BolgLast weekend at New York Comic-Con fans got a look at three new items among the many that Weta Workshop brought with them. Two of the new items are from The Hobbit Trilogy, while the third is from The Lord of the Rings.

Joining his father Azog we can now look forward to adding Bolg to our collections. This massive statue comes in at 15″ tall with a base width of 11.22″ and has an arrival date during the first quarter of next year.

One prop I have been looking forward to being made after seeing The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, was the Black Arrow that we see Bard bring out of storage. This has become a reality with Weta having this on show at New York Comic-Con. Due out in the fourth quarter of this year this awesome looking prop comes in at an impressive 82.6″ long. Also due out during the fourth quarter of this year is Saruman the White’s staff. This joins the staffs of Gandalf the Grey and Radagast the Brown.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s New York Comic-Con Reveals”

comickaze-2013-11This will be your last chance to see TORn live at a con this year before “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” is released in December. In fact, this will be the weekend before the Extended Edition of “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” drops, so you can expect a lot of discussion of what will be seen in both releases. We will also be talking about the entire Middle-earth saga on film from the past 15 years, as well as things to come for Tolkien fans. So join us on Saturday, November 1 at 4pm in room 304ABC for one last ‘Unofficial’ look at The Hobbit. After the convention ends at 7pm the fun continues as we head over to the Glance Lobby Bar at the JW Marriott at LA Live (other side of Staples Center) to hang out and chill. RSVP for the mini-moot. This is not a formal gathering, no fee required and no space is being reserved, but with all 3 home sports teams on the road, we will have less competition than usual. You can pick up tickets and see details for the con at Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo.

Middle-earth MadnessYou asked for it. We listened.

When TORn’s new book, Middle-earth Madness, came out last month for Kindle and Nook, some fans were delighted, like Elizabeth Trogden who gives the books five stars at Amazon saying, “Just as the movies led me to the books, TheOneRing.net informed me of the many fans and their activities. This book wonderfully complements all of them.”

But there were others lit up Facebook and message boards with a clear request: “We want a printed version!” As Ithilwen commented, “I hope for printed version as well, it just seems way more fitting to read about Middle-earth from a paper book. Or maybe I’m just a bit old fashioned.”

Well, here it is. Real pages packed with hobbity goodness for you to hold in your hand and set on the shelf with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies the book is all about. It’s a little piece of TORn you can keep as a collector’s item and look back on as the years go by.

Get yours today to find out…

Middle-earth Madness– Which creature design in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey the filmmakers weren’t satisfied with and secretly changed for the extended edition DVD
– Which Hobbit movie includes an item with J.R.R. Tolkien’s name written on it
– Which item Bilbo takes from Beorn’s house and takes home
– How Peter Jackson could make an adaptation of The Silmarillion without obtaining the rights from the Tolkien Estate
– and lots more, including interviews with Richard Armitage (Thorin), Sylvester McCoy (Radagast), Richard Taylor (Weta Workshop), Mark Ordesky (LOTR Exec) and many more of your favorites.

Want to read a sample chapter and see what all the fuss is about? Here you go!

Update: thanks to DanielLB on our discussion boards for pointing out that the book is also available on some Amazon sites for countries other than the U.S. (amazon.uk, amazon.fr). So check out your country’s site in case you can save on some shipping.

 

 

 

 

JedAsNoriAt the start of the summer, TORn staffer greendragon had the chance to continue her series ‘Inside the Middle-earth actor’s studio’ – discussing the craft of acting (and other things!) with cast members from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies. This time she sat down with an actor who has been involved since the beginning of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth films – the fabulous Jed Brophy. To celebrate the release of TORn’s new book Middle-earth Madness, which features this and other interviews, here’s your chance to read what Brophy had to say.

This is the third and final part of a long interview; you can find Part One here and Part Two here.

Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE – Jed Brophy talks to TORn: Part Three”

I’ve been a bit out of the Hobbit movies loop since the arrival of the teaser trailer back in July. However, it seems that Warner Bros. has just decided to drag itself out of hibernation (and me with it) and has begun releasing a series of gritty, close-up character posters. I suspect that sort of look will be the continuing theme of this series — and probably is a good hint of the tenor of the last film.

The main one-sheet this time round is a determined-looking Bilbo pointing Sting at someone or something. A high-resolution version has just dropped into my lap, and since folks tend to enjoy seeing these things in the big pixels, here’s a clean version of the poster below. Continue reading “High-resolution Bilbo poster for The Battle of the Five Armies”

Last week we let you know that Sylvester McCoy is confirmed to appear as The Witch Prime in the planned movie of The Minister of Chance. It has now been officially confirmed that Jed Brophy will also take part in the film, reprising his role of the mysterious and impish Pilot, who in the audio series ferries Kitty and The Minister across the mythical River Hex. Jed has a message for the fans who know him as Nori:

 

The Minister of Chance is shaping up to be a great movie for Hobbit fans! Find out more about this exciting project here.