Today Justin and Cliff host our *Live* webcast, covering all the exciting happenings in the world of Tolkien fandom! We just hit Chicago this past weekend at the C2E2 show, where our staffers Corvar & Entmaiden stood before record crowds to give a presentation on THE HOBBIT films in a larger room! Also on the hit list, we are excited that our reporter Larry Curtis is embedded on THE HOBBIT set down in New Zealand. Needless to say, we have many surprises up our sleeves for the coming year! Come join the TORn TUESDAY chat show and be part of the mischief. As always, you can participate and present your questions to show hosts Justin Sewell and Clifford Broadway (Quickbeam) starting at 5:00pm PDT — There’s a built-in Barliman’s chat room or come in via Skype in TheOneRing.net’s Stickam page. Check out our LIVE Event section right here every week! [LIVE Event Area] (See All Times)
Category: Casting Rumors
Billy Connolly has finally arrived in New Zealand to film his part as Dain Ironfoot as the Herald on Sunday reports:
Comedy superstar Billy Connolly will squeeze into a fat suit to make him look shorter for his role as a dwarf in The Hobbit.
The New York-based funnyman travelled to New Zealand last week to prepare for filming.
The 1.8m tall Scot – nicknamed the Big Yin – will be transformed into the Wee Yin when he plays tiny warrior Dain Ironfoot in Peter Jackson’s two-part prequel to The Lord of the Rings.
“Billy is a pretty tall guy and he has been measured up for a fat suit so he’ll appear a lot smaller on screen,” a source close to Connolly told the Herald on Sunday. “He has been fairly tickled by it all.”
For battle scenes, the 69-year-old comic and actor has also been kitted out in a suit of armour that he described as “weighing a ton”.
for the full story click [here]
This story was one of TheOneRing.net’s April Fool Jokes for 2012. Thank you for participating!
With the 3rd block of filming beginning in earnest this weekend, there is some surprise casting news filtering it’s way back to us. Back in December when the Trailer first appeared, TORn did a frame by frame analysis, and one of the little tidbits we identified was the Elves at Rivendell and what looks to be Elrond’s twin sons. See what was written on Page 7 of the trailer analysis. Word now comes to us that not only are Elladan and Elrohir in the films, but they are being played by James and Oliver Phelps, famous for portraying the Weasley Twins, which leads us to believe their roles will not just be minor set dressing. Unless, of course, this is just a bit of stunt casting, but PJ doesn’t seem overly prone to that. The nice thing about this move is that there will be real twins, two separate actors, rather than the old trick of hiring one actor and then using FX to duplicate the person. The Hobbit production will have no shortage of multiple shots for every scene with all the scale doubles they have to deal with, but having two separate actors in the roles allows for the bigger action sequences to be done and not having to worry about FX. But does that mean that the Elves of Rivendell will play a bigger part in The Hobbit? That is still one of the big questions, what with the White Council expansion and all. Stay tuned as TORn tries to sift through these snippets of news to get at the nuggets of new details.
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happenin
g on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!
Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – March 19, 2012”
Greetings all Ringers! By now you now that WonderCon has moved for 2012 down to Anaheim, providing a new opportunity for the dedicated volunteer staff of TORn to bring their sunny best to a rainy weekend in Southern California!
We open the festivities with our much anticipated panel on THE HOBBIT at 12:30pm today… check out the Programming Schedule here:
“12:30-1:30 TheOneRing.net Hobbit Movie Insider’s Preview— Ringers everywhere are eagerly awaiting Peter Jackson’s new Hobbit films during the 75th anniversary year of the book’s publication! Staff writers and scholars from TheOneRing.net web portal invite you to join this lively panel revealing film production surprises and a zealous shredding of rumors! Led by Clifford Broadway (Ringers: Lord of the Fans), Josh Rubinstein (Star Trek: TNG Blu-ray), Cathy Udovch (Cruise to Middle-earth), and Mike Urban (The People’s Guide to J. R. R. Tolkien). Room 207 ”
We are also joined by the legendary Larry Curtis – MrCere – who recently went down to visit the New Zealand production and has a first-hand account. With tons of juicy bits and some fun surprises, you’re sure to get your Hobbity fix on your first day at WonderCon! Come join us in Room 207!
The release and news arrived yesterday that Billy Connolly will play Dain II Ironfoot in the two forthcoming Hobbit movies, directed by Peter Jackson, and with that, all the pieces of the films are in place.
Here in the underground labyrinth that serves as TORn’s offices (with doors leading to L.A., Atlanta, Kenosha and Wellington among other places) a big sigh of relief could audibly heard. Dain II Ironfoot will be included; a talented actor, somebody who already looks like a Middle-earth dwarf, and is a skilled performer will be handling the role. Awesome.
We have full confidence in Connolly — who is best known for his comedy — in what might be inspired casting. His credibility comes from small, dramatic roles (The Last Samurai) which he handles just fine but more from independent films, playing larger parts and lead roles, giving him a lot of experience in front of the camera. General audiences may only think of comedy (and there may be plenty of that in The Hobbit anyway) but they should recognize his considerable talent.
Much more central the sigh of relief was the clarity that the Dain character is in. The complete absence of this important dwarven hero from news or casting announcement was a genuine concern among those trying to piece everything together. It was a glaring omission. Continue reading “Why Dain and Connolly is good news for ‘Hobbit’ fans”