You know what Bilbo had to say about adventures: ‘Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!’ But Professor Tolkien’s own great-grandson, Royd Tolkien, is ignoring all that Bilbo had to say and taking the plunge into a significant adventure of his own!
Royd very sadly lost his younger brother, Mike, earlier this year. Mike had ALS, also known as Motor Neurone Disease, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Royd had to watch his active, thrill-seeking brother succumb to a terrible disease, for which there is currently no cure.
But Mike left Royd a legacy – a ‘bucket list’ of fifty challenges for the much more Bilbo-like (ie less thrill-seeking, more cake-and-tea-enjoying!) older brother Royd to undertake. And Royd is going to fulfil that list, with the help of none other than actor Jed Brophy, surrounded by the beautiful scenery of Middle-earth – by which I mean, of course, New Zealand.
This is a remarkable quest, and one which you will be able to see – because Royd is going to make a film of his adventures! Read more about the amazing journey the Professor’s great-grandson has ahead of him at Royd’s website, here. You can also get involved, support Royd on his odyssey, and maybe grab yourself a pretty amazing perk with some Middle-earth cast or crew (including Richard Taylor and folks at Weta!) – learn more here.
It’s a dangerous business, going out your front door – especially when you have no idea what challenges your little brother has left, to test, stretch and possibly humiliate you! Here at TORn we wish Royd every success, and joyful travels; and we honour the memory of Mike, of TORn’s friend Mel, who also sailed into the West far too early, and to all who battle ALS.
The 43rd annual Annie Awards nominations were announced and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” received 3 nods in 2 categories. The Annie Awards honor the very best in the world of animation including animated effects and are handed out by the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA). The previous “Hobbit” films received 2 nominations each with the character animation of Gollum winning for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”. Will Smaug win the battle over the Hulk, Ultron, Indominus Rex, a Revenant Bear and orc Azog?
Here are the nominations for “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”:
Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in a Live Action Production Jurassic World – Animated Effects – Universal Studios / Legendary Pictures – Effects TD Supervisor: Raul Essig,
Digital Artist: Roman Schmidt, Digital Artist: Mark Chataway, Digital Artist: Ryan Hopkins Marvel’s Avengers : Age of Ultron – Sokovia Destruction – Marvel Studios – Creature Sim Supervisor: Michael Balog, Creature Simulation Lead: Jim Van Allen, Effects Simulation Supervisor: Florent Andorra, Effects Lead: Georg Kaltenbrunner Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials – Gotham Group 20th Century Fox – FX Supervisor: Ronnie Menahem, CG Supervisor: Pavani Rao Boddapati, Lighting TD: Francois Sugny, Models: Leslie Chan, FX TD: Nicolas Petit The Hobbit : The Battle of the Five Armies – New Line Cinema Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) – WingNut Films 3Foot7, FX Supervisor: Ronnie Menahem, Lead FX TD: Brian Goodwin, FX Supervisor: Jason Lazaroff, Senior Environment Artist: Paul Harris, Lead Modeller: James Ogle
Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Live Action Production Jurassic World – Indominus Rex – Universal Studios / Legendary Pictures – VFX Animation Supervisor: Glen McIntosh, Associate Animation Supervisor: Kevin Martel, Lead Animator: Kyle Winkelman, Digital Artist: Rodrick Fransham, Creature Supervisor: Kaori Ogino Marvel’s Avengers : Age of Ultron – The Hulk – Marvel Studios – Assoc. Animation Supervisor: Jakub Pistecky, Animator: Gang Trinh, Animator: Craig Penn, Lead Animator: Mickael Coedel, Lead Animator : Yair Gutierrez Marvel’s Avengers : Age of Ultron – Ultron – Marvel Studios – Lead Animator: Peter Tan, Animator: Boonyiki Lim,
Animator: Sachio Nishiyama, Animator: Byounghee Cho, Animator: Roy Tan The Hobbit : The Battle of the Five Armies – AZOG – New Line Cinema Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) – WingNut Films 3Foot7, Animation Supervisor: Aaron Gilman, Senior Facial Modeller: Howard Sly, Lead Animator: Matthew Riordan, Creature TD: Kevin Kelm, Lead Shader TD: Guillaume Francois The Hobbit : The Battle of the Five Armies – SMAUG – New Line Cinema Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) – WingNut Films 3Foot7, Animation Supervisor: David Clayton, Creature Supervisor: Gios Johnston, Senior Modeller: Andreja Vuckovic, Lead Shader TD: Guillaume Francois, Senior Animator: Daniel Zettl The Revenant – The Bear – Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Anonymous Content, M Productions, Appian Way, RatPac-Dune Entertainment – Animation Supervisor: Matthew Shumway, Lead Digital Artist: Adrian Millington, Digital Artist: Blaine Toderian, Digital Artist: Alexander Poei, Digital Artist: Kevin Lan
Black Friday comes to Middle-earth today at HobbitShop.com, the official online shop of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies! The shop is offering savings of up to 60% on officially licensed jewelry, phone cases, chess sets, collectibles, and more, plus Buy One, Get One 50% Off all shirts! Check it out at http://www.hobbitshop.com !
Come one, come all to TORn’s Annual Baggins Birthday Bash, held in the Mineral Wells section of Griffith Park this coming Sunday, starting at noon. This is a potluck event, so bring your own beverages, munchies or sweets, and consider sunscreen and hats for the heat. Please do RSVP for the Baggins Birthday Bash by emailing garfeimao@TheOnering.net or head over to our Facebook event page where you will get an idea of what others are bringing, and what you might want to contribute. TORn staffers will be hosting a variety of fun and games, with a few prizes thrown in for good measure, here is a tentative schedule of events.
12pm – Official Start (arrive a little early if brining a pop up tent or tables)
12:30pm – Silmarillian discussion with TORn Bookclub host Sarumann
1:30pm – Middle-earth Cake and Cupcake contest judging begins
2pm – Middle-earth Trivia
2:45pm – Middle-earth Quotes contest (brush up on both book and film quotes)
3:30pm – Pin the Black Arrow on the Dragon
4pm – Golfimbul
For directions, here is a map of the Park, just work your way towards the Mineral Wells location. Griffith Park Map
Update: Accidentally posted Sept. 27, the event will be this weekend, Sunday, September 20.
Calling all Tolkien Fans in Brisbane Queensland, the coming month is full of Middle-earth goodies presented for you by the Brisbane Tolkien Fellowship. So if you’re a Brisbane local, or you’re planning on visiting Brisbane this month, come along and join in the fun!
San Diego Comic Con 2015 is now in the books, let’s do a little recap for any all things related to Tolkien fandom and TORn. The TORn panel, titled “What’s next for Tolkien Fans?” was on Friday afternoon, and directly after the panel we had our annual Tolkien themed Cosplay photo Op, as seen in the first photo.
The panel itself began at 4pm, but without the snazzy little visual presentation we normally have. The laptop that the presentation was on, and had been operating just 2 hours earlier, decided it was taking the afternoon off. Apparently it helped the panel move along at a quicker pace, leaving plenty of room for questions at the end. So, what was discussed in the panel, what IS next for Tolkien fans? Continue reading “TORn’s SDCC 2015 wrap us”
Calling all Tolkien Fans in Brisbane Queensland, the coming month is full of Middle-earth goodies presented for you by the Brisbane Tolkien Fellowship. So if you’re a Brisbane local, or you’re planning on visiting Brisbane this month, come along and join in the fun!