smaug colbertIn a rare move, Stephen Colbert was granted an interview (er…audience) with none other than Smaug himself on his American television show “The Colbert Report”. As many of you know, Stephen is a great Tolkien fan, and Smaug seemingly left his last press interview of the day just for him.

The two share some of their common political interests, and Smaug discusses some of the difficulties of working on the Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy – as well as his distaste for several “pretender” Hollywood dragons. Continue reading “Stephen Colbert interviews Smaug the Magnificent”

The winners of last month’s Hobbit Fan Contest that got to go to New Zealand and watch an in-progress cut of “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” and experience the beautiful scenes of the north and south islands and the hospitality of Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand, won their spots by producing short films.

As reports from the experience suggest, there was a great bonding of the 75 winners and their guests during the week-long tour of Middle-earth. These bonds are on display in a “thank you” video that the group organized to give to Peter Jackson and all the many folks who helped make the trip amazing. There is even a nod to TheOneRing.net which honestly touches us.

Turns out that crew can make a pretty great video with parts from all around the world. Their sincerity and appreciation really comes through and will make all fans proud. Enjoy! #HobbitFanContest

Weta-1 As part of the American Film Institute Film Festival in Hollywood, CA., WETA Digital is doing a free presentation lecture on the evolution of digital technology over the last two decades. Although the blurb explicitly mentions Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, it seems inconceivable that they wouldn’t discuss Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films as well.

The lecture is happening at the Chinese in Theatre 1 on November 10 at 1pm. Tickets are free so best hurry to grab yours, one suspects. Continue reading “Free Weta Digital presentation on digital tech in movies at Chinese Theatre in Hollywood”

Sunset near Twizel, New Zealand on the day of our story.
Sunset near Twizel, New Zealand.
Peter Jackson held a a world-wide contest for fans with the ultimate prize of traveling to New Zealand to watch “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” with the director. Fans world-wide responded and as promised, winners were announced from the four corners of the globe.

Today we can share the news that TheOneRing.net will be on the trip as well to bring the wonders of New Zealand and the experiences of the winners to fans just as fast as we can type. Tourism New Zealand and Air New Zealand are giving the winners a Middle-earth experience on the North and South Islands before viewing the film with Jackson. (TheOneRing has not been invited to see the film and will enjoy a nice walk during the screening!) Continue reading “TheOneRing.net will exclusively join with and report on Peter Jackson’s ‘Hobbit’ contest winners”

Joe Letteri Image Collider recently spoke with Weta Digital senior visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri and visual effects supervisor Dan Lemmon about their work on The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

According to Letteri, their work is going great, and a lot of material has already been turned over to Jackson. Letteri also indicated that the group are trying to ensure titular battle has significant stakes for everyone, and builds a bridge to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Continue reading “Weta Digital’s Joe Letteri and Dan Lemmon talk The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”