While it isn’t exactly “news” it will be of a lot of interest to those who haven’t seen the 2011 version of the annual Tolkien calendar that Cor Blok is next year’s artist.
Blok is the only Tolkien artist living who met J.R.R. Tolkien in person and the English professor bought two paintings from the Dutch professor (history of art) and was given a third as a gift. Blok’s work, produced 50 years ago, is a definite departure from the more familiar works many fans are used to. He reportedly produced over 100 illustrations. You can pre-order it here and you can read a recent interview with Blok here. It is scheduled to be available in July.
Taverncraft Introduces Two Versions of the Smaug™ the Magnificent Stein
SAN DIEGO, CA (May 20, 2010) – Taverncraft, a subsidiary of 3 Point Entertainment LLC, today announced that they have begun accepting pre-orders for the first stein in their ongoing collectible drinkware series based on the literary masterpieces The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Smaug the Magnificent, illustrated by premier fantasy artist Matthew Stawicki, is presently available in both Epic and Legendary editions, both with special pre-order pricing. Additional details are available at www.hobbitsteins.com.
“As lifelong J.R.R. Tolkien fans, everyone at Taverncraft worked hard to ensure the stein truly honored the characters,” said 3 Point Entertainment President Jerry Bennington. “The artwork on Smaug the Magnificent, which shows the dragon Smaug in his lair with Bilbo, beautifully captures both the danger and excitement of the scene. It’s a great stein to kick off the line-up, and one we’re sure fans of Middle-earth will be incredibly excited to add to their collections.” Continue reading “Smaug Themed Stein Now Available!”
This weeks guests on TheOneRing.net Radio Show are WETAs Richard Taylor and LOTR/King Kong DVD producer Michael Pellerin!
Click on over to BlogTalkRadio to hear Richard talk about the LOTR Blu0ray DVD, and to chat live with Michael! The show airs May 16th at 2pm Eastern. Click here for more info!
Richard Taylor, ONZM, is the creator and head of New Zealand film prop and special effects company Weta Workshop. A close friend of Peter Jackson, he and his company created all of the props, costumes, prosthetics, miniatures and weaponry for Jackson’s epic The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. For his work on the three films, he shared in winning four Academy Awards. This included two for The Fellowship of the Ring in Make Up and Visual Effects, and two for The Return of the King in Costume Design and Make Up.
Michael Pellerin, founder and CEO of Pellerin Multimedia, Inc. (PMI), is an award-winning DVD producer and filmmaker. He and his PMI team have produced more than 100 hours of behind-the-scenes documentaries for DVDs and earned numerous honors, including The DVD Academy’s “Best Disc of the Year” three years in a row for the Collector’s Editions of The Lord of the Rings, produced for New Line Cinema.
For the past five years, PMI, a Los Angeles- and New Zealand-based company, has worked with Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson on all of his films, producing all the behind-the-scenes material for The Rings trilogy and, most recently, Universal’s King Kong.
Peter Jackson has hinted in the media for years and told us at TheOneRing’s own Oscar Party (not in that linked video) that he always planned to deliver a high definition ultimate edition of the LOTR trilogy.
Blu-ray sales for the LOTR trilogy were / are strong, taking the #1 position on the sales chart its first week, moving over 124,00 units despite its hefty price. But did it sell well enough? Can fans look forward to that Ultimate version to rule them all jam packed with new extras and the Extended Editions we have been waiting years for?
Nobody knows and Warner Bros. hasn’t revealed its plans, but the media is starting to pay attention to the possibilities. EE DVD architect Michael Pellerin is in-the-know (look for him soon with our very own Xoanon on TORn’s blogtalkradio) and spoke recently with Hollywoodnews.com.
In some of the highlights from the interview he said: (emphasis mine) ” . . . Thinking ahead, from the very beginning, we always saved the best for last. Now, people wouldn’t believe that because the Lord of the Rings extras were so extensive. . . . It’s very real, but right now the future of when these treasures will see the light of day is unknown. Continue reading “More hints about an ‘Ultimate’ hi-def LOTR box set that may never happen”
Margaret Davis from Flowinglass Music writes: Flowinglass Music is pleased to report that after seven years of negotiations with the Tolkien Estate, we have received permission to reprint The Starlit Jewel CD and Songbook. The Starlit Jewel contains 13 songs from THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT, set to music by fantasy author Marion Zimmer Bradley (author of THE MISTS OF AVALON), Kristoph Klover, and Margaret Davis. Music is performed by Celtic/Medieval group Broceliande. This edition is one of the very few to be officially sanctioned by the Tolkien Estate, and has once again been limited to 2000 CDs. To hear samples and for more information, visit http://www.flowinglass.com/sjewel.html
Taverncraft Introduces Two Versions of the Smaug™ the Magnificent Stein 
