Talent, locations, infrastructure and a warm Kiwi welcome. According to Pam Ford from the Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development agency in this piece from Radio NZ, those were the determining factors in Amazon Studios’ decision, confirmed on Tuesday, to film the upcoming Middle-earth-based TV series in New Zealand.
Quoted in stuff.co.nz, showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay described New Zeland as indeed offering all of the criteria they were looking for: “As we searched for the location in which we could bring to life the primordial beauty of the Second Age of Middle Earth, we knew we needed to find somewhere majestic, with pristine coasts, forests, and mountains, that also is a home to world-class sets, studios, and highly skilled and experienced craftspeople and other staff”.
“And we’re happy that we are now able to officially confirm New Zealand as our home for our series based on stories from J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings. The abundant measure of Kiwi hospitality with which they have welcomed us has already made us feel right at home, and we are looking forward to deepening our partnership in the years to come.”
No doubt the prospect of a 20% to 25% rebate for every dollar spent also contributed to the ‘welcome’ factor. The good news for New Zealand is that Amazon will be spending approximately $1.0 billion of those dollars ($1.3 NZD) and will likely provide jobs that will spill over from the film industry to affect the rest of the economy for up to a decade.
Read more about the Auckland studios where filming will take place in our article from June, and be sure to listen to the full radio story linked above as it features our own staffer Garfeimao (Cathy Udovch)!
It’s that time of year again, time for all good Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Wizards and assorted denizens of Middle-earth to gather and make merry to help celebrate the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.
Southern California Tolkien fans are invited to join in the merriment of TORN’s Annual Baggins Birthday Bash, which will take place on Sunday, Sept 22, 2019 starting at noon in Griffith Park in the Mineral Wells area. If you need help finding this location, look at the Directions below and at the Map, which clearly shows Mineral Wells near the Harding Golf Course. We will be celebrating the Birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, and rejoice in each other’s fellowship.
COSTUMES are encouraged, and we may have a prize or two for the most beautifully or most creatively attired lads and ladies. There will also be fun and games and plenty of food.
BIRTHDAY CAKE(S) – We invite you all to get your creative baking going on and bring Middle-earth themed Cakes and/or cupcakes . This will actually be a Juried event with a prize for the Cake or Cupcakes deemed the most Beautiful or Whimsical, or maybe just most delicious looking.
The picnic is potluck so bring something to share. RSVP by leaving a note on our FB event page here or send an email to Garfeimao@theonering.net. Please let us know what you plan to bring so we can make sure we’ve got all bases covered for a good, Hobbity meal. The food list will be updated with what people are bringing so everyone can see what’s coming and what is still needed. Please read the full Info text for the Party for the food list, schedule of events and suggested driving instructions.
DragonCon has begun! And TORn are here. We have our usual table spot (Hyatt, opposite the entrance to the Art Show) and have new shirts and buttons for sale! Friday night we’ll be hosting the traditional Evening at Bree in the Hilton (8.30pm), with live music from Landloch’d, a costume contest, Elf choir, and dance party until late.
Saturday at 5.30pm we’ll be giving a panel in the High Fantasy track room (Marriott L401). We’ll be exploring just what we know, and what we might expect in the Amazon tv series…
Of course there are other Middle-earth related happenings, such as a discussion of Tolkien’s biography (and the recent Tolkien movie) in the High Fantasy track, Sunday 11.30am, and celebrity guest Karl Urban. And much wonderful cosplay to be seen!
This is TORn’s 21st DragonCon!! Come by and see staffers deej and greendragon, and help us celebrate! Buy a shirt or some buttons, or just come and have a chat. Always good to see our fellow fans!
One of the new figures Asmus Toys had at Comic-Con this year was the solo version of the Mouth of Sauron. This piece allows fans who just want the Mouth of Sauron minus his horse a chance to get him into their collections. As you can see, this one turned out pretty solid with some incredible details on the different versions of his mouth piece. While this one is labeled as a ‘slim’ version, with all the stuff you get and how nice it looks there is nothing slim about him! You can get him right now for $145 and he is due to ship first part of next year.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Special to TheOneRing.net, guest contributor Vahn is a professional film editor and 70mm film, with his thoughts on the usage of celluloid cinematography and IMAX with “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies. We thank him for his insights.]
This superb looking piece made its debut at Comic-Con 2018. It also comes from one of my favorite sub lines: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Statue Line. This dynamic horse and rider piece, showing Arwen as she rescues Frodo after his encounter with the Witch-king, is super well-done. Jane Wenley, who’s work we’ve now seen in several Middle-earth pieces, is the sculptor and once again she’s done a fantastic job on this statue. This piece comes in with an edition size of 750 pieces and a price tag of $699. While you can, you are still able to order this but I wouldn’t wait around long. These horse and rider pieces tend to go for a good sum on the secondary market.
