Mel is gone.
It has been weeks now and this isn’t news. I have felt the loss personally and thought about the loss for so many.
Melissa Theresa Petrey Kern, 42, is gone. In her real traditional obituary, it says she was of Lawrenceville, Georgia. Respectfully, I disagree, or I want to state on the record, that while that may be true, it isn’t the whole truth.
More of the truth would say that Melissa Theresa Petrey Kern, 42, a notable figure in the Tolkien Community, died March 8, 2015, after a long battle with ALS. She lived among us, the fan community, and was our neighbor and shared her life with us and is missed by us, as she is missed in Lawrenceville. You could write about more places she lived and is missed too.
I remember, fortunately a few conversations we shared that didn’t seem especially significant at the time, but feel pretty lucky now. We talked about an artist that visited Georgia. We talked about the Tolkien Community in Atlanta. We even talked about specific people she wanted good things for. We talked about fandom, that included her own early love for the books of J.R.R. Tolkien. We shared some moments and I value them, as part of the beautiful experience of our community and they are just a tiny sample of many such moments she shared with many people.
More memorable than the things she said were the people she influenced. The Georgia costuming community, I think it is fair to say, wouldn’t have been so organized or so unified if not for Mel. The Arms of Middle-earth might not have existed at all without Mel, but I don’t pretend to know the reality of that claim. We can safely and accurately say, she was at the heart of the community.
There is a photo, I am sure dozens of people have it, where a significant number of Tolkien costumers were all gathered together in an impressive array of characters from “The Lord of the Rings.” It was during Dragon Con in Atlanta, before the convention had matured to quite the level it has now. Groups of costumers were less frequent and large numbers of themed costumes were rare. There, in that spot, was organized and gathered an outstanding display of fans, living their passions and forming a genuine fellowship. It was a very fine cosplay effort but it was a transcendent community effort. Continue reading “Tolkien community loses Melissa Petrey Kern”
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In the USA, from March 24th, the last in Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth movies will be available for you to take home. (It’s been available in digital version in many countries since March 3rd; but from Tuesday you can get your hands on a ‘hard’ copy.)
Many fans, of course, like to wait for the Extended Edition release before purchasing a copy; but speaking personally, my collection isn’t complete unless I have the theatrical cut as well. I was thrilled to get my hands on a review copy of the Blu-ray Combo pack, which includes copies of the movie on Blu-ray, on DVD and a Digital HD copy – as well as various extras. Continue reading “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies DVD/Blu-ray review – RELEASE DATE MARCH 24”
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Amazing artist Jerry Vanderstelt is back with some more great pieces.
Tonight, we’re pleased to let you know that he has created a series of portrait prints capturing The Nine Walkers, aka The Fellowship of the Ring. These prints are stunning and capture the personalities of the characters we’ve come to love so much.
As of now only Gimli, Legolas, Merry, and Pippin are up for sale. You can get them in either 12×16 at $39 or 17×22 at $69.
If you’re a fan of The Lord of the Rings films then these are a must have for your collection.
Update: Jerry has now added Strider and Samwise.
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TORn staffers Ashlee Rose Scott and Greg Barrett were among TORn’s official photographers for The One Last Party at the Hollywood Post 43 of The American Legion. They took more than 2,500 photos of all the action on the night, but here’s a handful of teasers to tide you over while we sort out the very best.
Also very quickly, on behalf of TheOnering.net, I’d like to again thank all the Indiegogo supporters and sponsors who helped make the party possible. Whether you contributed $1 or $1,000, or even simply told folks about our campaign on social media, this party could not have happened without your belief and backing! We hope everyone who attended had a ball, and that those who weren’t able to make it had fun watching our live stream.
We do still have some Indiegogo perk fulfillment to complete, and for those waiting on perks, we’ll be in touch soon to let you know what’s happening there.
In the meantime, enjoy these great teaser stills from the party!
Continue reading “Check out 24 fabulous teaser images from The One Last Party”
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The Lord of the Rings voice of Sauron and the One Ring, Alan Howard, passed away on Saturday, February 14, after being hospitalized for pneumonia. Mr. Howard was 77 years old. His chilling performance as the voice of Sauron gave power to the specter of the Dark Lord.
Continue reading “Alan Howard, the Voice of The Lord of the Rings’ Sauron, has passed away”
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Yesterday our friends at Weta Workshop had a nice surprise for us. The second statue in the relaunched The Lord of the Rings statue line is now available for order.
As you may recall from Comic-Con last year, The Balrog -Demon of Shadow and Flame, as well as Faramir, were on display.
Faramir, a character so many of us have been waiting for, can now be yours to order for $249 at an edition size of only 1000 pieces worldwide.
If you hate waiting like me, then you’ll love that this is also in-stock and ready to ship now!
The likeness and detail on this statue are some of Weta’s best work. Having a chance to add Faramir to your collections will be one you won’t want to miss.
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