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”

Conspiracy Unmasked Bathing_at_CrickhollowWelcome 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 active discussions.  Watch this space as we spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards.  Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join the fun!

Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – January 18, 2015”

saruman christopher lee credits botfa

The folks at Gwaith-i-Phethain, The Fellowship of the Word-smiths on the Elendilion website, have just finished analysing and translating the Sindarin dialogue from The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies.

They’ve set up a page with and with translations of the Sindarin dialogue of Tauriel, Galadriel, Legolas, etc. by Hungarian linguist Gábor Lőrinczi. Continue reading “Translations from Elvish: dialogue from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUGWhile the Academy Awards did not recognize “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” in the Visual Effects category, the Visual Effects Society did. The 13th Annual VES Awards were announced with “The Hobbit” receiving 4 nominations. The VES Awards will be held on February 4th in Beverly Hills.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
Maleficent
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
X-Men: Days of Future Past

Outstanding Models in any Motion Media Project
Big Hero 6; City of San Fransokyo
The Boxtrolls; Mecha-Drill
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies; Laketown
Transformers: Age of Extinction; Knightship

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Helicarrier Broadside and Crash
Edge of Tomorrow; Destruction and Sand
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
X-Men: Days of Future Past; Quicksilver Pentagon Kitchen

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow; Beach
Interstellar; Water
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Full list of nominees at VES.
Continue reading “Visual Effects Society nominates ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ for 4 awards!”

oscarsThe 87th Academy Award Nominations for the 2015 Oscars were announced this morning. Every year there are surprises and “snubs” and this year is no exception with chatter about films like “Selma” and “Gone Girl” lighting up Twitter and award blogs.

“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” received only 1 nomination for its final outing for Sound Editing. “The Desolation of Smaug” and “An Unexpected Journey” each received 3 nominations so this a bit of a surprise. “The Battle of the Five Armies” missed out on a nomination this time in the stacked Visual Effects category despite being a finalist. Joe Letteri did receive a nomination for his work on “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”. The other nominees in this category are “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, “Guardians of the Galaxy”, “Interstellar”, and “X-Men: Days of Future Past”. Sadly, “The Hobbit” also missed out in the Original Song category. Here’s the list for Sound Editing:

SOUND EDITING
American Sniper – Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Martin Hernández and Aaron Glascock
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
Interstellar – Richard King
Unbroken – Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro

Full list of nominees at Oscars.com. Weta Digital won a scientific and technical Academy Award that was announced yesterday. Finally, congratulations to Benedict Cumberbatch who received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor in “The Imitation Game”.
Continue reading “‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ receives an Oscar nomination”

HBT3-bs-343122.DNG This is a really interesting — and sometimes provocative — interview from just after the premiere of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five armies.

The Daily Beast chatted with Peter Jackson about his two decades exploring Middle-earth, his thoughts on Tolkien purists (controversial!), evading the MPAA’s initial R rating on the most recent Hobbit film (I hadn’t heard about that), and his plans for the future (still hoping for the Dambusters film, personally).

I found this quote really interesting…

I don’t mean to undervalue the battle, they could be holding a knife and fork with their hands and be sitting at the table eating, or they can have a sword in their hand and fighting for their lives, it’s still the storytelling and the narrative that these guys are on that you’re really focused on.

Don’t forget to follow the link to read the full interview. Continue reading “Peter Jackson: “no regrets””