fotr steelbook Warner Home Video is set to release the Blu-ray extended edition of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in steelbook format for the first time in the UK.

The region-free five-disc blu-ray steelbook will hit the market on March 24. Pre-order here.

From the press release:

One of the most magical, intensely spectacular epic adventures in motion picture history comes alive when this extended edition explodes onto Blu-ray Disc with unsurpassed high definition picture and sound. Now fans can see and hear the extended version of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at home the way it was meant to be seen. Based on the length of the extended edition feature film and in order to present the film in the highest possible picture quality, the film is presented on two Blu-ray Discs. Continue reading “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring coming soon in five-disc blu-ray steelbook format”

SoundWorks1SoundWorks Collection recently took a trip to Wellington, New Zealand to speak with the wizards at Park Road Post Studios about their work on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. From these interviews comes a 10-minute video (which we’ve embedded below) detailing the tremendous process of constructing the sound design of the second film in Peter Jackson’s epic adaptation.

This profile comes on the heels of the Oscar nominations the film
received in both sound categories – Sound Editing and Sound Mixing (in addition to Visual Effects). The Academy Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, March 2.

Interviews in this video include re-recording mixers Michael Hedges, Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, and Gary Summers, as well as composer Howard Shore and producer/co-screenwriter Philippa Boyens. Continue reading “SoundWorks Collection profiles ‘The Desolation of Smaug’”

Hobbit Desolation of Smaug PosterThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their nominations
for the 86th Annual Academy Awards this morning, and The Desolation of Smaug received 3 nods.

Best Sound Mixing
Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson
 
Best Sound Editing
Brent Burge
 
Best Visual Effects
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
 

Congratulations to the nominees! The ceremony will be held on March 2nd. Continue reading “‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ nominated for 3 Oscars”

moneyWith all the rumours running around the interwebs lately about the latest Hobbit law suit and the claim that it could scuttle the release of The Hobbit: There and Back Again. We asked attorney Douglas C. Kane, who posts here on TORn as Voronwë the Faithful on our Message boards, if there was any truth to these rumours.

Continue reading “Could the final Hobbit film be scrapped or delayed because of recent litigation? Not a chance”

Academy Of Motion Pictures And Sciences' 2009 Governors Awards Gala - ArrivalsFilm Producer Saul Zaentz has passed away at the age of 92. Many Tolkien fans will know him as the man who held the film rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings – but he was so much more: a true Hollywood legend, with countless film projects to his name. He won many Oscars, including Best Picture wins for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The English Patient, and my very favorite film of all time (perhaps with the exception of The Lord of the Rings trilogy) – Amadeus. Continue reading “Academy Award winning Producer Saul Zaentz dies at age 92”

Smaug WETA Temp CoverDue to be released
on April 1 (no, not an April fools joke), the new book Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon comes from the same wonderful team behind the three The Hobbit: Chronicles books. This release will be 96 pages, exploring the creation of the title character of the second Hobbit film from concept art to digital realization. Final cover art is not yet available, but you can order the book on Weta’s website as well as Amazon.com and other online book stores. Continue reading “‘Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon’ now available for pre-order on Amazon.com”