Sigurd and Gudrun FAQ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Walk to Rivendell

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