WitchKing riding the FellbeastWelcome 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!

Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – September 18, 2011”

Queenstown’s locals became the cast of the people of Rohan.

Hobbit‘ filming publicity

Filming part of The Hobbit on location in Queenstown gives the opportunity for “significant exposure” for the Wakatipu on the main world tourism markets, Destination Queenstown says.

DQ chief executive Tony Everitt was asked to comment yesterday after proposals lodged by Three Foot Seven Ltd to film sequences in at least three Wakatipu locations.

The Wellington production company applied this month for resource consent for filming activities involving “over 200 people” between early October and mid-December.

Queenstown Lakes agency Ican Models & Talent was getting “a wonderful response” from advertisements for extras with “character faces” for an undisclosed shoot in late October, late November or early December, director Tracy Neave said yesterday.

Filming was proposed to occur mainly at Arcadia Station, Glenorchy, and on nearby land owned by the Paradise Trust, with an additional site at Tucker Beach, by the Shotover River.

Flight plans were also detailed for filming at Greenstone Station on the western side of Lake Wakatipu.

[Read More]

US Gandalf kicks off his tour across America at TORn’s annual Bagginses’ Birthday Bash in Los Angeles on Saturday,

September 24. Come on down and meet our honored VIP guest before he embarks on a grand journey to the homes of fans across the country. You can RSVP to the party by emailing Garfeimao@TheOneRing.net or on our Facebook event page and letting us know what you might like to bring (this is a potluck party).

Please be prepared to eat like a Hobbit, to get to know many of your fellow fans, to play games and listen to music and enjoy our Tolkien Fellowship. The Facebook page has links to directions on how to find our location at Griffith Park and a list of items people have already signed up to bring, and a list of what still needs to be brought. This event is always a highlight on the local Tolkien fan calendar in LA and will make an annual guest out of you, I’m quite sure.

For more information about the Gandalf tour, please see http://gandalfworldtour.com/  where the tour is described and his future exploits will be published. Fans across the country have been signing up to host Gandalf, so many that hosting Gandalf moots has become necessary in larger cities. We are still looking to decide who among So Cal fandom will be taking Gandalf home with them. Preferably we would love to find someone who will be traveling up to the Bay Area or Sacramento area in the next few weeks. If you find that you are able to attend our little shindig this Saturday and that you are planning a North bound trip in the next few weeks, please contact us and let us know. [Facebook Event Page] [Gandalf World Tour]

Twizel is in the south island of New Zealand,  located between two mountain ranges the grassy fields was used for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in the Lord of The Rings trilogy.

From Oamaru Mail comes this update regarding the casting call times:

From Hobbit looking for local extras

A search to find extras for The Hobbit film will be held in Oamaru next weekend.

Organisers will be at the Oamaru Opera House’s Empire Room on Sunday, September 25 from 10am to 1pm for the  casting call.

Filming is expected to take place in the Twizel region in late November and December.

[Read More]

Thanks to Ringer Kookie for pointing us to a great interview with Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel in The Hobbit) from SFX. In the interview, Lilly talks about her time commitments, learning elvish, archery, swordplay, and just how long she’s been a Tolkien fan.

When you played Kate you were always doing physical scenes and stunts. How are you prepping for The Hobbit?

“With every film, you have to educate yourself on the material and it’s often things you don’t know a lot about. Right now I’m studying Elvish and having conversations with people about learning how to be an archer, a swordsperson and how to fight like an elf instead of a gritty convict.” [Laughs]

Did you have any reservations about joining The Hobbit cast?

“With The Hobbit, it was a no-brainer because I have been a fan of those books since I was 13-years-old.”

Check out the rest of the interview at the SFX Website. [Read More]

Ringer Spy Kookie sends us this tidbit: The Otago Daily News is reporting that the The Hobbit team is on the lookout for extras again. This time, production company 3foot7 is advertising for 200 extras — to fill the roles of “townspeople” and elves — for filming the Twizel region of New Zealand in late November and December.

According to the article, the requirement for “townspeople” (by which we extrapolate to mean the people of Laketown and the surrounding area) is for men and women aged between 30 and 80 years with interesting character faces — men with beards. “All shapes, sizes and ethnicities welcome,” the studio said. For elves: people aged between 17 and 35 with a height of more than 168cm.

The casting calls will take place at the Wanaka St John training rooms on September 23; Twizel Events Centre and Tekapo Community Hall on September 24; and Oamaru Opera House Empire Room on September 25.