With the break in filming (that including filming in the U.K. with Christopher Lee) players in the two-part Hobbit movie are heading back to New Zealand. Word is that Peter Jackson is there now after his surprise stop at Comic-Con and we learned today from his own Twitter (@stephenfry) that Stephen Fry as the Master of Laketown is headed there at well. He tweeted:
Flying from Cape Town to Jo’burg to Sydney to NZ tomorrow. Will be Tuesday by the time I land in Wellington. Hobbitry beckons.
Luke Evans (Bard the Bowman) told us at the Con that he hasn’t stepped a foot on set yet but is scheduled for training and costume fitting soon. We do know the production is busy with decorating sets and getting costumes and extras ready for the ramp up of another 200 days of filming.
1,000 lined up, 480 got in, 57,000 watched online at TheOneRing.net/live!
TheOneRing.net kicked off San Diego Comic Con 2011 with the very first panel of the convention, Thursday 10 a.m. in room 7AB. Over 1,500 people lined up to secure one of only 480 seats in the room! Hosted by Larry D. Curtis (MrCere) and Cliff Broadway (Quickbeam), with special guest Daniel Falconer of Weta and our friends at Warner Brothers, TheOneRing.net previewed all the Hobbit actors in character and demoed a voiceover clip from Benedict Cumberpatch, the voice of Smaug doing a reading. TORn also announced its fan event surrounding two Sideshow/Weta Gandalf statues that fans in the U.S. and Europe can participate in. (Fandalf@TheOneRing.net) Each fan at the panel was then invited to an exclusively War In The North event and prizes were awarded from Badali Jewelry.
TheOneRing.net’s summer of conventions continues with TORN TV’s own J.W. Braun appearing at Gen Con, the world’s premier gaming convention, August 4-7 in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Braun will appear all four days and be located next to the main aisle at the center of the Exhibit Hall, giving attendees the latest info on the Hobbit films and signing copies of his book about the Lord of the Rings movies, The Lord of the Films. (Mention TheOneRing.net, and you can get Braun’s book for only $9.99. Or for $14.99 – while supplies last – you can get a Collector’s Set that includes the book, a DVD, original photos, chapters deleted by the publisher, a Lord of the Films bookmark, and a couple other surprises.) Braun will also have all the details on the latest Lord of the Rings Blu-ray release. So say hello to J.W. and enjoy the games!
At Comic-Con 2011, MTV interviewed a few celebrities to test their Geek knowledge. As you will see in this video, most fail miserably, especially when it comes to the first question. Thank God for Twilight’s Taylor Lautner knew confidently answered the name of the character Elijah Wood portrayed in The Lord of the Rings! I think we can say we are particularly disappointed in Patrick Stewart, and pretty sure that Jon Favreau is a true geek! [MTV Post]
Spielberg and Jackson together at Comic-Con 2011TheOneRing.net had a pretty amazing week at Comic-Con, including broadcasting live from the convention floor in San Diego and talking with fans as well as legends of cinema, literature and the world of comics. Our Thursday panel filled the 500 person room to capacity but unfortunately left another 1,000 unable to enter. But somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 watched it live, expanding our audience far beyond the numbers of any physical crowd at the convention.
The annual popular culture celebration is over but our coverage continues. If you visit TheOneRing.net/live you can see highlights from our streaming experience. In addition we have articles coming from our one-on-one with actor and director Andy Serkis and the press conference with Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg (not to be confused with the panel discussion) so look for more content in the coming week.
We also will feature updates on our Traveling Gandalf that all fans can hopefully participate in. Thanks sincerely to those who purchased t-shirts, watched us live and read our stories. Finally, expect The Hobbit to impact SDCC in a huge way in 2012 and TORn will be there to bring it to you but we suggest getting tickets before it sells out as it always does. Come join the fun in 2012.
