Toy Fair 2013 also brings us goodies from Lego for fans of Middle-earth. As you all know, Lego has been creating some great sets based on events that happened during The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey movies. During Toy Fair we got to see more from The Lord of the Rings, covering The Council of Elrond, The Corsair Ship sequence, Gandalf the Grey vs Saruman, and The Black Gates. The Wizard Battle will be a 113 piece set with a price tag of $13, The Black Gates set is a 656 piece set with a $60 price tag, Council of Elrond a 243 piece set costing $30, and The Corsair Ship set, which has 756 pieces, costs $100. All four of these sets are due to arrive in June of this year. They also had a card at the show mentioning that sets for The Desolation of Smaug will be arriving in December of 2013.
You can check out a ton of pictures from Figures.Com in their The Lord of the Rings gallery.
You can also check out videos from the booth via FBTB.Com from their The Lord of the Rings video page.
Greetings all! As we come around the corner to the last two weeks before the Academy Awards, we are moving forward at lightning speed making preparations for THE ONE EXPECTED PARTY — and our friends down in New Zealand working hard on THE HOBBIT films have already won an award in the Science & Tech category (for creating Gollum’s skin software)! We will chat about these new developments and more on our *live* webcast TORn TUESDAY, hosted by your amiable entish friend Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway and Justin (who will not make any comments about Jar Jar and Radagast in the same breath, we promise). Come join our show and bring your questions and comments via our Live Event Page here. It all starts at 5:00pm Pacific Time today (Tuesday Feb. 12th on this side of the world)… can’t wait to see you all there!
TheOneRing.net really does have some great friends. Yesterday we told you that Empire magazine is supporting The One Expected Party, and offering you, dear reader, a great deal on a three month subscription to their downloadable US edition. Today we can share that the fabulous René, owner of The Tolkien Shop, is also supporting our party! The Tolkien Shop is ‘the only brick-and-mortar shop in the world entirely dedicated to JRR Tolkien’! It can be found in the Netherlands, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, wherever you are in the world, you can take a visit to the store – and they ship worldwide. If you ARE lucky enough to be in Holland and want to pay them a visit, you can also see the wonderful Tolkien Museum located there.
Visit The Tolkien Shop here; and expect a gift from the shop in goody bags at The One Expected Party! It’s not too late – some tickets still remain, and can be purchased here!
TheOneRing.net is delighted to have Empire movie magazine on board as supporters at our One Expected Party on Oscars Night! For those readers who don’t yet know, British publication Empire is now available in a US edition, downloadable on iPad; and our good friends at Empire currently have a special offer of a three month iPad subscription for only $0.99! Offer expires on Feb 27th – so take this opportunity to get all the latest movie news for a bargain price!
Weta Digital’s Simon Clutterbuck, James Jacobs, Dr. Richard Dorling won Oscars Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013.Most think of film as art form and much is made about those who dazzle at its highest levels, but science has always been a key component to cinema. A group who worked on “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” received early Oscar awards — for science — Sunday night. Those who perform such technical innovation rarely get even a sniff of the spotlight but Simon Clutterbuck, Richard Dorling and James Jacobs were recognized for their work bringing Gollum to life, especially for his skin and movement.
The new tech makes Gollum appear more lifelike in an approach the team calls “Tissue: A Physically-Based Character Simulation Framework.”
“The framework is used to construct and simulate the anatomical components of our digital creatures and characters,” Jacobs, a supervisor for creature special-effects told NBC. (Read the whole article right here.)
Reuters also has a story with details about the Weta Digital winners and others recognized Sunday night.
Congrats to those gentlemen and all of Weta Digital for its mastery of converting Andy Serkis’ performance to screen. TheOneRing.net will celebrate the Oscars, including other nominees for work on The Hobbit, in two weeks featuring on stage Beecake with Billy Boyd. Details to buy tickets are right here.
Software brought Gollum’s skin to life for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” earning it an Oscar for technology and science
We are only two weeks away from the Tolkien weekend event of the year in Hollywood, CA! Both ‘The Unexpected Art Show‘ and ‘The One Expected Party‘ (Tickets are still available!) can only happen with the generous support of our volunteer staff and some very generous sponsors. For the next two weeks we will be sharing with you the stories behind the scenes of the party as well as information about those companies who have decided to lend their financial support behind this unique event.
The Noble Collection is a private held company based in the Washington DC metropolitan area. The Noble Collection has established the premier position in collectibles and movie props. By bringing heightened concept, detailed sculpture and design to each piece, the company has set new standards that have captured the loyalty of collectors, and brought a new generation of enthusiasts into this revered art form.
You are most familiar with The Noble Collection’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit collectibles, but they also create many other quality products from other licenses like Superman, The Dark Knight, Green Lantern, Harry Potter, Avatar and many more. Visit them online at NobleCollection.com.
Besides financially supporting the party, The Noble Collection will be both showcasing their products and then donating those items to be awarded to fans at the end of the evening. Attendees will have the chance to walk away with some marvelous items from The Hobbit.
Toy Fair 2013 also brings us goodies from Lego for fans of Middle-earth. As you all know, Lego has been creating some great sets based on events that happened during The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey movies. During Toy Fair we got to see more from The Lord of the Rings, covering The Council of Elrond, The Corsair Ship sequence, Gandalf the Grey vs Saruman, and The Black Gates. The Wizard Battle will be a 113 piece set with a price tag of $13, The Black Gates set is a 656 piece set with a $60 price tag, Council of Elrond a 243 piece set costing $30, and The Corsair Ship set, which has 756 pieces, costs $100. All four of these sets are due to arrive in June of this year. They also had a card at the show mentioning that sets for The Desolation of Smaug will be arriving in December of 2013.
