hobbitnoricWeta Workshop has released the next Dwarf that fans can snag as The Hobbit Trilogy statue collection continues to grow. Joining the rest of Thorin’s Company is Nori the Dwarf. Nori is the tenth Dwarf released so far and like most of the other Dwarves he is a limited edition piece with an edition-size of only 1000 pieces world-wide. As you can see in the picture Nori comes in a fighting pose, which gives this statue a lot of presence in your collection. You can add Nori right now as he is in-stock with a price tag of $249. Don’t waste time and get Nori on order now before he disappears.

IMG_8805We’ve got another video review for you today, of the one environment I’ve been waiting to get my hands on since I saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in theaters. One of my favorite things about this particular environment was the front part of it that you could see standing outside the mountain, with that great Dwarven design, as well as those amazing Dwarven Guards. Finally, after a long wait we can now add at least this part of Erebor – with hopefully more to come, with something similar to the Moria Environment from The Lord of the Rings statue line. The Front Gate of Erebor comes in at $199 as well as being an open edition, so if you need to save a little you have some time. The size of this environment comes in at 10.6″ tall x 8.9″ wide x 5.7″ deep and weighs 6.9lbs.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s The Front Gate of Erebor Review”

IMG_8749One of the best statues from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy statue line is The Balrog of Moria statue. This amazing piece came out in 2001/02 with a retail price of $300 and an edition size of a 1000 pieces worldwide. It is one of the most amazing statues to represent any character in Middle-earth and if you have the cash on the secondary market I would strongly recommend getting it. So I thought for the first video review I’d do this statue, since I have just succeeded in getting it back into my own collection. Let me know in the comments below what you think of the video review as I do these in conjunction with some of my written reviews.

Sheila ChandraAmong some of the most profound pieces of Tolkien’s writings are those concerning the concepts of death and immortality, and the ultimate fates of Elves and Men. And a little more than a decade ago, as the tale of Aragorn and Arwen unfolded in The Two Towers, it was the evocative voice of Sheila Chandra that spoke to the hope and heartache of their destinies.

A vocalist of Indian descent hailing from the UK, Sheila Chandra performed “The Breath Of Life” (also titled “The Grace Of The Valar“) as Aragorn’s unconscious form floats downriver while Arwen holds him in thought and sends him a blessing from afar – “May the grace of the Valar protect you“.

The song’s lyrics (adapted from Tolkien’s writings) were written by Fran Walsh:

Shadow lies between us, as you came, so you shall leave from us.
Time and storm shall scatter all things. 

Sorrowing you must go, and yet you are not without hope,
For you are not bound to the circles of this world, you are not bound to loss and to silence.

As our exclusive series of interviews with vocalists from The Lord of the Rings continues, join us today as we talk to Sheila Chandra about how the song, its mood, and her delivery of it were all carefully crafted with the aim of conveying the understanding and mature love that is shared between Arwen and Aragorn.

Continue reading “TORn Exclusive: Interview With Sheila Chandra”

viggomortenson.jpgRinger Emma has sent us this interview by The Telegraph newspaper with Viggo Mortensen, where he talks about his latest movie The Two Faces of January. He also talks about filming The Lord of the Rings films saying that he felt that Fellowship of the Rings script was the “better organised” of the three films and discusses the use of CGI in the Middle-earth blockbusters.

Continue reading “Viggo Mortensen interview in The Telegraph”

hobbit-chroniclesDoSCloaksDaggersa2Our friends at Weta Workshop have a couple of new books for fans to add to their collections. The first book is the next in the Chronicles series, which gives you a great inside look at the task of bringing the many costumes, armour, and weapons that were needed to bring The Hobbit Trilogy to life. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles – Cloaks and Daggers does just that, but it doesn’t just cover the second film, it also covers the many designs needed in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. If you pre-order the book right now you can get it signed by some of the folks who helped bring these films to the big screen!

The second release Weta has for fans is an amazing looking two book set covering the 20 years they have been helping to bring films to life. This inside look is brimming with never-before-seen content covering films such as; The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit Trilogy, Avatar, King Kong, District 9, and much more. You can get The Hobbit Art Book for $39 and Weta: The Art of Film Magic – 20 Years of of Weta for $99.