RingersLP1-costumesWith tickets for The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug just hours from going on sale, we are now ready to open up our Line Parties for business. Well, sort of. The Line Party program has been having some quirky issues and not working for everyone. So this is a little list of what you can do with the Line Party section, and what you will want to supplement it with.

First off, let’s have a quick history on what a Line Party is. The geek in us all feels driven to attend the earliest possible screening, and with the Hobbit: DOS, that means the midnight screenings. And let’s face it, we all know we’ll head down to the theater hours before they actually open the doors, and stand in line, and stand, and stand, and stand. Unless, of course, there is a Line Party at your particular theater of choice. Because a Line Party means games, trivia, costumes, Fellowship and fun.

Anyone can host a Line Party, no special skills are required, and truthfully, prizes for the games are not necessary either because it comes down to the Fellowship and Fun. You simply decide which theater you want to host a Line Party at, talk to the staff there to make sure it is OK to do interactive games (some shopping centers and the like have rules about what can and cannot happen on their property), and then create a Line Party page here on TheOneRing.net.

lineparty_mainTo create a Line Party Page, go to the Community section, then click on the Line Party link at the bottom, and you will find a section with a list of existing Line Parties. Take a look to get an idea of what others are doing, then click ‘Start a Line’ to get the Line made. The information you will need to start a Line Party is the full name and address of your chosen theater, and if it is a multiplex, which screen or format you want everyone to get tickets in so you are all in the same Line. A few additional instructions such as when to arrive, what types of games, costumes or not, all this can and should go into your Line Party page.

We are going to add one more step, please create a Facebook Event page for your Line Party as well, and put the link at the bottom of your Line Party description there. This is simply because the ‘Join Button’ of the Line Party function has been having issues, so the Facebook Event page will be the only way for people to RSVP for your Line, and then you will be able to communicate with your Line Members. By creating the Line Party page here on TORn, you let others in your area find you, but by simultaneously creating a Facebook Event page for the same line, you are still able to communicate with your line until we get or functionality back. Win Win.

So here is where it get’s tricky.

Some people have experienced problems logging into their Fellowship account, which is required to start a Line Party. If you are already a Message Board member then you already have a Fellowship log in. But if you are new to this, you will want to register, and if you experience any type of problem with the registration process, please email me at: Garfeimao@Theonering.net and let me know of your problem, and then give me all the info you need for your Line Party and I will create it for you. For an example of a Line Party page with the Facebook event page included, please look at Irvine Spectrum line party.

We currently have just 4 Line Parties registered right now, let’s see if we can double and triple that by lunchtime on Thursday. Please email me at the above email address when you start your Line Party, even if you encounter no problems, so I can clear it from the Pending list as soon as possible.

Let’s get creative everyone, start your Line Parties and share your enthusiasm for the films and seeing them with fellow fans.

Grant Major on LotR SetThe Shire. Rivendell. Lothlórien. Helm’s Deep. Minas Tirith. If ever you found yourself admiring the design and scope of these remarkable sets and locations – among so many others from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – then you have been well aware of the amazing work of Grant Major. Serving as Production Designer on all three films, he was responsible for the look of everything you saw on-screen. Continue reading “Designing Middle-earth: The Media Chronicles interviews Grant Major”

HobbitTrain

Warner Bros. Pictures Canada, Pattison Outdoor Advertising, Canada’s leader in Out-of-Home advertising and the TTC, announced  the roll-out of a fully wrapped TTC Toronto Rocket super train promoting the highly anticipated release of “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”.

To the delight of super fans, the specialty installation on six-car super train began its journey on Monday and will run exclusively on the Yonge-University-Spadina line until December 13th– the opening day of the movie in theatres.

Hobbit Fans and TTC riders are encouraged to tweet pictures of the wrapped super train to the Warner Bros. Canada twitter page (@WBPicturesCan) with the hash tag #HOBBIT TTC for the chance to win tickets to the exclusive Toronto Premiere of the film.

Continue reading “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Super Train rolls into the TTC!”

A Journey Through Middle-earth, an interactive experiment by Google Chrome.
A Journey Through Middle-earth, an interactive experiment by Google Chrome.

Part of the celebration of “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” is a new Google Chrome initiative that uses technology to lead users to a digital experience of J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary creation.  You visit by clicking RIGHT HERE (http://middle-earth.thehobbit.com/) and trolling around the map with zoom features. Three locations are immediately available: The Trollshaw Forest, Rivendell and Dol Guldur. Others, like Thranduil’s Hall, are locked.

Below is a YouTube commercial for it and below that, the full press release.

 

PRESS RELEASE

“A JOURNEY THROUGH MIDDLE-EARTH”
PREMIERES ACROSS COMPUTERS, TABLETS AND PHONES

Burbank, CA, November 20, 2013—Inspired by the epic fantasy adventure “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” “A Journey Through Middle-earth,” is a new Chrome Experiment that brings the locations and characters from “The Hobbit” Trilogy to life with a mix of modern web technologies.  The film, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, will be released worldwide December 13, 2013, from Warner Bros. Pictures and MGM.
The online experience, developed by North Kingdom in collaboration with the studios, takes fans through an adventure that unfolds across an interactive map of Middle-earth.  Users can zoom in to explore Trollshaw Forest, Rivendell and Dol Guldur, with new locations set to be added in the weeks ahead.  Each destination on the map gives the visitor access to its history and the characters who inhabit it, or presents unique survival challenges in which fans can test their wits.
With immersive 3D graphics built with CSS3 and WebGL, “Journey Through Middle-earth” is the first Chrome Experiment designed to bring this beautiful, 3D experience to mobile, with technology support for WebGL in Chrome for Android on devices with high-end graphics cards.  Although WebGL isn’t supported on iOS, Chrome users can still experience most of “Journey Through Middle-earth” on their iPhones and iPads.

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson, director of “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, comes “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.”  The screenplay for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” is by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.  Jackson also produced the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh.  The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood, with Philippa Boyens and Eileen Moran serving as co-producers.
New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Present a Wingnut Films Production, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.”  The film is a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), with New Line managing production.  Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM.

Desolation of Smaug standard edition soundtrack If you mosey on over to the official website for The Hobbit film trilogy, you can catch yourself a listen to one of the tracks from Howard Shore’s score for The Desolation of Smaug. It’s called A Feast of Starlight, and it’s track number eight on the first disc of the special edition (and number seven on the standard edition). It’s not the whole track, just a little tease of strings and woodwind, and a hint of choir, but it’s very sweet. Continue reading “Listen to A Feast of Starlight from The Desolation of Smaug soundtrack”