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You can smell it in the air and see it in the water and there is just no disputing that Queenstown, New Zealand is a special place. The Hobbit Fan Contest winners left some pretty amazing experiences at Rotorua and especially Hobbiton Movie Set to climb on a plane at head to the south island of the two-island nation.
More than one fan wondered aloud, “How can they rest of the trip possibly live up to this?” And then Queenstown worked its charms. The area is heavily saturated with Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film lore. And while there was always tourism for the majestic Southern Alps and the Remarkables set around a ski resort town that also happens to be the gateway of the world, there will long be an impact there from the six episodes of Middle-earth Peter Jackson delivered. Continue reading “Hobbit Fan Contest: Queenstown, gateway to Middle-earth adventure”
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Winners of the Hobbit Fan Contest were treated to a surprise when they visited Wellington Airport Thursday, ahead of their special screening of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Sir Richard Taylor was on hand to unveil a massive sculpture of Smaug (specifically his head – measuring 4.25 metres from front to back) to the 200 lucky fans. Continue reading “Fans welcomed by Smaug at Wellington Airport”
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LOS ANGELES — The contest has ended for the winners to be the ultimate Hobbit fans and watch the in-progress “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” film with Peter Jackson. That happened Thursday in Wellington and by Friday fans were traveling home, slowly spreading out away from Middle-earth and back to the four corners of the globe. Friendship ran deep among the group and the late night Auckland to Los Angeles flight still contained a decent share of the group that saw New Zealand in a whirlwind. The plane was also the famed Smaug-decorated jet and that surely seemed appropriate.
Jackson is back to work on the film, fans are spreading back around the globe, going home after an unforgettable week. TORn has been very busy collecting photos and experiences and will get a big report and maybe some other stories out this weekend. For the rest, three weeks remain until the the world premiere in London. Three weeks for Jackson and his editing team to make final decisions about the film. Three weeks for hundreds or likely thousands of hands at Weta Digital to finish hundreds of shots. Three weeks for Warner Bros. to ramp up its publicity machine and three weeks for actors to get ready to promote the film at red carpets and premieres on several continents.
The ultimate fan contest to bring hardcore fans together to see the final film in Middle-earth was a massive undertaking for Tourism New Zealand, Air New Zealand and Warners. While not every single detail was perfect, there is little doubt for those who went, the week was the trip of a lifetime. Besides the screening there was an incredible day at the Hobbiton Movie Set, the cultural welcome at Rotorua, all kinds of adventures in Queenstown and then a dash through Wellington with glimpses into Weta Workship, Weta Digital and the rarest of movie experiences with Jackson and company.
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Today is the big day!
The main (and final) trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will be released worldwide at 10am PT (Los Angeles time)/1pm EST (New York time). Continue reading “We’ve got you covered for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies trailer!”
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Just a week or so back Graham McTavish (Dwalin), William Kircher (Bifur), Dean O’Gorman (Fili), and Peter Hambleton (Gloin) went on Canadian breakfast telly to talk about their experiences on the set of The Hobbit in the lead-up to their appearance at the C4 Central Canada Comic Con over the weekend.
It’s a fun interview — made all-the-more amusing by the presenter mixing up who is which character right at the start. Have a watch and see if you pick it up right away. Continue reading “Four of The Hobbits’ dwarves go on Canadian breakfast telly”
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One of the best items from Comic-Con 2014 is coming up for Pre-Order next week.
Smaug the Terrible was so impressive and one of the most detailed statues I’ve ever seen. There has been so much packed into this statue to help recreate the amazing work by Weta Digital in bringing one of Tolkien’s coolest characters to life.
I know for myself, it has been one of the amazing pieces I’ve been eagerly awaiting to become available for order so I could get ready to add it to my collection. So the time has finally come to mark our calendars for next Tuesday, November 11th at 1pm PST. That is when our friends at Weta Workshop will put this superb collectible up for order. Make sure you get your order in so you can be one of the lucky 2000 collectors who will have a chance to have this in your collections.
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