Parting is such sweet sorrow (there will be spoilers for the last few Harry Potter films)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was a wonderfully creative film with a more unique look due to a new director. But the film franchise always had the same set of Producers, and thank goodness for that. They were the real shepherds to make sure Rowling’s story stayed the course. After all, this series of stories was turning into an epic tale of good versus evil, and there were character arcs to maintain, bits that had to be dropped in to earlier films so that they could pay off in later films. When Dobby first showed up, didn’t you wonder if he was just going to be another Jar Jar Binks? Who knew that he’d be so important to the story later on, or that you’d cry at the end of Deathly Hallows part 1 when he dies? But we also had to have knowledge of the basis of the Horcruxes and the qualities of the Sword of Gryffindor and learn about Polyjuice potion and dueling and the Room of Requirement too. So Prisoner of Azkaban was followed by the Goblet of Fire, and we get our first death and our first indication of the seriousness of this epic battle in the making. We were now getting the type of high drama we’d gotten in the Lord of the Rings. This was followed by Order of the Phoenix, and another high profile death, coupled with a really spectacular duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort.
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)
This week marks the HUGE release of LOTRO’s Rise of Isengard, available now at LOTRO.com/Isengard. Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan fight to the death in pink boxing gloves at Fantasy Fest and more hobbits are being cast in NZ.
A steady flow of Wakatipu residents of all shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds attended the open call for extras for The Hobbit at the Queenstown Events Centre yesterday.
Hundreds answered advertisements placed by talent agencies for “character faces” for an undisclosed shoot in late October, late November or early December.
Today 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!
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.
Today 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.