2012 will be a watermark year for the movie business but this week looks a lot like the 1990s and presented some problems for TheOneRing.net’s Film Friday. I didn’t want to watch “Titanic,” or “American Reunion,” which are likely this week’s biggest new releases. In each case, I feel like I have been there before.
I have been much more interested this week in a discussion with some Facebook friends about which films will rule the 2012 box office numbers. “The Hunger Games,” is proving to be a powerful financial force. Some of these friends are fans of “The Hobbit,” but don’t think the film can win the finally tally for the year’s biggest moneymaker. I disagree. (Oh and while we are talking about the film, any media member who writes that it is a prequel is lazy, inaccurate and deserves a gentle kick in the shins. The story stands alone, came first and is so much more than just a lead-up to LOTR.)
While studios care deeply about the financial returns, fans are a lot more interested in art and a thrill at the movies. Still, there is some fun in watching the box office derby and it seems like a dozen websites have sprung up devoted to doing just that.
It’s been a little while since we’ve had a movie rumours, spoilers and speculation chat in Hall of Fire. So we’re fixing that this weekend as we take a look at the latest news about what’s going on with the Hobbit production.
We’ll be taking a close look at our own Quickbeam’s speculation about just what the writers might have in store for Radagast the Brown. We’ll also be poring over the latest spy pictures from the Dale and Esgaroth sets.
And, of course, anything else I’ve forgotten that’s piqued your interest recently.
Rumors are flying as far as the Great Eagle’s sight that our newest wizard, Radagast the Brown, will have a more prominent role in the first installment of THE HOBBIT: ‘An Unexpected Journey.’ I am very excited by what Sylvester McCoy may bring to the role. The rumors are strongly suggesting Radagast’s rustic home on the eaves of Mirkwood Forest — Rhosgobel — will be more heavily featured than first suspected.
Color me intrigued! This kind of “newly added” material in Peter Jackson’s film adaptation is not canonical, strictly speaking, within the pages of “The Hobbit.” Yet it is canon from another Tolkien book! This stuff comes from the Appendices in the hinter-lands of “The Return of the King,” and therefore the most intriguing as to how it’ll play out in the new films. Among purists it might be cause for alarm.
Let’s investigate what we know from Tolkien — keeping in mind what the Professor seemed to be confused about himself may leave us with a minor mystery. Let’s also speculate on how P.J. is going to make Rhosgobel fit into the narrative of his first HOBBIT installment.
Interested in learning about Tolkien and fantasy literature in more depth? We have been asked to spread the word about an online course that spans fantasy from its roots to modern works. Here is the info we were asked to share with all the links after the break:
During the summer semester Cardiff Metropolitan University will run an online course titled Fantasy Literature: Tales Before and After Tolkien, designed and taught by Dr Dimitra Fimi.
The course will examine fantasy literature, from its roots in Victorian fairy tales to modern imaginary worlds. Some of the key texts we will explore include J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books, Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and J.K. RowlingHarry Potter series. The course is open to students and adult learners all over the world. It is delivered entirely online via Blackboard, Cardiff Met’s Virtual Learning Environment, so it does not matter where students are physically. The course will begin on Wednesday 9th May, and will run for 12 weeks (10 teaching Units plus 1 reading week and 1 essay-writing week), until the end of July. The course carries 20 credits at Year 3 undergraduate level if students choose to do the assessment. Continue reading “Online course offered in Tolkien, fantasy”
Our little birdie was right yesterday! You can now place your order for the first official t-shirt from ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey!’ The shirts are available in four styles: Women’s Fitted, Women’s Relaxed, Youth and Adult. Jump on over to WBShop.com right now to place your order and show your Hobbit pride! [Order Here] (http://bit.ly/hobbitshirt)
The results are in! After many weeks of intense competition we can finally crown a winner! In the end, Samwise Gamgee, a sturdy and faithful Hobbit from The Shire takes the prize in our first annual Middle-earth March Madness!
Sam defeated his worthy opponent Aragorn with 65% of the votes!
We’d like to thank you all for participating in this year’s event, and look forward to next year’s competition in which we will institute a few of the changes that you have suggested in comments/facebook posts, etc. For a review of each round, click on the following links: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Final Four , Championship
2012 will be a watermark year for the movie business but this week looks a lot like the 1990s and presented some problems for TheOneRing.net’s Film Friday. I didn’t want to watch “Titanic,” or “American Reunion,” which are likely this week’s biggest new releases. In each case, I feel like I have been there before.
Greetings all, Quickbeam here.
