RA B&WWith the Home Video release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (which becomes available this week in Australia, Brazil and parts of Europe), Richard Armitage has been busy giving interviews, as we’ve been posting over the past week or so. He found time to sit down again with staffer greendragon, and they chatted about finding Thorin’s voice one last time, what he’s working on now, and what it was like to fill (literally!) those mighty dwarven boots… Here’s what he had to say:

Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE – Richard Armitage chats with TheOneRing.net”

hobbitconlogoThe convention season is about to start in a big way with TheOneRing.net appearing at shows across the U.S. and even at a special event in Europe. HobbitCon in Bonn, Germany, is packed full of Hobbit and Tolkien guests, including our own MrCere (Larry D. Curtis) who will present several panels about, as you might guess, The Hobbit.

Joining him is an amazing collection of 12 star guests that includes actors from The Hobbit film and Royd Tolkien, great-grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien. The lineup of special guests includes Sir Richard Taylor, some fan films and other prominent figures from the world-wide Tolkien community. Tickets are no longer on sale online but day or weekend tickets can be purchased directly from the event at the Maritim Hotel If you are in Europe this is an event without peer.

WONDERCON

Wondercon logoFrom the same folks who stage the world-famous San Diego Comic-Con, comes WonderCon in Anaheim, with a pretty incredible lineup that also includes TheOneRing.net staff previewing the last movie from Peter Jackson about Middle-earth, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again.” That can’t-miss panel takes place Saturday, April 19 at 5:30 p.m., in room 300DE.

We also will have a table on the sales floor to get exclusive TORn t-shirts and talk to staffers about all things Middle-earth. Our all-volunteer staff has an abundant representation in Los Angeles, making this a way to meet our friends.

MORE CONVENTIONS

CALGARY EXPO: April 24-27, Calgary. Staffers greendragon and Deej join a powerful Middle-earth lineup of guests that includes Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Jed Brophy, Manu Bennett, and Dean O’Gorman. Also featured is Weta’s incomparable Richard Taylor. TORn will sell our exclusive convention shirts and meet fans and friends face-to-face!

FANTASYCON July 3 – 5, Salt Lake City. This show, focused on fantasy, has a heavy Middle-earth influence with celebrity guests and rumor has it they will add several others to a lineup that includes Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies, Sylvester McCoy, Ken Stott and Graham McTavish. TheOneRing.net is partnering with the show and will be present at the celebration of all things fantasy with a booth, panels and some surprises.

SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON The grandaddy of pop-culture events in the world will once again feature Hobbit content from Warner Bros. and TORn. Director Peter Jackson is a likely candidate to be here and as well as a list of celebrities from the film to make their “Hall H” appearance. Plan to wait or camp in line. Our own panel is also in high demand and while nobody can camp overnight, we fill any room the SDCC hands us. This is Mecca for pop-culture. See you there!

DRAGON CON The annual event in Atlanta, Georgia is something of a home for all things Tolkien with the Tolkien Track of programming that definitely features TheOneRing.net and always includes some celebrities from the film world. This focuses on books, film, pop-culture, costuming, dancing, music and everything else you can think of. TORn staffers attending include greendragon, Deej, MrCere, Thorongil, often Quickbeam and usually a few more.

More conventions are likely including the New York Comic Con so expect lots more convention updates.

DofS blurayWith the release this past Tuesday of the Blu-ray and DVD Editions of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, there was a bit of confusion concerning several video advertisements and the bonus material on the discs.

The videos embedded below – “Beorn the Shapeshifter” and “Laketown – Entering the World of Men”, as well as a “Giant Mirkwood Spiders” video on the L.A. Times website – contained snippets of behind the scenes video and interviews that many could not find of the discs.

Warner Brothers has now informed us that these are promotional pieces created to promote the release, and do not include material from the discs themselves.

The Bonus disc on both the Blu-ray and Special Edition DVD releases do, however, contain the following content:

– Peter Jackson Invites You to the Set (In the Company of The Hobbit & All in a Day’s Work) ~ 41 minutes
– Production Videos ~ 37 minutes
– Live Event: In the Cutting Room ~ 38 minutes
– New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth, Part 2 ~ 7 minutes
– Trailers & Previews ~ 12 minutes
– Music Video “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran ~ 6 minutes

 

PrintFans have been asking and we can finally announce the availability of the TORN Book Club shirt, designed by Eeva Nikunen

Pre-order the brand new, custom designed t-shirt from TheOneRing.net and avoid the lines! This shirt was created specifically for our TORn Bookclub live show, hosted by Sarumann. This whimsical design incorporates all the best things about Tolkien’s rich world and comes on a 100% pre-shrunk cotton, cream colored shirt.

We sold out most conventions last year and wanted to give everyone the opportunity to get a Con shirt.

NOTE: This is for PICK UP only at WonderCon Anaheim. Currently NOT AVAILABLE FOR SHIPPING.

It will go on sale for non-attendees at a later date. Fear not!

TORN Book Club T-Shirt 100% Pre-Shrunk Cotton

Editor’s note: pre-ordering is now closed. 

RichardArmitageDigitalSpyInterview01 Richard Armitage is really doing the rounds pressing the flesh lately and chatting with journos. Here’s another interview, this time with Joe.ie.

A couple of interesting quotes:

If you look at the detail on the Lake-town set (in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug) some of the glasses have specific carvings into the glass and the cutlery –- it’s astonishing and the camera sees it all.

…even the title, the Battle Of The Five Armies, suggests something that is going to be pretty epic. When I saw the model of the battle ground, which was in a little secret room that you could sneak into and take a look at, something made me realise that Tolkien’s description of that battle is quite limited to where Peter has expanded it to.

Continue reading “Armitage talks Hobbit, the Battle of the Five Armies, Into The Storm, Schwarzenegger and more”

IMG_7333 copyAsmus Toys has been churning out lots of figures in their 1:6th action figure line for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. We’re pleased to share the next awesome figure that you can find for pre-order right now from various retailers. The latest figure – or I should say figures – Middle-earth fans can add to their collection is one of Sauron’s most trusted servants, the Nazgul. If that’s not enough for you, fans can also order a 1:6th scale Nazgul Steed that your Ringwraith can fit on, to recreate the methodical tracking down of Frodo and The One Ring. The Ringwraith comes in at a price of $130 by itself, Horse $150 by itself, and if you want both, deals can be had for $250. All of these items will be out by quarter four of this year, and we will update this post as we find deals for Middle-earth fans.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Asmus Toys Nazgul and Steed Figures”