If you’re one of the lucky fans attending San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, don’t forget to swing by our presentation tomorrow night, July 20, from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. in room 6DE. The room is already filling up, so be sure to get there early! For all of you Hobbits, Elves and Orcs who attend in costume, directly after the panel there will be a group photo taken on the steps behind the convention center, facing the Bay and the Coronado Bridge. In true Hobbity fashion, after the Cosplay photo, we’ll also be having in ice cream social at Ghirardelli, 643 Fifth Ave., San Diego, CA 92101. Show up between 8:15pm through about 9pm or so and there may be a few little mathoms handed out as well.
More details about the panel below, and don’t forget to RSVP on the SDCC SCHED page for the panel linked below.
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TheOneRing.net (TORn) staffers Josh “Elessar” Long (host of Collecting the Precious), Jon “Tookish” Ben-Asher (former associate editor for TORn), Hannah “Took” Greenwood (co-host of TORn Tuesday, associate staff at WETA Workshop), and Josh “Sarumann” Rubinstein (former host of TORn Bookclub) celebrate 20 years of talking Tolkien and all things Middle-earth. They will be discussing all the current known news and maybe a rumor or two, reminiscing about some of their biggest stories and events in the past, and laying out a schedule of some of their 20th anniversary events. The Tolkien movie has already hit theaters, but the Amazon Lord of the Rings (LOTR) series is full-steam ahead in preproduction and this panel’s got some tantalizing news on that front. Bring your favorite stories about a TORn event or story they posted to discuss-they really want to focus on the community that TheOneRing.net has created these past 20 years. Costumes are welcome and encouraged. Cathy “Garfeimao” Udovch (special events coordinator) moderates.
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Out latest review covers not one but two statues from out friend at Weta Workshop. The two statues we will be looking at come from The Hobbit Trilogy and specifically The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. During the final sequences of the film, we get to see some Elves and Dwarves joining forces. To depict this, Weta made individual statues covering a single Mirkwood Elf as well as a pair of Iron Hills Dwarves– but the two statues come with a twist. You can switch out the shoulder armor of one of the Dwarves and combine them to make one massive statue. You can also get both statues individually for $449 with an edition size of 750.
One of the many great things about The Lord of the Rings is the extreme depth of characters you will find. For some collectors their favorite character may just fall into a secondary character status. Our friends at Weta Workshop know this and aren’t afraid to tackle someone who didn’t get a lot of screen time. Today’s review is a perfect example of this with Haldir. While Haldir didn’t get a lot of screen time his impact on the story shouldn’t be thought of as minor. This statue was done right and fans of Haldir should be proud to own him. You can still get him for $399 from the US and EU warehouses and with an edition of 750 there aren’t going to be too many of him left.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Haldir Statue Review”
This just in from Newstalkzb.co.nz: according to an unidentified senior member of the Auckland film industry, a ‘huge’ part of Amazon’s new series will be filmed in NZ. According to the article, Kumeu Film Studios and Auckland Film Studios are mentioned specifically to be involved. The insider told the Herald that an announcement could be expected soon, as the leases are due to take effect in July. Apparently, the two studios mentioned have been working on pre-production for more than a year. However, everyone was required to sign confidentiality agreements. The insider source did mention that an official announcement should be coming soon, as the leases related to starting production are due to take effect in July.
According to their websites, both Kumeu Film Studios and Auckland film studios offer sound stages, workshops production offices and, at Kumeu studios, 12 hectares (30 acres) of forest and large water tanks (which could come in handy should the series include the destruction of Numenor at the end of the 2nds age). Of course, location shooting will also be an option in order to take advantage of the same natural beauty and diversity of the various landscapes that made The Lord of the Rings films so memorable.
How does this new rumor fit in with previous rumors that filming was going to be done in Scotland? Given the ease of communicating globally these days, there’s no reason both countries (or more) can’t be involved. The film industry insider’s comment that a ‘huge’ part of the series will be filmed in New Zealand also implies that at least part of it will not. In any case, it sounds like we’ll be getting more updates in the near future! Stay tuned to TheOneRing.net as we keep you posted!
By GREG TALLY — special to TheOneRing.net
At best, I am a casual fan of the works of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. In the 1980s, I experienced the same tween discovery of Tolkien’s books that remains a touchstone for many fans. On a long Greyhound trip from Baltimore to Colonial Williamsburg with my father, I read Fellowship of the Ring; I sat on the edge of my bus seat in the Mines of Moria, mourned Gandalf’s demise and the shattering of the Fellowship. With a hunger worthy of Gollum, I devoured the rest of the trilogy, followed by The Hobbit. And when I clapped shut my Ballantine Books paperbacks; I felt the real sense of loss of close friends. I did not want Middle-earth, Sam and Frodo and all the rest to go away.
My love for Tolkien remained more emotional than intellectual. I lamely thumbed through the Appendices, but could not absorb Tolkien’s encyclopedic worldbuilding. I didn’t have the patience for The Silmarillion, never learned Elvish, and if I’m brutally honest, impatiently skipped over most of Tolkien’s embedded poems for halting the plot. Like millions of other fans, I allowed Peter Jackson’s movies to colonize my mind’s eye of Tolkien’s characters. But outside of that; no Ralph Bakshi, no Rankin and Bass, no Leonard Nimoy crooning, “Bilbo – Bilbo Baggins, bravest little hobbit of them all.” As a sometimes fan, I could take Tolkien or leave him.
And yet, Finnish Director Dome Karukoski’s Tolkien forges a singular movie alchemy of its own. Like a treetop wizard lighting pinecones to chuck at wargs, Karukoski ignites the passion and fun of that childhood first read of Tolkien’s most famous works. This movie is a “How-Done-It,” explaining the many real life experiences and influences that lead Tolkien to put ink to paper. Even in the face of the massive loss of childhood chums in World War I, the most cathartic moment of the movie is Tolkien writing simply, “In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.” This openly brought me to tears, and reminded me of the childlike, pure emotion of first falling in love with Middle-earth. Rekindling that love alone is reason enough to see this movie. And yet there’s so much more, thematically.
We follow a young Tolkien through the blood and the mud of the Battle of the Somme, trailed by a faithful British Private as an analogue for Samwise Gamgee. Amidst the barbed wire and the mustard gas and flamethrowers of trench warfare, Tolkien glimpses dragons and Balrogs and Ringwraiths, and conjures the imagery that will form the basis of his mythological evil. This is the realm of machinery run amok to commit mass slaughter.
But we also see a younger Tolkien form a literary club and close friendship of four with his fellow students. This fellowship lasts through college at Oxford and Cambridge and is shattered in the War to End All Wars. Karukoski walks us through the dual tensions of kinship and human decency versus man’s implacable killing technology that shaped so much of Tolkien’s worldview. And the movie deserves praise for its depiction of the strong women in Tolkien’s life, including his mother, Mabel.
Rarely has a movie explored the meaning and function of language in such a sensitive and romantic light. Words and their inherent magic are front and center as Tolkien invents entire languages and studies to be a philologist. Both Tolkien’s future wife Edith Mary Bratt, and his Gothic Professor Joseph Wright help young Ronald explore language in thought-provoking ways.
Actor Nicholas Hoult gives a nuanced performance of a sensitive and romantic artist. Lily Collins is exceptional as Edith. Other standout performances include Colm Meaney as a stern-yet-loving Father Francis, and Derek Jacobi as our Gandalf stand-in, Professor Wright.
Yes, the movie takes dramatic license with Tolkien’s timeline, and downplays his devout Catholicism. This remains a straight forward, satisfying biopic packed with ideas and themes as rich as Tolkien’s vision. Just like Bohemian Rapsody did (and no doubt Rocket Man will, in a few weeks), this is a largely sympathetic portrait of a rock star; in this case a literary one in Tolkien. And even more fun – for a brief shining moment – is reentering The Shire, and remembering what it is to be a kid again.
Greg Tally lives in Denver, Colorado, and owns the Dinosaur Hotel (Best Western Denver). He is founder of the Rondo Hatton –winning podcast, The Revival League, and author of Soylent Scrooge: Or Christmas Is Made of People.
Tolkien just opened in the UK this past Friday, and will be opening up nationwide here in the US on May 10. You can read Quickbeam’s review here, or remain completely spoiler free, as you see fit. Suffice it to say Tolkien is a beautifully made film, from the acting, music score and gorgeous settings.
Back in the day, when the LOTR films were coming out, TORn rolled out the idea of Line Parties, a way for fans to meet and interact while standing in line for the movies. Of course, this was long before theaters moved to reserved seating, which has taken some of the fun energy out of the theater going experience. But it doesn’t have to be that way, we all know that movies are better with friends, new and old. So, bring your Fellowship, or make a new Fellowship, and plan to attend opening weekend of Tolkien with fellow fans.
We have partnered up with Legion M, the first fan-owned entertainment company, to host fan Meetups/Line Parties/Moots on opening weekend of Tolkien. You can sign up to attend an existing Meetup here, and if there is none near you, register to host your own. If you decide to host a Meetup, you will need to fill out the form and wait for a Legion M admin to activate your event. Once activated, you will be able to share the link and encourage all of your friends and family to attend. The Meetups with at least 8 attendees RSVPed will earn collectible pins, but you will need to move quickly in order for those to arrive in time for the film screening. Of course, existing Meetups may have already qualified, so do check your area within a good 15-20 mile radius first.
One other enticement is that One Meetup will win a special prize of free movie tickets, with the added bonus of one Meetup leader and one Attendee earning a trip to a Legion M premiere at a city to be determined by Legion M, a 2 night hotel stay and a cash prize towards airfare. Please see the One Meetup to Rule them All contest page for details on this.