Ian McKellen. Photo by Brendon Doran. This account of Ian McKellen’s one-man-show the other night at the Opera House in Wellington in aid of the earthquake-struck Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch features some glorious photography of the performance.

We mingled with the Hobbit cast, Martin Freeman expressing his general surprise at what was happening “We had no idea about this” (though with a grin on his face) and everyone then crowded in around Ian as he explained what would happen next.

Photo to the right by Brendon Doran. See bigger, better versions by following the link below.

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Addendum: there’s also this review over at The Dominion Post.


Warner Bros. has not confirmed ‘The Hobbit’ panel at Comic-Con, but perhaps the vagaries of Twitter have. Several independent tweeters who attended Ian McKellen’s benefit show last night in Wellington have said Lee Pace stated Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage would be at Comic-Con in July. We cannot confirm the reports, but we believe them and expect both key “Hobbit” actors to be in San Diego. We also volunteer to act as popular-culture coaches as the place will be mad for them.

And while WB has officially said it hasn’t officially said a ‘The Hobbit’ panel will be part of the three-hour block the studio has reserved on Saturday in the 6,500 seat Hall H, but it is widely believed ‘The Hobbit,’ will play a big part of it. The hall, the biggest the convention center has to offer, has required waiting in long lines at least the last three years and now even camping out for a space is not unheard of. Over 125,000 people attend the show each year. (Video of the fundraiser after the break) Continue reading “More evidence for Freeman and Armitage at Comic-Con plus video of the ‘Hobbit’ cast on stage — together”

Ian McKellen’s one-man show to raise funds for the benefit of Christchurch’s earthquake-damaged Isaac Theatre Royal is in Wellington this weekend for its final few shows. Here’s a snippet of video from the last night’s show at the Opera House that features cameos from cast members from The Hobbit, and the locals.


Thank-you to RichardArmitageNet for information on images and video.

Ian McKellan has given an interview about his stage tour of New Zealand, a fundraiser for the earthquake-damaged Isaac Royal Theatre in Christchurch. In it, he drops some news about The Hobbit. An excerpt from the article on stuff.co.nz.

McKellen expects shooting to be completed on The Hobbit by the end of next month. He says it’s likely he will return next year for a small amount of additional shooting for the second part The Hobbit: There and Back Again.

He adds that premieres are planned London, New York and Berlin and Tokyo for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in addition to Wellington. He doesn’t yet know which ones he will be attending.

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Always dreamed of visiting beautiful New Zealand? Join us for festivities of the world premiere of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” this November for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We are busy ironing out the nitty-gritty, but we have some dates and cost estimates ready and want to keep potential travelers up to date. In a few days TORn will be taking deposits that help us secure all the necessities to make this happen. We will ask for $300 (non-refundable after all trip details are announced) with the balance due closer to the travel dates, probably about 45 days prior to the event.

The trip will be a seven-day, six-night affair happening mostly in Wellington, site of the World Premiere of The Hobbit at the Embassy Theater. To be clear, that theater holds 750 people in its main auditorium and we are just not getting in there with cast and crew. (In fact, numbers of cast and crew will be far too large to all be in there either.) But we will be in the city of Wellington celebrating the grand event that promises to be at least as amazing as the similar event for “The Return of the King.” We expect to be along the city’s lengthy Red Carpet, although details have not been finalized.

As part of the excursion, we are also planning a trip to the Hobbiton Movie Set which simply cannot be missed. (Details after the break, please click on!) Continue reading “Join TheOneRing.net in Wellington for ‘Hobbit’ world premiere event, further adventures in New Zealand”

There has been a stir around message boards and internet hoards for those noticing “Hobbit Trailer 2” showing up on documents and even websites that distributors and movie houses use for official purposes. People are hungry for new footage from “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” and it sure looked like something was coming. But, we can absolutely confirm that “Hobbit Trailer 2,” attached in many instances with “Brave,” this weekend, is not that new footage.

First we have this from the studio:
“TRAILER 2 that was posted about earlier this week is actually not a new trailer in the sense that it will contain new footage, it’s actually a cut-down of the previous trailer.”(More info and another source after the break) Continue reading “Confirmation: ‘Hobbit’ trailer #2 not new material”