Hobbit Smaug Poster I’m not much into box office chest beating, but IB Times has done some interesting number crunching on The Hobbit versus The Lord of the Rings.

Turns out that if The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies hits $942 million US, the total take for the Hobbit films will top that of Peter Jackson’s three The Lord of the Rings films.

That might seem a lot, but maybe it’s not in a series where the US box office take is becoming less important overall. Continue reading “How much does The Battle of The Five Armies need to make for The Hobbit to outsell Lord of the Rings at the box office?”

6 filmsSir Ian McKellen starts this video introduction to announce the World Premiere date for the final chapter of Peter Jackson’s cinematic Middle-earth films. We now know for sure that the cast and crew from all six films will be walking through Leicester Square on December 1, 2014 in London. Sir Ian was joined by Richard Armitage, Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom and Bilbo Baggins himself, Martin Freeman. Check out the video below for more details and start making your plans accordingly. There is mention of a contest, so good luck to anyone who chooses to enter.

Billy nbffWe finally know Billy Boyd (Pippin from The Lord of the Rings trilogy) will be performing the end credits song for the final film set in Peter Jackson’s cinematic Middle-earth. Warner Bros. have posted their ‘For Your Consideration’ list for “The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies” listing all the people and categories they want Hollywood to pay attention to come Awards Season. On that list for ‘Best Original Song’ is “The Last Goodbye” written by Billy Boyd, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh, and performed by Billy Boyd. It now seems that the use of Pippin’s song “The Edge of Night” in the recently released teaser for the film was a bit of foreshadowing. That song, with the lyrics coming from the last stanza of Tolkien’s ‘A Walking Song’ and the melody written by Billy Boyd himself, demonstrates a great level of empathy on the part of Billy for the melancholic feeling at that point of “The Return of the King”. It seems almost too perfect that Billy should be called upon again to deliver what promises to be a very emotional and fitting ending to all things Middle-earth. And because it’s fun to speculate, you will notice 15 other categories listed ‘For Your Consideration’ on that list, many names familiar to us all. Who do you think might get a nomination this Awards Season?

wetabook20SlipCasealrg6Over the last week, in conjunction with New York Comic-Con, we teamed up with our friends at Weta Workshop to give away a signed copy of their The Art of Film Magic: 20 Years of Weta. Through our Instagram account and Weta Workshop’s Instagram account we received a lot of great pictures that fans have sent to us of their favorite Middle-earth collectible made by Weta or their favorite Middle-earth moment.

We are very pleased to announce that the winner is Heather H. of Florida! Thank you to everyone who took the time to send us your wonderful entries and thank you to Weta Workshop for allowing us to give away such a fantastic item.

BolgLast weekend at New York Comic-Con fans got a look at three new items among the many that Weta Workshop brought with them. Two of the new items are from The Hobbit Trilogy, while the third is from The Lord of the Rings.

Joining his father Azog we can now look forward to adding Bolg to our collections. This massive statue comes in at 15″ tall with a base width of 11.22″ and has an arrival date during the first quarter of next year.

One prop I have been looking forward to being made after seeing The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, was the Black Arrow that we see Bard bring out of storage. This has become a reality with Weta having this on show at New York Comic-Con. Due out in the fourth quarter of this year this awesome looking prop comes in at an impressive 82.6″ long. Also due out during the fourth quarter of this year is Saruman the White’s staff. This joins the staffs of Gandalf the Grey and Radagast the Brown.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s New York Comic-Con Reveals”

Baggins-Bday-cakeThis is just a final reminder that TORn’s big Baggins Birthday Bash will be kicking off on Sunday at noon in Griffith Park. Luckily, the triple digit heat we’ve been having for the past week has finally broken, so it will only by in the low 80’s on Sunday, woohoo. Come celebrate with your fellow Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits and Wizards as we salute our favorite Halfling Heroes, Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. This is a Potluck, so bring some munchies and/or beverages of choice and get ready for one fine party to remember. We’ve set up an Event page on Facebook with all the details, such as maps, directions and a list of items being brought already. So check it out at Baggins Birthday Bash Please RSVP on either the Facebook Event page, listing what you are bringing, or send me an email at Garfeimao@TheOneRing.net. Oh, and remember, there will be a special contest for creating the most creative and/or delicious Middle-earth themed Cake or Cupcakes, so bring it ON!