This weekend, Hall of Fire returns to discussing the Silmarillion. Chapter 12 — Of Men — begins with the Valar withdrawing more and more from Middle-earth and its inhabitants, both elves and Men. Why is Ulmo — perhaps the one least suited to the task — the only one who seems to care?
Does this seem like a wise move? If the Valar were at all interested in the Children of Ilúvatar, why do they they turn away and leave them to Morgoth?
Could it be that the Valar themselves are weakening, and less capable of intervening in Middle Earth except as allies? Or having been burnt in trying to befriend the Elves, are they simply wary of the greater pitfalls that may await if they are to meddle with the fate of the more mysterious Second Children?
Instead, it appears as though the human race was simply turned loose on the earth. No Vala came to guide them. Is this the core reason why they come to fear rather than love the Valar? But then, if they had no contact, how would humans know to fear the Valar? How mcuh of this is the responsibility of Morgoth and how much may be due to those first early dealings with the Moriquendi — the elves that never went to Valinor?
We are told that at the rising of the Sun, humans awoke in a place called Hildórien in the eastward regions of Middle-earth. Is there any significance to this location? And why does the Sun first rise in the West? Is it to draw them towards the Valar?
We are also given a list of names, in true elven style, for the newcomers:
Atani : the Second People
Hildor: the Followers
Apanónar: the After-born
Engwar: the Sickly
F’rimar: the Mortals
They are also called Usurpers, Strangers, Inscrutable, Self-cursed, Heavy-handed, Night-fearers, and Children of the Sun.
From these names alone, we get a picture of elves as standoffish, resentful, and fearful. Was this the attitude of the Eldar in the beginning, or is this an example of revisionist storytelling? Is the attitude justified?
And why are humans characterised as being at strife with the world and at variance with the Powers? They are creations of Ilúvatar, after all, just as the elves are, so why should they be portrayed as being at odds with their creator?
Join us in the Hall of Fire on Saturday September 10 at 5:30pm EDT as we discuss the decisions made by Elrond and Cirdan at the end of the Last Alliance of men and elves, and the beginning of the Third Age.
Time and date:
Saturday September 10
America:
5.30pm EDT
4.30pm CDT
3.30pm MDT
2.30pm PDT
Europe:
10.30pm UK
11.30pm Central Europe
Asia-Pacific:
7.30am (Sunday) Brisbane
7.30am (Sunday) Sydney
9.30am (Sunday) Wellington
Chats usually last 45 mins to an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation!
Where?
Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net – the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our java chat client that works inside your web browser (find it here! ) or choose to install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer.
To find out more about using mIRC to connect to TORn IRC server, check out these instructions.
Upcoming topics:
Sat September 10 – Silmarillion Ch 12
Sun September 18 – Silmarillion Ch 12
Got a topic? Let us know your idea!
If you have a burning desire to discuss something in Hall of Fire, drop us a line with your topic at halloffire@theonering.net. If we like it, we’ll probably give it a run in the coming weeks – you might even get to guest moderate the session!
Join HoF Announce!
Did you know that Hall of Fire has a mailing list? Join today and get topic announcements and news delivered regularly to your inbox!
Hof-announce@theonering.net
http://www.theonering.net/mailman/listinfo/hof-announce
Posted in:
Share:
The wait is finally over for a worldwide audience eager to see the groundbreaking documentary RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS, narrated by Dominic Monaghan and released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment — Pre-orders for both DVD and PSP format start on Amazon.com next Monday for U.S. and Canada (so be here for a special TORn announcement on Sept. 12th!). A film that has become a growing sensation since January, RINGERS tells the story of 50 years of Tolkien’s influence on popular culture. Audiences found the next “LOTR” film they’ve been craving as RINGERS blew the roof off the Slamdance Film Festival, going on to win Outstanding Achievement Feature Documentary at the Newport Beach Film Festival and then getting snapped up for worldwide distribution by Sony (to be released in late November 2005)! [More]
Posted in:
Share:
Peter Klassen writes: On 10th September, the Russian fan-made parody of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy will be released on DVD for purchase worldwide. The project which originated from the Russian LotR website “Henneth-Annun”, was created in three years of work, each part following after Peter Jackson’s theatrical releases of LotR. The project was realised uncommercially, and the total budget of $5000 (for the whole trilogy!) as well as costumes and props were brought up by enthusiasts and supporters from the forum. [More]
Posted in:
Share:
Peter Klassen writes: On 10th September, the Russian fan-made parody of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy will be released on DVD for purchase worldwide. The project which originated from the Russian LotR website “Henneth-Annun”, was created in three years of work, each part following after Peter Jackson’s theatrical releases of LotR. The project was realised uncommercially, and the total budget of $5000 (for the whole trilogy!) as well as costumes and props were brought up by enthusiasts and supporters from the forum. What did came out, were three movies with 75 minutes running time each: “The Trouble of the Rings: The Fellowship”, “The Trouble of the Rings 2: The Towers” and “The Trouble of the Rings Returns: King-Size”.
The films were shot on various locations of Moscow, which sometimes resemble Peter Jackson’s New Zealand landscapes in an astonishing way. For means of transport in Middle-Earth, some original solutions have been designed. So, the menacing 8 1/2 Nazgul are riding on bicycles; the pony Bill is a scooter; Gandalf’s horse Shadowfax is played by a motorbike, and the Haradrim’s mumakil are…. well, be ready for a surprise. Another topic of the TOTR parody is “restoring the justice” for all the changes which Peter Jackson undertook in his screen version of LOTR. So we get to see, how Arwen came to Asfaloth, why Haldir brings word from Elrond and what Balrog really wants from Gandalf…
The movies premiered in Moscow in December of 2002, 2003 and 2004, and had good success on public screenings on Zilantkon (Russia) and Tolkien-2005 (Birmingham, UK).
Now, this no-budget parody trilogy is hitting the DVD medium. The 4 Disc Collector’s DVD set contains the 3 movie DVDs as well as a bonus DVD full with various extra features. Here are the specs of the set:
“The Trouble of the Rings: Collector’s Edition”
Language: Russian 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles: English, German (films and bonus materials)
Picture: 4:3 fullscreen
Color System: PAL
Region Code: 0
Rated: O (Restricted for Orcs)
Bonus material on the Film DVDs (subtitled):
– Audio Commentaries of the makers
– Trailers for each part of the trilogy
– Ring*Con 2004 Trailer
– Behind the Scenes: “How it was”
– On TOTR2 und TOTR3: bilingual end credits (Russian/English)
– Animated menus with music
Bonus Materials on the Bonus DVD (subtitled):
– Making of: “The Trouble of the Rings: The Road Goes Ever On…” (~30 Min)
– “Moscow As Middle-Earth”: Interactive Atlas of Locations
– “Our Fellowship” – Interview Featurette
– “All Of You Are Worthy, All Of You Are Great”: Music Video About the Mass Extras
– TV Report About the Filming (Russian TV)
– TV Interview (NBC EUROPE)
– TOTR1: Premiere Report
– TOTR2: Outtakes – “Theoden’s Kitchen”, “Crow’s Drink”
– TOTR3: Casting Auditions
– Photo Gallery
– Promotion Gallery
– Complete Credits
More information on this DVD release, as well as screenshots, trailers, dialogue quotes and much more can be found at TheHutt’s TOTR page.
The official site of the Fellowship Art Group, the makers of TOTR
Posted in:
Share:
Watch this space for some great ‘RINGERS’ news coming soon!
Ringer Celebriel attended the Dragon*Con Sunday panel on “Ringers: Lord of the Fans” with filmmakers Cliff Broadway and Jeff Marchelletta. This, the last of their three panels at Dragon*Con, focused directly on the development and forthcoming release of the film. Cliff mentioned that, while “Ringers” is being released on DVD, it is possible there will be theatrical screenings in key markets, which will generate interest in the film (and provide opportunity for line parties and other Ringer events!). The panel opened with a rousing performance by Emerald Rose, whose music is featured on the soundtrack. (There may be a film soundtrack album in the future as well.) [More]
Posted in:
Share:
Ringer Celebriel attended the Dragon*Con Sunday panel on “Ringers: Lord of the Fans” with filmmakers Cliff Broadway and Jeff Marchelletta. This, the last of their three panels at Dragon*Con, focused directly on the development and forthcoming release of the film. Cliff mentioned that, while “Ringers” is being released on DVD, it is possible there will be theatrical screenings in key markets, which will generate interest in the film (and provide opportunity for line parties and other Ringer events!). The panel opened with a rousing performance by Emerald Rose, whose music is featured on the soundtrack. (There may be a film soundtrack album in the future as well.)
“Ringers” is a 97-minute feature length film examining Tolkien’s books and their franchise from the 1950s to the 21st century. It’s based on over 150 hours of interviews. Development sped up when Jeff pitched Tom DeSanto (X-Men) and he came aboard as Executive Producer. They got Ian McKellen to make a surprise appearance at ComicCon in San Diego when McKellen was on his way to New Zealand to start working on “The Lord of the Rings.” At ComicCon in 2003, they recorded fan impressions in a “confessional booth,” many of which were used in the film.
After the release of “The Fellowship of the Ring,” Cliff and Carlene Cordova recorded cast and crew at various award season events, realizing along the way that the story was becoming much bigger than first imagined.
Making the film took them to England and New Zealand and all over the United States. On the New Zealand visit, Cliff was able to appear as an extra in “The Return of the King,” playing a Gondorian looking over the walls of Minas Tirith toward the battlefield, standing next to Irolas. His comment: “My little geek heart almost burst out of my little geek chest!”
The November DVD release by Sony Pictures will include not just the film but also added value material such as “The Ring Comes Full Circle,” a making-of documentary. Other bonus features include the deleted scene “Tatoo You,” memorable confessionals from fans not used in the final film, interview footage with Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, and Andy Serkis, “Making Lord of the Rings Cool Again” (a segment about Peter Jackson’s filmmaking), and an alternative film soundtrack that’s like a party conversation. Cliff summed up, “We made it because no one else would. We are bigger geeks than you can imagine.”
Posted in:
Share:
