Reposting because we’ve been adding lots of new Line Parties and want you all to be able to find them. Please submit a form of your own if you wish to be included.
The only thing better than watching a movie about Hobbits is watching it side by side with a friend. If you’re trying to find a place to watch “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” with a crowd of equally enthusiastic Ringers, scroll down to see if there’s a Line Party happening in your city. Events are being planned for both opening night on Tuesday, December 16, as well as for the special “Marathon Monday” screenings of all three Hobbit films on December 15.
Don’t see an event listed for your city? Plan one, and make it a night to remember! Contact your local theater, set up a Facebook event, and let us know to add it to our list. Need ideas? Check out these tips for hosting a Line Party from our experts! To have your event added to the list, use the form below or send an email to rasputin@theonering.net. Please note that I am updating these listings manually, so I apologize if there’s a delay – please be patient!
Should you find yourself in Los Angeles next week and the week after, there will be plenty of Hobbity goodness to go around. And if you are not in LA, a few of the events will be covered so that you don’t miss any of the fun.
1) First up on Monday, December 8 with Peter Jackson receiving a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This will begin at 11:30am and run till about 12:15pm. The Walk of Fame website will be live streaming the ceremony, which means everyone can enjoy it even if you can’t be here with us. For those who do decide to attend, TORn will be hosting a lunch moot at the Cabo Wabo Cantina inside the Hollywood and Highland complex. The Star Ceremonies are open to the public, but they do not allow chairs or step ladders or anything that would impede walking. The ceremony lasts for about 45 minutes once it is started and they expect everyone to clear out once it is over in order to reopen the sidewalk. Peter’s star is slated to be outside the Dolby Theater on Hollywood Blvd, so you can park in the Hollywood and Highland Complex. If you wish to attend you can check out our Facebook Event Page. Andy Serkis will be speaking during the ceremony and numerous other cast are scheduled to appear.
2) The Hollywood premiere for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will take place inside the Dolby Theater on Tuesday, December 9. The Red Carpet starts at 5pm, so do try and arrive before then. Last year’s Hollywood premiere was more of a press event and not very fan friendly, so just go into this with eyes open. Arrive early, bring lots of patience with you, be prepared to stand for a long while, bring water and comfy shoes, and be open to changing locations if security changes protocols 6 times on you. Regardless of what happens on the Red Carpet and with the screening, TORn will again be hosting a little moot in Cabo Wabo Cantina, which will be open until midnight. We do hope that we learn a few helpful hints for the Premiere at the Star Ceremony the day before, so stay tuned to our Facebook Event Page. Numerous cast are slated to attend the premiere.
One helpful suggestion for both events: If you wish to get autographs, make sure to bring with you everything you will need, including a good sharpie pen and the items you want signed. And while large posters or the Chronicles books are lovely items to get signed, you are best bringing something small and easy to carry.
3) Next up on the very busy Hollywood Hobbit tour is Billy Boyd doing a live performance and then CD signing for the new Soundtrack for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies on Wednesday, December 10. The event will be at the Barnes and Noble at The Grove, starting at 6pm. This will be a Wristbanded event, and they will begin to hand out those wristbands on Tuesday, December 9 at 9am once the soundtrack officially goes on sale. So, if you will be heading to the Premiere, swing past the Grove, pick up your soundtrack and get a wristband. For more details, please visit our Facebook Event Page for more details.
That’s it for next week, but then the film will be released the week after and our line parties kick into full gear.
4) Marathon Monday at the TCL Chinese theater on Monday, December 15 starting at Noon. This will be the first publicly available screening of the final film, and TORn will be there with Trivia, games and prizes for one and all. Please visit the Facebook Event Page.
5) On Tuesday, December 16 at 7pm, the TCL Chinese will hold their first screening of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in IMAX HFR 3D. More fun and games will ensue. For more details, please visit the Facebook Event page.
Tickets for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies went on sale Friday, and it came with a bit of confusion. There are multiple screenings in multiple theaters with all sorts of strange terms attached to them: HFR, Atmos, IMAX, etc. to name a few – to say nothing of whether or not it’s in 3D.
With ticket prices the way they are, you may be a little hesitant to push the “purchase” button on your ticket order in case you mistakenly selected a show in a format you don’t want to see.
Tickets for “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” are already on sale in some parts of the World, and are now slated to be available in the US on Friday, November 14. Before that happens, you may want to get ready for the big event by either hosting a Line Party event, or looking for one in your area to attend. So here are a few helpful tips to get you started.
1) There is no right way and wrong way to have a Line Party. You basically just choose a theater you wish to go to, invite some friends and go to the film and have some fun. If you feel up to the challenge of hosting, you can let us announce your event so that others in your area can join you. At that point, you can be as active or passive in planning as you wish.
Example of a low-key, passive sort of Line Party: Your local theater doesn’t have a history of long lines hours in advance of screenings, or has reserved seats. No problem, simply suggest to your friends, and any public announcement you are comfortable with that you meet up a couple hours ahead of the film’s start time at a local restaurant, pub or coffeehouse. At this meeting point, or in the line, you simply walk around others in line and ask a few simple questions, such as: Do you think Bilbo will reveal the Ring to Gandalf? Which battle are you most looking forward to, Dol Guldur and the White Council, or the Battle of Five Armies? Do you think Beorn will get to fight in the Battle of Five Armies?, etc. Depending on the timing of your chosen screening and the availability of late night dining in the area, you might also suggest a Post movie meal and discussion too.
Example of an active Line Party: Host a costume contest with prizes, and prepare some Trivia Questions, also with prizes. If you don’t have any real, tangible prizes, go buy a bag of candy or stickers at Staples and give those out in recognition of a job well done. But do ask your theater if they have a few extra posters you can use for prizes, you might be surprised at what that gets you. Trivia can come in many formats, from Fill in the Blank (name all the Dwarves) to simple Yes/No or True/False type questions. Also, you can make them from Book Canon or Movie Canon, your choice. Suggest a Canned Food collection or a Blood Drive, be creative and have fun with it. You could schedule a meal gathering before or after, or both for discussion purposes.
2) Should you get permission to host the Line Party from the theater manager? Yes and no, depending on what you wish to do and the idiosyncrasies of your chosen theater. Large theaters within shopping malls or entertainment complexes typically have a few rules about large events, which governs such mundane things as weapons, including costumed weapons. It is a good idea to ask to speak to a manager and explain what you plan to do. You can also tell them there is absolutely nothing they need to do other than actually run the film, which will ease their mind that you aren’t asking for promotion, man power or any effort at all on their part. Then again, some theaters might be eager to get involved in an event that turns the Passive nature of movie watching into an active event. Don’t be discouraged if a theater manager says no. You can choose a different theater, or you can still do a more low key event at that theater, and just not make a big deal out of it to the staff. But communication is never a bad thing, especially if you find out if the line will be indoors or outdoors and when the theater plans to start allowing people in to the theater. All of that is info you can pass along to your Line mates.
3) Now, how to go about actually forming a Line Party. Many moons ago during the LOTR films, we had some handy software that allowed us to create a Line Party description and keep track of members RSVPing to it so we could email or post details. Then the long wait between LOTR and the Hobbit set in and that software disappeared somewhere in the Dead Marshes, to be replaced by not entirely interactive mapping software. Since it allows a Line Party to start, but does not allow anyone to RSVP, we decided to MacGyver a solution by using Facebook. So, just take a look at our TORn Facebook Events page for ideas on how to announce a Line Party, and then send in an email to Garfeimao@TheOneRing.net with your parties statistics: Host name, Theater name, address, city and the start time of your event. Don’t fret if you don’t have all the info just yet, we can edit and change the screening info later on if need be, but let’s get some Line Parties posted and get talking to fellow fans in your area.
4) Why should you start a Line Party or Attend one? Why Not? You will have fun with your friends, and you stand a good chance to make some new friends. This may well be your last chance to really hang out with Tolkien fans and experience Middle-earth within a Fellowship of Fans, so step out of your comfort zone and start a line party or search for one to join.
It is now Boxing Day in Australia and they are finally able to see ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ in all its glory. So now that nearly the whole world has fought spiders, ridden down a river in barrels, had a pile of fish dropped on them and played chicken with a Dragon, it’s time to go back and do it again. Most of the world has a Holiday weekend to fill with fun family activities, such as Holiday meals and sweet treats, opening loads of new toys, games, electronic devices and questionable clothing choices from your Second Aunt once removed, how about adding a return trip to Middle-earth. Even for those who have to go back to work for a day or two, there is Saturday, December 28. New movie releases have started to push ‘The Hobbit’ into fewer theaters and fewer screening options, so strike now while you still have a range of options. Let’s call this ‘DOS Line Party: The Sequel’ and go out and have fun once more with your friends, old and new. Wear costumes, bring trivia games with you, go out for Mooty meals together and enjoy the Fellowship of other Ringers.
If you are in Southern California, we even have a Line Party event set up for the Irvine Spectrum. You can find the info at the Facebook Event page. And if you would like to start your own Line Party Sequel page, make a note of it here in the comments section and see if we can’t have a second Global viewing party.
They breed them tough in Finland! TORn 
Tickets for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies went on sale Friday, and it came with a bit of confusion. There are multiple screenings in multiple theaters with all sorts of strange terms attached to them: HFR, Atmos, IMAX, etc. to name a few – to say nothing of whether or not it’s in 3D.
