I head over to Worth1000.com pretty regularly, and my favorite images can usually be found in the Modern Renaissance contests. This reimagining by BeNeR1 of Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings) as Albrecht Dürer in his famous self-portrait is at the top of my list. (Lily Milos)
You probably knew that C.S. Lewis was a friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, but did you know he was also a reviewer of his work? In 1937, he reviewed The Hobbit, and though we suggest you read the full review here, we’d like to share an excerpt for you to enjoy: “Prediction is dangerous: but ‘The Hobbit’ may well prove a classic.” (Alice Greenleaf)
Andy Serkis was a pioneer in the field of performance capture, and he recently spoke with The Telegraph about how performance capture is transforming video games. Serkis co-founded a creative digital studio called The Imaginarium, dedicated to the creation of believable, emotionally engaging digital characters using performance capture technology. “Video game technology is actually the leading filmmaking technology at the moment,” he said. “Video gaming [is] obviously one of the storytelling mediums of the future.” (Evie Bowman)
Just when you thought you had seen every Hobbit boardgame tie-in, Hasbro introduces Hobbit Yahtzee! I never understood the game as a kid (I always preferred to make up my own), but apparently, the special edition dice cup is a replica of the goblet Bilbo burgles from Smaug, so that might just be enough to get me interested. (Lily Milos)
Middle-earth News reporter Britta did a series titled “365 Days of Middle-earth” in which she focused on a specific character or facet of Middle-earth each day. You can catch up on all of them here!
The Santa Clarita Public Library invites community members to participate in a series of events to celebrate the movie release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The following events occur in the days just after the World Premiere in Los Angeles and are free to the public:
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December 3, 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. – There will be a free screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at the Old Town Newhall Library branch.
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December 3, 6:30 p.m. – Cliff Broadway, scholar of the book’s author J.R.R. Tolkien, will have a presentation about the “publishing history of Tolkien’s works” with a discussion to follow. This event will be held at the Valencia Library branch and will begin at 6:30 p.m.
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December 5, 7:00 p.m. – Professor Josh Long of Azusa Pacific University will present his exploration of the character Smaug and his “draconic influence” on Tolkien’s series. The presentation will touch upon both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books. This event will take place at the Old Town Newhall Library branch.
Immediately following each event, community members will have the chance to win a free pair of tickets to a private screening of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
The private film screening event will be held December 14 at 10:00 a.m. at the Valencia Edwards Stadium 12 theater. (Evie Bowman)
On his most adventurous quest yet, Bilbo Baggins discovers the A-list clique of Middle Earth–The elves. “Mean Elves” A Hobbit/Mean Girls animated Mashup! (Maria Moa)
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, please submit it using the Got News Precious link at the bottom of the page.
