BFI London Film Festival Awards - Arrivals:54th BFI London Film FestivalAs promised in this post last week, TORn is delighted to bring you this exclusive Q&A with our favourite specialist in performance capture, Gollum himself, Mr Andy Serkis!

Serkis was giving the press Q&A specifically to talk about The Bone Season, the new book for which he and his team at The Imaginarium have obtained the film rights.  This first novel in a new fantasy series is a real page turner, and has great potential for the big screen – and Serkis was clearly excited to tell us about it!  He also talks about other upcoming projects, how working with Peter Jackson has influenced his career, and, in response to the questions put to him specifically by TORn, he leaves us with a tantalizing remark about Gollum and The Hobbit

Continue reading “TORn exclusive – Q&A with Andy Serkis”

oakentoon_logo_by_peckishowl-d6ljafpOver the last week I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with PeckishOwl about her hilarious Oakentoons.   We discussed where she gets her inspirations for the various toons and which one she loves the most.  I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did doing it.   So without further ado, over to PeckishOwl 🙂

Continue reading “TORn chats with PeckishOwl creator of the Oakentoons”

bilbo on gold Audience reaction to Hollywood’s first high frame rate movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was decidedly mixed, but frame rates—along with higher resolution, laser light, immersive sound and second screen experiences were very much on the minds of digital cinema leaders last week at the International Broadcasters Convention.

During the event, this community debated how to respond to the advancements taking place in home entertainment. “TV [technology] is moving faster,” admitted Disney’s vp production technology Howard Lukk during a panel discussion. “What keeps us up at night is how [cinema] stays the premium experience.” Continue reading “IBC wrap-up: ‘We would be fools if we didn’t learn from The Hobbit’”

King_ThranduilRinger Marthe has sent us this interesting and thought-provoking article outlining comparisons of the Elven-king Thranduil with the legends of The Fisher King and Oberon, based on comments Lee Pace made in the August copy of Empire Magazine.

Continue reading “Thranduil, The Fisher King and Oberon; Why It Matters”

bilbo on gold There’s still some three months before The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug debuts on our screens (four if you’re unlucky!). Yet wider geek fandom is already looking ahead to what we can expect. In this article, The Digital Times suggests that The Desolation of Smaug may prove the high point of the three (unusual, as middle films in a sequence generally are regarded as the weak link).

The author’s reason? Spiders. Mirkwood. Beorn. Wood-elves. Lake-men. And Smaug. Continue reading “Digital Times: why The Hobbit sequel will be (not much) better”

After copious amounts of viewing of the latest Vlog (see the embedded video at the bottom), I’m just wondering what are the two individuals (clearly citizens) from Lake-town, doing in the “desolate” Dale?

What could possibly occur that drives both men and women to the destroyed city? Surely it isn’t a flashback as the snow settling on the burnt stonework is clearly visible — and hence during the time the Company passes through Dale. Continue reading “Why are these Lake-town folk in ruined Dale?”