Articles written by: Valdis

Valdís is a classic nerd, with many geeky interests, but her life-long love of Tolkien rules them all. She was completely hooked the first time that she read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings at age 8. Since then, she has read the books at least once a year, and delves into Middle-earth at every opportunity with a fervor that would make any dwarf proud. She also deeply loves Peter Jackson’s films, and defends them staunchly when need arises. When reality forces her out of Middle-earth, Valdís is a university professor, a wife, mother of two daughters, and servant to two cats.

‘The Tolkienaeum’ by Mark T. Hooker Explores Many Aspects of Tolkien

The Tolkienaeum by Mark T. Hooker is a new collection of essays that explore many facets of Tolkien’s work. Mr. Hooker was honored in 2012 with the Beyond Bree Award, an award given by the […]

Tolkien Day with German Tolkien Society!

Journey to Middle-earth with the German Tolkien Society’s (Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft) Tolkien Day (Tolkien Tag) this weekend, June 14-15, 2014. As reported on the German Tolkien Society’s site and on thetolkienist.com, Tolkien Day will offer […]

First Look at Richard Armitage in ‘The Crucible’

We now have our first look at Richard Armitage as John Proctor in The Crucible courtesy of the Old Vic Theatre. Fans of The Hobbit films are probably more familiar with him in his dwarven guise […]

Happy Birthday to Sir Ian McKellen!

Ian Murray McKellen was born on May 25, 1939, in Burnley, Lancashire, England. That makes Sir Ian 75 years old today! The actor is perhaps best known for bringing Tolkien’s wizard Gandalf to life in […]

Harper Collins Presents ‘The Lord of the Rings’ 60th Anniversary Edition

In March 2014, Harper Collins announced that a new edition of The Lord of the Rings was to be released in June 2014 to mark the 60th anniversary of the book’s publication. Now, Harper Collins […]

Richard Armitage ‘Thorin Thursday’ Interview, Part 3

The Hobbit Facebook page recently posted the final part of its March 31 Twitter Q&A with actor Richard Armitage. In this interview segment, Richard answered several questions from fans, including whether the actors had as […]

Happy Birthday, John Rhys-Davies!

John Rhys-Davies celebrates his 70th birthday today! John was born on May 5, 1944, in Ammanford, Wales, United Kingdom. The actor is well-known to fans of The Lord of the Rings films as the stalwart […]

Interview with Dave Clayton, Animation Supervisor at Weta Digital

Nic Healey of CNET Australia recently sat down with Dave Clayton, Animation Supervisor at Weta Digital. In the video interview, Clayton shared a number of fascinating tidbits about some of the Oscar-nominated visual effects in […]

BREAKING NEWS: Peter Jackson Announces New Title for Third ‘Hobbit’ Film

Sir Peter Jackson has just announced on his Facebook page that the third and final Hobbit film will be titled The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, ending recent speculation about a possible title […]

Catching Up With Richard Armitage

Actor Richard Armitage has been exceptionally busy over the past several weeks. We have collected a few items here that were not in our earlier stories about the actor. You can find a list of […]