Ford of Rivendell writes: I heard that Robert Jordan; author, veteran, historian, and family man, passed away on…
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Ford of Rivendell writes: I heard that Robert Jordan; author, veteran, historian, and family man, passed away on Sunday, and wanted to let you folks know, as TORn has reported news about him and his stories as many Tolkien readers travel to Jordan’s books and worlds as well. Here are a couple links to AP articles where I first found it.
Author Robert Jordan Dies James O. Rigney Jr., Who Wrote as Robert Jordan, Dies at 58 Discuss
While there is no official news on ‘The Hobbit’ movie yet, we can always count on Houghton Mifflin to continue to put out wonderfully crafted publications from Tolkien’s universe. The lastest batch of new books, ‘The History of the Hobbit,’ are coming this Friday to stores new you, just in time for the 70th Anniversary of the publication of ‘The Hobbit!’
“A beautiful boxed set: the definitive examination of how Tolkien came to write his original masterpiece, including the complete unpublished draft and little-known illustrations and unpublished maps, along with a new edition of the classic work itself.”
The books are being sold individually and released on Friday, Sept 21st in bookstores nationwide. However, if you are interested in purchasing the two books together, along with the speciacl Anniversary Edition of ‘The Hobbit,’ you’ll need to wait until October 26th. All are available right now on Amazon.com for pre-order.
No, you were not seeing things when you caught the season 3 premiere of ‘Prison Break’ tonight on FOX, that was Sala Baker. Baker, who played a few roles in the LOTR trilogy (most notably Sauron), had a small role as ‘World’ in tonight’s episode. Sharp eyed fans may have even caught his Eye of Sauron tattoo during the pivotal final fight scene!
The MTV Movie Blog is back at it with more ‘Hobbit’ rumors, this time picking up on a suggestion started right here at TheOneRing.net’s very own message boards.
“…But one actor we wouldn’t want to see return is actually the actor when it comes to a Hobbit movie. While wizards and elves and part elf-men all age slowly (or not at all), hobbits get old quick, and we can’t imagine a 51-year-old Bilbo played by the same actor who brought him to life on his eleventy-first birthday.
But if not Ian, than who? How about “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” star Martin Freeman? Internet scuttlebutt has him front and center as a replacement candidate, and no one can argue that he doesn’t looks the part. So when we caught up with “The Office” alum while he was promoting his new film “The Good Night,” we asked him to address the hubbub…’
Granted Martin gets Hobbits and Goblins mixed up, we still think he looks pretty darn good for the role. Jump over the MTV for the Q/A and then rant and rave on the TORn boards.
They took us through the Power Point presentation now posted here, which reviews the complicated publication and film rights history of Tolkien’s works, especially as they relate to “The Hobbit.” Critical dates in this history to keep in mind are:
1969: Tolkien sells the film rights to his works to United Artists/MGM.
1970: UA/MGM sells the film rights to Saul Zaentz for $10,000.
1997: Saul Zaentz sells the film rights to Miramax (Harvey and Weinstein).
1998: New Line purchases rights from Miramax.
2004: In its annual April Fool’s Day parody article, TORn announced that Paul Anderson (director of “Alien Versus Predator” and “Resident Evil,” among others) was set to direct “The Hobbit,” generating lots of attention from fans, studios, and attorneys alike.
TORn also launched the Help the Hobbit Happen web site in support of the film.
A petition signature campaign was led by Lynn Machie (LithQ) to rally fan support. (See this site) On September 22, 2006 the petition, over 2000 pages containing over 62,000 signatures, was delivered to MGM and New Line Cinema.
March 2005: Peter Jackson initiates suit against New Line, requesting a audit of the books of The Fellowship of the Ring. Often, this type of court is settled out of court, but Peter felt strongly, and continues to feel, that there were important underlying issues which needed to be brought to light about film production and revenue accounting.
November 2006: In an open letter to TORn, Peter Jackson releases the project, providing background on his reasons why. (Read the letter here) In the same month, Saul Zaentz reaffirms his support of Peter Jackson as director of The Hobbit.
January 2007: Bob Shaye essentially blacklists Peter Jackson from his studio, and Peter responds on Aint It Cool News.
July 2007: Bob Shaye begins to soften his stance. While Sam Raimi continues to be mentioned as director, discussions suggest that Peter Jackson could exec produce, thereby able to bring his vision for “The Hobbit” to the screen while remaining free to develop other projects.
Discussion at the panel was very lively. The TORn presenters outlined the possibility of “The Hobbit” as two films: one a straightforward adaptation of “The Hobbit” and the second a bridge film that would carry the story over to “The Fellowship of the Ring.” There is material in Tolkien’s works that could be developed in a second film, remaining true to the characters and the spirit of the books. For example, the death of Frodo’s parents and the development of his relationship with Bilbo, the White Council, Gandalf’s earlier activities in Middle Earth, Gollum’s earlier life and history, back story on other members of the fellowship, on the relationship of Aragorn and Arwen, on Aragorn’s personal history, travels and time spent in Gondor and Rohan, and much more.
Presenters and audience had a great deal of fun speculating about characters, cast, and locations for “The Hobbit.” For example:
Bilbo: probably not Ian Holm due to age/infirmity, nor Elijah Wood.
Gandalf and Gollum: No reason Ian McKellan could not return to play Gandalf and Andy Serkis to play Gollum, dates and contracts permitting.
Gloin: John Rhys Davies could play Gloin, father of Gimli, though he’s expressed a strong desire not to wear the makeup and prostheses for the dwarf costume again.
Dwarfs: Some of the dwarfs would be fully developed as characters, like Thorin and Balin, but most would remain unnamed, or at least undeveloped, in the film.
Elrond: Hugo Weaving could reprise his role as Elrond. Another suggestion offered was David Bowie.
Bard: Bard will be the high profile hunk of “The Hobbit.” Who should play him? Clive Owen? Gerald Butler? Hugh Jackman?
Smaug: Smaug the dragon will most likely be a WETAhttp://www.wetanz.com Digital creation, but as with Gollum, the voice of the actor playing him is critical to establishing character. Alan Rickman? Jeremy Irons? Morgan Freeman? Edward James Olmos? Michael Clarke Duncan?
Locations: The New Zealand public park used for Rivendell and the private land used for Hobbiton could be most likely be used again.
Props and Sets: A great many of the props and set materials still exist, though they are the property of New Line Cinema.
There was discussion consensus at the panel that “The Hobbit” will be made, as one or two films, simply because of the huge revenue potential from theatrical release, DVD sales and rentals, and associated merchandising/licensing. “Star Wars” (6 films) and “Harry Potter” (5 so far, 2 more to come) are only two franchises that demonstrate fans aren’t satisfied with just three films. The financial potential is big enough to bring together industry people to get the project funded, produced, and distributed, regardless of personal feelings or history. Even the rights issues can be resolved with the promise of a big enough financial pie to split.
At the end of the session, various prizes were given away, including a copy of Kristen Thompson’s “The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood.” Larry, Chris, and Bill also encouraged fans to stay active in the fan community and to let Dragon*Con organizers know how important, valuable, and enjoyable the Tolkien Track is. (Staff and email links here)
A Google search of “The Hobbit + Movie” yields over 1.1 million results, with only some relating to the 1977 Rankin-Bass film. Studios, licensors, suppliers and manufacturers, producers and directors, cast, crew, the nation of New Zealand, and especially fans worldwide stand to win if the film/s come about. So let’s “Make the Hobbit Happen!”
