An audio recording of J.R.R. Tolkien speaking at a dinner in Rotterdam in 1958 is set to undergo restoration and may offer new insights into The Lord of the Rings. Significantly, for Tolkien scholarship, it includes a previously unpublished poem.
Tolkien’s Dutch publisher and bookseller Voorhoeve en Dietrich hosted the dinner on 28 March, 1958. More than 200 fans gathered to listen Tolkien speak, and someone had the presence of mind to record his speech on reel-to-reel tape.
However the recording was lost for decades until avid Tolkien collector René van Rossenberg (who runs a Tolkien bookstore called TolkienShop) found the tape in a Rotterdam basement in 1993. Van Rossenberg held onto the tape until SF website and publisher Legendarium approached him with an offer to restore the recording.
Continue reading “Audio of lost Tolkien speech promises new insights into The Lord of the Rings”
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The long-awaited Tolkien translation of Beowulf is out now. So, if you haven’t pre-ordered, you should be able to wander into your favourite bookstore and grab yourself a copy (or just head to Amazon.
Edited by Christopher Tolkien, Beowulf includes the translation in prose plus an illuminating commentary, based on a series of lectures given by J.R.R. Tolkien at Oxford in the 1930s. Continue reading “The long-awaited Tolkien translation of Beowulf is out now!”
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A brand new gameplay video (“Weapons and Runes”) has been released for the upcoming video game “Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor”. The game will be released on October 7 and will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor delivers a dynamic game environment where the player orchestrates their personal plan of vengeance as they bend Mordor to their will. The game begins on the night of Sauron’s return to Mordor, as his Black Captains brutally execute the Rangers of the Black Gate. Players become Talion, a ranger who loses his family and everything he holds dear, only to be returned from death by a mysterious Spirit of vengeance. As Talion’s personal vendetta unfolds, players uncover the mystery of the Spirit that compels him, discover the origin of the Rings of Power and confront the ultimate nemesis.
Continue reading “New Trailer for ‘Shadow of Mordor’ Game (Updated)”
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Godzilla is stomping closer to theaters while Smaug is between the two films featuring the performance of Benedict Cumberbatch, but Wall Street Journal writer Michael Calia asked our own news editor Demosthenes to help out with the showdown between the two pop-culture heavyweights. Its a pretty fun read and Demos certainly did us proud but if Godzilla is King of the Monsters (1956 film) then maybe he should face J.R.R. Tolkien’s greatest dragon Ancalagon The Black. Many readers at the WSJ blog probably haven’t heard of him though, so Smaug is much more fun for the masses. You can read the blow-by-blow right here.
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IGN has posted a video with some interview snippets with WETA Digital Animation Supervisor Dave Clayton. In the minute and a half video, he discusses both Smaug’s impending attack on Laketown, as well as the final film’s massive “Battle of the Five Armies”. Thanks to Huan and Brandon Petkau for telling us about this! Continue reading “IGN Video: “Smaug will be a killing machine…””
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Well, that was a surprise.
Even following our spy report last week that Warner Bros. (via New Line) had registered a new title for its trilogy of Hobbit films, I thought it unlikely they actually would follow through and make a change.
Mostly because There And Back Again seemed too established as a name and it seemed a bit irrational to toss away all that brand recognition.
On the other hand, it’s almost inarguable those two words The Hobbit are the true key that deliver all that goodwill (in an accounting sense) toward the films. And Warner Bros, with nothing more than the announcement of a mid-stream title change, have just scored the film millions of dollars worth of free editorial. That’s gold for any marketer.
Continue reading “How There and Back Again became The Battle of the Five Armies. And why.”
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