New Zealander builds Hobbit hole

Ananova / The Evening Post ^ | 1/26/02

[John Farson]

New Zealander builds Hobbit hole A New Zealand man has built a Hobbit house. Carl Gifford, a stonemason from Wellington, says he used a 10-tonne digger to make the hole. He's put rocks either side of the front door and plans to install a chimney and lantern on top. He told the Evening Post he was embarrassed as he was constructing the home. He said: "I must admit I was hiding as the cars were driving past. I thought, 'These people think I'm an idiot'." The house is part of a series of stonework mounds, designs and sculptures dotted around his land. "I'm just having a bit of fun. Things that were built by those ancient people like caves have always fascinated me."

[John Farson]

Click here for Tolkien related articles.

[ecurbh]

ping

[John Farson]

They Had to Give Up Their Rubber Axes

(Hobbit Crack-Down in Kazakhstan)

[Samwise]

Thanks for the ping. But did you follow the links to the article about this guy?

JERUSALEM (Reuters): Bandaged and bloody, Mark Sokolow lay on his hospital bed, a lucky survivor of both Sunday's suicide bomb attack in Jerusalem and the September 11 hijacked plane attack on the World Trade Centre in New York.

Man...if I see his name on a passenger list, I'm staying home. Poor guy.

[Big Dan]

"No, no, Clif, no one calls you an idiot ... as far as you know."

[Samwise]

Geez, what would they think of Trekkies?

[HairOfTheDog]

What no pictures??? I've been robbed!!

Cute article. Did you see this one on TTT? On the same site... following links to other LOTR stories...

Elijah Wood loves Gollum scenes in second Rings film

Elijah Wood has revealed his favourite scenes in the second Lord Of The Rings film.

He is due back in New Zealand soon to finish work on The Two Towers.

Wood, who plays Frodo in the trilogy, says his favourite scenes involve the CGI created character Gollum.

"There's a scene where he takes us through marshes, and within these marshes are dead bodies floating underwater in these ethereal lights, tempting Frodo," Wood tells Entertainment Weekly.

"It's pretty wonderful."

The Two Towers is due to be released later in the year.

[John Farson]

[HairOfTheDog]

ROTFL - Thank you John!!

Thanks for the smiles... My fellowship has split up and gone off hunting orcs, Soldiers are preparing for war and I am desperately worried about Frodo and Sam... I must get back to my reading.

[ecurbh]

I just read that chapter last night. Can't wait to see it!!

[2Jedismom]

Just saw the movie again yesterday, for the 6th time! And we're just taking off from Rivendell...my 3rd reading since the movie came out.

Thanks for the ping, ecurbh!

[BibChr]

"Sixth"! Piker!

SEVEN times!!!

And we're just down the river from Lothlorien. Legolas just shot down something nasty.

Dan
(c8

[2Jedismom]

Wait a second there! I'm probably going again tonight, the boys are going to Tiger Cubs with their dad and I can go alone.

[carton253]

Perfect...

My favorite scenes in the trilogy are the Gollum scenes in Two Towers. Gollum is a riot! It is these scenes that I have looked forward to seeing since I first read the books.

In Gollum, Tolkien has drawn a rich character. I think my favorite scene in the whole 1000 pages is where Sam is cooking the conies. The conversation between Gollum and Sam is brilliant.

[carton253]

Whoa!

I am one behind. I have seen it six times. And the six time was the best! It gets better every time I see it.

[BibChr]

LOL! I love meeting a fellow-obsessive! What a budget-buster this movie has been!

So, have you seen Gollum at the Argonath? We don't. (I've never seen "the car," either.)

Dan

[rintense]

Yikes! And I thought the HCNB Xena fans were a bit of a worry.

[carton253]

You actually don't see the car. You see the dust the car raises. It is when Sam is standing in front of the scarecrow telling Frodo that one more step will lead him further than he has ever gone.

[carton253]

So, have you seen Gollum at the Argonath?

Where?

[Ditter]

LOL I get that way about movies sometimes, but not this one. Once was enough for me.

[2Jedismom]

I have looked and looked at that "dust" and am convinced it's smoke from a hobbit hole fireplace. I believe I saw Gollum yesterday at the Argonath. He is lying in the lower lid of the the king's eye, you only get a tiny glimpse of him right before the birds fly out.

Yes, I'm a big fan of these books and never found a single thing, no miniature, illustration or anything that compared to my imagination until this movie came out. The first time I saw it, I was completely speechless and couldn't even form the words for days afterward to describe the feeling. It was like the workings of my mind were being projected up onto the screen. Quite an event for me. I've been reading these books for 30 years and when I was in high school, I figured out the elvish language. I've since forgotten it.

[Cyber Liberty]

I expect the wanna-be posting police will be along any minute now....

[2Jedismom]

I would feel bad about it if I ever went to the movies...but I don't! I have not been to a cinema since seeing the Serpent and the Rainbow (incredibly stupid) before the hubby and I got married. We saw LOTR for our 10th anniversary. So, I am seeing this movie over and over to make up for all the times I never went! ;-)

[BibChr]

Nno, that's what I'm saying: I haven't seen it. It was one of the things mentioned on 101 Observations from The Fellowship of the Ring (or 101 things you probably missed). It's a fun article, in case you've missed it. One of the observations is, "[NEW] I was amazed to see that no one noticed Gollum's apearance when the Fellowship is going down the river. When the camera goes by the giant bearded statue, we see Gollum hunched over the eyelid of the statue, looking down at the Fellowship. It's impossible to see unless you're looking for it. – Jesse Collier"

I think I've watched for that the last THREE times, and all I see is a bird's nest. Unless Gollum is trying to steal eggses? (c8

Dan

[carton253]

Thanks for the info...I will look the next time I go.

Love that Gollum!

[carton253]

I understood what you were saying. My question was where was the Arganoth? I thought it was the two kings, but I wasn't sure.

[Rebelbase]

The Australian opal mining district of Cooper Pedy has plenty of "Hobbit Hole" residences.

[Rebelbase]

Re: Thread police.

I never knew how anal some conservative Republicans could be until I read the responses to that thread this past weekend.

[Cyber Liberty]

It didn't surprise me at all, once the source was considered.

[2Jedismom]

At least I believe that's Gollum...it goes really fast. See what you think and report back. :-)

The problem that I've encountered through all these years are nuts. It seems some people read the books and get so swept up in the fantasy that they think they have to live it. I actually knew of a guy twenty years ago that dressed up like an elf and hiked out into our city park and spent the night out there sleeping on the ground! Then a thunderstorm came up and he was just sitting out in the rain getting poured on! (Thunderstorms in S. Texas can be quite violent!)

This guy also tried to get me into playing D and D and I never could get into it. He loved it, but I found it boring and figured it must be some shortcoming on my part. I often wonder what he would think of me, a dull stay at home mom with two little boys. Last I heard, at almost 40 years of age, he was going around with the Society for Creative Anacronism.

[ecurbh]

I really think Gollum is not there (I have looked for it too). Notice that it is full daylight during that shot, and Gollum detests sunlight, and even moonlight for that matter. I doubt he would be in such an exposed place in the daytime.

[2Jedismom]

Wow, that is really neat! There's an old underground room here in Oklahoma somewhere that's HUGE! Used to be used for missiles or something, and the government sold it to some guy. I think it would be neat to have an unusual house like that. I'd like it better than living in one of those gigantic houses in a subdivision where every other house looks just like the others.

[2Jedismom]

You are probably right about Gollum. I had not thought of that. The scene goes very fast and I wasn't sure.

What do you make of the smoke and the corn field? I think it's a hobbit fireplace, not a car.

[HairOfTheDog]

SIX times for me! - The last time was funny because I sat next to this really jumpy woman who would squeal and jump every time something scary happened. When the Wringwraiths stabbed through the "stuffed" beds in Bree she bawled out NOOO!!! and tears were in her eyes... I grinned broadly through the whole movie predicting when she would scream and watching her reactions. It had to be her first time seeing it, and I can't imagine she is familiar with the story, or some of the traumas would not have been so scary. I ordinarily have little patience for audience noise, but she was so "into" it I got a real kick out it.

As for the car - I have seen it. It is on a wide shot at the corn field scene, and is moving quickly. It is right after the chimney smoke. You can only see a dust cloud moving quickly, and not what is causing it. I think it is black riders on the road, because a car would not have been unnoticed or ignored in editing, I think.

I had not heard about gollum at the Argonath... The object in the eye is a bird's nest I think. Gollum would not be out in the sun like that, IMHO.

As for the books, as it turns out, Gandalf is alive! Merry and Pippen are fine, and all of the Fellowship survived a hard battle at Helm's Deep. Saruman's place is a mess and he is fit to be tied. Still no word from Sam and Frodo and I am quite worried.

[Ditter]

Don't feel bad about it, enjoy! I won't tell you how many times I saw "Dirty Dancing", "The Piano" & lately "O Brother Where Art Thou?". "The Piano" even inspired a desire to go to New Zealand & stand on the beach where they filmed the beach scenes, which we did last year & are going back again soon. LOL ENJOY!

[BibChr]

Yes, the Argonath is (are?) those two gigantic figures whom Aragorn indentifies as his ancestors.

Dan

[2Jedismom]

LOL! What time did you go? I went at 1pm. Remember, we were supposed to go see it "together?" I'm going again tonight, around 7pm.

[carton253]

Gollum would not be out in the sun like that, IMHO

That makes sense since he hates both the yellow face and the white face.

[ecurbh]

Check out the Dictionary of Arda for some interesting info on the Argonath.

[BibChr]

Notice that it is full daylight during that shot, and Gollum detests sunlight, and even moonlight for that matter. I doubt he would be in such an exposed place in the daytime

My very thought. And Jackson's pretty darned good on not messing up details like that — though such a subtle foreshadowing would be cool, at that point in the movie! But a "floting log" could have accomplished that, and would have been true to the book.

Dan

[2Jedismom]

It's the same with me, after seeing this movie! I would love to come to NZ and look around now!

[HairOfTheDog]

RE: Old missile silos... I have been in one. There are abandoned missile silos in Eastern Washington where I went to college. And one of the fun activities we enjoyed when we had drank ourselves into questionable judgement was sneaking into them at night. They are enormous!! Tunnels everywhere and the huge cavern where the missiles themselves were stored. The one we could get into was inhabited by thousands of bats.

A few of them here have been purchsed and turned into homes.

[HairOfTheDog]

I cheated and went Saturday night.... But I felt you would not be upset ;~D

[BibChr]

You know, I love watching a movie around folks like that, when it's heartfelt and doesn't drown out the dialogue; it's so pure. My wife was sitting next to a lady who was really into it, and really anxious: she'd sort of "tent" her fingers and tap them together worriedly during tense scenes and, if I recall correctly, even covered her eyes once or twice.

I've no patience with "rudeness"; but on the other hand, I feel like most of the audiences I'm with are "too white." By that I mean they're too uptight, too self-conscious, too snooty to let themselves go and share a good movie experience together out-loud.

Like the first couple of times I saw it, when Aragorn lops off a particular head (you know which I mean), spontaneous applause broke out -- but it was restrained and brief, and I've not heard it the last 4-5 showings. No applause at the end of the movie.

Dan

[2Jedismom]

Oh! I almost went Sat. night, but I wanted to take my son with me and it would be too late for him to sit up.

[2Jedismom]

Matthew and I applauded when Elrond presented the Fellowship. Nobody else did, but that's ok, there were only 10 other people watching it.

[HairOfTheDog]

RE: Thread policing: I scanned that thread, did anyone complain about the Tolkien threads? I was wondering if they would, but didn't see it.

I did notice that JimRob did not mention them in his "don'ts" and I think he would have said so if he minded them. There are enough of them to have been noticed.

[HairOfTheDog]

spontaneous applause broke out

I had those real "active audiences" on a couple of the viewings... including this last one that included the squealer next to me. Applause at the off-heading, and at the end. At other viewings the audience was silent. I have only had to PFFFFFFT! at one "talker", and he took it seriously and never made another peep. (you should hear my Pfffft! - all dogs and teeanagers obey)

[Ditter]

Do it! NZ is fabulous!