Eowyn Card From Decipher
(Norfolk, VA, August 29, 2002) Beginning September 1, players and collectors of The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game will be able to pick up a free Éowyn card, an alternate image preview of the upcoming The Two Towers base set. Available exclusively at participating retailers and through the Decipher store (http://shop.decipher.com) and The Lord of the Rings Fan Club store (http://shop.lotrfanclub.com), the card will be given to all customers for every $10 purchase of The Lord of the Rings trading card game. The Éowyn card offers a sneak peek at what¹s in store with the upcoming set, which will be released on November 6, 2002.
This card, which will present Éowyn, Lady of Rohan, features: the new Rohan culture card template; the new Théoden signet; and a new character key word, Valiant. This promotional offer is valid from September 1 through October 31, 2002 or while supplies last. To find the Retail Fellowship store nearest you, please visit decipher.com. Information about international programs for the release of translated versions of Éowyn preview cards will be announced shortly on decipher.com.
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This is taken from the Barnes & Noble Bookstore’s Events Calendar in Smithfield, RI. USA.
So you’ve read the series and you think you know all about J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Join us for a contest of wit and knowledge as we challenge our guests to answer questions about the books and its characters. All are welcome to participate, and prizes will be awarded. Hobbits remember shoes must be worn in the store.
The Quest to Middle Earth
Saturday 31st August at 1:00pm
Barnes & Noble Bookstore’s
Smithfield, RI. (Rhode island) USA
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From The Folks at Ancanar.com:
– We are proud to announce the news that Ancanar will be at Ring*Con 2002 this November.
– As many of our fans know, a special teaser trailer will be released online within weeks, but an extended version of that trailer will be screened at the convention. In addition, Ring*Con attendees will be treated to a presentation of scenes from the film, clips that will not be seen anywhere else.
– There is also a possibility of a Q&A discussion session with the directors and cast members, but that will be confirmed as the convention moves closer.
– For more information about Ring*Con and Ancanar, visit the official sites:
RING*CON Website
ANCANAR.COM
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From: The folks at Houghton Mifflin Books
Pick up your copy at Amazon.com today!
A conversation with Douglas A. Anderson about The Annotated Hobbit
What exactly is an “annotated” book? And what precisely can be found in your Annotated Hobbit?
An “annotated” book prints the full of the text being annotated, and in the margins alongside the text the annotator adds commentary. So in The Annotated Hobbit, I have the full of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, along with about three hundred annotations, covering Tolkien’s sources and influences, the relationship between The Hobbit and Tolkien’s other writings, and the textual differences when Tolkien revised the book. There are also over a hundred and fifty black-and-white illustrations, including Tolkien’s own artwork, and various artistic interpretations of the story that were published with foreign translations, including Estonian, Japanese, French, Russian, etc. I have also included the longest version of “The Quest of Erebor” by J.R.R. Tolkien, which is a chapter-sized retelling of the story of The Hobbit from Gandalf’s point of view. It was originally intended to be part of an appendix to The Lord of the Rings but was omitted for reasons of space. And there is a long introduction on the writing and publication of the first edition of The Hobbit, and at the back of the book, an appendix on runes, a bibliographical guide to Tolkien’s works, and a detailed listing of the forty-one translations of The Hobbit.
You say Tolkien himself revised the text of The Hobbit. Why?
He actually revised the published text twice. The book was first published in 1937, and after it was successful, Tolkien was pressed for a sequel. He began The Lord of the Rings in December 1937, and the way the sequel grew during the process of writing made it necessary for Tolkien to go back and rewrite the Gollum chapter. In the first edition, Gollum wasn’t quite so nasty a character—Gollum actually shows Bilbo the way out, in return for not being able to provide Bilbo with a present for winning the riddle-game. And Bilbo says goodbye to Gollum as he leaves!
The revisions to the Gollum chapter were published in 1951, a few years before The Lord of the Rings began to come out. In 1966, Tolkien published a further revised text of The Hobbit. This second set of revisions fixes a lot of small but interesting points, and brings the world of The Hobbit more into accord with that of The Lord of the Rings.
The Lord of the Rings is a work for adults that is a sequel to a children’s book. Can you elaborate on the relationship between the two works?
It’s actually a more complex situation than that. In his early twenties, Tolkien had begun working on an elaborate invented mythology—complex histories and legends of elves and men, with much work on the imagined Elvish languages. This “legendarium” was written and rewritten in various forms throughout Tolkien’s life. A version was published posthumously as The Silmarillion in 1977. The Hobbit began merely as a story Tolkien told to his children as they grew up in Oxford in the early 1930s, but elements from the “Silmarillion” stories crept in. After The Hobbit was published, and the publisher asked to see Tolkien’s other writings, he submitted some of the various legends, but they were not found suitable as a successor to The Hobbit. When Tolkien began to write The Lord of the Rings, an actual sequel to The Hobbit, the new book quickly took on the grander scale and more high tone of the earlier legendarium, and it became as much a sequel to “The Silmarillion” as it was a sequel to The Hobbit.
The first edition of The Annotated Hobbit came out in 1988. What was the original inspiration for your book, and how does the new “revised and expanded” edition differ from the earlier version?
Strangely, the revisions that Tolkien made to the text of The Hobbit were the inspiration for doing the annotated edition. I had known that Tolkien revised the text, and if you are really interested in the details of Tolkien’s invented world and its evolution, you can’t help but wonder what he felt he needed to revise, when he revised it, and why. For such bibliographical work, I photocopied the appropriate editions of The Hobbit, pasted the pages next to each other on one-foot by four-foot sheets, and read them across, using various colored highlighters and pencils to note the changes. I had thought about the possibility of doing a variorum Hobbit, but found that there weren’t really enough changes to justify that. So I thought—well, there are a lot of other interesting things to say, so how about an Annotated Hobbit?
The new revised edition is greatly expanded from what was in the 1988 version. There is at least twice as much text to the annotations themselves, and the introduction is something like four times the size of that in the first edition. There are many more illustrations, and the color insert is new. Plus there are some new items by Tolkien—a few never-before-published poems, including one called “Glip” about a Gollum-like creature written a few years before The Hobbit, and the long version of “The Quest of Erebor” (a shorter version appears in Unfinished Tales, edited by Christopher Tolkien). The design of the new edition is much superior too—the book has a more integrated and comfortable feel to it.
How do you come to be interested in Tolkien?
I first read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when I was thirteen. I was visiting my older sister, who is nine years older than I am, and I was bored and complaining that there was nothing to read. She stomped in from the kitchen, grabbed the Tolkien books, and thrust them at me, saying: “Here. Read these. You’ll like them. Now leave me alone!” And I did like them.
Since then, my interest in Tolkien has evolved through various stages. At first, I relished the simple details of the imagined history of Middle-earth. Then I became interested in the medieval works that were Tolkien’s inspiration, and following that, in Tolkien’s own medieval scholarship. Along the way there came an interest in learning more about the author, and in collecting his complete works, and then in finding the variant forms. I became interested in publishing history, in the literary tradition of fantasy before Tolkien, and in mythology and children’s literature. An ever-widening net, and when I had learned something in any one of these different fields and come back to Tolkien, I could see further depths in what he was doing as a literary writer. And there are many dimensions yet to explore!
What is the most surprising or intriguing thing you uncovered in your research?
Probably that Tolkien did indeed think of hobbits as having pointed ears. There were suggestions of this before, as in a letter where Tolkien refers to hobbits as having “ears only slightly pointed and ‘elvish.’” But there is further evidence. And I had never realized before that in Tolkien’s own illustrations—if you look closely at the really good and large reproductions (like those found in J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator, by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull), you can see Bilbo’s ears are drawn as pointed!
The question of elves and pointed ears is another matter entirely. Tolkien made no close-up drawings of elves, but there is in Tolkien’s notes on Elvish word relationships a mention that Elven ears were more pointed and leaf-shaped than human ones. This statement has sparked many debates. But Christopher Tolkien and I agreed that all that can be said with certainty is that at one time, probably in the mid-1930s, J.R.R. Tolkien held this view.
Click here to read an excerpt from The Annotated Hobbit!
Click here to purchase the book at Amazon.com
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The head of Red Carpet Movie Tours, Vic James, emailed to say how the LOTR Locations tours are going, and also to tell us about a special tour planned to coincide with a midnight showing on The Two Towers when it premieres in Wellington, New Zealand….
“I have just completed a 10 night Ultimate Fantasy tour with some VIPs from Singapore. A great trip. The highlight was a 2 hour flight in Queenstown. We flew over : the Pillars of Argonath; the Ford of Bruinen; the River Anduin; Lothlorien; Amon Hen; Isengard; the field of Cormallen; the lawn of Parth Galen; Nen Hithoel and Amon Lhaw. Fantastic! Also stayed at a budget hotel right on the lakefront @ $55 share twin (has en suite). I could spit into the Lake!
At present I am planning the Premiere Tour for this Xmas. We will have a midnight screening at the Premiere theatre (Embassy) and pre-show drinks on site!
“The Red Carpet Movie Tours website will have a special addition soon re the tour – keep a look out for it. Meanwhile the itinerary is posted below.”
‘THE TWO TOWERS’ PREMIERE SPECIAL 2002
December 16:The ‘pilgrimage’ leaves Auckland and heads South to the site of Hobbiton (the ‘jewel in the crown’!). Afterwards we have lunch at Oraka Wapiti Deer Farm (included). Our journey then continues to the shores of Lake Taupo. (Accommodation at The Tui Oaks Motor Inn or Copthorne Manuels).
December 17: Today we head for Tongariro National Park and the sites of Emyn Muil, slopes of Mordor, Mt. Doom and other locations to be seen in the 2nd. film. (The Hobbit Lodge or Powderhorn Chateau).
December 18: The River Anduin beckons us, as does the ranch where the Lead Black Rider lives – and his magnificent horses. Who is carrying the Ring? Upon reaching Wellington we shall head for the site of Rivendell. (The Bay Plaza or Copthorne Plimmer Towers).
December 19: Premiere Day! Find yourself a good viewing spot alongside the Red Carpet, autograph book in hand! Tonight we shall have our own celebratory function, prior to attending a midnight screening of ‘The Two Towers’. (cost included)
December 20: For those not continuing on our tour, please plan for your departure. Fans heading for the South Island portion will be transferred to the airport for the flight to Christchurch. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your accommodation (Thomas’s Hotel or Copthorne Central).
December 21: This morning sees us heading to the stunning location for Edoras. Cameras at the ready! From there we transfer to Geraldine for lunch, followed by a late afternoon visit to the Pelennor Fields. En route we will view lakes Tekapo and Pukaki, plus New Zealand’s highest mountain, Mt. Cook (12,000 feet). Tonight we stay at the McKenzie Motor Inn (buffet dinner and breakfast included).
December 22: Up early for the trip to Queenstown via the scene of The Great Chase (Arwen & Frodo) plus a meeting with New Zealand’s No.1 fan, Ian Brodie, who has Weta figurines and LOTR guide books for sale. Later we will stop at Mrs. Jones’s Fruit Stall. (Accommodation at Thomas’s Hotel or the St. Moritz).
December 23: Today our coach will take us to the summit of Kelvin Heights Deer Park. Here the refugees from Rohan took flight and Gandalf continued his trek. We then transfer to Arrowtown, the scene of The Ford of Bruinen.
December 24: Time for some selected optional extra activities.
An unforgettable ride in a fixed-wing aircraft. 2 Hours in length; $260 per person. Visits the sites of The River Anduin, the Pillars of Argonath, the Ford of Bruinen, Lothlorien, Battle of Amon Hen, Isengard, the Field of Cormallen, the Lawn of Parth Galen, Nen Hithoel and Amon Lhaw.
River rafting the Kawerau River past the site of The Pillars of Argonath.$119 per person.
The Dart River Jet Boat Safari through LOTR country.$145 per person
4 wheel drive safari to Skippers Canyon and The Road to Mordor. POA
Dart Stables horse trek to Lothlorien. POA
December 25: More optional activities. Don’t forget Christmas Dinner at the top of the Gondola. (cost included).
December 26: Your Fellowship trek is over. Time to make your own way to whatever activity or location you choose next.
Well! That sound interesting? You can find out more at Red Carpet Movie Tours.
( Prices and options available upon registering your interest)
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Here’s a link to some REALLY nice pictures of New Zealand from Artek Why link to them? Here’s some words from the DVD’s creator, John Banks: “I’ve send this to TORN for a number of reasons. Primary of these is that this project might be of interest to those who know & love LOTR. Nature is really the central character of these short explorations. Much of the disc was filmed in England as well as some other far flung locations. Green woods, waterfalls and forest trails are the main locations as are castles, temples and other ancient structures. Like countless others, LOTR inspired my youth with visions of tramping through the woods in search of secrets and wonderment.
Luckily, this inspiration has never faded and still motivates much travel and artwork. Although this work is not a literal vision of any of the events in LOTR, it is heavily influenced by the sentiment of Tolkien’s green, visual writing.”
“The section entitled “Journey Cycle” is probably the most journeylike, it was modeled after the monomyth cycle of Joseph Campbell.”
The press release says, “2002 Artek Images has released Illuminated Manuscripts, a new DVD featuring a series of digital animations exploring the visionary nature of journeys. Layering an original soundtrack over photographic scenes of temples, waterfalls, forests and doorways, this DVD introduces a new experience of art that draws from video, music, nature, and special effects. Illuminated Manuscripts features organically styled computer animation by John S. Banks and world/electronic music by composer Fritz Heede. This disc contains 17 beautiful works that explore visions of lost worlds and journeys of discovery. With original sources drawn from ancient sites, deep green nature and lost languages, Illuminated Manuscripts will appeal to anyone interested in Animation, Nature, Meditation and Fantasy.” It’s available here from Amazon
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