Ringer jan-u-wine alerted us to an entertaining article on flavorwire.com: a listing of ten literary authors who illustrated their own work. Number one on the list is none other than J.R.R. Tolkien. Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien are lucky that Tolkien was quite a talented artist who made many illustrations and maps for his literary works. Tolkien’s unique artistic style added charm and character to such works as The Father Christmas Letters and The Hobbit. What better way to envision Middle-earth than through the eyes of the author himself.

As an author/illustrator, Tolkien is in good company. Other authors that illustrated their own works include T.S. Elliot and Rudyard Kipling. Check it out. Read More…

Big thanks to Ringer MrHollandsays for sending us pics of the ‘Thorin Oakenshield & The Goblin King Battle Set’ from The Bridge Direct. You can pre-order the vast majority of these figures right now on Amazon.com – so start your ‘Hobbit’ collection today! For those wishing to avoid spoilers, don’t look beyond the break as we have close up shots of the figure! [The Bridge Direct Hobbit Goblin King with Thorin 3.75″ Battle Pack] [All Hobbit Pieces]
Continue reading “Goblin King & Thorin Figure Set Revealed!”

Word has been seeping out for a few weeks of some of the toy characters (on display at Comic-Con) being revealed through various channels of the pipeline that gets movie tie-ins to market. Now, made by Bridge Direct, they are for sale on store shelves in at least some locations including the new Toys-R-Us in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Not only is it exciting to see new products (Tolkienites make great consumers!) but there are some clues about “The Hobbit: A Long Expected Journey,” and, our staff thinks, some false leads. But true or false, except for some glimpses in Peter Jackson’s production diaries, we have our first clear look of Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel. For those wishing to avoid spoilers, don’t look beyond the break!

The process of merchandise hitting the market and spoiling some aspects of movies is inevitable and fun for consumers but maybe less fun for filmmakers who may want to keep a lid on every possible detail. Lilly’s character, a creation of the screenwriting team, has been mildly controversial as a character not created by J.R.R. Tolkien who wrote the children’s novel the trilogy of movies is based on 75 years ago. Many message board users at TheOneRing.net have taken a wait-and-see stance. Continue reading “Hobbit toys hit store shelves, Tauriel revealed”

On Saturday September 22, 2012 over 150 Southern California Ringers were treated to a party of special magnificence. Hobbits, elves and wizards gathered in Griffith Park and ate plentiful food, drank refreshing beverages, read the first chapter of The Hobbit, sang songs, played games, won prizes, received mathoms and had the most fantastic time celebrating the 10th anniversary of the event. Of course, reasons to celebrate also included the 75th anniversary of the publication of “The Hobbit” (September 21) and Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday (September 22).

LA Weekly did a story of special magnificence about the event, including background on TheOneRing.net and speculation from some well-known picnic goers about the upcoming Hobbit movies. For example, our own Cliff Broadway, a.k.a. “Quickbeam” offers this on why three movies: “A few million dollars [investment from Warner Brothers] equals another billion dollar box office,” Broadway says, explaining that with the set already built and the actors already in New Zealand, it made financial sense to expand. “But Peter, when you ask him in an interview, Peter will say, ‘I’ve got so much more story to tell.'” Continue reading for more pictures of the event, and follow the “Read more” link for the entire LA Weekly story. Read more…

Continue reading “Baggins Birthday Bash a hit, says LA Weekly”

September 22nd is Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ birthday!!  But this year the day has grown into World Hobbit Day as we also salute Tolkien Week AND the 75th anniversary of The Hobbit publication! So to celebrate this perfect storm of Tolkien highlights, TheOneRing.net’s Discussion Boards is hosting a party with activities covering several Boards this weekend. Continue reading “Come celebrate “World Hobbit Day” on TORN’s Discussion Boards!”

We’ve been getting lots of mail alerting us to events all over the world meant to celebrate World Hobbit Day (September 22 -also Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday) and cap off a fabulous Hobbit week that included the debut of a new Hobbit Trailer. As a service to our readers, we’ve gathered information about all of the events we know about into one place so you can plan your weekends accordingly. Starting with world-wide second breakfasts tomorrow, and moving on to online events and local celebrations, the weekend promises food, friends and fun for all: what Hobbit wouldn’t love that? If you have an event that you’d like us to include, please drop us a line at spymaster@theonering.net and we’ll add it to the list.

Continue reading “Hobbit Day events around the world”