TORn Amateur Symposium The folks of the TORn message board Reading Room, the section of our forums devoted to discussion of Tolkien’s literary works, have just put out for a call for papers for the fourth TORn Amateur Symposium (also known as TAS4).

Previous TORn Amateur Symposiums have published essays on topics as varied as The Physics of The Hobbit, The Corrupting Nature of The One Ring, Concepts of Healing in Middle-earth, The Matter of Glorfindel, and Music and Race in Howard Shore’s Score.

For this TAS, the team of Brethil, Elaen32 and DanielLB are looking for papers that all touch upon The Lord of the Rings in some way.

TAS is an opportunity for those who love Middle-earth to share their ideas on Tolkien-related subjects in a longer written form. Continue reading “Call for papers: the fourth TORn Amateur Symposium”

TheQuest Official It’s a testament to the genius of Professor Tolkien that each time we open the pages of his books, we feel like we’ve entered the world of Middle-earth. But just imagine for a moment, that you were not just a passive observer of Frodo’s quest – but a true participant and member of the Fellowship of the Ring.

Well, beginning July 31 on ABC, the reality show The Quest will place 12 reality contestants into a very similar scenario. They will be dropped into a scripted fantasy world reminiscent of the stories of Tolkien and George R.R. Martin, as they embark on an epic adventure.

A new video for the series has been released on Mashable.com, for the first time fully explaining what the new show will contain. Continue reading “New Video detailing ABC’s upcoming reality show “The Quest” released online”

ShadowofMordor_FOB_PS4A brand new gameplay video (“Weapons and Runes”) has been released for the upcoming video game “Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor”. The game will be released on October 7 and will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor delivers a dynamic game environment where the player orchestrates their personal plan of vengeance as they bend Mordor to their will. The game begins on the night of Sauron’s return to Mordor, as his Black Captains brutally execute the Rangers of the Black Gate. Players become Talion, a ranger who loses his family and everything he holds dear, only to be returned from death by a mysterious Spirit of vengeance. As Talion’s personal vendetta unfolds, players uncover the mystery of the Spirit that compels him, discover the origin of the Rings of Power and confront the ultimate nemesis.

Continue reading “New Trailer for ‘Shadow of Mordor’ Game (Updated)”

Middle-earth fan Kieran contacted us recently to say:

“I’m an animation student at Dundee University, and we’ve just finished a 12 week project which I think you guys will appreciate! We’re massive fans of Tolkien, and we’re really pleased with our short animation… ”

So of course we went over to vimeo to check it out – and we were impressed! The vimeo page tells us, ‘An MSc Animation class project, in association with Axis Animation, to provide an unofficial short animation to tie in with the release of The Hobbit: Desolation Of Smaug. The project took 13 weeks and explores the mysterious origins of the dragons of Middle Earth. ‘

We thought our readers would enjoy it too – so here it is!

Concerning Dragons from Kieran Duncan on Vimeo.

Thanks also to Lilly for letting us know about this.

 

THE HOBBIT - FAKE BOFA TITLEIGN has posted a video with some interview snippets with WETA Digital Animation Supervisor Dave Clayton. In the minute and a half video, he discusses both Smaug’s impending attack on Laketown, as well as the final film’s massive “Battle of the Five Armies”. Thanks to Huan and Brandon Petkau for telling us about this! Continue reading “IGN Video: “Smaug will be a killing machine…””