Well, this was indeed the “big secret” we kept quiet for such a long time. TheOneRing.net staffers Larry Curtis (MrCere) and your host Cliff Broadway (Quickbeam) have comedic appearances in the delightful Air New Zealand Safety Video that has taken the internet by storm in the past few days! With a whopping 7.5 million views since Oct. 31st, this video is filled to the brim with charming Hobbity goodness…. a sexy Dean O’Gorman (who plays Fili)…. Tolkien’s great-grandson…. and a Wizard in high tops! Join us on our live webcast today at 5:00pm PST to learn delightful details as the marketing efforts for THE HOBBIT continue apace. WE ALSO HAVE OUR LINE PARTIES GOING FULL TILT! Learn more by joining our Live Event page right here and be part of the chat: www.theonering.net/live or via Stickam at www.stickam.com/theoneringnet
Category: Merchandise
‘It is said that the Hornburg has never fallen to assault,’ said Theoden; ‘but now my heart is doubtful. The world changes, and all that once was strong now proves unsure. How shall any tower withstand such numbers and such reckless hate? — From Helm’s Deep, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
It is impossible to even say, “The Battle of Helm’s Deep” aloud without conjuring images from Peter Jackson’s incredible cinematic visuals of mayhem and battle. It was a complex bit of filmmaking on a long, cold, wet shoot that rem
ains legendary among stuntees and actors. Put it on your home theater and viewers cannot turn away.
LEGO faced the daunting task of bringing that movie sequence to life in a toy in a way that would be true to the film, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and yet work as a play set. The result is a massive set that retails at about $130 but can be located around $100 a lot of places including Amazon. (Toys-R-Us actually marks it higher online than in stores!) There is also a Urak-Hai Army companion set for around $30 that looks pretty cool on the store shelf but is not part of this review. Continue reading “Product review: LEGO Battle of Helm’s Deep set”
Update from Dom Post: Sir Peter Jackson has stepped in to ensure Hobbit fans who fell victim to an Embassy Theatre ticketing error see the movie ”possibly even a minute or two before anyone else”. Tolkien Society New Zealand chapter founder Jack Machiela was one of about 60 people who queued outside the Wellington cinema to be among the first in the world to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on The Embassy’s giant screen when public screenings begin at midnight on December 12. But when the ticket office opened, all the tickets to the first screening on the big screen had been snapped up online. [Read more] [Discuss]
=====
The Embassy Theatre in Wellington opened the box office at midnight last night to sell Hobbit first-screening tickets – but unfortunately midnight screening tickets went onsale online a few minutes before the box office opened, and no tickets were set aside for sale to fans who were waiting. Seats were sold out before most people there could get to the head of the queue. I was there, and can vouch for the fact that people who had waited there for hours were furious and very disappointed. The DominionPost has a full report.
Given the box office debacle, it’s a good thing we had a visit from the cheerful Barry and his son from Stansborough Mill,who were showing off their loom-woven woollen cloaks and new Gandalf scarf (with mithril!) They’re 2.5 metres of sparkly goodness.
Have you picked up your copy of The Hobbit Ultimate Edition from EMPIRE yet? You know, the issue that features multiple lenticular covers of Gandalf, Galadriel, Thorin, Bilbo and Gollum? It is on newsstands right now and will be a sure-fire collector items in years to come. On your way to the store, fire up your iOS device and snag the digital version as well – for FREE! To celebrate the release of EMPIRE magazine’s ultimate Hobbit issue on the U.S. iPad edition, they’re giving you the chance to download this incredible issue for FREE. Yup, you heard that correctly. 100% FREE. Act fast – offer is only available for 48 hours! [Download it!]
As reported a few months back, Kabam is teaming up with WB to produce two Hobbit themed games for mobile devices and your browser. While we all wait for The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age to premiere in our web browser, we are excited to announce the mobile title, The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth, is available now for iOS devices! The game-play allows you to build your own kingdom as an elf or dwarf and then team up with other players around the world to defeat the Goblin hordes! Best part…its FREE! The Android version will arrive by the end of the month [App Store Download] Read more for the full App description.
Continue reading “The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth Now Available for iOS Devices”
Back when The Lord of the Rings movies came out, there were promotional tie-ins at libraries in America, encouraging those inspired by the films to try the books! Now, the American Library Association has released a similar campaign for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The poster shows Bilbo reading his contract, with Galadriel, Gandalf, Thorin and Company in the background, and reads, ‘Take an unexpected journey – read’. Bookmarks and buttons are also available. Let’s hope these films create a whole new legion of Tolkien fans, who eagerly go back to the source and open up a book! Thanks to Ringer Michael S for letting us know about this!