Our friends at Weta Workshop have a couple new additions for your growing Hobbiton Collection. A piece of Hobbiton that fans have been asking to be made for quite some time is now available to buy: the beautiful Hobbiton Mill and Bridge has arrived! Due out in November, fans can get this beautiful looking piece for $199. While this is an open edition piece, don’t wait too long to order or you could end up missing out. Additionally, the Hobbiton Mill and Bridge isn’t the only piece of Hobbiton to be announced: Hobbit Hole 31 Lakeside is designed to join the mill. You can purchase this Hobbit-hole for $49, with an arrival date of October of this year.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Hobbiton Mill and Bridge”

Getty Images

J.A. Bayona, director of the upcoming Amazon series set in the Second Age of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, has arrived in Auckland and filming has begun! Well, okay, the film clip he posted to Instagram features no actors, unless the small bird in Fraser’s cafe in the urban setting of Mount Eden, a suburb of Auckland, is somehow related to the thrush of The Hobbit fame. According to Stuff.co.nz “the first piece of film he appears to have shot in New Zealand is a snapshot from Frasers cafe in Mount Eden. Bayona shared the clip to Instagram this morning. The camera appears to be focused on the cafe, then swings down to track a hopeful sparrow as it hops around some tables in search of crumbs.”

Watch the short clip here. Considering the cafe is in a very urban setting, with narry a dragon or dwarf in sight, it’s likely it was just a spur-of-the-moment snap from his phone, but exciting nonetheless.

Quoted from Deadline by Stuff:

“J.R.R. Tolkien created one of the most extraordinary and inspiring stories of all time, and as a lifelong fan it is an honour and a joy to join this amazing team,” he said in a statement to Deadline.

“I can’t wait to take audiences around the world back to Middle-earth and have them discover the wonders of the Second Age, with a never-before-seen story.”

In addition to directing, Bayona will also be an executive producer for the LOTR series alongside his producing partner Belén Atienza.  He has been warmly welcomed by the writing team, lead by JD Payne and Patrick McKay and consulted by Game of Thrones writer Bryan Cogman.

Read more of the story at stuff.co.nz, and let us know, aside from the bird in the cafe, what in the Second Age you think the first ‘real’ filming will likely cover!

Maxim Baldry, Courtesy of Collider

Collider announced earlier today that 23 year-old British actor Maxim Baldry “has landed a significant role” in the upcoming Amazon Middle-earth TV series. Baldry is perhaps best known so far for his role in the 2019 BBC/HBO joint production series Years and Years. According to Collider: “Character details are being kept under wraps along with plot details.” While that doesn’t give us a lot to go on, ok almost nothing to go on, we do know that the new series is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, which narrows down, if only slightly, what “significant role” might imply.

Continue reading “Maxim Baldry added to cast of Amazon Middle-earth series”

(VIDEO) For the 20th Anniversary of TheOneRing.net, our panel at San Diego Comic-con ventured back into the past (No time machine involved, but wouldn’t that be fun!) to look at TORN’s roots and how we grew from our early beginnings into arguably the world’s premiere J.R.R. Tolkien fansite. From fan clubs to card games and Oscar parties, no stone was left unturned. And for the crowning moment, we invited Sir Richard Taylor, Co-Founder and Creative Director of WETA Workshop, onto the stage, and he entertained us with fascinating and funny tales of how WETA grew right along with TORn.

 

Out latest review covers not one but two statues from out friend at Weta Workshop. The two statues we will be looking at come from The Hobbit Trilogy and specifically The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. During the final sequences of the film, we get to see some Elves and Dwarves joining forces. To depict this,  Weta made individual statues covering a single Mirkwood Elf as well as a pair of Iron Hills Dwarves–  but  the two statues come with a twist. You can switch out the shoulder armor of one of the Dwarves and combine them to make one massive statue. You can also get both statues individually for $449 with an edition size of 750.