TheOneRing.net were invited to tour the Gentle Giant Studios just before Comic-Con to get an exclusive sneak peak of their HOBBIT line of mini-busts. This report will show you a few images of completed busts, and a few images of ‘works in progress’ so that you can learn what goes into making these delightful collectibles.

It was an invitation met with a resounding “yes!” by TORn staffers Garfeimao and Quickbeam, when both realized they could glimpse very early into the process of the digital magic at Gentle Giant.  The digi-wizards at GG provide incredibly high-res digital imaging of characters and pieces to filmmakers, visual FX companies like WETA, toy manufacturers, and animation studios.  The resulting 3D digitization can lend itself to effects work, masks, and remarkable sculptures…. More after the break with a gallery of exclusive images of yet-to-be-released HOBBIT characters!

Continue reading “TORn’s Exclusive *1st Look* at Gentle Giant’s Hobbit Line!”

Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for 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. Or 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 in the fun!

This week on the Hobbit Movie Board Radagast – Aiwendil proposed a different approach to the fall of the Necromancer, asking “wouldn’t a battle of wills between the White Council and the Necromancer be better than an all out magical showdown?”  What do you think? Could this work cinematically for you or are you looking forward to seeing some wizardly/elven butt-kicking?

Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – July 8, 2012”

In an recent interview with InStyle magazine, Benedict Cumberbatch said he visited the London Zoo to study the reptiles in preparation for his role as Smaug the dragon.

“It’s an extrapolation of a performance into something other than an actor. But essentially, you’re still doing a scene.”

Cumberbatch who also stars in the up-coming Star Trek 2 and plays Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock says that his acting parents helped him learn the importance of professionalism.

In other Cumberbatch news, apparently he’s also landed a small guest spot on the Simpsons. Its been recorded, but no word yet on when it might air, or what the part involved.

[The zoo visit] | [The Simpson’s spot]

 

SAN DIEGO – Warner Bros. today announced what has been suspected and rumored: the studio is bringing “The Hobbit,” to the San Diego Comic-Con in a big way. Most surprising is just how big as director Peter Jackson, producer and co-screenwriter Philippa Boyens, actor and director Andy Serkis along with featured actors Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen and Richard Armitage are all expected at the Saturday, July 14 Comic-Con panel hosted by Warner Bros. The film sharing the three-hour slot with “The Hobbit,” is none other than “Hobbit” co-writer Guillermo del Toro‘s “Pacific Rim.” The director is also expected to be in attendance. TheOneRing.net’s team of 13 staffers (a lucky 13 that works nicely with the source material) will be reporting from the scene as much as possible, bringing the emotions, news, photos, video and quotes to the online audience.

The studio has been relatively quiet on the publicity front considering the budget and cultural size of the two films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” (celebrating its 75th anniversary in print this year) releasing a single trailer, a series of character photos and letting Peter Jackson’s own production diaries on his Facebook page function as pre-film publicity. That seems to be changing in a single moment as WB drops an atomic bomb of Middle-earth star power at the central event of the popular-culture calendar. Continue reading “‘Hobbit’ lineup announced for Comic-Con includes Jackson, McKellen, Serkis, Armitage, Freeman, Boyens”

Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for 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.  Or 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 in the fun!

This week saw the return of the one and only Nomad with “a limerick I just wrote while sitting in a MSSQL 2012 class“, which spawned a limerick challenge here on Main, some hilarious, some groan-worthy, but all worth a look 😀

Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – June 25, 2012”

Several of our message board members have written in with the news that acting agency Kathryn Rawlings & Associates has listed actor John Rawls as playing Azog in The Hobbit.

While there hasn’t been any announcement from the production concerning this bit of casting, we might take it as “official” given that it isn’t at all unusual for bad guys to get shuffled around in productions of this magnitude.

For some geeky information concerning Azog, who Tolkien describes as “a great Orc with a huge iron-clad head, and yet agile and strong”, visit TORn’s “Azog” Character Page, maintained by our very own TORn staffers.