TheOneRing.net:Cameras on The Hobbit give us hope. These are the stories that stay with you & mean something, even if you're too small to understand why
In addition, they report that Warner Bros has announced that the third film will be renamed The Hobbit: There And Back Again.
The second film, to be released on December 13, 2013 will be called The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, president of International Distribution said in the press release: “The Hobbit: There and Back Again will be an action spectacle and an emotional conclusion for this already much-anticipated trilogy. Opening in the summer will maximize playability for what promises to be an event film for fans the world over.”
EDIT: I think that the second title Desolation of Smaug means that it will conclude with the demise of Smaug at the hands of Bard the Bowman. Highlight to see spoilery speculation.
We all listened to and read Peter Jackson’s words from Comic-Con about three possible “Hobbit,” movies carefully. But we didn’t listen to all the words and we missed a few things.
He told us. He told us — he did.
He said exactly what he meant, he said it plainly and the media and fans (and me) tried to figure out what he meant when he told us in plainness. Monday, Jackson dropped an atomic bomb of news and fandom reacted accordingly.
“The Hobbit,” adapted for the screen from the 300-page, 75-year-old book by J.R.R. Tolkien changed from from two movies to three in the blink of a Facebook post.
AMBITION
More on the words we ignored in a minute. We need to figure out when these films break, what it means for fans and websites and studios and cinema and the director, but lets not rush past the size and scope of this news. Lets not walk around Paris admiring all the cafes and churches without also pausing and noticing the big tower in the center of town.
We witnessed, the last few weeks since Comic-Con, something monumental, unprecedented, unparalleled and a little bit crazy. Jackson (and when we say “Jackson” we always mean the director and Walsh, Boyens and a team of others supporting their vision) is in unchartered territory here. (more…)
Note: Updated with confirmation about third film’s release date and content. Updated with Official Press Release as well.
In a note posted to Facebook this morning (in the U.S.) Peter Jackson confirmed there will be a third film in the “Hobbit” series:
So, without further ado and on behalf of New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films, and the entire cast and crew of “The Hobbit” films, I’d like to announce that two films will become three.
TheOneRing.net has confirmed with two independent sources that the third “Hobbit,” film will not follow the schedule of traditional December releases for Middle-earth movies and will hit audiences in Summer of 2014. TORn has also learned that this newly announced film will not serve as a bridge film but continue to tell the story of “The Hobbit,” in three parts. It is believed that the breaking points of the first film has changed. That film, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” will be released in theaters this December 14. The next film, announced as “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” is expected to keep its December 13, 2013 schedule. Its name may change however. The newly announced film, as yet untitled, will follow months later in the summer months of 2014.
I’m a film historian by trade. I got my Ph.D. in film studies in 1977 and have written several textbooks and academic books on various topics in the field. In 2007, my book The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood, by Kristin Thompson, came out from the University of California press. As we all wait for the release of the first part of The Hobbit, I thought some of you might be interested in some of my experiences while researching the book. I had a lot of access to the filmmakers for interviews and was given facilities tours during the last part of the post-production on The Return of the King.
I first conceived the book in 2002, when it became obvious to me that Peter Jackson’s film (I call the three parts one film, as he does) was going to be very, very important historically for a wide variety of reasons. The technology (the techniques developed to animate Gollum, the selective digital color grading) would be revolutionary. The internet campaign was pioneering, as was the filmmaking team’s approach to cooperating with the video-game designers. It was a big franchise film—and a fantasy at that—and yet it won the respect of critics and Academy-Award voters as no such film ever had. (The Fellowship of the Ring had won “only” four Oscars, but I knew even then that The Return of the King would be awarded lots.) Somebody should write a book about it, I thought. But probably nobody would, not the way it should be done, with interviews with the people involved. Not while the film was still in production. I concluded that it was up to me. Was it possible, though, to get the kind of access I would need? I set out to find out.
In January of 2003, through a mutual friend, I was put in touch with producer Barrie Osborne. Fortunately, he was interested in having such a book written. Without him, my project would have been dead in the water. (more…)
For LEGO developer, Traveller’s Tales, it’s all about the journey with their first venture into “LEGOfying” an Academy Award Best Picture winner. Executive Producer Nick Ricks shared at E3 that the team has been working closely with LEGO and WingNut Studios/New Line to recreate The Lord of the Rings experience as authentically as possible. Some in-game sequences are not completely made of LEGO with cinematic sequences added.
“There’s so much fantastically framed cinematography and brilliant camerawork. We can’t improve on that, so we just need to take it and put it into the game,” Ricks explained.
The usual LEGO voices for characters have also been replaced with theatrical ones such as Orlando Bloom for Legolas, and to streamline the journey, the game world has been created around Tolkien’s original maps where characters can move from Hobbiton to Mordor without jumping in and out of chapters.
A big thanks to everybody who sent in theater information about The Hobbit trailer. While we are sorry you didn’t get to see it on the big screen, we are glad you wrote in to help out. We are no longer updating the page, so while your emails are appreciated, no further action will be taken.
We recommend calling your local theater to see if they have attached the trailer. The trailers have been sent out to local cinemas but it is up to individual cinemas when and where they use them. Be a proactive consumer. We did hear back from Warner Bros. on this issue and are pleased to share their statement with Hobbit fans.
Warner Bros. appreciates the interest in the trailer for THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, and has let us know that it is in approximately 90% of the theaters playing TINTIN. The studio understands if any fans were disappointed not to see it in their local theater, and they suggest that everyone looking for the trailer check with the theater first to make sure it’s playing on that screen.
TheOneRing.net, with major sponsor The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, is returning the Road! While DragonCon may be coming to a end today, the journey continues for our fellowship of drivers as they take the long road back from Atlanta, GA to Los Angeles, CA. The road warriors will begin their trip at approximately Noon ET and will drive straight through over the next few days, stopping along the way to meet up with fans and see some famous places. So while we had occasional non-live elements to DragonCon, we will be back to our LIVE as much as humanly possible for the remainder of the trip. If you have not been following the news, we are on a multi-day road trip to (and from!) DragonCon and, for the first time ever, broadcasting the entire trip 24/7 LIVE via Stickam.com. You can interact with the travelers in our Barliman’s chat, as well through twitter and Facebook. And of course, you can email them atroadtrip@theonering.net. And even better, we’ve set up a special phone number so you can call and text our travelers: 970-210-6130. We have a special sub site set up to follow their progress – just follow the link. [LIVE] And don’t’ forget to support our sponsors: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Badali JewelryandAnglotopia! [Roadtrip to DragonCon Sub Site] [Support the Trip - T-Shirts]
Since the last panel was packed and standing room only, DragonCon has added another segment of our Hobbit panel today at 5:30pm ET. Like the one from Comic-Con, we will LIVE stream the entire panel, including any questions and audience participation. [TheOneRing.net LIVE] [DragonCon.org]
Join us tonight for DragonCon’s ‘Evening in Bree’ celebration, taking place right now (8:30pm ET). Watch the LIVE coverage in our TheOneRing.net Live section and join in the conversation and celebration via Barliman’s Chat or Twitter (#tornlive). Tonight’s emcee is none other than our own Quickbeam and the music will be provided by TheOneRing.net’s good friends Emerald Rose! [TheOneRing.net LIVE] [DragonCon.org] [Emerald Rose]
Our fellowship of travelers have made it Atlanta, GA and as you can see by the black screen on the feed, they are sleeping soundly, catching a few winks before the madness of DragonCon begins! We have a few exciting events taking place on our LIVE stream today. First, you can tune in LIVE as we present the latest news and information about The Hobbit Movies at our panel presentation. Like the one from Comic-Con, we will LIVE stream the entire panel, including any questions and audience participation. The panel begins at 1pm ET/10am PT and you can view it all in our TheOneRing.net LIVE section. [Here] The second scheduled event on our LIVE feed is the ever popular Evening at Bree! That will start at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT and feature our good friends Emerald Rose performing with lots of fun and frivolity! And of course, today is the anniversary of JRR Tolkien’s passing, so we’ll take some time to honor the Professor. We will most likely be streaming other events during the day, so we encourage you to stay tuned and participate in the LIVE stream area. [TheOneRing.net LIVE] [DragonCon.org]
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. [Stickam] If you are following along on Twitter, our hashtag is #MEMadness, and of course, we’ll be posting pics on Facebook throughout the evening. If you want to have your chance at winning a Grand Prize trip to New Zealand, make sure you get to Best Buy BEFORE 7pm PT. And we can’t forget the whole reason we are throwing this party today…the release of The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy on Blu-Ray is tonight at Midnight! The countdown continues!! [Live Stream] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Event Details] [WBshop.com]
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 streaming live from the event as the more exciting events happen, and as our amateur internet connection allows. For those of you lucky enough to be attending at the West LA Best Buy, you’ll be competing for some great prizes with the LA TORn staff, including everyone’s favorite Tolkien emcee, Quickbeam! We also have late word that FRINGE star and LOTR vet John Noble, as well as Sauron himself, Sala Baker, will be in attendance. There are also rumors a few other cast members might just drop by for fun! Of course the real countdown will be to the midnight release of The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition on Blu-Ray and the awarding of the costuming Grand Prize – a trip to New Zealand! Follow along all day through Facebook, Twitter and our live stream at Stickam. [Live Stream] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Event Details]
Hollywood Reporter and various other outlets are reporting that July 18, 2014 will be the release date for the third Hobbit film.
In a note posted to 
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