(Luke Evans as Bard The Bowman and John Bell as his son Bain.)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Ever wonder what you gave Luke Evans for his birthday? Few realized it, but the staff and readers of TheOneRing.net gave him a present back in April of 2011.
Evans celebrated his 32nd year with a party at Gas Works, a bar and grill just walking distance from Stone Street Studios, the movie lot where Peter Jackson makes movies, including the forthcoming “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.”
In the mess tent of that set, on the white refrigerator that holds cream and milk and sundry items, near the always playing iPod, there hung a solicitation for all eyes to see: An open invitation from Luke Evans to celebrate his birthday on a Saturday night. (Regrettably I didn’t take a photo of the fridge.) The invitation was right there in perhaps the most trafficked spot on the lot, available for all, specified for none.
Are on-set reporters invited to cast and crew events? Advised by somebody from costume that it was absolutely okay (Jasmine I think, a real favorite), I decided to go only if could find a suitable gift from all of us, readers and staff of TORn. What would you buy an actor on behalf of the largest online Tolkien community? What does a guy making a living acting in New Zealand and away from home really want or need anyway? Continue reading “Luke Evans talks Bard the Bowman and Bard the family man in ‘Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug’”
Its always nice to hear from Weta Workshop, but its especially nice when they drop something beautiful in our mailbox. This time it is concept art work from “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles: Art & Design,” book. Written by Daniel Falconer, this is likely to be an amazing book. TORn got its first look at a similar book by Falconer for the previous movie and it turned out to be as stunning as we imagined it might be. Those who have had occasion to meet the author, who does extensive design work for Weta, know that he is gracious and smart and passionate about the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Click for larger versionWhile the masses in the U.S. are out shopping, you can order one of these now and during the pre-order phase, your book gets signed by the concept artists and comes with a “Dragon’s Gold” for Weta discounts and prizes. As you can see above, the image we received is of Lake-Town, from the desks of Alan Lee (who writes the book’s introduction) and John Howe. And please click for the larger version, it is definitely worth
They also included some previously released Elf concept art which you can see below. You can order the book RIGHT HERE. Expect this art to pop up in other places soon and more will be released as Weta and HarperCollins see fit, but for Hobbit fans, this may be among the very best of seasonal gifts.
Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment and Turbine have just released a new expansion to the hugely popular The Lord of the Rings massively multiple online role-playing game (MMORPG) – Helm’s Deep. Upon reaching level 10, you will now be able to take part in the major battle from The Two Towers. Continue reading ““Helm’s Deep” expansion to The Lord of the Rings Online released!”
What’s a Tolkien fan to do when the extended cut of There and Back Again has come and gone after the holiday season of 2014? With the rights for his other books held by the Tolkien Estate,
it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing further adaptations anytime soon. But over the past couple of days, we’ve been hearing rumblings of a new project in the works that will take a look at the Professor’s life – focusing on his time in college and in the Great War, as well as how his works were influenced by those experiences. Continue reading “J.R.R. Tolkien biopic in the works!”
A Journey Through Middle-earth, an interactive experiment by Google Chrome.
Part of the celebration of “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” is a new Google Chrome initiative that uses technology to lead users to a digital experience of J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary creation. You visit by clicking RIGHT HERE (http://middle-earth.thehobbit.com/) and trolling around the map with zoom features. Three locations are immediately available: The Trollshaw Forest, Rivendell and Dol Guldur. Others, like Thranduil’s Hall, are locked.
Below is a YouTube commercial for it and below that, the full press release.
PRESS RELEASE
“A JOURNEY THROUGH MIDDLE-EARTH”
PREMIERES ACROSS COMPUTERS, TABLETS AND PHONES
Burbank, CA, November 20, 2013—Inspired by the epic fantasy adventure “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” “A Journey Through Middle-earth,” is a new Chrome Experiment that brings the locations and characters from “The Hobbit” Trilogy to life with a mix of modern web technologies. The film, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, will be released worldwide December 13, 2013, from Warner Bros. Pictures and MGM.
The online experience, developed by North Kingdom in collaboration with the studios, takes fans through an adventure that unfolds across an interactive map of Middle-earth. Users can zoom in to explore Trollshaw Forest, Rivendell and Dol Guldur, with new locations set to be added in the weeks ahead. Each destination on the map gives the visitor access to its history and the characters who inhabit it, or presents unique survival challenges in which fans can test their wits.
With immersive 3D graphics built with CSS3 and WebGL, “Journey Through Middle-earth” is the first Chrome Experiment designed to bring this beautiful, 3D experience to mobile, with technology support for WebGL in Chrome for Android on devices with high-end graphics cards. Although WebGL isn’t supported on iOS, Chrome users can still experience most of “Journey Through Middle-earth” on their iPhones and iPads.
From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson, director of “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, comes “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” 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 film 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.
Last week, TORn staffer greendragon caught up with Thorin himself, for a chat about topics including what he is planning post Middle-earth, the upcoming release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and whether to go dressed as Sally Bowles to the Berlin premiere of said movie. (Answer: it seems unlikely that either greendragon or Richard Armitage will be at the premiere in stockings and a bowler hat…)
Look for most of the interview in a post later this week. Meanwhile, we here at TheOneRing.net have been pondering the division in fandom which seems to be being created by the Hobbit movies; and this interview seemed like a great opportunity to get Armitage’s thoughts on the subject.
