Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join the fun!
The Holiday shopping season is quickly approaching and its time to start thinking about what to get that special Tolkien lover in your life. We’re pleased to to help ease your journey in by narrowing down what we feel are the top 10 Middle-earth related collectibles that fans can easily swing on a holiday budget. You can get any of these amazing collectibles from our friends at Weta Workshop, Artist Jerry Vanderstelt, Sideshow Collectibles, and The Noble Collection. These collectibles range from mini-sword letter openers to giant premium formats all of which help cover any Tolkien Collector in your family.
We want to simplify the head-scratching surrounding the multitude of versions of the Extended Edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey available to fans.
To wrap up the week that saw an unprecedented live fan event where fans gathered in theaters around the world with cast and crew, here is a list of things that stood out for TORn staff.
During the event, fans were treated to costume displays, live Q&As, a preview of the end credit music video, and most importantly, 20 minutes of nearly complete, previously unseen footage. As stated in previous posts, this means movie spoilers are coming, so feel free to stop reading now if you wish to spend the next four weeks without knowing what’s to come. Continue reading “Thirteen things we love about The Desolation of Smaug footage”
TORn’s good friend and artist extraordinaire Donato Giancola, who was part of TORn’s art show in Los Angeles last February, has recently completed a new masterpiece: a commissioned painting showing a scene from The Silmarillion, when Huor and his brother Hurin are rescued by eagles. The work is huge – roughly 9 foot by 6 foot! – and perfectly showcases Giancola’s skill in capturing landscape and living beings alike. (The image of Donato himself sitting in front of the painting gives you an idea of the scale of the piece!) The majestic scenery is breathtaking, with beautiful play of light and shadow over the mountains and the valley floor. The patches of glimmering snow on the peaks in the foreground of the picture are mirrored in the white towers of Gondolin,which gleam ‘like … spike[s] of pearl and silver’.
You can read about Giancola’s inspiration for his work – from artists in the Hudson River School of landscape painters, for example – at his website, here. You can also see more of his incredible Tolkien paintings in his book, Middle-earth: Visions of a Modern Myth. Tolkien isn’t the only writer who inspires Giancola; readers who are fans of George R R Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire can look forward to a calendar in 2014, for which Giancola will create 12 new paintings inspired by that world.
Meanwhile, enjoy Huor and Hurin Approaching Gondolin.
This Sunday, November 10th, at 3PM PST, TheOneRing.net Live is proud to premiere our brand new show: TORn Book Club!
Hosted by long time staffer Sarumann, this show will focus on literature and all things to do with reading and writing. While we certainly have a bias toward Tolkien, this show will not focus only on Tolkien and his works, but also on all manner of classic fantasy and science fiction. As the title implies, this will have a book club feel to it. Every month, we will choose a book for you, the viewers, to read, and we will have a discussion on the book at the end of that month. We know that our fans are voracious readers, and love to discuss what they find.
But the show isn’t just book discussions! With November being National Novel Writing Month, fans who are participating are encouraged to tune in and share your progress! Each week in November, we will be discussing the ups and downs of writing, and giving advice and pointers to the aspiring writers in the crowd.
When we can, we will also have author guests on the program to discuss their works and their experiences as writers.
We will also be announcing the monthly winners for our “Rewrite Tolkien” contest on this show!
As you can see, there is plenty to talk about, and we’re excited to bring this new show to you!
Be sure to tune in at theonering.net/live on Sunday, November 10th, at 3PM PST and join in the fun!
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join the fun!
