To celebrate one year of Happy Hobbit, we will be hosting our first ever live event this Sunday,…
Continue ReadingTo celebrate one year of Happy Hobbit, we will be hosting our first ever live event this Sunday, October 20 at 3PM PT!
So start thinking of questions and topics and get ready to join in the fun and madness! Simply login to Ustream just like you do for TORn Tuesdays and chat away. We look forward to seeing you then!
The details:
Where: http://www.theonering.net/live/
Date: Sunday October 20, 3pm PT
When is that in your time zone: head to this link!
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of many set visit reports that will publish weekly from now until the premiere of “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” We will update this post with photos from the set visit as soon as possible.
WELLINGTON — Thousands of creative hands will have touched “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” by the time it hits movie screens. For those making the film it means long hours, pushing the limits of creativity, people and technology. It is accurate to say every frame is filled with passion, lots of passion.
Despite all the love for the project from every quarter, there is a group that may be the least-heralded, most overlooked, and yet whose passion for the project is surpassed by no man — or woman. They will receive no awards, no fame, no recognition and yet, they loved their work on “The Hobbit,” and legions of fans would have willingly taken their place in a heartbeat.
They are called “extras,” and for these films that meant extra passion, extra time and extra fun.
How would I know? Well, I was one of them!
I am a staffer here at TheOneRing.net (TORn), contributing for over a decade to the all-volunteer, not-for profit website forged by and for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien. In that time I formed a bond of trust and friendship with people on all sides of the production.
Warners Bros. and the production team on “The Hobbit,” invited me, as a representative of TORn, to not only visit the set but to be embedded there as a journalist for five weeks. Every working day for a month and a week in 2012, I woke up and reported to set near Wellington, New Zealand where Peter Jackson and his team of filmmakers were putting together the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved children’s book, “The Hobbit.”
I can hardly believe this happened even though I remember it with incredible clarity. It seems surreal now — as it did every day when I arrived, showed my badge to security and walked into the grounds where Middle-earth would be created for audiences world wide. Each day was appreciated.
For me, it was absolutely life changing.
Repeating for emphasis: Life changing. Continue reading “Set visit exclusive — Extras: Living large in the background of ‘The Hobbit’”
This time last week TORn staffers were busy getting set up for New York ComicCon. Now it’s over for another year, and we’ve had time to draw breath and take stock of the great time we had there. TheOneRing.net was once again the only Hobbit content at the con; we’re always proud to represent Tolkien fandom! Our booth (complete with a ‘ring’ of dwarves mounted on the top; well done 
those who got that up there!) drew many folks eager for some Middle-earth goodies, and we were able to satisfy their craving with our own tshirts and buttons, as well as Weta collectibles, Cryptozoic games and fabulous giveaways from Weta, Sideshow and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. It is always a pleasure to meet fellow fans, and this being the third year of New York ComicCon, there are familiar faces whom we are glad to see each year! There were of course many wonderful costumes at the con, and Middle-earth was well represented; we even had Gandalf the Grey hanging out at TORn’s booth for a while! My personal favourite was ‘Shire of the Apes’…
Ringer Janina lets us know that German fantasy convention RingCon begins at the Maritim Hotel Bonn, in Bonn, Germany on October 18.
Guests from the Tolkien universe include: Craig Parker (Haldir), Lori Dungey (Mrs. Bracegirdle), Mark Ferguson (Gil-Galad), William Kircher (Bifur), David Wenham (Faramir), and Stephen Ure (Grishnakh, Gorbag, Fimbul and Grinnah). Plus the Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft (German Tolkien Society), blogger and Tolkien scholar TheTolkienist and many more lecturers, artists, workshop instructors and cosplayers will be there too.
You can follow the buzz on twitter and tumblr, searching the hashtag #ringcon.
Daily tickets are still available at the event itself. Continue reading “RingCon 2013 fantasy convention begins tomorrow in Bonn!”
As we mentioned yesterday the rumors were true and today we got official confirmation of The Bridge Direct’s Wave 2 of figures for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Wave 2 brings us three brand new 6″ figures with Radagast, Azog, and Legolas Greenleaf while the 3.75″ line gets a very cool Mirkwood pack with Legolas, Tauriel, Thranduil, Fili, and Kili. The 6″ figures come in with a price tag of $14.99 each while the Mirkwood pack comes in with a price tag of $29.99. You can find these awesome figures starting today at Toys R’ Us.
As you may recall we teamed up with Sideshow Collectibles to give away one of their massive Sauron Premium Format Statues. After many entries its time to finally announce the winner of this contest. The lucky Ringer who will be having one of these 3 foot tall pieces shipped from our friends at Sideshow Collectibles is Ben S. of Gurnee, IL. We want to thank all of you who took the time to enter and be on the watch for the next contest. You can still get Sauron from Sideshow Collectibles and if you’re unsure check out our review of one of the best The Lord of the Rings collectibles you’ll ever find.
