1403244334268.jpg-300x0 Andy Serkis chats about playing Caeser in Planet of the Apes and why the films are “not just bang-for-your-buck popcorn entertainment”.

 


London was burning when actor Andy Serkis landed in his hometown on a global whistle-stop tour to promote the release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011. The London riots were at their height as the film opened – a reboot of the iconic franchise about the collapse of human authority and the rise of a new world order.

“Camden was on fire,” Serkis recalls. “It was extraordinary.” Continue reading “Planet of the Apes revisited”

IMG_9712I love Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins. He’s just simply been so outstanding in the role of Bilbo Baggins that jumping on a few collectibles of him playing this character was a no-brainer. Today, I have for you a review of the Mini-Bust by Gentle Giant of Bilbo from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

For me, this is a case of the production piece showing improvement over the pictures on the box, as well as what we saw of the prototype. You can still get this bust from Gentle Giant’s website for just $70, and with an edition size of just a little over 500 pieces, it won’t last for long.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Gentle Giant’s Bilbo Baggins Mini-Bust Review”

Our first glimpse of Colorado came with the Rockies where what appeared to be the Lonely Mountain peeked out of the cloud-cover. As the three of us travelling together (my sister, Fili, and our mother “Dis”) are known by Dwarven names, we took this as a good omen. After all, the people of Colorado are mountain folk.

Lonely Mountain (Rockies)

Upon descending on our eagles, we took some time to adjust to the lay of the land before the start of the convention. Having only really experienced the 150k strong crowds at San Diego Comic Con, we didn’t know what to expect from DCC. As it was, the massive line waiting to get in on Friday morning was intimidating. However, upon seeing a Gandalf among the cosplayers, our nerves were set to rest. We were among our people. Our mom even made up her own Dwarven costume for Dis!

dis TORn panel HH panel

 

We joined up with Bofur (Justin!) and hosted our first panel of the day that discussed the history of TheOneRing.net. Given that this year is the site’s 15th anniversary, there was a lot to cover! Many of the folks who attended enjoyed reminiscing about the old days of anonymous set reports that often spurred fan rage online. With time comes perspective, and it was fascinating to look at the response Arwen’s intended presence at Helm’s Deep received vs. the introduction of Tauriel in the new Hobbit films.

Continue reading “Denver Comic Con Recap”

denver_post_pic A few minor snippets about The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies out of Denver Comic Con last weekend.

Sylvester McCoy, who is not travelling to San Diego Comic Con, indicated that he’ll be in London around July 18 for pickup work. It seems as though Philippa Boyens will be there to directing the additional dialogue recording with Peter Jackson overseeing things from New Zealand.

We also hear Jackson may schedule a trip to London around the time of San Diego Comic Con. Continue reading “Denver Comic-Con news: Sylvester McCoy set for July pickups”

IMG_8431Depending on where you stand on these Hobbit films the character Azog the Defiler can be a point of excitement or irritation. For me I have to say I do like the character as a whole, so that’s why when Gentle Giant put the Azog Mini-Bust up for order I had to get it.  As you’ll hear me say in the review I truly believe this bust to be one of their best items ever. As far as collectibles go this one is quite affordable coming in at $85 and he has an edition size of just 780 pieces, which is quite small in high-end collectibles.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Gentle Giant’s Azog the Defiler Mini-Bust Review”

Azog the DefilerRinger Matt sent us this little snippet from a chat he had with Manu Bennett at the Sydney Supanova last weekend.

I was able to have a quick chat with Manu Bennett (AKA Azog) whilst I was getting his signature. He said he had not completed filming for Azog yet on the final film and he was set to return to New Zealand next month to finish up.”

Come and share your opinion about this on our Hobbit Movie Board over on our Message Boards.