‘Middle-earth Madness’ is coming to Los Angeles on Monday, June 27th. For those of you competing for the trip to New Zealand and other great prizes, we thought we’d share a few insights about the competition. Check out the official rules over at the LordoftheRings.net and look forward to seeing you on Monday!  [Event Details] [Official Rules]

  1. Handmade costumes are preferred over store bought costumes, except for the very creative use of store bought items and how they are used.
  2. Try to keep true to Middle-earth fashion sensibilities. In other words, leave the sneakers and jeans in the car Elves. Try for a ‘tip of the head down to your toes’ look for your character.
  3. Weapons should be peace bonded, meaning they should be rendered inoperable. Swords and knives tied down, arrows should not be able to be drawn, etc. Other items, such as spears and pikes should be treated like a walking stick, rather than a weapon, and used simply as a prop. You are strongly discouraged from brandishing your weapons, even in jest or on stage, as there will be people and equipment in close proximity to the costume contest. Any deviation from this will see you disqualified from the contest and removed from the premises.
  4. This contest is a solo entrant event, but feel free to come with fellow costumed friends, as long as each person enters separately.
  5. There will be no performances on stage. The first round will be en masse in the staging area near the stage, where the judging staff will wander through looking at everyone and promote those who will earn a pass into the second round. This will be the Semi-finalist round and will include a walk across the stage, with lighting, but again, no performances. Judges will convene and decide upon those who will move on to the third round. The Finalists will be called up to the stage, and if there is time, each will be asked to briefly describe something about their costume to the crowd. Sir Richard Taylor of WETA will skype in at this time, already having in hand photos of all the Finalists, and he will make the final determination of the 6 prize winners.
  6. We are making the Registration and Waiver form available online, so if you are able to, please print and fill it out and bring it to the Best Buy with you. Also, if you have any existing photos of you in your costume, that would be excellent for the judging staff to be able to attach a photo to your entry form. This is not a requirement, but will help our judges out immensely.
  7. When filling out the entry form, please be specific about any aspect of the costume you want judges to know about, such as hand beading, leather tool work, hand knitted scarves, etc. Please use extra sheets of paper to describe details, using large font. Remember to put your name on the upper right corner of each page used
  8. If you do end up in the second round and get to participate in the stage walk, please inform contest staff of any special needs you might have, or if your costume might create difficulties managing the stage unassisted. We want to notate any requirements for assistance on the entry form, so just let us know if you think you’ll need help. There will be staff stationed on either side of the stage to help prevent accidents, so your attention to this detail is appreciated.
  9. Once you turn in your registration, we will need to get a photo of you in costume holding the number you will be issued. While this is not required the moment you register, it is required to be complete no later than 7pm. These are the photos that will be sent to Sir Richard Taylor at WETA if you make the Finalist cut, so make sure your makeup and hair and costume are ready to go when you get your picture taken.

Elijah Wood appeared on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” tonight to talk about his new series. But, of course the subject of “The Hobbit,” came up as well. Enjoy!

Fictional Frontiers, a weekly radio show that speaks with depth about popular culture and the popular arts, features TORn on a regular basis to keep listening audiences world wide caught up on the real world happenings of the fictional Middle-earth. Host Sohaib I. Awan has a long-standing relationship and plenty of kind words for TORn. This week’s chat, in addition to airing on WNJC 1360AM in Philadelphia, is available right here in its extended form. The conversation ranges from the latest news and rumors on ‘The Hobbit’ to careful looks back at the LOTR legacy.

We continue our chapter-by-chapter discussion of The Hobbit tomorrow rejoining the Company as they soar over the Misty Mountains on eagles’ wings.

After their lucky escape from the goblins, their only possessions are the clothes on their backs, so Gandalf leads them to the house of an odd friend. So odd that Gandalf takes a very peculiar approach to securing his help!

What manner of being is Beorn? Why is he so gruff? And what does the way he treats his visitors — and his unusual servants — say about him? What of the plan they hatch to cross Mirkwood forest? Inspired? Or desperate? And where is Gandalf off to?

Join us tomorrow (Saturday June 25 at 6pm EDT) in #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net when we’ll discuss these questions and many others as we look at Chapter 7 of ‘The Hobbit’ – Queer Lodgings. Continue reading “Hall of Fire chats The Hobbit tomorrow!”

Winda Benedetti writes: I’m having a hard time deciding whether this is performance art … or just a really elaborate way to get to spend a whole lot of time playing your favorite video game. It seems artist Jordan Wayne Long of Arkansas has decided to ship himself across the country in a crate during which time he will have contact with the outside world only through a game. That game: “Lord of the Rings Online.”

Long, who says this experience is all part of a study about how people cope with post traumatic stress disorder, expects the trip — from Bald Knob, Ark., to Portland, Ore. — to take seven days. His friend Bradi Roberts will be driving his container — which he’s been building himself — on the back of a flatbed trailer. More..

Today. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment releases a new gameplay vignette, focusing on the recently revealed character Beleram, the Great Eagle, from their upcoming video game, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. This vignette illustrates Beleram’s critical role as strategic component for players of this 3 player co-op action RPG. In the war brewing in Northern Middle-earth, the strategic alliance with Beleram cannot be underestimated.

Ripping enemies limb from limb, grabbing foes in his talons and flinging them off cliffs, destroying enemy structures and taking to the air in defense of the Fellowship; while Beleram cannot be tamed or owned, his strength can be called upon to save the North of Middle-earth. Closing with a final image of the eagle smiting a foul Fell Beast, Beleram is one of a handful of heroes that stand in Sauron’s path in the North. Continue reading “The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Great Eagle Vignette”