The “Hobbit” cast is looking good. Really good. Oooooooh yeah, realllllly good.

Maybe too good?

When rumors began to swirl almost immediately after “Return of the King” left the theaters that a “Hobbit” film was inevitable, I made a prediction: There is no way they can sell a film with 13 Gimli-faced dwarves.

“Mark my words,” I grumbled, “you are going to see HOT DWARVES in this movie. Think of the fan girls!!!”

And it seems I may be right.

When you look at the success of the “Lord of the Rings” movies, a good portion of it can definitely be attributed to die-hard Tolkien fans who unreservedly embraced Peter Jackson’s vision.

But an even more significant part of the audience was made up of people – let’s face it, women – who really liked the eye-candy. From Legolas to Aragorn to the adorable hobbits to the nameless elf who became an internet sensation: Figwit. Continue reading “To Be Hot or Not? That is the Dwarf Question”

The 2010 Tolkien Gift Guide

If you haven’t already completed your Holiday shopping, take a look at TheOneRing.net’s 2010 Tolkien Gift Guide! The staff here at TheOneRing.net have chosen over 30 items that would be perfect for that Tolkien fan on your list. From books to collectibles, elf ears to handmade scarves, expensive to stocking stuffers, we’ve got something for everyone. We hope the guide is helpful as you shop this season. [2010 Tolkien Gift Guide]

Many of us Ringers know the comparisons of The Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter are many. Well, Film.com has compiled a few for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

Fantasy stories generally lift from the same mythological source bank. Actually, if you want to get super scholarly and esoteric about it, every story (especially the more sword-and-sorcery themed variety) is the same basic “hero’s journey” archetype detailed by Joseph Campbell. But fantasy stories — King Arthur, Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Willow, Peter Pan, Conan the Barbarian — build their world out of the same objects. You have magicians, dragons, unicorns, gnomes, and elves popping up to do battle, and they’ve made their way from medieval tapestries and texts to our modern movie screens.

[Read on]

The staff here at TheOneRing.net is dedicated to bringing you, our readers, the most up-to-date, thorough coverage of the Hobbit movies available on the internet. To that end, we’re excited to unveil a brand new section of the site, accessible by clicking the “The Hobbit” icon at the top right of the Home Page. In this “one stop shop” you’ll find detailed biographies of all the cast members as they’re announced, bios of the corresponding characters in the book, and a Hobbit FAQ that will be updated regularly as the production moves along. It also features some stunning character pictures from our guest artists who so far include Charles Burggraf, Colleen Doran, Donnato Giancola and Ted Nasmith. We invite you to send along any ideas you have for future updates and, as always, to join us on our Hobbit Movie discussion board and/or in Barliman’s chatroom.

Many, many thanks to the following staffers and members who contributed to getting the new Hobbit section of the site ready for its debut: Ainu Laire, Altaira, batik, Calisuri, deej, dernwyn, entmaiden, Garfeimao, grammaboodawg, Hamfast_Gamgee, Kangi Ska, Magpie, MrCere, N.E. Brigand, NottaSackville, Quickbeam, Sarumann, weaver, Xoanon.

With the release of the latest Harry Potter film, CNBC has a slide show featuring the highest grossing movie franchises of all time. Here are the top five…

  1. Star Wars (6 Films, $5.49 Billion)
  2. Harry Potter (6 Films, $5.42 Billion)
  3. James Bond (23 Films, $3.55 Billion)
  4. Shrek (4 Films, $2.94 Billion)
  5. The Lord of the Rings  (3 Films, $2.91 Billion)

As you can see The Lord of the Rings makes the top five, but, just as a point of observation, if you average the number of films to the dollar total, you’ll see that The Lord of the Rings has the highest per film average – around $970,000,000 per film. [See the full list]

Beren writes: I received the following statement by the Tolkien Estate regarding the “Wheelbarrows at Dawn” cancellation:

“The J R R Tolkien Estate has been made aware of a statement by ADC Publications concerning its cancellation of its proposed publication “Wheelbarrows at Dawn” by Angela Gardner and Neil Holford.

ADC’s statement suggests that the publication has been cancelled as a result of the Tolkien Estate’s threats to take court action preventing the release of the book.

As this statement is highly misleading, the Tolkien Estate considers it important that the true facts be clarified for those concerned. Continue reading “Tolkien Estate Comments on Book Cancellation”