When vulture.com cornered Billy Connolly for an interview, they got an ear full about his role as Dain Ironfoot in the upcoming Hobbit movies. According to Connolly, he has yet to finish his battle scenes, so he’ll be returning to New Zealand next year. When asked if he’d ever read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, he replied: “I could never read Tolkien. I always found him unreadable,” though he did say the scripts are brilliant, Martin Freeman is brilliant and the 3-D is stunning. Maybe some audio books are in order? We’ll gladly send you a set, Billy, if you’re interested. Read more…

Rubbermonkey, an online audiovisual superstore and film production company based in Wellington, is currently auctioning a film clapperboard signed by the Hobbit crew to raise money for four local charities — the SPCA, SAFE, NICU, and Ronald McDonald House.

The IKAN clapperboard wasn’t used on the Hobbit, but has been signed by members of the Hobbit cast, including Martin Freeman and Ian McKellan.

The auction is running now on Trade Me, and closes on Monday September 10 at 3:51pm. (Some of you might also be interested in the twin charity auction of a filmclapper signed by the All Blacks.)

[Charity Auction] | [Rubbermonkey Blog]

Our message board members were quick to pick up on this very cool scrolling montage of pictures from the upcoming Hobbit movie over at Entertainment Weekly.com. What’s cool is there are new scenes we’ve never seen before. What’s even cooler is you can scroll over the pictures to get a closer look. Check it out and let us know what details *you* pick out on the very active thread in progress on our Hobbit discussion board! Read More…

Billy Connolly is a quote machine, and a publicist’s dream. Seriously. Now, speaking to the NZ Herald, he’s dropped a few more wonderful lines about his experience playing Dain Ironfoot. No real spoilers in this article, unless you’ve not read the Hobbit, but perhaps some more indication of what we can expect from the Battle of the Five Armies.

“What an experience,” he says of filming The Hobbit. “It’s a huge undertaking. It’s like a war.”

He says as a dwarf, he’s doing a lot of fighting.

[More]

With only a few weeks before the San Diego Comic-Con, TheOneRing.net is excited to formally announce that we have been invited to present a “Hobbit” panel at SDCC. The website also has extensive plans to bring the experience to fans who can’t attend.

With a time slot that has become something of a tradition, the fansite will open the show on the first hour of the first day. Thursday, July 12, from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m., in room 6DE, TORn will talk Hobbit. The room holds 1,000, and like every year, especially this year, a capacity crowd is expected with many unable to get in. Being the first event of the day also means that if the room is full early, we can start early and stretch our hour into more if possible. Another great feature of being the first event of the day, the convention is more liberal about giveaway items.

TORn will also be present at not one but two table locations on the 500,000 square foot dealers floor where supports can buy shirts, buttons and talk to a large contingent of staffer. (More details later, but one table next to Badali Jewelry and one table with Weta Workshop! Expect new tshirts, details to follow!)
But what to expect from a TORn presentation?
* It will be 100% re-written, not a duplicate of any previous presentation
* An audio and visual extravaganza (not people just talking)
* It is expected to feature video content from Weta Workshop
* It may contain pictures from New Zealand
* It will feature around 6 TORn staffers (the most ever) with several more in the audience if we need them
* Special guests have been invited
* Two panelists have been on “The Hobbit” set
* A significant segment of Q&A, time for fans
More about Comic-Con after the break including info for audience at home: Continue reading “TheOneRing.net, ‘Hobbit’ stuff at Comic-Con: Full details!”