Games Workshop, Ltd. will be releasing a new game, Battle of Pelennor Fields, the first new boxed game in their Middle-earth line of tabletop miniatures games since their Escape from Goblin Town game in 2012, and their first self-contained Lord of the Rings product since 2005’s Mines of Moria.

 

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I feel it in the water… I smell it in the air. The beast has emerged from its lair, and DragonCon is here again! Here’s what you can expect from Middle-earth fandom, and from TheOneRing.net, this weekend:

We’ll have our usual ‘fan table’ in our normal spot, in the Hyatt hotel opposite the entrance to the Art Show. There we’ll have buttons and shirts for sale; here’s a glimpse of our merchandise for this year:

 

We’ll also have other goodies for you to look at, maybe a few giveaways, and we’ll be happy as ever to chat with our fellow fans!

The High Fantasy track will be in L401-403 in the Marriott, and there are various panels which will be of interest to Tolkien fans; such as a discussion about The Inklings (Saturday 2.30pm), ‘Valar-ous Women of Middle-earth’ (Sunday 5.30pm), and TORn’s own ‘They’re taking the Hobbits to Amazon!’ panel (Sunday 4pm, in a bigger room – Marriott A601-602).

Then of course Friday night is the EVENING AT BREE! From 8.30pm in the Grand Salon West (Hilton), join us for music and revelry! Bands Toucan Dubh and Landloch’d will play, the Elf Choir will sing, and we’ll have the ever popular costume contest – possibly with a celebrity host or two…

(Don’t forget, if you want to sign up for the costume contest, you need to do it IN ADVANCE of the ‘Evening at Bree’. Go to the High Fantasy Track Room (Marriott L401-403) or visit the TORn fan table before 6pm on Friday to sign up to participate.)

Middle-earth celebrity guests this year are Graham McTavish (Dwalin), John Noble (Denethor), Dean O’Gorman (Fili), and Craig Parker (Haldir). On Sunday morning, 11.30am in the Marriott Imperial Ballroom, TORn staffer greendragon will be hosting these gentlemen in the ‘Heroes of Middle-earth’ session.

In addition to all that, there will be lots of Tolkien characters marching in the Parade on Saturday morning, and there will be all the usual opportunities to spend far too short a time among such excellent and admirable fans! Hope to see you there – let the fun begin!

On Tuesday 28th August Graham McTavish sat down with Susan Damon from Sideshow Collectibles, to chat about all things geeky, and about his experiences playing some iconic roles. McTavish describes how, as a geek himself, he had to force himself to stay calm in moments such as knocking on a round, green door and watching it swing open, as he visited Bag End for the first time. He also discusses food fights in Bag End, and shooting the incredible barrels out of bond scene – and how good-looking dwarves often seem to come to a sticky end…

McTavish talked about Preacher, Lucifer, and his upcoming directorial debut, ‘This Guest of Summer‘. The movie, which will co-star fellow ‘dwarves’ Dean O’Gorman and Adam Brown, is being partially financed by crowdfunding. Fans may want to check out the Indiegogo campaign, here – there are some amazing perks to be claimed, including the chance to visit Hobbiton in NZ with McTavish himself!

And here’s the delightful 35 minute interview.

If you are still looking for something to do this Labor Day weekend, you might check out Regal Cinemas’ screenings of the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films in their extended editions on RPX screens, in select theaters. The screenings run from Friday, August 31 through Thursday, September 6, and each day they change the order of the films. This will allow people with limited time off to find a time that works best for them in order to get to see each of the films, if they are not able to do a 12 hour marathon. And the best part? Each film is only $5 in most cinemas, but the screenings are on the RPX screen, which is one of the large format theaters, meaning you get a huge discount over the current blockbusters sharing time in the theaters this weekend.

For more details on which theaters will be showing the trilogy and to buy tickets, please go to the

Regal Entertainment website

Newsweek:  J.R.R. Tolkien – Celebrating the Professor’s Greatest Creations [Media Lab Publishing] is on newsstands and store check-out lanes now.

This is a beautiful, high-quality, glossy 100-page issue full of articles, information on both books and films, and many full-page photos.  A wonderful collectible opening with an introduction by Shaun Gunner, Chair of the Tolkien Society.

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