take out an Orc or Goblin in his way. Unlike Bombur Kili gets back to the Dwarves wearing lots of leather and once again its done in a way that creates the look of real leather. For me with the outfit its all the little detail you have within the costume that really shows off the skill in this statue.  Kili’s vembraces have great little detail in the tiny triangles with circles in the middle, his sleeves of his jacket has a great design sculpted, and sculpted fur at the edge of the sleeves. He also has some great detail in his main outfit with fantastic weaved design as well as great metal and leather work in in the strap for his sheath/arrow case.

Kili of course comes ready for battle with his fantastic bow with arrow ready to take out any crossing Orc, Goblin, or Warg. The detail in the bow is really superb! You have fantastic sculpting giving it amazing wooden detail. The handle also has some great detailing giving it a very intricate wooden sculpt. On his back you have Kili’s sword and arrow case with arrows in it. His sword you can only see the handle area but it’s got some super tiny detail sculpted in it. It does such a great job of matching the sword you saw used in the movie. The arrows are also well done with the one full arrow being the one he’s about the shoot. Similar to Gollum statue Kili also has a bit of environment with this statue. He has a small rock which he is resting his foot before he unleashes that arrow. It’s a nice touch and adds a bit of spice to an already awesome statue. All in all the sculpting job done on Kili just continues to keep the ball rolling on this awesome line.

PAINT

Kili continues the streak of very well painted statues from Weta Workshop. The skin tones use the proper paint mixture to not only make the statue look like a shrunken Dwarf. The challenge with this statue is making the outfit and weapons not lose those amazing details. The leatherwork that has been sculpted has been enhanced by the paint job on this statue. When looking at it you very much get the sense the outfit is being worn in Middle-earth. The most impressive paint job of his weapons has to be the bow. Between the sculpt on it and the paint you can almost swear it’s a real wooden bow he’s holding. Its one of the best 1:6^th weapons I’ve seen on any statue in my years of collecting.

Overall

Kili retails for $249, which is in line with most of the statues so far in the line. Kili is a character I’ve grown to like more with each viewing and I’m very happy to have this statue within my collection. He looks great and helps create a really great looking Hobbit display. I want to add that with every release in this line Weta is just continuing to show how great they with these statues.

SPECIFICATIONS

Kili is limited to just 1000 pieces worldwide and in-stock ready to purchase. Get your order in now before he sells out.

Dimensions:

9.3″ x 9.1″ x 5.9″ (H x W x D)
23.5 cm x 23 cm x 15 cm

Weight:

3.4 lbs (1.9 kg)

PHOTOS