As you saw at their booth during Comic-Con 2023, our friends at Diamond Select Toys have two new Deluxe Action figures up for pre-order. Fans can now add to their collections the loveable Samwise Gamgee, and Saruman the White. Both figures looked amazing in person! You can snag these individually for $29.99 or $59.98 as a set, with a release date of quarter 1 of next year. Check out our Middle-earth tour from Comic-Con to see all the goodies DST had at the show.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Diamond Select Samwise and Saruman Deluxe Figure Pre-Orders”

Legendary practical effects master worked on Blade Runner, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and many Oscar winning films.

When Amazon realized they needed a title sequence befitting the greatest Legendarium in print and film, and they need it practical, the list of experts was small. Douglas Trumbull was one of the few remaining masters of physical model FX production left, and he has now passed to white shores and a far, green country.

We caught up with Trumbull in what were to be his waning days, to talk about the making of the epic LOTR Rings of Power title video, which you can read about here.

Like Ian Holm and Christopher Lee before him, LOTR is Trumbull’s final work in an extraordinary career; and he leaves a lasting gift to Tolkien fans – the title of THE RINGS OF POWER.

Check out the full obituary over at Variety.

Douglas Trumbull

Our friends at Weta Workshop have unveiled their next amazing statue, representing the 20th Anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring. If you’re a fan of a certain White Wizard who ended up going bad, this one is for you! That’s right: fans will have until October 14th to place an order for Saruman the White on Throne. At midnight PST on the 14th the edition size of this collectible will be set. Saruman looks absolutely amazing, and will be a superb addition to anyone’s collection. The price for Saruman is $1,399 (US), with an expected shipping date in the third quarter of next year. This will give fans time to save up, if they decide not to use the payment plan system that the folks at Weta have available. If expanding your collection at a smaller price point is something you’re looking to do, fans can add these great options: Figures of Fandom Aragorn, Figures of Fandom Lurtz, Mini-Statue Gandalf the Grey, and Mini-Statue Gimli. All of these come in a price range of $99 for the Mini-Statues, to $119 for the Figures of Fandom.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop Saruman the White on Throne”

For the past 20 years our friends at Weta Workshop have been creating intricate collectibles from Middle-earth. Starting this week they’ve started auctioning off the number 1 of each pieces edition size. These amazing pieces range from environments like the Prancing Pony to the Master Collection Gollum. Each week when the auctions start they will run for 72 hours. Week one has come to a close but week two starts next Monday and will end on May 21st.

In support of their local community, Weta is going to donate 100% of the proceeds from one statue per week to the Neonatal Trust. This wonderful charity, of which co-founders Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger are patrons, provide support to families of premature or sick babies on their journey through neonatal care towards health and home.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s No. 1 Auctions and Mini Saruman”

fotr-movie-posterOn December 18, 2001, TheOneRing.net introduced a new feature on our site: Ringer Reviews“A database of reviews from Tolkien fans all over the world, whether you loved, liked or hated the film this is where you can express your feelings in words and celebrate with your fellow fans the release of the first installment in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.” Twenty-four hours later, fans had posted 3,000 reviews. By Christmas the count was up to 6,700 and on January 19, 2002, a month after FOTR opened, over 10,000 reviews had been submitted.

Today the count stands at 15,084 reviews. Unfortunately, the individual reviews reside on our old site and have been archived. But, we thought it might be fun to revisit some of the overall results, more of which can be found at the Ringer Reviews link above.

Continue reading “Fellowship of the Ring: 15,084 reviews and counting”

SarumanCheck out this wonderful Entertainment Weekly interview with Peter Jackson about his experiences with, and memories of, the actor who brought J.R.R. Tolkien’s wizard Saruman to life for millions of loving fans. You’ll chuckle at PJ recalling some comical moments, but have a box of tissues ready because you just might shed a tear too.  Read more…