SALT LAKE CITY — At a press conference to announce its inclusion of Simon Pegg as a guest, FantasyCon said it has the largest contingent of Tolkien guests at a fan convention ever, including parts of the staff of TheOneRing.net.
Coming from the Lord of the Rings films:
Sean Astin
Billy Boyd
John Rhys-Davies.
Scheduled for visits from The Hobbit films are:
Adam Brown
John Callen
Peter Hambleton
Jed Brophy
William Kircher
Ken Stott
Graham McTavish
Sylvester McCoy
Other Tolkien-related content:
TheOneRing.net
Doug Adams
Artist Donato Giancola
Artist Justin Gerard
You can read the full article, including the announcement of Simon Pegg, right here.
SALT LAKE CITY — FantasyCon, with an already potent lineup of guests from “The Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” movies, announced that Billy Boyd will be joining the show. The convention, with its obvious fantasy theme, is striving to be different from the many popular-culture events that dot North America with increased interactivity and an emphasis on fantasy art.
Set for July 3 – 5, capitalizing on the 4th of July weekend in Salt Lake City, the convention is self described as “the first convention of its kind to answer the call for an interactive, immersive experience that encompasses all things in the genre of pop culture fantasy.”
Boyd joins LOTR partners Sean Astin and John Rhys-Davies, along with Hobbit actors Slyvester McCoy, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, William Kircher, and Jed Brophy. The convention is Stott’s first convention appearance in North America.
FantasyCon is also a major sponsor of TheOneRing.net and the show will feature several of our own staffers, including FantasyCon Program Director Larry D. Curtis, MrCere here at TheOneRing.net. According to him, “There are more Middle-earth names to come, and by the time all the announcements are done we will offer a unparallelled Tolkien lineup. We mostly have all of these guys for three days helping us celebrate fantasy and of course signing autographs and providing photo ops with fans.
Billy Boyd at TORn’s booth, DragonCon 2012“FantasyCon’s founder Josh Patel had most of these pieces in place before he reached out to me so I was delighted immediately with his plans. I just talked to these guys about the show while we were together in Germany at HobbitCon 2 and they are excited and we are doing some really fun programming stuff, not just talking from the stage. This is a chance for fans in the U.S. to meet an army of talent from these franchises. What is more, there is a lot of other really good related content. We are having a world-class Middle-earth convention inside a spectacular fantasy convention.”
The convention also includes a group of masterwork fantasy artists, many who are bringing commissioned paintings to the event. Artists include TORn friend and Middle-earth artist Donato Giancola and Brom. The full list of artists can be found right here.
The show starts Thursday July 3rd and will finish Saturday July 5th in Salt Lake City. The Salt Palace Convention Center will host the event, close to many hotels and close to the Salt Lake airport.
Originally, Peter Jackson intended his adaptation of The Hobbit to be a two-film effort — a duology.
We’ll never know for certain how it would have turned out, but in this feature TORn writer Captain Salt brings together the known facts to give us some idea of just how it might have shaped up.
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
One of the showstoppers at Comic-Con 2013 was a character I had been looking forward to seeing since the The Hobbit Trilogy was announced. Being pretty pleased with how this character was done left me looking forward to finally adding a statue of him to my collection. Thankfully that wish came true when I made my voyage to the Weta booth during Comic-Con last year. I was really blown away by the job done on the Radagast the Brown statue and just how spectacular a job was done to translate the onscreen character into a 1:6th scale statue.
PACKAGING
The overall graphic layout for Radagast’s box stays the same as we’ve seen with previous entries in the line. Per the format we’ve come to know, the front of the box gives you a great shot of Radagast, graphic work for the title of the movie, and of course the Weta logo. The sides of the box for Radagast also present a familiar format with different looks at the statue. While the other side of the box presents some of the various products you can get for The Hobbit line of collectibles. The back of the box contains a great story on Radagast as well as information regarding details of the character and statue. The Styrofoam on the inside is typical with what we’ve come used to getting with these statues.
SCULPTING
The task of sculpting Radagast the Brown was handed to the ultra talented Steven Saunders. He has once again shown why he is a master of his craft with the skills needed to bring the movie to life within your collection. The Istari would be proud to have Mr. Saunders sculpting them I believe.
I personally think the likeness to actor Sylvester McCoy with all the makeup he wore is pretty much spot on. You’re going to be hard pressed, I think, to deny that this isn’t an excellent reproduction of the character. This goes all the way down to his nose being just a little crooked. As we know Radagast‘s appearance is a total mess, which is wonderfully shown on this statue with his beard going every way possible.
One of the things I love the most about Radagast is the unique look he has with his hodgepodge of an outfit. It is one of my favorite things about him. His coat has some amazing details in it with little plants or flowers on the back of his coat, which just happens to be fraying at the ends of it from the constant wear and tear. His vest and undershirt appear to be the same type of material along with looking exactly the same. Both of these are also fraying/tearing at the end from him wearing them all the time, as is the case with Radagast’s entire outfit. One small detail I love on the vest is it being held closed by just one simple button, which has some nice details within those buttons. Radagast’s pants which now resemble capris from most likely being the only pants he wears as he roams Mirkwood. The one detail that I think I love the most about his outfit and did not notice until after seeing the movie is he wears two different shoes. This reminds me of a neighbor that used to live by me that always had on two different pairs of shoes. They’re totally different designs with one having fir at the top and leaves while the other is a plain black leather looking shoe. He also carries with him a worn out bag that appears to be made out of the same material as his coat.
Radagast lives a simple life style so he doesn’t really have weapons or jewelry that we’ve seen on other statues from this line. He does have his unqiue hat that like the rest of his outfit is made of cloth with the little cloth fiber details that make up the hat. Wizards really don’t need too many weapons, but one you can bet they will have is a staff. The staff has the little wood grain details put into it, which when painted help create a real wood looking staff. It also at the top of it has the crystal that he used to help save his little pal Sebastian when we first meet him in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Speaking of Sebastian he joins Radagast on this statue climbing the log that has fallen on the ground making up part of the base. This little addition may be the part I love the most as that moment when Radagast saves Sebastian made me think of how much I love my puppies. Those are not the only animals that help make up this statue with a cute little mouse and robin that is landing on Radagast’s outstretched hand.
I think Weta has done an excellent job with the poses on these statues allowing them to gives us a look inside these characters. As I mentioned in a previous review the Elves have both a power as well as a beautiful elegance. The pose for Radagast shows his care of nature and love of the animals that make up his world. As an animal lover myself it really is the cherry on top of this statue.
PAINT
The streak continues by Weta with how the factory paint came out on Radagast. The overall skin tone on Radagast I think is really well done, and very much looks like a healthy human should look. The one issue with my statue is the redness is a little on the strong side but overall doesn’t take away from the statue. The grey coloring of his beard does a great job highlighting the hair detail and matching what we saw on screen. When put into my collection cabinet his paint apps look great along with the rest of the collection.
As I mentioned earlier the outfit is really exceptional. I love the way they used the various shades of browns to help create the worn look of the clothes. It’s also great that the browns highlight the detail within the outfit and don’t hide the details that were sculpted into the outfit. His shoes have a great paint job with the one having some cool gold painted leaves on the shoes while the other does have the old worn leather look. The animals and parts of Mirkwood that make up the rest of the statue stays at the high level as Radagast himself when it comes to paint detail. They even did a nice job on my least favorite part of the character with the bird poop in the proper spots.
Overall
Radagast retails for $275, which puts him inline for the non-Dwarven characters. I really love this statue! I love the character and just how well done this statue is. Again, I think this is a statue you must see in person to appreciate how beautiful this statue really is. I was also lucky recently to get Mr. McCoy’s autograph here in Kansas City’s Comic-Con to add something to my Radagast statue.
SPECIFICATIONS
Radagast is limited to just 1000 pieces worldwide and is ready to order now from our friends at Weta. As we wind down The Hobbit Trilogy this is going to be a hard statue to get a hold of so don’t wait an let it pass you by.
Dimensions:
11.8″ x 9.1″ x 5.5″ (H x W x D)
30 cm x 23 cm x 14 cm
For Tolkien fans, 2013 was the year of anticipating the dragon, as fans worldwide grew ever more enthusiastic between the final shot of the billion-dollar “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and the opening of “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” in December. The staff of TheOneRing.net has been privileged to participate in many related events, by fans and for fans, and this ‘year of the dragon’ was more exciting than anyone expected! Take a walk down memory lane with us and peruse chapter 2013 of the “fan book of Westmarch” below:
JANUARY
Tolkien Forever “Toast To Tolkien.”
Fans in Los Angeles met at the Cat & Fiddle pub to share a drink and stories of all things Tolkien. The Tolkien Toast is a tradition started by the Tolkien Society to celebrate professor Tolkiens birthday on January 3rd. On that day, fans around the world lift a glass to “The Professor” at 9:00 p.m. local time wherever they may be.
Billy & Dom live fan chat – Merry & Pip reunion special
Our weekly webcast TORn Tuesdays had an exciting January as host Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway snagged an exclusive “reunion” chat with Billy Boyd and Dominic Monahan. Dom discussed the launch of his new series on BBC America: Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan, and Billy filled us in on the new album, new album, Blue Sky Paradise, released by his band Beecake.
Dylan Sprouse on TORn Tuesday
Another great TORn Tuesday in January included an interview with guest Dylan Sprouse, star of the hit Disney Channel series “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.” A Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Award-winner and T.V. star, Dylan chatted about his own, personal love of Tolkien and how generational love of J.R.R. Tolkien is handed down to kids , inspiring them to great things! We hear you, Dylan!
FEBRUARY
Sylvester McCoy live fan chat
TORn Tuesdays spent a full hour with Sylvester McCoy and he even played the spoons! Of course, he also touched on his role as Radagast, the wizard, in The Hobbit movies. Have a look (or another look) at this great interview.
Kiran Shah live fan chat a week later! (Archive not available)
In early February actor and stunt man Kiran Shah joined us for an exclusive live chat on . Kiran shared his experiences as a scale scale double for all 5 Hobbits (Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Bilbo) in the LOTR Trilogy and his return to Middle-earth in The Hobbit movies.
Unexpected Art Show – Los Angeles
To kick off TORn’s Oscar Party weekend, TORn held ‘An Unexpected Art Show’ at Lot 613, a blank-canvas special events space in the Historic Arts District of downtown Los Angeles. The show was a unique celebration of artwork from over 30 artists around the world inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Attending in person, and exhibiting their art, were Tim Kirk, who illustrated the 1975 Tolkien Calendar — the first by an illustrator other than Professor Tolkien, and Jerry VanderStelt, an artist producing licensed reproductions for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films. Additional artists include Donato Giancola, Stephen Hickman, and Jay Johnstone.
One Expected Party w/ Dom & Billy and Beecake
Once again, TORn returned to the American Legion in Hollywooed to host the party of all parties on the night of the Academy Awards. Attendees were treated to a live broadcast of the Academy Awards, a photo booth, fabulous food an drink, an amazing auction of LOTR and Hobbit collectibles and the company of Tolkien fans and friends from around the world. Sponsored by Houghton Mifflin, Air New Zealand., Sideshow Toys, The Tolkien Shop, The Noble Collection and Empire Magazine. World-class entertainment at the party included music ensemble Dorian Mirth, Celtic band Emerald Rose, Sir Ian McKellen impersonator Hunter Davis and a grand finale by Billy Boyd’s band, Beecake. Needless to say, a fabulous time was had by all!
MARCH
AUJ released on DVD
We knew the Extended Edition was coming but fans still bought AUJ on DVD… because we just couldn’t wait to invite Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves into our homes!
DVD press junket (Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt and Martin Freeman)
While we were all waiting for the release of the AUJ DVD, TORn staffers were able to get exclusive interviews with Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt and Martin Freeman. In these great interviews, the four talented actors shared their experiences preparing for their roles and filming The Hobbit movies If you listened to them before, they’re well worth another listen. If not, what are you waiting for?!
WonderCon – Anaheim – Panel
On March 31st, at the 2013 Wondercon convention, staffers Garfeimao, Josh and Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway presented a panel titled: “TheOneRing.net’s Unauthorized Sneak Peek: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” Upwards of 600 people attended as our staff showed excerpts from the WB DOS sneak peak gave their insights to the latest Hobbit news and rumors. Feedback from the attendees was mega-positive.
Tolkien Reading Day
On the 25th of March, the same day of the destruction of the Ring of Power in The Return of the King, fans gather worldwide to celebrate the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and read favorite passages to each other. Tolkien Reading Day was started by the Tolkien Society and celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. TORn coverage here and here.
APRIL
#VoteBilbo
#VoteBilbo
MTV Movie Awards hosted a fan-voting contest for “BEST HERO” and when we first discovered it, Kirsten Stewart, of Twilight and Snow White fame, was so far ahead of Bilbo it seemed hopeless. Beginning in last place, #VoteBilbo captured the hearts of twitter users around the world and, one by one, Bilbo overtook The Hulk, Batman, Catwoman and Ironman and finally led a heated battle with Snow White herself. An alliance was formed with LOTRProject to track voting in real time and while the battle was epic, and Bilbo came out ahead, the biggest reward was the many new friendships forged over twitter.
C2E2 – Chicago – Panel
TORn staffers were crowd-pleasers once again at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) in late April. Staffers entmaiden and Corvar offered a presentation and discussion of all things Hobbit and were a big hit!
MAY
Adam Brown live fan chat
TORn Tuesday did it again with an exclusive interview with actor Adam Brown who plays dward Ori in The Hobbit movies.
The Fall of Arthur published – New Tolkien book
A rare and exciting thin happened in April of 2013: a previously unpublished work of J.R.R. Tolkien was released: The Fall of Arthur. Like too many of his works, the narrative poem, edited by his son Christopher, was never finished. Still, as it is, it covers much of the Arthurian legend including Arthur’s expedition overseas into distant heathen lands, Guinevere’s flight from Camelot, the sea battle on Arthur’s return to Britain, Mordred and the tormented Lancelot.
Phoenix Comic Con – Panel
Hitting the con circuit again, staffer Garfeimao brought ‘The Desolation of Smaug: Sneak Peek’ panel to Phoenix.
JUNE
Trailer 2 released
#Hobbitception Elves reaction video
All the Happy Hobbits, Fili and Kili, set out to do was quickly record their reactions to the 2nd trailer for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” So, still in their pajamas, they set up their camera and started recording their sheer, geeky delight over what they saw. Little did they know that their little recording would be picked up by mainstream news outlets like Entertainment Weekly and Stuff.co.nz. The production and actors also got a kick out of their enthusiasm. From Stuff: “Jackson saw the video and posted it to his Facebook page saying it was “pretty cute”. He then filmed Hobbit cast members Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, and Lee Pace watching their reaction, saying “here’s what I guess you’d call a sequel to that fan video”. More than 20,000 people liked his video of the video, with many applauding Jackson for satisfying The Hobbit’s avid fans. Way to go, Hobbits!
Emporium of Goods launched
Fans worldwide submitted t-shirt designs for TheOneRing.net Emporium, and we had a tough time keeping up with demand!
JULY
SDCC – San Diego – Panel & Booth
San Diego Comic Con was just as epic as TheOneRing.net shared booth space with the fine folks at WETA Workshop and Badali Jewelry. Cosplay was out in full force, impression the likes of Evangeline Lilly, Manu Bennett, and Richard Taylor.
#ThankYouPJ fan video project
The final day of filming on The Hobbit trilogy inspired fans worldwide to say “Thank You Peter Jackson” for creating films we love.
Tauriel “It IS out Fight!” poster
Evangeline Lilly supported our efforts for a 5 Army Solution with an amazing poster designed by Badali Jewelry artist David Powell.
AUGUST
Road To DragonCon
New adventurers Doug, Ryan and Katalena joined the 3rd annual Road To DragonCon, meeting Tolkien fans across the country.
Beorn revealed!
The blurriest pic to ever fire up Tolkien fandom.
S.H.I.R.E. Project
S.H.I.R.E Project (Sharing The Hobbit to Improve REading) is a new charitable effort started by TheOneRing.net to provide needy schools with copies of Tolkien’s literature. The inaugural drive exceeded all our expectations so look forward to more book-giving efforts in the future.
SEPTEMBER
Dragon Con – Atlanta – Four days of programming, celeb panels, a booth and an Epic 80’s Dance Party
DragonCon 2013 was yet again, the most Tolkien-centric event in the nation with four days of wall-to-wall programming from the track “Tolkien’s Middle-earth.” With TORn staffers MrCere, deej, greendragon, and Thorongil running the track, running the fan table to sell shirts and to see folks face-to-face and hosting big stars, this year’s edition also drew new attendees from Twitter and social media. The presence of stars was bigger than ever with Sylvester McCoy, Graham McTavish, William Kircher and Manu Bennett delighting fans at multiple panels. In fact, the two dwarf actors appeared on a large-room panel every single day of the convention. But one of the highlights of the week was the first annual Middle-earth Dance Party that created a big stir at a convention with endless entertainment possibilities.
Dragon Con video dance night highlights
Dragon Con ‘Tolkien’s Middle-earth’ track highlights
Baggins Birthday Bash – Los Angeles
TORn’s LA staffers hosted their 11th annual Baggins Birthday Bash in Griffith Park where close to 150 fans ate like Hobbits, drank like Dwarves and generally celebrated Bilbo and Frodo’s September 22 birthdays.
TheOneRing.net was once again the only Hobbit content at the New York Comic Con and we’re always proud to represent Tolkien fandom! Our booth (complete with a ‘ring’ of dwarves mounted on the top), staffed by Calisuri, deej, Earl, greendragon, ImladrisRose, Justin, and Thorongil drew many folks eager for some Middle-earth goodies, and we were able to satisfy their craving with our own t-shirts and buttons, as well as Weta collectibles.
Sean Astin live fan chat
Sean Astin recalled his time on LOTR and updated us on his life and his projects since.
NOVEMBER
#HobbitFanEvent
November brought the long-expected “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” fan event hosted by Anderson Cooper in New York. The event was held live in major cities around the world and also online. Per Anderson: “this global fan event is for fans around the world to ask questions of their favorite Hobbit actors and also to see some never before seen footage from the upcoming film. Go here for the video and a full transcript of this exciting event!
AUJ DVD Extended Edition Bluray release
The release of the extended edition of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” in Blu Ray format had fans around the world scratching their heads in confusion: “So, what version is available where and what is included on how many discs?” TORn to the rescue! Our staff put together this comprehensive, easy-to-follow guide to help fans zero in on exactly what they wanted.
Trailer 3
TORN Book Club – Show launch
November brought about the debut of a new weekly live streaming video chat show for Tolkien Fundamentalists and all book lovers. Sundays 3pm PT at http://theonering.net/live
DECEMBER
Premiere – Hollywood – pinch seen ’round the Tumblrs
Although Berlin got the bigger premiere, fans watching Hollywood were most delighted to see a fun moment between Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Only TheOneRing.net cameras caught this, inspiring legions of tumblr gifs and validating shippers worldwide.
As part of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’s premiere festivities, Air New Zealand graciously invited TheOneRing.net to the red carpet reveal of their new Smaug plane! Joining the Happy Hobbits at the event were TORn staffers Quickbeam & Sarumann, who shared a brief moment with director Peter Jackson and actors Aidan Turner (Kili) and Dean O’Gorman (Fili). Check out the pics and video here!
Press Junket – Beverly Hills
Check out our exclusive “Playlist of Desolation.”
William Kircher live fan chat
Bifur himself stops by and gives the scoop on our favorite Dwarf with an axe in his head.
FORTH EORLINGAS INTO 2014!
“Tolkien Fandom is the most generous, thoughtful and kind fandom I’ve ever seen.”
Since this is full of conjecture for the next film, consider it wall to wall spoilers!!!
Here is a list of all the things we are looking forward to seeing in ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’ next December. Since there are so many changes, additions and enhancements in the films, we can only know the broad strokes of what is to come with the details up for grabs. That means this list will mostly be based on events that occur in ‘The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug’ and the questions and actions they leave open heading into ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’
And now we begin the Spoiler filled guesswork portion of this article.
1) Legolas catching up to Bolg. Nobody, but nobody gives Leggy a bloody nose and lives.
2) Smaug’s attack on Lake-town will be epic! Bard’s response will be equally epic!
3) What exactly does it take to pry Thranduil out of Mirkwood and enter the fray? Could it be a true desire to assist the Men of Lake-town in their hour of need? Or will it be his desire to recover the missing elven gems? Or will it be a more personal desire to find and bring back Legolas and Tauriel who are missing and presumed to be in the middle of the fight already?
4) How will an injured Kili and the rest of the dwarves get out of the way of an approaching Dragon? And what about Bard’s kids?
5) Who springs Bard out of prison? Will it be Tauriel, Bofur and Fili, or might it be his son, Bain?
6) What becomes of Tauriel? Does she stay with the Dwarves and Bard’s kids or does she try to catch up to Legolas?
7) How does Gandalf get out of his pickle?
8) Radagast went to inform Galadriel of what was happening at Dol Guldur, will she go to War? Who else might come with her? Will Saruman join in or drag his feet?
9) Does Bilbo have the Arkenstone already? If not, how will things play out in Erebor while Smaug is away? And how does the Company find out about Smaug’s fate and how long does that take?
10) Is that big Orc army we see marching through Dol Guldur going to be present when the White Council shows up? Or is the army headed towards Erebor, leaving Dol Guldur rather defenseless when the White Council does show up to spring Gandalf?
11) When will Beorn decide to jump into the fray and how many dead orcs does he leave in his wake?
12) Will we see an auction beginning at Bag End with Lobelia stashing silverware into her bodice?
SALT LAKE CITY — At a press conference to announce its inclusion of Simon Pegg as a guest, FantasyCon said it has the largest contingent of Tolkien guests at a fan convention ever, including parts of the staff of TheOneRing.net.
Originally, Peter Jackson intended his adaptation of The Hobbit to be a two-film effort — a duology. 
