Middle Earth Blog

Sigurd and Gudrun FAQ

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 02:02:00 PST

Over at the Tolkien Library is an FAQ all about The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. It outlines the history of the writing and the two tales in the book - The New Lay of the Volsungs and The New Lay of Gudrun.

What I think is one of the coolest things about the book is the introduction, which is set to be taken from an actual lecture on Norse literature by the man himself! How great is that?

According to the Tolkien Library there are three versions of the book set for release: the hardback edition, the slipcase deluxe edition and the unabridged audio edition.

Just a reminder that next month on the 25th is Tolkien Reading Day, so if you haven't already got the book/books you want to read, get and get them.

Mortensen Talks Aragorn

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:41:00 PST

Viggo Mortensen recently spoke to totalfilm.com about reprising his role as Aragorn in The Hobbit.

The shaggy haired warrior said: "I'd rather finish the job myself rather than have another actor do it."

Could we really imagine anyone else in the ranger's role?

He also approves of new director Guillermo del Toro: "He’s strongminded, intelligent and probably just as stubborn [as Jackson].

“I don’t know if it’ll be as big a circus [as the Trilogy] in terms of several people writing changes at the last minute"

Read the full article

McKellen says Hobbit won't be like Rings

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:02:00 PST

Ian McKellen spoke to a TV critic's press tour in Hollywood about reprising his role as Gandalf in The Hobbit, saying that the movie is not going to be a remake of The Lord of the Rings and that he will play Gandalf differently.

"We’re not remaking the ‘Lord of the Rings,’ we’re going to do ‘The Hobbit’ and what Gandalf has to do in that will be different line by line, scene by scene than the trilogy," said the veteran actor.

“All that’s going back to the character. It’s going back to a whole new set of circumstances.”

You can read the full article here

I'm glad he's mentioned how The Hobbit will be filmed. It's obvious that del Toro is going to stay true to the book, keeping it in the same child-friendly style as Tolkien wrote. To me, this is brilliant news.

Valar Magazine Launched

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:22:00 PST

I've decided to launch an online magazine called Valar that contains a round up of the month's news and some of the more interesting posts and videos.

It can be found here

As you can imagine, Valar will come out at the end of every month. I hope you will find it useful for catching up with Tolkien news.

Hobbit and Rings in 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:39:00 PST

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have been selected in the 'Imagined Worlds' section of the Guardian's '1000 Novels Everyone Must Read' feature.

Suzanne Clarke, author of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell has chosen a selection of fantasy books and compared their worlds such as Narnia, Middle-earth and Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

I can't disagree that she has some great picks. I'd have sneaked in The Children of Hurin, but that's just me.

Arthur Rackham's Art of the Ring

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:47:00 PST

Reader, Jared of pornokitsch (don't worry, it's an awesome geek culture blog) pointed me towards a great illustrator, Arthur Rackham, who did the artwork for composer Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung which was a four-part musical epic based on The Volsunga Saga.

Rackham is famous for his art based on fairy tales such as Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland as well as Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Interestingly, Guillermo del Toro said in an interview about Pan's Labyrinth that he based the Faun on Rackham's art, citing his work as gritty. del Toro also included this inspiration in his Hellboy films. Funny how Tolkien was inspired by the myth that Rackham's art was based on and del Toro was inspired by the imagery of the art itself.

Maybe it was meant to be.

The Hobbit Visualization and a Little Casting News

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:45:00 PST

From mtv.com:

"With work on "The Hobbit" really starting to move forward, Guillermo del Toro updated MTV News this week with exclusive scripting, casting and pre-production news, including confirmation that "Hellboy" creator Mike Mignola will be coming aboard for early visualization.

"We are sketching and designing with Weta's John Howe, and [Adam Lee]," del Toro offered. "Mike Mignola is coming soon. He's going to do a stint on the design team."

"In about two, three months we're going to full-on have more designers come on ... from outside Weta. But we are already about a good third of the road [along] with some of the creatures — some really interesting and strong designs."

Read the full article

Gosh! This is quite a nice little treasure trove of information MTV has given us. So we know now that the designs are underway, on paper at least, for the movie and so is casting. Interestingly the article points out that Del Toro only has a very short list of people he would cast to play Bilbo. I'm not sure if this means two, three or five, but it does mean that he has a good idea of what criteria he wants from an actor to play Bilbo, otherwise the list would be long.

I like the little quote from Del Toro at the end of the article regarding information about Film 2

"I think that if I told you anything right now ... there's a sniper across the road."

Ooo err!

I'm still really not taken on the idea of the second film bridging the gap. Generally this is just seen as part of the history of Middle-earth, with no real concrete book to go along with it. I know it's all documented, but I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do. Besides, what would you call the film? I don't know, it could turn out to be awesome and I hope it does. It may serve to get more people into the Middle-earth mythology, but somehow I see it being very loose and up in the air, but obviously that's my opinion.

But hey, work is under way. He won't tell us how much he's done with the script but I have a feeling that news is around the corner.

National Tolkien Reading Day

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 13:39:00 PST

Mark this date up on your calendars people: March 25th is National Tolkien Reading Day. As you can imagine, it's a day where library groups and schools in the UK are encouraged to pick up some Tolkien and read read read!

It's a great idea and it gets kids that may not have heard of The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings to take their first step into Middle-earth.

I encourage all primary/elementary school teachers to mark the occasion with a reading from The Hobbit and possibly some Tolkien related activities in English class or just as something extra. Not only will this fire up the little whippersnappers' imaginations, it will serve to honour one of the greatest authors of the 20th century.

I'll put a countdown up on the blog closer to the time, but until then you have a couple of months to figure out what you're going to read because the day isn't just for schools and libraries, it's for everyone!

Merry, Sam, Pippin and Frodo in The Hobbit? Let's Sort This Out

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:27:00 PST

The news has spread over the intertoobs that Dominic Monaghan wants to return to the role of Meriadoc Brandybuck in The Hobbit. However, news sources such as Empire state that the whole Hobbit gang wants to star in one of the two films by Del Toro.

I'm seeing a lot of people getting angsty about this news so I wanted to make a post to talk about what I think about the matter, hopefully clearing up a few issues and explaining some things.

As I've mentioned before, the four Hobbits aren't born in the time line of The Hobbit book, which is an obvious reason why they can't star in it. However, Film 2 is rumoured to be set during Sauron's grasp of Middle-earth, between The Hobbit and The Fellowship, so it is possible they could appear as cameos in this movie.

Let me tell you why it's a bad idea to have the four in this second film. For one, it's pandering to the fans and it would be a cynical attempt at selling more tickets (like they even need to try). It's also pandering to the actors because they have said themselves how much they loved making the trilogy and how much they bonded. Just to get to see each other again in New Zealand would be amazing for them, I'm sure. But Del Toro has to either think of a really good way of fitting them in, or just leaving them out altogether.

Cramming too many names from the first three movies into The Hobbit and Film 2 needlessly would likely only serve to spoil the films. I can understand Mortensen returning as Aragorn in The Hobbit, and I entirely condone it, because Aragorn was hunting for Gollum at that time. Hugo Weaving and Sir Ian McKellan are two obvious names that need to come back and we know that McKellan will be. But if they make the movie with gratuitous scenes of Merry and Pippin stealing something or Frodo saying to Sam how he would so much love a big adventure like Bilbo, then it would be spoiled.

I'm not saying at all that the Hobbits definitely can't be in Film 2. I'm just saying they should have the most minor of cameos, possibly sitting in the garden or running through a field. They shouldn't be overused.

It's obvious that everyone wants a piece of The Hobbit, but they have to understand that the story is limited and shouldn't be rewritten. I'm still not sold on the idea of Film 2 because it could turn out to be a disaster. Either you follow the book or you don't. With the latter you're generally going to disappoint the loyal Tolkien fans.

There's my input, I'm sorry it was a bit rantish but I feel strongly about this subject.

The Tolkien Blacksmith

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:27:00 PST

This is a great little segment from a Ukrainian show. It's about a young guy called Eugeniy who was inspired by Tolkien at an early age to take up the hobby of smithing. He makes arms and armour for collectors and 'Tolkienites', groups who get together and roleplay medieval/Tolkienesque battle scenes. Some of it looks pretty brutal, I hope nobody gets injured when they're flailing those pikes and axes around.

Thanks to Tolkien Library for providing the link.

Middle-earth Minutes Episode 4 Up

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:36:00 PST

Head on over to Middle-earth Minutes where Michael Kaiser has the latest news from Middle-earth and some interesting music about Gandalf.

Also, show your support to this great podcast by subscribing via iTunes.

The Lord of the Rings Movies: The Bad Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:22:00 PST

We all know that Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film realizations are the greatest movies of all time. They won countless awards and were praised by critics for being some of the best films to ever exist.

But what about those reviewers who just really didn't like it? I've picked out a batch of reviews for each movie of the trilogy that really didn't seem to 'get it'.

The Fellowship of the Ring

"It's full of scenic splendors with a fine sense of scale, but its narrative thrust seems relatively pro forma, and I was bored by the battle scenes" - Johnathan Rosenbaum

"Everyone on screen is all exercised about Frodo’s mission, but after three hours it’s hard to see why anyone in the audience should be." - Daniel Kimmel

"The Fellowship of the Ring resembles from certain angles nothing so much as a 178-minute electric mandolin solo." - Peter Bradshaw

"It is remarkably well made . . . too bad it wasn't equally entertaining." - Alex Sandell

"The only thing worse than a bad movie that thinks it is good is a three hour long bad movie that thinks it is good." - Blake French

The Two Towers

"The least entertaining sequel to an event film this side of, Men in Black II." - Alex Sandell

"This go-around bored me, confused me at times and didn't really get too much deeper into its characters." JoBlo

"Maybe The Two Towers will stand as a more respectable and meaningful bridge between the crucial first and last entries. On its own, however, it is a crushing disappointment of ill-advised missteps and misplaced opportunities." - Dustin Putman

The Return of the King

"An incurable film until such time as Peter Jackson is moved to shorten its deadening coda" - Bill Chambers

"In spite of the fact that the film will likely bust box office records, this reviewer is duty bound to report that it fails in almost every aspect." - Daniel Kimmel

"An uneven movie with yawns aplenty." - David Sterritt

"Is a seriously flawed piece of work that is missing that certain element called "believability." It's visual eye candy without the chocolate center." - Michelle Alexandria (I find this one especially amusing because of the fact that she wanted a 'believable' fantasy. Yes, make a film about Orcs and Hobbits believable.)

"It is precisely Jackson's pandering to fans' expectations that repeatedly drags The Return of the King to a halt." - Todd Ramlow

I really don't understand any of these criticisms. People often complained about the overuse of SFX, however miniatures and a little company called WETA took the place of a lot of CGI. I also can't understand anyone who says that the movies are boring. Uh huh, a saga about someone trying to destroy a ring that turns people evil, being hunted down by black riders, fighting monsters, travelling across a magical world, and taking on the evil of all evil - Sauron. Yeah, yawn.

Lord of the Rings in Cake Form

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 02:41:00 PST

Check out these LOTR themed cakes over at Cake Wrecks. These obviously aren't the wrecks, they look mighty delicious.

Walk to Rivendell

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 03:50:00 PST

Have you put on weight after scoffing everything in sight at Christmas and New Year? Struggling to get back into the ol' exercise routine? Bored of walking places?

Well I've got the solution to all your fatty woes with Walk to Rivendell!

How far can you travel across Middle-earth to reach the High Elves? All you have to do is put in your total miles travelled and Walk to Rivendell will tell you where you are in Middle-earth and how far you have left to travel to reach Rivendell.

What? You think you can walk further than Rivendell? Well my friend, you're in luck! Walk to Rivendell allows you to go much, much further than Rivendell and you may find yourself in some very strange places indeed.

So, if you want to walk off that flab whilst wandering in Middle-earth, Walk to Rivendell is the solution you're looking for.

Walk to Rivendell is presented to you by the good folks at Barrow Downs

The Friendly Guide to Middle-earth: Ents

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:04:00 PST

Also known as Tree-folk and Shepherds of the Forest, Ents were the great tree-like beings of Middle-earth who were born along with the Elves in the Age of Stars.

They were created by Illuvatar when the great Yavanna saw that the Dwarves, created by Aulë, would likely hack down her beautiful forests so she decided to make a race of sentient trees to protect the other trees from the Dwarves’ mighty axes.

They were massive creatures who were strong, capable of tearing rock with the utmost ease, but they were a friendly race who would only attack if they were threatened.

Then the Elves taught the Ents to speak, their voices slow and booming. The most well-known and oldest of all Ents, Treebeard, or Fangorn to give him his true name, said the Ents owed the fair race a great debt for this wonderful gift.

In the Third Age of Middle-earth Fangorn Forest was the only known forest to be inhabited by Ents, as discovered by members of The Fellowship, but it was possible that some also existed in the Old Forest such as Old Man Willow, who was related to the Entish race.

The Ents fought their greatest battle on the assault of Isengard called The Last March of the Ents, where they laid siege to Saruman who had been ordering his orc minions to cut down their trees, and held him in his tower of Orthanc. Merry and Pippin joined Treebeard in battle, later finding that they had grown in size due to the Ent Draught they had been consuming during their time in Fangorn Forest.

One of the most famous tales in Ent legend was of the Entwives, who moved away from the male Ents because of their love of controlling and planting things. Apparently their hair was the colour of ripe corn, according to Treebeard.

Because they had moved away from the forests, the Entwives talked to Men and learned the ways of agriculture, creating fantastic and beautiful gardens and there they lived in peace until their precious gardens were destroyed by Sauron during the War of the Last Alliance. After that they vanished from Middle-earth and became legend.

Some of the most famous Ents were Finglas, or Leaflock, who had become lazy and tree-like, dozing in the sun and eventually remaining in the state of the tree. Bregalad, or Quickbeam was quite a young Ent who spoke faster than typical Ents and did everything with haste. He was a great asset in The Last March of the Ents and even almost managed to catch Saruman.

Dominic 'Merry' Monaghan Interested in The Hobbit

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 14:21:00 PST

Exclusive news from theonering.net that Dominic Monaghan who played Merry Brandybuck in The Lord of the Rings says he would love to be a part of The Hobbit.

You can read the full article HERE

Of course, there's the obvious question as to how he could actually be included in the film, as he has no role in the book because he was not yet born (he was born in T.A 2982, whereas Bilbo's adventure took place in T.A 2940).

Although I'd love to see him reprise the role, I don't think he could be included in any way other than a cheap background cameo or just maybe in Film 2 depending on the date the events of the film occur.

Tolkien Library Best Books of 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 03:42:00 PST

Tolkien Library has put up a list of the best Tolkien books of 2008. The list includes the History of the Hobbit books by John D Rateliff, the illustrated paperback of The Hobbit featuring work by Alan Lee, and The Children of Hurin paperback.

For the full list check out Tolkien Library

Just a reminder that you can follow Middle-earth Blog on Twitter @middleearthblog

IGN The Lord of the Rings: Conquest Review

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:56:00 PST

Other Scores:

Gamespot - 6.5/10

Official Xbox Magazine - 4/10

Cheat Code Central - 3.6/5

Average rating - 62%

The Lowdown on Black and White Ogre Country

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:54:00 PST

Believe it or not, J.R.R Tolkien was once a young fella with beady eyes and a lust for adventure. You don't say? On 30 January ADC Books are releasing a book by Tolkien's younger brother, Hilary, called Black and White Ogre Country describing his childhood with John and the many adventures they had together.

Here's what the Tolkien Society has to say:

Edited by Angela Gardner (a long-standing member of the Tolkien Society) this book describes the childhood adventures of Hilary and JRR Tolkien. Hilary was JRR Tolkien’s younger brother and this book uses Hilary’s own words from recently discovered notebooks and previously unpublished letters between the brothers. Illustrated in colour by Jef Murray. 80 pages, Hardback with dustjacket, available from end January.

There will be an international launch event on Friday 30th January in the Crown, Market Square, Stony Stratford. But you better be quick because it's a ticket event so contact angie@stonymk.co.uk for details.

Tickets are currently on sale in "Well Past It" in Timor Court, Stony Stratford for £1, with proceeds going to MK Kids with Diabetes.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about Tolkien and his childhood and family. I believe the book is currently £9.99 from amazon or you can order directly through the publisher ADC Books

If you have the money to spare, in April the publisher is releasing a £50 signed and numbered edition, limited to 100 books. It will be signed by editor of the book and Tolkien Society member Angela Gardner, Illustrator Jeff Murray and Hilary's grandson Chris Tolkien.

Middle-earth Blog on Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:48:00 PST

Hi folks, just wanted to say that you can follow me on Twitter for up-to-the minute updates on posts as well as extra news and general blabbing about stuff. I'd really love to meet my readers and get to know them and Twitter is a great way to do it. It will also make my job easier if you kind individuals send your own Tolkien news to me through Twitter.

Andy Serkis Talks The Hobbit

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:31:00 PST

Comingsoon.net has reported that Gollum star Andy Serkis is really looking forward to working on The Hobbit and says that he was even giggling at the fact that he was going to be working with Jackson again as well as other familiar members of the cast.

"It was all very much going to happen so we met at an awards and sort of giggling at the fact we were going to be working together actually. I am going to really be looking forward to it."

Serkis told Comingsoon.net.

Serkis will also be working with Steven Spielberg on the Tintin movie.

So we have Mckellan and Serkis definitely on board with The Hobbit. Now we just need the rest of the casting to begin so we can begin to get a taste of what's in store for us in what promises to be an epic movie.

Middle-earth Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:26:00 PST

Middle-earth Minutes is a great new podcast by Michael Kaiser full of Tolkien related news.

I urge all readers to subscribe to this great podcast, one of the first of its kind that I have come across.

Lord of the Rings Conquest Released Today

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:49:00 PST

Today saw the release of EA action hack 'em up, Lord of the Rings Conquest. Out for the Xbox 360, PC, PS3 and Nintendo DS, Conquest has you taking the role of a warrior in some of the key battles in The Lord of the Rings saga. Levels include Helm's Deep, Battle of Gorgoroth and the Battle of Pelannor Fields.

I really want to get my hands on it but I have to play through Fallout 3 before moving onto my next fix. The Guardian has given it 4 stars in a review today, which is great.

Essentially Conquest plays like Star Wars Battlefront, allowing you to choose from four different classes: Warrior, Archer, Scout and Mage.

Is it me or is Mage a bit of a weird choice for a Lord of the Rings game? It doesn't really fit.

Anyway, you can ride wargs, 'nuff said.

Back to Squalor

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 10:30:00 PST

Yesterday I came back to my house in Sunderland to start the new semester and to sample the freezing weather. I was panicked when Sky, who provide the internet in the house, had switched off our internet. But it's all okay now, it was just a payment issue so no big deal.

I decided to pick up The Hobbit and read through it again, both as a means of entertainment and a way to create more blog material (character speculation, SFX, artwork, yada, yada). I mean, come on! We have to come up with potential actors for the twelve Dwarves!

Jeez it's cold, and the heating's on!

McKellan Will Play Gandalf in 'The Hobbit'

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Malthouse) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:05:00 PST

According to reports from scifiwire.com, Sir Ian McKellan met with Guillermo Del Toro last night for dinner and to discuss McKellan reprising his role as Gandalf. He reportedly said, "I've been promised I am [going to be involved]."

McKellan also stated how lucky he is to be able to work with the director.

Extract from article:

"I'm having supper with Guillermo del Toro this evening," McKellan said in a group interview on Jan. 8 in Universal City, Calif. "You're asking me about 12 hours too early."

Preproduction on The Hobbit is underway. "I've been promised I am [going to be involved]," McKellan said while promoting his upcoming AMC miniseries The Prisoner. "And as Guillermo del Toro's directing it, I should be so lucky. And in New Zealand, a place I love, so it's almost an ideal job for me."

Though it may have been too long since McKellan's last book report to quote specific passages from The Hobbit, he still can't wait to speak wizard again. "He's got the best lines, hasn't he?" McKellan asked.

Yeah, I know it's obvious news but, hey, at least we have information right?