Actor James Nesbitt (who plays the dwarf Bofur in the upcoming Hobbit films) appeared this morning on ITV’s breakfast program Daybreak.
Oz website digital spy reports that he said of Bofur: “I’m sort of the thinking woman’s dwarf, the George Clooney of dwarves.” He added that Bofur is “considered to be the optimistic one who always sees the goodness in most people”.
Nesbitt will return to New Zealand in 2013 for extra filming. He said of the expansion of the films: “I think when Peter began to cut it, he thought, ‘There’s more in this than [we] thought’.”
He praised Sir Ian McKellen, and went on to say that “Martin Freeman as [Bilbo] is just a revelation”. UK people can probably view the clip on ITV here. The rest of us are left out in the cold as usual because of licensing restrictions. Thanks to Ringer DanielLB for the heads-up.
London2012’s Paralympics got started last night with an opening ceremony which included Professor Stephen Hawking, Queen Elizabeth II and Gandalf himself – only this time in the role of Prospero. The Tempest has been a running theme for London2012 – the bell housed in the Olympic Stadium and rung in July’s opening ceremony is inscribed with a line from Shakespeare’s play, ‘Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises,’ and in the Olympic closing ceremony actor Timothy Spall (as Winston Churchill!) gave the speech from which that line is taken. Continuing the theme, Sir Ian appeared in a stunning blue and golden robe, holding one of Prospero’s books, and bid actress Nicola Miles-Wildin, in the role of Miranda, to ‘shine your light on the beautiful diversity of humanity.’
Diverstiy was appropriately and wonderfully represented in this ceremony, with 141 disabled performers taking part, including 27 wheelchair users – 6 of whom were flown into the stadium in golden chairs! Sir Ian was quoted in British press as saying, ‘I’m the least sporty person I know, but thrilled to have a small part to play in the Paralympic opening ceremony in praise of endeavour and enlightenment.’
You can read a description of the ceremony and Sir Ian’s role here, and can see some highlights here.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Annual 2013, one of several film tie-in books scheduled for this year, released today, and our message board member Bexlin was awesome enough to share some hi-res scans of its full colour pages.
Besides character pictures of the 13 dwarves, Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, we also get our first look at Saruman the White, and a brilliant reveal of Lee Pace’s character Thranduil the Elvenking.
Here in the image upon the right sits Saruman with the rest of the White Council, seemingly in the much-talked-about scene of the discussion surrounding a certain Wraith’s blade.
And as for Thranduil, the Elf gets his revel after the break.
A fair warning to those who do not want to be spoiled… believe us, you do NOT want to click the “Continue Reading” button.
As you undoubtedly know by our grand adventure across the country, TheOneRing.net is set to invade Dragon*Con , the world’s largest Sci-Fi/Pop Culture convention, this Labor Day weekend (August 31st – September 3rd) in Atlanta, Georgia.
This years LotR/Hobbit guests feature a star-studded line-up: Billy Boyd, John Rhys-Davies, Craig Parker, and Sylvester McCoy.
Meet up with other Tolkien fans at the annual Evening at Bree event on Friday August 31st, hosted by Tolkien’s Middle-earth Track with music by Emerald Rose and a costume contest MC’d by Craig Parker. The Tolkien Track will also host fan film screenings, costuming panels, scholarly discussions, even open mic nights! Stop by TOR.n’s fan table to pick up a TOR.n t-shirt and try your hand at Tolkien trivia. And of course TOR.n staffers will be on hand to discuss all the latest information on ‘The Hobbit’ films.
Have you snagged your copy yet? One of our very favorite magazines and supporter of our Road to DragonCon Adventure, EMPIRE Magazine, has published their ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ edition and it is quite impressive! This special edition of the magazine features a detailing of their set visit in New Zealand, with a special focus on Gollum and Bilbo’s ‘Riddles in the Dark’ sequence. For those of you who can’t pick up a copy of the magazine locally, check out the iPad edition. The US iPad edition of EMPIRE is available in iTunes store, and it is a complete steal for only $20/yr, $1.99/mo or $4.99 an issue. EMPIRE is one of the best entertainment magazines out there and have always treated Tolkien fans to some amazing content. Make sure to pick up your copy! [iPad Editon] [iTunes] [EMPIRE Online]
Although “The Hobbit” features several Lord of The Rings returning cast members, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood and others reprise their roles, Associated Press writes that the much of the film’s potential hinges on newcomer Martian Freeman.
The filmmakers were so set on having Martin Freeman to play Bilbo they halted production for three months while Freeman returned to British TV to reprise his role as Dr Watson“Sherlock“. Peter Jackson says “It was sort of unheard of for a big-budget movie, but because we wanted him so badly, the studio supported us, and we made that provision in our schedule,”, “He carries the movie. You get that casting wrong and you’re in huge trouble.” [Read More]
Actor James Nesbitt (who plays the dwarf Bofur in the upcoming Hobbit films) appeared this morning on ITV’s breakfast program Daybreak.
