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It’s the film project that many of us fear we may never see. Yet surely, with time, all may be possible. In this article, Rud the Spud takes a look at how a trilogy based on Professor Tolkien’s The Silmarillion might be constructed – should such a project ever come to fruition – and discusses whether or not it could possibily live up to the Professor’s massive collection of stories. The Silmarillion Movie Trilogy By Rud the Spud It’s an idea that has been capturing the minds of Ringers since the days of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings...

2014 birthday toast On the 3rd January 1892 JRR Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. To celebrate this event, on this day each year Tolkien fans around the world were invited to raise a glass and toast the birthday of this much loved author 21:00 (9 pm) your local time. The toast is "The Professor". For those unfamiliar with British toast-drinking ceremonies: To make the Birthday Toast, you stand, raise a glass of your choice of drink (not necessarily alcoholic), and say the words 'The Professor' before taking a sip (or swig, if that's more appropriate for your drink)....

I saw it last night in HFR 3D. Tickets were $16.75 per adult. The film quality reminded me of something in the late 60s/early 70s in 625-line PAL format, but better of course. I had never seen a HFR film before. Soundtrack was wonderful. The story was pretty universal; a mixture of themes found in Star Wars, John Carter, Thor, and Game of Thrones. There were some scenes that did make me jump. The barrel scene could have been cutdown a bit. I thought the movie had a conservative theme with the Government of Lake-town mirroring that of the Obama...

eter Jackson has picked up the pace. He began his Hobbit trilogy at an amiable, meanderingly wayward canter, and tried the patience of believers and non-believers alike with that initial supper scene, almost an epic in itself. But this second episode commences with a narrative whipcrack – a quick flashback to Gandalf and Thorin tensely discussing their great plan in the snug bar of the Prancing Pony – and then we're off, at a tremendous gallop. The Desolation of Smaug is a cheerfully entertaining and exhilarating adventure tale, a supercharged Saturday morning picture: it's mysterious and strange and yet Jackson...

Tuesday afternoon on The Laura Ingraham Show, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin took a swing at her former running mate, Sen. John McCain, after he likened the tea party movement to hobbits from the Lord of the Rings series. Though host Laura Ingraham referred to McCain’s words as “recent,” they were actually from a House speech in 2011, after that year’s debt ceiling crisis. Republicans who “failed to raise the debt ceiling” could escape all the blame, and “the tea party Hobbits could return to Middle Earth having defeated Mordor,” the senator mocked. “This is the kind of crack political...

The new film “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (opening Dec. 14) has got action and adventure galore, just like “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy that preceded it. But the director and actors who worked on the movie are well aware of the deeper themes that lie at the heart of the work of J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), who authored all the original books, published between 1937 and 1955. At a recent press conference about the film in New York City, Richard Armitage, who portrays the Dwarf warrior Thorin Oakenshield, said, “One of the things I find when I look...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- There’s only one real wizard in Middle Earth - and it’s director Peter Jackson. The auteur from Down Under unveiled “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” - the first installment of his prequel trilogy to his “Lord of the Rings” series - in his native New Zealand Wednesday. It was an eye-popping night, from the celebrity-filled red carpet to, more important, the action on screen. Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 children’s tale which set the stage for the author’s much darker and heavier later books, Jackson’s “The Hobbit” harkens back to a more innocent time when men...

Paramount Pictures has announced that the first 9 minutes of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness will appear exclusively in IMAX 3D prior to showings of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in December.The 9-minute preview will be shown in approximately 500 digital IMAX 3D theatres beginning Friday, December 14th.Star Trek Into Darkness, starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Weller, Bruce Greenwood and Alice Eve, hits theaters on May 17, 2013.

"An Exclusive Look at 'The Hobbit' Dwarves" Peter Jackson's upcoming film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, has been hotly anticipated by everyone from Tolkien obsessives to film buffs. The crew behind the movie, including Jackson himself, has kept fans salivating by documenting the movie's production through blog posts and videos. But TIME is the first to bring you this image of two characters from the film, dwarves named Balin and Dwalin. Below, find Warner Bros.' description of the two, and then click on for more images of The Hobbit's beloved dwarves. Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/07/15/time-exclusive-first-look-at-balin-and-dwalin-from-the-hobbit-movie/#ixzz1SQRm5Fha"

The province is defending its marketing of the town of Dildo after accusations it was being ignored because of the 'sensitive nature' of its name. On VOCM Open Line with Randy Simms, Tourism Minister Terry French refuted the remarks, saying Dildo is in travel guides for all to see. French says the town is prominently displayed in the provincial tourism guide. French says on page 260 of the guide, which is a map of the Avalon, Dildo and South Dildo are in the middle of the map. He says the town is mentioned multiple times in the travel guide,and is...

In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit… Wellington, NZ, March 21, 2011—Production has commenced in Wellington, New Zealand, on “The Hobbit,” filmmaker Peter Jackson’s two film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s widely read masterpiece. “The Hobbit” is set in Middle-earth 60 years before Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar-winning “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” The two films, with screenplays by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson, will be shot...

On this episode of Hobbit in 5 The Dwarves and Bilbo make there first press appearance since arriving in New Zealand a month ago. Also Sir Christopher Lee receives a Bafta Award, location scouting, character studies and much much more!

The stark cone of Mt Ngauruhoe played a leading role in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, featuring as a smouldering Mt Doom. Now, only five weeks out from the scheduled start of filming for The Hobbit prequel, local Maori are set to put their foot down and refuse permission for the Oscar-winning director to use the central North Island mountains again. The iwi considered them sacred. In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins and his entourage journey through the Misty Mountains on their way to confront the dragon Smaug at the Lonely Mountain.

PETER Jackson's troubled Hobbit project has become embroiled in a race row after a would-be extra was told she was too dark to play one of the pint-sized Tolkien creatures, reports said. Briton Naz Humphreys, who has Pakistani heritage, attended a casting session in the New Zealand city of Hamilton last week, queueing for three hours only to be told her skin tone was not suitable, the Waikato Times reported. "It's 2010 and I still can't believe I'm being discriminated against because I have brown skin," Humphreys told the newspaper. "The casting manager basically said they weren't having anybody who...

"What seems like eleventy years later, The Hobbit is finally a done deal. MGM, New Line and Warner Bros. have officially greenlighted the two-part Lord of the Rings prequel, featuring the adventures of Frodo's uncle, Bilbo Baggins, with Peter Jackson triple-threating as writer-director-producer. LOTR partners Fran Walsh (aka Mrs. Jackson) and Phillipa Boyens will also work on the script."

The New York Times is busting out major headlines today: First with the revelation that ‘The Hobbit’ films will be filmed in 3-D, and now, all but confirming Peter Jackson will direct the two ‘prequels.’ (Woo Hoo!!! – Sorry, had to get that in there) According Michael Cieply’s article, an announcement to this affect will be coming in the next few days.

Scale model awesomeness! Check out: http://madshobbithole.wordpress.com/

In the midst of piles of Lord of the Rings merchandise on every shelf, Tolkien’s wisdom is applied to just about everything — Tolkien and industrialization, Tolkien and communism, Tolkien and religion, etc. What’s surprising, especially in today’s hypersensitive post-Gloria Steinem world, is the dearth of commentary on Tolkien and women.

"Like the name of Bilbo Baggins' sword, threats being made by acting unions regarding production of The Hobbit are really starting to sting. So much so that Peter Jackson, the executive producer behind the Lord of the Rings prequel, is now suggesting that shooting could very well move to Eastern Europe—or even shut down—if things don't get resolved with the various acting unions in New Zealand that are encouraging its members not to work on a film that employs nonunion actors."

"Perhaps Bilbo Baggins' tale of wanderlust won't be leaving the Shire after all. Numerous international unions, including SAG and AFTRA, have sent out alerts advising members to ditch work on Peter Jackson's highly anticipated production of The Hobbit."