Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jan 31, 2012 in
Cinema,
Hobbies and Collections 
Here’s a quick teaser for Lego’s Lord of the Rings product line. Why does Lego taunt me with such awesomeness? They knew I outgrew my building phase years ago, yet they’ve waited until now to land this epic license. While I’m sure I won’t have nearly as much fun as I would have if I were still eight years old, I’ll definitely consider picking one up when they hit stores, and judging by how great the characters look, I’m sure they won’t disappoint. I do wonder if this also means we’ll be seeing some Hobbit-themed sets this holiday season. Be sure to visit the official site for more info on the upcoming sets. Read more…
Tags: Lego, Lord of the Rings
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jan 3, 2012 in
Cinema,
Star Wars 
Here’s bit of sad news to start out the new year. Bob Anderson, Hollywood Sword Master and former Sith Lord passed away on Monday. The 89 year-old Olympian choreographed some of Hollywood’s most memorable fights, but is best known for his role as Darth Vader, having donned the mask for many of his iconic duels.
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Tags: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 17, 2011 in
Hobbies and Collections 
LEGO has their hands in everything these days. From the immensely popular LEGO Star Wars and Harry Potter lines to Pirates of the Caribbean and Toy Story, they’ve tried their hardest to embed themselves in current pop culture. It’s served them well, especially with the success of the LEGO video games series, which have done a pretty good job of appealing to pretty much everyone. So what’s next? Lord of the Rings, of course! Read more…
Tags: Lego, Lord of the Rings
Posted by Gia Manry on Aug 8, 2011 in
Cinema 
Everybody cue the banana jokes: Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the prequel to/reboot of 1968’s Charlton Heston flick Planet of the Apes handily beat out its competition at the box office this weekend. But there’s another, possibly more interesting story at work here than the tale of how humanity doomed itself by making super-intelligent simians: the tale of actor Andy Serkis, who has single-handedly become the go-to guy for awesome motion-capture CG acting. Read more…
Tags: CGI, Lord of the Rings, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Posted by Michael Sacco on Jul 10, 2011 in
Cinema 
We recently got a glimpse of Dori, Nori, and Ori, three of Frodo’s dwarf companions in the upcoming Hobbit films. Today, we get to see two more, in the form of Oin and Gloin, cousins of Thorin Oakenshield. The name Gloin should sound familiar to those who’ve seen the original Lord of the Rings trilogy — he’s Gimli’s dad! There’s definitely some family resemblance there. I’m pretty happy with the dwarves we’ve been shown thus far; all of them have a unique look, thankfully giving us an ensemble filled with something more than just a dozen Gimlis. Read more…
Tags: Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit
Posted by Michael Sacco on Jun 24, 2011 in
Cinema 
It’s almost hard to believe that The Fellowship of the Ring was released ten years ago, and even harder to believe that we’re actually getting two more films with Peter Jackson’s masterful take on Tolkien’s universe. We saw a video journal of the first day of filming for The Hobbit a while back, but all we’ve heard since then is casting news (a veritable who’s-who of BBC drama stars). Today, though, we received the first big payoff of the very long wait for The Hobbit — still photos from the set showing Martin Freeman in full Bilbo getup, Gandalf looking stoned, and Freeman and Jackson talking at a table. It all looks pretty much perfect, and totally in-universe for the original trilogy. Who else is excited to go back to Middle-Earth? Read more…
Tags: Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jun 16, 2011 in
Cinema 
We found out about this a little late, but if you’re looking forward to Peter Jackson’s upcoming film The Hobbit, you might want a chance to catch the extended editions of Peter Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings trilogy on the big screen. Fathom Events has decided to host a special three night screening of the films at theaters around the nation. While we missed our chance to catch The Fellowship of the Ring on the 14th, you can still catch The Two Towers and The Return of the King on June 21st and 28 respectively at participating locations. Personally, I don’t recall ever catching the extended editions in the theater, but I can’t imagine spending 5 hours — at least, I seem to recall The Return of the King’s extended cut being about that long — in a theater packed with fellow hobbit enthusiasts. In fact, I don’t think I’d be able to do that for any film, let alone that one. Still, it’s probably something I won’t get another chance to see in theaters anytime soon. For the full list of participating locations, or for more information, head over to Fathom’s event site.
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Tags: Lord of the Rings
Posted by Michael Sacco on May 28, 2011 in
Cinema 
Peter Jackson’s in-production film adaptation of The Hobbit has a largely new cast, including Martin Freeman as a young Bilbo Baggins, but given the film’s nature as a prequel to the events of Lord of the Rings, there’s also a cadre of returning characters. And that means a cadre of returning actors, too! According to Peter Jackson’s Facebook page, you can now count on Orlando Bloom to return as Legolas, the fan-favorite elf from the original trilogy. Bloom joins Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, and Elijah Wood in reprising his role. Read more…
Tags: Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit
Posted by Michael Sacco on Apr 23, 2011 in
Cinema 
Well, specifically, Ian Holm is back as Bilbo in The Hobbit. Not for the whole movie, of course! That’s Martin Freeman’s job. But old-Bilbo will be there for bookend sequences, apparently reading his book to Frodo as a way of introducing/closing the story. Peter Jackson was happy to confirm this recently, a move that I’m sure will delight fans of the original trilogy. Heck, I’m all for it, so long as there are no weird, jarring mean-face Bilbo scenes to serve as reminders of what Peter Jackson used to do before Lord of the Rings. Read more…
Tags: Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit
Posted by Michael Sacco on Mar 26, 2011 in
Animation 
One of the world’s most beloved children’s book artists and the world’s most beloved fantasy series? Sounds like the perfect team to me. Tony DiTerlizzi says that Maurice Sendak (”Where the Wild Things Are”) very nearly illustrated “The Hobbit” in the 70s, but a misunderstanding between J. R. R. Tolkien and Sendak led to the partnership falling through. Sendak created art that was whimsical but could also be twisted and dark, a lot like Arthur Rackham before him, so he would’ve been the perfect choice for a book like “The Hobbit.” It’s a shame that a silly misunderstanding prevented what would’ve been beautiful work. Check out the whole story at Hero Complex.
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Tags: Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit
