Our friends at Weta Workshop have released two new products from the hit movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. One of these new products just happened to be teased a while back for any of us who bought the statue of the Elven King Thranduil statue, where we saw a sneak peak of the Staff of King Thranduil. This fantastic prop joins a range of prop replica’s from The Hobbit Trilogy. You can snag this replica right now for $179 with an expected release date of February 2014. The other item announced by Weta is a new book in their awesome series of art books for The Hobbit Trilogy. This book is all about one thing and that is the greatest dragon we’ve ever seen, Smaug the Terrible! Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon is written by author Daniel Falconer contains 96 pages of all the details that went into bringing this dragon to life. For only $19.99 you can get this book to add to your collection. If you order by the end of March you can get a signed copy of the book.
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Asmus Toys is proud to present the next figure in their 1:6th action figure line for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Previously Asmus released two bad guys, the Morgul Lord and Gothmog. Now we get the first good guy in Gandalf the White. Gandalf comes with a really good likeness to Sir Ian McKellen, Glamdring, staff, hands galore, and a very cool severed Orc head that will fit on a regular 12″ body. No word yet on when Gandalf will go up for order or price but once he does, we will certainly let you all know.
The full breakdown for Gandalf the White looks like this:
Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness of Gandalf the White from The Return of the King.
- Asmus Toys KP01A+ male body
- Approximately 30 cm tall
- Over 36 points of articulation
Features :
- An authentic likeness of actor from the film.
- One pair of relaxed posture hand
- One pair of weapon holding hand
- One pair of random posture hand
- One Orc head (can be equipped on regular 12” body)
Special features on Clothing:
- One white cape
- One pair of long sleeved under-vest
- One pair of long underpants
- One special patterned movie realistic vest
- One pair of special skirt
- One belt plus sheath holder
- One pair of boots
Special features in weapons:
- One sword – Glamdring
- One sword sheath
- One Gandalf the White’s wizard staff
Accessories:
- One interactive custom base
- One Asmus Toys figure stand
The same company that publishes the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, obviously including “The Hobbit,” and “The Lord of the Rings” announced an app companion to the latest Peter Jackson Middle-earth film, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” From the looks of things, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt means for this to be an immerse and interactive version of the film books. Jude Fisher provides text and many of the images are 3D and interactive. We will include a gallery of images from the app below the official press release.
The app is produced by the United Kingdom publisher of Tolkien’s work, Harper Collins UK in conjunction with Warner Bros. and developed by Ardman Digital.
Below is the full press release with images of the product:
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT ANNOUNCES THE HOBBIT: OFFICIAL VISUAL COMPANION APP
December 20, 2013
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, official U.S. publisher of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, is thrilled to announce THE HOBBIT: OFFICIAL VISUAL COMPANION APP, an app designed to accompany the film experience of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, directed by Peter Jackson. A production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opened worldwide on December 13.
The app, produced by HarperCollins UK in association with Warner Bros., was developed by Aardman Digital. The app aims to engage with book and film fans on a digital and interactive platform, and is packed with content from the The Hobbit Trilogy, including text by Jude Fisher, details and images of the characters and a beautifully rendered 3D map.
Nick Perrett, Group Director of Strategy ＆ Digital at HarperCollins said, “This is the first step toward HarperCollins’ vision for persistent storytelling worlds that will act as a hub for fans of The Hobbit worldwide. This exciting new experience brings The Hobbit universe alive and, will over time, develop as a platform for discovering the world of Middle-earth.”Sanj Kharbanda, VP of Digital Strategy at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt said, “At Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, our strategy is to create great experiences across many touch points including books, ebooks, apps, and the web. We are thrilled to partner with HarperCollins UK to bring this to life for The Hobbit and celebrate the magic of Middle-earth with a new generation of readers with this app.”
Created using the Unity engine – more typically used by game developers than book publishers – THE HOBBIT: OFFICIAL VISUAL COMPANION APP is designed to enrich users’ experience of the films, enabling them to navigate a map of Middle-earth in its entirety, while discovering facts about the characters, locations and artifacts recognizable from the films and book. The app also features interactive trivia, allowing users to unlock additional app features.
THE HOBBIT: OFFICIAL VISUAL COMPANION APP will be updated with a rolling schedule of content for the next two years, including cast interviews, content for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is the official U.S. publisher of film tie-in books for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, directed by Peter Jackson.
THE HOBBIT: OFFICIAL VISUAL COMPANION APP is available from Samsung’s Apps Hub (Samsung Web, Samsung Mobile) and Apple’s App Store (Premium, Lite).
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT TRADE PUBLISHING
For nearly two centuries, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Trade division has published some of the world’s most renowned novels, non-fiction, children’s books and reference works in hardcover, trade paperback, and eBook formats. Its distinguished author list includes eight Nobel Prize winners, forty-seven Pulitzer Prize winners, thirteen National Book Award winners, and more than one hundred Caldecott, Newbery, Printz, and Sibert Medal and Honor recipients. HMH publishes such distinguished authors as Philip Roth, Temple Grandin, Tim O’Brien, and Umberto Eco, and a celebrated roster of children’s authors and illustrators including Lois Lowry, Chris Van Allsburg and David Wiesner. HMH is also home to The Best American
series®; The American Heritage® and Webster’s New World™ dictionaries; Betty Crocker®, Better Homes and Gardens®, How to Cook Everything®, The Gourmet Cookbook, and other leading culinary properties; the Peterson Field Guides®; CliffsNotes; books by J.R.R. Tolkien; and many iconic children’s books and characters including Curious George®, The Little Prince and The Polar Express. For more information, visit www.hmhco.com.
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The screenplay for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” is by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Jackson also produced the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh. The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood, with Philippa Boyens and Eileen Moran serving as co-
producers.
New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Present a WingNut Films Production, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” is a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), with New Line managing production. Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM.
Sideshow Collectibles have released a production sneak-peek at the next items to be released in their The Lord of the Rings Premium Format line. Joining the ranks of the amazing 1:4 statues is a statue of the role played perfectly by Sir Christopher Lee, which is none other than Saruman the White. No word on when this will be up for order but we did get this amazing video showing what is in-store for all of us. Once we get more information we will pass it on to you.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Sideshow Collectibles Saruman the White Premium Format”
I’ve always found it fascinating how J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth continues to captivate generations of artists around the world. TheOneRing.net has proudly produced 6 art shows over the years, shining a spotlight on both professional and fan artists alike. I was delighted to attend the opening reception of “Out of the Shire”, a new gallery exhibit in tribute to Tolkien and his inspiring work.
Nucleus is an art gallery and store located at 210 East Main Street in Alhambra, California. It’s a charming space that sells various art books, crafts, t-shirts and more. The gallery side is perfectly set up for exhibits with fantastic lighting. The artwork was laid out in such a way that it allows each piece to stand on its own to be admired. And there is some truly incredible artwork on display!
Over 30 artists are on exhibit, showing a wide variety of styles – from paintings to illustrations, paper craft to sculptures, and more. I especially loved pieces that were original interpretations of beloved characters, not inspired by images from the Peter Jackson movies. You could see how the artist interpreted a character based on the writing of Tolkien himself, just as you do in your mind’s eye when you read “The Hobbit” or “The Lord of the Rings”.
Stand outs include the whimsical watercolors of Justin Gerard, an incredible fossilized Balrog by Tohru Patrick Awa, the lovely paintings by Caroline Hadilaksono, and a charming acrylic of Bilbo meeting Gandalf by Erik Krenz to name just a few. A special treat is the gorgeous artwork on display by TORn favorites Donato Giancola and Ted Nasmith. Keith Noordzy, who took part in our “An Unexpected Art Show” last February, is also part of the exhibit.
If you’re in the Los Angeles area, I’d highly recommend you check out this special exhibit in person. It’s well worth a visit. “Out of the Shire” is free and runs until January 12, 2014.
In conjunction with last weeks release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug our friends at Weta Workshop have released several new products that tie-in to this newest part of the trilogy. These latest products range from commemorative pins for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, No Admittance Sign, to your very own piece of Smaugs Gold Coin. These fantastic items will make a fine addition to any Middle-earth collection. All of these items are in-stock so order today and they will be on their way!
Here’s the full list of the new items from Weta:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Commemorative Pin $11
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Commemorative Pin $11
No Admittance Sign Prop Replica $15
Smaug’s Treasure Coin #1 of 5 $8
