From Quint via Aint It Cool News:
I’ll be kicking off a new, temporary, regular column that I’m calling An Unexpected Journey because that’s exactly what it is.
A little over a month ago an email arrived asking of my interest in embedding myself on the set of The Hobbit for the entirety of their location shoot, spending over 2 months in New Zealand rolled in with the crew and writing up their adventures, hassles, triumphs and tribulations as they traveled all over the country shooting bits and pieces from the upcoming two-parter (sic) prequel to Lord of the Rings.“
Quint’s first report, titled “An Unexpected Journey: Quint on the set of The Hobbit! Part 1 – Concerning Hobbiton“, comes from Matamata, New Zealand, the location of Hobbiton, and it is filled with all sorts of Hobbitty goodness… and SPOILERS (so read the report at your own peril!)
Some non-spoiler excerpts follow:
- There were all manner of animals on the set ranging from goats to roosters, pigs, oxen, horses and all of them had handlers there to make sure they were fed, watered and safely munching on the lush green grass of Matamata. They would quickly duck out of frame whenever shots would go up.
- If you’ve watched the appendices on the Extended Editions of the Lord of the Rings films you should recognize Kiran [Shah]’s name. He’s a much loved character around the set. He’s an actor, stunt man and scale double. On Rings he doubled Elijah Wood. [In The Hobbit, Shah will be Martin Freeman’s double.]
- [Kiran] Shah will also be a Goblin in the film.
So what do you all think? Share your thoughts and speculations on our message boards.
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The latest episode of the BBC2’s “Planet Word” has Stephen Fry, cast in the role of the Master of Laketown, speaking with Peter Jackson about Tolkien’s use of languages in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Roads go ever, ever on, under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that wandering have gone, return at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen, and horror in halls of stone,
Look at last on meadows green, and trees and hills they long have known.
Stephen Fry’s recital of Tolkien’s poem sets the tone for his little discussion with PJ in a most apt setting – the Bag End set down in New Zealand, where filming for the upcoming Hobbit films is currently on in full swing.
Folks in the UK can watch the stream via bbc.co.uk, while those located internationally can catch a snippet over on YouTube (4:17 into the video).
A transcript is also up on our message boards courtesy of board member QuackingTroll.
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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!
Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – October 24 2011”
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Previously unseen illustrations produced for The Hobbit by its author, J R R Tolkien, will be published for the first time this week. The paintings and sketches, which were not used when the seminal children’s novel came out in 1937, were recently discovered in the Bodleian Library, in Oxford.
The pen and ink drawings and a series of watercolours, three of which are reproduced here, were discovered by researchers in material bequeathed by the author’s estate to the library in 1979.
They were looking for material to mark next year’s 75th anniversary of Tolkien’s second book. The illustrations, together with the long-awaited film version of the book due to appear in cinemas next year, are likely to stimulate renewed interest in The Hobbit. More..
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Warner’s has announced numerous new video games they’ve got planned for the end of this year and well into next year. Their Interactive Entertainment unit is one of the few tied to a Film Studio that has proven profitable in recent years, and this new lineup promises to be equally successful. On the horizon are two games based on Tolkien’s work, you can read the rest of the article here:
LA Times – Warner Interactive
The key quote for Tolkien fans is:
Warner will launch a new Lord of the Rings game in November and a Hobbit title in 2012 before Peter Jackson‘s movie “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” comes out that December. The game is one of the studio’s top releases for next year, along with a Lego Batman sequel and a game featuring a superhero from Warner’s DC Comics unit that Tremblay wouldn’t name.
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A scene from the first of two Hobbit movies from 
Sir Peter Jackson is to be shot near Pelorus Bridge, 60 kilometres west of Blenheim, over 10 days in December.
The Pelorus River will feature in a scene from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey showing barrels plunging down the river during a perilous journey undertaken by Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves.
Major preparation for the shoot will start on October 31, with filming taking place between December 6 and December 16. However, there will be activity on location from production company 3 foot 7 from later today.
[Read More]
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