Welcome all, to the annual showdown in the realms of Eriador and beyond! Yes, it’s that time of year when hobbit must fight wizard, dwarf must battle elf, and man must face … erm … well, maybe himself.
Because this year we’ve thrown something new into the mix for March Madness. We thought it would be interesting to see if Sherlock could outwit the most cunning of dragons; or if Rudy has more heart than Samwise. What would fastidious Oscar Wilde make of the slovenly Master of Lake-town? Can Dwalin out-wrestle Dougal Mackenzie?
That’s right – our brackets contain actors in both their Tolkien roles, and a role they play in another film or TV show. So Luke Evans appears both as Bard and Gaston; and Billy Boyd is there both as Pippin and Barret Bonden (from ‘Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World’). This means that some battles will be between two characters from Middle-earth, some between two ‘outside’ characters, and some will be a mix; and yes, actors could find themselves facing an alter ego.
Are we crazy? Is there absolutely no way that the ape Caesar would stand a chance against Gollum? Is Magneto clearly no match for Gandalf? That’s for YOU to decide! Voting starts today – and the madness will run until April 5th. Here is the schedule for rounds:
Round 1 – March 19th – March 22nd 10:00pm ET
Round 2 – March 23rd – March 25th 10:00pm ET
Round 3 – March 26th – March 28th 10:00pm ET
Round 4 – March 31st 10:00pm ET
Final Four – April 1 – April 3rd 10:00pm ET
The Final – April 4 – April 5th 10:00pm ET
The brackets are divided as follows:
Division I – The Lord of the Rings Fellowship, and counterpart roles
Division II – The Lord of the Rings outside the Fellowship, and counterpart roles
Division III – The Hobbit Company (wizards, dwarves, and hobbit), and counterpart roles
Division IV – The Hobbit Lake-town and villains, and counterpart roles
Voting is simple – just click on your choice in each dual, below. You can only vote once – but feel free to share, and rally people to your cause! Speculate on the message boards, and head on over to Facebook to take part in some ‘exit polls’, and see who is predicted to win.
It’s all in fun – how you choose your choice of winners is entirely up to you. But if you’re keen to see someone in particular go all the way to final victory, start campaigning now!
Let the games begin!
Voting in Round 1 will remain open until March 22nd at 10pm ET. At that point, we’ll calculate the winners and post the next round on March 23rd. Follow after the break for a complete bracket image (download it), and to vote on all of our Round 1 match-ups! [Round 1 Bracket]
One month on from New York ComicCon, we thought readers might enjoy a gallery of images from the event – to see the fun which unfolded in the Big Apple, and perhaps to reminisce, if you were there!
Big thanks to all who came and visited TORn’s booth this year. The convention was bigger than ever, and fighting one’s way around the show floor is no easy feat! It is always a delight to meet with fellow fans, and we loved chatting with all who came by – or who joined us at the ‘Fan Meet-up’ on Saturday night. And of course it was a joy to hang out with everyone who joined us on the Thursday evening for our annual ‘Ringers take Manhattan’ party. Special thanks to Graham McTavish for coming along, and being a true gent to all the partygoers. Continue reading “New York ComicCon – Photo Gallery”
If you weren’t able to join us at our ‘Ringers Take Manhattan’ party last week, then you missed the chance to party with Graham McTavish, who joined us towards the end of the evening. We’ll be bringing you a full write up from New York ComicCon in the next day or so; in the meantime, as a consolation, here’s your chance to spend some time enjoying the company of not only McTavish, but also the fabulous Stephen Hunter.
As you know from our interview with him in September, Stephen is creating a series of video interviews called ‘Actors Talk About Themselves’. Having already spoken with fellow dwarves Nori and Oin (aka cast members Jed Brophy and John Callen), Dwalin is the latest interviewee. The two gents are good friends and the interview is as funny and irreverent as you might expect. Enjoy! We’re looking forward to seeing Stephen’s next interview.
Staffers from TORn have started arriving in the Big Apple to set up our booth – that means New York ComicConis almost upon us! The fun kicks off at 10am tomorrow morning; here are some of the highlights for Tolkien fans:
First of all, TORn’s booth this year is number 3164. This is NOT our usual corner spot – we could only get an ‘inline’ booth this year. But look for the usual ‘tent’ and you’ll find us! As ever, we’ll have t-shirts and buttons for sale, and we have some fabulous items for our ‘lucky dip’ giveaways! It’s an election year even in Middle-earth; here are the t-shirts we’ll have on sale this year: Continue reading “New York ComicCon starts TOMORROW! Don’t forget your party tickets!”
It’s that time again – New York ComicConis just around the corner! We’re looking forward to see our fellow fans in the Big Apple!
You can find us at the convention at Booth 3164 – please note, this is NOT where we have been before. (This year we could only get an ‘inline’ booth – so don’t look for us on a corner!) As ever, we’ll have t-shirts and buttons for sale, as well as the usual cool giveaways and fun stuff. This year is an election year even in Middle-earth! These are the shirts which will be available:
If it’s July it must be San Diego Comic Con, and with that biggest of popular culture events you can bet TheOneRing.net is right in the middle of it all. No, there are no new Tolkien films on the horizon, but there are new collectibles, in a variety of styles, coming to fans bookshelves soon. There are also fan gatherings, at SDCC and beyond, and plenty of other tidbits of Tolkien news just waiting to be shared with one and all. And there will be a few Middle-earth alums attending the con this year, chiefly Elijah Wood and Graham McTavish. So keep a wary eye on TheOneRing.net for any and all Middle-earth news, rumors and cosplay. Oh, and don’t forget our panel, which is listed after the cut. Continue reading “TheOneRing.net’s panel at San Diego Comic con is this Friday”