(Updates in Red Below) Today is the day! At 3pm ET (worldwide), Peter Jackson will be sharing an exclusive peek at ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug‘ and answering previously submitted video questions from fans worldwide. The staff here at TheOneRing.net will be covering the event but we wanted to share a few tidbits of information before the big event…
1. Limited Access
The live event is limited to holders of an UltraViolet™ code, available by purchasing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which is in most locations now on Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack and 2-disc DVD Special. Users should go to www.thehobbit.com/sneak at 3pm ET and enter their code to participate. According to James Nesbitt, an ‘edited version will be archived for later viewing.’ If you are unlucky enough to live in an area where the film has not been released on Blu-ray/DVD yet, at least you know you’ll be able to see the event at a later date. If you read the fine print on the sheet included in your Blu-Ray/DVD however, it does say ‘Content may not be available after 5/24/13.’ This is what we call ‘covering our butts’ with fine print. Our expectation is the content will be available.
The broadcast will be in English only and last no longer than 1 hour.
Attention UK Ringers: Thanks to Ringer Morgulvortex for sending along this info…
If you pre-ordered The Hobbit (Blu-ray or 3D Blu-ray) from Amazon.co.uk before today a code will have been sent to your e-mail address. Even though it’s being released in April!!!
Users should have a PC with Windows 2000 or higher or Mac computer with OS X 10.3 or higher and a high-speed internet connection, and Adobe Flash Player 10.0.22+ plug-in. Browser should be Firefox 1.1 or above, Internet Explorer 7.0 or above, Safari 1.0 or above, Google Chrome or Opera.
Mobile users should have iOS 3.0 or above or Android OS Version 3.0 or above or devices with a Flash plugin.
3. Start Time
The event starts at 3pm ET – Click here for a full list of the start time in your region! [Start Time]
4. Fan Questions
Peter will be answering previously submitted fan questions. These questions were required to be in the form of a video and submitted by March 19th. There is unlikely going to be a ‘live’ component to interact with Peter, but we do know the official hashtag for the event is #Hobbit2SneakPeek. Update: You can also tweet questions LIVE to Peter Jackson using #askPeterlive. So tweet away!
Bottom line, we’ll probably see a condensed trailer of some sort. We can expect to see our first glimpses of Legolas, Tauriel, Beorn and maybe Bard. We did see quite a bit of Smaug in AUJ, but we don’t believe we’ll get a full reveal of Smaug at this point. (Although it would be amazing if we did!!)
Since WB is hoping folks continue to buy copies of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and log in with their UltraViolet code to view this sneak peek, we can deduce we won’t see this tease in the form of a trailer until May/June in front of a big WB summer release.
6. What about TheOneRing.net’s Coverage?
During the event, you can join our staff in Barlimans to chat during the entire event. We will also be tweeting along with #Hobbit2SneakPeek @theoneringnet.
Immediately following the event, our staff will be compiling our comments and posting a comprehensive analysis of everything revealed.
You’ll want to stay tuned to TheOneRing.net for the next day or so as we digest every single detail!
The first official Tolkien Reading Day was held on March 25, 2003. A New York journalist was wondering if there was such a thing as Tolkien Reading Day and asked the Tolkien Society about this in 2002. It was decided that there should be a Tolkien Reading day, and then the only debate was ‘when’ should it be held? Please go to the Tolkien Society’s official page for Tolkien Reading Day to find out just how and why March 25th was chosen.
You will also see some very helpful tips on what types of activities can be done to celebrate Tolkien Reading Day, from discussions about common themes or settings, to fun games to engage children with. Tolkien Reading Day can be held at a home, a school, a library or a bookstore or you can even take it outside, maybe at a picnic and add a meal to the event. And while the Middle-earth stories tend to be the more popular at a Tolkien Reading Day event, his other works, such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Letters from Father Christmas or Roverandam can be just as enchanting.
The theme for this year is Landscapes, a subject that Tolkien was particularly adept at envisioning and describing in wonderful detail. Middle-earth must have had very successful travel agents, how many times have you wondered what it would be like to visit some of the realms described?
Tolkien Forever, the Tolkien Smial in Southern California, will be hosting an event this Saturday, March 23. True, it is not the correct day, but a Saturday works better for drawing more people to the event in the ever busy Megalopolis that is So Cal. For those in the Los Angeles area, stop by their Facebook event page for details.
If you have a Tolkien Reading Day event happening in your area, please let us know the details so we can post it and let others know where they can go in an area near them. You can drop a line to Spymaster@TheOneRing.net.
Middle-earth March Madness moves to the round of 32 with a bit of controversy and surprise. With some victories settled by a single vote (Beorn vs. Faramir) and others knocking out favorites, the competition is really heating up!
Here are some Round 2 Highlights…
The Shire Division
(8) Huan had a major push against his first round opponent, but can he keep up the momentum against fan favorite and number one seeded (1) Galadriel? Can the most powerful of the Ainur (4) Morgoth take out the eldest ent (5) Treebeard? The story of (6) Luthien, considered by many to be one of the greatest told in Middle-earth, is profound and impactful, but can she overcome the recent Billion dollar box-office success of (3) Bilbo Baggins? And finally, can the elvenking of Mirkwood (7) Thranduil take out the head of the White Council (2) Saruman?
The Erebor Division
There are some very interesting match-ups in Erebor this round. Cinderella seed (16) Pippin takes on recent dwarven heart-throb (9) Fili. Last year’s champ (12) Sam is up against (4) Beren in what will most likely come down to a battle of familiarity with the stories of Middle-earth. (6) Elrond faces off against (14) Eowyn, one who continues to long to win renown in battle. Can she make this her next big victory!? And finally in a battle man vs. beast, (7) Aragorn faces off against the windlord (2) Gwaihir.
The Mordor Division
The Mordor division has some very powerful characters with some very intriguing competitions. (9) Gil-galad, the high kind of Noldor, has his hands full with the number one seed (1) Smaug. The Dark Lord (4) Sauron faces off against a worthy dwarven opponent (5) Dain Ironfoot. (11) Fingolfin could take on the likes of Morgoth, but can he handle the stout and stubborn (3) Thorin Oakenshield? Hot of this shape-shifter’s victory by a single vote, can (2) Beorn continue past her magnificence (7) Shelob?
The Angmar Division
The Angmare division looks like it has the most interesting match-up of Round 2. In a rematch of sorts, (1) The One Ring goes up against (8) Frodo Baggins. It can be said that The One Ring won out last time, but will Frodo accomplish the task this time?? The Eldar King (12) Manwe, an Ainur, faces off against a simple man, (4) Bard. Can Bard overccome insurmountable odds to win this match? Will the quickness and general sneakiness of (3) Gollum lead him past imposing dwarf (6) Dwalin? And last but not least, will (10) Merry finally get back at (2) Gandalf for making him wash all those dishes!
Voting starts right now and will run until March 25th at 10pm ET.
Round 1 of Middle-earth March Madness lived up to the hype as some match-ups came down to a flurry of last minute voting, and one match-up being decided by a single vote! With nearly 12,000 votes cast, round 1 will go down as one for the record books!
In The Shire division, the battle between (8) Huan and (9) Quickbeam ended up not being as close as expected, with Huan sounding beating the hasty ent. The rest of the match-ups were pretty much across the board victories for the top seeded combatants.
In Mordor, two match-ups came down to the smallest margins. (7) Shelob squeaked by (10) “Bullroarer” Took by 32 votes, but the match-up between (2) Beorn and (15) Faramir was even more epic. That’s right, Beorn out-matched Faramir by a single vote in the closest shave of the tournament so far.
In the Erebor division, (16) Pippin may be putting on the ‘Cinderella’ moniker as he out wits the division number one seed (1) Balin. In the much hyped, and highly contested battle of dwarven brothers, (9) Fili skated by (8) Kili in easier fashion than one may have expected. And in a surprisingly close match-up, number four seed (4) Beren made a last minute push to beat out (13) Boromir.
The Angmar division did not feature any close match-ups in this round, but we did have an upset or two as (10) Merry got by the division namesake (7) The Witch-king of Angmar, and (12) Manwe got by (5) Glaurung.
Voting for Round 2 will begin tomorrow and run until 10pm on March 25th.
While you wait, download the latest bracket – [Round 2 Bracket]
Attention NZ fans! You can now get a chance of watching the 30 minute live webcast sneak peek at ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,’ hosted by Peter Jackson, if you pre-order The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey from these stores The Warehouse or The Mighty Ape.
There are a limited number of access passes from both websites, with The Warehouse ending this offer at 12pm on 22/03/13. There are a limited number of 500, so pre-order soon.
The webcast will be held on Monday, March 25th at 8am! NZTime.
As you know by now, we’ve just started our 2013 edition of Middle-earth March Madness. With a field of 64 combatants, chosen by our staff (aka selection committee) we’ve had some interesting match-ups that are very close and others that are surprise blow-outs.
With nearly 3000 votes in each match-up, here are some story lines with one more day of Round 1 voting…
The Shire Division
By far the closest match-up is between the great hound (8) Huan and the hasty (9) Quickbeam. There seem to be some strong opinions on this match-up, so we urge you to educate yourself on each character. [Huan Description] [Quickbeam Description]
All the other current leaders in this division are working out pretty close to their seeding. It will be very interested to see if (9) Quickbeam will face (5) Treebeard, or (8) Huan will face (6) Luthien!
The Erebor Division
As expected, the battle between dwarven brothers, (8) Kili and (9) Fili is a close one. Currently Fili has a slight lead, but this could change at any moment! Last year’s victor (16) Samwise Gamgee is having no problem with the infamous (5) Balrog of Moria, and the closest match-up remains (13) Boromir vs. (4) Beren.
The Mordor Division
In a bit of a surprise, (15) Faramir is giving (2) Beorn a run for his money. Faramir is currently holding 52.5% of the vote and this could be our first major upset of the tournament. The other close race has the historically polished (10) “Bullroarer” Took holding steady over her evil magnificence (7) Shelob! (1) Smaug is easily roasting (16) The Watcher in the Water, but there is another upset in the works as (11) Fingolfin seems to have a significant handle on (6) The Great Goblin.
The Angmar Division
Did (16) Denethor ever really have a chance against (1) The One Ring? Sure doesn’t look like it as The One Ring holds 90.03% of the vote! (9) Glorfindel may have been sent by Elrond to help (8) Frodo Baggins escape the Nazgûl, but he seems to be holding the slightest of leads over this Ringbearer with 50.06% of the vote. That is a match that is living up to the seeding – who will win?! In another surprise, brave (10) Merry seems to be reliving his Battle of the Pelennor Fields ‘assist’ against (7) The Witch-king of Angmar, holding 61.99% of the votes.
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We hope you are enjoying our second annual March Madness competition and encourage you to vote often! [Vote in Round 1] [Round 1 Bracket]
Middle-earth March Madness moves to the round of 32 with a bit of controversy and surprise. With some victories settled by a single vote (Beorn vs. Faramir) and others knocking out favorites, the competition is really heating up!
