Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun! Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – September 11 2011”

Geek Kon is a relatively young gathering, started in 2007 by students and alumni of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The fifth con was held this weekend, September 9 to 11, with 1400 fans attending. There were three Tolkien-related events, allinvolving David Salo, an expert on the professor’s invented languages.

David’s main contribution to the scholarly study of those languages has been his book A Gateway to Sindarin. He also, however, acted as the “Tolkien linguist” for Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. In that capacity, he translated phrases and passages from the script into various Middle-earth languages, primarily Elvish. David also devised passages in Khuzdul (the secret language of the dwarves), including choral portions in the musical score for the scenes in Moria. David also translated the phrases seen engraved on the swords and other armaments, and he recorded readings of his translations for the language coaches to use in training the actors.

(I have known David for years, and in September of 2004 I interviewed him for my book, The Frodo Franchise. I used material from that interview in Chapter 3, “Handcrafting a Blockbuster,” pp. 95-6.)

I don’t think it has been publicly announced yet, but fans will be delighted to know that David is currently performing the same tasks for The Hobbit. Although his contract obviously restricts him in what he can say about the actual filming, his first talk shared with us what he could reveal. Continue reading “David Salo, Linguistic Consultant for The Hobbit, speaks at Geek Kon”

Today, Turbine has released a new video and screenshots from The Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard, the upcoming expansion to the award-winning MMO, which will launch on September 27th. A new Developer Diary video features members of the development team speaking about the new Gap of Rohan region and new screenshots depict action within the Gap of Rohan.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard (Launch Date: September 27th) Continue reading “New Video & Screens: Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard expansion”

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of Khazad-dûm, the first deluxe expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game! Khazad-dûm transports you to the ancient realm of the Dwarves with 165 new cards (with three copies each of its player cards), including new scenarios, encounter sets, heroes, allies, attachments, and events. More..

We’re about to kick off our live discussion of chapter 12 of The Hobbit. Follow the link below to join our chat (anyone can join, we only ask that you’re polite, courteous and don’t swear) as we delve into the events of “Inside Information”!

We’re done! Thanks to everyone who came along for a fab discussion!

Tomorrow (or later today, for some of us), Hall of Fire returns to The Hobbit as we delve into the events of Chapter 12 — “Inside Information”.

“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.”

The party has found a way into the mountain, yet one insuperable obstacle remains — Smaug. Yet the seem dwarves reluctant to approach, leaving Bilbo to do all the work. What does it say about Thorin’s character that he pushes Bilbo to go into the darkness alone? And what does say about Balin that he chooses to accompany Bilbo part of the way when the others find it beyond them? Continue reading “Hall of Fire tomorrow: The Hobbit chapter 12 — Inside information!”