uruloki.org recently interviewed artist John Howe. In the interview John talks his influences, childhood and technique. A very cool read for fans of this wonderful artist. More..

Our good friend and unabashed Tolkien geek Colleen Doran sends this in: Hi guys. You may have missed this look at the unpublished concept art for Ralph Bakshi’s 1970’s era Lord of the Rings animated film. More..

US Gandalf kicks off his tour across America at TORn’s annual Bagginses’ Birthday Bash in Los Angeles on Saturday,

September 24. Come on down and meet our honored VIP guest before he embarks on a grand journey to the homes of fans across the country. You can RSVP to the party by emailing Garfeimao@TheOneRing.net or on our Facebook event page and letting us know what you might like to bring (this is a potluck party).

Please be prepared to eat like a Hobbit, to get to know many of your fellow fans, to play games and listen to music and enjoy our Tolkien Fellowship. The Facebook page has links to directions on how to find our location at Griffith Park and a list of items people have already signed up to bring, and a list of what still needs to be brought. This event is always a highlight on the local Tolkien fan calendar in LA and will make an annual guest out of you, I’m quite sure.

For more information about the Gandalf tour, please see http://gandalfworldtour.com/  where the tour is described and his future exploits will be published. Fans across the country have been signing up to host Gandalf, so many that hosting Gandalf moots has become necessary in larger cities. We are still looking to decide who among So Cal fandom will be taking Gandalf home with them. Preferably we would love to find someone who will be traveling up to the Bay Area or Sacramento area in the next few weeks. If you find that you are able to attend our little shindig this Saturday and that you are planning a North bound trip in the next few weeks, please contact us and let us know. [Facebook Event Page] [Gandalf World Tour]

Magpie writes: I just got this email from a Tolkien acquaintance on staff at Wheaton College.

“Greetings one and all!

Today marks the beginning of Tolkien Week, and I hope you enjoy every last minute of it. If you haven’t heard, Wheaton College has started a student club (that actually includes Faculty and Staff as well) called the Wheaton College Tolkien Society! It will be a joy to celebrate Tolkien Week and Hobbit Day with that group of people this year.And if you want to vicariously partake in some Tolkien Week activities, I’ll be on WETNWheaton College Radio this Tuesday morning (September 20) sometime between 8:30am and 9am. Tune in and join in the fun! I’ll be plugging Tolkien Week, Hobbit Day, and the WCTS.PS – Some of you on this list might be new to the whole “Tolkien Week” thing. Explanation here:
http://www.americantolkiensociety.org/hobbit_day_and_tolkien_week.htm(It’s a whole week of celebrating Tolkien and his works, established by the American Tolkien Society. Tolkien geeks unite!) ;)”
 

Twizel is in the south island of New Zealand,  located between two mountain ranges the grassy fields was used for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in the Lord of The Rings trilogy.

From Oamaru Mail comes this update regarding the casting call times:

From Hobbit looking for local extras

A search to find extras for The Hobbit film will be held in Oamaru next weekend.

Organisers will be at the Oamaru Opera House’s Empire Room on Sunday, September 25 from 10am to 1pm for the  casting call.

Filming is expected to take place in the Twizel region in late November and December.

[Read More]

Thanks to Ringer Kookie for pointing us to a great interview with Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel in The Hobbit) from SFX. In the interview, Lilly talks about her time commitments, learning elvish, archery, swordplay, and just how long she’s been a Tolkien fan.

When you played Kate you were always doing physical scenes and stunts. How are you prepping for The Hobbit?

“With every film, you have to educate yourself on the material and it’s often things you don’t know a lot about. Right now I’m studying Elvish and having conversations with people about learning how to be an archer, a swordsperson and how to fight like an elf instead of a gritty convict.” [Laughs]

Did you have any reservations about joining The Hobbit cast?

“With The Hobbit, it was a no-brainer because I have been a fan of those books since I was 13-years-old.”

Check out the rest of the interview at the SFX Website. [Read More]