  Wellington Movie Tour VideoEver wanted to know, what a Wellington Movie tour is like? Check out this episode on German TV, the story on Lord-of-the-Rings and Hobbit fans starts around 10:50. Treetop Media and their team followed a group of die-hard-fans to several film locations and the WETA Cave. They also filmed the Hobbit casting in Wellington, which caused major traffic jams on the motorways. Produced by www.treetopmedia.co.nz MrCere talks NZ, Weta, Hobbit, trailer on SUVUDUSohaib Awan from the radio show Fictional Frontiers also does a segment on SUVUDU that focuses on fantasy and science fiction books, movies and comics. He spoke with our own MrCere this week about his trip to New Zealand including Weta Workshop and Richard Taylor. They talk Hobbit of course, Hobbit trailer insights and a lot about travel possibilities for anybody. Listen to the segment right here.  Discuss »More about Hobbit Movie, Hobbit Movie FAQ, MrCere in New Zealand, New Zealand, Richard Taylor, Tours, WETA Cave, WETA Workshop ‘Lord of the Rings’ tours sparkle in WellingtonOur story so far: Peter Jackson made three Middle-earth movies and people loved them. Now he is making two more and people already love them too. MrCere, Senior Staff, Writer and Photographer at TheOneRing.net (Forged by and for fans since 1999) went to NZ to see what he could see. Landed in Queenstown, found lots of LOTR stuff, drove north to see the people of the ring, visited Hobbiton set and now is in Wellington, center of NZ’s cinematic empire.
This trip I enjoyed walking around the city and thumbing through vinyl records (ask your parents if those foreign objects are unfamiliar to you) checking out a variety of automobile dealerships including an upholstery shop with some interesting old cars, a comic book shop and a burrito joint with great architecture and melted candles. The nightlife here is crazy, including the Saturday morning I woke up early and discovered the Friday night revelry with its thumbing bass and cocktails hadn’t ended as I sought out breakfast. It also, with its proximity to Peter Jackson’s filmmaking empire, was an important area in the making of The Lord of the Rings, but not just because of the production and effects studios across the harbor. I ended up heading out with 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. Crew (and possibly cast) Arrive at Golden Bay – Pictures!
Pelorus River The Pelorus River is a river at the northern end of South Island of New Zealand in the region of Marlborough. It flows from the Richmond Range into Pelorus Sound. This area is fantastic for camping and is renowned for its magnificent river swimming where the Pelorus River runs through a gorge. Click here for the photos! Bid on a Guided Tour of PJ’s ‘Park Road Post’Nikki writes: Plunket are an iconic NZ charity and Park Rd Post have very kindly donated an exclusive guided tour of the facilities and lunch for 4 in our current charity auction on NZ auction site Trade Me. Great opportunity for your NZ members to see behind the scenes of the Academy Award winning facility! More.. Dominion Post: Hobbiton Visitors Sworn to Secrecy
From the Dominion Post:
Avid fan ready for the Hobbit’s return The man in charge of communication between Hobbiton and the outside world wears many hats, but he promises none of them belong to a hobbit. Hobbiton Movie Set & Farm Tours media and communications manager Ian Brodie has read The Lord of the Rings 40 times, but he said his fan level had not crossed into the fanatical – he never dresses up in character. Mr Brodie, who moved to Matamata from Wanaka two years ago, was tight-lipped about when Waikato could expect to have movie stars in our midst again for the filming of The Hobbit. “You know I can’t tell you that,” he said. “That information will come out of Wellington.” Mr Brodie was just 14 years old when he first read The Lord of the Rings and, on a roadtrip with his family at the time, he decided New Zealand would make a perfect Middle Earth. More.. Middle-earth Madness – A Night to Remember!
Nicole Roberts walked away with the Grand Prize trip to New Zealand with her inspired and creative ‘Showgirl Balrog’ costume. (pics below) As you will see in our photo gallery, the competition was challenging and we’d like to thank all of the contestants for their talented entries! Nicole’s costume was judged as the best by Academy Award Winner Sir Richard Taylor of Weta Workshop with help from Lead Designer Daniel Falconer. (We recently interviewed Daniel here) The LA wing of TheOneRing.net staff was out in full force, and for those of us who could not attend, we’d like to thank them for their tireless efforts to make everything go smoothly! These volunteers spent nearly 15 hours yesterday! So a special thanks to Quickbeam, Cathy, Josh, Suvi, Justin, Peter, Alyse, Catherine, Michael, Echo, Alex, David and Cat from Alleycatscratch.com! We’d like to thank Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Weta Workshop and Best Buy for making this event possible! Click the ‘continue reading’ button to view all of the photos from the event as well as some videos. We’ll be updating them as more come in!
Middle-earth Madness: Sauron, Denethor, Grima, Fireworks, Laser Light Shows, Goblin Ball!
Discuss »More about Blu-Ray, Brad Dourif, Events, Fans, John Noble, Lord of the Rings, LotR Cast News, LotR Movies, Meet Ups, Merchandise, MGM, Miscellaneous, Movie Fellowship of the Ring, Movie Return of the King, Movie The Two Towers, New Line Cinema, New Zealand, Other Events, Premieres, Sala Baker, Studios, TheOneRing.net Community, Tours, WETA Cave, WETA Workshop Middle-earth Madness has Arrived!
Join us Monday, June 27th for the ‘Middle-earth Madness’ Launch Event!
The first 150 guests in line at the store on Monday, June 27th at Noon will have the opportunity to get an autograph from cast members of the films. Costume Contest entrants will be judged by your friends here at TheOneRing.net and finalists personally selected by the four-time Academy Award(R)-winning Sir Richard Taylor, co-owner and lead creative at Weta Workshop. Discuss »More about Blu-Ray, Conventions, Creations, Events, Fans, Headlines, John Noble, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, Meet Ups, Merchandise, Miscellaneous, Movie Fellowship of the Ring, Movie Return of the King, Movie The Two Towers, New Line Cinema, New Zealand, Other Events, Richard Taylor, Sala Baker, Studios, TheOneRing.net Announcements, TheOneRing.net Community, Tours, Warner Bros., WETA Cave, WETA Workshop |
 
|
Middle-earth Madness lived up to its name last night as hundreds of fans gathered at the Best Buy in Los Angeles, CA to celebrate the release of The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy on Blu-Ray. Actors John Noble (Denethor) and Sala Baker (Sauron) signed copies of the Trilogy as fans snatched up the brand new high-def version of the films.
So we have a few more details to share with you concerning the Middle-earth Madness celebration taking place right now at the Best Buy in Los Angeles. (1301 W. Pico. Blvd) First off, we can confirm that John Noble (Denethor), Brad Dourif (Wormtongue) and Sala Baker (Sauron) will be attending this evening’s festivities! Secondly, there will be a Laser Light show and Fireworks starting at approximately 11:45. (How awesome is that?!) And of course, what Tolkien can be had in LA without a game of Goblin Ball! (You know, you knock the heads off Goblins for fun). We’ve also got loads of shirts, posters and other swag to hand out throughout the evening. And of course, we are streaming events live as they happen on our Stickam account. You can see it on the homepage of TORn, or through the following link. [
Middle-earth Madness invades LA today and TheOneRing.net will be hosting the activities throughout the day! For those of us not able to make the event in LA, we will be occasionally