In preparation for a product review, I found myself last night eagerly unboxing one of two upcoming The Lord of the Rings LEGO® Sets. I was pleasantly surprised to find this mini-teaser in the back of the instruction pack for the ‘Shelob Attacks’ Set and thought I should share it quickly…so I posted it on our official TheOneRing.net Facebook. Well, it has gotten quite a stir over there, so I figured I should share it with you this morning. The ad confirms the long assumed notion that we would see a The Lord of the Rings LEGO® Video Game from long-time LEGO game producers Traveler’s Tales. So let this been 100% confirmation of the games existence, and I’d be willing to bet we’ll see a The Hobbit game in the future as well. As for my quickie review of the ‘Shelob Attacks’ LEGO Set: Building a gigantic realistic LEGO spider, complete with shooting string and eight extremely posable legs, was one of the most fun activities I’ve had in years! (Full review with pics will be coming soon!)
TheOneRing.net is pleased to announce our very own Hobbit Movie app, available now in the Apple App Store and Google Marketplace! The app, created by our new staffer Fizzit, combines many of the great features you see on TheOneRing.net into one handy application, and accessible anywhere. Among the app highlights: Latest headlines from TORn; Our exclusive Today in Middle-earth Calendar; Complete Hobbit cast bios, Cast news; Barliman’s Chatroom; and more! We even included ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ trailer for quick reference. But the best feature may be the price…FREE! Stay tuned in the coming weeks for an exciting contest related to the app, and hope you enjoy it. [App Store] [Google Marketplace]
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” one of the first feature film to use 48 fps technology, is high on the list of ‘cutting edge’ film technology mentioned in this Wall Street Journal article.
“It’s beautiful—like night and day,” says John Knepp, president of Cleveland-based Cooperative Theatres Inc., a chain with around 300 screens, who saw 10 minutes of raw “Hobbit” footage that was shown at the higher frame rate at CinemaCon.”
Other new technology mentioned in the article includes laser projection and vibrating seats (yes, vibrating seats). The 48 fps jury is still definitely out but, would vibrating seats sway your vote? Which side of the debate do you come out on? Read More…
Flight of the Conchords’ Bret McKenzie, better known here as Figwit, is offering the chance to meet him for a Fair Trade coffee and a chat in this auction run by Oxfam. The winning bidder gets to have coffee with McKenzie and will receive a guitar signed by McKenzie and his Conchords partner Jemaine Clement. Read More
From our own message boards comes this excellent report of Ian McKellen’s one-man show that is raising money for a theater damaged by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch. The actor is (of course) in New Zealand for filming of both parts of “The Hobbit,” a Peter Jackson adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s book. Thanks to del girl for sharing her experience on our boards and sending it to our Spymaster@TheOneRing.net adress. She also provided links to another report of the show.
“I have just come back from seeing the first one-man show in Sir Ian’s tour of New Zealand, which is a fundraiser for repairing the earthquake-damaged Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch (were he last played Waiting for Godot).
Radagast’s house by Angus McBride, card art for Middle-earth Collectible Card Game
Rhosgobel. The very word conjures images of poorly named bovines or countrified female pups. We’re told it means “russet village”, “walled house” or “brown town”, which is fitting since it was the last known dwelling of the mysteriously ineffective Radagast the Brown.
The fourth of the Istari to be sent by the Valar to aid Middle-earth in the fight against Sauron, Radagast essentially became a hippie, eschewing contact with Elves and Men and preferring the company of the birds and the beasts for whom he was named. (‘…which is in the tongue of Númenor of old, and signifies, it is said, “tender of beasts”.’) No word on whether he was as avid a fan of Longbottom Leaf as at least one of his fellow Wizards, but I’m guessing so.
Where he lived, exactly, has oft been debated – albeit not very hotly.
TheOneRing.net is pleased to announce our very own Hobbit Movie app, available now in the Apple App Store and Google Marketplace! The app, created by our new staffer Fizzit, combines many of the great features you see on TheOneRing.net into one handy application, and accessible anywhere. Among the app highlights: Latest headlines from TORn; Our exclusive Today in Middle-earth Calendar; Complete Hobbit cast bios, Cast news; Barliman’s Chatroom; and more! We even included ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ trailer for quick reference. But the best feature may be the price…FREE! Stay tuned in the coming weeks for an exciting contest related to the app, and hope you enjoy it. [
