Peter Jackson stands on the set of Lake-Town It looks like, in addition to his work on the Extended Edition for the Battle of the Five Armies, Peter Jackson will be investing a bit of his time this year to launch a WWI museum. Is it too much to think this might be a pointer toward that Dambusters project?


Director Peter Jackson said Wednesday he’s putting his energy into helping launch a museum to commemorate World War I after finishing his “Hobbit” movie trilogy.

If he has any plans for future blockbusters, he’s not saying.

Jackson was speaking at his New Zealand post-production facility where he was helping host an event to promote the local film industry. Directors Jane Campion and James Cameron also attended.

Jackson is a World War I history buff who owns a number of planes from the era.

He said the plan for the Wellington museum was to open during April to mark the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli battle.

He said more galleries would be opened over the coming four years to mark other battles in which New Zealanders fought.

The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported earlier that Jackson had been recruited by the government to curate the museum, and he was expected to gather aircraft, tanks and other artifacts from private and public collections.

[Read More]

 


TheOneRing.net’s One Last Party campaign hits $163,000!

Our One Last Party fundraiser on Indiegogo has now raised more than $163,000 — we’ve less than 17,000 to go!

We are so humbled by everyone’s support. More than 1,000 people have pledged and scores of people have reached out to donate items or their time to help our party fundraiser. You are all awesome!

one last party botfa poster Pledges of $10 or more could win this signed Battle of the Five Armies poster

One amazing TORn supporter has donated this Battle of the Five Armies poster (see the picture below) signed at San Diego ComicCon by:

  • Dwalin — Graham McTavish
  • Gollum — Andy Serkis
  • Tauriel — Evangeline Lilly
  • Thranduil — Lee Pace
  • Legolas — Orlando Bloom
  • Bard — Luke Evans
  • Smaug — Benedict Cumberbatch
  • Frodo — Elijah Wood
  • Galadriel — Cate Blanchett

The poster (measuring 13′ by 20′), together with the holographic wristband that was needed to get it at SDCC, will be given away to one lucky supporter, chosen at random from all the pledges of $10 and above that we receive THIS WEEK (Monday 12th to Sunday 18th January).

However, the poster will only be given away IF we reach our goal! If we get to $180k by (or before!) the deadline on Sunday 18th, one name will be chosen at random to receive this amazing poster and wristband. Each new pledge of $10 or higher during this final week will be a separate entry into the draw. That’s right: the more times you pledge, the more chances you have to win!

HBT3-bs-343122.DNG This is a really interesting — and sometimes provocative — interview from just after the premiere of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five armies.

The Daily Beast chatted with Peter Jackson about his two decades exploring Middle-earth, his thoughts on Tolkien purists (controversial!), evading the MPAA’s initial R rating on the most recent Hobbit film (I hadn’t heard about that), and his plans for the future (still hoping for the Dambusters film, personally).

I found this quote really interesting…

I don’t mean to undervalue the battle, they could be holding a knife and fork with their hands and be sitting at the table eating, or they can have a sword in their hand and fighting for their lives, it’s still the storytelling and the narrative that these guys are on that you’re really focused on.

Don’t forget to follow the link to read the full interview. Continue reading “Peter Jackson: “no regrets””

torn staffer mauraMany of you will have seen the video Peter Jackson posted to his Facebook page back in December, as a thank you to and celebration of the fans. What you may not know is that TORn staffer Maura appeared in the video! Here are her thoughts on this epic journey of fandom:

We have all made top ten lists of our favorite Lord of the Rings moments. At the 2014 Comic-Con International a group of fans were given the opportunity to share their memories and hopes for the final installment on camera, including yours truly. The end result was a heart-warming video posted on Peter Jackson’s Facebook page on December 3rd, that has been viewed over a million times.

Despite my donning of the “I *heart* hot dwarves” tee shirt (had to represent for TORn) one of my favorite moments was the appearance of the Prince of Mirkwood in The Desolation of Smaug. I’m not going to lie; it’s a relief that they didn’t use my uncomfortably long gush about the beauty that is Legolas. That’s the kind of embarrassment that can come back to haunt you at, say, company holiday parties or family gatherings. Does anyone else experience this – the “Legolas Effect”? Once I start, I simply cannot stop.

It can’t be a coincidence that many of us believe the movies’ most enduring legacy is the friendships that have resulted. It was a point I myself had made during my interview. That’s why a site like TheOneRing.net is so important. It has been a haven for like-minded people to assemble, discuss, debate and celebrate our common admiration for an author and his books, as well as a filmmaker and his films. So as the campaign for The One Last Party draws to a close, won’t you consider making that pledge, leaving the comfort of your armchair and books, and joining us for one final adventure?

These bonds of fellowship we’ve forged over the years are strong and should be honored by hoisting a glass. Oh, and if you want to have a serious conversation about the silver blue intensity of Legolas’s eyes in the Hobbit films versus the Lord of the Rings films, I’ll be at the bar.

 

 

One Last Party fundraiser!

one last party logo Our One Last Party fundraiser on Indiegogo is almost 90% funded and we’re pretty stoked!

If you’d like to join us as a Party of Special Magnificence in Hollywood in February — a toast to all SIX Middle-earth movies, then now is the time to throw in your support! Even if you can’t make it to Hollywood (or if you’ve already contributed), you can help out by retweeting or sharing our fundraiser across social media to get the word out.

Visit our campaign page to see how you can help — so we can all celebrate Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth movies together!

Peter Jackson Stuff.co.nz has this nice little piece about Peter Jackson, including his cameo in The Hobbit: the Battle of the Five Armies.

 


Given how long he has been hanging around Middle-earth, it’s easy to imagine that Peter Jackson finds it hard to say goodbye. Continue reading “Peter Jackson’s long goodbye to Middle-earth — and his Five armies cameo”

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWe at TheOneRing.net want you all to join us in saying a proper ‘Fond Farewell’ and heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to all the hard working Cast and Crew of all six of the Middle-earth films. There will be a giant ‘Thank You’ card at our planned “The One Last party: There and Back Again” event on February 21, 2015 in Hollywood. We’ve done this before, back at the Return of the One Party in 2004, so we know how to do big cards.

Now we know that not everyone can join us at ‘The One Last Party” so we have a special Perk on our Indiegogo campaign just for you. In fact, every single Perk level includes your name on the card, but we did create the lowest level Perk just for those who can’t attend, but would like to be included in this special ‘one of a kind’ Thank you greeting. The images here are from 2004, but they give you an idea of what to expect from this year’s Epic card. And for those who do attend the party, you will have the opportunity to personalize your greeting a little bit more at the party. This ‘Thank You’ card will either be given to, or sent down to New Zealand to be delivered to Peter Jackson.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

For the past decade and a half, Peter Jackson, his amazing cast and the equally amazing crew have handcrafted these magnificent cinematic representations of Middle-earth for all of us to enjoy. Along the way, we have created a vibrant fan community where we can be found chatting on the message boards, meeting up at theater Line Parties, attending conventions together, making pilgrimages to New Zealand, and attending Oscar parties. We are a very social fandom who celebrates both the creative and academic side of Middle-earth, where you can find people displaying amazing costume designs right next to people who can recite and translate all of Tolkien’s Elvish poetry, and each can call the other ‘friend’. So while we want to thank Peter and the rest of the cast and crew for making films we can all enjoy, we especially want to thank them for the much more important Fan Community that has been thriving in big cities and tiny little towns all around the world since 2001.

Please join us in sending out our thanks by supporting our campaign for The One Last Party: There and Back Again, or sharing it far and wide with all your friends and family. Let’s all enjoy each other’s company #OneLastTime.

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Join us in Los Angeles in February at The One Last Party

one last party logo We’re hosting a Party of Special Magnificence next February — a toast to all SIX movies, both LOTR trilogy and The Hobbit.

Visit our Indiegogo campaign page to grab your tickets and help make it happen — so we can all celebrate Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth movies together!