It will be an important and historical day in Tolkien history when the new book, “The Children of Hurin” goes on sale. It will be even more significant for a few hundred people who manage to snag a copy signed by Christopher Tolkien and illustrator Alan Lee! At the Manhattan’s Barnes & Noble (555 Fitfh Ave., between 45th & 46th streets) fans will start lining up at 8 a.m. to get one of the rarest of rare, highly coveted copies. TheOneRing.net will be on hand to distribute edible breakfast stuff to keep fans alive until the book goes on sale at noon. Better yet, the first 500 fans in line will get a great (and we mean great) prize from Sideshow Collectibles!
Our friends at Sideshow Collectibles have a surprise (except that we just let it slip) for the first 500 people attending. This is no promotional trinket, but is worth virtually what an unsigned book costs. (What the signed books might sell for on Ebay is anybody’s guess.) In addition Sideshow has provided 10 or so bigger prize items for a lucky few and Turbine Inc., producers of the ready-to-launch online Tolkien game “The Lord of the Rings Online” have another dozen grand prizes. (Something do to with the game perhaps?!) So, in the course of waiting for the almost unthinkably cool copy of “Children of Hurin” signed by J.R.R. Tolkien’s son and literary heir, Christopher Tolkien, TheOneRing.net, courtesy of Houghton-Mifflin, Sideshow Collectibles and Turbine Inc. will distribute many thousands of dollars worth of prizes!
Barnes & Noble will have a security agent on hand and all people participating in the 8 a.m. line are expected to behave in an orderly and polite fashion. Our goal is to make an event out of the greatest Tolkien literary event in 30 years! (Not to disrupt business.)
Those TORnados planning to attend (part of the greater Tolkien public sure to attend) please go to Barnes & Noble line party and sign up. This will help us know how much breakfast stuff to plan for! Rumour has it that the publisher may rally local media and we definitely want to show the world that the Tolkien era is far from over and the heady days of Hollywood blockbusters was just another stage in many decades of Tolkien fandom. See you there!
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From Royd Tolkien:
I’ve had a bunch of people asking my opinion on the recent New Line / Peter Jackson / Hobbit news. These are my thoughts…
Before Peter made Lord Of The Rings all I knew of his work was that I really enjoyed his films. That all changed a few years ago. He’s not only a filmmaker, he’s someone that I now trust and respect.
Before the films were made I held massive reservations and fears that JRRT and LOTR would be used as merely a tool for producing revenue and would result ultimately in a substandard film. But it’s different now, and it’s different because of Peter.
3 weeks ago those feelings returned. Without him, The Hobbit will become what I had earlier feared LOTR was to become.
To find a new director after the time and dedication Peter and all his people put in would not just be wrong, it would also be a bad decision.
Now I know and understand that some purists would disagree with me, and whilst I again understand and agree with their right to have an opinion, just imagine how bad it could have been without Peter at the helm. Peter didn’t just direct a film, he brought together a highly impressive team.
Think about the different elements of his team; first there was the thoughtfulness and professionalism of Richard Taylor and everyone at Weta who realised the complex detail needed to make it believable; secondly the way Howard Shore’s beautiful music compliments and binds the film. In addition to this there is the wonderfully detailed concepts of Alan Lee and John Howe, both of whose insights helped craft the feel of the film. The fabulous costumes of Ngila Dickson, the photography and vision of Andrew Lesnie, and New Zealand, a country that lends itself perfectly to Middle Earth with its breathtaking and varied landscapes. All of these elements and many more were brought together by Peter.
How could a different director do what Peter has done? How would they find a similar team of people who have the knowledge, passion and understanding of a world they helped create?
Surely that doesn’t make any sense when Peter already holds the key.
I do understand and agree with Peter’s position, although I only know on the surface what must be a very difficult and frustrating decision for him.
I know it’s not simply a matter of saying yes. There’s a mountain of issues that lie between New Line and Peter, but there must be some way to resolve this.
I imagine there’s been an awful lot of letters and conversations between both camps, heels have been dug in and hair pulled out. If only there was some way to sort out the stalemate between them and find that common ground and resolution which is needed to do justice to such an important book.
Whilst I don’t know the inner relationship between New Line and Peter, what i do know is that they backed him, all those years ago, to produce LOTR. For that part and many more they played, I’m forever grateful.
When I saw the end result on screen, knowing that everyone had played a part in putting it there, and were all united in putting it there, it made me smile. I’m sorry but has everyone forgot those simple smiles? Isn’t that what making films is all about?
If Peter hadn’t made LOTR with the respect he showed to my Great Grandfather, I’d not have felt compelled to voice my opinion.
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Celebriel forwards a BBC News report that a statue of Treebeard planned for Birmingham, UK, to be created in honor of J.R.R. Tolkien by his grand-nephew Tim Tolkien, will be moved because road experts are worried it might distract drivers. [More]
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TORONTO — Though theater critics were tepid in their reviews of the stage version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” the granddaughter of the legendary English author praised it for staying true to his classic tale. In town Thursday night for the lavish world premiere at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Rachel Tolkien said she admired the opulent sets and Finnish music, and felt the 3 1/2-hour spectacle was a lovely retelling of her grandfather’s Middle-earth saga. “The set is incredible, the costumes are beautiful,” said Tolkien, 35. “The Hobbit” was first read to her when she was 6. “Everything to me that is the most important, and the most moving in the book, they’ve gotten on the stage. I think it’s an amazing feat to have made ‘The Lord of the Rings’ in 3½ hours.” [More]
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What do Tolkien’s millions of fans, eccentric or not, know about the guiding force in Tolkien’s own life: the Catholic faith that informed everything he wrote? The San Antonio Current pontificates upon the matter. Thanks to Ringer Shadowfax2005 for the link. [More]
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THE making of a £66 million film trilogy of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings will force the late author’s family into hiding to escape deranged fans, his son has told The Telegraph. [More]
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