Update from the Minnesota Tolkien Society: The Church of the Open Door who is having the Return of the Trilogy event on December 31st in Maple Grove, MN has heard from many fans who for one reason or another cannot attend the entire event and are interested in seeing Return of the King Extended Edition (ROTK EE) only on the big screen in surround sound. In response, on December 14th, they converted a LIMITED number of trilogy tickets to ROTK EE only. ROTK starts at 5pm and is $8.
For just $7 more, you are able to secure your spot for the Return of the King including the Two Towers, and the Fellowship of the Ring.
From the December Minnesota Tolkien Society Newsletter:
How many of you remember Trilogy Tuesday? If you remember it with a smile, it’s because you, or a friend, waited outside for 3+ hours to make sure you were one of the first 80 people in line to buy tickets. If you remember it with a tinge of regret, it’s because you missed out on the best, single-day movie experience to date. – Don’t let it happen again! This time it is bigger (in terms of screen and seating capacity), and longer with 50 minutes of film footage never-before-seen on the big screen. Here it is, the event we have all been waiting for since Trilogy Tuesday: ALL THREE EXTENDED-EDITION MOVIES BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK!!! With Thanksgiving and the busiest shopping weekend of the year behind us, now is the time to prepare for the holidays and the new year. Do not let this opportunity pass you by: Secure your spot now.
Do not forget to reserve your seat(s) at the King’s Feast and Elevenses. Elevenses is a box lunch between FOTR and TTT. The King’s Feast is an event worth attending even if you can’t make the movies! You will be welcomed into the Golden Hall of Edoras (a large candle-lit medieval space) for a feast fit only for a King and his court. The catered menu includes roasted pig, chicken legs, green beans, baked beans, cornbread, fresh fruit, and more. With only an hour between movies this is the perfect option for dinner for any royal subject or guest of honor. Because both meals are catered, tickets will only be available until December 20th.
Tickets for either movie package and both meals can be purchased separately from www.thedoor.org/lotr
Jeff Hrubiak writres: The newest offering from Sabertooth Games for their The Lord of the Rings Tradeable Miniatures Game is the mighty Balrog. He is the latest Evil figure to come to Middle-earth in the Premium Line (PL) of figures. This is one bad dude! Lucky for the forces of Good, he comes packaged with a very impressive version of Gandalf the Grey. They are hitting retailers’ shelves sometime this month, December 2004!
The Balrog will tower over the forces of Middle-earth. He stands 9 ½ inches tall on a base of 9 hexes (the standard figure stands on 1 hex!), and has a wing span of 12 inches wide. He is complete with flames coming out of his back and a flaming sword in hand. This guy not only looks great, but he is a one-man-army to be reckoned with for sure! The Balrog weighs in at a point cost of 1500 points. His 8 wounds and toughness of 5 will make this guy hard (but not impossible!) to kill, and his 10 action points (AP) will help him make sure that every one of his 7 attacks hits with deadly precision, and deals a maximum amount of damage to his enemies. With a movement of 12 this guy will get across the map in no time to join the battle. And should he choose, he can join the battle from a distance with his 7 shots at a range of 7 hexes. The Balrog also has a wealth of special abilities (SA) to help the gamer in his conquest of Middle-earth. These include:
Large: This has several benefits over standard figures such as kill zone and line of sight (LOS) advantages.
Fearsome: This forces an enemy to spend an AP to move into this figure’s kill zone as well as spending an AP to stay there (if he dares!).
Flying: This new SA grants several benefits including movement over restrictive terrain and free attacks.
Terrifying: This awesome new SA makes the Balrog immune to free attacks and to being targeted by enemy SAs.
Volley Attack: This new SA allows the Balrog to assign damage to any figure within range and LOS without nominating a specific target.
With such power and prowess there are few in Middle-earth that have the courage and power to battle the Balrog. This is where the forces of Good can utilize their own one-man-army of Gandalf the Grey. This new version also comes in at a 1500 point cost to go head to head with the Balrog. Gandalf has an impressive 10 wounds and a toughness of 5 to help him withstand the awesome onslaught of the Balrog. He has 9 APs that will allow him to take full advantage of his 6 attacks and many special abilities. Gandalf can move 5 hexes per turn, and can attack at a distance from a range of 7 hexes with an impressive 14 shots! Gandalf has also been given a number of special abilities to help him in his efforts to destroy the Balrog. These include:
Initiative: This gives Gandalf an advantage in choosing to attack or defend.
Crack Shot: This allows Gandalf to utilize his 14 ranged shots and then move strategically into position.
Arrow Flurry: This will allow Gandalf to double his ranged shots from 14 to a whopping 28 shots!
Courage: Just like in the story, once Gandalf dies (his wound count goes down to 0), he can live on to fight for another round with this SA. Just enough to finish off the Balrog!
While the game can be played as a one on one, 1500 point battle between the Balrog and Gandalf, these guys can also be incorporated into larger armies of 2000 points or more for massive battles of epic proportions! For more information, check out the Sabertooth Games website.
I really shouldn’t comment on the Sci-Fi channel’s miniseries of Earthsea, based on Ursula Le Guin’s books. I haven’t seen it, since it’s not showing in New Zealand. Thanks by the way to you generous people who offered to tape it and send me a copy – I’ll reply to you individually.
So yes, I shouldn’t comment on something I haven’t seen myself. But I am a HUGE fan of Le Guin’s work – my NAME is taken from her Earthsea books, for those of you who haven’t cottoned on yet. I was wildly excited to learn that Earthsea would be filmed, and that Philippa Boyens, who is another passionately keen Earthsea fan, would be writing the screenplay. I was aware that she’d had to let go of that project halfway through, and I was disturbed when I couldn’t seem to make any contact with the film makers after that. “There is still hope,” I thought, “if somewhat diminished.”
But now the finished film has screened, and I’ve been getting emails from people whose opinions I respect saying things like ‘I watched it and I was sick to my stomach after seven minutes.’ I can’t stand by and let it look as though TORN will recommend and promote any rubbish just because it’s a well-known fantasy series.
What really made up my mind on this was Ursula Le Guin’s own reaction to the miniseries. She finally broke silence when the director was printed in Sci Fi Magazine, “explaining” what Le Guin supposedly meant by the books, and how “true” to that his film was. As she says herself:
“But then Mr. Lieberman published a statement telling people what “Ursula” (whom he has never met) “intended” by the books. That changed the situation. They were taking advantage of my silence by sticking words in my mouth. I put a reply on my web site, and since then have spoken freely to interviewers who have asked my opinion of the production.”
TheOne.Ring.net and Creation Entertainment are extremely pleased to announce today that the sensational DOMINIC MONAGHAN is joining his comrades to party with all of us at GET YOUR TICKETS FOR ORC NOW!
****HOBBIT SUPERSTARS RELEASE ‘LORDS OF THE RHYMES: THE UNTOLDE TALE’****
CHART-BUSTING FILM CAUSES GLOBAL UPROAR; DVD AVAILABLE NOW AT WWW.LORDSOFTHERHYMES.COM
Hobbit rap superstars Quickbeam and Bombadil, known in lands near and far as the Lords of the Rhymes, officially released ‘Lords of the Rhymes: The Untolde Tale’ today, instantly topping the Billboard charts, shredding all previously held sales records, and putting several small South Asian economies on the brink of collapse. The 40-minute feature — hailed by one critic as ‘the best piece of pure filmmaking ever executed’ and by another as ‘a surreal yet cardboard-infused journey into the proto-pubescent fantasy realm of two hairy-footed beatboxing wannabe hacks,’ — details the rise to stardom, the music, the hype, the fans, and the secret lives of MCs Quickbeam and Bombadil — aka the Lords of the Rhymes.
The film, directed by hip-hop aficionado Morgan Barnard (aka Curufin the Crafty), features interviews with the Lords and their managers, live performance footage, never-before-heard songs, scenes from the Lords’ “Lucky Charms” and “Irish Spring” commercials, archival footage of the Lords’ early days busking in the New York City subway, commentary on the history of hobbit rap by Tolkien Scholar Tayshaun Greensleeve, pedicures, music videos, elf-girls and much more… It is being released on a limited-edition, specially shrink-wrapped DVD which also contains a bevy of special features, including a 14-minute featurette on the making of the Lords of the Rhymes wildly popular music video.
The raucous and profanity-laced film recently caused an uproar at the Greater Hobbiton Film Festival, when the Sackville-Baggins Council on Good Hobbit Morals declared it unfit for public viewing. Despite this, bootleg copies made it out into the market, resulting in a near riot in South Bywater and several unwanted Elven pregnancies.
When asked if the Lords would be making any further forays onto the silver screen, rapper Quickbeam remarked: ‘This is only the beginning. We’re currently in the process of shooting a series of prequels. And then we’re going to singlehandedly re-enact the entire Silmarillion with all cardboard props. And if that fails, we can always be like our man Snoop Dogg and get into porn.”
“S’right” added Bombadil. “We’ve certainly got the feet for it.”
‘Untolde Tale’ is the Lords’ first feature film. In addition to its sold out engagements across Middle-earth, the film has also been screened at the First Annual Gathering of the Roleplayer’s Society of Greater Helsinki.
****HOBBIT SUPERSTARS RELEASE ‘LORDS OF THE RHYMES: THE UNTOLDE TALE’****
CHART-BUSTING FILM CAUSES GLOBAL UPROAR; DVD AVAILABLE NOW AT WWW.LORDSOFTHERHYMES.COM
Hobbit rap superstars Quickbeam and Bombadil, known in lands near and far as the Lords of the Rhymes, officially released ‘Lords of the Rhymes: The Untolde Tale’ today, instantly topping the Billboard charts, shredding all previously held sales records, and putting several small South Asian economies on the brink of collapse. The 40-minute feature — hailed by one critic as ‘the best piece of pure filmmaking ever executed’ and by another as ‘a surreal yet cardboard-infused journey into the proto-pubescent fantasy realm of two hairy-footed beatboxing wannabe hacks,’ — details the rise to stardom, the music, the hype, the fans, and the secret lives of MCs Quickbeam and Bombadil — aka the Lords of the Rhymes.
The film, directed by hip-hop aficionado Morgan Barnard (aka Curufin the Crafty), features interviews with the Lords and their managers, live performance footage, never-before-heard songs, scenes from the Lords’ “Lucky Charms” and “Irish Spring” commercials, archival footage of the Lords’ early days busking in the New York City subway, commentary on the history of hobbit rap by Tolkien Scholar Tayshaun Greensleeve, pedicures, music videos, elf-girls and much more… It is being released on a limited-edition, specially shrink-wrapped DVD which also contains a bevy of special features, including a 14-minute featurette on the making of the Lords of the Rhymes wildly popular music video.
The raucous and profanity-laced film recently caused an uproar at the Greater Hobbiton Film Festival, when the Sackville-Baggins Council on Good Hobbit Morals declared it unfit for public viewing. Despite this, bootleg copies made it out into the market, resulting in a near riot in South Bywater and several unwanted Elven pregnancies.
When asked if the Lords would be making any further forays onto the silver screen, rapper Quickbeam remarked: ‘This is only the beginning. We’re currently in the process of shooting a series of prequels. And then we’re going to singlehandedly re-enact the entire Silmarillion with all cardboard props. And if that fails, we can always be like our man Snoop Dogg and get into porn.”
“S’right” added Bombadil. “We’ve certainly got the feet for it.”
‘Untolde Tale’ is the Lords’ first feature film. In addition to its sold out engagements across Middle-earth, the film has also been screened at the First Annual Gathering of the Roleplayer’s Society of Greater Helsinki.
