We are officially 365 days away from the release of ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ on December…
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We are officially 365 days away from the release of ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ on December 14th 2012. We hope you will join us on this fantastic journey through the next year and beyond! We promise to give you the most authentic and unique coverage of The Hobbit films possible from a fan perspective. 2012 and 2013 look to be very exciting! [The Hobbit Coverage]
Our story so far: Peter Jackson made three Middle-earth movies and people loved them. Now he is making two more and people already love them too. MrCere, Senior Staff, Writer and Photographer at TheOneRing.net (around since 1999) went to NZ to see what he could see. Landed in Queenstown, found lots of LOTR stuff, drove north to see the people of the ring, visited Hobbiton visited Wellington, center of NZ’s cinematic empire, and will soon leave NZ. However, much more content will follow.
I haven’t seen an insect weta before in my travels (until this trip, but not this story) but I have plenty of experience with the folks who run and work at the special effects shop who identify themselves as “wetas”. Several Comic-Cons, (including the 2011 edition in San Diego) lots of emails and various TORn functions have made the crew at Weta Workshop friendly acquaintances if not just plain old friends.
My time in Wellington would need to include a visit of some kind with the very busy people who are working on The Hobbit, but as I have often joked (even though it is at least partially true) Weta’s second best talent is making special effects for movies. What they are really best at is keeping secrets from TheOneRing.net. I had no illusions that anybody was going to tour me around the workshop (I asked anyway, just in case) during the height of The Hobbit production, but they were kind enough to invite me along to a group they were hosting from a cruise ship that included one of our own message board members. (Her identity is her own to reveal.) Continue reading “Weta Cave big part of movie tourism in Wellington”
While our intrepid reporter MrCere is currently in New Zealand — back in the States a very big surprise was revealed to audiences at the Butt-Numb-A-Thon geek film festival (held in Texas by AICN founder Harry Knowles). That’s right, THE HOBBIT teaser trailer was unspooled less than 24 hours ago and quickly the Twitterverse began sparkling with reactions. Comments included such tweets as:
Ringer fans were waiting (im)patiently for the footage to arrive in U.S. theaters this Christmas, but lo and behold! Elijah Wood was there to help present as Mr. Vespe (“Quint”) brought the most anticipated footage in all geekdom back to Austin. Mr. Wood himself tweeted today:
More than the opening few minutes of DARK KNIGHT RISES, and much more than any AVENGERS tidbit, this teaser trailer is pretty much the Holy Grail for HOBBIT fans who have waited a decade to see a first glimpse of Peter Jackson’s return to Middle-earth. We will post more info and share reactions as they come in. But the wait is finally over (for those who were there)!
UPDATE: Nordling, AICN staff, writes:
Yes, we saw THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY trailer thanks to Gandalf The Grey magically transporting Quint from the beautiful landscapes of Middle-Earth to the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas. No, I can’t talk about any specifics except to say that something I always treasured from the original book is in the trailer in a big way and I was very happy to hear it. The trailer will play in front of THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN and it’s simply sublime. It’s more character-based than epic, but it’s like slipping into a warm embrace from a very old friend that you haven’t seen in many years. Truly wonderful.
Update #2: Tolkienbritta
The Los Angeles staff of TheOneRing.net are throwing a party and we want you all to come. Really, we do, so we’ve set up a way for you to buy your tickets in advance for a discount. Just fill out our convenient little Ticket Form and then show up at the party with a smile on your face. The advance discounted price is just $22 per person for a meal, 1 non-alcoholic beverage and tax. The price will be $25 per person at the door, if there is still availability, which is why advance purchase is your friend. If you have any questions, please contact me at Garfeimao@TheOneRing.net.
When: December 17 from 1pm-5pm
Where: Ye Olde King’s Head in Santa Monica
116 Santa Monica Blvd.,
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-451-1402
What: Not a FOTR viewing party, and sadly no Golfimbul, but there will be some fun and games, such as Trivia, and maybe a little reading of “Is this a Kissing Book”.
TheOneRing.net is excited to announce an official Moot at the Weta Cave in Wellington this Thursday from 3 – 5 p.m. TORn founder Erica Challis, known as Tehanu, will be on hand to talk with Tolkien enthusiasts; Also in town and at the event will be Larry D. Curtis (MrCere), traveling writer who is canvasing New Zealand as the one-year countdown for The Hobbit begins. Challis is an author and her unique story and relationship with the makers of The Lord of the Rings films has been told in newspapers and books around the globe. Curtis is a journalist and speaks about LOTR and The Hobbit at popular-culture conventions around the U.S. The event is free and will be casual and fun so don’t miss it! Details about where the Cave is located and how you can get there can be found right here.
Last month, Andy Serkis’ rep hinted to EW that he expected a legitimate Best Supporting Actor Oscar campaign for his client, whose Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes was by far the most compelling and fully-formed character that motion-capture technology has yet produced. At Monday’s Gotham Independent Awards, Fox CEO Tom Rothman seemed to confirm such an effort, telling the Hollywood Reporter that the studio planned to “push … hard” for Serkis to become the first mo-cap performance to be recognized in the Academy’s acting categories. More..
