Isengard in Paradise
Morning of March 1, 2023. Paradise Valley. Otago Region. South Island, New Zealand. East side of the Dart River. Where Peter Jackson filmed scenes depicting the Lothlorian Forest … and Isengard. The Pure Glenorchy Scenic Lord of the Rings Tour took us to Acadia Station, the site of Isengard and Saruman’s castle, placed there by […]
Slay the Dragon! Slay the Dragon!
Say good-bye to Smaug, most loathsome lizard in all of Hobbitland. Farewell to the eloquence of speech, the expressions of arrogance, the massiveness of dragon destruction. The curtain closes on a fine vocal performance by Benedict Cumberbatch. From The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies: https://youtu.be/F_QD2Uy_H_w
Top 17 Most Popular Posts, 2014
Looking back at the year 2014, it’s interesting to review the most popular posts aside from my regular pages. Here they are in order of popularity: The Secret of Storybrooke, Maine 45.89 per cent of all my traffic comes to this page, nearly three times as many that visit my home page. There are a […]
How to Desolate a Dragon
In its first two weeks of release, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug became the fourth highest-grossing film of 2013, ultimately earning $958,366,855 worldwide in its theatrical venue. Do these enormous box-office revenues make the film immune from criticism? Here’s an Honest Movie Trailer: Posted online on December 16, 2014 And author John C. Wright […]
Never Laugh at a Live Dragon
On December 11, 2014, Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central interviewed none other than Smaug the Tremendous. This is a brilliant piece, with the fire drake showing more emotion than he ever did in The Desolation of Smaug–eye-blinking, tongue-licking, hackle-raising and the like. Considering the enormity of resources involved in bringing the dragon to Hollywood, could […]
Missed! Ha-ha!
A clip from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: http://youtu.be/1UeqXEKrT10 Poor Bard. He missed the one vulnerable spot in Smaug’s hide. One appetizer for the dragon, coming up.
Smaug Comes to Wellington
On the fifth day of their journey, the Hobbit Fan Fellowship arrived in Wellington, home of Weta Workshop, Weta Digital, and the other subsidiaries responsible for bringing Middle-earth to life. Peter Jackson gave them a private screening of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, but first, they encountered a certain fire-breathing visitor at […]
Journey through Real Middle-earth
The Hobbit Fan Fellowship’s trek through New Zealand continued with their third and fourth days chronicled here: Real Middle-earth Diary 3 “Watch as The Hobbit Fan Fellowship land in the adventure capital of New Zealand–Queenstown, where they go on a very special treasure hunt in Paradise, for a once in a life time prize!” Posted […]
A Visit to Hobbiton
On the second day of their journey, November 3, 2014, the fans of The Hobbit Fan Fellowship visited the home of the Hobbits. Tourism New Zealand wants you to know that you can, too. Real Middle-earth Diary 2 “Day two in Middle-earth led The Hobbit Fan Fellowship from Rotorua to Hobbiton where a special surprise […]
Diaries of Real Middle-earth
Even though “The World’s Biggest Hobbit” didn’t make it in The Hobbit Fan Fellowship contest, the folks at Air New Zealand, Weta and Warner Bros. have made it possible for everyone to share the experiences of the lucky winners. Introducing Real Middle-earth Diaries Over 140 Hobbit fans won a trip to “The Real Middle-Earth.” They […]
