As per our announcement earlier today, TheOneRing.net’s 2021 Middle-earth March Madness competition theme is: Battle of the Best-Dressed – a theme conceived for audience participation!
Battle of the Best-dressed in Middle-earth – Middle-earth March Madness 2021
Middle-earth March Madness is TheOneRing.net’s annual foray into the world of bracketed competitions – an event that has been running yearly since 2012. Like the NCAA March Madness competition in the US, the selection committee from TheOneRing.net chooses 64 contestants and then ranks them in regions, assigning them a seeding number based on an in-depth and exhaustive voting and discussion process.
During last night’s TORn Tuesday live stream reveal of this year’s theme, one of the commissioners (aka co-owner) of TheOneRing.net decided to throw in a curveball for 2021: this year we will feature a Wild Card round to replace one of the 64 contestants! Effectively eliminating one of the contestants for a true ‘wild card’ cinderella story.
As we approach the end of March, once again, TheOneRing.net prepares for our take on ‘sports ball type activities’; yes, Middle-earth March Madness is almost here!
Last year, we had a hotly debated contest to decide the best scene from Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth films. Newly quarantined and locked down, many of us found solace and entertainment in discussing the match ups; and for the first time in MeMM’s history, we hosted live shows to discuss each round. We also shared a look back at all the previous MeMM contests – you can read that article here.
2021 is the TENTH edition of Middle-earth March Madness – and on last night’s TORn Tuesday, we revealed the theme for this year. It is ‘Battle of the Best Dressed in Middle-earth.’ Looking at costumes from Peter Jackson’s two Middle-earth trilogies, we want to know which outfit is your favourite. You can see the four ‘regions’, with 16 entrants in each, below.
Here’s the key thing: we’re hoping for lots of participation from you this year, and particularly, we want to see YOUR versions of these costumes and characters. In choosing from our ‘long list’, to decide the final 64, we thought particularly of all the amazing cosplays we’ve seen over the years. (That’s why the bracket includes characters such as Gollum and the Balrog – not exactly costumes as such, but we have seen some brilliant cosplays for these characters!) We tried to pick costumes which seem to have been popular with cosplayers; and we’d like you to campaign for your favourite. You can do this by sharing pictures of your cosplays; show us video if you have it; tell us about your creative process; whatever you’d like to share! Convince us that THIS is the costume which deserves to win, because it so inspired your own creativity.
You can share your images on our facebook page; you can email them to spymaster@theonering.net; or you can simply tag us on Twitter or Instagram, and use #middleearthbestdressed. As last year, we’ll have live shows to discuss each round, and we hope to share some of your images on these shows. Staffers are already prepping their armour, as they’re expecting some battles royale! Join in the fun: campaign for your favourite, and get ready to vote when the contest launches at the start of next week.
AND – stay tuned for an announcement coming later today, as we mix things up a bit before Middle-earth March Madness 2021 has even got going…
Last Fall, John Rhys-Davies and Ryan Gage (aka Gimli and Alfrid) were in Scotland, working on a movie together. Today TORn has an exclusive first peek at a press release, and some fabulous images from the upcoming film, Kingslayer.
The press release tells us:
Kingslayer is a historical action film based on the real life of Richard the Lionheart. Days away from his coronation, a secret meeting with the woman he loves, turns into a life and death fight for survival. As hired mercenaries attack, Chaplain Anselm who has gone looking for the young prince, tries to uncover who is behind the plot and prevent civil war.
The feature penned and directed by BAFTA-award winner Stuart Brennan, has Golden Globe winning Producer Gareth Wiley working alongside him, best known for his four movies with Woody Allen, including MatchPoint and Vicky, Christina, Barcelona. Stanley Kubrick’s Director of Photography is also on board, the Emmy Nominated Doug Milsome BSC, ASC (Full Metal Jacket, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves).
An equally impressive cast have also signed up including Carolina Carlsson (Dragonheart: Vengeance, The Young Pope), Mark Wake (The Necromancer), David Hayman (Fisherman’s Friends), Ian Hanmore (Game of Thrones) and Mark Springer (Shadow & Bone).
John Rhys-Davies plays the role of one of the medieval era’s most famous knights; William Marshal. A man who opposed Richard, until he became King, and then was welcomed as a trusted adviser for keeping his word and not switching sides in the face of defeat, like so many did. Brennan takes the role of Prince Richard and Ryan Gage that of Chaplain Anselm.
Production companies Stronghold and Phoenix Wiley are behind the production. The film shot on location at Dunskey Estate in Stranraer, Scotland and at Crichton Memorial Church in Dumfries during September and October of 2020. This is the fifth feature film produced by Stronghold to have filmed in Scotland.
Stronghold Press Release
Tune in to TORn Tuesday TONIGHT for a look at all of the exclusive images! Here’s one of Rhys-Davies in character, to whet your appetite:
Last year during Comic-Con at Home our friends at Weta Workshop launched the Classic Series. They’ve now added the first statue from The Hobbit Trilogy with a very requested version of this character. Who is the character? None other than Galadriel herself. This stunning version of Galadriel comes from the White Council sequence during The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Fans can pre-order Galadriel right now for $349, with her expected to ship sometime during September of this year.
We’re excited to bring you an EXCLUSIVE first look at the new Gandalf the Grey Crown Series figure by the awesome folks at Asmus Toys.
Right now we don’t have any information on price, but you can see from these fantastic shots that this figure is going to be amazing. It looks like the likeness to Sir Ian McKellen’s wizard is pretty darn spot on, and the goodies you get with him are super detailed. We hope you enjoy these shots; when we get all the information on Gandalf we will pass it on. We do not want you to miss a chance to add this amazing figure to your collection!
This has been a year of challenges and loss. Our collective experience of a global pandemic was peppered with losses in our intimate Tolkien community as well.
Today, on this last day of the year, we wish to take a moment to remember just a few of those in our community who left this earthly realm, and have found a far green country under a swift sunrise. Whether it was the patriarch of the entirety of Tolkien’s legacy, or the artist who created infamous cover art, they will all be missed – along with so many others who sailed into the West this year. We honour them all. Fare thee well!
Christopher Tolkien – November 21, 1924 – January 16, 2020
Sir Ian Holm – 12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020
Orson Bean – July 22, 1928 – February 7, 2020
Andrew Jack – 28 January 1944 – 31 March 2020
Bruce Allpress – 25 August 1930 – 23 April 2020
Barbara Remington – 23 June 1929 – 23 January 2020
