If you’re a big fan of Tolkien and you’ve spent some time searching around for Tolkien related material online, you’ve probably come across an amazing replica of Minas Tirith built out of matchsticks. This eighth wonder of the world was designed and built by Pat Acton of Gladbrook, Iowa. Pat began building models of out of matchsticks in 1977, starting with a replica of his local church that consisted of 500 sticks. He’s since built over 60 models, including the U.S. Capitol Building, a space shuttle, and (using 600,000 matchsticks) the Hogwarts Castle from Harry Potter. His model of Minas Tirith, begun on April 7, 2007 and completed February 15, 2010, consists of 420,000 matchsticks, and includes hundreds of city buildings, as well as a certain white tree. In this exclusive for TheOneRing.net, TORN’s own J.W. Braun catches up with Pat and chews the fat, and Pat shares photos of the matchstick Minas Tirith model in development.
Continue reading “Matchstick Minas Tirith Creator Tells All”
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September 22nd is Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ birthday!! But this year the day has grown into World Hobbit Day as we also 
salute Tolkien Week AND the 75th anniversary of The Hobbit publication! So to celebrate this perfect storm of Tolkien highlights, TheOneRing.net’s Discussion Boards is hosting a party with activities covering several Boards this weekend. Continue reading “Come celebrate “World Hobbit Day” on TORN’s Discussion Boards!”
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By now we’ve all probably seen the new Hobbit trailer scores of times on our computers. Many have even streamed it 20 or 30 times on their big screen TVs, including all four alternate endings (ahem). But, there’s nothing like seeing it first hand on the big screen as I can now attest. Having just returned from seeing Dredd 3-D (well worth the price of admission, IMHO), I’m elated to say that the Hobbit trailer *is* playing in front of it, it played in 3-D and it was AWESOME!!!! Of course, the amount of additional detail one can see on the big screen goes without saying, but the colors, dialogue and sound were also enhanced enough to make any geek squeal with glee (as the rest of the movie-goers can attest). The 3-D was also amazing – not overdone, but enough to feel like I was being transported to Middle-earth.
For the record, I live in the Denver area and went to an AMC theater. As we get reports about other movies it’s playing with, we’ll update this story. If you’re wondering how you’re ever going to make it to December 14th, I highly recommend trying to see the trailer in theaters. Then again, maybe that just makes it worse! (No.. really.. SEE IT)!
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Our friends over at Total Film.com have pieced together a fascinating, side-by-side comparison of ten scenes from trailers from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and ten scenes from the two Hobbit trailers that we’ve seen thus far. The similarities they found, in both big and small ways, provides a very fun read. Someone (or several someone’s) there really have a great eagle eye (pun intended). Follow the “Read more” link and enjoy! Read more…
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We’ve been doing this little party for 10 years, The Hobbit has been in print for 75 years, Peter Jackon is releasing the first of The Hobbit films this year, and Bilbo and Frodo are co- celebrating their shared birthday, what better reason do you need to party like a Hobbit? This is a potluck, so bring something of your own, and be prepared to share in the feasting brought by others. Check out our Event page on Facebook, click the See More link in the description and you will see a full list of what others have offered to bring, then post a note to the event page, or email me at Garfeimao@TheOneRing.net to RSVP with what you plan to bring. Also in all that info are directions from most points in LA, including a map of the GriffithPark area. We’ve had good luck the past 6 or 7 years getting the same spot, but if our morning scouts discover the posted location is already occupied, we will update the page on Saturday morning with a new location, so you WILL NOT get lost.
Events on our rather casual schedule will include, eating, drinking, having fun, playing games, including our now famous Golfimbul tournament, and a live reading of The Hobbit. There may even be a surprise or two during the day. This is an ‘all ages’ event, there will be fun for everyone, so bring the family down. The sun will be out and warm, so hat, sunglasses and a bit of sunscreen would be most beneficial for your comfort, as well as maybe a blanket to sit on. Any questions, just post a note on our Facebook page or email me. We will also be tweeting from the event, using #Hobbitday and #TORn, so even if you aren’t able to atttend, look for posts and updates throughout the day from TORn staff and attendees alike.
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We’ve been getting lots of mail alerting us to events all over the world meant to celebrate World Hobbit Day (September 22 -also Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday) and cap off a fabulous Hobbit week that included the debut of a new Hobbit Trailer. As a service to our readers, we’ve gathered information about all of the events we know about into one place so you can plan your weekends accordingly. Starting with world-wide second breakfasts tomorrow, and moving on to online events and local celebrations, the weekend promises food, friends and fun for all: what Hobbit wouldn’t love that? If you have an event that you’d like us to include, please drop us a line at spymaster@theonering.net and we’ll add it to the list.
Continue reading “Hobbit Day events around the world”
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