The Hobbit Movie Tie ins [now with potential spoilers]

Post by **sauronsfinger** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:38 am

there are plans...

as to weapons I have the swords of Gandalf, Ringwraiths, Sting, Hadhafang, Uruk sword, Gimli axe.

I simply like the art of the Tauriel bow and the arrow that goes with it. I remember seeing one of the arrows used in the film at the Casa Loma exhibit in Toronto in 2001 and the workmanship was amazing with the level of detail. I have wanted one ever since.

Post by **Elentári** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:38 pm

Agreed on the craftsmanship...my choice would be Sting and Orcrist. If my middle son could have his pick it would be Legolas' weapons - the bow of the Galadhrim and the white handled knives...

When the kids used to play LotR the eldest was Aragorn (though he always wanted to be Gandalf for some reason,) the middle one, being blond, was laways Legolas and the youngest had to be Gimli because he was the smallest...which didn't please him! Now he's older he says he's actually quite fond of the old Dwarf!

Post by **Elentári** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 11:49 am

My DoS NZ stamps presentation pack arrived today!

An early Christmas present!

The missing reverse of the right-hand leaf not seen on the promo shots is a full page dedicated to....(no, not Thranduil,

) ...a close-up photo of Bard in Laketown with a brief summary of the storyline for the movie. The back of the pack is naturally a summary of the contents, with thumbnails.

Post by **Passdagas the Brown** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 4:47 pm

Out of curiosity, does the movie summary give away any spoilers?

Post by **Elentári** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 6:48 pm

Nah! - you think I would have kept quiet if it did?

It really is only the briefest of summaries...something like: after being captured by the wood elves of Mirkwood, the dwarves and Bilbo travel to Laketown from where they will journey on to the Lonely Mountain where awaits the most deadly foe imaginable, the dragon Smaug.

You get the idea...

Post by **Passdagas the Brown** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 6:58 pm

Got it. No, I suppose you would have scanned the package already, and translated it into a few languages!

Though it does seem that most of these synopses leave out Beorn...

Should we be worried about how little we are hearing and seeing of Persbrandt? Or is this PJ and company's wild card surprise for viewers, since the marketing folks decided to reveal Smaug?

Post by **Elentári** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:47 pm

Oh it does mention Beorn, I was only paraphrasing a small bit (from memory) to indicate the style of the write up.

Here's the full thing:

'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield in an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. Having survived the beginning of their unexpected journey, the Company continues East, encountering along the way the skin-changer Beorn and a swarm of giant Spiders in the treacherous Mirkwood Forest. After escaping capture by the dangerous Woodland Elves, the Dwarves journey to Lake-town, and finally to the Lonely Mountain itself, where they must face the greatest danger of all - a creature more terrifying than any before, which will test not only the depths of their courage but the limits of their friendship and the wisdom of the journey itself - the Dragon Smaug.

Post by **Passdagas the Brown** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:12 pm

Thanks. Good to know! I have been starting to get worried that Beorn might be relegated to the DoS EE...

Post by **Elentári** » Fri Nov 15, 2013 11:51 am

Don't know if anyone has been trying to collect the Bridge Direct action figures, but the impression I get is that fans are not happy with the limited range.

The Wave Two range, which is exclusive to Toys-R-Us, consists of

6" Collector Figure Radagast

6" Collector Figure Azog

6" Collector Figure Legolas

3.75" Figure Box Set: Mirkwood Hero Pack includes Thranduil, Legolas, Tauriel, Fili and Kili

The expected 6" Bolg was cancelled recently due apparently to Jackson redesigning the character.

Many fans anticipating the complete set of Dwarves are finding their hopes dwindling fast...and some believe the line is effectively over, despite one more film still to come.

Latest comment from TBD on their FB page:

"We know many fans would like to see a wider range of characters offered for DOS, however this is the complete line for this film. We are huge fans of LOTR and Hobbit, and would like nothing more than to release figures of every character, but there are many factors that determine how many we can effectively produce. For example, retailers have specific dates when new product goes into stores. To meet those dates, our development process starts 18 months before figures are in stores. This provides time for sculpting, painting, revisions, studio approval, manufacturing time, shipping, etc. Therefore, if character appearance is not finalized that far in advance (particularly for digitally generated/animated characters), we cannot make them in time for retail launch. There is also the matter of minimum order quantities in manufacturing: we have to make 10s of thousands of pieces of each character! So if we include 10 characters in the 6" figure assortment, that's over 100k pieces of product, minimum. If our retailers can't commit to buying that many pieces, we have to cut down the number of characters in the assortment to make the order quantity viable. It was always our goal to offer the widest variety of characters possible in both scales, within the parameters of how much our retailers can sell. Based on sales of product from Unexpected Journey, we found that there was a larger market for the 6" figures and therefore have been able to offer more characters in that scale. We know the Tolkien fan base is passionate and appreciate their continued interest in our line. We also hope that the fans can appreciate our passion and commitment to quality, as well as the conditions that make it impossible to offer every character in every scale. Looking forward to the film and a successful sell-through of the figures at retail so we can offer more cool stuff for part 3!"

Post by **sauronsfinger** » Fri Nov 15, 2013 2:56 pm

Elentári wrote:Don't know if anyone has been trying to collect the Bridge Direct action figures, but the impression I get is that fans are not happy with the limited range.

The Wave Two range, which is exclusive to Toys-R-Us, consists of

6" Collector Figure Radagast

6" Collector Figure Azog

6" Collector Figure Legolas

3.75" Figure Box Set: Mirkwood Hero Pack includes Thranduil, Legolas, Tauriel, Fili and Kili

The expected 6" Bolg was cancelled recently due apparently to Jackson redesigning the character.

Many fans anticipating the complete set of Dwarves are finding their hopes dwindling fast...and some believe the line is effectively over, despite one more film still to come.

Latest comment from TBD on their FB page:

"We know many fans would like to see a wider range of characters offered for DOS, however this is the complete line for this film. We are huge fans of LOTR and Hobbit, and would like nothing more than to release figures of every character, but there are many factors that determine how many we can effectively produce. For example, retailers have specific dates when new product goes into stores. To meet those dates, our development process starts 18 months before figures are in stores. This provides time for sculpting, painting, revisions, studio approval, manufacturing time, shipping, etc. Therefore, if character appearance is not finalized that far in advance (particularly for digitally generated/animated characters), we cannot make them in time for retail launch. There is also the matter of minimum order quantities in manufacturing: we have to make 10s of thousands of pieces of each character! So if we include 10 characters in the 6" figure assortment, that's over 100k pieces of product, minimum. If our retailers can't commit to buying that many pieces, we have to cut down the number of characters in the assortment to make the order quantity viable. It was always our goal to offer the widest variety of characters possible in both scales, within the parameters of how much our retailers can sell. Based on sales of product from Unexpected Journey, we found that there was a larger market for the 6" figures and therefore have been able to offer more characters in that scale. We know the Tolkien fan base is passionate and appreciate their continued interest in our line. We also hope that the fans can appreciate our passion and commitment to quality, as well as the conditions that make it impossible to offer every character in every scale. Looking forward to the film and a successful sell-through of the figures at retail so we can offer more cool stuff for part 3!"

While I did buy the complete line of both the Play Along AOME and the Toy Biz figures, I have not purchased a single Bridge Direct figure. Compared to the previous LOTR lines I find them cheaply made, rather poor figures, over priced and not at all well distributed.

I simply said NO THANK YOU.

Fri Nov 15, 2013 10:00 pm

Good thing I don't care about toys. Otherwise I'd be very upset right now!

Post by **sauronsfinger** » Sat Nov 16, 2013 12:12 am

The positive news is that WETA itself is now producing the higher end sculptures and they are really tremendous - albeit a bit pricier than the Sideshow line of LOTR days.

Plus they have some great prop replicas that are really amazing.

Post by **Elentári** » Wed Nov 20, 2013 9:14 pm

I guess this could be classed as a "tie-in" to the movies...

Youtube commercial for Google Chrome's Journey through Middle-earth:

http://youtu.be/BVvMGD8LNL0

PRESS RELEASE

“A JOURNEY THROUGH MIDDLE-EARTH”
PREMIERES ACROSS COMPUTERS, TABLETS AND PHONES

Burbank, CA, November 20, 2013—Inspired by the epic fantasy adventure “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” “A Journey Through Middle-earth,” is a new Chrome Experiment that brings the locations and characters from “The Hobbit” Trilogy to life with a mix of modern web technologies. The film, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, will be released worldwide December 13, 2013, from Warner Bros. Pictures and MGM.
The online experience, developed by North Kingdom in collaboration with the studios, takes fans through an adventure that unfolds across an interactive map of Middle-earth. Users can zoom in to explore Trollshaw Forest, Rivendell and Dol Guldur, with new locations set to be added in the weeks ahead. Each destination on the map gives the visitor access to its history and the characters who inhabit it, or presents unique survival challenges in which fans can test their wits.
With immersive 3D graphics built with CSS3 and WebGL, “Journey Through Middle-earth” is the first Chrome Experiment designed to bring this beautiful, 3D experience to mobile, with technology support for WebGL in Chrome for Android on devices with high-end graphics cards. Although WebGL isn’t supported on iOS, Chrome users can still experience most of “Journey Through Middle-earth” on their iPhones and iPads.

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson, director of “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, comes “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” The screenplay for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” is by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Jackson also produced the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh. The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood, with Philippa Boyens and Eileen Moran serving as co-producers.
New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Present a Wingnut Films Production, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” The film is a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), with New Line managing production. Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM.

Post by **Passdagas the Brown** » Wed Nov 20, 2013 9:23 pm

On the revamped Hobbit: DOS website, you can use the Chrome tie-in for three locations: Trollshaws, Rivendell and Dol Guldur.

It's, well, odd. Not sure this experiment will pan out!

Post by **Elentári** » Wed Nov 27, 2013 8:20 am

In case not everyone gets the Weta newsletter, they have previewed a couple of pages from the forthcoming Chronicles on Art & Design for DoS:

Mirkwood Palace Guards design

I can't wait for this book to arrive!

Post by **Passdagas the Brown** » Wed Nov 27, 2013 8:42 am

Wow, that's a brilliant design.

Post by **Smaug's voice** » Wed Nov 27, 2013 9:12 am

I really agree with them on the "fan"-shaped helms and the "leafy" armour. Excellent design.
Thanks Elentári!

Are there anymore like thse which I missed?

Post by **Elentári** » Wed Nov 27, 2013 2:33 pm

Not yet, SV - this is the only scan I've seen so far, official or otherwise...

Post by **Elentári** » Wed Nov 27, 2013 3:02 pm

Games Workshop have revealed their December release of miniature figures:

Here are some, the rest you can access from the link above...

Beorn:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/ ... 469dab.jpg

Tauriel:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/ ... 5ffb06.jpg

Thrain the Broken:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/ ... a354cd.jpg

Thranduil:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/ ... 88671c.jpg

Palace Guards:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/ ... 482b8c.jpg

Barrels out of Bond:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/ ... eda96c.jpg

Post by **samaranth** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 12:50 am

Does this count as a tie in? I'm not sure, but I thought I'd post this picture shared on Twitter by an NZ colleague who just happened to be visiting Wellington airport yesterday.