Adventures of Tom BombadilAdding to an already lengthy list of scholarly works related to J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings and artwork, Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull are putting the finishing touches on a new edition of The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book, scheduled for release on October 4, 2014. Tolkien fans and scholars know the book, originally published in 1962, as a collection of entertaining poems wonderfully illustrated by artist Pauline Baynes. The original book contained 16 poems, some about Tom Bombadil, others related to Middle-earth, and still others unrelated to his invented fantasy world.

From Wayne and Christina’s webblog: “This new edition will contain the sixteen poems as published in 1962, together with the original drawings by Pauline Baynes. But it will also include earlier versions of the poems, where earlier versions exist – some of these were published in magazines and journals which are now hard to find – and it will reprint a later ‘Bombadil’ poem, Once upon a Time. In addition, we are very pleased to be allowed to publish for the first time, from Tolkien’s manuscript, the predecessor of Perry-the-Winkle, called The Bumpus, and the complete, tantalizingly brief fragment of a prose story featuring Tom Bombadil, in the days of ‘King Bonhedig’. To these, we have added an introduction, comments on the poems and on Tolkien’s preface, and glosses for unusual words, as we did previously for Roverandom and Farmer Giles of Ham.”

Those of us with well-worn copies of the book on our bookshelves will definitely want to add the new edition to our collections this October! Thanks to ringer malickfan for alerting us to this great news!

Hobbit Desolation of Smaug PosterThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their nominations
for the 86th Annual Academy Awards this morning, and The Desolation of Smaug received 3 nods.

Best Sound Mixing
Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson
 
Best Sound Editing
Brent Burge
 
Best Visual Effects
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
 

Congratulations to the nominees! The ceremony will be held on March 2nd. Continue reading “‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ nominated for 3 Oscars”

smaug sculptureWe all know, of course, that Tolkien’s characters and locations spring vividly to life in the imagination, whenever his books are read. One artist, however, has taken that a step further, and created a sculpture of Smaug from the pages of a copy of The Hobbit. The scaly, menacing dragon leers around the cover of the book, seeking a tiny Bilbo, who cowers under his searching gaze. See more pictures and read about this amazing art work here – it’s really stunning.

[Incredible Smaug book sculpture]

Legolas2Tonight, via their Facebook page, Gentle Giant have released details of the next bust in their The Hobbit Trilogy bust line and the first one from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The next character being created is none other than Legolas Greenleaf wearing his very cool Elven Armor. That’s not all, we get to see Legolas holding the severed Orc head from the interrogation scene after Thranduil separated the head from the Orc body. Legolas is up for Pre-Order right now for $75 with an estimated shipping date of the fourth quarter of this year.

oscar-party-picFull details aren’t ready for full disclosure just yet, but should be available very soon. Just crossing the Ts and dotting the Is on booking a venue. We wanted to make sure you knew this was happening today, just as the Oscar Nominations are announced so you can ‘Save the Date’. Here is what we can tell you.

The Oscar party will be held on Sunday, March 2, but then, that date was chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

This will be a viewing party, with dinner, games, auction and raffles, and some geeky fun. That also means it will start in the mid to late afternoon as the Red Carpet telecast gets underway.

Rather than a big fancy party as in years past, we’ve decided to go more casual this year. This is more of an Oscar Moot, a gathering of friends and fans for food, Fellowship and fun. No need for fancy dress, although costumes are always welcome.

The cost will be much more within reach, basically just covering the meal, tax and gratuities.

We are endeavoring to make this family friendly, all ages welcome, so feel free to bring the younglings.

Look for more details in the coming weeks when we issue the formal invite.

movie brawl 2014Anyone up for a little game of ‘Swamp the movie poll?’ MTV is hosting a little poll to discover the most anticipated film of 2014. Round one is in full swing now with just a few more hours left to help The Hobbit: There and Back Again beat off it’s competition. The first round closes at 12 noon EST tomorrow, just 11 hours or so from now. If we can get The Hobbit: TABA to move on to the next round, keep this link around to help keep it moving along. Movie Brawl 2014 You can vote as often as you like, so let’s make the next few hours count.