Hobbit Calendar 2012: BilboSo, how is 2012 treating you so far?  We’re just a few days into the year, but I bet more than a few of you are realizing while it may be ‘Hobbit year,’ we’re still a loooooooonnng way off from December. Sob.

Well, to help you mark the time between now and then, we asked TORn staffer magpie to design some desktop calendars for the TORn community. She rose to the challenge and created two wallpapers — one Bilbo, one Thorin — which we hope you all will love as much as we do.  Please click through and choose the image best sized for your monitor. And enjoy!

Continue reading ““The Hobbit” 2012 Desktop Calendars”

From EmpireOnline: The following is both complete conjecture and a possible spoiler for The Hobbit: There And Back Again, so please think carefully before continuing. But when we spoke to Benedict Cumberbatch on set of Sherlock a little while back, we asked him about his roles in Peter Jackson’s new epic, and he said something that may very well be a spoiler, so let’s discuss that just a bit.

Cumberbatch said of his role,

“I’m playing Smaug through motion-capture and voicing the Necromancer, which is a character in the !!SPOILERS!! Highlight to Read Five Legions War or something which I’m meant to understand. He’s not actually in the original Hobbit. It’s something [Peter Jackson]’s taken from Lord Of The Rings that he wants to put in there.”

More..

Author Anna Thayer sent along this press release about her new book ‘The Traitor’s Heir: Volume One of The Knight of Eldaran’ (ISBN: 9781849630894). Take a look!

In an epic tale, the young Eamon Goodman goes on a journey of discovery. A journey which sees him taking a pivotal role in the battle between the rival forces of the king and the master, and from being a young soldier in his home of Edesfield to being a fast-rising hero in the city of Dunthruik.

Add this item to your Amazon.com wishlist here! Continue reading “New Book: The Traitor’s Heir”

This statement from Peter Jackson on the passing of Bob Anderson was sent to us a few days ago, unfortunately we were unable to post it until now, thanks for the kind words Sir Peter:

“It is a rare, even within the film industry, that you get to work with a legend which was why I was thrilled when Bob Anderson agreed to come on board The Lord of the Rings as our sword-master. In fact, it took a while for it to sink in that I was going to get to work with the same man who had helped create some of cinema’s greatest fight sequences – from Star Wars to ThePrincess Bride. Bob was a brilliant swordsman and a gifted teacher; I will remember him as a wonderfully patient man, possessed of a terrific sense of humour. It was a privilege to have known him.”

From the Hollywood Reporter: “Benedict Cumberbatch, who can currently be seen in theaters in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, has nabbed a major role in J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek sequel. … Cumberbatch is clearly having a moment. The actor, who stars as Sherlock Holmes in BBC’s Sherlock, is also on screens with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and is voicing the characters of Smaug the dragon and the Necromancer in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit.”

The Guardian writes that recently released documents reveal in 1961 Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” — nominated by friend and fellow fantasy writer CS Lewis — was rejected by the Nobel Prize jury “on the grounds of his second-rate prose.” The news organization reports that though LOTR was “crowned the UK’s best-loved book and sold millions of copies around the world,” the 1961 jury believed the book “has not in any way measured up to storytelling of the highest quality.”
We can guess what your reaction is — share your thoughts on our message boards.