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.
Yeah, he looks as surprised as we do up there, but Elijah Wood’s reps have confirmed that he’ll be making a return as Frodo Baggins in the upcoming Hobbit films. Now, bear in mind here that Frodo isn’t actually in The Hobbit (the book) in any capacity; it’s been indicated that he’ll be used as a kind of framing device to introduce Bilbo’s story in the film. If it all pans out, we’ll probably see Frodo and Sam hearing Bilbo’s account from Bilbo himself. I was a little leery about the announcement at first, but the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of seeing the band back together, you know? Read more…
U.S. currency is full of references to the Freemasons, the so-called secret brotherhood that oversaw and controlled the burgeoning nation (and, some people say, still does). That sounds an awful lot like a certain evil overlord who dwells in the scarred land of Mordor, doesn’t it? It looks like dschwen on Threadless had the same idea, and he turned into a shirt pitch. It’s a fantastic mashup of the famous “e pluribus unum” Masonic pyramid and the Eye of Sauron. Let’s hope this one makes it to the printing phase. Read more…
Peter Jackson officially announced casting for The Hobbit today, with the title role going to Martin Freeman, as was previously rumored. Richard Armitage will play Thorin Oakenshield, and Aidin Turner and Rob Kazinsky will play the brothers Kili and Fili. Other possibilities (as in not-yet-confirmed) include fan favorite David Tennant, Stephen Fry, Saoirse Ronan. Nice to see this film finally going somewhere, though where it appears to going is “not New Zealand” due to union issues. Read more…
Bilbo Baggins famously said “Not all who wander are lost,” and the axiom appears to be true even where movies are concerned. The two films based on The Hobbit, considered to be the prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, are now finally greenlit despite what appeared to be insurmountable issues with nearly every facet of production. Peter Jackson is set to direct both films (replacing a frustrated Guillermo Del Toro), which will start preliminary filming back-to-back in February of 2011.
As for casting, Ian McKellen is set to return as the wizard Gandalf, and Martin Freeman is rumored to be playing Bilbo Baggins. We should expect to hear more casting news now that the film finally has its greenlight. Read more…
I really feel for Lord Of The Rings, here they are waiting for the Hobbit film to come out in 2012 and the director then quits! That means that if Tolkien fanboys (and fangurls!) are lucky they will only have waited nine years since The Return of the King came out in 2003. Well if it’s any consolation prize sad Rings enthusiasts can cuddle up with these official Lord of the Rings plushies which are now available for pre-order: Included are Frodo, Gandalf, Legolas and Orc. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 20, 2009 in Star Wars
Skippy is the clever creation of NearFar Productions in California, in this video he tries to explain the entire plot of Star Wars in under one minute (while he may not have succeeded I had a fun time watching him try). What I love about good comedy is that it’s all about the timing and Skippy nails that — I also liked his explanation of Lord of the Rings: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 4, 2008 in Videogames
This is the latest trailer for the The Lord of the Rings Conquest game from Electronic Arts which is due to come out in January 2009 for the Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Nintendo DS. This game looks like everything that a J.R.R. Tolkien fanboy would want from getting to do battle with everyone from Cave-trolls to Oliphaunts.
