Born on February 25, 1971, Sean Astin turned 43 yesterday! Astin — actor, director, voice artist and producer…
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Born on February 25, 1971, Sean Astin turned 43 yesterday!
Astin — actor, director, voice artist and producer — is, of course, best known to Tolkien fans as Sam Gamgee in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, but has also made his mark in a career spanning more than 70 films roles, including The Goonies, Toy Soldiers, 50 First Dates and as the indomitable, never-say-die working class hero of Rudy. Continue reading “Happy birthday to Sean Astin!”
The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films has just released the nomination list for the 40th annual installment of the Saturn Awards, and The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug has tied with ‘Gravity’ for the most nominations. Both received eight.
The gongs that The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug is up for are: Continue reading “The Desolation of Smaug receives eight Saturn nominations”
This image was slipped under our door deep in our network of mines where TheOneRing.net staff labors to make the internet safe and interesting for Tolkienites. Unable to find the sneaky culprit, we have no choice but to share with the world this exclusive look at page 22-23 from Weta Workshop’s new book, “Smaug: Unleashing The Dragon.”
As you might expect, the book brings readers face-to-face with the magnificent creature created for Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” From the pages we can preview, this is a book with concept art and text from the artists at Weta Digital and Weta Workshop; This spread from Gus Hunter who presents a couple of variations of body types of Old Smaugy. TORn friend Daniel Falconer is the author as he has been on Weta’s previous books about the creation of the Hobbit films.
A larger size version is available by clicking below.
J.R.R. Tolkien changed fantasy books and publishing forever with his inclusion of maps of Middle-earth. One of the staples of world-building fantasy novels since, maps tell readers they aren’t quite in Kansas anymore and help them know they are instead in places like Westeros or Randland.
So it’s absolutely fitting that the Middle-Earth DEM Project (somebody tell those amazing folks its lower case “e”) is putting Middle-earth in the hands of the public with views from space and can also be explored on foot virtually. The video above demonstrates that walk while the link to the project gives you choices of how you wish to see Middle-earth. Enjoy as team continues its work to put Middle-earth everywhere, including a demo you can download.
TORN’s latest library piece tries to uncover the origins of the Ringwraiths.
Some of Tolkien’s most mysterious and alluring characters in Middle-earth, the Nazgûl have remained in the shadows (no pun intended) ever since their appearance in The Lord of the Rings.
The following article has examines many of Tolkien’s sources in an attempt to “map out” the possible locations where the Nazgûl may have originally come from. Continue reading “On the identity and origins of the Nazgûl”
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the week ending February 23, 2014. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch up on the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the link 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!
Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – February 23, 2014”
