Lake-town LuauWe are so happy to be hosting an ‘offsite event’ here at San Diego Comic Con, and can’t wait to party like Hobbits and Dwarves with you all. So here are a few fast little facts you all need to know about the party.

1) The Laketown Luau is located at the Kona Kai resort and runs from 7pm to 10pm. 1551 Shelter Island drive, San Diego, CA 92106.

2) The Kona Kai is on the TEAL shuttle route, which takes about 30 minutes drive time, each direction. Or you can drive there in about 20 minutes, just take N. Harbor up past the airport, turning left on either Scott road or Rosecrans, the left again onto Shelter Island drive, with the Kona Kai being the last hotel on the island.

3) We are Sold Out. If you did not buy tickets on the Eventbrite page, or get an email from me (Garfeimao), you are not on the guest list. There will be no additional ticket sales at the door beyond those who have received an email from me. The one exception is a contest we are currently running on our Facebook page. Simply leave a comment on the post regarding our Jens Hansen The Ringmaker Finalnewest sponsor,  Jens Hansen Ringmaker, and a winner will be chosen and contacted shortly after Noon. They are hosting a complimentary Photo Booth at the party, but were unable to actually attend the party, so they wanted to offer you, the Fans, their tickets. You must either be in San Diego, or able to get here in a rather short period of time in order to take advantage of these tickets.

4) There will be games and contests and prizes, lots of prizes. Everyone will walk out of the party with something, maybe several somethings. Of course, you have to play the games and enter the contest to win the good stuff. Games include: Golfimbul (Goblin head Golf, with a baseball bat), Pin the Black Arrow on the Dragon (try and pin the Dragon in the heart), The Hula costume contest (see below), and there may be a few other little games tossed in for good measure. There is also a Tiki Piñata and the Photo Booth, so lots of fun and games to be had by young and old. This is a Family Friendly event.

5) The one contest that seems to have several people scratching their heads is the Hula dancing costume contest. But it’s quite simple, wear a costume, dance the hula, win something. There will be a prize or three for the best costumes, Tolkien themed and non-Tolkien alike. But there will also be prizes for the best Hula, or the funnest, or funniest, and non-costumed folk are eligible for this aspect. But the thing to remember is everyone entering the costume contest will be asked to Hula, solo or en masse, as you all see fit. We’ve posted Hula tutorials previously, and instead decided to post a general WikiHow post on how to Hula. Check it out at Dance Hula Wiki/Howfb-badali-300x255

6) Our Sponsors – This party absolutely would not have happened if a few of our friends had not stepped in to sponsor and support us. In addition to the aforementioned Jens Hansen Ringmaker as a Sponsor, we are also Supported by our long time friends, Badali Jewelry, who have been with TheOneRing.net since the very beginning. Our Co-hosting Sponsor for the party are the good folks over at WETA Workshop . They are graciously bringing several artists and numerous prizes to the event, you are sure to be blown away by some of the items prizes WETA is bringing with them.

 

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7) Autographs – Don’t do it. This is a party, if any cast or crew should show up, be mindful of this fact and just chat, laugh with, and in general have fun with our special guests. Don’t be snapping photos without asking permission first, especially if using a flash. This statement is not an acknowledgment that any special guest will attend, just that it might happen and we’d appreciate you being respectful of this casual atmosphere.

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In an interview with SFX magazine, ‘Doctor Who’ showrunner Steven Moffat stated that Peter Jackson is still in the running to direct a future episode of the long running sci-fi series.

“I think it will probably happen at some point. I mean, he can do what the hell he likes – he owns New Zealand! I think he’s sincere in his ‘Doctor Who’  fandom, to say the least.  He’s a nice guy, he quite often drops me a line after a show goes out. He’s into it – it’s just “Can you make it work?” I think he would also like us to go and make it in New Zealand! And I’m like “Okaaay… I’d rather we just flew you to Cardiff!”

You can read the full interview over at SFX.

EvangelineLilyAtComicConOur friends at Weta Workshop shared via their Facebook page that Evangeline Lilly will be at the Weta booth at San Diego Comic Con this year to promote her delightful children’s book Squickerwonkers.

She will be at their booth on Friday when she will be signing copies of Squickerwonkers only, and then she’ll be back on Sunday when she will be happy to sign your Hobbit collectibles along with Squickerwonkers!

Don’t forget, you can check out all the live action at Comic Con via our Live Feed.

SDCC Hobbit BOTFAPeter Jackson just dropped a fireball from his Facebook page. A movie poster for “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.” Like it? He included a single line of text: “Anyone else excited about San Diego Comic Con?”

That is of course Bard staring down the killing machine of Smaug on the shores of Laketown. Editorializing just slightly: THAT IS AMAZING!

TheOneRing.net staff is in San Diego in force this year and will bring as much of the fun and excitement as possible via TORn, Twitter and Facebook. Enjoy!

smaug_bard_split_a_lSome of the coolest things you’ll see at Comic-Con are the Lego built characters either at their booth, other booths, and even outside of the convention center itself.

This year if you happen to make it to the Warner Bros. booth (#4545) you will get to see a Lego Smaug standing over six feet tall and weighing 411 pounds. Smaug took 625 hours to complete and includes 83,433 pieces. The folks at Lego also have some surprises for fans showing off new sets for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies as well as an exclusive Bard figure. Continue reading “Lego Smaug coming to Comic-Con 2014”

 

On July 22nd, Warner Bros. will be reissuing remastered, deluxe editions of the Rankin/Bass animated classics ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Return of the King’.

 

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The Hobbit Deluxe Edition Synopsis: [Amazon.com]

The place is Middle Earth. The time is long ago, when humans shared their days with elves, wizards, goblins, dragons, heroes…and hobbits. Bilbo Baggins is a hero and a hobbit, a roundish, peaceable homebody going on a dangerous quest – even though adventures make hobbits late for dinner!

In this enchanting adaptation of the first installment of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Bilbo the hobbit is asked to recover a fabulous treasure stolen from friendly dwarfs. All he must do is brave dark forests, towering mountains, hobbit-eating trolls, huge spiders, a fiery dragon and more. Fun and amazement await – so join the quest!

 

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Special Features:

  • J.R.R. Tolkien Facts & Trivia
  • Cast & Crew credits
  • From the Vault: 3 WB classic cartoons: ‘Knight-mare Hare’, ‘Knighty Knight Bugs’, and ‘Rabbit Hood’
  • Trailers: ‘Tom and Jerry & The Lost Dragon’, ‘LEGO: Legends of Chima’, ‘LEGO: Hobbit’, ‘Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy’

Format: Multiple Formats, Animated, Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Original recording remastered

Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Run Time: 78 minutes
[Buy on Amazon.com]

My Thoughts:  It’s been many years since I last saw this, and I had forgotten how much I loved the voice talent: Orson Bean as Bilbo, John Huston as Gandalf, Otto Preminger as a very German Thranduil/Elvenking, and (my favorite) 1960’s Surrealist comic Brother Theodore as Gollum.  Picture and sound are both superb.  A great soundtrack by Glen Yarbrough.

‘The greatest adventure is what lies ahead
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said
The chances the changes are all yours to make
The mold of your life is in your hands to break”

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The Return of the King Deluxe Edition Synopsis: [Amazon.com]

Frodo the Hobbit, the remarkable hero of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, battles more evil forces plaguing Middle Earth in The Return of the King.

The Magic Ring of The Hobbit has now become the Ring of Doom – and to restore peace it must be destroyed in the raging fires in which it was made. Chosen for the task, Frodo and faithful servant Samwise face grave perils – the worst of which is the ring’s terrible power to possess its wearer. Will Frodo give in to the madness of the ring….or will he fulfill his quest?

 

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Special Features:

  • J.R.R. Tolkien Facts & Trivia
  • Cast & Crew Credits
  • From the Vault: WB cartoon shorts ‘Good Knight Droppy’ and ‘Jerry Hood & His Merry Meeses’
  • Trailers: ‘LEGO: Hobbit’, ‘Tom and Jerry & the Lost Dragon’, ‘LEGO: Legends of Chima’, ‘Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy’

Format: Multiple Formats, Animated, Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Original recording remastered

Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Run Time: 98 minutes
[Buy on Amazon.com]

My Thoughts:  It’s a shame Rankin/Bass didn’t have the chance to do ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ and ‘The Two Towers’, as ‘The Return of the King’ doesn’t do a great job of filling in the story for those that may be unfamiliar with the first two books. The mispronunciations are a little annoying, too.  Still, the film is a lot of fun to watch; the Ringwraiths are fantastic, as is Eowyn’s confrontation with the Witch King of Angmar.  As with ‘The Hobbit’, the picture, sound, and voice talent are all top-notch.  Orson Bean, John Huston, Otto Preminger, and Brother Theodore reprise their roles; new additions include the great Roddy McDowell as Samwise Gamgee, and Casey Kasem as Merry.  Best of all,  ‘The Return of the King’ includes (in this writer’s humble opinion) one of the greatest Tolkien-inspired songs of all time:

“Where there’s a whip, there’s a way.
Where there’s a whip, there’s a way.
We don’t wanna go to war today,
But the lord of the lash says nay, nay, nay!
We’re gonna march all day, all day, all day,
Cause where there’s a whip, there’s a way.”