In a recent interview with stuff.co.nz, Sir Ian McKellen revealed that scenes including Gandalf and a young Bilbo were filmed for “The Hobbit: and Unexpected Journey.””Sir Ian says during the film’s development [he] has been forthcoming with Jackson and his co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. For one, he felt that the relationship between Gandalf and Bilbo needed a little history. He suggested a scene showing the wizard being introduced to a baby Bilbo and his mother Belladonna Took and it was shot. He’s not sure if the scene will make the final cut of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, but his suggestion was taken seriously. ”We see Gandalf observing this little boy who’s full of beans and full of adventure. And I let him play with [a] toy dragon that I’ve got.” And, when he’s thinking, ‘Who should we get? Oh, there’s that little boy.’ And he goes back to Hobbiton to meet this little boy who’s now grown up and is a real stodgy, dull, settled, unadventurous person. And he’s so disappointed. ‘What happened to you? Come on! You’ve got to go on an adventure, it’ll be good for you. Get back your childish enthusiasm!”’ Read More…
NWF is teaming up with Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM) for the Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. “As the education partner for the film, we hope the popularity of the books and its themes of courage and nature’s beauty will inspire moviegoers and Tolkien fans to do something to make our Earth a greener place.” So, far, the collaboration includes an official NWF movie poster you can download, and suggestions for outdoor activities and ‘greening’ your own Shire. Read More…
Classicfm.com was able to snag a great audio interview with Howard Shore recently. Shore, a big Tolkien fan, tells classicfm that he constantly refers to the books as he’s writing the score. He also discusses what it’s like to collaborate once again with Peter Jackson, The London Philharmonic, and the all-consuming job of writing, orchestrating, conducting, tweaking and finalizing the score for “The Hobbit: and Unexpected Journey.” Read more and listen here…
These guys are pretty popular – we’ve received MANY emails from people out there, telling us about their new music video. So here it is, for those who have not yet seen it! Whether you’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving today and you’re now too full to move, or you’ve been working hard all day and need to relax, this music video is sure to please. The Piano Guys (Al van der Beek, Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson) use piano, cello, percussion and vocal textures to recreate well known tunes – and this video is a compilation of favourite motifs from Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings scores. Check it out:
You may have read recently that the Tolkien Estate has brought a lawsuit against Warner Bros., regarding Warner Bros.’ marketing rights for Lord of the Rings and Hobbit products. Our friend Erik Wecks has written a great piece for Geek Dad at Wired.com, clarifying some of the issues at stake and suggesting why the Tolkien Estate may have felt the need to take such action. For fans of Tolkien’s work, just how far is too far – when does a franchise become a sell out? Check out the excellent article here.
We received a message from Weta Workshop saying that Richard Taylor would like to set the record straight about who built the installation at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington. Everyone has been ooh-ing and aah-ing over the amazing Hobbit themed installations popping up all over the ‘Middle of Middle-earth’ – and Weta were concerned that 3Foot7 were not getting the kudos due to them. Here’s what they had to say:
To all our friends and readers at TORn – Please note that although our local newspaper has kindly credited Weta Workshop as having built the Gandalf on the front of the Embassy, this is not in fact the case. It is very important to us as a company to not receive credit for others’ work and we therefore wish to confirm that the Gandalf is the work of friends and colleagues of ours from 3foot7’s art department. We congratulate them on the opportunity to do this prize commission.
In a recent interview with stuff.co.nz, Sir Ian McKellen revealed that scenes including Gandalf and a young Bilbo were filmed for “The Hobbit: and Unexpected Journey.””Sir Ian says during the film’s development [he] has been forthcoming with Jackson and his co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. For one, he felt that the relationship between Gandalf and Bilbo needed a little history. He suggested a scene showing the wizard being introduced to a baby Bilbo and his mother Belladonna Took and it was shot. He’s not sure if the scene will make the final cut of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, but his suggestion was taken seriously. ”We see Gandalf observing this little boy who’s full of beans and full of adventure. And I let him play with [a] toy dragon that I’ve got.” And, when he’s thinking, ‘Who should we get? Oh, there’s that little boy.’ And he goes back to Hobbiton to meet this little boy who’s now grown up and is a real stodgy, dull, settled, unadventurous person. And he’s so disappointed. ‘What happened to you? Come on! You’ve got to go on an adventure, it’ll be good for you. Get back your childish enthusiasm!”’ Read More…
