Our friends at Weta Workshop revealed the new Cave Troll collectible at their Weta Workshop’s Comic-Con at home. It’s the next superb piece in their premium statue series, and it goes live for pre-orders on Wednesday, September 30th.
While this new sub-line of statues is new to Weta’s line of collectibles, at only 500 pieces, this statue won’t be lasting long. Collectors should log into their accounts before it goes live (times listed below) and be ready to be quick with the order button. We’ve been waiting for years to get another shot at the Cave Troll. Make sure you’re logged in and ready to go!
It’s not only Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday today; it’s also actor and stuntman Sala Baker’s special day! Sala recently gave an in-depth interview with host Joshy G, for the show ‘Get Super’ with our friends over at Sideshow. Sala talks about how he went from having to be persuaded by a friend to go along to auditions for extras in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies, to snagging the role of Sauron – to starting a new life in Los Angeles, and most recently appearing in The Mandalorian.
Check out what Sala had to say in the interview here; and stay tuned to work out with Sala at the end of the show! Happy birthday Sala; here’s to you!
I bet you all thought we forgot the Baggins Birthday Bash amongst all the other things falling by the wayside during COVID-19. We did not, we’ve just been working out a fun way to move it online. The advantage of moving it online is that everyone who has wanted to come to LA for the party each year but could not, can now celebrate with us.
When, you ask? The Baggins Birthday Bash is going to take over TORn Tuesday, and extend it.
When: Tue. Sept. 22, 2020, 5:00-7:00pm Pacific Time/ 8:00-10:00pm Eastern Time. That puts it at 1:00-3:00am UK time/12:00-2:00pm New Zealand time.
Where: All the normal streaming places like FB live, YouTube, etc that you normally find TORn Tuesday on. We will post links on Tuesday, like usual, so you can watch, chat, and maybe skype in, or zoom in. This will be a multi-media event so that as many people as possible can participate, one way or another.
Birthday cake from 2013
We can still have some similar fun and games as the ‘in-person’ party, such as costumes, trivia, readings and Middle-earth themed desserts, only we can’t share those desserts. You can wear a costume and watch the live event, and maybe we can zoom some of you in, or you can send in photos of costumes that we can share. Same goes for Middle-earth themed desserts. We normally have a context to judge the best looking or best tasting, but in a virtual party, all we can do is look at the dessert and judge that way, so take a photo and send it to us. And if you have other Middle-earth inspired recipes, such as Lembas Bread, Poppyseed Cakes, stuffed mushrooms, etc, send them in and we can share them, and if you take a photo of the food item, send that too.
Feel free to email at Garfeimao@TheOneRing.net if you wish share costumes, Middle-earth decorated cakes or cupcakes, or any other Middle-earth inspired recipes. Let’s make those two hours on Tueday, September 22 a Virtual Party to Remember, full of fun and good fellowship.
Ever generous with his time and talent, Andy Serkis is hosting a #hobbithon of sorts and reading the entirety of The Hobbit for 12 hours – right now!
In a message to his fans, Andy writes:
So many of us are struggling in isolation during the lockdown. While times are tough, I want to take you on one of the greatest fantasy adventures ever written, a 12 hour armchair marathon reading of “The Hobbit” by yours truly – a journey across Middle Earth whilst raising money for two amazing charities which are doing extraordinary work right now to help those most in need – NHS Charities Together and Best Beginnings.
We have links below to the various ways you can watch, and then you can support his efforts on the official GoFundMe page.
If you’re ready for another race, welcome to “Racing to Rivendell” where we are following Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Arwen/Glorfindel, and Asfaloth (the horse who carried Frodo) as they race to outrun the Black Riders from Weathertop to Rivendell.
(If you weren’t able to join us last week, you can still earn your Shire Sprint bib and certificate. Just check out the post from May 1 for instructions.)
This virtual 5k race (3.1 miles) can be run or walked at home or any location you choose (please follow your town’s current rules). You can run, jog, walk, use a treadmill, climb your stairs, or us an elliptical – whatever is most convenient and safe for you. 30 minutes of exercise can also count as 1 mile. Run your own race, at your own pace, and time it yourself – our 5k’s are on the honor system.
Before you start each race, download a RACE BIB here or from TORn’s “The World and Works of J.R.R. Tolkien” Facebook page. Write your name, nickname, or race time in the white box, then you can stop by our Facebook page and post a photo wearing your bib, or post in the comments below.
Once you have completed each race, let us know! Download your finisher certificate and share another photo.
HERE ARE THE FINISHER CERTIFICATES:
Click on this link if you want to download a .pdf. Or the .jpg is below. They are also available for download on our “World and Works of J.R.R. Tolkien” Facebook group.
If you complete all four races, an additional special certificate can be yours! If you’re so inclined, reading the section in “The Fellowship of the Ring” that corresponds to this race might add a bit of color to your journey. Above all else, have fun. On your mark, get set, go!
There will be a total of four 5k races in all. Check back on Friday for a new race.
Bibs and certificates designed by TORN staff member Mithril, aka Nancy Steinman.
Six rounds, with well over 5,000 votes in each round; much impassioned discussion in chat rooms and on Facebook threads; multiple live results shows; and now it’s done. Middle-earth March Madness 2020 drew to a close last night; if you missed the live results show, you can catch it here. (Last night the panelists looked back on the past nine years of Middle-earth March Madness, and also discussed some of our least favourite scenes in Peter Jackson’s movies, before the big reveal of this year’s winner!) Or simply read on, to find out which scene was declared Grand Champion 2020.
This year’s theme was ‘Film Scenes’, and we started off with a selection of 64 favourite moments from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, chosen and voted on for seeding by TORn staffers. These were divided into four categroies: Scenic, Laughter, Tearjerkers and Drama/Action. Staff chose considerably more Lord of the Rings moments than Hobbit moments as favourites, and only one Hobbit scene (Bilbo saying farewell to the dwarves) made it out of Round One. (It was defeated in Round Two by Boromir’s death.) Perhaps the most notable upset in Round One was the defeat in the Tearjerker group of the number one seed, the Grey Havens, by the number 16 seed, ‘You bow to no one’. This latter scene went all the way to the Semi Final, suggesting that it should perhaps have started with a higher seed; but clearly it wasn’t a high favourite amongst the staff who voted on seeding. (What do TORn staff know…?! I’m still shocked that the ‘Dare we risk a little more light’ moment in the great hall of Moria didn’t make it past the first round!)
Our two eventual finalists were the winner of the Scenic bracket, ‘Lighting the Beacons’, vs the Drama/Action champion, ‘The Charge of the Rohirrim’. Feelings ran high for this one, with many fans expressing their love for one side of the other. As more and more comments appeared on Facebook, however, it seemed pretty clearly that voting was going more to one side – and in the end, it wasn’t a particularly close battle. The victorious scene took 68% of the vote.
And so, we can reveal the Grand Champion of Middle-earth March Madness 2020:
…
The stirring speech by King Theoden, and the heroic plunge into battle, defeated the call for aid which lead directly to that moment, as Rohan comes to help Gondor – making the Charge of the Rohirrim this year’s overall winner.
Here is the final bracket for 2020:
We also announced last night the winner of the fabulous Balrog statue, from our friends at Sideshow. Congratulations to A. Fuentes; look out for an email coming your way! Thanks again to Sideshow for letting us do such a great giveaway.
And thanks to all of YOU, for having some March Madness fun with us over these last couple of weeks. Don’t forget, you can still catch last night’s live results show, here. We’re already thinking about what our theme next year might be… Meanwhile, stay tuned for more fun and live events from TORn, as we get through these strange, locked-down days together. Your friends are with you! Fear no darkness!
Our friends at Weta Workshop revealed the new Cave Troll collectible at their Weta Workshop’s Comic-Con at home. It’s the next superb piece in their premium statue series, and it goes live for pre-orders on Wednesday, September 30th.
