TheOneRing.net has an exciting LIVE show today for TORn Tuesdays! Hosted by long-time staffer Clifford Broadway, aka Quickbeam, we will have an exclusive conversation with star-designers from Fantasy Flight Games’ HOT bestselling “Lord of the Rings Living Card Game,” Nate French and Lucas Litzsinger! Expect REVEALS OF EXCITING NEW CARDS, and in-depth conversation with our guests on the challenges of adapting Tolkien, which so many artists must face. You can participate too — interacting live and posing questions in our Barliman’s chatroom. Check out the broadcast in our LIVE event section at 5:00PM Pacific Time! [LIVE Event Area] (TORn Tuesday will take place from approx 5-7pm PT – See All Times)

The HobbitToday marks the 74th anniversary of the publication of the Hobbit by George Allen & Unwin. It was on 21 September, 1937 that the first copies of this now-famous fantasy tale rolled off the presses and into the shops.

Allen & Unwin printed “only” 1,500 copies in the first impression of the first edition. It proved an immediate hit. By December, that first run had entirely sold out.

Since then, it’s estimated that the tale of Bilbo’s heroic quest defeat the dragon Smaug and reclaim the birthright of Thorin has sold somewhere between 35 million and 100 million copies. It’s also been translated into more than 40 different languages.

Numbers alone can’t tell its importance and influence on the fantasy genre. In 1937, heroic fantasy tales involving dwarves and elves barely existed. Taking inspiration from his love of fairy tales and sagas, and the work of proto-fantasists such as William Morris, Tolkien inadvertently developed and legitimised an entire genre of writing.

For, without the famous line “In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit”, there would almost certainly be no Lord of the Rings.

And where would epic fantasy be without Lord of the Rings?

So raise a glass and toast The Hobbit. A most excellent and audacious book. To twist a phrase written by the professor himself: may the binding of its pages never fall out!

Paradise, near Glenorchy was used for parts of Lothlorien as well as Parth Galen and Amon Hen at Lake Wakatipu.

From: stuff.co.nz comes this update

The Hobbit director Sir Peter Jackson’s production company, 3Foot 7 Ltd, is seeking resource consent for temporary filming activity and helicopter landings at Paradise, near Glenorchy, Tucker Beach and Queenstown Hill.

A land use application to Lakes Environmental says filming, which will involve more than 200 people, will be primarily on Arcadia Station around its airstrip and nearby Paradise Trust land, mostly in mid-November.

There will be a “slow buildup” in film activity from October 3, with the busiest period being from November 14 until November 22, the application says.

Filming activity will be seven days a week, 24 hours a day, with the main operations running from about 5am until 10pm, it says. Filming would exceed seven days on the Arcadia Station airstrip and the Paradise Trust site only.

Arcadia would be the base for the main unit, with up to two large marquees on site for catering, makeup and support, including up to 20 large truck units and 20 caravans. Filming would begin on November 17 and end on November 21, with a site wrap on November 23. Three weeks had been allowed for full reinstatement work.

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WitchKing riding the FellbeastWelcome 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 – September 18, 2011”