Tolkien shopWelcome to the latest “Getting to know…” questions that need answering. Based on the old Getting to know you threads that I used to post on the message boards here on TORn, so those familiar with them will know that the questions can be a little crazy and the answers even crazier.

This month we’re asking questions of uber fan from Brisbane Australia, Peter Kenny.

Hi Peter and thank you for joining in 🙂

Kelvarhin:  What piece of Tolkien ephemera began your collection?

Peter: My very first Tolkien Book was a single volume paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings given to me as a gift in 1976. I still have that original copy in my collection.

Continue reading “Getting to know Peter Kenny”

If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.

minas_4110037Our sister site tolkienbrasil.com has posted and sent word of some very interesting verification that there is at least a possibility of a J.R.R. Tolkien inspired Middle-earth theme park. In records obtained by the website from the U.S. Patent office, the Saul Zaents Company, has registered in a goods and services document, several uses for Middle-earth properties that includes theme parks. When rumors of this first surfaced there was no credible source, or even really any source, that this was being explored. It didn’t even rise to the level of a rumor but now, those floating ideas are officially documented.

The Zaents Company owns Middle-earth Enterprises and that company gives Warner Bros. and other studios the right to produce Hobbit films and all that springs from them. The author, Tolkien sold his movie rights before his death to pay for medical expenses.

The found document is below, click it for a larger version:

Middle-earth

The document, dated January 22, 2013, could be the company simply protecting its rights to develop a theme park in response to the message board rumors late last year or it could be actively considering such a development as a real possibility. It isn’t clear if this park would be in New Zealand or in one of the established theme-park regions of the U.S., such as Flordia or California, or perhaps both. Warners recently had a successful port of its Harry Potter movie franchise to a well-received theme park experience. The possibilities of what to do with such a park, is a nearly limitless source of message board content.

Thanks again to Tolkienbrasil.com for the heads up. You can read the story right here or below is a rough translation:

FROM TOLKIENBRASIL.COM:

Warner Bross and Univeral are already thinking of a theme park ride on Middle Earth and it looks like the rumors are true.

The first news about occurred in early January in a post on micro site Micechat.com. In saying only: “Great news in the world of theme parks. Universal is negotiating the possibility of bringing the sights and scenery of The Lord of the Rings at a theme park near you. Heated with the success of the magical world of Harry Potter, Universal is unwilling to let Disney take the reins of the market with parks Avatar or Star Wars. We will have an exciting time for fans of theme parks. ”

Many took no credibility with the post, why not present any kind of source on this information. And there is no announcement from Universal about. Thus, the information was taken as mere rumor.

Given the recent process of merchandising products on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, Tolkien Estate promoted by the companies face in administering the films (Warner Bros, New Line and Saulz Company), started to think that a theme park would still be far from becoming reality.

However, recently the site parkrumors.com presented what appears to be a piece of a document relating to the transaction that is like a theme park. This is the trademark registration of the name “Middle Earth”, which is the company Saulz Company. But that was extended with the possibility of doing a theme park.

The document presented by Parkrumors site is authentic?

Well, the document that the site has not parkrumors has its source, ie, we do not know its origin, since it is not told what department this document originou.O that could still form the opinion that it is only a rumor from fact.

Lawyer Site Tolkien Brazil came into contact with the industry patent records from the U.S. government on this information and the veracity of the document. And it was confirmed as true in an email received this morning. In that email it was confirmed that no such document exists and can be found on-site records of U.S. patents (see HERE).
parquetemáricodoc

Click on image to enlarge

In this document we see that is dated on January 22, 2013, with the word mark “Middle Earth”. Taking as the record owner of the company The Saul Zaentz COMPANY (which is the company that holds the rights to produce adaptations of the hobbit, lord of the rings and that makes the licenses of any products derived from these stories). Below is the translation of the terms of the document:

IC 028. U.S. 022023038050. G & S: Amusement

IC 035. U.S. 100101102. G & S: Management facilities for camping; Providing consumer information services and making referrals in the field of entertainment services for products, services, events, activities, facilities and locations

IC 039. U.S. 100 105. G & S: Organization of excursions; Organization of sightseeing trips, providing information, news and commentary in the field of travel, providing links to websites of other guidebooks, transportation of passengers and / or goods by car, boat and rail, transportation services, namely, providing transport services by bus services travel information

IC 041. U.S. 100101107. G & S: Salas games, entertainment centers for children, interactive play areas; entertainment as amusement, entertainment services in the form of an amusement park to show, entertainment services, namely, arranging and conducting special events at an amusement park, entertainment services, namely, arranging for ticket reservations amusement park attractions; Organizing and organizing exhibitions for entertainment purposes; Providing amusement parks; Provide recreation facilities; Provision of park thematic

IC 043. U.S. 100 101. G & S: Reservation of accommodation for camping, camping facilities provide services Resort Hotel

The document is official. And we see clearly that this is a trademark registration document for the purpose of producing a theme park. It remains now await negotiations to be made quickly and it becomes reality theme park on the middle ground.

A pity that the park “Middle Earth” will have no character of Silmarillon stories …

Pelorus Bridge at KiwiWise Marlborough was not among the filming locations in the first Hobbit movie, but the tourism officials still hope the region can cash in on the buzz created by the film franchise.

The films seem set to bring another tourism boost similar to that from The Lord of the Rings trilogy as travel websites reported significant growth in searches and bookings for New Zealand after the worldwide release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey last month.

Air New Zealand bookings from the United States were reported to have nearly doubled on the day before the November 28 world premiere in Wellington, and increased by a third in Japan after a Hobbit promotion there.

Scenes for the The Hobbit (Ed note: the barrels out of bond scenes) were filmed at Pelorus Bridge last year, but the decision to split the story into three films means Marlborough will not feature until the second film, which is scheduled to be released on December 13.

[Read More]

The bid to name an anonymous peak in Fiordland National Park Mt Tolkien in honour of The Lord of the Rings author has received backing from a prominent member of the society dedicated to his work.

Manapouri man Aaron Nicholson has lodged a request to name the 1757-metre summit in the Earl Mountains, near Lake Gunn, with the New Zealand Geographic Board.

The peak appeared briefly alongside other Fiordland National Park locations in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Nicholson hoped that naming the summit, close to Consolation Peak, would provide a lure for Tolkien fan tourism in the wake of the release of The Hobbit movie.

The Tolkien Society, founded in London in 1969, is an international body devoted to the author’s works. It is regarded as one of the most important groups dedicated to Professor Tolkien’s canon.

Its education officer, Dr Lynn Forest-Hill, said she liked the idea of naming the mountain, but could not speak for the society as a whole.

[Read More]

New Zealand is expected to see a surge in tourism following the release of The Hobbit movie.

Travel websites have reported a significant growth this month in searches and bookings to the country following the launch of the JRR Tolkien-inspired film.

The flight search website Skyscanner reported a 102 per cent increase in worldwide flight searches to New Zealand this month compared to December 2011, including a 117 per cent rise in searches to Wellington, the country’s capital city.

The travel booking website Expedia had an 84 per cent increase in flight bookings to the country in December.

Bookings for New Zealand in 2012 went up by 30 per cent last month for hotel booking website Laterooms.com, with a 100 per cent rise in bookings for the small town of Matamata alone, where much of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its prequel were filmed.

[Read More]

Royd Tolkien Royd Tolkien, great-grandson of the writer, is besotted with New Zealand. Here he explains why.

When I was eight I fell in love for the first time. Miss Arnell was a supply teacher who stepped in to replace the grumpy, crabby Mrs Rogers.

I didn’t know it was love back then; I was just eight and keen on Action Man and climbing trees. What I do know is that I couldn’t wait to see her, and when I did my heart would skip a beat. She was a breath of fresh air and every time I went home I longed to see her again. I relished every moment with her and craved her attention. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and still do. Continue reading “Royd Tolkien: why I love New Zealand”