According to the little countdown on the left side of this page, we are only 10 days away from ‘The One Expected Party‘ and 8 days away from The Unexpected Art Show!’ (Yes, tickets are still available, but we are getting close to a sell out!) Today we’d like to focus on one of our Mithril sponsors for the event, Air New Zealand. AirNZ is not only the official airline of Middle-earth, but they are also officially supporting the fans of Middle-earth by providing both financial and airfare support for our event. In fact, we can thank them for flying in Billy Boyd and Beecake all the way from Scotland!
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand is the official airline of Middle-earth with a global two-movie partnership with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit:There and Back Again.
As part of the two-year partnership, passengers from North America can fly on Hobbit-wrapped Boeing 777 aircraft and even enjoy a very special edition of the in-flight safety video.
Destination New Zealand is clearly established as the home of Middle-earth and Air New Zealand brings that magic to life for travelers.
Just as Sir Peter Jackson is able to transport audiences to the magical world of Middle-earth, Air New Zealand brings people to the breathtaking landscape that has been home to these epic productions.
Air New Zealand will be sending a Hobbit-themed crew to help escort our VIPs throughout ‘The One Expected Party,’ and will also be displaying a scale model of the Hobbit-wrapped 777. They are also generously contributing four unique ‘Hobbit’ packs for our giveaway – packs that are not for sale and only available through events like ‘The One Expected Party.’
We hope you can join us and our friends from Air New Zealand for a magical night in Hollywood! Purchase your tickets today!
Toy Fair 2013 also brings us goodies from Lego for fans of Middle-earth. As you all know, Lego has been creating some great sets based on events that happened during The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey movies. During Toy Fair we got to see more from The Lord of the Rings, covering The Council of Elrond, The Corsair Ship sequence, Gandalf the Grey vs Saruman, and The Black Gates. The Wizard Battle will be a 113 piece set with a price tag of $13, The Black Gates set is a 656 piece set with a $60 price tag, Council of Elrond a 243 piece set costing $30, and The Corsair Ship set, which has 756 pieces, costs $100. All four of these sets are due to arrive in June of this year. They also had a card at the show mentioning that sets for The Desolation of Smaug will be arriving in December of 2013.
You can check out a ton of pictures from Figures.Com in their The Lord of the Rings gallery.
You can also check out videos from the booth via FBTB.Com from their The Lord of the Rings video page.
With an eye for attention to the minutest detail, Peter Jackson and his design team source for their movies with great care. Who could forget that wonderful fabric created by Stansborough Fibres for those magical elven cloaks in The Lord of the Rings? The same folks created Gandalf’s silver scarf for The Hobbit movies.
But just where did Ori get his amazing woollies? Who (apart from those elusive dwarf women!) knits for dwarves? A fascinating (and quite technical) article in Knitting Daily, sourced from The Wheel magazine, sheds some light on how the yarn for the films was created. Read the article here – thanks to ringerspy String for the heads up!
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!
TheOneRing.net is delighted to have Empire movie magazine on board as supporters at our One Expected Party on Oscars Night! For those readers who don’t yet know, British publication Empire is now available in a US edition, downloadable on iPad; and our good friends at Empire currently have a special offer of a three month iPad subscription for only $0.99! Offer expires on Feb 27th – so take this opportunity to get all the latest movie news for a bargain price!
Weta Digital’s Simon Clutterbuck, James Jacobs, Dr. Richard Dorling won Oscars Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013.Most think of film as art form and much is made about those who dazzle at its highest levels, but science has always been a key component to cinema. A group who worked on “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” received early Oscar awards — for science — Sunday night. Those who perform such technical innovation rarely get even a sniff of the spotlight but Simon Clutterbuck, Richard Dorling and James Jacobs were recognized for their work bringing Gollum to life, especially for his skin and movement.
The new tech makes Gollum appear more lifelike in an approach the team calls “Tissue: A Physically-Based Character Simulation Framework.”
“The framework is used to construct and simulate the anatomical components of our digital creatures and characters,” Jacobs, a supervisor for creature special-effects told NBC. (Read the whole article right here.)
Reuters also has a story with details about the Weta Digital winners and others recognized Sunday night.
Congrats to those gentlemen and all of Weta Digital for its mastery of converting Andy Serkis’ performance to screen. TheOneRing.net will celebrate the Oscars, including other nominees for work on The Hobbit, in two weeks featuring on stage Beecake with Billy Boyd. Details to buy tickets are right here.
Software brought Gollum’s skin to life for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” earning it an Oscar for technology and science
Air New Zealand is the official airline of Middle-earth with a global two-movie partnership with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again.
