The Dominion Post had an article about Bret McKenzie’s (Figwit) involvement with The Hobbit last week, and Variety has confirmed it. Bret will play the elf of Rivendell, Lindir. You might say, “Who?” Well, if you recall your the ‘Many Meetings’ chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring, Lindir is one of the elves who enjoys Bilbo’s song so much, he asks for a second hearing…

`Now we had better have it again,’ said an Elf. Bilbo got up and bowed. `I am flattered, Lindir,’ he said. ‘But itwould be too tiring to repeat it all.’ ‘Not too tiring for you,’ the Elves answered laughing. ‘You know you are never tired of reciting your own verses. But really we cannot answer your question at one hearing!’

`What!’ cried Bilbo. ‘You can’t tell which parts were mine, and which were the Dunadan’s?’

‘It is not easy for us to tell the difference between two mortals’ said the Elf.

‘Nonsense, Lindir,’ snorted Bilbo. ‘If you can’t distinguish between a Man and a Hobbit, your judgement is poorer than I imagined. They’re as different as peas and apples.’

‘Maybe. To sheep other sheep no doubt appear different,’ laughed Lindir. `Or to shepherds. But Mortals have not been our study. We have other business.’

It’s pretty nice to finally have an official character name associated with Bret’s character, but I think we are going to always lovingly call him Figwit.  [Variety]

Balrogs. The great elfbanes. Among the most feared creatures of Middle-earth. Which is why it’s fitting that discussions of their wings (or lack thereof) should be the bane of usenet groups, irc chats and online forums everywhere — sending some rushing for their sourcebooks and others frantically scuttle for cover.

“The Balrog made no answer. The fire in it seemed to die, but the darkness grew. It stepped forward slowly on to the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall…” Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Ch V, The Bridge of Khazad-dum.

This weekend in Hall of Fire, TheOneRing.net’s intrepid staff are set to delve — possibly too deeply — into this fraught question: do Balrogs have wings? (And do they fly?)

Continue reading “Hall of Fire chats this weekend — Balrog wings!”

Harper Collins Canada has been running their own version of March Madness over the past month and they are down to two finalists: The Hobbit vs. Murder on the Orient Express. We had NO idea this was taking place until today, but boy are we glad we found out for the finals. What better way to start the week then to overwhelm a poll. Not that we are trying to influence your vote or anything *wink*.  [Vote Today]

Welcome to ‘Collecting the Precious’ a new column on TheOneRing.net about Tolkien collectibles.

I want to start this off with a little bit about myself. I’ve been collecting virtually all my life from sports cards to many of the high end items we see today. My collecting interest include many things like Lord Of The Rings, Marvel, Star Wars, GI Joe, He-Man, and more. All of which I talk about on a blog that I run called The Pulse. Tolkien’s work first came into my life first when I was in high school and saw a few friends reading The Lord Of The Rings. However, my own fandom while sparked wouldn’t kick in just yet.

Continue reading “‘Collecting the Precious’ – Collecting Column comes to TheOneRing.net”

Eddard StarkHBO is airing a fantasy series in two weeks staring LOTR alumn Sean Bean. Just as in 2000, when New Line Cinema put high-quality fantasy in the cinema, viewed then as an expensive risk, the subscription channel is adapting a fantasy novel, George R.R. Martin’s “A Game of Thrones,” for television. Bean, Boromir in Tolkien’s “Fellowship of the Ring,” is front and center here as the series’ most recognizable face playing Eddard Stark, one of the powerful players in a land full of political intrigue. Sunday night HBO started the two-week countdown before the shows airs each Sunday for 10 weeks. You can watch a 14-minute preview now but younger and sensitive viewers should be warned, there are graphic depictions of dead bodies, a beheading and the stuff of nightmares if you follow this link. (TORn recently ran a story comparing the LOTR films and the television series.)