DisneyMordorCalling all Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits and Wizards, you are hereby invited to ‘Ringers take Disneyland’ on Saturday, March 1 as part of the Oscar weekend festivities for fans of Middle-earth. Disneyland has been the site for Star Wars days, Potter Days, Browncoat Days and more, so why not fans of Middle-earth?

Here at TORn headquarters, we began to wonder what else we could do on Oscar weekend apart from our “One Dragon, One Party” that would be fun for locals and out-of-towners alike. LA and Hollywood are a popular tourist destination for dozens of reasons, but we needed a place that everyone wants to go to at least once in their lifetime, and is also family friendly and super fun. Disneyland fits the bill in oh so many ways, not the least of which is the fact that it has Dwarves, a Wizard and Mines, as well as many other Middle-earth-like realms and magical folk.  
Continue reading “Ringers take Disneyland on March 1, 2014”

movie brawl 2014Anyone up for a little game of ‘Swamp the movie poll?’ MTV is hosting a little poll to discover the most anticipated film of 2014. Round one is in full swing now with just a few more hours left to help The Hobbit: There and Back Again beat off it’s competition. The first round closes at 12 noon EST tomorrow, just 11 hours or so from now. If we can get The Hobbit: TABA to move on to the next round, keep this link around to help keep it moving along. Movie Brawl 2014 You can vote as often as you like, so let’s make the next few hours count.

headThe Visual Effects Society have announced their nominations for the 12th annual VES Awards. “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” has earned 5 nominations and will going up against its toughest competition “Gravity”. “Gravity” received 8 nominations over “The Desolation of Smaug”. Although, the mighty Smaug is the likely favorite to win Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture. Has there ever been a more magnificent dragon on screen before? See below for “The Desolation of Smaug” nominations or view all of the nominations.
Continue reading “Visual Effects Society Nominations Announced”

Master of LaketownAmong other awards groups announcing their nominations today, the Costume Designers Guild also released their nods. Ann Maskrey, Richard Taylor, and Bob Buck were nominated for their work on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, along with the costume designers of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Oz the Great and Powerful. Continue reading “Costume Designers Guild nominates ‘The Desolation of Smaug’”

Desolation of Smaug Poster The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) announced their annual award nominations this morning. ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ picked up 2 nominations. Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, and Rick Findlater are nominated for Best Make-up and Hair. They are nominated alongside worthy contenders ‘The Butler’, ‘Behind the Candelabra’, ‘American Hustle’, and ‘The Great Gatsby’. Each film has its own unique style or time period, whether set in Middle-earth or a fantastical version of the roaring 20’s. The overall awards buzz (and love) for ‘American Hustle’ might swing momentum its way even in this category.

Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, and Eric Reynolds are nominated for Best Special Visual Effects. In this tough field, ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ is going up against ‘Pacific Rim’, ‘Gravity’, ‘Iron Man 3’ and ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’. Smaug the Mighty is facing the most competition from the groundbreaking effects in ‘Gravity’, the odds-on favorite. ‘Gravity’ has the most nominations with 11 overall including for Best Film and Director. Following behind are ’12 Years a Slave’ and ‘American Hustle’ with 10 nominations each.

See the full list of nominees.