Variety recently interviewed Benedict Cumberbatch about the iconic roles he’s lately been playing on both TV and cinema, and there’s a small bit where the man talks about his preparation for the role of Smaug.
The relevant excerpt follows:
“I’ll be donning … well, probably not Andy Serkis’ sweaty wet suit … I’m sure they dry clean it.
Playing a reptile is something I don’t believe has been done before. I’ve already started working out, crawling around on my belly whenever I can without alarming people too much.”
Thanks to message board member Oleander Took for the alert!
Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released the third of four new videos discussing the theme of Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings. From the world of entertainment, to the development team at Snowblind Studios, this video includes candid commentary from people close to The Lord of the Rings canon.
Speaking to the concept of Fellowship, and it’s vital impact on The Lord of the Rings story, film stars Sean Astin and Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings) discuss the power created through these characters coming together. Actor Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) discusses the coming together of different races, utilizing their different attributes to create an even stronger bond, Experts from the world of gaming, Eric Eckstein (G4) , Alison Haislip (G4) and Miri Jedeikin discuss this theme in relation to concept of co-op play, and actor Brian Posehn (The Sarah Silverman Show) discusses his choice of player race. Continue reading “WBIE: Releases Third of Four Videos for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North”
Where do Tolkien fans gather on Tuesdays for the hottest live chat “call-in” show covering all things Hobbity? Join the fun with TORn Tuesdays LIVE with Quickbeam! Be part of our live streaming show with Cliff offering analysis and wild speculation about the set report from Ain’t It Cool News, as well as a tidbit of inside information about a casting in The Hobbit for “The Old Bellringer” who warns the Men of Laketown of that dratted fire-drake!
Chat with folks in Barliman’s chat room LIVE and we can even bring you in via Skype. Check out the broadcast in our LIVE Event section right here every week: 5:00pm Pacific Daylight Time!
I stumbled on this short story on Weta and about the chainmaille process. It’s not news, but it is nerdily interesting.
We’ve been talking chainmaille with Emily. These days she’s the Make-Up and Hair Department co-ordinator, but we knew she was one of the pioneers in the chainmaille department and spent a long time putting an unfathomable amount of rings together for the costumes for The Lord of the Rings. Find out what it’s like to put together 5-10,000 rings. Per day. [READ MORE]
Deep in the heart of the country that inspired Tolkien’s Elvish language, Welsh-based company Mgames has been working on something Precious. The official Lord of the Rings game on Facebook, ‘The One Ring’, launched in July, and has already attracted 80,000 users.
So, what makes this game so compelling? Well, to start with, it is written with deference to the original books, both the world that Tolkien worked so hard to create, and the style of his writing. The artwork is inspired and original, offering a fresh and often unique perspective of Tolkien’s vision. And when you add to this the soundtrack’s beautiful symphonic music, you have an experience that leaves the player engaged every step of the way, from the Shire to Mordor.
Over the past few years, The Lord of the Rings franchise has gone silent. There was a time when the world of Middle Earth was on the forefront of everyone’s mind. The film franchise was doing gangbusters in the theaters, and the books were at the top of the bestseller lists. On the gaming front, LOTR was doing pretty well, with a variety of games spanning genres from action to real-time strategy performing quite well. However, once the films had ended, interest slowed to a crawl and the games faded out of memory.
Now, it seems that Tolkien’s world has gotten some renewed vigor. Peter Jackson’s films based on The Hobbit are finally in production, and Warner Bros. Interactive and Snowblind Studios have unleashed a brand new game set alongside the books, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. More..
Variety recently interviewed Benedict Cumberbatch about the iconic roles he’s lately been playing on both TV and cinema, and there’s a small bit where the man talks about his preparation for the role of Smaug.
