Hot on the heels of the poster release and trailer news, we’ve received word via Stuff.co.nz that Wellington…
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Hot on the heels of the poster release and trailer news, we’ve received word via Stuff.co.nz that Wellington will not host the premiere of the second Hobbit movie.
Part of a deal signed with Warner Bros and New Line Cinema said at least one of the world premieres had to be held in New Zealand.
Jackson’s spokesman Matt Dravitzki this morning confirmed the second premiere would not be held in New Zealand this year.
Continue reading “No Wellington premiere for Desolation of Smaug”
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch up on the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join the fun! Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – June 9, 2013”
William Kircher (Bifur), James Nesbitt (Bofur), and Graham McTavish (Dwalin) have been announced as guests at Dragon*Con, held August 30- September 2 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Tolkien’s Middle-earth Track will be presenting panels on costuming, literature, music, art, and of course TheOneRing.net will be there with all the latest news on ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”. TOR.n will also have a fan table set up, so be sure to stop by and say hi! Check out Tolkien’s Middle-earth website or Facebook page for all the latest track and guest updates.
“I made a promise, Mr Frodo. A promise! ‘Don’t you leave him Samwise Gamgee.’ And I don’t mean to! I don’t mean to.”
— Samwise Gamgee to Frodo
The Fellowship of the Ring
Last year at Comic-Con 2012 two Hobbits made an appearance as one of the newest entries to Sideshow Collectibles The Lord of the Rings statue line. The two Hobbits fans got a glimpse at were the Ringbearer himself and the most loyal friend you could ever have Samwise Gamgee. These two make their appearance in this line as we see them towards the end of The Return of the King in the Orc armor they get from Cirith Ungol. The regular release for this statue gets you two amazing head sculpts of Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, while the exclusive gets you these two headsculpts wearing the Orc helmets they find with the armor.
PACKAGING
Graphically the box of the Frodo/Sam statue follows the same path as previous releases from this series. You have the front and back panels, which are black with The Lord of the Rings and Frodo/Sam done in a shade of Silver. While on the sides of the box you get an image of the statue from two different angles. The material on the outside of the box continues the matte finish we’ve seen with the last several boxes in this line. The Styrofoam on the inside has once again done its job of making sure the statue makes it intact, and to help with the multiple sculpts they’ve been wrapped separately in a cushion wrap.
SCULPTING
Gabriel Marquez and the uber talented Trevor Grove were tasked with bringing Frodo/Sam to life. These are two of the best likenesses I’ve seen of either character in the years I’ve been collecting Middle-earth. What’s great about the Frodo sculpt besides the likeness is the pain/agony Frodo is going through by this point in the story. We know that the Ring has finally worn him down and this very much comes through in the final product. Samwise is loyal and loves Frodo. Its one of the best things about the character because he is willing to give his life to make sure Frodo succeeds. I think this comes through in spades with the Samwise sculpt. He has that look of protection on his face as if something is about to come at Frodo and keep him from finishing the task.
Sideshow has a great history of making the costumes the characters wore in the movies translate into polystone. This is another case where they were successful in making that happen. The Orc costumes have tons of leatherwork involved and not brand new leatherwork either. This comes across very nicely in the sculpt of both the leather and the chainmail with both having knicks, dents, and holes to make it look worn. One thing I love about the sculpt is the gloves. I love how they’re sculpted where the fingers do not fill the gloves. If you ordered the exclusive you get both sculpts wearing the Orc helms they steal from Cirith Ungol. These helms look worn and just like we saw on screen during the movie. You also don’t loose the likeness with the Sam helmeted sculpt nor the feeling of agony from Frodo’s eyes. You also get a couple of weapons with this statue with those being the Orc sword and of course Sting which Samwise carries. Finally, the base is really well done with the rocks giving you the feel that they’re crossing The Plains of Gorgoth.
PAINT
As I said earlier the sculpts are really well done, but that can be lost if the paint is not done very good. That did not happen with this statue as the skin tone is fantastic and has the proper amount of dirt/ash to complete the look both characters had at that point. The eyes are also well done on both statues with Frodo being exceptional allowing the emotional rise/fall he’s going through to come through in the sculpt. Another great job was done on the outfit of the two characters with the worn looked sculpted being enhanced to look worn by the paint job. These outfits very much feel the way they looked on screen that some Orc has been living in for sometime. The same can be said for the Orc sword with it looking rusted and worn from years of just being out in the elements. You can say the same for the base with the look you see of Mordor coming through loud and clear.
Overall
Frodo and Sam come in with a price tag of $275 which for two statues in one is a really solid deal. The exclusive has an edition size set at only 500 pieces while the regular has an edition size of 1000 pieces world wide. Both items are currently in-stock but do not miss a chance to own this fantastic statue!
“I’m glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee…here at the end of all things.”
– Frodo to Sam after the destruction of The One Ring
The Return of the King
SPECIFICATIONS
Frodo and Sam have an edition size of 500 pieces World Wide for the Exclusive and 1000 pieces World Wide for the Regular. The dimensions for the Frodo/Sam are as followed: 14″ x 8.75″ x 8.5″ (H x W x D)
PHOTOS
Of the three trips I took to New Zealand in 2003 and 2004 to conduct interviews for my book, only the first happened before the release of The Return of the King. I didn’t go thinking that I would suddenly be privy to spoilers and secrets. Shooting was over, I assumed (wrongly), and I figured my interviewees would not tell or show me anything confidential.
But at times they did. In my previous installment of this series, “Places Full of Magic,” I wrote about the facilities I visited. Now it’s time to reveal a few things I learned there—and kept quiet about. Continue reading “Researching THE FRODO FRANCHISE: Part 4, Now It Can Be Told: Secrets and Spoilers”
There is a large company
of dwarves and a jittery wizard marching down on Wellington weekend June 1 – 3 at the Armageddon Expo. (It just so happens to be the Queen’s Birthday as well!) By purchasing an exclusive “Hobbit Upgrade” ticket you can meet the following Hobbit Cast:
Jed Brophy (Nori), Adam Brown (Ori) Mark Hadlow (Dori), Dean O’Gorman (Fili) Aidan Turner (Kili) John Callen (Oin), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), William Kircher (Bifur), James Nesbitt (Bofur), Graham McTavish (Dwalin).
Also Sylvester McCoy (Radagast the Brown) will be there doing a panel and is signing autographs all 3 days.
Resident hot dwarves Aidan Turner (Kili) and Dean O’Gorman (Fili) will be signing and hosting photo sessions individually on Sunday only.
Check out the official website for more info! [Official Site] [Tickets]
