It is Saturday morning at Comic-Con and before we head out to spend time at the Weta booth, meeting fans and enjoying the biggest celebration of the popular arts the world has ever known, we though we should give you a taste of the experience so far and what we have learned (and have time to type):
* Tolkien fans are amazing digital scavenger hunters
* Guillermo del Toro can make another Haunted Mansion movie sound special
* The New York Times might be listening
* Aspects of Comic-Con have “jumped the shark”
* Liv Tyler is still taking on genre films and is still beautiful
* Out of 450 people surveyed, 450 don’t want 3D for ‘The Hobbit’ (at the TORn panel)
* Warner Bros. has SDCC marketing figured out, imagine what they will do with ‘The Hobbit’
* Halloween is a costuming practice run for this week
* Shaking the ‘Hobbit’ rumor tree, drops a lot of fruit (more later!)
* Studio executives feel confident ‘The Hobbit’ is doing just fine, fans are freaked out
Category: Conventions
From the New York Times Art Beat blog: At Comic-Con, even the lines have lines. One way to join the line for a Thursday morning rundown on the “Hobbit” movies from staff members of TheOneRing.net, a fan site that has consistently broken news about the Middle Earth movies, was to first get in another line for those without credentials (even if you already had one). Then you could scoot through the big registration room, out the other end, and into the Hobbit line — just in time to grab one of about 300 seats.
Waiting around has become something of a habit when it comes to “The Hobbit.” For weeks, executives at Warner Brothers and its New Line Cinema unit have been trying to close a deal under which Peter Jackson, who is a producer and writer of a planned pair of Hobbit films, would also direct them. More than two weeks ago, word buzzed through Hollywood that a deal was almost done, but things, as of this writing, are still in suspense. Read More…
Not only will TheOneRing.net present a panel Thursday at Comic-Con, we will be running a series of games and contests from the Weta booth #2615 (the corner of the Dark Horse pavilion). Prizes have been donated from Weta, Badali Jewelry and author Ethan Gilsdorf. Thursday will kick things off with a digital scavenger hunt (bring those digital cameras!) Instructions and sign-in will be available following the TORn panel back on the dealer’s floor, set to kick off at 12:30 p.m. with some fantastic prizes including items like: LOTR mini Shields, LOTR stone pendants, a map of New Zeland as Middle-earth, Red Eye of Sauron pins, and Weta and TheOneRing.net shirts (styles to be determined), geek tags (including custom TORn tags!). Each day another TORn contest will be held including “Hobbit” auditions and Tolkien Trivia! And, come say hi to staffers Quickbeam, Deej and MrCere hanging out with Weta. And of course, we will update from the greatest popular culture celebration in the world with news, notes and interviews!
Our good pal Bill Amend and his creation, Foxtrot, has gone geek again, this time goofing on Comic Con at the same time. Check it out! FoxTrot.com
Janelle from Badali Jewelry writes: Your readers may like to know that we will be having a Comic Con Preview Night Exclusive Sale. To celebrate our 6th year attending Comic Con, during Preview Night (Wednesday the 21st) all customers will receive 30% off their entire purchase (excludes items already on sale). This is a chance to receive the lowest prices on our jewelry for the entire year. Continue reading “Badali Jewelry Comic Con Preview Night Exclusive Sale”
Reported by the blog File 770, the winners of the 2010 Mythopoeic Society Awards were announced on July 11 at Mythcon 41 in Dallas.
- Fantasy Awards, Adult Literature
Jo Walton, Lifelode (NESFA Press) [Amazon.com] - Fantasy Awards, Children’s Literature
Grace Lin, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Little, Brown) [Amazon.com] - Scholarship Awards, Inklings Studies
Dimitra Fimi, Tolkien, Race, and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) [Amazon.com] - Scholarship Awards, Myth and Fantasy Studies
Marek Oziewicz, One Earth, One People: The Mythopoeic Fantasy Series of Ursula K. Le Guin, Lloyd Alexander, Madeleine L’Engle and Orson Scott Card (McFarland, 2008) [Amazon.com]
TORn would like to congratulate the winners! For more information on the Mythopoeic Society and Awards, please visit their website. [Mythopoetic Society]