theonering-logo-2010Now that the movies are over, many fans of J.R.R. Tolkien have asked the staff of TheOneRing.net “What happens next?” The first and most important answer is – nothing is ending – we aren’t going anywhere! TheOneRing.net will continue to be the Internet’s premier home for J.R.R. Tolkien related news and information, as well as providing regular updates on the comings and goings of the cast and crew of all the films.

The forums, the chat-rooms, the headlines, the Facebook page, the Twitter feed, the book discussions, TORn Tuesdays, Happy Hobbit, and everything else, will all still be there for your enjoyment, and will continue to produce new material. There is so much to look forward to! Examples: The video releases of the third Hobbit film and hopefully boxed sets after that. The continued support of Tolkien in local communities as groups of people hold local events to which all are welcome – picnics, potlucks, readings, costume parties and so much more. The celebration of the creative side of things – where people produce art and writing that is inspired by Tolkien’s vision.

All of this, and more, will continue to be celebrated and reported by TheOneRing.net.
Continue reading “TheOneRing.net’s and Tolkien fandom’s exciting future – help guide us!”

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUGThe 42nd annual Annie Awards nominees were recently announced, which has different dates for eligibility (so expect nominations next year for “The Battle of the Five Armies”.) “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” received 2 nominations from the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA). The Annie Awards honor the very best in the world of animation including animated effects. The Annie Awards are being held on January 31 at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles.

Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola, Paul Waggoner, Viktor Lundqvist – Edge of Tomorrow – Warner Bros./Village Roadshow Pictures
Raul Essig, Karin Cooper, Rick Hankins, Owen Calouro – Noah – 
Paramount Pictures
Charles-Felix Chabert, Daniel La Chapelle, Spencer Lueders, Klaus Seitschek, Chris Messineo – The Amazing Spider-Man 2 
- Columbia Pictures/Marvel Enterprises
Areito Echevarria, Andreas Soderstrom, Ronnie Menahem, Christoph Sprenger, Kevin Romond – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Metro Goldwyn Mayer/New Line Cinema/WingNut Films
Michael Balog, Jim Van Allen, Rick Hankins, John Hansen – Transformers: Age of Extinction -
 Paramount Pictures
Jeremy Hampton, Daniel Stern, Edmond Smith III, Hiroshi Tsubokawa, Daniel Jenkins – X-Men: Days of Future Past – 
Digital Domain 3.0, Inc.

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
 – Chernin Entertainment/Ingenious Media/TSG Entertainment
Kevin Spruce, Dale Newton, Sidney Kombo, Chris Mullins, Brad Silby – Guardians of the Galaxy – Marvel Studios
Eric Reynolds, David Clayton, Andreja Vuckovic, Guillaume Francois, Gios Johnston – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Metro Goldwyn Mayer/New Line Cinema/WingNut Films

Full list of nominees at AnnieAwards.org.
Continue reading “Annie Awards nominates ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ for 2 awards”

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUGWhile the Academy Awards did not recognize “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” in the Visual Effects category, the Visual Effects Society did. The 13th Annual VES Awards were announced with “The Hobbit” receiving 4 nominations. The VES Awards will be held on February 4th in Beverly Hills.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
Maleficent
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
X-Men: Days of Future Past

Outstanding Models in any Motion Media Project
Big Hero 6; City of San Fransokyo
The Boxtrolls; Mecha-Drill
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies; Laketown
Transformers: Age of Extinction; Knightship

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Helicarrier Broadside and Crash
Edge of Tomorrow; Destruction and Sand
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
X-Men: Days of Future Past; Quicksilver Pentagon Kitchen

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow; Beach
Interstellar; Water
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Full list of nominees at VES.
Continue reading “Visual Effects Society nominates ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ for 4 awards!”

oscarsThe 87th Academy Award Nominations for the 2015 Oscars were announced this morning. Every year there are surprises and “snubs” and this year is no exception with chatter about films like “Selma” and “Gone Girl” lighting up Twitter and award blogs.

“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” received only 1 nomination for its final outing for Sound Editing. “The Desolation of Smaug” and “An Unexpected Journey” each received 3 nominations so this a bit of a surprise. “The Battle of the Five Armies” missed out on a nomination this time in the stacked Visual Effects category despite being a finalist. Joe Letteri did receive a nomination for his work on “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”. The other nominees in this category are “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, “Guardians of the Galaxy”, “Interstellar”, and “X-Men: Days of Future Past”. Sadly, “The Hobbit” also missed out in the Original Song category. Here’s the list for Sound Editing:

SOUND EDITING
American Sniper – Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Martin Hernández and Aaron Glascock
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
Interstellar – Richard King
Unbroken – Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro

Full list of nominees at Oscars.com. Weta Digital won a scientific and technical Academy Award that was announced yesterday. Finally, congratulations to Benedict Cumberbatch who received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor in “The Imitation Game”.
Continue reading “‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ receives an Oscar nomination”

Staffer Justin spots the Hobbit connections in yesterday’s Golden Globes awards ceremony:

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was not nominated in any categories at the 2015 Golden Globes, but it was still very present at the ceremony. From the outset of the first award, Benedict Cumberbatch raised his hand to present on stage with Jennifer Aniston. Smaug the prankster was just getting warmed up.

A few minutes later during a photo-op gag featuring Meryl Streep and Margaret Cho, Benedict repeated his famous #Cumberbomb in what was probably one of the most DVR-rewind moments of the night. (Click the image for the animated GIF!)  BC at Golden globes

Eddie Redmayne took home best dramatic actor for The Theory of Elvenking errr Every Ring errr Everything, but few knew about his Hobbit connection! Mr Redmayne originally auditioned for Bilbo way back when, and the audition did not go very well. Watch the video below to see him telling Graham Norton about it.

radagastFans on Twitter also spotted BOFUR himself James Nesbitt in the audience!

Several awards including Screenplay and Comedy Actor went to BIRDMAN. We are talking about the same bird man right?

Martin Freeman and the team in FARGO won for Best Miniseries. That makes Martin one of the most gilded TV actors between Sherlock and Fargo.

Even without any nods to The Hobbit, the fact that Middle-earth has touched the careers of so many wonderful actors makes for a fun awards watching experience. Awards season is just getting started – will you help us bring it to an eagle-soaring completion at #OneLastParty?

One Last Party fundraiser!

one last party logo Our One Last Party fundraiser on Indiegogo is 80% funded and we’re pretty stoked!

If you’d like to join us as a Party of Special Magnificence in Hollywood in February — a toast to all SIX Middle-earth movies, then now is the time to throw in your support! Even if you can’t make it to Hollywood (or if you’ve already contributed), you can help out by retweeting or sharing our fundraiser across social media to get the word out.

Visit our campaign page to see how you can help — so we can all celebrate Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth movies together!