THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEYA difficult time on the set of Bag End – or rather a duplicate green screen version – left Sir Ian McKellen to consider that perhaps he would rather not continue on with the shooting of The Hobbit Trilogy. However, what soon followed reacquainted him with the joy he had come to experience during his previous journey to Middle-earth. It was a reaffirmation that even with the massive scale of the production, and all the complicated technology used to craft these cinematic stories – at the end of the day, there was a family dynamic at work on this journey, as there so often has been on Peter Jackson’s many films.

For those who have not yet heard this tale on the Extended Edition release of An Unexpected Journey, it goes a bit like this (bring the kleenex). Director Peter Jackson and his crew had developed a new technique on this trilogy for showing the actors in different sizes. While the proportions for actor Martin Freeman and the dwarf actors worked well enough for them to act in the same room, Sir Ian was required to be in a completely different area for his part of the scenes. Continue reading “Hobbit Family Bands Together to Help McKellen Through Greenscreen Difficulties”

IMG_6615We’ve received many enquiries from readers wondering why the number of figures for Wave 2 of The Hobbit Trilogy line from The Bridge Direct is smaller than Wave 1.

Tonight, via their Facebook page, our friends at The Bridge Direct answered this very question. While Wave 2 is going to be a small wave, it does sound like we could see a larger Wave 3 if all goes well. Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – The Bridge Direct Wave 2 Update”

HobbitDOSMirkwoodGaolKeyc2Last night Weta Workshop released two more prop replica items from The Hobbit Trilogy. The first is an item I have personally been looking forward to getting since the films were announced. The escape from Thranduil’s halls is one of the best parts of the book and this item plays a pivotal role in that escape. Fans can now own their own replica of The Mirkwood Gaol Key that Bilbo uses to rescue the Dwarves. As we all know the Dwarves were given seven rings of power and one of these rings went to Thoror who was the King of the Longbeards. Thanks to the craftsmen at Weta you can now bring home this ring of power. Collectors can snag The Mirkwood Gaol Key for $29.99 and Thror’s Ring of Power for $174.99

Weta-1Awards season officially began this past weekend with the BAFTA awards in LA on Saturday night, televised on Sunday on BBC America. A quick scan of what’s playing in local theaters will show a healthy mix of big blockbuster movies and art house films, many you will not have heard of, but those are the films that will be contending for Awards early next year. People in Hollywood will be pulling out their Tuxedos and beaded gowns and slimming down, getting ready for the Red Carpets to come in January. Alongside all the nominated filmmakers are Awards for those with recognized bodies of works. And today the Producers Guild of America has announced that the recipients of its 2014 Vanguard Award will be Peter Jackson, Joe Letteri and WETA Digital. The Ceremony will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California during the 25th Annual Producers Guild Awards on January 19th. For more details, please read the full story at Variety.com

 

From all the Staff at TheOneRing.net, Congratulations, Huzzah! We love your work so far, we can’t wait to see what you have in store for us in these next two films, and we have faith you will keep us entertained for years to come.

 

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300512id1_TheHobbit_TDOS_INTL_Tapestry_Keyart_7inH_x_38inW.indd They’re two of the centrepieces of Warner Bros. marketing efforts for The Hobbit films. But what would they look like if you stitched them together? The answer is, expectedly, “really good!” and, “really long!”.

We’ve used clean artwork to generate the following 18,000 pixel wide (by 1,666 pixel tall) mega-Tapestry for your viewing pleasure. Warning, it’s a large (5.6mb file). Anyway, click the small image below to have a look at the full-resolution file and enjoy all the details!

 

Continue reading “Combined: The Desolation of Smaug Tapestry and An Unexpected Journey’s Scroll”