TheOneRing.net is pleased to announce it is headed to an embedded set visit in Wellington, New Zealand during the filming of “The Hobbit: There And Back Again,”. The site and writer Larry D. Curtis accepted the invitation from Warner Bros. and Wingnut Films. The production is currently filming the second of the two films in studio, so all of the content from the visit will reach audiences in 2013, after this year’s release (December 14) of the first of the pair of films, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”
The films are a two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” celebrating its 75th year of publication in 2012. Peter Jackson is directing the films after helming a three-part adaptation of Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” book that appeared in print 17 years after “The Hobbit.” Jackson scripted the films with his writing team of Phillipa Boyens and Fran Walsh with the addition of one-time-director Guillermo del Toro. Fans will remember the many agonizing delays before the film’s start that eventually forced del Toro to bow out.
Curtis, reporting from the film set, is part of TORn’s Senior Staff, a writer and photographer known to the TORn community at MrCere. He has contributed to TheOneRing.net for more than a decade in a variety of roles. In December he visited and toured New Zealand including an exclusive report from the Hobbiton Movie Set after being granted permission to publish impressions and photos from the site, rebuilt for “The Hobbit.” The location can be visited as a fully dressed film set accessible to by tour. The first block of filming on “The Hobbit,” included production from the site, set on a working livestock farm near Matamata, New Zealand.
TheOneRing.net is a not-for-profit website that serves as the hub for Tolkien communities online as well as the physical world. It was founded in 1999 by Erica Challis (Tehanu) in New Zealand, Canadian Mike Regina (Xoanon) and Wiliam Thomas (Corvar) and Chris Pirrotta (Calisuri) from the U.S.. The foursome’s website quickly vaulted to fame in an internet age when the relationship between fans and films and movie studios was rapidly evolving. The all-volunteer staff manages the site that includes a live chat room, message boards, news updates about all things related to Tolkien and the fan community world wide.
TORn will make a series of convention appearances including the San Diego Comic-Con, DragonCon in Atlanta and the New York Comic-Con. TheOneRing also used the internet to organize grass-roots fan parties around the world for the premiere of the LOTR films and anticipates doing so again. We also have a Wellington, New Zealand world premiere party planned with Red Carpet Tours and an Oscar Party set in Los Angeles in February.
TheOneRing.net and MrCere wish to thanks Warner Bros. and Wingnut for the invitation, including many individuals inside each organization, and for fans worldwide for their support. While only one representative can serve to communicate the stories and images from the set, we feel strongly that an invite to a fan site is a compliment to the work of many staffers and the whole of the fan community.
Follow us at Facebook and Twitter. Curtis will not be Tweeting from the set, but will be living and relating experiences in Wellington, New Zealand. He tweets from @MrLDC. And, hang on tight!
