  Don’t forget – TORn Tuesday hosts Sean Astin LIVE Tonight!
Sean will be talking about his latest projects — including his special endurance/fitness project Run3rd to promote the sport of running as he gears up to run his third LA Marathon. (If you’re already curious, hit up his official Twitter account!) Plus, he’ll be answering your questions! If you’re wondering how it all works, and how to submit a question for Sean, please read on below! TORn Tuesday hosts Sean Astin this week!
Astin — actor, director, voice artist and producer — is, of course, best known to Tolkien fans as Sam Gamgee in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, but has also made his mark in a career spanning more than 70 films roles, including The Goonies, Toy Soldiers, 50 First Dates and as the indomitable, never-say-die working class hero of Rudy. He’s played a recurring guest role in the TV series 24 and has written and directed two short films — the academy award nominated Kangaroo Court and The Long And the Short Of It. And at this week’s TORn Tuesday, he’ll be talking about his latest projects — including his special endurance/fitness project Run3rd to promote the sport of running as he gears up to run his third LA Marathon. (If you’re already curious, hit up his official Twitter account!) Plus, he’ll be answering your questions! If you’re wondering how it all works, and how to submit a question for Sean, please read on below! Collecting The Precious – Sideshow Collectibles Gimli Statue Review
“Forty-two? Oh, that’s not bad for a pointy-eared elvish princeling. Hmph! I myself am sitting pretty on forty-THREE..” -Gimli to Legolas just after The Battle for Helm’s Deep The last of the three hunters has finally arrived from Sideshow Collectibles. Gimli, Son of Gloin is the fourth statue from Sideshow’s growing and spectacular The Lord of the Rings statue line. As with the other statues in this line we don’t get an exact screen capture but this moment reminds me of something that could have happened in Moria. Before the Fellowship sets of from Rivendell Gimli is chosen to represent the race of Dwarves as the venture to destroy the One Ring. Gimli would prove to be very loyal to all involved in the Fellowship and especially so to what would become his friend the Elf Legolas Greenleaf. In the Dwarf would be a great addition to the Fellowship and why he’s one of my favorite characters from Middle-Earth. Bret McKenzie, Oscar nomineeThere are already a lot of Oscar winners working on The Hobbit. Soon there might be one more. When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 2011 nominees, Bret McKenzie (“Figwit” in The Lord of the Rings and Lindir By the way, the highest number of nominations went to Martin Scorsese’s Hugo. Like The Return of the King, it bagged eleven–also without a single actor nomination. The parallel isn’t complete, since Hugo made it into two categories that ROTK didn’t, Sound Editing and Cinematography. It was not in two categories that ROTK won, Makeup and Original Song. For a full list of nominees, check out the Academy’s website. And now we have….LEGOlas!
Actor Viggo Mortensen
He’s tough but tender. Dangerous, and something indefinable. Maybe it’s the Danish daddy. The school years in Argentina. The sidelines in poetry and painting. The outsider sensibility. The politics of Kucinich and Cindy Sheehan. More.. Wired: “Why the Hobbit Trailer Creeps Me Out”
What’s he on about? Well, he noticed something in the teaser (one that many other people did as well), but he’s gone a step further and drawn some interesting parallels to one of the most controversial and bizarre changes that Walsh and Boyens made for The Return of The King. Of course, this being the internet, your mileage may vary. Naturally, there are movie spoilers. Read the full article on Wired. Behold! The LOTR Aragorn LEGO Poster!
Those of us who are anxiously awaiting the upcoming The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit LEGO sets get an additional tease today! Hot off the presses, here is LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Aragorn Poster. I think it is safe to say that Viggo never looked so good as a LEGO! If you were not aware, LEGO has announced recently they will be producing items for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the upcoming The Hobbit films. Collectibles are set to be released this coming Summer. Jump on over to LEGO’s official site for The Lord of the Rings and keep watching TheOneRing.net for more updates! [Official Site] [Download the Poster PDF] [Read the Announcement] Bret McKenzie Talks About Figwit and Lindir
In answer to the question about whether Figwit and Lindir are one and the same, here’s what Bret had to say:
ComingSoon.net promises the full interview will be available soon. Thanks to Ringer spy Daniel J. for the heads-up. Reel Collectibles keeps fandom alive in Queenstown
It is a city of tourists that include backpackers and couples in retirement years soaking up all the world has to offer including the incredible scenery of the amazing Queenstown by Lake Wakatipu. This is great of course, but young travelers and those in the golden years aren’t the best demographics for movie collectibles. So it might surprise some to find Hugh Clark and Sarah Dobson carving out a niche with high-end items made by the likes of Weta Workshop and Sideshow Collectibles at their Reel Collectibles shop. But there they are in the Queenstown Mall on Beach St., selling superhero items, Lord of the Rings stuff (a given in that part of the world) and Star Wars swag. Expect an avalanche of Hobbit stuff when the films hit the world a year from now. LOTR still found in the fabric of Queenstown, Hobbit next
If it isn’t already, get it on your bucket list. The mark of the Lord of the Rings films are still indelibly written here and to a degree that might surprise. Nestled on the shores of Lake Wakatipu with majestic mountains on either side, this busy adventure town looks a good bit like cinematic Middle-earth because many times this regions served as such in Peter Jackson’s films. In fact, the list is too long to include comprehensively here. With a town big enough to have good food, amenities and lodging suitable for stars, it is also on the frontier and a gateway to much of the South Island. But, cultural and financial residue from the LOTR films is still readily apparent and especially to a writer who wears a “One Ring” jersey around town. Ian McKellen’s collaborator Keith Stern joins us for TORn Tuesday! LIVE 5pm PT
Host Clifford Broadway, aka Quickbeam, will be discussing the HOBBIT production and possibly a few secrets from the set! We launch our program at about 5pm Pacific time — There’s a built-in Barliman’s chat room or come in via Skype. Check out the broadcast in our LIVE Event section right here every week: 5:00pm Pacific Standard Time! [LIVE Event Area] (See All Times) |
 
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Wired’s Erik Wecks makes a compelling case for Tolkien fans to not get too excited about the Hobbit.
Join us LIVE at 5pm PT tonight as we welcome Ian McKellen’s webmaster and collaborator Keith Stern!