Fantasy Art Worksop Weta is pleased to host one of the world’s most acclaimed Tolkien illustrators and designers, John Howe, for a book signing at the Weta Cave. Currently visiting Weta Workshop, John Howe was of course also one of the principal designers on Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings. John Howe will be signing two of his fantastic volumes and a postcard. Continue reading “John Howe book signing at the Weta Cave in Wellington”

A private investment group is in escrow to purchase The Shire, a hobbit-themed housing development in Bend that came to symbolize the real estate excesses of the early 2000s. Terms of the deal were not available. The original developer envisioned a community of Old English style homes. Its buildings resembled the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” complete with thatched roofs and stone accents. Construction began in 2006 but the market crashed before sales could take off. The Shire was to boast 15 luxury “cottages,” 16 townhomes and a common area including an amphitheater for community productions. After the market collapsed, the project failed. Private investors to buy The Shire (in Portland)

cc09-reveal-9721_thumbFor those of you who may not be aware, each year at Comic-Con, collectible companies release specific items just for folks attending the show. This year, Sideshow is releasing seven exclusives, one of which is a special Lord of the Rings item titled ‘Mount Doom’ – The Sam and Frodo Diorama. While we only have a teaser pic (see right) – one can deduce the diorama will feature one of the most dramatic sequences in Return of the King, when Sam struggles to carry Frodo up the side of Mount Doom. If you are attending Comic-Con, you’ll need to participate in Sideshow’s Priority Pre-Order on May 21st to snag one of these collectibles. If you are NOT attending Comic-Con, you will have a shot of approximately 10% of the edition size on May 22nd. For complete details, check out SideshowCollectibles.com. [Comic-Con Exclusives]

During my association with TheOneRing.net I have often felt very fortunate to know great people and be in great places. Sometimes I have been lucky enough to have my camera along.

Out of that vast TORn photo library that includes digital images, and old scratched negitives, I put a few images together with some music from Arjan Kiel, (with thanks to fan film ‘Born of Hope,’) to pay tribute to the whole community of TheOneRing.net.

Click on the small triangle to play and to see the best fullscreen version, click on the box at the far right.

happy-birthdayTORn’s 10th Anniversary bash keeps getting better and better. Our good friend Magnus from Weta just posted a birthday card to TORn from Weta on in the VIP message thread on our Feedback board:

“Dear Tehanu, Xoanon, Corvar, Calisuri and thousands of other friends, No website has provided such a platform for fandom and creativity across literature and film as TheOneRing.net and for that we salute you! Past, current and future crew at Weta will be forever spiritually connected to TORn and we are absolutely relishing the opportunity to take on future journeys together – there… and back again… naturally.
We have recorded a short tribute at http://www.wetanz.com/torn10bday/  Wink
Where you can also see your card in high resolution glory.”

Check out the high res version of the Weta birthday card (pictured) and the TORn tribute video at the link above. You won’t want to miss it.

bakshilotrIn addition to being a world renowned author, Peter S. Beagle wrote the screenplay for the 1978 animated LORD OF THE RINGS, directed by Ralph Bakshi. Conlan Press has acquired what Warner Brothers insists is the *very last* available DVD stock of the movie. There are exactly 573 copies in this stash, and according to the distributor there are no current plans to re-release the title.

The normal Conlan Press price for a personalized signed copy of this DVD would be $30. To celebrate TORN’s anniversary, however, they are dropping the price to $20 from now through midnight (Pacific time) this Sunday, April 29th. If you want to get one before the price goes back up, go to www.conlanpress.com click on the bright blue ORDER button at the left of the screen, and scroll down to select this special title. Please note: more than half the purchase price goes directly to benefit Peter.

Thank you Peter, and Connor at Conlan Press, for this very special offer.