As ever with March Madness, we began with 64 competitors – this year, all characters from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Now, half of those who entered the fray have been defeated. Who remains?
Elves, Dwarves and Monsters
Let’s begin with a look at this first bracket. Most of the contests here were not close at all: Galadriel, Durin III, Durin IV, Gil-galad, Disa, Finrod and Elrond all took well over 1,000 votes to secure victory. (Durin IV, with over 1,500 votes, took the most votes of any character in all of Round One; but Elrond and Galadriel were close behind.) Of the Elves and Dwarves, only Celebrimbor struggled. To be fair, he was pitted against a Balrog – a fight which would challenge even Gandalf. With a margin of less than 200 votes, the Balrog was victorious! Now Galadriel will take on this mighty foe, in Round Two. All of the pairings in this second round will be nail-biters: Finrod Felagund goes up against Elrond, Disa faces Gil-galad, and father and son go toe to toe, as Durin III confronts Durin IV. Your vote decides who will continue on to Round Three!
Middle-earth March Madness 2023, Rings of Power Edition begins today. Staffer Garfeimao has taken a closer look at the 64 competitors in this year’s bracket, to help you as you make your choices. Take a look at what she has to say; and then head on over to the March Madness launch to vote in Round One!
It is the start of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere; which means it’s time for March Madness! This year, TheOneRing.net brings you Middle-earth March Madness 2023, Rings of Power Edition.
Looking back on Season One of the Prime Video show – and pondering what may be in store in Season Two – our 64 competitors are all characters from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Who was your favourite amongst the Harfoots (‘Harfeet!’)? Who would win in a showdown between Prince Durin and his father? Will Elendil eventually go up against his own son? YOU decide!
How you decide, of course, is up to you. You may choose to revisit the show on Prime Video and refresh your memory of the plot lines. Perhaps your vote is based on which actors you most enjoyed in their roles; or perhaps you’ll vote according to the characters you felt remained closest to how they appear in the pages of Tolkien’s books. Or maybe you’ll just toss a coin! It’s up to you; but however you decide, now is the time to place your votes!
How does it work, you ask? Simple! Click on one of the orange division buttons below. Then click the ‘Vote Now’ option that appears above the divisional bracket. This year you get to vote in each divisional match-up in one convenient and visual interface. Note – you need to click each division to vote in their respective brackets. So let’s get voting!
You have until the end of the day Friday March 24th to vote in Round One; on Saturday 25th we’ll announce winners and open voting for Round Two! Let the games begin!
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been honored with 5 awards from the Visual Effects Society and the Art Directors Guild, who both announced their award winners this past week.
Rings of Power won 3 awards at the 21st annual VES Awards:
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: “Udûn” Jason Smith, Ron Ames, Nigel Sumner, Tom Proctor, Dean Clarke
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power:“Udûn”, “Water and Magma” Rick Hankins, Aron Bonar, Branko Grujcic, Laurent Kermel
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power:“Adar”, “Númenor City” Dan Wheaton, Nico Delbecq, Dan Letarte, Julien Gauthier
The Art Directors Guild handed our their awards last night and Rings of Power won in the two categories the show was nominated for:
ONE-HOUR FANTASY SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: “Adar” Ramsey Avery
COMMERCIALS The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: “Title Announcement” Brian Branstetter
Congratulations to the talented and hard-working artists of Rings of Power who were honored by their guilds!
The International Film Music Critics Association has announced their nominations today. Bear McCreary leads all nominees with 8 nominations, including his score for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power which is the first TV score ever nominated for Score of the Year. High praise for McCreary’s work on Rings of Power from their members was included in their press release:
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power received nominations for Score of the Year – the first television score nominated in that category in IFMCA history since the rule change to allow TV scores to be included was announced in 2022 – plus Best Television score, and for three different tracks in the Composition of the Year category, while McCreary himself was nominated for Composer of the Year.
IFMCA member James Southall called The Rings of Power “a real triumph, undoubtedly McCreary’s own career-defining moment,” and IFMCA member Conrado Xalabarder said that the score was “one of the best in the history of music for television series … a work made from intelligence, commitment and above all respect for Tolkien and the audience. All its central themes work impeccably, coherently, and they develop and interact with each other, creating first-rate narration and dramaturgy.” IFMCA member Jon Broxton similarly praised the score, saying “the level of research and intelligent design McCreary has done in terms of creating the musical structure of The Rings of Power is absolutely astonishing, and is probably unparalleled in the history of television music.”
The nominees are:
SCORE OF THE YEAR
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, music by Simon Franglen THE BATMAN, music by Michael Giacchino THE FABELMANS, music by John Williams THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER, music by Bear McCreary, theme by Howard Shore NOPE, music by Michael Abels
COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT SIMON FRANGLEN MICHAEL GIACCHINO BEAR MCCREARY DANIEL PEMBERTON
COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR*
“Galadriel” from THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER, music by Bear McCreary “Leaving Home (Hometree)” from AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, music by Simon Franglen “Mother and Son” from THE FABELMANS, music by John Williams “Númenor” from THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER, music by Bear McCreary “Sailing Into the Dawn” from THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER, music by Bear McCreary “The Batman” from THE BATMAN, music by Michael Giacchino
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
THE ENGLISH, music by Federico Jusid INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, music by Daniel Hart THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER, music by Bear McCreary, theme by Howard Shore MOON KNIGHT, music by Hesham Nazih THE ORVILLE, music by John Debney, Joel McNeely, Andrew Cottee, and Kevin Kaska, theme by Bruce Broughton
McCreary also received nominations for Best Original Score for an Animated Film for Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank and Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media for God of War: Ragnarök. Congratulations to Bear McCreary on his nominations!
The Visual Effects Society announced their film and television nominations today for the 21st Annual VES Awards. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power smashed expectations and leads all television nominees with a total of 7 nominations. Awards will be handed out February 15.
The Rings of Power is competing against themselves in two categories and is the only show nominated with films like Avatar: The Way of Water in one category:
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
House of the Dragon: “The Black Queen” Prehistoric Planet: “Ice Worlds” Stranger Things 4: “The Piggyback” The Boys: “Payback” The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: “Udûn“ (Jason Smith, Ron Ames, Nigel Sumner, Tom Proctor, Dean Clarke)
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Andor: “Reckoning; Ferrix The Book of Boba Fett: “In the Name of Honor; Mos Espa The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: “Adar“, Númenor City (Dan Wheaton, Nico Delbecq, Dan LeTarte, Julien Gauthier) The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: “Adrift”, Khazud Dûm (James Ogle, Péter Bujdosó, Lon Krung, Shweta Bhatnagar)
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities: Graveyard Rats Stranger Things 4: Hawkins Destructive Fissures The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: “Udûn”, Volcano Destruction (Kurt Debens, Hamish Bell, Robert Kelly, Gabriel Roccisano) The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: “Udûn“, Water and Magma (Rick Hankins, Aron Bonar, Branko Grujcic, Laurent Kermel)
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
House of the Dragon: “The Black Queen”, Dance of Dragons Love, Death and Robots: “Night of the Mini Dead” The Book of Boba Fett: “From the Desert Comes a Stranger”, Luke Alike The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: “Udûn”, Tirharad Cavalry Charge (Sornalingam P, Ian Copeland, Nessa Mingfang Zhang, Yuvaraj S)
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
Avatar: The Way of Water: Current Machine and Wave Pool Black Adam: Robotic Flight Mad God The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: “Adrift”, Middle Earth Storm (Dean Clarke, Oliver Gee, Eliot Naimie, Mark Robson)
Congratulations to the visual effects team from The Rings of Power for their well-earned nominations!
