Today Variety has revealed that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey nearly didn’t get nominated for an Oscar in the special-effects category. As the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences keeps pushing the nominating process to earlier dates, films released late in the year sometimes can’t be seen by those in charge of voting on which ones will make the final cut to compete for the Oscars.
The committee of 40 experts met on November 28 to come up with a short-list of 20 films that the members of the Academy in the special-effects section could see and vote on by January 3 to determine the final five nominees. Problem was, the committee members had nothing to look at from The Hobbit except its trailers!
The assumption was that this film would be a major visual-effects contender–but that was mainly based on the success of The Lord of the Rings and other Weta Digital work. Not all the members of the committee were happy with including a film virtually sight-unseen. In the end, The Hobbit got its nomination, but as the chair of the committee told Variety, “There will be a post-mortem to review the rules.”
What will probably happen is that the production companies will be pressured to provide sample reels of the effects in their films at a date early enough to make sure that committee members can see them, even if the film hasn’t been released yet. As Variety concludes, “Especially Part 2 of ‘The Hobbit.'”
Tonight a new item from Weta Workshop has been made available for order: Orcrist, Master Swordsmith’s Edition. If you’re a fan of what you’ve seen on-screen, and want to own an item that is truly as close to what was used in the film as possible, then this item is for you. Peter Lyon, Master Swordsmith, who helped create the amazing weapons you saw used in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, has created another amazing replica in Orcrist. Orcrist is the fifth sword Peter created for Weta giving fans a chance to bring piece of Middle-earth home to their collections. This replica is an outstanding blend of steel with a dragon’s tooth resin handle molded to look like wood. Orcrist costs $9,900 and when you place your order you can also get the amazing scabbard that Thorin wore in the movie.
Forged long ago in the lost Elf kingdom of Gondolin, Orcrist, the ‘goblin cleaver’, was a legendary blade, well known to the wise of Middle-earth and infamous among their enemies. Having disappeared for centuries, the sword would reappear in, of all places, a Troll hoard, where, among the detritus and ruin, it catches the eye of Thorin Oakenshield. To the Dwarf, well versed in the crafting of fine weapons, it is a sword of peerless craft, but it is Elrond, lord and lore-master of Rivendell, who is able to name the blade and tell Thorin of its prestigious lineage. No finer sword could a king of any race wish for.
Orcrist was designed by Weta senior concept designer Paul Tobin and made at Weta Workshop in New Zealand for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey by Master Swordsmith Peter Lyon. The fifth sword in Weta’s Master Swordsmith’s Collection, Orcrist takes swordmaking even further than previous swords in the series. The first single edged blade in The Master Swordsmith’s Collection, it encompasses a multitude of sword making, metal crafting and wood working techniques. It joins the previous swords in the series: Andúril, Strider’s Sword, Glamdring and the most recently launched sword, Sting – still available to order!
Orcrist is made with the same attention to detail that the swordsmiths of the lost realm of Gondolin would have required. Peter Lyon took Paul Tobin’s design and created a piece of art and a usable weapon wrapped in one. The blade is made from tempered spring steel and the dragon’s tooth grip is cast from CC60 urethane, painted and sealed under resin. On the cross is the name “Orcrist” etched in runes and the gently curvaceous blade, ground from spring steel, features etched elven runes stating “The Serpent’s Tooth”. On the pommel are four cubic zirconia gemstones inlaid.
The scabbard is made from a combination of white oak and steel and connects to the leather belt with leather straps and buckles. The inscription translates as “Born from the Maws of Dragons I am Always Hungry and Thirsty”. The belt is made from embossed leather with steel buckle, loop and tip. It features straps for attaching the scabbard. Thorin wears his sword on his back and this belt is designed to be worn over the shoulder. This sword and its accessories are the absolute epitome of craftsmanship.
A fake DVD cover for Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey?
A cover for the DVD and Blu-ray version of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” has been making the rounds on the internet. The design, as you can see, features Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins as the most prominent figure with Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield close behind. The other dwarves sneak into the image but not prominently.
It is possible this image was leaked from the studios involved but it seems unlikely and this image isn’t a powerful “buy me” image from the movie. No word from any official channels has surfaced to say this is or isn’t fake so we advise not accepting it as the gospel truth at this point.
If any excellent photoshopping readers out there want to produce some imagined blu-ray covers it would be fun to run a collection of them here, so if you have a submission send them over to Spymaster@TheOneRing.net.
Dates for the initial offering are reported as March 19 with an Extended Edition in October but nothing official has been announced. The film will still be available in some theaters at that point. Date posted by retailers like Amazon are not reliable and have included books that haven’t been written yet previously. When official dates are released, you will find them reported here.
Welcome aboard Tolkien fans, Ringer fans, Jackson fans, and all those other fandoms inbetween who love Hobbity goodness! Join us today for our weekly live chat show (last week’s streaming video was a screaming laugh riot; indeed a mob-scene of obscene comedy thanks to our special guests Dominic Monaghan & Billy Boyd!)…. join your host Clifford ‘Quickbeam’ Broadway and Star Wars Expatriate-turned Ringer fan Justin as we highlight the recent news and fun parodies starting to appear in the aftermath of THE HOBBIT: AUJ having taken the box office by storm these past two months! Watch here on our Live Event Page and join in Barliman’s chat. The action starts live at 5:00PM Pacific Time. You can also turn on your camera and join via Stickam here.
On the heels of one of the best art books for a film that I’ve had the chance to add to my personal collection Weta Workshop has announced a second book to their art book range for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The second art book for The Hobbit covers the many creatures and characters that help populate Sir Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the first of three movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Within the Chronicles: Creatures and Characters are quotes from the actors who played the many roles on-screen and this book comes with a size chart, a great way to compare the various sizes of these characters in relation to each other. The book is on sale now for $39 and if you buy now from Weta, you can get a signed copy for your collection. This second book does not ship until April so in the mean time you can still buy the previous Chronicles: Art and Design book for the same $39.
Our friend Jerry Vanderstelt has been given the green light by Warner Bros. to offer the beautiful art print he created for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for sale in his store. This amazing print is available in several styles for the various budgets we collectors have. Each of the print styles is limited, so be sure to act quickly to get a great collectible for your Middle-earth collection.
The various offerings include:
$450 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Epic Size Collector’s Edition Canvas Giclee – 100 pieces. Includes a character sketch on a separate parchment ( roughly 5 x 7 inches ). Numbers will match. Customer will have the option to choose the name of any character that appears on the artwork for their Original 5 x 7 sketch.
Canvas Size : 29 x 39 actual art with 2.5 inch border all around for Gallery Wrapping.
$350 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Limited Edition Canvas Giclee – 100 pieces. Size : 24 x 32 actual art with 2.5 inch border all around for Gallery Wrapping.
$ 195 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Epic Size Edition Paper Giclee – 2000 pieces. Size: 28 x 36 – ( 26 x 35 actual art size ). Comes with a .5 inch white paper border on top and bottom and a 1 inch border on the left and right sides.
$ 150 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Limited Edition Paper Giclee – 2000 pieces. Size: 18 x 24 – ( 17 x 23 actual art size ). Comes with a .5 inch white paper border all around.
Today Variety has revealed that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey nearly didn’t get nominated for an Oscar in the special-effects category. As the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences keeps pushing the nominating process to earlier dates, films released late in the year sometimes can’t be seen by those in charge of voting on which ones will make the final cut to compete for the Oscars.
