With just one day left in the second round of our Middle-earth March Madness, it is time to summarize the competition and do a little cheerleading for the characters.
The first match up in the Rankin/Bass division is between Gandalf (1) and Feanor (4) and is running extremely close. You best get your votes in, this one could go either way. The second match up in the Rankin/Bass division is Galadriel (2) versus Smaug (6). Again, this one is extremely close, will it be the Lady of the Golden Wood, or Smaug the Golden, their fate is in your hands, so vote now.
In the Ralph Bakshi division, the first match up is between Bilbo (1) and Gollum (4). Bilbo has a little lead, but it is not to say Gollum couldn’t sneak up and take this contest, so get your votes out. The second match up in this division has Thorin (3) up against Aragorn (2) and it appears at the moment the current lead hero is besting the previous lead hero, so pick your favorite hero and vote, vote, vote.
Checking in on the Tolkien Family Division, Legolas (1) is taking on Pippin (4) and as you might expect, the Elf Prince has a comfortable lead. Pippin fans, where are you? The other contest in this division pits Faramir (3) against Frodo (2). Currently, the Gondorian heir to the Stewardship who could not be swayed by the ring is beating the Ringbearer, please vote for your favorite in this contest.
And finally, in the Peter Jackson division, Glorfindel (1) is up against Merry (5) and the Elf lord is handily beating out the Esquire of Rohan. Make sure this one ends the way you want it, so vote now to ensure your favorite wins. And the last contest is between Samwise (2) and Boromir (3) with Samwise beating out everyone’s favorite Son of Gondor. How will it all end, only you can determine that by voting.
The Guardian writes that recently released documents reveal in 1961 Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” — nominated by friend and fellow fantasy writer CS Lewis — was rejected by the Nobel Prize jury “on the grounds of his second-rate prose.” The news organization reports that though LOTR was “crowned the UK’s best-loved book and sold millions of copies around the world,” the 1961 jury believed the book “has not in any way measured up to storytelling of the highest quality.”
We can guess what your reaction is — share your thoughts on our message boards.
10 years have passed since the release of the first of the films in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and fans will surely recall Frodo’s “chicken dance” at Bilbo’s Birthday party, Merry and Pippin singing in the Green Dragon Inn, Frodo and Sam watching the Wood-elves leaving Middle-earth, and Éowyn singing a dirge at the burial of her cousin Théodred.
The songs and the music for all these scenes, termed “diegetic” or “cultural” music, were composed and performed by Plan 9 (consisting of David Donaldson, Stephen Roche, and Janet Roddick) together with David Long, who also collaborated with them on certain aspects of the sound design for the Dead Marshes, the Ents, and the One Ring.
In celebration of the The Fellowship of the Ring’s 10th Anniversary, TheOneRing.net brings you an exclusive interview with Plan 9.
"The Elvish Impersonators" (from L to R: David Long, Steve Roche, Janet Roddick, David Donaldson) working on The Lord of the Rings in December 2002
Join us as we talk to them about how they came on board Peter Jackson’s crew working on the three films, and how they approached composing, performing, and selecting instruments that would lend credibility to the fictional cultures that inhabited Tolkien’s Middle-earth. All this, and also some talk of their as-yet-unreleased music for the films.
As we start to close down 2011, Ringers get another new item to add to their shelves. The Legolas Greenleaf statue is shipping right now from Sideshow Collectibles. Legolas is the third statue to ship from the growing line of collectibles representing Sir Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.
Legolas is the son of Thranduil, King of the Elves of Mirkwood. During the early stages of the War of the Ring he would be sent to Rivendell for The Council of Elrond where the fate of the Ring of Power would be decided. Eventually, Legolas would be chosen to represent the race of Elves as The Fellowship goes upon its journey to destroy the Ring of Power. The Elf would go on to form a great bond with the Dwarf Gimli who should be the next statue to ship from Sideshow. This representation of Legolas brings us his look from The Two Towers and more specifically during the battle Helm’s Deep.
Sideshow Collectibles Spooktacular event brought us the next maquette in The Lord of the Rings maquette line. The next character joining your collection from Middle-Earth is the Ringwraith! This amazing collectible captures the Ringwraith perfectly and will become the first bad guy in this growing collection of awesome characters from The Lord of the Rings. The Ringwraith will cost $250 with a $25 NRD and will not be shipping until the 3rd quarter of next year but get your order in now before its gone! [Exclusive Edition] [Regular Edition]
Our friends at Weta have released the the second print in their The Lord of the Rings art print line with the subject matter capturing Arwen’s attempt to get Frodo to Rivendell after being stuck by the Witch King on Weathertop. This amazing print beautifully captures a secene during this chase where you can see Arwen looking back at the Ringwraiths on her tail along with the look of falling into shadow that Frodo has on his face. The artist for this piece is Gus Hunter a long time artist at Weta who got his start working on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. This superb work of art is available right now for pre-order from Weta for a price of $35 plus shipping from their New Zealand warehouse. So make sure you get over to Weta’s site now and order your Flight to the Ford print today!
