The latest episode of the BBC2’s “Planet Word” has Stephen Fry, cast in the role of the Master of Laketown, speaking with Peter Jackson about Tolkien’s use of languages in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Roads go ever, ever on, under cloud and under star, Yet feet that wandering have gone, return at last to home afar. Eyes that fire and sword have seen, and horror in halls of stone, Look at last on meadows green, and trees and hills they long have known.
Stephen Fry’s recital of Tolkien’s poem sets the tone for his little discussion with PJ in a most apt setting – the Bag End set down in New Zealand, where filming for the upcoming Hobbit films is currently on in full swing.
Folks in the UK can watch the stream via bbc.co.uk, while those located internationally can catch a snippet over on YouTube (4:17 into the video).
A transcript is also up on our message boards courtesy of board member QuackingTroll.
Previously unseen illustrations produced for The Hobbit by its author, J R R Tolkien, will be published for the first time this week. The paintings and sketches, which were not used when the seminal children’s novel came out in 1937, were recently discovered in the Bodleian Library, in Oxford.
The pen and ink drawings and a series of watercolours, three of which are reproduced here, were discovered by researchers in material bequeathed by the author’s estate to the library in 1979.
They were looking for material to mark next year’s 75th anniversary of Tolkien’s second book. The illustrations, together with the long-awaited film version of the book due to appear in cinemas next year, are likely to stimulate renewed interest in The Hobbit. More..
Magpie writes: I just got this email from a Tolkien acquaintance on staff at Wheaton College.
“Greetings one and all!
Today marks the beginning of Tolkien Week, and I hope you enjoy every last minute of it. If you haven’t heard, Wheaton College has started a student club (that actually includes Faculty and Staff as well) called the Wheaton College Tolkien Society! It will be a joy to celebrate Tolkien Week and Hobbit Day with that group of people this year.And if you want to vicariously partake in some Tolkien Week activities, I’ll be on WETNWheaton College Radio this Tuesday morning (September 20) sometime between 8:30am and 9am. Tune in and join in the fun! I’ll be plugging Tolkien Week, Hobbit Day, and the WCTS.PS – Some of you on this list might be new to the whole “Tolkien Week” thing. Explanation here: http://www.americantolkiensociety.org/hobbit_day_and_tolkien_week.htm(It’s a whole week of celebrating Tolkien and his works, established by the American Tolkien Society. Tolkien geeks unite!) ;)”
Jim Beverly and his wife Holly Holt give a quick interview for the live broadcast of TheOneRing.net's coverage of DragonCon. A veteran of Iraq, Beverly credits J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings for helping him recover after war injuries in 2003.
Enraged, his knee and hands wrecked by shrapnel from the grenade that infamously disintegrated the hand of a Time writer, the 19-year-old private Jim Beverly lay in his hospital bed.
“It was almost like it was a personal insult that a guy would throw that grenade,” Beverly said.
Teeth were missing, bandages covered wounds from minor to devastating. His Kevlar vest and helmet undoubtedly saved his life, absorbing most of the pieces of metal that would have pierced a lung and skull. He still seethed as a 2003 casualty of the war in Iraq, recovering in Kaiserslautern, Germany away from what was left of his unit being profiled as part of Time Magazine naming the American Soldier the person of the year in 2003.
Geek Kon is a relatively young gathering, started in 2007 by students and alumni of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The fifth con was held this weekend, September 9 to 11, with 1400 fans attending. There were three Tolkien-related events, allinvolving David Salo, an expert on the professor’s invented languages.
David’s main contribution to the scholarly study of those languages has been his book A Gateway to Sindarin. He also, however, acted as the “Tolkien linguist” for Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. In that capacity, he translated phrases and passages from the script into various Middle-earth languages, primarily Elvish. David also devised passages in Khuzdul (the secret language of the dwarves), including choral portions in the musical score for the scenes in Moria. David also translated the phrases seen engraved on the swords and other armaments, and he recorded readings of his translations for the language coaches to use in training the actors.
(I have known David for years, and in September of 2004 I interviewed him for my book, The Frodo Franchise. I used material from that interview in Chapter 3, “Handcrafting a Blockbuster,” pp. 95-6.)
I don’t think it has been publicly announced yet, but fans will be delighted to know that David is currently performing the same tasks for The Hobbit. Although his contract obviously restricts him in what he can say about the actual filming, his first talk shared with us what he could reveal. Continue reading “David Salo, Linguistic Consultant for The Hobbit, speaks at Geek Kon”
Rob writes: A discussion on Tolkien was held on the irish radio station Newstalk last Sunday. Their “Talking History” program covered Tolkien’s life and how that influenced his writing. Guests included Julianne Stephens, Conor Kostick, Stephen Benedict, John Garth and Simon Tolkien. Just click on “Highlights from Talking History” on that page below for the list of recent discussions. It is also available on iTunes. More..
The latest episode of the BBC2’s “Planet Word” has Stephen Fry, cast in the role of the Master of Laketown, speaking with Peter Jackson about Tolkien’s use of languages in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
