Argonath_Diorama_Complete (8) Ringer Giurunian writes to tell us of this amazing diorama of the Argonath created by Russian sculptor Alexander Krasnov last year.

Krasnov calls the work “The Guardians” and created it from completely scratch using little more than plastics, foam sponge, PVA glue, gypsum, cardboard and a dremel. Oh, and some paint!

The scale is, apparently, 1:100, and the diorama measures 40 centimetres by 28 centimetres. The Argonath figures of Isildur and Anarion are 65 millimetres high and are based on the movie (and subsequent Weta collector sculpts), rather than the bookends released with the Collector’s DVD Gift Set of The Fellowship of the Ring. Continue reading “Check out this amazing Argonath diorama”

Kate Madison as Elgarain in Born of Hope.  Photo by Richard Unger
Kate Madison as Elgarain in Born of Hope. Photo by Richard Unger

When Kate Madison’s fan prequel to the Lord of the Rings, Born of Hope, was released in December 2009 it instantly raised the bar for fan film productions and was hailed as an accomplished and in every respect a worthy addition to Peter Jackson’s trilogy.

Three years and 23 million online views later Kate has revealed that she is now planning to raise the bar for fantasy web series.  “Web series have become a popular and important way for independent filmmakers to showcase their work and compared to a film, the potential for shaping an on going story line for, and with, the fans is really appealing”.

Ren encounters the leader of the Kah'Nath.  Concept art by Max von Vier
Ren encounters the leader of the Kah’Nath. Concept art by Max von Vier

 

Ren is the story of a young woman, who lives a quiet life in a small village until her face is branded by a powerful ancient spirit and she becomes feared by all who see her.  Dramatic events, involving the ruling warrior order of the Kah’Nath, force her to leave her safe existence and journey across the land to find the truth behind the web of lies she’s believed in all her life.

“The first season will consist of 6 ten minute episodes and is scheduled to go into production in the next few months.  It’s so exciting to be creating a brand new fantasy world and I’m already working with concept and story artists to brainstorm what the next season could bring” says Kate.

Ren and Hunter's dramatic escape.  Concept art by Max von Vier
Ren and Hunter’s dramatic escape. Concept art by Max von Vier

The inspiration for the show is rooted in great fantasy stories like The Lord of the Rings, but epic books and TV series like Game of Thrones and the more lighthearted Legend of the Seeker have also influenced the creation of REN. One of the most important features of Born of Hope was the fan base that helped finance, design and even act in the film and we are keen to involve the fans even more in this project. The series is in the very early stages, with only the first season written, so we will look to the online fan community to influence what happens… and yes, even be in it!

RenAvatarKate needs your help to get the show off the ground and has launched a Kickstarter campaign which runs until the 19th August.  There are some great rewards to getting involved and she is releasing exciting updates throughout the campaign.

 

Hobbit soundtrack special editionClassic FM’s Movie Music Chart is the world’s largest survey of film music tastes. Every year they ask people to vote for their favourite film scores – and Howard Shore’s The Lord Of The Rings score was at the top in 2012 . They are asking all LOTR/Hobbit fans if we would like to get behind his music and ensure his great scores remain at the top.

Voting is now open and will remain open till 11:59pm Monday (UK time).  Click here to register your vote!

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Everyone gather round for our weekly live webcast TORnTUESDAY! We have some great footage from our livestream at San Diego Comic-Con and above all we have coverage of the final days of shooting THE HOBBIT films down in New Zealand.  They just completed all their photography a couple of days ago.

We will have lots of mischief today — so please bring your questions and comments to the chat!

We launch TORn TUESDAY every week at 5:00PM Pacific: brought to you by host Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway and producer Justin “I Make Damn Good Shirts” Sewell — Our innovative live show includes worldwide fans who join us on the Live Event page with a built-in IRC chat (affectionately known as Barliman’s Chat room). Be part of the fun and mischief every week as we broadcast *live* from Meltdown Comics in the heart of Hollywood, U.S.A.!

And yes our YouTube channel will have this archived later.  You can find us on www.youtube.com/the1nering

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The coverage and content of Comic Con keeps on coming to those who didn’t make it and even for those who did but couldn’t be everywhere at once. We will continue to release videos from our night and day experiences and we are starting out with a tour of Badali Jewelry’s booth which they were kind enough to share with us! Not only are they good friends to the site and Tolkien fandom, they make some pretty incredible Middle-earth stuff and through the end of July they are offering a discount to TORn readers and viewers. With coupon code SMAUG you can get 15 percent off your entire order. This video allows you to meet the down-to-earth team there as they show and chat about their amazing merchandise.

The booth folks at Comic Con are the same people working back at home as tradespeople and Tolkien fans and they were behind this year’s excellent poster. They also made the “Good Luck” pins worn by the folks from the LOTR and Hobbit productions that were nominated for academy awards. They make a lovely One Ring too — obviously! They financially sponsored our Live Stream this year from Con so we are always in their debt. Here is their website so enjoy!

TORn SymposiumWelcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topic of the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights.  Of 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 – July 28, 2013”