The day-to-day operation of the website, and the events we host, require a lot more resources than when we first started nearly 15 years ago. We sometimes find it hard to ask our readers for the help we need to keep running, so we began discussing what it is that makes TheOneRing.net worth helping out. It started out as a search for the Top Ten Moments of TORn, but the list got so long because each staff member had their own idea of important moments in TORn history. Here, instead, is something more encompassing: Ten Ways TORn helps serve Tolkien and Lord of the Rings fandom (listed in no specific order).

And, if you enjoy what we do, consider a donation (no amount too small, because every bit does help!) to keep us running!

If you can’t, that’s fine as well — keep reading, commenting and contributing. Because TORn is as much you as it is us!

If you’ve ever sent in an article, submitted a photo or report, posted on our messageboards, visited our chat, or commented on our twitter, facebook or g+, you’re the reason TheOneRing.net is among the largest and most-respected pillars of the Tolkien community on the web.

• Spy Reports

• Spy reports were a big part of our content when the website first started. From casting announcements to secret location pictures to leaked images of important plot points, spy reports were our bread and butter stories. Some of the reports were from random, anonymous sources, while others were official leaks from cast and crew. In fact, there were many production members who said they used TheOneRing.net to keep track of what some of the other filming units were doing. Other spy reports were just someone stumbling upon a film location and sending in a story or images and then we’d all try and guess what location it actually was. Some of our biggest spy reports were of Arwen at Helm’s Deep (which subsequently didn’t happen), Saruman’s prone body on a spiky wheel (which did happen), and TheOneRing.net was given the honor of introducing Thorin to the world. And very soon, we will be seeing stories from MrCere’s visit to the set from his Production Embed last year.

• Hall of Fire Chats and the Message Boards

• Literary discussions on the message boards and Hall of Fire chats – From the very beginning of TheOneRing.net, discussions of the books, chapter by chapter, has been a hallmark. After all, while we waited for news on who would be cast, where filming would take place, and rumors of what might be cut out, we had the books to talk about. Discussions worked by talking about one chapter at a time, and luckily, there are enough books with enough chapters, to keep those discussions going on for a long while. Since the beginning, we’ve looped through the books several times, but luckily, there are always new readers joining the discussion, and new interpretations to be had. And for something a little more dynamic, there are the Hall of Fire chats in Barlimans. Sometimes the talk is about a specific chapter, or a certain character, and sometimes it is about current events, such as new character images or reviews of a recently released trailer. No matter which forum you use, there is always someone to talk to about some aspect of Tolkien, the books or our fandom.

• TORns Live Videos

• We began with TORn Live, which consisted of Red Carpet interviews at premieres, awards ceremonies and special events like Cannes 2001 and SDCC. These would be recorded, edited and released online a few days or weeks later. But technology now allows for live streaming interviews and vlogs and the like. Quickbeam hosts a weekly TORn Tuesday event with interviews and discussions, while he interacts with a live chatroom. The Happy Hobbit ladies record and post their vlogs and post them within a day or two of their recordings, for a much quicker turnaround on video content. And right now we have the Road to DragonCon in full swing with live streaming from across the country.

• Conventions

• Convention appearances – Calisuri and Quickbeam hosted a panel at San Diego Comic Con in 2001, before the release of FOTR, and since then barely a year has gone by that TORn hasn’t had a presence at at least one convention. At many of the conventions we appear at we also have a presence on the exhibit hall floor where we have sold some of our classic TORn shirts. We love it when we get up on stage for a panel and half the people in the audience are wearing some of our older shirts.

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  Baggins Birthday Party sign

  Line Parties and Fan Events

• Line Parties and other fan hosted events – TheOneRing.net has always been a grass roots type of fan-site and that is no more apparent then looking at the Line Parties of years past. Whether it is just a few friends, or some hundreds of people signing up on the website to attend, fans like you all over the world hosted Line Parties. A few even took place over several days, and included costume contests and trivia games for prizes. Other fan hosted events over the years have been the Hobbit Day/Baggins Birthday Bash events on Sept. 22, the Tolkien Toast on Jan. 3 and the Tolkien Reading Day on March 25. TORn staff in Los Angeles have been hosting a Baggins Birthday Bash party for 11 years now, but there are fan groups around the world that have hosted similar events. Smaller moots happen around the world all the time, there is a very active group in Wellington and one in Croatia. If you are hosting a fan event in the next year or two, please feel free to tell us about it.

• The Oscar Parties

• Originally conceived as a fan event to help raise funds to buy TORn a new server, who could have imagined the Cast and Crew actually showing up to the FOTR oscar party? Even more surprising, who could have imagined the ROTK sweep and all those Oscars on stage at a fan hosted party?

• O.R.C and E.L.F.

• TheOneRing.net hosted conventions – The One Ring Celebration on the West Coast (O.R.C.) and the Eastern Lord of the Rings Festival on the East Coast (E.L.F.) were co-productions with a professional convention company, but they definitely had a TORn stamp on them. The conventions allowed us to combine our love of the films by interacting with cast and crew with our love of the books through academic discussions, the art shows and costume displays. We really did break the mold on how a commercial scifi convention is run and hope everyone who attended had a blast.

• Academic essays and editorials

• TORn has long standing relationships with many in the academic community who have posted guest essays and editorials. Over the year several staffers have posted in depth analysis to fan questions on the site as well. In fact, we have a whole section on the ‘old TORn’ (pre-crash) called Green Books for academic posts. This section had so much good stuff in it, we published a book called “The People’s Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien” and a sequel book as well.

• Driving fan initiatives

• After Return of the King was done and Peter Jackson moved on to do King Kong, the fans waited to see what would happen with The Hobbit afterwards. Months turned to years and still no word while studios went bankrupt, copyrights issues got tangled up and various lawsuits were filed for missing payments. Finally, a few fans decided they had had enough and started a petition to ‘Make the Hobbit Happen’. They brought it to TORn and we got thousands of you to sign so that a big pile of names was delivered to TPTB. A similar thing happened when there was talk that the production would be moved out of New Zealand. The fans could see no where else as Middle-earth, so the ‘Keep the Hobbit in NZ’ campaign was born, but this time on Social Media. And most recently, there was an explosion of Tolkien fan love over the #Votebilbo twitter event prompted by an MTV Audience Award.

• TORn Community

• This list compiles many of the things that TheOneRing.net does to keep you informed, entertained and engaged, but there is really just one thing that makes TheOneRing.net so important to keep around. And that is the community of fans that convene on our message boards, in Barliman’s chat, on Facebook and Twitter.

This site was built by fans getting together to discuss what they hoped for from Peter Jackson long before FOTR ever saw the light of day. The fact that a long existing fan-base gathered here meant engaged and informed discussion began from day one, including analyzing all the spy reports about casting and location details. We didn’t have to wait for the release of the films, or for several episodes of a new show to take off before we could discuss the minutia of every detail because our fan base was already well established.

And what is ‘fandom’ if not a community of like minded people passionate about the same thing. Sure, everyone has their own opinions, so every time a new image was released, or a new trailer appeared, the message boards and chatroom erupted into heated discussions. But as the years wore on friendships were made, some turning into marriage, and we all began meeting up at various moots, conventions, concerts, premiere events, trips to New Zealand or just coffee and a movie. How many of you newer fans were galvanized by the #Votebilbo campaign and now have a wider array of Twitter friends because of it? The fact that TORn was able to continue to exist during all those lean years between film productions is due mostly to you, the readers, sticking around to discuss anything and everything to do with Tolkien, and sometimes other bits of pop culture. We know that after the release of The Hobbit: There and Back Again we will see another decline of readership, but we also know that the community is strong, the friendships have been forged and all of you take that fandom with you where ever you go next.

So again, if you are so inclined to help support us and keep the website going, please do make a pledge or bid on one of the many cool auction items we’ve been posting about the past few days. On behalf of the All Volunteer Staff at TheOneRing.net, you have our deepest gratitude for all the support over the years.

Emerald Rose has announced the completion of their newest cd, “Archives of Ages to Come”, and they plan to release the cd at TORn’s Evening at Bree party at Dragon*Con. The band will be premiering selections of the new material this weekend for audiences at the ELF gathering in Orlando.

Emerald Rose has performed for TORn fans at many LOTR events, including post-Oscar parties in Hollywood. This is the band’s fifth cd, and their most musically diverse, ranging from traditional Celtic ballads and instrumentals to driving rock songs inspired by world mythology. [more]

The schedule is not showing the actual panelists for costuming (just not enough room), so here’s who’s going to be doing what: [more]

Two hotels and an estimated 26,000 guests create a new universe where “strange” dress, behavior, fanaticism and sleep paterns are the norm rather than the exception. Corsets and stormtroopers become so commonplace it seems as if something is missing upon return home.

Among Tolkienites, the internet has already shrunk the fan community, but there is simply no replacement for a friendly hug or handshake and a shared laugh between those who feel strongly about a book that is on the eve of its 50th anniversary. So, during your perusal of TORn’s Dragon Con 2003 coverage, remember that perhaps the best moments are those that aren’t news, that cannot be reported upon and which will never make a headline or a photo. DCon is about being part of a sometimes strange but almost always entertaining and friendly community.

TORn friend Carlene Cordova and staffer Quickbeam gave a two-day, two-part report on their project “Ringers – Lord Of The Fans” starting on Saturday along with the Director of Photography Josh Mandel aka “Tan Pants”. In the spirit of full openness I must disclose that I am a Unit Director (a guy who sends in footage) for the project but I attended the film’s briefing intending to bring TORnados a informative report.

I knew there would be good information but if I may break into a momentary commentary and borrow one of Quickbeam’s favorite
words: “brilliant!” You can find the movie’s web site here: http://www.theonering.net/ringers/ and I had read it and looked forward to the panel, but hearing those working on it gush about their ideas and hopes at the Dragon Con event was inspiring. If nothing else these folks pour their passion into the project and I suspect that will be evident on-screen as well.

Their work is far from over with Mandel heading to the UK shortly and all the ROTK fan footage gearing up. Like any independent filmmakers, they are seeking funding – seeking it always but they are determined to continue in their efforts however they must.

The film’s focus is of course Tolkien fans and on day one of the presentation they spoke of the beginnings of fandom and its first two decades of existence. “It is a penetrating glimpse into the explosion of fandom,” according to Mandel. Quickbeam described it as, “Delicious, fun playfulness.”

Day two was left to cover more modern fans and started with a look at Middle Earth at the dorms in the University of California Irvine. Back in the day fans named 24 dormitories after Tolkien’s own geography and the area still stands as a monument on the campus of the “fightin’ Aardvarks.”

The audience was also favored with Mr. Spock’s (Leonard Nimoy) rendition of “Bilbo Baggins“, a real favorite on convention circuits but a song a lot of fans either don’t know about or haven’t seen. Amazing, vintage, wonderfully dated stuff.

The Tolkien events covered in day two included things like the publishing of “The Silmarillion” in 1977, the release of the animated “Hobbit” by Rankin/Bass, the Ralph Bakshi version of “The Lord Of The Rings” and the internet history of Tolkien fandom. Even TORn history was covered, beginning with the photo-essay page it used to be and Tehanu being charged with trespassing.

Perhaps most compelling was the “Ringers” preview showing some of the quickest bits of Tolkien fandom in their own words strung together to give a feel of the documentary the crew is working on. It was greeted with delight and left the crowd wanting more. The full future of the project is still unknown but at the very least it will play phenomenally well at conventions and in fandom circles but the filmmakers hope the appeal is wider. They hope that as a social commentary it will play to large audiences and that a major distributor will step in and give them added leverage.

In addition to the “Ringers” panel, Calisuri, Corvar, Maegwen and I all played a part in the hour long spoiler-filled look at “Return Of The King” and “The Two Towers” Extended Edition. That presentation to a “sold-out” room (the largest at DCon) both Friday and Saturday, coupled with our own senior staffer Jincey running the whole Tolkien tract, kept the web site in the mix of the community. This was a “had to be there” event but the audience appeared to be involved in the photos and commentary provided by staffers. As an aside, as much as I enjoyed the actual presentation, I enjoyed the in-the-hotel creation of the presentation even more. The staff folks, while not full-time Tolkien scholars, were a pleasure to listen to while theorizing about the films and the significance of each individual photo.

Lord Of The Rings fans can rest easy knowing that “our people” represented very well. The front entertainment page of the “Atlanta Journal Constitution” featured a group of fearsome orcs led by LOTR fan Brian Wolfe from Orlando. In addition, the teaser at the top of A1 that day also showed an orc, enticing readers to go inside.

Wolfe and his spectacularly nasty crew has been a LOTR fan for years. “I read the books. We saw the Hobbit on TV and watched it all the time as kids.” Even among all the amazing costumes the crew of nine, a couple out of costume when TORn caught up with them, really were among the very elite.

Wolfe works in Orlando as a make-up artist at Universal Studios and calls the Peter Jackson films their collective favorite movie, and that is among film lovers. “These were something better. They set the standard. Like most good Tolkien fans he was awaiting the DVD at midnight and is a frequent visitor to TheOneRing.net. In the past Wolfe has done costumes based on Spawn, Mortal Combat and “musical” theatrical group Gwar. The friends have attended DCon for five consecutive years and travel from Florida, New York, North Carolina and anywhere else they need to in order to attend.

A group pictured in a fan report on TORn worked on their getups for seven months, all in anticipation for DCon. Julia (part of the Tolkien costume panel) and her husband Kevin – shown here as part of a group of friends – were also show-stoppers. Everybody from Klingons to Laura Croft wanted pictures with the group.

Toby Markham from Chicago attended Dcon in an amazing Sauron costume made by his own hand. “I always do Star Wars,” he said. “The year I wanted to do something different.” When fully suited up, Markham could only see out of the nose of his mask. “People get out of my way,” he said. He is considering redoing his mask to allow for a flap on the back. His work is done in gapaxio for the detail and in aluminum in the broader pieces of armour. It goes without saying that once inside, it gets a bit hot.

More subtle were the extravagant Elvish gowns and sewn materials that dotted the fandom landscape. Explore the TORn scrapbook for an abundance of examples. TORn’s official complaint: Where were the Hobbits people? There were a few but as a fandom we are pretty Elvicentric.

Saturday night was the official masquerade took a Lord Of The Rings introduction on video calling itself “The Masq of the Rade.” Masters of Ceremony George Takai and Walter Kronig of Star Trek fame were funny, partly because they were so unaware of the content of most of the costumes and stumbled over many of the names, descriptions and hand-writing.

“Our” oft-mentioned Balrog with wings was in the official contest along with Nessa of The Valar and a trio of friends who were unfairly escorted off the stage by rotten storm troopers. The very good “twilight nazgul” with her own duplicate scream barely walked on stage when the troopers ended the fun. An Arwen also played part in a spoof along with Star Wars, Harry Potter and the Matrix. Arwen got to chase the HP people off the stage while the Matrix people were riffed on for cashing in.

Other highlights included the three faerie godmothers from Disney’s “Cinderella”, a perversion of my beloved “Monsters Inc.”, Harvey Birdman, Aku and Samurai Jack from Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, the “most fearsome monster from 1978″ Dungeons & Dragon’s mindflayer (which won “best sci-fi”?!?! How is D&D sci-fi?!?!). There were also quality Borg, a wonderful 3,000 feather “Snow Queen” from the book of the same title and a rendition of stage play Grease’s “Summer Nights” by a macabre group including Frankenstein and his bride.

Without a doubt, the most amazing costumes, in or out of the show was the complete monster group from Maurice Sendak’s children’s book “Where The Wild Things Are.” As they slowly paraded onto the stage, the audience gasped, then clapped, then stood, then cheered. Hopefully between dead batteries and camera problems TORn will have a glimpse posted soon. The same group floored the public at the Hyatt later, putting security into a panic. Quite a spectacle. [More Masquerade Costumes]

For a comprehensive look at Dragon Con images, go to their homepage (http://www.dragoncon.com) and click on “Links And Photos” in the left column where the con posts photo links of all kinds at the con, eventually including TORn’s coverage.

Fear not TORnados, full reports are on their way but DCon is winding down and after a little travel time the full monty will be delivered. Highlights include Brad Dourif, Elvish lessons, tons of Tolkien tract events, fantastic costuming and even TheOneRing.net presentations.

August has crept into September leaving us only a few short months until the force of nature that is “Return Of The King” is unleashed on us and the rest of the world. DCon has, if it is a good gauge of ROTK interest, shown that not only are Tolkien fans excited for the third film in the trilogy, but the rest of genre fantasy community has their blood in a boil in anticipation. Stay tuned for further reports!

TORn’s own Jincey serves as DCon’s Tolkien themed programming faciltator (called the Tolkien tract) and although she had the unenviable task of announcing that John Rhys-Davies could not attend, she also had the pleasure of leading “Bree” in its celebrations.

With the help of Emerald Rose – of TORn Oscar Party fame – the festivities kicked off with dancing and general merry-making. Between sets, costuming fans trotted out some fantasticly detailed getups. Elves seemed the most popular, splitting the costume contest into a division of Middle-Earth’s immortals and the rest of the good professor’s characters. While TORn users were well represented, there were other Tolkien fans present, leaving all an opportunity to rub shoulders and compare handywork.

Musical sets alternated with contests and breathers giving Bree the perfect balance of fun. Captain American stopped by to battle evil along with other costumed luminaries who craved the party atmosphere.

Judges, including TORn’s own Calisuri, had a difficult time making final decisions, leaving the audience and costumers alike on pins and needles. Kell Yarwood of Memphis won the Elvish prize for her detailed Arwen dress. She hauled in a Sideshow Toys/WETA statue for her trouble. John (John-of-the-night) Day from Orlando took second with his Elvish archer costume while Beth (LadyStar) Robinson from Michigan managed third for her Arwen outfit.

In the “other” category which was more wide open and even more difficult to judge, an Aragorn/Frodo combo displayed by Dion Rupa (New York) and Heather Dunningham (Santa Cruz) took the top prize. Beth (LOTR42) McCullers from Mephis wrapped up 2nd place with her rendition of a fighting Uruk-Hai that would have done Richard Taylor proud. Third Place was secured by Gayle Klar from Savannah with her Balrog costume with extending wings…let the debating begin. An honorable mention was also given for an adorable dancing “Rosie Cotton” portrayed by Tracey (IridescentGrrly) Cook from Huntsville. Please see the TORn Dragon Con scrapbook for these and other photos of the night of Middle-Earth magic.

Rumors of TORn taking the party to a karaoke-friendly establishment and singing “I am A Man Of Constant Sorrow,” can neither be confirmed or denied.

Atlanta’s IMAX, located in The Mall of Georgia, is viewed as a national showcase for the IMAX format films. IMAX films because of film size, require an intermission just after the two-hour mark, putting the expected three-hour plus ROTK film far into intermission territory. AOL/Time Warner own New Line Cinema, the parent company of the LOTR films and Warner Brothers, the company that produced the Matrix trilogy. TORn will continue to follow this possible story.

Meanwhile the new American Film Institute theater in Maryland, is hoping that an event being sold to AFI members on December 5 is a screening of “Return Of The King,” according to Alex Tarrand who works at the theater. The event is currently listed as “Lord Of The Rings” and might be the FOTR EE screening. The theater which opened in April is in Silver Spring Maryland and sells tickets to the general public but this hoped-for event is available to members only. Memberships are approximately $30 a year, according to Tarrand.