We’re happy to announce as a surprise tomorrow our friends Diamond Select Toys will be launching series 4 of their awesome The Lord of the Rings figure line.
Gandalf the Grey makes his debut in the line, with his staff and his sword Glamdring, and the other figure in the assortment is a customizable Uruk-hai, including multiple interchangeable heads and weapons. Each features over 16 points of articulation, and each comes packaged in a full-color window box. Designed by Eamon O’Donoghue, sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios. These figures go up for pre-order tomorrow and with a price tag of $29.99.
Like last year, there will be no in-person San Diego Comic-Con this summer. That hasn’t stopped our friends DST from creating something very cool! This exclusive two-pack of Lord of the Rings action figures lets the cat out of the bag, showing Frodo in his completely invisible mode, wearing the Ring of Sauron. Standing right next to him is Gollum, who looks upset about someone stealing his ‘precious’. Each 4-inch action figure features multiple points of articulation, as well as detailed sculpting and paint applications. Limited to only 4,000 pieces, the pair comes packaged in a replica of an opening book, along with Gollum’s boat. Designed by Eamon O’Donoghue, sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios. This item can be pre-ordered right from Gentle Giant’s website for $49.99.
If you loved our last post about the Q-Bitz figures coming from our friends at Asmus Toys, then you’re going to love this one as well! Later this year there are more of these awesome figures coming, and they will include some fan favorites like Gandalf, Legolas, and Frodo. If you like the baddies then you’re in luck as well, with a new Uruk-hai in the mix of this assortment.
If you are collecting their awesome 1:6th scale figures then you’re also going to love this post. Galadriel is getting some love from the folks at Asmus. The likeness looks to be very, very good, and it also comes with her mirror, which adds some great diorama building options with the previously released Frodo figure. Fans can snag Galadriel right now from places like Sideshow Collectibles, for $195 – with her shipping this month.
Head of Amazon Studios says the high budgets are for assets to be leveraged over many seasons.
Hollywood Reporter published a roundtable discussion with several studio heads, including Amazon’s Jennifer Salke; and of course the conversation turned to LORD OF THE RINGS, which is the biggest budgeted TV series in history. “This is a full season of a huge world-building show. The number is a sexy headline or a crazy headline that’s fun to click on, but that is really building the infrastructure of what will sustain the whole series.”
A day later, Amazon announced that director Wayne Yip is the newest Executive Producer of LOTR, making a baker’s dozen of 13 E.P.’s in charge; and confirmed the recent rumor of the first woman to direct for Middle-earth with Charlotte Brändström joining the production, who seems fully on board:
“I’m very excited to be guided through Middle-earth by JD’s and Patrick’s vision.”
Charlotte Brändström, LOTR Season 1 Director
Global, Global, Global
It’s no secret Amazon wants LOTR to be a global show; and they shouldn’t have to worry, since JRR Tolkien’s LORD OF THE RINGS is the worldwide best selling fictional book of the 20th century, and is still considered one of the biggest selling fantasy books in every one of the 38 languages it’s published in. New Line and WB’s Middle-earth films set international sales records, and LOTR is still the most awarded film series in history across the globe.
Amazon’s Salke reinforced her global mandate multiple times, saying, “I’m so grateful to be in the position to drive this part of our business globally… A giant, global audience needs to show up to it as appointment television, and we are pretty confident that that will happen… It’s a global storytelling world, and these companies better get on board because it’s already late.”
LOTR has always been global in nature, but this being Amazon the real global reason is simple. “As for how many people need to watch Lord of the Rings? A lot. (laughs)” says Jennifer Salke. As head of Amazon Studios reporting to Jeff Bezos, there’s probably a constant conversation about metrics. But what makes a global show now may differ from what came before, with Salke adding, “The more diverse the cast, the better; the more diverse and authentic the storytelling, the better.”
For context on the 13 E.P.’s on Amazon’s show, New Line Cinema’s Lord of the Rings had only one active Executive Producer in Mark Ordesky, with the other 4 E.P. credits going to studio heads. This could be seen as a singular visionary in charge, just as there was a singular visionary director for all the films; and just as J.R.R. Tolkien was the singular visionary who never collaborated in crafting Middle-earth.
Welcome to The Great Hall of Poets, our regular monthly feature showcasing the talent of Middle-earth fans. Each month we will feature a small selection of the poems submitted, but we hope you will read all of the poems that we have received here in our Great Hall of Poets.
So come and join us by the hearth, and enjoy!
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.
Ode to Elanor
By D.McGlinchey
Elanor, my star flower, my beautiful golden sun. From lonely isles did your namesake travel to bring beauty and joy from afar. Elf Child, though of Halfling kin, fair beauty of the Shire. Your grace and wisdom outshines them all and your laughter a Dragon would halt. Blessed with the grace of the Valar you glow.
Though hard was the road that led to your being, I never faltered nor forsook the dreams I made. I travelled there and back again to make true those distant dreams. And I did. With you Elanor. My star flower. My beautiful golden sun.
~ * ~
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.
Chinese The Lord of the Rings Trilogy fans were highly anticipating this past weekend as Peter Jackson’s ‘The Fellowship of the Ring‘ was due to re-release nationwide – in glorious remastered 4k.
Unfortunately, due to the last second approval by government officials, many Chinese venues did not get the print in time and screenings had to be canceled. Here’s the wrap up from The Hollywood Reporter:
It was another bizarro weekend at the Chinese box office.
The long-anticipated return of Peter Jackson’s The Fellowship of the Ring finally arrived Friday in vividly remastered 4K. But official permission for the rerelease from China’s regulators came so late — just one full day in advance — that marketing for the movie was mostly nonexistent and scores of digital prints failed to reach cinemas on time, forcing a wave of cancelations and refunds to angry customers throughout Friday and into Saturday.
The article continues…
The Fellowship of the Ring, meanwhile, limped into fifth place with just $4.1 million. The opening results for the fantasy classic are a keen disappointment compared to the recent performance of James Cameron’s Avatar, which opened to $23.7 million when it was rereleased in China in March. The perennial appeal of the Lord of the Rings franchise could help Fellowship mount a healthy hold though, much as Avatar did (Cameron’s film has climbed to $60.2 million in second-run sales). Warner Bros. also will get a do-over later this month — assuming all goes to plan (always a big “if” in China) — when Jackson’s The Two Towers re-releases on April 23. Regulators have indicated that the franchise closer The Return of the King will also get a second run in China, but the film — worryingly — still hasn’t been given an official release date.
Awesome 1:6 figures are not the only thing coming from our friends at Asmus Toys! They are also making these very cool 4″ tall figures called Q-Bitz – and they just happen to come in your favorite license,The Lord of the Rings. As of right now you can get these 4″ tall figures, with 2-4 points of articulation, covering the following characters: Aragorn, Gimli, Arwen, Lurtz, and a Ringwraith. Our friends at Sideshow Collectibles have the whole set grouped together for $100, with them shipping in Q4 of this year. These look to be fun and quirky figures that add a nice little touch to any collection.
We’re happy to announce as a surprise tomorrow our friends Diamond Select Toys will be launching series 4 of their awesome The Lord of the Rings figure line.
