John Howe. Photo: Fataneh Howe. Check out this interview with interview that Ethan Gilsdorf conducted with John Howe over two sessions in January and July last year. It’s a corker.
Howe is, of course, a long-time Tolkien illustrator and is currently working with Alan Lee as Conceptual Designer for The Hobbit movie trilogy.
One of the best statues from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy statue line is The Balrog of Moria statue. This amazing piece came out in 2001/02 with a retail price of $300 and an edition size of a 1000 pieces worldwide. It is one of the most amazing statues to represent any character in Middle-earth and if you have the cash on the secondary market I would strongly recommend getting it. So I thought for the first video review I’d do this statue, since I have just succeeded in getting it back into my own collection. Let me know in the comments below what you think of the video review as I do these in conjunction with some of my written reviews.
Ringer Emma has sent us this interview by The Telegraph newspaper with Viggo Mortensen, where he talks about his latest movie The Two Faces of January. He also talks about filming The Lord of the Rings films saying that he felt that Fellowship of the Rings script was the “better organised” of the three films and discusses the use of CGI in the Middle-earth blockbusters.
Our friends at Weta Workshop have a couple of new books for fans to add to their collections. The first book is the next in the Chronicles series, which gives you a great inside look at the task of bringing the many costumes, armour, and weapons that were needed to bring The Hobbit Trilogy to life. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles – Cloaks and Daggers does just that, but it doesn’t just cover the second film, it also covers the many designs needed in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. If you pre-order the book right now you can get it signed by some of the folks who helped bring these films to the big screen!
The second release Weta has for fans is an amazing looking two book set covering the 20 years they have been helping to bring films to life. This inside look is brimming with never-before-seen content covering films such as; The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit Trilogy, Avatar, King Kong, District 9, and much more. You can get The Hobbit Art Book for $39 and Weta: The Art of Film Magic – 20 Years of of Weta for $99.
Asmus Toys has been churning out lots of figures in their 1:6th action figure line for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. We’re pleased to share the next awesome figure that you can find for pre-order right now from various retailers. The latest figure – or I should say figures – Middle-earth fans can add to their collection is one of Sauron’s most trusted servants, the Nazgul. If that’s not enough for you, fans can also order a 1:6th scale Nazgul Steed that your Ringwraith can fit on, to recreate the methodical tracking down of Frodo and The One Ring. The Ringwraith comes in at a price of $130 by itself, Horse $150 by itself, and if you want both, deals can be had for $250. All of these items will be out by quarter four of this year, and we will update this post as we find deals for Middle-earth fans.
The results are in! After three weeks of intense competition we can finally crown a winner! In the end, Thranduil — the Sindarin king of the Woodland Realm — has taken the crown in our 2014 Middle-earth March Madness contest!
We received more than 20,000 votes in the final, and Thranduil (Thrandy to his nearest and dearest?) soundly defeated his worthy opponent Legolas (aka Leggy) with 64.18% of those votes! I guess it is good to be king!
We’d like to thank you all for participating in this year’s event and hope you had a fun time discussing the finer points of your favourite Middle-earth characters and objects, regardless of whether you viewed the contests as a physical battle, a game of wits, or a popularity contest (all valid ways to vote!). It’s also a neat way to explore what makes these characters such interesting and vital parts of Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
Ringer Emma has sent us this interview by The Telegraph newspaper with Viggo Mortensen, where he talks about his latest movie The Two Faces of January. He also talks about filming The Lord of the Rings films saying that he felt that Fellowship of the Rings script was the “better organised” of the three films and discusses the use of CGI in the Middle-earth blockbusters.
