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April 8, 2014 at 1:42 pm by Kili -
Happy Hobbit has reached the milestone of over 5k YouTube subscribers and nearly one million total video views. To celebrate, we’re going to…. clean?!
Hopefully not, but if you need some direction in your spring cleaning, then perhaps you need to build a mathom keeper!
Are you getting tired of your mathoms being all a clutter? Do you need some inspiration for this year’s spring cleaning? Then join Kili and learn how to make a “mathom keeper” for all of your nick-knacks!
Remember to send in photos of your mathom keepers on our Facebook page here!
Now to head off and really celebrate by getting our Blu-ray copy of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, out today!
Posted in Creations, Fans, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, The Hobbit, Tolkien on April 8, 2014 by Kili Source: Happy Hobbit
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Close on the heels of the April 8 release of the theatrical edition of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug on DVD and Bluray, TORn begins convention season at Wondercon with previews of what is coming next. The first convention on the TORn tour is Wondercon in Anaheim over the Easter weekend. We will begin to unravel what to expect from The Hobbit: There and Back Again. You can find information about Wondercon right here. We have a prime panel slot slated for Saturday at 5:30pm, don’t be late, we always fill the room.
Richard Armitage is really doing the rounds pressing the flesh lately and chatting with journos. Here’s another interview, this time with Joe.ie.
Home video release time is upon us! Lucky folks in the UK can already today get their hands on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; tomorrow, April 8th, the DVD and Blu-ray becomes available in the US, Spain, Mexico and Canada, with Italy following on April 9th. (Check out release dates in this post, here.)
With the release this past Tuesday of the Blu-ray and DVD Editions of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, there was a bit of confusion concerning several video advertisements and the bonus material on the discs.
DigitalSpy have posted this video of their Twitter Q&A with Richard Armitage. In it they ask him about what we can expect to see in the Extended Edition of Desolation of Smaug and what he’s most looking forward to seeing in There And Back Again.
That aside it’s an interesting interview, enjoy. 
Asmus Toys has been churning out lots of figures in their 1:6th action figure line for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. We’re pleased to share the next awesome figure that you can find for pre-order right now from various retailers. The latest figure – or I should say figures - Middle-earth fans can add to their collection is one of Sauron’s most trusted servants, the Nazgul. If that’s not enough for you, fans can also order a 1:6th scale Nazgul Steed that your Ringwraith can fit on, to recreate the methodical tracking down of Frodo and The One Ring. The Ringwraith comes in at a price of $130 by itself, Horse $150 by itself, and if you want both, deals can be had for $250. All of these items will be out by quarter four of this year, and we will update this post as we find deals for Middle-earth fans.
With the Home Video release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (which becomes available this week in Australia, Brazil and parts of Europe), Richard Armitage has been busy giving interviews, as we’ve been posting over the past week or so. He found time to sit down again with staffer greendragon, and they chatted about finding Thorin’s voice one last time, what he’s working on now, and what it was like to fill (literally!) those mighty dwarven boots… Here’s what he had to say:
RA: Yeah. It’s interesting because I did a certain regime of voice work to try and find Thorin’s voice, which I’m really pleased that I did, because now I can go back to my tapes and repeat that work, and hope that Thorin’s voice comes out. It’s not so different from my own voice, but there’s a certain pitch and gravel to it that I’ll need. It takes a while to get back in to; but hopefully I’ll be able to do it!GD: When you do move on from this role, when it is all over with The Hobbit films, what do you think will stay with you from this, both in terms of your life experience, and in terms of aspects of the character? What do you think will be with you in twenty years?RA: I think the actual memory of filming it; going to the other side of the world for such a long time… I mean, I still wake up and think that I’m in the house that I stayed at in New Zealand, and that I can hear the sea… Everything about it – it was such a sensory experience. Walking through the studio gates at 4am when it was dark, and leaving when it was dark; seeing all the new sets; every time we walked on set… I just don’t think it will ever leave me. And you know, the process of getting into the character, and putting on the prosthetics; it’s deeply embedded in me, because we repeated it so many times. Putting on the boots and walking as Thorin… I kind of wish I had those boots, I wish I’d kept them!GD: Do you feel an ownership of the role? If you were reading The Hobbit, would you sort of feel, ‘Oh, that’s me I’m reading about’? RA: You know what, I feel like there is a sort of nod [in the films] to the character in Tolkien’s book… but my very first impression of The Hobbit [book] probably hasn’t changed. The version that we played of Thorin is very much about Philippa Boyens’ brilliant screenplay; so it sits somewhere between the two. I will probably pick up Tolkien and be reminded of what Philippa, Fran and Pete did with it; which I think is great, because their job is not just to put the book on screen, but to develop all of those ideas and take us into another world.GD: Talking of ownership of the role – what do you think about the fans who do such amazing cosplay, where they dress up as the characters? I know one lady who does an absolutely brilliant Thorin; I wondered what you think when you see these folks with incredible costumes on which they have lavished hours of work, and they come out as dead ringers for the characters.RA: I know! And a lot of them are women – and they’re growing their own beards and everything! It’s kind of amazing that they can do that… [laughs] No, I’ve seen a few bearded ladies… I think it’s brilliant. I’m always immensely impressed at the workmanship, and the way that they’ve looked at the costumes and copied them – I think it’s pretty amazing. And I’m sure it’s one of the reasons why the costume design is so detailed – because they know that people will look at it in that kind of detail, and study it.GD: With regard to what’s next: each time we’ve spoken, you’ve had various potential irons in the fire but nothing that’s grabbed you as being the next big project for you. Do you have anything coming up which you can tell us about?
RA: I’m doing a British independent film at the moment, which is called Urban and the Shed Crew, which is based on a book written in 2005 about an ex social worker who is having trouble with his own life, and spiralling into drink and drugs, and he befriends a little eleven year old street kid, and they have this journey together. It’s a really beautiful story, and it ticks a few boxes for me: it’s based on a really interesting piece of literature, but also based on living people, who have been working with us on set. I don’t know what the movie will be – it may just end up at the festivals – but I’m having a great time making it, and I get to play opposite a really brilliant eleven year old kid, who is teaching me how to act!GD: Kids often have a natural instinct for it, don’t you find? They don’t overthink it…RA: Well sometimes they do; sometimes kids are highly coached. But this little boy is very, very natural and really instinctive, and it’s great – it’s like a little ‘back to school’ for me!GD: Are we likely to see you at any conventions this year? I’m hoping we can persuade you to come to DragonCon in Atlanta…RA: Well I have to find out when they are – I haven’t heard of anything in the imminent future. I think we’re definitely going to go to [San Diego] ComicCon; we’re definitely going to be there this year.GD: Thinking about going forward – having had this experience of being in a huge franchise with an enormous fan base, would you be reluctant to undertake a project again which has such a following already in place, or has it been an experience that you would enjoy repeating?RA: Oh yeah – I would do it again in a heartbeat! It’s so exciting to be part of something; especially when it’s one character playing – I mean, I think this is quite a unique experience, that it’s one character over three films, but playing through one journey. I think that’s quite remarkable. Yeah, I’d love to do another big franchise like this.GD: Good – I’m glad we haven’t scared you away!RA: No way! No way!GD: One of the fans asked me to say to you how proud they all are of the work that everybody has done. I certainly know that many of the fans feel a kind of ownership of what Peter Jackson and all of you have created in Tolkien’s realm; there’s a great deal of love for it, and many people have said to me, ‘I just want an opportunity to tell them how proud we are of what they’ve done!’RA: Oh good. I mean, that’s very heartwarming – because they’re the people that we know will be watching in so much more detail than everybody else. You’ve got to play and create your character in that much detail, because I know that people will be seeing it like that, and seeing it again and again… With the DVD release, they can watch it to their heart’s content! And I know they will; so it’s good to know that it’s being seen and appreciated.
GD: One last thing I’m interested to ask you about – I keep reading about your fascination with Richard III, and that you have interest in making a film about him. I just wondered what truth there is in any of that?RA: It was an idea that I had a while back. But my interest in it is really a hobby, of reading biographies, and I was once working with a script writer on something. I don’t know whether a documentary would be of interest… it’s difficult, finding something which is going to be commercially interesting, and for an audience – I don’t know how many people would be that excited about him… My interest in him doesn’t necessarily have to manifest itself in a piece of work. Even if it’s me going back on stage and playing him; it’s purely a hobby for me.GD: It’s a fascinating topic – particularly when you consider how Shakespeare has painted him into one particular corner…RA: Yeah, I mean Shakespeare really created a bit of a pantomime and put him at the centre of it. It’s a brilliant thriller, but I don’t know how biased Shakespeare was… Well, I do know how biased he was, because he was writing for a Tudor monarch! But I think there’s a tale to tell. I think the BBC maybe are investigating doing a project about Richard, but we’ll see. I think there’s always room for a new take on it; and there’s plenty of literature out there. The Daughter of Time [Josephine Tey] is such an interesting book, and that would be worth exploring.GD: Well, thanks Richard – it’s always good to chat. Hopefully we’ll talk again around the release of The Hobbit: There and Back Again.RA: I’m sure we will see each other sometime in November, on our vast press tour! Take care!Posted in Blu-Ray, ComicCon, Conventions, DVDs, Events, Hobbit Book, Hobbit Cast News, Hobbit Movie, Merchandise, Press Conferences, Richard Armitage, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: There and Back Again on April 14, 2014 by greendragon 
Follow Mashable today on Snapchat for an epic themed Hobbit adventure through New York City to coincide with the release of the DVD and Blu-ray for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Keep an eye out for TORn staffer ImladrisRose who may make a surprise appearance during the hunt.
Fans have been asking and we can finally announce the availability of the TORN Book Club shirt, designed by Eeva Nikunen
The convention season is about to start in a big way with TheOneRing.net appearing at shows across the U.S. and even at a special event in Europe. HobbitCon in Bonn, Germany, is packed full of Hobbit and Tolkien guests, including our own MrCere (Larry D. Curtis) who will present several panels about, as you might guess, The Hobbit.
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we well spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join the fun!
This Saturday at 6pm ET, Hall of Fire will be looking at moral dilemnas as we examine our next chapter of The Return of the King — the Pyre of Denethor.
The Pyre of Denethor by Robert Chronister.
Just a little reminder that as of now, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is available nationwide (and few other countries) in multiple different formats without that Star Trek crap that Paramount pulls on their releases where special features vary from store to store and format to format. Nope, here it is thankfully the same. In this case the special features are a behind the scenes look at the film based mostly on Jackson's video blogs and music video. The real goodies are being saved the Extended Edition due sometime around Christmas. Hit the links to order from Amazon, with note on average price for each format. 
Moreover, WETA Workshop’s creative genius Sir Richard Taylor will be giving two talks and two workshops in which he’ll transform a volunteer member of the audience into a Middle-earth creature!
On Saturday and Sunday evening there will be parties and a concert; a Costume Contest is scheduled for Sunday evening, and there will be an Art Show featuring Tolkien-related fan artwork. Many sellers will offer merchandise galore, and you can get autographs and be photographed with your favourite actors (or all of them at once in a group photo) — lots of opportunities to spend money!
SciFiNow spoke to Daniel Falconer, Weta Workshop designer and author of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon (order it here if you haven’t already) about the process of creating what he describes as “the grand-daddy” of fantasy dragons.
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THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG is released THIS WEEK on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download!Having survived the beginning of their unexpected journey, the Company travels East, encountering along the way skin-changer Beorn and a swarm of giant Spiders in the treacherous forest of Mirkwood. After escaping capture by the dangerous Wood-elves, the Dwarves journey to Lake-town, and finally to the Lonely Mountain itself, where they must face the greatest danger of all-a creature more terrifying than any other; one which will test not only the depth of their courage but the limits of their friendship and the wisdom of the journey itself – The Dragon Smaug.
Chairman Tobias M. Eckrich of the German Tolkien Society (Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft) recently chatted with Richard Armitage about his time on the Hobbit set. What he says about the Erebor interior scenes in the confrontation with Smaug being shot inside nothing but a great green box is interesting — one wonders whether a theatre background helps with the adjustment to such an absence of visual cues.
Warner Brothers UK has posted a short new featurette on YouTube showcasing Laketown and Bard. Curiously, while the video appears to be meant as an advertisement for the new Blu-ray/DVD release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the video itself is not present in any of the bonus features on the set.