Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!
Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – April 8, 2013”
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Welcome Ringer to the most innovative and fun live webcast this side of the River Bruinen! Our live show TORn TUESDAY, which starts in half an hour, features Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway and special guest actor Matt Musgrove (who stormed the stage during our Oscar Party), covering all the recent news in the world of Tolkien fandom. We will revisit the wonderment of WonderCon from this past weekend, dish the dirt on the stunning DVD Hobbit sales this week, and offer a glimpse into the future of how dragons may appear (or not appear) in future advertising for THE HOBBIT Trilogy! You can pop into our Barliman’s Chat Room that is built-into our Live Event page here, bring your questions and comments during our webcast! The fun begins at 5:00pm Pacific Daylight Time (that’s in about half an hour, folks) right here — we’ll see you there! Follow Cliff on Twitter at @Quickbeam2000 and you can follow Matt at @MUSGROVIA
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Another April Fools joke – courtesy of Ringer Mike…
APRIL FOOLS
From Weta Digital, comes this exciting press release about a certain something all fans of Sir Peter Jackson have missed…
Wellington, NZ (April 1st, 2013)–
In response to the lukewarm critical reception of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”, Peter Jackson has announced that he will begin wearing his eyeglasses again.
“It was a public image decision,” Jackson says. “Fran and Philippa and I sat down and brainstormed, trying to figure out why the critics had panned the first ‘Hobbit’ film, despite its commercial success. And then we suddenly realized it wasn’t the film at all! The critics weren’t saying it out loud, but subconsciously they missed the ‘old’ Peter Jackson. And that means they wanted to see the eyeglasses.”
While Jackson hasn’t worn glasses for years and no longer uses his old prescription, he has planned a workaround to the problem. “I can simply pop the lenses out of my old frames, and we’ll be good to go– that is, if I can find them!” he laughs.
But putting the glasses back on is only the first step. Plans are also underway to add glasses back on to all of the behind-the-scenes footage of Peter that has been shot for the Extended Edition DVDs.
Since Weta Digital is already too busy working on effects shots for films two and three, Richard Taylor and Weta Workshop have been placed in charge of the eyeglass project.
“We want fans to feel like they’ve returned to the film-making world they have become acquainted with,” Taylor says. “Realistically inserting eyeglasses into Peter’s interview shots and B-roll footage will add that final crucial element of familiarity that will make this a truly nostalgic behind-the-scenes experience for the extended DVDs.”
Using a recently perfected technique combining advanced facial-recognition software with a slave-motion camera rig, the glasses will be added to Peter’s face using green screens and carefully crafted models.
Taylor has already commissioned a special 18-inch wide “bigature” of Peter’s glasses to be used in the project. “The miniatures department had felt a bit neglected lately, and they were overjoyed to take this on. One has to appreciate the exquisite craftsmanship that is going into this model. Every screw and hinge, every curve of the frame is faithfully reproduced in larger-than-life detail.”
Weta Limited Edition replicas of the glasses will be available as a Comic Con Exclusive in July 2013.
Early fan reaction to the news so far has been positive, and representatives from Warner Bros. were optimistic as well, and in a statement have expressed confidence that the reintroduction of spectacles to Jackson’s image is the right way to go towards making up for the box office disappointment of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”.
Will the glasses really make a difference? What do you think? Sound off!
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HAPPY EASTER and welcome to WonderCon! Join us today as we bring amazing Hobbity goodness to all the attendees waiting for a real insider’s scoop! Today, March 31st, join TORn Staffers Garfeimao and Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway at WonderCon in Anaheim, California, for our special panel presentation at 12:00pm PDT in Room 207. The panel is titled TheOneRing.net’s Unauthorized Sneak Peek: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. This will be a wildly fun discussion regarding all things Hobbit… with special insights from those who have been on the New Zealand sets!
WonderCon is one of three conventions hosted by Comic Con International, the others being APE (Alternative Press Expo) and San Diego Comic-Con. Wondercon follows the same general format as San Diego Comic Con, but on a much smaller size, making it easier to attend the panels you wish and still have time to shop. It is returning to the Anahim Convention Center for the second year while the Moscone Center in San Francisco is getting a major renovation. If you have had problems getting into San Diego Comic Con the last few years, this is a really great alternative. See you all on Sunday.
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Beginning this Friday, March 29 through Sunday, March 31 will be Wondercon, in Anaheim for a second straight year. TheOneRing.net will be hosting a panel on Sunday at Noon in room 207. The panel is titled “TheOneRing.net’s Unauthorized Sneak Peek: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”. Come join us for a lively discussion regarding all things Hobbit on Easter Sunday.
WonderCon is one of three conventions hosted by Comic Con International, the others being APE (Alternative Press Expo) and San Diego Comic Con. Wondercon follows the same general format as San Diego Comic Con, but on a much smaller size, making it easier to attend the panels you wish and still have time to shop. It is returning to the Anahim Convention Center for the second year while the Moscone Center in San Francisco is getting a major renovation. If you have had problems getting into San Diego Comic Con the last few years, this is a really great alternative. See you all on Sunday.
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The final of the six statues that Weta Workshop had displayed at Comic-Con 2012 has arrived to many of our collections. If you recall the six statues at Comic-Con to start the The Hobbit statue line were; Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo Baggins, Balin, Dwalin, Thorin Oakenshiled, and of course Bombur. Bombur is also the first statue in the line to have an edition size set from the start.
Bombur is the brother of Bofur and is also the cousin to Bifur who are both members of the party whose goal is to reclaim The Lonely Mountain from the Dragon Smaug. Bombur is a rather large Dwarf and as the traveling party makes their journey this will present challenges. However, we will also see that you can’t judge a book by its cover with Bombur.
PACKAGING
The overall graphic layout for Bombur’s box stays the same as we’ve seen with previous entries in the line. Per the format we’ve come to know the front of the box gives you a great shot of Bombur, graphic work for the title of the movie, and of course the Weta logo. The sides of the box for Bombur also present a familiar format with different looks at the statue. While the other side of the box presents some of the various products you can get for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey line of collectibles. The back of the box contains a great story on Bombur as well as information regarding details of the character and statue. The Styrofoam on the inside is typical with what we’ve come used to getting with these statues.
SCULPTING
Greg Tozer is at it again but this time he had some help from fellow sculptor Scott Spencer with their combined efforts making a great statue. Bombur is another case of the statue looking spot on to the actor and the character we saw on screen. One of the things I think that might have been a challenge for sculpting Bombur was the long U shaped beard making sure it looked like real hair, and it was done really well in coming out looking just like that.
The outfit is probably the simplest of all the Dwarves so far but it done equally as good as those Dwarves. Unlike the previous Dwarves Bombur’s outfit is cloth based with only his boots being leather. The job making the outfit look like cloth was done successfully. So much so that Bombur looks very much like a pauper, which is fitting considering the Dwarves of Erebor situation following Smaug’s attack. Bombur was the cook of the group and as we saw in the movie really had no weapons with the exception of his cooking gear. So for this statue you get Bombur running away from what I imagine is the Goblins of Goblin Town with his giant ladle. There is a sequence where you see him running holding this so that is where I draw my inspiration from as to the sequence of events for this piece.
A fun note for anyone who wonders how poses are created or who might help create them. If you post or lurk on the forum The Shadow and Flame you know the username WetaBloke. Well, he was the inspiration in being asked to run the parking lot of the Weta Cave and then turned into the satue we have in our collections.
PAINT
Bombur continues the streak of very well painted statues from Weta Workshop. The skin tones use the proper paint mixture to not only make the statue look like a shrunken Dwarf. Making the outfit look like worn cloth must have been a challenge for the paint department but it was a challenge they met to the high standards we have as collectors. Bombur very much comes out looking like someone who has the proper skin tone you saw on screen and the worn outfit of someone who has lived a hard life since leaving Erebor. The ladle that Bombur carries looks fantastic as well and very much matches the prop on screen.
Overall
Bombur retails for $249, which is in line with most of the statues so far in the line. I will say that while I’m not a giant fan of the character I love the statue and find it to be another hit for Weta. He looks great and helps create a really great looking Hobbit display. I want to add that with every release in this line Weta is just continuing to show how great they with these statues.
SPECIFICATIONS
Bombur is the first limited edition statue of the line (minus the Comic-Con Exclusive Thorin). His edition size is just 1000 pieces and for now he is in-stock ready for purchase.
Dimensions:
9.3″ x 9.1″ x 5.9″ (H x W x D)
23.5 cm x 23 cm x 15 cm
Weight:
3.4 lbs (1.9 kg)
PHOTOS
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