Join us Friday, October 7th at 7:30pm as we bring back our annual NYCC gathering of fans! This time we’re teaming up with our friends at Sideshow.com and will be offering drinks, food and some amazing prizes.
Photo by Ashlee Rose Scott
Finally we can all enjoy things like parties together again; so we’re back for another party in the Big Apple! TheOneRing.net is delighted to be teaming up with the official Sideshow ‘Let Your Geek Sideshow’ group to throw a splendid party!
This year we’ll be at Joyce Public House (formerly Tir na Nog) in Times Square (W 39th St), and the party will be on FRIDAY 7th October, 7.30-11pm.
Tickets are only $25, and include your first drink, finger food, and two tickets for the raffle which will be drawn on the night. (You’ll be able to purchase more raffle tickets; check out the amazing prizes, listed below!) Plus you’ll also get your ticket cost back in SIDESHOW.COM REWARDS if you set up a Sideshow account!
The Rings of Power team are in town for New York ComicCon – and you never know, they may just come along to party with us… Grab your tickets now – see you there!
Raffle Items Include…
Mondo Rick and Morty 1:6 Figure Set
Sideshow The Dude Exclusive 1:6 Figure
The Wand Company Poke Ball Replica
Hot Toys Little Groot – GOTG
Hot Toys Knightmare Batman & Superman 1:6 Set
Hot Toys Ahsoka Tano 1:6 Clone Wars
Sideshow The Child – Life-Size Figure
Octunnumi Prologue Custodian Book
Iron Studios Archer Orc 1:10 Statue
NZ Mint Frodo Chibi 1oz Silver Coin
Asmus Toys Arwen In Death Frock 1:6 Figure Exclusive
Star Ace Morgul Lord Statue
Vanderstelt Bag End Unframed Print
Trick or Treat Studio Gollum Mask Prop Replica
Trick or Treat Studio Lurtz Mask Prop Replica
Ring of Gil-Galad by Into the Fire jewelry makers
‘Rings of Power’ Concept Art Print, signed by John Howe
Beautiful Middle-earth items from Scottish designers Oscha
And more…!
Pssst! When you order your ticket(s), check out the pins you can add to your order!
On Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 7:30PM ET, Paleyfest NY will feature a preview screening of Episode #107 of Amazon Prime’s “Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power” followed by a conversation and Q&A with cast members.
Cast members joining the conversation and Q&A include:
Cynthia Addai-Robinson, “Queen Regent Míriel” Nazanin Boniadi, “Bronwyn” Ismael Cruz Córdova, “Arondir” Charles Edwards, “Lord Celebrimbor” Leon Wadham, “Kemen” Daniel Weyman, “The Stranger” Sara Zwangobani, “Marigold Brandyfoot”
If you’ll be in New York on October 8, head on over the the Paley Center website for tickets: https://www.paleycenter.org/events/pfny-2022 Tickets are on sale to Paley Individual, Family, and Supporting Members Thursday, Sept. 29 at 12:00 noon. They will go on sale to the general public Friday, Sept. 30 at 12:00 noon.
Back in the earlier days of TORn – probably roughly during our Second Age – there were all kinds of exciting events which happened, both when Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies were originally in cinemas, and in the years which followed. There was much excitement when the live performances of Howard Shore’s incredible score started; and then they started presenting the movies with live orchestra accompaniment. Those were heady days!
And now – they’re back!
Next February, to celebrate the 21st anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring, the movie will screen with live orchestra at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Here below are the details from the press release:
21st Anniversary Concert: THE LORD OF THE RINGS: The Fellowship of the Ring In Concert
Academy Award-Winning Score By HOWARD SHORE, performed Live to the Epic Motion Picture with SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, CHORUS, SOLOISTS
Ludwig Wicki, Conductor
238 MUSICIANS ONSTAGE BENEATH A 60-FOOT SCREEN
Radio City Music Hall, New York FEBRUARY 6-7, 2023
Celebrating the 21st anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Howard Shore’s Academy award-winning score will be presented live, in concert. Experience the epic motion picture and its legendary score at the historic Radio City Music Hall, beneath a 60-foot screen accompanied by 238 musicians, including symphony orchestra, chorus and soloists, this coming February 6 & 7, 2023.
“The world is changed.” This very first line of The Fellowship of the Ring has new meaning for a fan community waiting for a return to live events. The 2023 concerts will mark the return of The Lord of the Rings, In Concert, to NYC for the first time since 2015. These returning concert events of The Fellowship of the Ring will bring 6,000 fans a night to see, hear, and feel Howard Shore’s epic score from the opening title through the end credits, in person once again.
The Fellowship of the Ring, In Concert, is represented by CAMI Music, who is partnering with Fifth Season and Bowery Presents to bring these performances to life at Radio City Music Hall.
The Fellowship of the Ring, In Concert, will be conducted by Ludwig Wicki, who was the inaugural conductor of The Fellowship of the Ring, In Concert, and specializes in bringing films and their scores to life. Orchestra, soloists, and chorus for the 2023 performances at Radio City Music Hall will be announced at a later date.
Howard Shore commented on the return of The Fellowship of the Ring, In Concert to New York City: “The concerts on February 6th and 7th, 2023 will bring Maestro Ludwig Wicki back to NYC’s historic Radio City Music Hall leading a symphony orchestra, chorus, and soloists. Based in the city of Lucerne, Switzerland, where we first performed the complete score to the theatrical version of the film in 2008, Maestro Wicki is the foremost conductor of this score-to-film concert. Over the years he has worked to perfect this music and his precision, detail and supreme musicianship will be on display at Radio City. I am so very happy to have The Fellowship of the Ring return to New York.”
Tickets are available now – and are selling fast! You can buy them here. We hope to host a post show party – probably on the Tuesday evening after the concert, but maybe we’ll manage both evenings! Stay tuned for more on that! Meanwhile if you want to find out more about these happenings, you can find LOTRConcerts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Hope to see you there!
September 2nd draws ever closer; and Prime Video is getting ready with special event screenings of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in various cities. The Big Apple gets its turn on Tues 23rd August – and TORn has tickets to give away!
The event will be in the evening on Tuesday 23rd, in Manhattan. If you’d like to claim a ticket for you (and up to one friend), then you need to head on over, without delay, to this Eventbrite link. When they’re gone, they’re gone!
Some details of the event, from our friends at Prime Video:
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – Special Screening, In collaboration with Film at Lincoln Center
Tues Aug 23, 2022
6pm Cocktail Reception
7:30 Screening
Alice Tully Hall
1941 Broadway at W 65th St, New York
Panel discussion with cast and showrunners immediately following screening
Proof of Vaccination required for Entry
Masks required inside theater
Dress code: Business Attire
Additional details to be shared upon confirmation of attendance.
To be in with a chance to claim one of these tickets, simply sign up at this link. You’ll need to give first and last name (as shown on ID you’ll bring to gain access to the party), and an email address. You’ll also have the option to fill in details for ONE other person; be sure to use their name. Do not sign up for two tickets in the same name!
Please note – there is no wait list for this event. ONLY people confirmed via Eventbrite will be admitted (with the appropriate ID and Covid information – see the Eventbrite for details on that). So please don’t be the half of the Shire who show up anyway; sadly, you won’t be let in. Hope to see you in Manhattan!
Since January, a graphic artist going under the alias “William Puck”, has been pasting mock travel notices all across the New York transit system. He’s up to more than 200 different notices now, and they’ve all used a single theme — Middle-earth.
TheOneRing.net chatted with the mysterious Mr Puck to find out more about himself and his work. Read on, and discover what he had to say — and see some of the examples of his guerilla-style, street art as wel
TORn: Tell us a little bit about yourself. The cliff notes version, I guess, although I am sure you don’t want to give away too much!
I grew up in Connecticut and came to New York City to go to art school back in the mid ’80s. I studied illustration and animation. I’ve been here ever since.
TORn: Why “William Puck”?
I needed a street name for the work I was about to do. The MTA has a strict policy against anyone putting posters in the subways, so using my real name would have been unwise. I wanted a name that was short, identifiable and had a little bit of mischief to it.
I chose the name “Puck” from my favorite William Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I was about to misdirect and baffle viewers just like Puck did. And for fun, I added William as my first name.
TORn: How long have you been working as a graphic artist?
I’ve been making art professionally for around 25 years or so.
TORn: How did you become interested in Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit? What drew you to them and what do you like about them?
I must have been around 11 years old. A close neighbor of ours had a copy of “The Hobbit” on vinyl and gave it to me to listen to. It was a four-album set read by the amazing actor, Nicol Williamson. I listened to it over and over again for about five months. I was hooked. Then the Rankin / Bass animated special premiered on TV in late November 1977. My eyes were glued to the set that night. The design of Gollum was fantastic and his voice — by Brother Theodore — was perfect! I started reading the books soon after, and I re-read them every few years or so. Now I love the films as well.
My love for the books stems from Bilbo’s and Frodo’s journeys. These two unassuming, gentle people are thrown into the biggest threat facing the world. By all logic, they should have been trampled and killed by the forces of evil. But their inner strength, compassion and friendship carry them through to the end, changing the course of the world for good. They give us the greatest gift there is — hope.
TORn: Was there a particular trigger that made you want to spoof the MTA posters using Tolkien’s Middle-earth? Why Middle-earth in particular?
I had been thinking of doing some kind of art-work in the subway. I didn’t want to just put up a marker tag or sticker because it seemed too easy. I wanted to do something more challenging.
I observed that the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) was putting up a lot of advisory notices in the stations. People sometimes read them and sometimes didn’t — but everyone had to pass by them. That’s what inspired me to create the posters. I would mimic this phenomenon — place art in front of commuters who would have to look at it directly to see it’s true nature.
“But, what to post?” I asked myself. Other artists had put up fake advisory signs in the past. What could I do that was different? I spent days racking my brain and came up with nothing. So, I shelved the idea.
Dead Marshes by William Puck.
Then one day, I was on the R train and had to be somewhere at 6pm. I had very little time and the train I needed to take was more messed up than usual: there was a delay because of a sick passenger … I had to wait to transfer to another train, but that train had mechanical problems … I had to take an express train past my stop and then had to back track to my original destination …
Finally, I climbed the stairs out of the station and into fresh air. I got to where I needed to be with moments to spare. Walking down the street I thought, “My God! Frodo and Samwise had it easier traveling to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring, than I did traveling the subway today.” Of course, that is a complete exaggeration. But still, I was inspired. Every time I take the subway, it is an adventure. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are considered the ultimate adventures stories. It just clicked right then and there for me.
I started looking at subway notices differently in the days that followed.
Instead of: “Because of a broken rail, there will be track work this weekend. Expect delays and take the 4 or 5 as an alternative route”; I saw: “Because of high Goblin activity, expect delays in service. Take an Eagle as an alternative route.”
TORn: Tell us a bit about the first poster you made. What made you choose that approach? What were your thoughts when you posted it up? Did it get much attention?
It took a couple of days to finish. I had taken photos of some of the MTA notices and even found one or two in the trash. By having those as reference, it was easy to build a template that could be used over and over without too much fuss.
Once the poster was done, I ran to the copy store and had five or six made up. I headed to the closest subway station and started putting them up. My heart was racing. I tried to be discreet and as quick as possible. “This is crazy!” I thought. “You’re going to get caught!” I calmed down and went to the next station. It became easier and easier.
When I checked the posters later in the day, they were all gone — perhaps taken down by MTA workers or by someone who appreciated them.
Although I had just started, I knew that I had to keep making more. I also started taking pictures to document the process so that more people could get a chance to see one.
Ha! Looking back at that first poster now, I really hate it! It had so many flaws, the printing was bad, the map graphics were weak, etc.
Recently, I redesigned it. I think the new one is better.
TORn: You’ve made more than 200 now. What is it that you try to achieve when you develop a piece? How do you draw inspiration?
I try to make each poster interesting. Some work, some don’t. Some happen in a flash; others need time to be worked on. There is really no right answer, and that’s what I love about the process. Street art doesn’t have to be finished by a certain time or date. It just happens. You learn from what you’ve done and move on to the next piece.
My inspiration comes form the MTA’s postings. I see potential in every sign they make. It forces me to come up with a concept each time I see a new one.
TORn: How long do they generally take to create?
Now that I have templates, some are completed in an hour or so. Some can take a week or two with tweaking and refining. The biggest task is coming up with an idea. The execution is the easy part. Right now, I’m working on some more special event posters. I’m creating one for Durin’s Day and that’s in both English and in Dwarvish, so it’s taking me a little longer then most.
TORn: Can you map out the creative process and the planning involved, from concept to finished work, for us?
I take photos of MTA postings I come across around the city. I write down an idea on my phone, maybe do a sketch. Then I create the design. I use a local copy shop for printing, stamp each piece on the back with a watermark for copyright protection and add double-sided tape to the back corners.
Once I’ve created the posters, the real work begins. Finding the right location for people traffic is a science. I have to be quick and careful. I put up the piece and take a few pictures. Then I post the photos to Twitter and Instagram, so fans can find them. Some stay up for a few days, others are gone in minutes. There’s a kind of beauty in that.
I’ve asked that people leave them up when they find one. Or if they feel compelled to take a poster, to please take a picture of it and let me know where you found it. A few fans have done this. At least I know the work found a good home and has not landed in a trash bin.
TORn: I’d love if you could briefly profile for us a couple of posters that you especially like.
The Special Event: Mirkwood Elves Lunar New Year is one of my top favorites. It was challenging to do it in both English and Tengwar. Plus, the posters were up for days and days. I plan on doing more with this theme.
But my favorites are the PUCK Middle-earth Cards. They are a lot of fun to place in and around the subways. They are the smallest pieces I’ve done. I call them the “Halflings” of my Middle-earth series. Small and unassuming, I place them on benches, turnstiles, train seats and metro machines. When found, people usually think they are real Metro cards. Upon further viewing, they realize what they truly are: little pieces of art that they can put in their pocket or wallet. How cool is that?
TORn: Do you intend to continue? How many possible posters do you think you can come up with?
Yes, I intend to continue this Middle-earth Transit series. Both the books and films continue to inspire me all the time.
But, I do have other ideas I want to explore. They won’t necessarily be Tolkien-related. I’m interested in travel, time and space and want to keep challenging the viewer about what it means to go on a journey. I’m not following a set map. I’m just heading out the door to see where the road takes me.
As Bilbo said [in the movie], “I’m going on an adventure!”
TORn also has its own poster, “It IS our Fight”, created by artist David Powell from Badali Jewelry. If you like what we do pick up a copy of this Evangeline Lilly-inspired Tauriel poster here!
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
