Did you know the creator of TMNT was a bigger fan of Tolkien than we ever expected? His wedding ring is actually a One Ring of Power! Today on our *LIVE* weekly webcast TORn Tuesdays, we have a very special guest: Kevin Eastman, creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (and also a dyed-in-the-wool Ringer fan)! We’ll talk about creating worldwide fan bases, Comic-Con experiences, and the power of mythology through popular culture. What is it like for a creator to deal with other people adapting / redoing his most famous creation? Come join the show via Stickam (account “theoneringnet”) using your own Skype login or come join us via our Live Event Page with our unique Barliman’s chat embedded in the show! Soon we will have live guests IN THE AUDIENCE at Meltdown Comics Theater in Hollywood for every weekly show!

Tune into our show at 5:00pm PDT (that’s L.A. time folks — click here to see when it is in your city!), and just click to our Live Event page.


With E3 just around the corner, we would expect to see a game trailer for the upcoming ‘Guardians of Middle-earth‘ game sooner rather than later…well, it is sooner! Courtesy of GameTrailers.com, the world premiere of the trailer showcases the ‘battle’ nature of the gameplay. The ‘good’ looks to be represented by Gandalf, Aragorn, Galadriel, Legolas and Gimli. We might add, the portraits on these characters are very close to those from the films. The bad are represented by Sauron, The Witch-king, Gollum, an Uruk-hai…and another character this reporter can’t seem to place. I’m sure we’ll find out when the character section of the official website opens up. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer and after the break check out some screen caps! (As an aside…remember that the way we interact with Tolkien’s world is as diverse as those of us who enjoy it. This might not be your cup of tea, but we can guarantee there are a lot of folks excited about this new title!)  [GameTrailers.com] [Press Release]
Continue reading “Official ‘Guardians of Middle-earth’ E3 Trailer with Screen Caps”

Fandalf visits the heart of Tolkiendom in America - Houghton Mifflin's HQ, Boston

You may remember this story from summer of last year: ‘Fandalf’ the travelling Gandalf statue (well, two of him actually…) was making his way around America and around Europe, stopping with fans in many different places and posing with famous landmarks.  With San Diego ComicCon 2012 being the final stop on Fandalf’s journey, he has just over a month to go; so we thought readers might like an update on his travels!

The statue (made by Sideshow/Weta) which is travelling around America made his way over to the East coast.  He was recently in Atlanta, followed by a few stops in New England (Rhode Island, Boston and Concord).  Right now he’s winging his way (courtesy of a friendly eagle!) over to Ohio.  The European Fandalf has been to various places in Germany, Belgium, France and Italy.  The wonderful pictures hosting fans have taken can be seen at flickr.com – search for images tagged ‘Gandalf World Tour’.  Many thanks to all who have hosted Fandalf – it’s great to think of fans all over the world mooting with the Grey Wizard!

As we draw closer to the release of the first Hobbit movie, San Diego ComicCon promises to be full of excitement and Middle-earth goodness!  Fandalf’s return from his travels and merry meetings with fans will be a wonderful part of these ‘Hobbit Eve’ celebrations.

Anime fans are already in-the-know, but now Ringer fans have gotten their first look at a funny, impressively detailed parody of The Lord of the  Rings Trilogy!  Animation voiceover star Vic Mignogna, familiar from shows like FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, DRAGON BALL Z, BLEACH and NARUTO, has been playfully embroiled in a video tribute challenge with fellow voice actor and friend Todd Haberkorn.  The resulting comedy videos between them have become progressively more detailed and complex (and hysterical).  This newly forged “Rings” parody looks amazing; and features a familiar personality from TheOneRing.net.  Our very own Clifford Broadway (Quickbeam), host of the weekly webcast TORn TUESDAY, plays Gandalf the Grey!  This playful mini-epic was presented at Anime Central just a few days ago in Chicago, and showcases some epic talent both in front of and behind the camera! Ringer friend Nicole Roberts (recent WETA contest winner) helped secure a bevy of prize-winning costumes for this parody ‘Fellowship.’  What was the genesis of this remarkable 23-minute parody?  Mignogna states: “What started out as a simple tribute video rivalry among friends, has ultimately culminated in this epic production.”  Filled with anime in-jokes and high end production value, this “Todd of the Rings” is the send-up to rule them all.  View it exclusively on YouTube here.

DID WE SAY MASSIVE SPOILERS?! Yes, we did, so before reading further know that everything revealed to me will be revealed to you! Tuesday’s unspooling of 10 minutes of THE HOBBIT at CinemaCon took the place quite by surprise and should be considered a special moment in the history of cinema — where the first public audience witnessed a new future for movies, so brace yourself.  I will interpret everything I saw and how it matches up with Tolkien’s universe … there are SO MANY cool and revealing things we can now expect in the first film alone! Let’s explore the veracity of Peter Jackson’s adaptation with hasty vigor. There is also the matter of the 48 frames-per-second format and the blogosphere’s mixed reaction to the look of the new technology, so read on …

Continue reading “Hobbit Footage Review & MASSIVE SPOILERS: Full Coverage & Analysis!”

SPOILERS! We just got off the phone with Cliff (Quickbeam) to discuss what he witness during today’s WB presentation at CinemaCon 2012 in Las Vegas. He is literally on the road right now, driving back to LA, but wanted to pass along a few quick-hit items to share with you all before he goes into extreme detail during our LIVE TORn Tuesday show. (Which btw will now be pushed to 5:30pm PT today because of the trip) Please note, If you are fearful of spoilers…stop reading now!

Continue reading “SPOILER ALERT: CinemaCon Hobbit Footage Quick-hits! TORn Tuesday Moves to 5:30PM PT”