Scott Seagrave (or ScottShop433 on Etsy) creates books that “look and feel like they belong in the world they created.” Featured above are The Hobbit and the deluxe edition of The Lord of the Rings that have been customized to look and feel as though they come straight from the bookshelf of Bilbo Baggins! Fans of witchcraft and wizardry should be sure to check out his Harry Potter books, too. They even come with library cards! (Myla)
We reported earlier on a study focused on Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. According to Lead researcher Dr Carolyn Michelle, the global response has been outstanding, but now researchers would “really like to dig deeper into the thoughts of the local community and New Zealanders in general on how they felt after seeing the movie and how discussion, debate, marketing and promotion of the film shaped subsequent responses to it.” The second phase of the survey, a post-viewing questionnaire, is now available online. (Evie Bowman)
For Lord of the Rings fans, it may be difficult to imagine Elijah Wood as anyone other than Frodo Baggins. When you see his new film, Maniac, you’ll want to push aside all thoughts of the loveable hobbit as you watch him play Frankie, a deeply disturbed serial killer who scalps his female victims. Wood talked with Scotsman.com about this arthouse slasher film (shot entirely from the killer’s perspective) and his love of horror films, while answering the requisite questions about The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and New Zealand. (Evie Bowman)
Chris Guise is an artist and bonsai enthusiast from Maidenhead, England. A mechanical engineer by trade, Chris has a beautiful collection of Bonsai trees that he has cultivated on his Flickr page. The Bonsai above is titled Bag End Bonsai Trayscape. (Evie Bowman)
MGM reported a massive increase in its quarterly and annual earnings on Monday thanks to blockbusters The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey and Skyfall. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2012 increased almost sevenfold from the fourth quarter of 2011. MGM Chairman and CEO Gary Barber said, “With back-to-back films each grossing worldwide box office in excess of $1 billion, MGM now has two of the top 15 films in box-office history. Our unprecedented success and extraordinary financial performance this past year were made possible by the contributions and strength of our team at MGM and our partners around the world.” Will the two forthcoming Hobbit films prove as beneficial? (Evie Bowman)
To celebrate the arrival of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on DVD, Blu-Ray, streaming, as a downloadable file, possibly on VHS, and any other form of home media you can possibly imagine, Digital Trends have assembled a few facts about the film that you might not know. Like the fact that J.R.R. Tolkien demanded a guarantee that The Walt Disney Company would never be involved with adaptations of his work! (Evie Bowman)
The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age for web browsers has launched on Facebook and other web-based platforms. The free-to-play tactical combat game, inspired by The Hobbit film, challenges players to take up arms alongside select characters such as Bilbo, Thorin, Radagast, and more . Players will lead an army of Elves, Dwarves, or Orcs in tactical combat as they “band together with thousands of other players to join powerful alliances and wage an epic war online.” In addition to Facebook, the game is available on Kabam.com and the Google Chrome Store. (Evie Bowman)
Every week, our Middle-earth News reporters seek out Tolkien/Hobbit/LOTR goodness and tag their finds with their names. If you have something to contribute, feel free to submit it using the Got News Precious link in the sidebar.
One Comment