Despite his everyday physical appearance mimicking that of a wizard in Middle-earth, it looks like Billy Connolly, playing Dain in ‘The Hobbit‘ films, is not a fan of Tolkien or Tolkien fans. In a statement to MSN UK Connolly admits:

“No I never read it. And I probably never will. It’s not my cup of tea. Youthful society when I was younger was divided into Tolkien and non-Tolkien and I was a non-Tolkien and I didn’t like the Tolkien people,” he said.

“They were all corduroy and limp wrists and we were all string band people, banjos and bluegrass players and blues players, chasing women about the place, having long hair and they were all talking about the ginks fighting the gonks.”

As a renown comedian, we are pretty sure Billy is having a spot of fun. After you check out the full article at MSN UK, we can get back to talking about ginks and fighting with gonks : /  [Read more]

Philippa Boyens. Photo: KENT BLECHYNDEN/Fairfax NZ
Philippa Boyens. Photo: KENT BLECHYNDEN/Fairfax NZ
At the New York Premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Vulture spoke to Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson about the absence of Gandalf’s backstory from the film. In particular, they delved into why there’s no insight into why Gandalf assists the Dwarf company, and how he obtained the map and key of Thrain. Read on below the cut for some spoilery answers that hint at what we can anticipate for The Desolation of Smaug. Continue reading “The Hobbit and Gandalf’s backstory”

Kiwi actor William Kircher returned from a whirlwind 10 days at Hobbit world premieres to news he has landed a lead role in a new Hollywood movie. Kircher — who plays dwarf Bifur in the latest Peter Jackson fantasy hit — returned to Wellington on Wednesday after mingling with the stars on the red carpet in New York and London.

He hardly had time to draw breath before being told about his plum part as a smooth-talking villain in an upcoming American thriller, alongside an Oscar-winning actress.

“It is really exciting to get a break like this and I hear being in The Hobbit certainly helped,” Kircher told The New Zealand Herald on Sunday.

[Read More]

greendragon with actor John Bell, who plays Bain in The Hobbit movies

On 12th December staffer greendragon was lucky enough to attend the red (well, actually it was green!) carpet in Leicester Square, London, for the Royal Film Performance of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.   Many of the film’s stars – and other celebs who were there to see the movie – stopped by to say hi, and were delighted to see TheOneRing.net (‘our special friends,’ as Peter Hambleton said) represented there.  This is because YOU, our readers, are all so fabulous – everyone involved with the films knows that the best fans are the ones who visit TORn.  😉  So here, as a little festive mathom offered to you all from us, the staffers at TORn, is a video of some greetings (and some ‘woohoos’!) to you all, from the folks who work in Middle-earth.

After a little footage of the set up in Leicester Square to set the scene, you’ll see John Bell (Bain) and his parents, Graham McTavish (Dwalin), James Nesbitt (Bofur), William Kircher (Bifur) and his beautiful wife Nicole, artist Alan Lee, Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Adam Brown (Ori), and of course Dominic Monaghan (Merry) and Billy Boyd (Pippin)- who were there to see the movie and revisit old haunts!  Enjoy!  Wishing you all happy holidays!

I haven’t yet seen The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, but what I’ve seen and read of the White Council sequence has intrigued me. Continue reading “Galadriel, political animal of Middle-earth”

If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.

Looking for a little bit of humor today? Check out the latest creation from Ian McKellen impersonator Hunter Davis! In his latest YouTube creation, we find Gandalf the Grey and Gollum performing the Queen classic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ with some very amusing results. You can see Hunter live in Hollywood at our ‘The One Expected Party,’ February 24th 2012 where he’ll share the stage with other great acts like Billy Boyd in Beecake, Emerald Rose, The One Man Lord of the Rings, Dorian Mirth and others! [Party Details] [Hunter’s YouTube Channel]