Director Peter Jackson in the gallery of the Wellington Town Hall during the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's recording sessions for 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'. Photo / Hagen Hopkins.
Director Peter Jackson in the gallery of the Wellington Town Hall during the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s recording sessions for ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’. Photo / Hagen Hopkins.
Russell Baille from The New Zealand Herald gets the low-down on the recording process at Wellington Town Hall last month. He was present last month as the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra laboured mightily with orchestrator Conrad Pope, Peter Jackson and senior audio engineer Peter Cobbin to bring composer Howard Shore’s musical vision to life.

My favourite quote from Conrad Pope:

“It always pays to have great performers. Whenever you are in front of an orchestra you are in front of almost 2000 years of musical experience if you think about it. So you are taking that expressiveness and you are unleashing that. If you have a digital thing it is only one person. That is why it’s so remarkable to have that kind of power in this orchestra here.”

Continue reading “Peter Jackson talks about the musical score for The Desolation of Smaug”

To celebrate one year of Happy Hobbit, we will be hosting our first ever live event this Sunday, October 20 at 3PM PT!

So start thinking of questions and topics and get ready to join in the fun and madness! Simply login to Ustream just like you do for TORn Tuesdays and chat away. We look forward to seeing you then!

The details:

Where: http://www.theonering.net/live/
Date: Sunday October 20, 3pm PT
When is that in your time zone: head to this link!

HH Live event!

desolation of smaug poster Amidst talk over on BoxOffice.com about The Hobbit, one user has revealed that a “For Your Consideration” booklet circulating around Hollywood for The Desolation of Smaug lists a run-time of 156 minutes.

I RSVP’d to a screening on the WB lot and it lists 156min as the runtime.

Continue reading “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug runtime is 156 minutes?”

Benedict Cumberbatch photyographed by Paola Kudacki for TIME.
Benedict Cumberbatch photographed by Paola Kudacki for TIME.
Benedict Cumberbatch is TIME’s cover for their October 28 edition. Go behind the scenes of the shoot with photographer Paola Kudacki and discover the moment that led to the striking image that graces the cover.


In London recently, Paola Kudacki took her young nephews to see Star Trek. Leaving the theater, her 6-year-old nephew remembered Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the role of Khan, saying, “He has such an interesting face.” He does, Kudacki agreed. A couple days later she got the call from TIME, asking her to photograph that same interesting face.

“I was very excited because his career has been so big but it’s just beginning,” Kudacki said. She continued, “I wanted to capture the intensity of his face but also the quietness. I wanted to take a serious approach, very quiet, and intimate.” Continue reading “Behind the scenes of Benedict Cumberbatch’s TIME cover”

Barliman's Chat This Saturday (at 6pm ET (New York time)) Hall of Fire will be talking about the valiant shieldmaiden of the Rohirrim — Éowyn, the White Lady of Rohan.

For a while she was silent, as if pondering what this might mean. Then suddenly she laid her hand on his arm. ‘You are a stern lord and resolute,’ she said; ‘and thus do men win renown.’ She paused. ‘Lord.’ she said, ‘if you must go, then let me ride in your following. For I am weary of skulking in the hills, and wish to face peril and battle.’

Éowyn, the White Lady of Rohan Continue reading “Hall of Fire this Saturday: Éowyn, the White Lady of Rohan”

Bilbo looks over the trees in Mirkwood Forest.
Bilbo looks over the trees in Mirkwood Forest.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of many set visit reports that will publish weekly from now until the premiere of “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” We will update this post with photos from the set visit as soon as possible.

Ian McKellen as Gandalf.
Ian McKellen as Gandalf.

WELLINGTON — Thousands of creative hands will have touched “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” by the time it hits movie screens. For those making the film it means long hours, pushing the limits of creativity, people and technology. It is accurate to say every frame is filled with passion, lots of passion.

Despite all the love for the project from every quarter, there is a group that may be the least-heralded, most overlooked, and yet whose passion for the project is surpassed by no man — or woman. They will receive no awards, no fame, no recognition and yet, they loved their work on “The Hobbit,” and legions of fans would have willingly taken their place in a heartbeat.

They are called “extras,” and for these films that meant extra passion, extra time and extra fun.

How would I know? Well, I was one of them!

I am a staffer here at TheOneRing.net (TORn), contributing for over a decade to the all-volunteer, not-for profit website forged by and for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien. In that time I formed a bond of trust and friendship with people on all sides of the production.

Warners Bros. and the production team on “The Hobbit,” invited me, as a representative of TORn, to not only visit the set but to be embedded there as a journalist for five weeks. Every working day for a month and a week in 2012, I woke up and reported to set near Wellington, New Zealand where Peter Jackson and his team of filmmakers were putting together the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved children’s book, “The Hobbit.”

I can hardly believe this happened even though I remember it with incredible clarity. It seems surreal now — as it did every day when I arrived, showed my badge to security and walked into the grounds where Middle-earth would be created for audiences world wide. Each day was appreciated.

For me, it was absolutely life changing.

Repeating for emphasis: Life changing. Continue reading “Set visit exclusive — Extras: Living large in the background of ‘The Hobbit’”