List of some of the Auction and Raffle prizes:
Here are some of the items we will have available for the silent auction and raffle, including something for the Non-Attending Supporters of our Indiegogo campaign. We have some rather big ticket prizes, numerous autographed items, and some original artwork for you, and at least one item offered for a Charity Auction. Everything on this list will be split fairly evenly between the silent auction and the raffle, giving everyone a chance to walk away with something very cool. This is not a complete list, things are still arriving, but it will give you an idea of what you will have a chance to either bid on or try and win in a Chinese style raffle drawing.
Artwork –
Gollum Stained Glass Window – handmade
Prancing Pony Mug – handmade
Green Dragon Mug – handmade
Bilbo’s Teacups – handmade
Mallorn Leaf Serving Plate – handmade
Signed Items –
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King “For Your Consideration” script – signed by numerous LOTR cast and crew
DOS Bilbo Poster – signed by numerous Hobbit cast and crew
DOS Cast Poster – signed by numerous Hobbit cast and crew
TOPPS Autograph Cards – One each for Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler, Billy Boyd, Sean Astin and Elijah Wood.
Big Ticket Items –
Sideshow Artist Proof of Sauron statue
Sideshow Artis Proof of Galadriel
One note for those of you not attending the party, two of the Signed TOPPS cards, the Sam and Frodo cards, will be raffled off for the Non-Attending supporters during our Live Stream of the party.
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There is a lot to write about and our staff is spread pretty thin these days, but this article about Weta Digital and what some of the processes were for “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” is just too good to miss.
Here is a taste:
The new tools implemented for the film included the real-time lighting software Gazebo, technology in development two years ago (see “Shaping Middle-earth,” January/February 2013), new rendering software called Manuka, and a new virtual production pipeline. The scale of shots with the armies made their implementation necessary. Continue reading “Going deep with Weta Digital”
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Do you remember the first shot of every Middle-earth film?
Sure you do.
It’s also interesting to note the similarities of every opening – further reinforcing the connections between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Continue reading “The Middle-earth prologues”
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Kids telling other kids about how they plan to use rings is making terroristic threats. This seems to have taken place in Texas in the Kermit Independent School District.
The Odessa American reported that the principal said threats against a student – magical or not – are not tolerated.
The boy’s father, Jason Steward, said the family had been to see “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” last weekend. His son brought a ring to his class at Kermit Elementary School and told another boy his magic ring could make the boy disappear. The story is starting to get traction in bigger media arenas but it seems this smallish Texas website started it.
(It is clear to TheOneRing.net that the lad was only trying to be a good Steward — like his father and the whole family needs shirts that say, “I am of Gondor.”)
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Well, looks like nobody will go broke making Middle-earth movies. The third of Peter Jackson’s films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” squeaked past $800 million earned world-wide last weekend. Jackson can get on with his “Tin Tin” movie and maybe my wish that he will write and direct a World War I zombie film with 100 percent practical effects in conjunction with Weta Workshop can happen. Maybe not.
But it is time to take a little peek at the box office and see how things are going. If you didn’t hear, another Warner Bros. movie, “American Sniper” assassinated the January box office records in the U.S. while the final Hobbit film slid to eighth place after 30-some days of release. Rentrack tells us it made $4 million on the weekend for a grand total of $244,537,115 domestic. It isn’t quite done, so lets call it $250 million but it will be closer to $260.
Meanwhile, overseas, from 63 territories, it has taken $558,600,000. (Speaking of “Taken” the third one of those movies just made an avalanche of money – see gold pile above – so go ahead and bet on number four. With every new sequel, a legion of devils get their wings; but Hollywood doesn’t care.)
One big market, a dragon of a market if you will, China, hasn’t opened the film yet and so that non-U.S. total is expected to reach past $700 million. This puts Jackson’s final Middle-earth movie very close, but not over $1 billion. Now, it is nothing but an arbitrary mark and a game, but something satisfies our lizard brains to know the film made 1/28th of what Bill Gates has donated to charity.
Can China and the rest of the world world push their share to $750 million or beyond? This film was tracking ahead of the previous one, that finished just more than $700 million, so it is going to be very close, but I can’t find the complete data and my bed calls. More updates in a week – or two.
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One thing that isn’t great about being a fansite: Other outlets and readers treat anything we write as if it were written from a fan perspective. Sometimes that is true, sometimes it is false. As a result of this, we didn’t complain about Oscar Nominations; It just sounds like whining anyway.
For the record, while we are here, there are a few categories that are head scratchers though. The technical category omissions, in my opinion, are a mark against the awards. Films that win these categories generate buzz and these Hobbit films didn’t do that in the right way to win awards. All the folks who work on the film would say they didn’t get into the business to win awards and they are only a bit of extra icing anyway.
But WIRED, not a fansite, has a video series about special visual effects and the series is highly watchable, educational and interesting. (Special effects are things that happen on set.) Staffer Justin pointed out this video from the series where the host expresses real surprise that BOTFA didn’t get a nom. He has some wonderful details about the attack on Lake-town in particular (a favorite set piece of mine, burning or not) and the advancement of the computer program MASSIVE created for the battles in the LOTR films. The folks in New Zealand were pushing boundaries as they do every single time.
It is well worth a watch and it lights a fire under me, at least, to get annoyed that Weta Digital didn’t get an Oscar nom for Best Visual Effcts — except they did get one for “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.” That does mean Gentleman Joe Letteri will be in Los Angeles so on Oscar night, after he attended previous parties, we will be sure to invite him to our celebration this year. Continue reading “‘The Hobbit: BOTFA’ and its shocking VFX exclusion from the Oscar race”
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