Check out this new poster of Thorin Oakenshield that is, apparently, coming to a bus shelter near you!

It reminds me of some of the posters that debuted with The Two Towers (probably the bluish one of Aragorn with Eowyn and Arwen), but I think the art department might have gone a touch far on the blue colour-cast of the setting with this one. What do you think? Leave a comment below!

Oh, and just click the image for an “embiggened” version. Continue reading “A new poster of Thorin Oakenshield coming to a bus shelter near you!”

1285-subscribers-coverItching for a little bit more of The Desolation of Smaug ahead of its December release? These new stills from the film have been up for a couple of days at EW – but in case you missed them, here they are for your viewing pleasure.

There are several new images of our beloved main characters, as well as many new ones joining the cast for the first time – including Bard (with his son Bain in tow), Thranduil, Tauriel, and some very fearsome looking Gundaband Orcs. Continue reading “New Desolation of Smaug photos from Entertainment Weekly!”

Super Ticket Regal Entertainment Group, operators of the largest theatre circuit in the United States, are using The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug to premiere a new program that they call Regal Super Ticket. From November 21, this program will allow moviegoers in the USA to purchase a theatre admission ticket at participating cinemas and, for an additional $20, pre-order a Digital HD download of the movie at the same time.

The good news for people who buy one of these Regal Super Tickets is that the pre-ordered Digital HD version of The Desolation of Smaug will be available “weeks before the Blu-ray™ and DVD release date and four days prior to the digital release of the film” (note: that’s precisely what the press release states, word-for-word). They’ll also be able to immediately stream or download a standard definition digital version of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey through any UltraViolet™ service, such as Flixster. Continue reading “Win a trip to New Zealand with The Desolation of Smaug Ultimate Adventure Sweepstakes”

20131112_150753A couple days ago, I reported that LA’s upscale shopping center, The Grove, was suddenly transforming into Erebor. While we didn’t know what the purpose of this was at the time, many of us began to speculate that it was for the world premiere of The Desolation of Smaug, which is set to happen in Los Angeles on December 2, 2013. Continue reading “Follow-Up: The Grove’s Dwarven makeover is NOT for the premiere, but for something equally cool.”

Smaug Destroys Lake-town by John Howe.
Smaug Destroys Lake-town by John Howe.

A lot of folks have — in the wake of the trailers for The Desolation of Smaug — been pondering the question about the number of legs our favourite big, bad beastie might possess in the estimation of Peter Jackson (and his conceptual artists Alan Lee and John Howe).

Four? Two? It seems to be a bit unclear.

Here, Ringer Arandir examines the evidence (he does say that it’s not movie spoilery, but I think it is a little bit, so here’s your warning) and posits that we may be seeing a mid-stream change in Smaug’s conceptual design. Continue reading “Dragons vs wyverns: the question of Smaug”

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Gollum is reaching for some nice NZ rainbow trout
Gollum is reaching for some nice NZ rainbow trout
The Dominion Post is reporting that a new Hobbit-themed sculpture is set to be unveiled at Wellington Airport on Tuesday. Naturally, they’re being all coy about what it’s going to be but apparently the existing Gollum-chasing-fish artwork will remain.

Thanks to Ringer TKAthens for letting us know! Continue reading “Second Hobbit-themed sculpture to be unveiled at Wellington airport”