The Grove, an extremely fancy outdoor mall and tourist destination in Los Angeles, is no stranger to being the centerpiece of publicity for The Hobbit. Last week, The Grove hosted the Los Angeles screening of the worldwide Hobbit Fan Event, and last year, it featured an all-day fan event with arts and crafts for the kids, free poster giveaways, and all of those really cool lenticular 3D character posters for An Unexpected Journey set up throughout its central square.

Now it is slowly transforming one of its areas into Erebor itself! There is no clear indication as to what this is for, but many of us here at TORn are speculating that The Grove may, in fact, be the site for the World Premiere of The Desolation of Smaug in a few weeks. Whatever the reason or ultimate purpose, there is no denying that whatever is going on at The Grove is some amazing Dwarfy goodness. Here are some pictures of what is going on. (click on any of the images to get a hi-res version) Continue reading “The Grove in Los Angeles is transforming into Erebor!”

Hobbit fans catching site of Peter Jackson at last year's Wellington Premiere Party
Hobbit fans catching sight of Peter Jackson at last year’s Wellington Premiere Party

Red Carpet Tours wants to invite Wellington fans to celebrate the release of the Desolation of Smaug with them in style: at Miramar’s Roxy Cinema, right in the heart of Wellywood. The Roxy Cinema complex has received accolades internationally for its authentic Art Deco design, and incredible sculptures and artworks that showcase Weta Workshop talent. Its co-owners include Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger, and Jamie and Anne Selkirk.

Jed Brophy (Nori) and William Kircher (Bifur) will be among the Hobbit film talent invited as special guests for this party.

There will be Costume prizes awarded, hearty Hobbit food and drink, great music and lots of Hobbit fun ! It’s a wonderful occasion to get together with like minded fans and celebrate the release of the ‘Desolation of Smaug’ along with an international party of fans brought to New Zealand by Red Carpet Tours !

Date: Wednesday 11th December, 2013

Time: 8:30pm – Midnight

Location: The Roxy Theatre, Park Road, Miramar-Wellington.

Cost: NZ$150 per person. (Strictly no door sales.)

Party ticket includes: Entry to the party, entertainment, hearty Hobbit fare, especially invited guests ~ Jed Brophy (Nori) and William Kircher (Bifur) and prizes for best costume. Tickets are limited.

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live event To wrap up the week that saw an unprecedented live fan event where fans gathered in theaters around the world with cast and crew, here is a list of things that stood out for TORn staff.

During the event, fans were treated to costume displays, live Q&As, a preview of the end credit music video, and most importantly, 20 minutes of nearly complete, previously unseen footage. As stated in previous posts, this means movie spoilers are coming, so feel free to stop reading now if you wish to spend the next four weeks without knowing what’s to come. Continue reading “Thirteen things we love about The Desolation of Smaug footage”

Desolation  of Smaug soundtrack special edition As you probably know by now, the closing credits song for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a tune entitled I See Fire by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.

At yesterday’s Fan Event, Peter Jackson said Sheeran became involved in the production after his daughter Katie introduced the artist to her parents after attending one of his shows back in March/April.

“She said that I just had to listen to him, and that he could be the perfect fit for the end of the film… and she was right.”

They noted at the time that Sheeran had a “great voice” and “great sensitivity”, then put it on the back-burner for a few months.

As Peter told fans in Wellington, the musicians always see the film before they write and record their tune. Inevitably that means it occurs late in the production process. Continue reading “Listen to and buy The Desolation of Smaug closing credits song I See Fire on iTunes!”