Due to be released
on April 1 (no, not an April fools joke), the new book Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon comes from the same wonderful team behind the three The Hobbit: Chronicles books. This release will be 96 pages, exploring the creation of the title character of the second Hobbit film from concept art to digital realization. Final cover art is not yet available, but you can order the book on Weta’s website as well as Amazon.com and other online book stores. Continue reading “‘Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon’ now available for pre-order on Amazon.com”
Category: Headlines
To celebrate the conclusion of 2013 Middle-earth’s Year of the Dragon, here are the thirteen most viewed posts of the past year.
As with most of our stories, they are submitted by fans, like you! 2014 promises to be a significant year for Tolkien fandom, please don’t hesitate to send us your news suggestions directly to spymaster@theonering.net!
TOP 13 Posts of 2013:
13. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Sneak Peek – commentary
12. Analysis: just how big is Jackson’s Smaug?
10. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition Scene Guide
8. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug runtime is 156 minutes?
7. Viggo ‘Turned Down’ Role as Aragorn? Not so fast…
6. TORn’s official frame-by-frame analysis of trailer two for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug!
5. Finally! See the human face of Beorn!
4. Analysing the role of The Necromancer in The Hobbit
3. ‘Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition’ release dates, content, pricing announced
2. Top 20 Quotes From “The Lord of the Rings”
1. Frame by Frame Analysis of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Trailer
While this probably isn’t a distinction that anybody involved with the film would be particularly happy about, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has topped 2013’s list of most pirated movies. According to TorrentFreak, the film was illegally downloaded on BitTorrent networks an estimated 8.4 million times. Coming in at second & third place were Django Unchained and Fast and Furious 6, with 8.1 and 7.9 million downloads respectively. Continue reading “‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ is 2013’s most pirated film”
Lauren Davis from SF webzine io9 explores why, “in a media landscape overstuffed with dragons, do we still care so much about Smaug?”.
This was first published last month, and I missed it at the time, but it’s a very worthwhile read that delves into (among other things) the literary origins of Tolkien’s dragons — the story of Fafnir, and, of course, Beowulf. Follow the link at the bottom to read the complete article.
Why Smaug still matters
“A dragon is no idle fancy,” J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in his lecture “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.” Whatever may be his origins, in fact or invention, the dragon in legend is a potent creation of men’s imagination, richer in significance than his barrow is in gold.”
John D. Rateliff is one of the foremost experts on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. He is, of course, the author of the two-part book The History of The Hobbit which was published in 2007. It is considered the definitive examination of how the book came to be.
So just what does Rateliff think of Peter Jackson’s newest installment of his three-film adaptation? He’s blogged about it on his own website. Follow the link to his blog to find out. Choice quote: Continue reading “John D. Rateliff reviews The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
You’ve almost certainly visited Emil Johannson’s LOTRProject website at some point or another, whether to pore over his Middle-earth genealogy page, view the historical timeline of Middle-earth or try out his recent “Which Hobbit character are you?” quiz.
We asked Emil if he’d like to write a few words collecting his own thoughts on Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Here is his review of the film.
If you’re still to see the film and are avoiding spoilers, please be aware that there are spoilers throughout.
The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug review: It is no longer Tolkien’s Middle-earth
The screen went black. The Desolation of Smaug had ended and I was left in the darkness of the cinema with a mix of emotions and thoughts in my head. It had been an entertaining and breathtaking two and half hours. They had essentially consisted of one single long action scene set in some truly spectacular locations. Martin Freeman had once again proved his worth as Bilbo Baggins, his subtle humor and incredible timing perfect for the role. Continue reading “LOTRProject’s Emil Johansson: it is no longer Tolkien’s Middle-earth”