In last nights newsletter the folks from Weta announced the 1:4 helm line is going to be making a return. This line originally covered many of the awesome designs we saw during the course of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The first new helm will pre-order later this month! At this time we’re teased with this photo and can only guess what awesomeness Weta has in store for us. Stay tuned and as soon as we get more information we will let you know.
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Greetings all Ringers! By now you now that WonderCon has moved for 2012 down to Anaheim, providing a new opportunity for the dedicated volunteer staff of TORn to bring their sunny best to a rainy weekend in Southern California!
We open the festivities with our much anticipated panel on THE HOBBIT at 12:30pm today… check out the Programming Schedule here:
“12:30-1:30 TheOneRing.net Hobbit Movie Insider’s Preview— Ringers everywhere are eagerly awaiting Peter Jackson’s new Hobbit films during the 75th anniversary year of the book’s publication! Staff writers and scholars from TheOneRing.net web portal invite you to join this lively panel revealing film production surprises and a zealous shredding of rumors! Led by Clifford Broadway (Ringers: Lord of the Fans), Josh Rubinstein (Star Trek: TNG Blu-ray), Cathy Udovch (Cruise to Middle-earth), and Mike Urban (The People’s Guide to J. R. R. Tolkien). Room 207 ”
We are also joined by the legendary Larry Curtis – MrCere – who recently went down to visit the New Zealand production and has a first-hand account. With tons of juicy bits and some fun surprises, you’re sure to get your Hobbity fix on your first day at WonderCon! Come join us in Room 207!
On Monday 5th March The Coolidge Theatre in Boston honoured Viggo Mortensen with their Coolidge Award. (More information about the award, and the prestigious list of former winners, can be found here.)
The first event of the day was a press Q&A, which TheOneRing.net attended. There were about twenty reporters in the room, from publications ranging from student magazines to Boston newspapers, and the sound of cameras clicking was constant throughout the session. Mortensen was charming, easy-going and friendly; he began the session by commenting on the stage set up – ‘Nice flowers!’ – and ended, as reported here last week, with a teasing joke to the organisers.
When the floor was opened to questions, there was the usual hesitation whilst everyone wonders who will be brave and go first. A dragon is never afraid, so TORn’s own greendragon – ’tis I! – raised her hand. Of course I wanted to ask Mortensen something to do with Middle-earth! As you will recall, when the two Hobbit movies were first being discussed, there was talk of the second movie being a ‘bridge’ movie, telling the tale of events between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In a 2006 interview with Ain’t it cool News, Peter Jackson said that he hoped to include ‘Aragorn protecting The Shire. [I’d]… love to work with Viggo again.’ I asked Mortensen about this, and if he would like to have gone back to Middle-earth; he responded with some surprise, (‘Did he say that?!’) and said, ‘It sounds like a lot of fun but I never heard from Peter!’ He added that he loves to go back to the ‘beautiful country’ New Zealand when he can, and that he also is looking forward to seeing how The Hobbit will be adapted for the big screen.
(More plus video after the break!)
Continue reading “Viggo Mortensen’s visit to Boston – part 2 (new video!)”
It’s been just over a week and I’ve finally been able to gather my thoughts enough to bring you a full write-up of all the fun and games which happened at the Coolidge Theatre in Boston, when Viggo Mortensen came to town! We have three parts of TORn’s write-up to bring you, plus links to some wonderful footage from other sources. If you’re a Viggo fan, you’re in for a treat!
To begin with, on Sunday 4th March The Coolidge hosted a screening of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. As fans know, it is always special when you get to see these films on the big screen, surrounded by fellow geeks; and there are few better cinemas for atmosphere than The Coolidge. It is an independent movie house which is everything a cinema should be – wonderful, knowledgeable staff, beautiful decor, comfy seats and wide-ranging programming. Whenever they can, the folks at The Coolidge show movies on 35mm film – they still have actual projectionists working away to bring you what you see on the big screen! (This meant that, whilst we saw the extended editions of Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers, Return of the King was the theatrical edition. The 35mm prints of the extended editions for the first two movies were made for ‘Trilogy Tuesday’ in 2003, when Return of the King was released; so there are no 35mm prints of the RotK EE in existence.)
Following the release of the blu-rays last December, we have started to get used to seeing these movies in crystal clear, vibrant hi-def. For me, however, the original prints have a richness and softness which is lacking in the sharpness of high-definition. 35mm offers a depth of vision, an almost golden or sepia warmth, which seems appropriate for Middle-earth. The Coolidge’s main theatre also has wonderful sound, so my seat vibrated as the balrog roared and I felt the need to cover my ears at the Witch King’s piercing shriek – perfect! The sold-out house of fans – almost 450 of us! – all seemed to enjoy revisiting these old friends as much as I did.
Continue reading “All the scoop on Viggo Mortensen’s visit to Boston – Part 1 of 3”
Earlier tonight Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee) appeared on Access Hollywood to promote his special dedications for the upcoming L.A. Marathon and show his #run3rd hashtag-inspired running shirt. Check out the clip here. Just a few short weeks ago Sean happily showed Ringer fans at TheOneRing.net a sneak-peak when he joined our live weekly webcast TORn TUESDAYS with Cliff Broadway. Sean treated us to stunningly cool movie props and authentic costumes from the LOTR trilogy and talked enthusiastically about running and training. Check out the TORn TUESDAY archive on our Live Event page where we start talking about marathons about an hour in.
Follow Sean Astin on Twitter.
Visit the official Sean Astin website.
Find out more about Sean Astin’s Run3rd special project.
Not quite in time for St Patrick’s Day, but shortly thereafter, fans will at last be able to read an Irish language version of The Hobbit. The book has been translated into Gaelic by Nicholas Williams, and will be published by Evertype on March 25th. More details here. Thanks to ringerspy Riccardo for the news. Middle Earth go Bragh!