Actor Orlando Bloom is currently making his Broadway debut (sans blonde wig, we assume) in a new production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
This is the first time Romeo and Juliet has been staged on Broadway in 36 years — and we have THREE pairs of tickets to giveaway to lucky TORn readers!
Bloom’s co-star is two-time Tony Award® nominee Condola Rashad, and the production is directed by five-time Tony Award® nominee David Leveaux. The play will open on Broadway on Thursday, September 19, 2013 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre; preview performances have been running since Saturday, August 24, 2013.
UPDATE: Photo of Manu Bennett at the TORn “Hobbit” preview panel.
Gandalf & Saruman at SLCC 2013
SALT LAKE CITY — Once scheduled for a smaller venue in the suburbs, the first ever Salt Lake Comic Con filled Utah’s capital city’s largest convention venue and had it bursting at the seams Saturday. For a time the hundreds waiting outside were not allowed to enter except at a 1-out-1-in rate. Word on the dealer’s floor said it was because the fire marshal closed the space but that rumor was never confirmed.
Reports in the media called the event “record setting” for a first-year convention, and that is possibly true, but such stats aren’t readily available. In any case, it was a massive event with celebrities that included William Kircher (Bifur) and Manu Bennett (Azog) and other pop-culture icons like William Shatner and Adam West.
Azog at Weta booth, Salt Lake Comic Con 2013
TheOneRing.net was part of the fun as well, with staffer (and this writer) Larry D. Curtis (MrCere) attending with the show in his (my) hometown. the SLComic Con invited TORn to present a panel about Smaug and serve on other panels as well, with topics including Fantasy Films, all things Tolkien, Geek Culture and film school.
Bennett and Kircher were kind enough to drop by TheOneRing panel that also included author and TORn friend Paul Genesse. He helped moderate the panel and showed incredible enthusiasm for the material.
TheOneRing also managed a booth on the at time very crowded floor supported by incredible friends at Badali Jewelry and Weta Workshop making its first U.S. appearance outside of the San Diego Comic Con. TORn helped back in a small way to staff the Weta booth and send those with questions about where to purchase The One Ring to Badali’s very nearby booth. Artist David Powell was also kind enough to sign posters of his art for fans.
The Salt Palace Convention Center can be expanded and the SLCC will return next year. TheOneRing.net hopes to be part of the show. Thanks to Dan McBride and Blonde Ninja for their support of the TORn booth. Thanks also to the many financial supports at the event and to Salt Lake Comic Con for letting us be a part of the show. If you attended and would like TORn to return, you can use the contact info here to let them know.
If anybody has images of Bennett and Kircher attending the TORn panel, please send them in! We were busy having a panel and didn’t get any photos.
Tauriel’s bow and knives, SLCC 2013.
Badali Jewelry
TORn shirt at Weta booth
Galadriel at SLCC 2013.
Dan and Boomer at TORn booth
A snake charmer and a dino, SLCC 2013
TheOneRing.net panel, SLCC 2013.
Sorceress costume at SLCC 2013
Frankenstein costume at Salt Lake Comic Con, 2013.
Happy fans get a free Hobbit poster
Gandalf & Galadriel SLCC 2013
Badali Jewelry
Manu Bennett at TheOneRing.net panel, Salt Lake Comic Con, 2013.
Data of Star Trek, SLCC 2013.
Hobbit kids at SLCC 2013.
Bilbo’s Contract, SLCC 2013
Tuariel’s knives, Weta booth, Salt Lake Comic Con 2013.
Bilbo’s contract reporduction
Gandalf & Saruman at SLCC 2013
Hobbit man
Weta booth, Salt Lake Comic Con 2013
Inferno from TORn messages boards and two other Utahns
Orthanc, Weta booth, Salt Lake Comic Con 2013
Dave Tremont, Weta, Salt Lake Comic Con
Mom sews family costumes.
Orcrist The Goblin Cleaver at Weta booth Salt Lake Comic Con 2013.
Posters for sale at SLCC, 2013
Two Princess Leia at SLCC 2013.
Costumes at Salt Lake Comic Con
Thorin’s Pipe, SLCC 2013
Tom Bombadil and Bilbo Baggins, SLCC 2013
Gnadalf, SLCC 2013
Comic Book Guy and Otto Mann
Crowds at SLCC 2013
Azog at Weta booth, Salt Lake Comic Con 2013
Dwalin’s axes named Grasper and Keeper
Team Fortress 2 costumes from SLCC
Dwarf statue, part of the Weta booth at Salt Lake Comic Con, 2013.
Jens Hansen, the Makers of the World’s Most Famous Ring – The One Ring™ for The Lord of The Rings™ and The Hobbit™ trilogies – have come on board to support TheOneRing.net in our 2013 Pledge Drive! And that is not all! You can enter for a chance to win your own gold-plated The One Ring replica – Details below!
Out of all the jewellers in the world, Peter Jackson chose The Ringmaker Jens Hansen to make The One Ring™ for our favourite movies. Jens submitted 15 ring prototypes in a variety of weights and finishes, and from this extensive collection, the final Movie Ring design was selected. This design has now become the “World’s Most Famous Ring”.
The Jens Hansen team also created Vilya, the ring worn by Hugo Weaving as Elrond, and last year made a special commission of 12 rings for The Hobbit’s actors who played the dwarfs.
In the workshop in Nelson, New Zealand – the middle of Middle Earth – the Jens Hansen craftsmen make gold and silver The One Ring™ replicas and character rings, along with sought-after distinctive, Scandinavian-inspired jewellery.
And, because Jens Hansen loves us movie fans so much, they are running a competition for us. Click here to like them on Facebook to enter the draw to win your own gold-plated The One Ring replica, in your size choice with engraving or without. And, don’t forget to follow them on Tumblr and Twitter so you can follow all their news. Good luck! [Enter Today]
A week to the day since the fun and games kicked off in Atlanta, we’ve all returned to our homes – even the Road to DragonCon guys have made it back! So we thought we’d share with you a few highlights of our weekend at the convention.
TheOneRing.net is always delighted to be out and about meeting fellow fans, so the biggest highlight of the con for us was chatting with everyone who stopped to say hi, either at our table in the Hyatt hotel or after the two panels we gave over the course of the weekend. Thanks for coming over and sharing the Tolkien love with us!
Our two panels were on Saturday afternoon and Sunday lunchtime. The first was The Hobbit: One book, three movies – a look at why this seemingly short story may (or may not) merit being made into three films. On Sunday we explored The Desolation of Smaug, with much speculation on what we may see when the film hits the big screen later this year. Both panels were very well attended, with folks lining up well in advance. Staffers deej, greendragon and MrCere were the panelists.
TORn was also delighted to help out with the Tolkien Track’s two evening events, Friday’s An Evening at Bree and Saturday’s Middle-earth goes Retro 80s dance party! greendragon planned the fun for Friday night, with TORn favourites Emerald Rose rocking the house, as ever, and inspiring everyone to dance the night away. Attendees were very excited when William Kircher, Graham McTavish and Sylvester McCoy showed up to host the costume contest! They were fabulous MCs, and the entries into the contest this year were just stunning. Bravo to everyone who took part – the judges had a very hard time picking winners! (Big thanks to Namadriel, Soinma, MrCere and Nicole Kircher for taking on judging duty!) The party even included a marriage proposal, as ‘Smaug the Terrible’ knelt down and popped the question to ‘Azog the Defiler’ – both amazing costumes, and a very happy couple at the end of the night!
deej revealed why her TORn nickname has been deej for all these years, as she hosted and dj-ed the dance party on Saturday night. It was just wonderful to see everyone getting into the spirit of things! Many folks came in amazing ‘Middle-earth in the 1980s’ costumes, including one gal who was The Eye of Sauron – complete with ‘Venetian Blinder’ sunglass lens! Elves, dwarves and men took to the dancefloor and strutted their stuff as Saturday turned into Sunday; eventually, soon after 1am, we had to shut the party down and everyone reluctantly headed out to seek their beds – or another party elsewhere!
What with running the table all day every day, partying in the evening, and appearing on a few panels in addition to our own two, TORn staffers were kept pretty busy throughout the weekend of DragonCon! (MrCere was of course particularly busy, wearing his two hats of being both TORn staffer and Tolkien Track Director.) The Roadtrip gents did an amazing job of live streaming from the event, so we could keep in touch with folks at home. By Monday evening, everyone was exhausted – but exhilarated! Many thanks again to all who stopped to say hello, and maybe to buy a shirt or a button, and show their support for the website. We always love to meet you all, and it’s great to see familiar faces year after year!
TORn is in Salt Lake City just now, at Salt Lake ComicCon. Next weekend we’ll be representing at Cincinnati Comic Expo; and then our next BIG event (and party!) will be in New York City, for NYComicCon, October 10-13. Stay tuned for news of that – we hope to see you there! Just need to catch up on some sleep in the meantime…
TheOneRing.net would like to thank yet another supporter of our 2013 Pledge Drive: Kumbuya!
Kumbuya connects like-minded individuals through common interests. Join communities to share content and buy and sell products. On Kumbuya, users join and create themed communities. Within each community, members connect over the things they love by posting topic-related media, comments, and user-generated content. Because communities are curated by the most enthusiastic fans, members get to engage in a beautiful medium that caters directly to their interests.
You may wonder if there is a community of Tolkien fans already on Kumbuya. The answer is Yes! In fact, it is run by TheOneRing.net’s own Quickbeam, aka Clifford Broadway. You can see that community right here. [Tolkien Community on Kumbuya]
TheOneRing.net would like to thank Kumbuya for their generous support and we are glad to include their logo as a corporate sponsor on our ‘Tale of Honour’ page for 2013/2014.
Did you want to support our pledge drive? Check out The Tale of Honour to see how you can show your support for TheOneRing.net and keep us online for years to come! [ The Tale of Honour]
Are you a Tolkien fan? Do you fancy yourself a writer? Do you sometimes imagine what The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit may have been like in the hands of another author? Well now is your chance to make that fantasy a reality!
We here at TORn are pleased to announce our new monthly contest, Rewrite Tolkien, where you, the fans, can rewrite your favorite passages or scenes in the style of another classic author. We will select a theme each month, and then it’s up to you to best take advantage of it!
The theme for the month of September is:
THE HOBBIT AS WRITTEN BY DR. SEUSS
In anticipation of The Desolation of Smaug, pick a scene that will be in the upcoming film, and write it in the style of that most whimsical of children’s authors, Dr. Seuss. Possible scenes include but are not limited to:
Meeting Beorn
Being captured by (and/or escaping from) the Elves of Mirkwood
The arrival at Lake-town
Bilbo’s encounter with Smaug
Our judges will read through all of your submissions, and choose the best of the bunch. The Grand Prize Winner will get their entry read live by our own Quickbeam on an upcoming TORn Tuesday!
The contest deadline is 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on September 23rd. Please be sure to read all of the submission guidelines below and submit your entry to rewrite_tolkien_contest@theonering.net.
Good luck to you all!
****Submission Guidelines****
Contest is open to individuals worldwide, age 13 and up at the time of entry.
To avoid duplicate submissions, please include your name and location on all entries.
To qualify, submissions must be a minimum of 500 words and maximum of 2000 words, feature characters from The Hobbit and be in the style of the author/genre for that month’s contest.
Attention Legolas fans!
Are you a Tolkien fan? Do you fancy yourself a writer? Do you sometimes imagine what The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit may have been like in the hands of another author? Well now is your chance to make that fantasy a reality!