7-23-03 Latest News

Where's Bombadil?
Flinch @ 4:02 pm EST

That's a question many Lord of the Rings fans asked about The Fellowship of the Ring film, which omitted this popular character from the first novel of the trilogy. But even though he didn't appear on screen, he'll be coming to The Lord of the Rings TCG – and you'll be able to get an exclusive preview version of his card as a bonus when you complete the Countdown to the King! Here's how it works.

Decipher has selected 18 rare cards, representing some of the most important characters, possessions, and artifacts from the Fellowship and Tower blocks – from The Balrog, Terror of Flame and Shadow, to Aragorn, Defender of Free Peoples – for reproduction with new lore and alternate template artwork. (There is no duplication with the Fellowship Anthology cards.) Each week of the Countdown to the King, you'll be able to get one of these exclusive cards from participating retailers with a $10 (or €10) purchase of Fellowship or Tower block booster packs. With your first purchase, you'll receive an oversized checklist card to track your progress toward earning these rewards

At the end of six weeks, after you have collected the first six cards, you will receive a Fellowship of the Ring poster depicting every card in the Fellowship block.

At the end of 12 weeks, after you have collected the second six cards, you will receive a Two Towers poster depicting every card in the Tower block.

After the full 18 weeks, when you have collected all 18 cards, you will earn an exclusive collector's binder to house your 18 cards – plus four bonus preview cards depicting characters that did not appear in the motion pictures, including Tom Bombadil!

The countdown begins August 25th and runs through December 29, 2003. Offer available through participating retailers only, while supplies last. Talk to your local retailer today to make sure they're on board, and watch www.decipher.com for weekly previews of the upcoming week's new card.

Join us in the Countdown to the King, and get your very own answer to the question, "Where's Tom Bombadil?"

Backstage at Comic-Con
Xoanon @ 2:18 pm EST

Leah Jakusovszky writes:

My Adventures as “Estella Bolger” at the WETA/New Line Panel

How I Got There

A few people have asked me how I got to be chosen as the Hobbit Costume model during this panel. Well, it all started in November of 2002 when

I was one of the winners of the costume contest at New Line’s FOTR Extended DVD Marathon in LA. (I was Samwise Gamgee….that’s my one and only costume!) Someone remembered me as a Hobbit from that event and my name got dropped later at New Line. I’m also a member of the One Ring Circus costuming group which boosted the name recognition. Other than also being willing to spend most of Saturday at the Con in makeup, that was it. (Thank you Laura, Adrianna, and Sharon!!!!!! You guys rule.)

Backstage

I was escorted from the exhibition floor to a curtained section at the back of Ballroom 20 by New Line Staff. I was allowed to enter with Sharon who is working with New Line right now on some projects. Security was very tight and once I entered it was obvious why. An interview was just finishing up, with Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Elijah Wood and Kevin Smith of “Clerks” and “Jay and Silent Bob” fame, wearing Hobbit ears, about ten feet in front of us. We were quite stunned and were unable to get the camera out in time to get a shot of this. (Drat!) Before we could shake ourselves back into awareness, Elijah had ducked out of the curtains and was heading for the Main Hall to enjoy the Con, followed closely by two sprinting bodyguards.

This prompted a lot of security-related discussion backstage. Everyone else vanished somewhere in that high-security celebrity way. Little did I know this was only the beginning!

For another couple of hours we were prepping for the panel itself. I was introduced to the WETA guys, including Richard Taylor, Greg (costumes) and Ben (makeup/prosthetics). Greg showed me the costume and gave me a list of what was in the costume and what order they should be put on. I was very pleased. Butterscotch, Gold, Apricot, and Green plaid! Very pretty and super-Hobbity….and I couldn’t wait to put it on.

But…..problem. In the restroom everything went on okay but the
bodice. Um….hello…..a size 8 maybe? It was so small and I couldn’t fit my arms in too well…..but Richard and Greg paid close attention to my costuming dilemma and made it fit. I really appreciated how nice WETA people were to me during the whole thing. In a while I had some brief instructions from New Line, some pizza and soda, and was well-dressed. It was very interesting watching the Elf Warrior and the Rohan Warrior get dressed into their armor while I waited. But the coolest thing ever was watching Sala Baker’s transformation into the leader of the Uruk-Hai. Super-scary and super-cool!

I anticipated what I was to do onstage while sitting at the makeup table on a tall chair that was still warm from Sala Baker. It seemed pretty easy, I was just supposed to get up on some boxes and pose. I had been told something about “interaction” with Dominic Monaghan and I wondered what that was going to be. During my musings I chatted happily with Ben who started in on my feet. My feet took the majority of the makeup process. First, my feet were put in the squishy foot-slippers (I loved the fact that they used the Pippin feet for me….apparently Billy Boyd and I have the same food size!) and very cold silicone-based glue was painted on my soles and heels. Two people were working on me, one for each foot. After pasting, the techs glued thin strips around my ankles to smooth out and to fill gaps. Then they sponged makeup on my feet up to my legs in three different skin tones to blend everything in. The foot hairpieces and the final touch-ups were going to be done onstage as a live demo. But looking down, my feet already looked like they had naturally grown about five inches longer! And the hair on my toes was already in…..and boy was it long. I laughed about this and many other things with Ben, we had a lot of fun chatting.

Then it was time for ears. These were latex ears that were molded for Elijah Wood. I thought they looked very natural and Ben pointed out they had a slight translucence to them. No additional painting was needed. They went on quite easily, around my entire ear, and just a little gluing and disguising along the edges was needed to transform my ears into Hobbit ears! Hooray! I got a rather girly brown curly wig with bows in the back. Ben test-fit that and then saved it for the onstage demo. He was also saving the foot hairpiece for the demo, and he showed it to Sharon and I beforehand, and we both were very excited that the box was labeled “Sam-Hero”…….Yay! This meant that I got Pippin’s feet, Frodo’s ears, and Sam’s foot hair! I felt very very lucky to see and wear all the real Hobbit items!!!!

Ben and Sala both declared me Hobbity….done!

Backstage time. It was dark and I could not wear my glasses, so Ben and Sharon had to take good care of me and lead me around. I instructed Sharon to tell me if any celebrities showed up. I also let her know that I had a book to give to Sean and told her where it was. We sat and listened to the Orc chant that was raised during the panel. The audience sounded very large and I was a little nervous.

Ben and I walked up to just behind the curtain to wait for our cue.
Then Dominic walked up the steps alone behind us. I turned around and recognized him even with my poor eyesight, and called “Dom!” and waved excitedly. His response to this was to walk up and kiss me right on the lips. I learned, one, that Dom is a great kisser. And two, that he doesn’t believe in wasting time! Immediately after the smooch, I walked onstage into some very bright lights. I probably looked a little dazed. Um, yeah.

The Panel

Aside from the fact that I couldn’t hear or see anything, I had a great time posing on the little platform and being Hobbity. I held up my skirts while Ben talked about my feet and worked on attaching the foot hair. Then he carefully applied different colors of liquid makeup to my feet and ankles using a spatter brush technique. The wig went on and made a huge difference in my appearance. I became aware that Dominic was then supposed to check out what a good job they had done making a Hobbit. He came over and checked me out down to my feet, then lifted up one of my hastily applied foot hairpieces and called Ben out on it, all in good humor, of course. Then he commented on how Hobbits had bosoms and Elves didn’t. Dom then quickly gave me a hug and another stealth kiss on the way in. I made a sound similar to “Whoop!” (the dialogue for this little episode was covered more completely by TORN’s earlier article on the subject. I was a little dazed, still…..) Neither Dom nor I could hear very well nor could we see because the audience was basically too dark. Dom squinted for a while into the audience while the talking went on and tried to wave to some people. Dom looked warm so I fanned him a little with my scarf and he laughed. Andy Serkis said something funny at one point, and Sean and Elijah came out which was of course a huge uproar. I couldn’t believe I was standing on the stage with all of them! The best part was when Sean moved in to talk to me for a second, he leaned over and said “Thank you *so* much!!” It turns out that backstage my dear friend Sharon had gone and retrieved the book and given it to Sean himself, at which point he had opened it AND read my letter on the spot before he got onstage. Sharon also got to meet Elijah briefly on the way in, while he was attempting to peek out the curtain to check out what was going on. The report from her is that his eyes are indeed amazing in person. Everyone was in good spirits. Go Hobbit actors! We love you all. *thumbs up*

As I said before, Dom and I were kind of at loose ends up there since we couldn’t hear anything so we started talking a bit. I’ve had some requests for a complete transcript of what Dom and I were gossiping about on stage. I think I’ll just keep that between Dom and I. Let’s just say that Dom darling, our ten-minute whirlwind romance was something I will never forget. *saucy wink*

WETA Booth Photo Shoot

Then it was time to head down to the main Exhibition Hall to cause a little hubbub at the WETA booth. I followed Sala, because he was tall, but I was such a tiny Hobbit that I kind of felt lost behind him. No matter, it was fun parading and watching all the stares he and the Armored folks behind me got!!!!! The four of us were placed behind stanchions next to the incredible Gollum statue, and the photographers moved in. We all posed in our various ways. The Elven warrior struck poses with her sword and was very impressive. Sala Baker, the mighty Uruk-Hai, posed and growled and was generally the belle of the ball. He growled at me a little bit too, I cowered, and the crowd though that was kind of funny to see. I worked it and did the best I could to get attention with my furry feet and actually got some gawking and furry foot close-up snapshots. This lasted for the better part of an hour and then we were all escorted back.

To the curtained area to have my feet and ears removed, which was a quick and enjoyable process. Basically, having your feet massaged by charming New Zealanders is a fine way to top things off! Ben, did I thank you already? ;) I also got to watch the incredible Orc leader strip all the stuff off to turn back into Sala. Richard Taylor thanked me for being such a good subject and everyone wished me well and said goodbye. It wasn’t the last I’d be seeing of everyone that weekend, though, since the One Ring Circus still was up to perform at the Masquerade. I joked with Ben as he was removing my feet that I was just going to go off and put new ones back on for Sam! I had been informing everyone about our LOTR costumed group the whole time and they were really interested. Sporting a One Ring Circus T-shirt, I reminded Richard and all the WETA folks once again to be sure to come and see us with a “One Ring Circus! WHOOOOOO!” sort of goodbye as I exited the curtain. As it turns out, they did attend the Masquerade…..and stood up and cheered for us….Wow! Thanks Richard and WETA guys, I’m glad you all could make it and I’m so glad you enjoyed yourselves!!!!! And thanks to New Line for making it happen for me. It was truly one of the best and most exciting experiences in my entire life!!!!!!

(THANK YOU SHARON for taking all those pictures with my camera…..) (SPECIAL THANKS TO EMMA ABRAHAM and IAN SMITH for granting me permission to use your photos in this report.)

Games Workshop's Online Policies
Flinch @ 2:01 am EST

Manelmacar wrote in to tell us that Wargames Workshop has officially closed down business. Wargames Workshop was a very popular online store allowing fans to purchase miniatures, and often times at pretty good prices. Fans have been e-mailing us since Games Workshop announced they were no longer going to permit online sites to sell their product, many of these fans were insulted, and confused, not sure why Games Workshop would close stores that have served them so well. I felt this was a good opportunity to explore the various sides of this story, and hopefully everyone will understand why the choice was made.

From the Consumers stand point, this change came as quite a shock. Many fans have relied on Online Retailers for their Hobby needs, especially fans who live in smaller towns and do not have Games Workshop Hobby Centers. These are the fans who truly loose from this change. Games Workshop Mail Order is of course the alternative for fans who live outside of the range of one of Games Workshop's Hobby Centers, but many fans have been disapointed in the quality of service of Games Workshop's Mail Order service. These smaller Online Retailers did not have the volume of orders as Games Workshop's services, and thus were able to fill orders quickly and often times with a personal attention to each customer, something that you do find in GW Hobby Centers, but not through their automated services.

From the stand point of the Retailer, the Online Market Place has been consuming sales as items have been so readily available online, point, click, have. It was that simple. The question we have to ask ourselves is, where do we game? Across the country Retailers and Hobby Centers alike have been pouring money into making areas available for Wargamers to play. Terrain tables are not cheap, and setting aside an extra room to facilitate players is not something that is easily done for many places. Players then spend their money online, buy their hobby supplies online, and then take their armies into a Hobby Center to play. Thus taking advantage of the Gaming Tables in their local Hobby Centers, without spending a dime in the actual store.

The economy is hurting, money is not in abundance, so every way we gamers can save some money is a great thing, but at the same time by saving that money we are starving the profits of the gaming stores that house us. So in time, if we do not support those gaming stores, they will slowly disappear and take the Terrain Tables with them, leaving us players no where to play. Obviously, not every retailer hosts their gamers to the best of their abilities, and that unfortunate lack of customer service is why many gamers turned to the Online Marketplace for their Hobby needs in the first place.

So we're in an odd place, while us gamers are trying to save money every way we can, the retailers suffer as our purchases are made outside of their establishments. So Games Workshop made the call of limiting Online Retailers in an attempt to bring sales back into the Game Stores, and hopefully revitalize the War-gaming Hobby. We here at Gaming Havens want to hear your thoughts on the subject, as I'm sure everyone has mixed feelings about this recent decision. So please feel free to e-mail us at Havens@TheOneRing.net and share your individual experiences, be it with an experience purchasing from an online retailer, an experience with a gaming store near you, or an experience purchasing through Games Workshop's Mail Order. We want to hear what you have to say, and we will be sharing your comments here on Gaming Havens.

Weekly Ebay Gaming Watch
Osyen @ 9:22 pm EST

Each week Havens will start checking ebay for the latest in lotr gaming auctions. Check out this weeks finds! Keep in mind that TheOneRing.net does not make any money off of these auctions, and we are not responsible for the outcome of each auction. We just point you at some of the nifty ones!

Games Workshop Lord of the Rings Figures

PLAYSTATION 2 LORD OF THE RINGS GAME

LORD OF THE RINGS BATTLE GAMES/GAMES WORKSHOP

THE LORD OF THE RINGS - Games Activities Pack

3 GAMES LORD OF THE RINGS 2 TOWERS

GAMES WORKSHOP LORD OF THE RINGS FELLOWSHIP

Four PS 2 Games including Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings - XBOX 2 games +bonus

games workshop lord of the rings gandalf etc

games workshop lord of the rings rohan etc

Games Workshop Lord of the Rings Fellowship

LORD OF THE RINGS - BATTLE GAMES 1 + EXTRA

LORD OF THE RINGS - BATTLE GAMES 2 + EXTRA

Cadbury Chocolate Carnival Goes Geek
Xoanon @ 1:06 pm EST

I live in Dunedin, New Zealand since last year Dunedin has held 'The Cadbury Chocolate Carnival" which involves the 'Worlds steepest jaffa race', which is thousands of jaffas (Candy covered chocolate balls, for those that don't know) rolling down Baldwin St (the steepest street in the world), quite fun to watch.

Anyways as apart of this carnival they have a Chocolate Art Exhibition, where you can sculpt it, photograph it, or just about do anything with it as long as it had something to do with Cadburys chocolate.

So what does this have to do with Lord of the Rings you may ask?

Well I was so bored in the Holidays I decided to enter it. I made a Lord of the Rings sculpture. I made the OneRing out of White chocolate, ingraved with the inscrpitions and all, (took me a while to figure out how to make it) I then made a chocolate stand for it, kinda looks like a tree stump. I then made quite a few chocolate leaves, by painting real ones and peeling the chocolate off once it had gone hard and stuck them around the stand.

I didn't quite win the competition but I did get second place which was $200 and lots of chocolate

You will never beleive who beat me!! Harry Potter!!, It was quite good, but I'm sure that the seven year old had some help by her mother to make it. Nevermind it was fun and i got $200 for doing something I enjoyed making.

See ya later Ring lovers!
Ruby Sandybanks

Comic Con 2003 Day 5 - Costumes
MrCere @ 12:58 am EST

SAN DIEGO - The Best In Show award at the 2003 Comic-Con Masquerade went to the One Ring Circus, a group of devoted Tolkien fans and costumers that wowed judges and audience alike.

The group (Judy Grivich, Mitch Steinberger, Aimee Steinberger, Carolyn Staehle, Leah Jakusovszky, Kelly Bolton, Cathleen Trowbridge, Cordelia Willis, Kelly Lima, A.J. Wu, Annie Kim, Nina Kempf) presented their 100 percent self-produced costumes along with an adapted "The Pitch" from Moulin Rouge. They stopped by the TORn booth the following day, giving us a chance to find out the full details of what went into the award-winning entry.

The concept was born at a Two Towers line party when Bolton and Willis discussed the idea. The lyrics were adapted and the ball was set rolling. Bolton, who works at a crime lab credited her job with providing her inspiration. "I do a lot of costuming because my job is boring and I don't get to express myself creatively. I am not good at art and I am okay at writing but I am pretty good at sewing."

Apparently her "pretty good" is good enough to win awards when combined with the sewing and other talents of the rest of the troupe. Grivich who was a fully-armoured, fully bearded and fully nosed invested an estimated 500 hours of work into her elaborate garb that weighed in at about 50 pounds. Much of the work involved making her armour which was linked by hand - all 15,000 pieces. She is unable to raise her arms above her head but knew right away she would be Gimli when the "fellowship" was announced. "It's the height thing," she said. Even the "easy" costumes average about 100 hours of work each.

Members of the group exchanged talent work in order to get the costumes at their top polish.

Richard Taylor of WETA Workshops spotted the troupe by the TORn booth and came over to congratulate them, calling their work "brilliant." The group was pretty floored to be complimented by Taylor who they hold in high regard.

"HE actually came up to US," Willis said.

The all California group which has its eye on production stills from Return Of The King has its own website at http://www.Stitchinbabes.com/orcindex.html

SF Tolkien Cook-off
Xoanon @ 10:14 pm EST

BeastyBunny writes: Do you live in the San Francisco Bay Area? Are you an LOTR fan? Do you like good food, the outdoors and talking Tolkien? Then this is the event for you!

The SF Bay Area Potluck Picnic and Apple Cook-off is this Saturday, July 26, 2003 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm!

We have reserved a wonderful meadow at Stern Grove in the Sunset District and are inviting all LOTR fans to bring your favorite dish and join us for an afternoon. We will be holding an Apple Cook-off where folks can show off their culinary skill and try for loads of wonderful prizes donated by Arms of Valor, Houghton Mifflin and Sideshow Weta as well as numerous fans.

To find out more, get directions and to sign-up, please visit:

http://www.beastybunny.com/lotr/sf_moot/partyindex.htm

If you plan to attend and/or enter the Cook-off, please visit the site and use the on-line sign-up form. This will help the organizers ensure a smooth and well organized event.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact BeastyBunny at jschuler2000@yahoo.com

More Comic-Con Coverage
Xoanon @ 9:30 am EST

shmo writes: I have a quick report from the comic con front. I attended the New Line presentation Sunday and was pleasantly surprised to find that Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan both showed up on top of the RotK preview, Andy Serkis with a look behind the creation of Gollum, the TTT extended edition preview, costumes put together live on the stage, and Sean Astin talking about his short film.

It was a tremendously awesome hour and they even gave away a prop sword and about 30 mysterious gift packages (my friend won one, go her!) that are "to big to give out here" and "must be mailed". I also checked out the TORN booth and picked up a "Don't make me get my ring" shirt as well as a Gandalf for president pin for good measure. Anyways, here are the pictures I have from the presentation. Thanks for your time and having such a completely wicked rad site that keeps me on top of everything LotR.

'The Hobbit' Stageplay Auditions
Xoanon @ 9:11 am EST

Live in the LA area? Are you 5'2" and under, or 6' or over? Wanna audition to be in an ambitious stage version of "The Hobbit"? Well if so, the Canyon Theatre Guild in Santa Clarita, CA (Valencia/Newhall, near Six Flags Magic Mountain) just north of Los Angeles will be holding auditions Monday Aug. 4 at 8pm for children under age 16, and Tuesday Aug. 5 at 7pm for adults age 16 and up at the theatre. About 20 the stock characters are needed: Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, dwarves, elves (long hair, thin - think of the movies), and Gollum. There will even be a giant Smaug dragon at the end!

If you can contribute to costumes or props it would be greatly appreciated. This stageplay will be directed by Jymn Magon, who used to work for Disney and he even produced the old record LP of the Rankin/Bass TV version "The Hobbit" in the late 1970's.

The show will open Sat. Oct. 4 for 4 weekend runs. Any questions or need directions, call (661) 296-0199 or visit >www.canyontheatre.org

Come out and try to be a part of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic children's fantasy!

Comic Con Day 4 - Part 2
MrCere @ 3:24 am EST

The game will feature a two-player co-op mode and will also have highly interactive environments so players can climb ropes, launch catapaults and explore the corners of the world that the film introduces.

Chat Log with Alessio Cavatore
Luthien @ 1:48 pm EST

At long last, here's the chat log of yesterday's chat with Alessio Cavatore. Thanks again to everyone who participated and asked such great questions, and thank you Alessio!!!! We can't wait to play Shadow and Flame!

[Begin Log]

[17:50] * Alessio has joined #havens
[17:50] {Telcontar} 1lol
[17:50] {mosa} ...
[17:50] {Marc} alessio
[17:50] {Tharkun} Welcome Alessio
[17:50] {Luthien} hi, Alessio!
[17:51] {sab} hi, alessio
[17:51] {Alessio} hi
[17:51] {Marc} So he can't here us
[17:51] {Yith} heya!
[17:51] {Flinch} he can now ;-)
[17:51] {Akh-Ra} hi
[17:51] {Marc} ok: nice to read you, alessio
[17:51] {Telcontar} hey
[17:51] {Tharkun} R we supposed to have sound in here?
[17:51] {Osbad} Afternoon!
[17:51] {mosa} hi allesio!
[17:51] {Messiah} evenin'
[17:51] {Marc} sorry tharkun
[17:51] {mosa} great to meat you : )
[17:52] {Eldariel} good morning
[17:52] * Flinch has quit IRC (Quit: Snak 4.8.4 Unregistered copy. Evaluation period is over. Program will now quit. Thanks for usin)
[17:52] {Marc} (morning)
[17:52] {mosa} *loool*
[17:52] {Marc} (where are u living?)
[17:52] {sab} good evening
[17:52] {Eldariel} (west coast Canada)
[17:52] {Osbad} UK
[17:52] * Flinch has joined #havens
[17:52] * ChanServ sets mode: +o Flinch
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[17:52] {mosa} germany *ggg*
[17:52] {Yith} UK - Chesterfield
[17:53] {Messiah} welcome back flinch
[17:53] {Messiah} evenin' aaron
[17:53] {mosa} wuppertal
[17:53] {Telcontar} Pennsylvania
[17:53] {aaron} hi every body
[17:53] {Luthien} okay, Welcome Alessio Cavatore!
[17:53] {mosa} where are you living allesio?
[17:53] {Hithero} Kent UK
[17:53] * Haldir has joined #havens
[17:53] {Alessio} Ok folks, I'm ready. Questions?
[17:53] {mosa} hi aaron
[17:53] * Flinch sets mode: +m
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[17:53] {Luthien} so, from here on out, please message flinch, myself or morog with quesions and we'll pass them on to Alessio
[17:54] {Flinch} no no... Flinch is selling T-SHirts at the booth
[17:54] {Luthien} oh
[17:54] * Haldir is now known as Guest931138133
[17:54] {Luthien} okay, me then
[17:54] {Luthien} message :-)
[17:54] {Flinch} mosa would like to know how old you are Alessio...
[17:54] * Flinch sets mode: +v Alessio
[17:54] * Guest931138133 has quit IRC (Quit: Leaving)
[17:54] * Guest931138133 has joined #havens
[17:54] {Flinch} it'd be nice if you could actually speak!
[17:54] * Guest931138133 has quit IRC (Quit: Leaving)
[17:55] * Haldir2 has joined #havens
[17:55] {Alessio} I was born on 14/2/72... Valentine's day! That makes me 31.
[17:55] * Steffen has joined #havens
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[17:56] {Flinch} *Akh-Ra* I think in RoTK u are gonna change the Ringwraiths' rules, can u tell us something about it? Is it true that they will have 17-20 points of will in the new version?
[17:56] * MadMax has joined #havens
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[17:57] {Alessio} They will be 2 Might, 14 Will and 2 Fate. The Witch King will be 3/20/3!
[17:57] {Luthien} {Tharkun} Question: There's been some discussion about the new Spear/Pike rule. What
[17:57] * Corvar has joined #havens
[17:57] * ChanServ sets mode: +oa Corvar Corvar
[17:57] {Luthien} What's your take and will it be changed in the RoTH?
[17:57] {Luthien} {Tharkun} RoTH = RoTK Sorry
[17:57] {Luthien} sorry 'bout that break
[17:58] {Alessio} Spears and pikes will add an Attack to the model fighting rather than fight through. This means they are not involved in the fight at all, clarifying the problems that existed about their strange half in-half out of combat nature
[17:58] {Luthien} sorry for that, guys
[17:58] * Corvar sets mode: +o MadMax
[17:59] {Corvar} there we go
[17:59] {MadMax} :)
[17:59] {Luthien} {Marc} elendil does have the sword narsil special rule
[17:59] {Luthien} {Marc} can u ask him..if aragorn get a special sword anduril rule ?
[18:00] * Corvar has left #havens
[18:00] * aaron has quit IRC (Quit: Leaving)
[18:00] {Flinch} ooo good question
[18:00] * aaron has joined #havens
[18:00] {Alessio} Yes, I figured that re-forging the swod would change the sword's power (and I didn't want Aragorn to have both the free point of Might and the free Heroic fight...).
[18:00] {Luthien} wb, aaron
[18:01] {Alessio} When fighting with Anduril, he wounds everything on a 4+, regardless of their defence value
[18:02] * Beruthiel has joined #havens
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[18:02] * Flinch sets mode: -m
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[18:02] {Marc} WHOA...
[18:02] {Flinch} We're openning this up for conversation...
[18:02] {Luthien} okay, we're opening it up
[18:02] {Flinch} try and behave ;-)
[18:02] {Luthien} too stilted
[18:02] {Telcontar} wow
[18:02] {Luthien} let's just have one question at a time if possible
[18:03] {Yith} Alessio - Can you tell us anything about the new Banner rules that are rumoured for Return of the King?
[18:03] * aaron has joined #havens
[18:03] {aaron} hi
[18:03] {Luthien} hi, aaron
[18:04] * Radagast has joined #havens
[18:04] {Radagast} hello
[18:04] {Haldir2} hi everyone
[18:04] {mosa} have you got a own homepage? pics of your own figures?
[18:04] {Alessio} Yep, in each combat where at least one of your models is within 3" of a friendly banner you can re-roll a dice when working out who wins the fight. EG. if you roll a 3,3,2, you can pick up the 2 and hope to get a higher number! quite handy...
[18:04] {Tharkun} Alessio - what's going to happen with the Hobbit expansion? Will it be 10mm and/or 25mm?
[18:04] {aaron} it sais i need a voice v+ wat does that meen
[18:05] {Yith} very nice thanks!
[18:05] {Alessio} I'm not sure I can talk about the hobbit thing, but I can confirm we are doing something with it...
[18:05] {Lord_Inquisitor} games workshop seems relatively unique as a large *company* that must be consistently be creative to succeed... is it therefore an exciting place to work for, and does it still have a creative spirit, as opposed to business spirit?
[18:05] {Messiah} that means the chat was moderated and you didn't have the necessary permission to speak, as decided / set by the channel operator for the purpose of holding an ordered discussion
[18:05] {Radagast} are you going to make anymore miniatures for Shadow and Flame?
[18:05] {Haldir2} Alessio- Is there going to be a limited edition Mnas Tirith walls+gate set released for RotK?
[18:05] {Luthien} okay, too many questions too quickly
[18:06] {Maltagearion} one at a time guys
[18:06] {Luthien} let's let him answer one at a time
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[18:06] {Alessio} Ehr... where do I start?
[18:06] {Maltagearion} mith made it
[18:06] {Steffen} test
[18:06] {Luthien} starting back with this one: {mosa} have you got a own homepage? pics of your own figures?
[18:06] {Marc} Hi steffen
[18:06] {mosa} hi steffen!
[18:06] {RangerOfTheEast} lol
[18:06] * RangerOfTheEast has left #havens
[18:06] {sab} hi steffen
[18:06] {Marc} jetzt sinds 4 aus dem forum
[18:07] {Steffen} Hi Leute... konnte irgendwie ne Zeit lang nichts schreiben ! :(
[18:07] {mosa} not german!
[18:07] {sab} in english
[18:07] {Luthien} okay, guys, we've got to keep this in English, please
[18:07] * Beruthiel has left #havens
[18:07] {Steffen} ok
[18:07] {Steffen} sorry
[18:07] {aaron} can u please tell us if there be any other expansions like shadow and flame
[18:07] {mosa} what about my question??
[18:08] {Steffen} How long does this Discussion go ?
[18:08] {Luthien} I think he's typing ;-)
[18:08] {Steffen} hrhr
[18:08] * thebigmeatball has joined #havens
[18:08] {Luthien} this chat is going to be 1 hour long
[18:08] {mosa} great question!
[18:08] * Reapersoul has joined #havens
[18:08] {Marc} only 1h...
[18:08] {mosa} *looool*
[18:08] {Reapersoul} hello
[18:08] {Haldir2} hi
[18:08] {Maltagearion} you made it
[18:08] {Alessio} I'm afraid not. You see I'm more of a fanatical gamer than a complete hobbyist. My model are not very fancy, just functional to play games. I have to confess that I'm not too keen on painting/modelling. My speciality is gaming, gaming and more gaming. Fotr models I recomend the Perrys pages, where you can see their unique collection they designed for Peter Jackson!
[18:08] {Reapersoul} whaey ;)
[18:08] {Reapersoul} Hey Alessio
[18:09] {Tharkun} Alessio - I appreciate the sensitivity dealing wih the Hobbit. Please consider doing 25mm so it integrates with our other mini's.
[18:09] {Telcontar} yes please!
[18:09] {mosa} adresse of the page please!
[18:09] {Reapersoul} yes!
[18:09] {Hithero} In other words you pay someone to paint your models :)
[18:09] {Maltagearion} let him catch up before you post more questions
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[18:09] {Radagast} yes please
[18:09] {Marc} ill give you mosa
[18:09] {mosa} ok
[18:09] {Luthien} okay, now we're on to this question: {Radagast} are you going to make anymore miniatures for Shadow and Flame?
[18:09] {Marc} http://www.perry-miniatures.com/
[18:10] {mosa} aha ok great!
[18:10] {Maltagearion} good question
[18:10] {Reapersoul} please do !
[18:11] {Alessio} To answer the evil Hithero, yes, I often pay someone to paint my models (blushes!). Watch Hithero, I know who you are and more importantly, where you live! ;-)
[18:11] {Maltagearion} :)
[18:11] {Luthien} lol
[18:11] {cubeblue} haha, watch out Dave!
[18:11] {Urukhaileader} :-)
[18:11] {Akh-Ra} In the books and in the movie we have seen that wargs can attack even without the rider... are u gonna change this rule in the RoTK?
[18:11] {Reapersoul} ;)
[18:11] {Maltagearion} hold the questions
[18:11] {Tharkun} do i see a gauntlet on the floor? ;-)
[18:12] {Maltagearion} he's still working on the first 3
[18:12] {Luthien} akh-ra, please hold the questions for right now, we're still trying to answer earlier questions
[18:12] {Akh-Ra} sorry
[18:12] {Luthien} exactly, Maltagearion ;-)
[18:12] {cubeblue} good question though
[18:12] {Reapersoul} we will get to ask later ;)
[18:12] {Reapersoul} yup
[18:12] {Akh-Ra} (it was a keyboard mistake)
[18:12] {Luthien} we're keeping track of the order, and once he's caught up, we can ask more
[18:12] {Alessio} About the Shadow and flame question. We will make the entire range needed for the scenarios in the book. LAter there will be more books and more models.
[18:12] {Maltagearion} good
[18:12] {Radagast} nice, cant wait
[18:13] {Reapersoul} cool
[18:13] {Telcontar} any specifics?
[18:13] {Reapersoul} model type models....
[18:13] {aaron} will there be a mounted aragorn in armour in rotk like in the movie poster
[18:13] {Haldir2} Hold the questions!
[18:13] {Telcontar} while wer r on the subject
[18:13] {Telcontar} sorry
[18:13] {Alessio} I don't know which one you've already seen, so it's difficult for me to answer that one.
[18:14] {Maltagearion} probably one will be made
[18:14] {aaron} do you mean mounted aragorn
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[18:14] {Flinch} just so you all know.. this chat will for sure be available on Gaming Havens after the chat
[18:14] {Reapersoul} hopefully
[18:14] {Alessio} Yes, there will be Aragorn (foot and mounted) in Gondor heavy armour, Defence 7!
[18:14] {Maltagearion} ooo!
[18:15] {aaron} thanks
[18:15] {Marc} wow...
[18:15] {Maltagearion} nice.
[18:15] {Akh-Ra} wow!
[18:15] {Telcontar} sweet!
[18:15] {Yith} even more of a tank :-)
[18:15] {Urukhaileader} Darn
[18:15] {Radagast} great!
[18:15] {Reapersoul} cool
[18:15] {Telcontar} can u say wrecking ball
[18:15] {sab} very nice
[18:15] {Reapersoul} how many points though........(asking himself)
[18:15] {Maltagearion} 100
[18:15] {Maltagearion} ;0
[18:15] {Luthien} okay, moving on to the next question: {Lord_Inquisitor} games workshop seems relatively unique as a large *company* that must be consistently be creative to succeed... is it therefore an exciting place to work for, and does it still have a creative spirit, as opposed to business spirit?
[18:15] {Alessio} always too cheap...
[18:16] {Reapersoul} lol
[18:16] {Flinch} I'd say it can't be all that exciting he has to put up with e-mails from folks like me!
[18:16] {Steffen} Alessio ! What is about an next big expensionset in the future ? New Figures ? Which Szenarios ?
[18:16] {Luthien} but he gets to travel a lot :-)
[18:17] {Maltagearion} no more questions for now
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[18:17] {Luthien} Hey, Steffen, we're going in order
[18:17] {Telcontar} and talk to cool people like us on the internet
[18:17] {Luthien} alessio is going to answer the question that's currently up to bat
[18:17] {Messiah} mixtures of the creative and the corporate are always an interesting one
[18:17] {Luthien} but we'll get to yours eventually
[18:17] {Steffen} sorry
[18:17] {Luthien} good questions, everyone!
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[18:17] {thebigmeatball} what as said about the Hobbit's scale? I signed in a minute or two too late?
[18:17] {Telcontar} not much
[18:17] {Reapersoul} me too
[18:17] {T33N_^ANge^} why don't you just post the questions first to the ops then they will choose the best ones and post it here?
[18:18] {Alessio} the conflict between business interest and sheer creativity is always a difficult one. You should see our animated meetings, where the creatives like me ask for huge things like a plastic Minas Tirith, and tye sensible managers tryto channel our energies into more business-wise decisions. What you guys see is a compromise... except for when you'll see the Mumak! eh eh eheheh ... It's HUUUUGGEEEE!!!
[18:18] {Messiah} teen : the chat is not presently in a moderated phase
[18:18] * Lord_Inquisitor nods
[18:18] {Osbad} Full scale!!
[18:18] {cubeblue} that rules.
[18:18] {Osbad} fantastic
[18:18] {Maltagearion} holy smokes!
[18:18] {thebigmeatball} awesome
[18:18] {Yith} Alessio but still smaller than the one in the film right?
[18:18] {cubeblue} it'll be the size of a small pony
[18:18] {Telcontar} *starts drooling*
[18:19] {Haldir2} Cool
[18:19] {cubeblue} j/k
[18:19] {sab} awesome
[18:19] {Radagast} can you tell us how big?
[18:19] {Reapersoul} good :) I cant wait...
[18:19] {Telcontar} it will cost a fortune
[18:19] {Messiah} General : and this is what mordred will never understand.
[18:19] {GilGaladrocks} The lotr version of a titan!
[18:19] {cubeblue} I think 'HUUUUUGEEEEE!!!' is good enough for 'how big' ;)
[18:19] {Urukhaileader} Yep
[18:19] {thebigmeatball} yeah
[18:19] {Alessio} we had to scale it down a bit, but it's still as big as a Monolith, if you play 40K
[18:19] {Maltagearion} yikes
[18:19] {Luthien} wow
[18:19] {cubeblue} nice
[18:19] {Osbad} Nice
[18:20] {Maltagearion} I hope he doesn't fall on my figures and crushes them.
[18:20] {Reapersoul} freking 'ell
[18:20] {Yith} thats nice... monolith is probably the biggest thing in 40k
[18:20] {Haldir2} Wow!
[18:20] {Telcontar} *scratches head*
[18:20] {Luthien} okay, next question: {Haldir2} Alessio- Is there going to be a limited edition Mnas Tirith walls+gate set released for RotK?
[18:20] {Yith} that isn't forgeworld
[18:20] {Reapersoul} how much money wil it be (asking himself)
[18:20] {cubeblue} yeah, to actual real scale would make a lot of playing mat sizes too small.
[18:20] {Alessio} It won't cost too much, because it will be plastic, but that's sometime in the future...
[18:20] {Maltagearion} good question
[18:20] {Tharkun} now to find enough foam to transport it...
[18:20] {Reapersoul} cool
[18:20] {Yith} released early next year I assume?
[18:20] {Telcontar} awesome
[18:20] {cubeblue} nice
[18:21] {Osbad} Glad its going to be plastic
[18:21] {cubeblue} yeah, and not forgeworld, that's a blessing.
[18:21] {Reapersoul} yeah me to short of money ;))
[18:21] {Urukhaileader} Me too.
[18:21] {sab} when can we buy the mumak?
[18:21] {Maltagearion} here as well
[18:21] * Reapersoul thanks god ;)
[18:21] {Alessio} We will make a Gondorian fortress similar to Helm's deep in scale for the next supplement after the Return of the King: The Siege of Gondor.
[18:21] {Maltagearion} yay
[18:21] {Haldir2} cool!
[18:21] {Yith} but is it Minas Tirith?
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[18:21] {Maltagearion} probably
[18:21] {Reapersoul} my god , we can just all stop building terrain....
[18:21] {mosa} coool!
[18:21] {GilGaladrocks} I hope it won't be as rare as Helms Deep!
[18:22] {Maltagearion} Prabably rarer
[18:22] {aaron} will be limited edition
[18:22] {Urukhaileader} I have Helm's Deep
[18:22] {cubeblue} they are re-releasing helms deep.
[18:22] {Luthien} and the next q: {Akh-Ra} In the books and in the movie we have seen that wargs can attack even without the rider... are u gonna change this rule in the RoTK?
[18:22] {Alessio} No, it isn't Minas Tirith, becasue the White City is just too big and complex, but it will have the same architecture style, a good Gondor fortress!
[18:22] {Maltagearion} is that the last question?
[18:23] {Talafar} Alessio, are all the different rules from BGIME (for example sorcerous blast, confound), going to be made official in ROTK?
[18:23] {Reapersoul} Are you going to make a blind shooting rule?
[18:23] {Yith} guess I better start my new Minas Tirith model then ;-)
[18:23] {Maltagearion} stop the questions
[18:23] {Radagast} tell me when I can ask the next question
[18:23] {Alessio} I'm sorry, but Wargs will reamsin as they are. Fell beasts and Mumakils will have their own attacks though.
[18:23] {Akh-Ra} :(((((
[18:23] {mosa} why stop?
[18:23] {Urukhaileader} Yes!
[18:23] {Urukhaileader} About the Fell beast
[18:23] {Haldir2} Stop the questions because he's too far behind!
[18:23] {Reapersoul} good, I am getting sick of all these new rules.....
[18:24] {sab} mumakils with own attacks?Great!
[18:24] {cubeblue} splat.
[18:24] {Luthien} we're catching up, Haldir2 ;-)
[18:24] {Tharkun} I think we should go back to sending our questions to the mods...
[18:24] {Luthien} this is the next q: {Steffen} Alessio ! What is about an next big expensionset in the future ? New Figures ? Which Szenarios ?
[18:24] {Haldir2} Thanks God for that!
[18:24] {Akh-Ra} yes
[18:24] {Flinch} Luthien is on top of it all ;-)
[18:24] {Haldir2} lol
[18:24] {Eldariel} Luthien is doing a good job
[18:25] {Yith} yeah as long as Luthien actually keeps track of the questions for Alessio then we'll be just fine :-)
[18:25] {Yith} he is...
[18:25] {Luthien} which I am ;-)
[18:25] {Yith} yup you are :-)
[18:25] {Reapersoul} I know the release of the fel beast is imminent but what other "gigantic" creatures will we see released through the rest of the series?(whenever)
[18:25] {Flinch} awesome question...
[18:25] {Reapersoul} yeah go Luthien ;)
[18:25] {Haldir2} Can we start asking more questions now?
[18:26] {Luthien} Reapersoul, let him finish the one he's currently answering, then we're up to your q
[18:26] {Luthien} this is the current q: {Tharkun} Question: Will there be any expansions to the Helm's Deep model? Like extra walls, stairs, towers, etc.
[18:26] {Reapersoul} sorry :)
[18:26] {Luthien} erk...no...that was an incorrect paste
[18:26] {Haldir2} lol
[18:26] {Alessio} the return of the king has 12 scenarios, plus a new section called The War of the Ring that deals with the other areas where the Free Peoples were fighting Sauron (Mirkwood, Erebor, Lorien etc.) which includeas five more scenarios! The year after we'll have two more Shadow and Flame style books, only bigger!
[18:26] {Luthien} THIS is the current question: {Steffen} Alessio ! What is about an next big expensionset in the future ? New Figures ? Which Szenarios ?
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[18:26] {Reapersoul} Are we all just sad and stupid people?
[18:27] {Osbad} WOW. ROTK sounds like a massive book! as big as a Mumak!
[18:27] {Haldir2} Maybe
[18:27] {cubeblue} alright!
[18:27] {Reapersoul} brillant!!!
[18:27] {Osbad} :D
[18:27] {Reapersoul} COOL!!
[18:27] {mosa} jeaaaa!
[18:27] {Radagast} Are you going to make miniatures based on the Silmarillion?
[18:27] {cubeblue} Erebor, Mirkwood!
[18:27] {Luthien} hang on, radagast: we're up to Reapersoul now ;-)
[18:27] {Luthien} {Reapersoul} I know the release of the fel beast is imminent but what other "gigantic" creatures will we see released through the rest of the series?(whenever)
[18:27] {Reapersoul} wahey :)
[18:27] {Haldir2} They don't have a copyright to do The Silmarillion
[18:28] {Flinch} Radagast please limit your questions to the films, and the trilogy or the Hobbit
[18:28] {aaron} will rotk stuff be able to buy the next games day?
[18:28] {Alessio} No, no Silmarillion, but we may have a look back at the LAst Alliance...
[18:28] {Radagast} ok, sorry
[18:28] {Flinch} GW cannot obtain the Silmarillion
[18:28] {GilGaladrocks} Will Rotk see the release of more Rohan models or will the two towers models stay?
[18:28] {Reapersoul} unells a film is released....
[18:28] {Reapersoul} unless*
[18:28] {Geo-Galad} Is the any plans to bring out types of army list for the point match games?
[18:29] {Haldir2} Alessio- Are you going to release Easterlings and Haradrim for RotK?
[18:29] {Guest} I'm assuming Jackson won't include the Woses; but what about figures?
[18:29] {Luthien} okay, now we're three questions deep again
[18:29] {Luthien} this is the current q: {Reapersoul} I know the release of the fel beast is imminent but what other "gigantic" creatures will we see released through the rest of the series?(whenever)
[18:29] {Reapersoul} lol
[18:29] {Talafar} Good question Geo-Galad, I'm wondering about that too
[18:29] {Flinch} well...
[18:29] * Flinch sets mode: +m
[18:29] {Flinch} I think we should address this
[18:30] {Flinch} The Tolkien Estate and Tolkien Enterprises are not managed by the same people
[18:30] {Alessio} I'd love to make abig Smaug, a proper dragon, one that you need an army to stop... but I don't really know if we'll be able to do it (legal complications...)
[18:30] {Flinch} because of this, The Lord of the Rings, and the Hobbit are available to work with
[18:30] {Flinch} BUT... TOlkien's son will not sell the rights to make ANYTHING based on the other works of J.R.R. Tolkien
[18:30] {Flinch} so pending his death... or a change of heart... we will only see things from the Hobbit or the core Trilogy.
[18:31] {Flinch} so yea...
[18:31] * Flinch sets mode: -m
[18:31] {aaron} asd
[18:31] {aaron} sorry
[18:31] {Luthien} okay, let's try to stick to one question at at time ;-)
[18:31] {Flinch} its all good... just a common confusion among tolkien gaming
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[18:32] {Flinch} we WISH WISH WISH we could play the Silamrillion games.. armies and armies of Balrogs... that just rocks!
[18:32] {Reapersoul} whats th question now then?
[18:32] {Yith} lol yup :-)
[18:32] {Luthien} this one: {GilGaladrocks} Will Rotk see the release of more Rohan models or will the two towers models stay?
[18:32] {Luthien} {Reapersoul} unells a film is rele
[18:32] {aaron} hithero are you there
[18:32] {Reapersoul} huh?
[18:32] {Luthien} er... GilGaladrocks question ;-)
[18:32] {Hithero} Still yours reap, bib beasties
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[18:32] {Reapersoul} cool
[18:33] {Luthien} well, alessio mentioned he'd like to do a Smaug but can't b/c of legal complications
[18:33] {Maltagearion} too bad.
[18:33] {Luthien} are there any other big beasties in the works?
[18:33] {Reapersoul} still, it would be cool....
[18:33] {Maltagearion} be nice too have Smaug
[18:33] {Alessio} we'll make more versions of the charatcers, sucgh as a mounted Eomer and a mounted Theoden in Armour (very cool armour), and of course Eowyn will be there in several armoured versions. You know she has an important mission to accomplish...
[18:33] {Reapersoul} but we will have the fell beast remembe that.....
[18:33] {GilGaladrocks} good
[18:34] {Osbad} Hobbits in armour?
[18:34] {Reapersoul} oh yeah Eowyn as a man.....
[18:34] {mosa} aha
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[18:34] {sab} How far are you in development with the rotk product-range?
[18:34] {Eldariel} Dernhelm . . . ^_-
[18:34] {Yith} will there be a fellbeast, theoden, merry and eowyn boxed set? or similar?
[18:34] {Yith} oh and nazgul of course :-)
[18:34] {Hithero} I hope there is no Hobbit riding pillion
[18:34] {Maltagearion} ;)
[18:34] {Reapersoul} whats the question now?
[18:34] {Maltagearion} me too.
[18:34] {GilGaladrocks} Why not Hithero ;)
[18:34] {Luthien} this is hte next question: {Haldir2} Alessio- Are you going to release Easterlings and Haradrim for RotK?
[18:35] {Maltagearion} probably
[18:35] {Reapersoul} yeah
[18:35] {Reapersoul} bye
[18:35] * Reapersoul has quit IRC (Quit: Leaving)
[18:35] {Luthien} then there are a few really good questions from PMs that I think we should answer
[18:35] {Hithero} My dremel circular saw is blunt.
[18:35] {Alessio} EAterlings yes. HAradrims will be released later with the Mumak...
[18:35] {Maltagearion} can you answer mine soon? I need to go.
[18:36] {Luthien} Maltagearion, what was your question again?
[18:36] {GilGaladrocks} lol
[18:36] {Maltagearion} Alessio: Will we be seeing more of the Elves? As in more heros, swordsmen, and others?
[18:36] {Maltagearion} that was it
[18:36] {cubeblue} cool, haradrim perhaps in siege of gondor or something like that.
[18:36] {Luthien} okay, that's the current question :-)
[18:36] {Maltagearion} thanks
[18:36] {Flinch} the Elves in Shadow and Flame are just stunning
[18:37] {mosa} does everyone from thelastalliance.com makes a chat protocol?
[18:37] {Marc} @mosa im doing one
[18:37] {Marc} @mosa if it helps you
[18:37] {Mithrandir} 4i too
[18:37] {Flinch} as much as we love our friends over at lastalliance... lets try to stay on topic
[18:37] {mosa} can you copy the text?
[18:38] {Akiuji} I would like to ask a question - are the rules for massed battles going to be in ROTK, and if so what are they like...?
[18:38] {Luthien} this is being logged, mosa
[18:38] {Luthien} and we'll paste it on Havens afterwards
[18:38] {Alessio} We could make more of thearmy of Gil-galad in the LAst Alliance supplement and sooner or later we'll make a Mirkwood supplement: Thranduil and his kin need to be done!
[18:38] {Maltagearion} nice, thanks
[18:38] {Radagast} AWESOME!!!
[18:38] {Maltagearion} sounds awsome
[18:38] {sab} cool
[18:38] {Haldir2} cool!
[18:38] {mosa} i need to go now!
[18:38] {Eldariel} Thranduil would be a nice one . . . .
[18:38] {Marc} bye
[18:38] {Maltagearion} bye guys.
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[18:38] * Maltagearion has quit IRC (Quit: I was using mIRC for StarChat)
[18:38] {sab} bye
[18:38] {Yith} :-)
[18:38] * mosa has quit IRC (Quit: Leaving)
[18:38] {Luthien} okay, this question is from a PM: {Mithrandir} can you ask this? I hears there will be more Dwarf models, can you give an example?
[18:39] {GilGaladrocks} Why did you choose to make lotr a points game instead of using the usual HQ choice , Elites choice..etc?
[18:40] {Haldir2} Alessio- Are you going to release Sauron for RotK?
[18:40] {Telcontar} Why did you decide to add shamen, and will they only be limited to orcs?
[18:40] {Flinch} I guess we could make this available on GW.com as well...
[18:40] {Alessio} What's a PM? Anyway, Dain will be a bonus model for the War of the Ring in trotk range, and sooner or later we'll make a supplement on the Iron Hills, featuring plastic Dwarves and possibly cold drakes to fuight against them!
[18:40] {Telcontar} I just wanna get this logged in a a ?
[18:40] {Luthien} alessio: PM is a private message
[18:40] {Haldir2} Cool!!
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[18:41] {Yith} nice
[18:41] {Flinch} Drakes would be oustanding
[18:41] {Luthien} okay, this is the next question: {Tharkun} Question: Will there be any expansions to the Helm's Deep model? Like extra walls, stairs, towers, etc.
[18:41] {Haldir2} Fire-Drakes would be cool!
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[18:42] {Radagast} will you make miniatures of some dark numenoreans?
[18:42] {Alessio} I don't think so, but the new Gondor fortress will be compatible with Helm's deep...
[18:42] {thebigmeatball} ooo
[18:42] {sab} will there be a limited mini for rotk?
[18:42] {Urukhaileader} Hurray!
[18:42] {Luthien} good to know
[18:43] {Luthien} okay, next q: {Talafar} Will the problems with points values be cleared up? For example, over-pointing of moria goblin captains, cheapness of elf bows compared to goblin ones, etc?
[18:43] {GilGaladrocks} Excellent a huge fortress!
[18:43] {Alessio} DAve Andrews is doing it! A guarantee of quality!
[18:43] {Urukhaileader} Yes!
[18:43] {GilGaladrocks} Even better
[18:44] {Haldir2} Cool!
[18:44] {Alessio} A lot of that has been fixed in trotk. Spears are now 1 pt and elven bows and crossbows have doubled in price. Evil captains have been fixed too.
[18:44] {cubeblue} are the perry twins here, or coming?
[18:45] {Telcontar} not here
[18:45] {Telcontar} not coming
[18:45] {Telcontar} =(
[18:45] {GilGaladrocks} Will we be getting Olog Hai?
[18:45] {Luthien} they had to cancel at the last minute, Telcontar
[18:45] {cubeblue} good q
[18:45] {Luthien} this is the next one: {Urukhaileader} How come most of the new stuff comes out in the UK before the US?
[18:45] {Alessio} Unfortunately the Perrys are in Belgium with their tank, but if you want I can phone them and ask then a question.
[18:45] {Yith} Alessio - sounds great
[18:45] {Telcontar} right
[18:46] {Telcontar} i was answering cubeblue
[18:46] {Osbad} :D
[18:46] {Yith} lol... their tank :-)
[18:46] {Haldir2} lol
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[18:46] {GilGaladrocks} Let's Hope they take care!
[18:46] {Alessio} I really don't know. Release dates are decided by the heads of retail, nothing to do with us designers...
[18:47] {Telcontar} stupid heads of retail
[18:47] {Urukhaileader} Ok
[18:47] {Lord_Inquisitor} games workshop is also based in the UK
[18:47] {Lord_Inquisitor} so it makes sense
[18:47] {Telcontar} it takes forever to get anything here in the US
[18:47] {Lord_Inquisitor} and citadel miniatures etc
[18:47] {aaron1} please tell me more about the iron hills supplement
[18:47] {Akiuji} hey, you guys get movies befor us so it is only fair...8)
[18:47] {Telcontar} yea sigh...
[18:47] {Telcontar} lol
[18:47] {Telcontar} true
[18:47] {Luthien} okay, here's the next q: {Geo-Galad} can you ask- how the persent tournment rules are going change?
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[18:47] {Telcontar} and video games
[18:47] * aaron has quit IRC (Ping timeout)
[18:48] {Urukhaileader} Yeah, but I can't see the movies yet
[18:48] {Haldir2} Why?
[18:48] {Urukhaileader} Because of age
[18:48] {Haldir2} Oh
[18:48] {cubeblue} that sucks
[18:48] {Haldir2} The first one is PG
[18:49] {Urukhaileader} 13
[18:49] {GilGaladrocks} What country do you live in?
[18:49] {Urukhaileader} I have seen that one
[18:49] {Urukhaileader} US
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[18:49] {Eldariel} why would age matter? I've seen rated R movies when I was 13
[18:49] {Haldir2} How old are you?
[18:49] {Urukhaileader} My parents
[18:49] {Eldariel} 15
[18:49] {Urukhaileader} 12
[18:49] {Telcontar} u weren't supposed to tho
[18:50] {Urukhaileader} Nothing against them
[18:50] {Alessio} Now that the points values havebeen fixed (EG BAlrog and Sauron are now 500 pts)I will allow all models in the range into tournaments (except Tom Bombadil, becasue he won't lewave his borders, Goldberry and Gollum... also there will be an new fourth scenario (people asked for more games! and we are also thinking about double tournaments, where teams of two pewople play together, one with an Evoil Force and one with Good.
[18:50] {Haldir2} If your 12 then you should be allowed to watch TTT!
[18:50] {GilGaladrocks} Ah in the UK it is only reccomended to over 12's
[18:50] {Eldariel} as long as my parents were there, nobody cared
[18:50] {Talafar} like the idea of doubles tourneys
[18:50] {Yith} Thats cool Alessio... more tourneys nice :-)
[18:50] {cubeblue} finally, good change to the points for balrog and sauron
[18:50] {Yith} just need a partner :-)
[18:50] {Haldir2} And in US is it 13+?
[18:50] {aaron1} will there be a theoden model on a horse with armour and will his stats change
[18:50] {aaron1} please answer
[18:50] {Urukhaileader} Yes
[18:51] {Talafar} didn't Dejan do that for his tournament in croatia?
[18:51] {Yith} looking forward to the next tourney... this year's was fantastic
[18:51] {Luthien} aaron1, I will add that question to the list
[18:51] {Haldir2} Alessio- Are you going to have Sauron for RotK?
[18:51] {Talafar} sure was fantastic
[18:51] {Luthien} this is the current question: {sab} wil there be a limited mini for rotk?Which?
[18:51] {aaron1} thanks luthien
[18:52] {Telcontar} we need a tournament in the US!
[18:52] {Urukhaileader} Yes, we do
[18:52] {Alessio} Once more, that decision belongs to the sales companies, so the heads of our US branch will decide. I've heard it might be Denethor...
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[18:52] {mosa} hi
[18:52] {Marc} re
[18:53] {Eldariel} I like Denethor. He went nutz!
[18:53] {Osbad} makes sense - Denethor doesn't actually fight (at least in the books . . .)
[18:53] {sab} nice
[18:53] {Haldir2} lol
[18:53] {Telcontar} next ?
[18:53] {Luthien} just a sec...
[18:53] {Telcontar} no prob
[18:53] {Telcontar} jw
[18:53] {Luthien} marc asked this, and I'm curious too: Alessio, have you had a chance to see Peter Jackson's RotK yet?
[18:54] {Akiuji} ooh..
[18:54] {Haldir2} good question
[18:54] {Telcontar} i heard it wasn't even finished yet
[18:54] {mosa} ...
[18:54] {thebigmeatball} I don't think it is
[18:54] {Akiuji} they still have rough cuts
[18:54] {Haldir2} It is finished, but PJ's editing it now
[18:54] {Telcontar} well yea
[18:55] {Mithrandir} oh no only 12 minutes... :-(
[18:55] {Luthien} well ask as many questions as we can in the next 12 minutes
[18:55] {Haldir2} 6 mins left, I think!
[18:55] {mosa} i don't understand! only 12 figures??
[18:56] {Alessio} No, I've seen the extended version of the Two Towers in Weta's own little cnema and that was awesome. The film is sooo much more complete! I have seena few scenes of TROTK and some animatics, it looks unbelievable! It reminded me a lot of the beginning of the first film, just bigger! I can also say that the Perrys, Brian Nelson and Me are in TROTK as extras!!! TH experience of a lifetime!
[18:56] {mosa} sorry!
[18:56] {Luthien} well, actually, according to my clock, it's 9 minutes...
[18:56] {Haldir2} I've asked my Sauron question three times!
[18:56] {Urukhaileader} What part do you play?
[18:56] {Eldariel} neat!
[18:56] {Telcontar} cool
[18:56] {Urukhaileader} 4 minutes
[18:56] {Luthien} that is so awesome, alessio!
[18:56] {Telcontar} i'd love to know what scene
[18:56] {Urukhaileader} By my watch
[18:56] {Radagast} lucky you
[18:56] {Luthien} 8 minutes now, and my watch is the official watch ;-)
[18:56] {Haldir2} lol
[18:56] {Hithero} He played a part that shows of his acting talents to the full :)
[18:57] {Mithrandir} 4lets only write questions ok?
[18:57] {Haldir2} Or maybe he played a Gondorian tripping over his feet :)
[18:57] {mosa} yeah
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[18:57] {david} hellooo
[18:57] {Luthien} okay, this is the next q: {Haldir2} Alessio- Are you going to release sauron for RotK?
[18:58] {thebigmeatball} please say no..
[18:58] {mosa} are you david wollmer?
[18:58] {Alessio} Why should we?
[18:58] {Telcontar} yea please no
[18:58] {david} stanbury
[18:58] {Telcontar} lol
[18:58] {Yith} cool... thats a good answer ;-)
[18:58] {Telcontar} what an answer?
[18:58] {Luthien} yup
[18:58] {thebigmeatball} yes it is!
[18:58] {mosa} ok
[18:58] {Yith} there is rumour of a fight between Aragorn and Sauron... seems very unlikely
[18:58] {Haldir2} Because there are rumours that he's at the battle at the Black Gates
[18:58] {Luthien} okay, we have time to ask three more questions
[18:59] {Yith} except maybe in a palatir with minds :-)
[18:59] {david} have i missed alessio
[18:59] {aaron1} what other models stats will change like legolas, if they do?
[18:59] {Luthien} go ahead and ask them here, and then we'll keep track
[18:59] {Luthien} that's 1
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[18:59] {Yith} Will there be an Orc Shamen... in addition to the Uruk and Goblin one?
[18:59] {Telcontar} my shamen question
[18:59] {Luthien} that's 2
[18:59] {Telcontar} the one i asked before
[18:59] {Talafar} Will the alternate rules from BGIME, for example sorcerous blasts and confound, be official in ROTK?
[18:59] {Radagast} are you going to do anything with Numenor?
[18:59] {Luthien} that's right! I never pasted that one
[18:59] {Mithrandir} 4only improtant questions
[18:59] {Alessio} Well, the hobbits are gettingmeaner (they have gained a lot of experience points you see),
[18:59] {thebigmeatball} Talafar's Question is good
[19:00] {Alessio} Yes, there will be an Orc Shaman soon.
[19:00] {baboonfrodo} Will Shamen have free will like Gandalf?
[19:00] {thebigmeatball} they don't
[19:00] {Hithero} Do you prefer a Big Mac or Burger King?
[19:00] {Yith} "experience points"? is this a new rule that may come along or just a turn of phrase?
[19:00] {Luthien} okay, that's it for questions, but I'm adding Telcontar's shamen question b/c I missed that one
[19:00] {david} i heard of a Scouring of the SHire expansion like S&F as a rumour
[19:00] {Luthien} so, question #1: {aaron1} what other models stats will change like legolas, if they do?
[19:00] {Akiuji} you missed mine too
[19:01] {Yith} he answered that one Luthien
[19:01] {Alessio} I did.
[19:01] {aaron1} will the hobbits be in armour
[19:01] {david} will the scouring of the shire be brought out
[19:01] {sab} veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery important: will there ba legolas mini with knives?
[19:02] {GilGaladrocks} you could always convert one
[19:02] {Telcontar} that is a good question...
[19:02] {Luthien} okay, my mistake
[19:02] {Alessio} Thew scouring of the dshire would make a fun supplement!
[19:02] {david} i know thats why i want one
[19:02] {Alessio} Ok guys, last question. Luthien?
[19:02] {mosa} why last?
[19:02] {Luthien} let's do this one: {Talafar} Will the alternate rules from BGIME, for example sorcerous blasts and confound, be official in ROTK?
[19:03] {thebigmeatball} yes good one
[19:03] {Telcontar} Sigh...
[19:03] {mosa} will the adventures in middleearth are going nexter?
[19:04] {mosa} the magazin i mean
[19:04] {sab} alessio, i want to invite you to the forum of www.tabletop-hdr.de!
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[19:04] {sab} please visit us :-)
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[19:04] {aaron1} thanks allesio
[19:05] * mosa has joined #havens
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[19:05] {cubeblue} Alessio, thanks for doing this chat with us today! And keep up the fantastic work!
[19:05] {Urukhaileader} Thank you much
[19:05] {Alessio} Good question. BGIME and our LOTR are different products. We work close with them and help eacj other, so most of the rules are exactly the same (as you will see in trotk),, some aren't due to the different time scale in which we work. So in our events we'll aklways use our own rules and they will will use theirs in their events, if they do any. You people are free to choose whichver you prfer for your games.
[19:05] {Luthien} great :-)
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[19:05] {Talafar} thanks for that Alessio, hopefully see you at Gamesday or the next GT
[19:05] {Telcontar} Thanks for chatting Alessio!
[19:05] {Urukhaileader} Ok
[19:05] {Akh-Ra} Ciao Alessio ci si vede sul Forum italiano!!!
[19:05] {Yith} Thanks Alessio .. See you at the next GT... I hope you will be able to roll your special dice for me and Talafar again :-)
[19:05] {Luthien} Alessio, thank you so much for joining us in this chat!!
[19:05] {Talafar} heh
[19:05] {Tharkun} 12Thanks everyone!
[19:05] {Urukhaileader} Thank you again
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[19:06] {thebigmeatball} yup
[19:06] * Akiuji has left #havens
[19:06] {Alessio} Thank you very much guys. It has been fun and we must do this again sometime! Ciao
[19:06] {Haldir2} Thanks for amswering all thoses questions, Alessio!
[19:06] {GilGaladrocks} Ok thanks Alessio
[19:06] {Yith} yeah soon!
[19:06] {Urukhaileader} Ciao
[19:06] {Radagast} thanks for chatting, ciao!
[19:06] {Mithrandir} 4thx
[19:06] {Yith} ciao!
[19:06] * Radagast has quit IRC (Quit: Leaving)
[19:06] {Eldariel} thankies!
[19:06] {mosa} ciao
[19:06] {sab} thank you very much for taking time
[19:06] {Osbad} Ta!
[19:06] {mosa} cu
[19:06] {mosa} ciao
[19:06] {mosa} cu
[19:06] {T33N_^ANge^} give him a round of applause
[19:06] {mosa} ciao
[19:06] {mosa} cu
[19:06] {mosa} ciao
[19:06] {mosa} cu
[19:06] {mosa} ciao
[19:06] {Telcontar} *claps*
[19:06] {sab} applause
[19:06] {mosa} cu
[19:06] {mosa} ciao
[19:06] {mosa} cu
[19:06] {mosa} ciao
[19:06] {mosa} cu
[19:06] {Hithero} Adios
[19:06] * Urukhaileader hopes I can go to a GD and meet you some day
[19:06] {mosa} ciao
[19:06] * T33N_^ANge^ applause
[19:06] {Mithrandir} 4CU @ www.tabletop-hdr.de
[19:06] * Marc applauses
[19:06] {Luthien} thank you everyone for attending!!
[19:06] {mosa} cu
[19:06] {mithaearon} thanks
[19:06] {Haldir2} Bye!
[19:06] {mosa} ciao
[19:06] {Luthien} if you want to stay and continue to discuss all of this, you're very welcome to
[19:07] {Urukhaileader} Bye
[19:07] {mithaearon} bye all
[19:07] {Yith} a big thanks to the TORN guys for organising this
[19:07] {Eldariel} bye yall!
[19:07] {Urukhaileader} Adios
[19:07] {mosa} bye
[19:07] {Telcontar} Bye all
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[19:07] * Alessio has quit IRC (Quit: Leaving)
[19:07] {Luthien} #havens is here 24/7 for gaming talk :-)
[19:07] * mithaearon has quit IRC (Quit: )
[19:07] {sab} hope you come to GD Germany
[19:07] {Urukhaileader} Caio
[19:07] {Yith} Hip! Hip!
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[19:07] * T33N_^ANge^ has left #havens
[19:07] {Tharkun} happy gaming all, til next time...
[19:07] {Telcontar} yea thanks Flinch and Luthien escpecially!
[19:07] {cubeblue} Thanks Flinch and everyone at the gaming havens, you all rock, once again!
[19:07] {Haldir2} Bye erveryone!
[19:07] {sab} oooooh, now hes gone
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[19:07] * mosa has quit IRC (Quit: Leaving)
[19:07] {Luthien} ty for asking such great questions, guys!
[19:07] * Telcontar has quit IRC (Quit: Leaving)
[19:07] {GilGaladrocks} My the blessings of elves and men go with you!
[19:08] {Luthien} :-)
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[19:08] {Talafar} bye everyone
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[Eng Log]

Comic Con: New Line Presentation Report From Shirebound
Demosthenes @ 6:51 am EST

Shirebound has thrown together a very good Comic Con 2003 report over on his/her Livejournal that has some excellent information about the New Line presentation that happened this afternoon. I daren't link directly - TORn has a notorious ability to crush other sites into tiny pieces - so the entire article is reproduced here for you all.

ComiCon report! Hobbits in person! ROTK spoilers!

Okay, now I know why I live in a city I can’t afford to live in. There are hobbits here. I have to warn you, though, that I’m starving, hot, tired, and can hardly see straight. I’m not going to proofread this report, just post it and go EAT something! I’m too exhausted to detail the presentations I sat through before the LOTR presentation, so if anyone wants more details about Halle Berry or Angelina Jolie, just ask.

To zip right to the LOTR stuff, look for the Lord of the Rings heading. I’ll warn you before the ROTK spoilers, in case you don’t want to read them. I’ve also put a hobbits heading down there, in case you want to skip right to that part.

There will be misspelled names in this report, since I didn’t know who some of these people were. Oh well.

The ComiCon is ENORMOUS. It’s a 4-day event, attracting up to 20,000 people. I had to only drive 10 minutes, then walk another 15 minutes to get there, and of course the 90% humidity made my hair look like a mop by the time I arrived at the Convention Center. Luckily for you folks, I don’t own a camera, so no pictures of the mop, and you can continue to imagine me with the smooth, silky tresses of the finest Mary Sue.

The LOTR presentation was scheduled to be held in Room 20 (an enormous ballroom) at 2:00, so I arrived at the room at 10:30 and SAT THERE ALL DAY. After each presentation ended, and people (foolishly) left to go buy stuff or move on to another room, I moved up closer and closer to the stage, until, by 2:00, I was in the 12th row. It’s the only way -- by the time the presentation before LOTR was due to start, the entire room was filled (4,500 people).

Now then.

The 10:30-11:30 presentation was to promote Halle Berry’s upcoming Warner Bros. film Gothika. I got to see Halle Berry!

The 11:30-12:30 presentation was to promote Angelina Jolie’s new film, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. I got to see Angelina Jolie!

The 12:30-2:00 presentation was by someone I had never heard of before -- Kevin Smith. Apparently he’s the director of “Mallrats”, “Clerks”, “Jay and Silent Bob”, and other things. He started his presentation with, “I’ll bet half these people are asking their neighbors who this fellow is. Kevin Smith? They ask? Bring on the hobbits, they cry!”

One of the questioners began with, “As long as you have this room full of people here, could you tell us…” And Kevin Smith interrupted to say, “Come on, you know I don’t have this room. These are all hobbit people waiting for guys with big feet. I don’t stand a chance.”

Whoever he is, we got a 1-1/2 hour NC-17 rated, hilarious question-and-answer period. Really, really funny.

And then!

The 2:00 presentation was entitled, “New Line Cinema: ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Freddy vs. Jason’” and began with a trailer for another New Line movie coming out, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” followed by a trailer for “Freddy vs. Jason”.

By this time, I was in the 12th row of the auditorium, in the exact center. Perfect seat. I was so excited I could hardly sit still.

The first half-hour was a presentation by New Line Cinema to preview the new “Freddy vs. Jason” movie coming out. The actors who played Freddy Kruger and Jason (Robert Englund and Ken Kersinger), as well as Ronnie Yu (director) and Sean Cunningham (creator) answered questions from the audience about their roles (past and present). Robert Englund also said that he would be in a new “V” miniseries in 2004. “Freddy vs. Jason” looks like a pretty scary movie -- a real bloodfest.

Lord of the Rings

The New Line presentation for LOTR began with a TTT clip, and then Sala Baker (who played orcs and Sauron, and probably others) came onstage in full costume and makeup (remember the Orc outside Helm’s Deep who’s standing up on that rock, inciting his army of 10,000 to attack?). It was pretty cool to see him.

After that, lots of WETA folks came onstage to “do their thing” in front of everyone.

Richard Taylor (in charge of WETA workshop, I think) talked about Sala’s costume, and about how no orcs have armor on their backs -- because they never retreat or run away, or show their backs to the enemy. He talked about the incredibly long days the orcs went through getting costumed and made up.

John Harvey (Sr. Propmaster) said they were making 50 swords a day. He cast a sword right on stage out of urethane that they said was the same material as skateboard wheels.

Daniel Falconer (Sr. Designer) dressed a girl as a Galadrim warrior right in front of us He told how much care they took with the Elvish armor -- In the battle of Dagorlad, the armor had flowers on it, and was of light colors. By the Third Age, at Helm’s Deep, the Elvish armor was of more “autumnal” colors and dying leaves to show the fading of the Race of Elves. He also said that at the base of the armor on the front of each person (as the armor comes down to a point) was a pictograph of some type depicting the different houses of the Elvish families. (!!!)

Greg Toser (Sr. Sculptor) talked about costuming the Rohirrim (in the movie, he commanded the Rohirrim army).

Ben Hawker (SFX technician) brought out a lady dressed as a hobbit lass, and proceeded to do a quick “furry foot job” on her. He said it took the four hobbits 40 minutes each, every morning, to have their feet put on.

Hobbits

The folks on stage decided that the lady hobbit had to be inspected by a real hobbit, and onstage walked Dominic Monaghan, wearing a grey sweatshirt with the word “Bro.” on it, patched jeans, and red shoes. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in about a week. THE AUDIENCE WENT WILD. He inspected the lady hobbit’s feet, then made a comment about how all hobbit ladies were very buxom, as opposed to the tall, asexual Elf ladies. He said there was a debate about whether Elf men have the proper… “equipment”, and whether Elves have babies by magic or something. (Has he been reading our stories??) He said he was “available for Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, and female parties.” The audience naturally went nuts at that point.

Dom, et al. stayed on stage during the next segment, which was Andy Sirkus and Bay Raitt (WETA Digital) talking about how Gollum came to life. They showed a tape of Gollum animation, and also Andy Sirkus’s original audition. Andy spoke in the “Gollum” voice, which was cool. He said he had originally been told he would be doing a 3-week voiceover job for the movie, and ended up being a major character. During the Gollum taped segment, Dom sat on the stage and stared at the screen, entranced.

Andy Sirkus says that his “Smeagol” self looks a lot like his 3 year old son, and his “Gollum” self looks like his father. He said he was astonished when he saw the change from “Smeagol” to “Gollum” on screen.

And then… onstage walked Sean Astin and Elijah Wood.

pandemonium: n A wild uproar

Sean was wearing a hat, t-shirt, and long shorts, and Elijah was wearing a short-sleeved white shirt and jeans. I have to say that, even from where I was sitting, you could tell that Elijah Wood has the most incredibly intensely blue eyes ever to be put on this earth. I just couldn’t believe they're actually real. He also has a crewcut. Sean urged Elijah to do his “ringwraith scream” sound effect, and he did, and it was absolutely right-on. He’s a wonderful mimic. They said that Fran Walsh did the wraith screams we hear on the movie.

Elijah said that he was absolutely awed by the whole experience of working with Andy Sirkus, and Sean told a funny story about how, when “Gollum” attacked him in TTT, Andy was so into the scene that “he grabbed me and ripped my wig off and it hurt!”.

They showed a bit of Sean’s 5-minute short film, “The Long and Short of It”, which will be on the TTT DVD to be released on August 26. He gave Dom credit for co-writing it, and Elijah credit for being his 1st Assistant Director.

They showed a 3-minute clip of the 12-minute ROTK preview that will be on the TTT DVD. Peter Jackson had taped a “hello” to everyone at ComiCon, and he was standing on a battlement next to Ian McKellen and Billy Boyd. Ian and Billy were in costume, and both looked like they were freezing to death (their breath was frosty as they spoke). Ian and Peter pushed Billy down on his knees between them so he’d look “a proper hobbit”, and every time he tried to wave or say something, they pushed him back down. Adorable.

S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S

I actually tried to write in the dark while staring at the screen when the ROTK preview came on, so my notes are pretty incoherent. It looks as if the battle of the Pelennor Fields is going to make Helm’s Deep look like a minor skirmish. They showed hundreds of Rohirrim horsemen, and Elvish archers, and all kinds of things being catapulted towards and over walls. There was a quick shot of an enormous oliphaunt, and lots of shots of Aragorn riding in front of a company of Men. The only dialogue I remember is Pippin asking Gandalf, “Is there any hope, Gandalf? For Frodo and Sam?” And Gandalf answering, “There never was much hope. Just a fool's hope.” There are a couple of very cute shots of Pippin with a dirty face, looking very angst-ridden, and one of Merry.

The main focus of the 3-minute clip was Frodo and Sam looking haggard and at the end of their strength (somewhere). Sean Astin’s voice came over to say, “Wait and see where Elijah goes with this role,” and Elijah Wood said, “What we see is the complete deterioration of Frodo, until he’s no longer Frodo.” He also said that he feels that ROTK is better than the first two movies, combined.

Back to ComiCon presentation:

When the clip was over, the presentation was over. Elijah bowed to the audience, and they all said thank you. I swear, what went through my head at that moment was, “And thank you… for changing my life.”

When I finally emerged from Room 20, after 50 more than 5 hours, I at last got to see the huge exhibit hall, where I wandered around in a daze looking at LOTR goodies that all wanted to come home with me. I was very restrained, and only bought two t-shirts (size M! Not XXL!) . One says “Don’t make me get my Ring”, and the other says:

I was…
Chased from my house,
Stabbed by a wraith,
Assaulted by a mutant octopus,
Speared by a troll,
Stalked by a creepy little man,
Drawn into a corpse-filled swamp,
Poisoned by a giant spider,
Rendered unconscious,
I even lost my Ring,
And all I got was this lousy t-shirt

Excellent.

Typing this took an hour, and I’m exhausted! Hope you enjoyed the report! And most of all,

I wish you all could have been there.

- End.

Comic Con Day 4 - Part 1
MrCere @ 4:13 am EST

SAN DIEGO - Like a locomotive, when Comic-Con builds up a head of steam, it is powerful, moving and even dangerous. Day Four of Con - when the lime-light of Hollywood shines south from Los Angeles to San Diego and movie studios crank up their promotional machines trying to bury their hooks into the largest single gathering of genre fans in the United States if not the world - is over.

I couldn't help but laugh at what professor J.R.R. Tolkien might have thought when fans rushed a stage with cameras in hand to catch a personal photo of Frodo (Elijah Wood) or Sam (Sean Astin) while Uruk-Hai, Elves and Rohanians crowd the space along with their make-up specialists. The day was a long one for Tolkien fans and fans of just about anybody else Hollywood related. Shannon Workman, a true TORnado, waited inline for the 2 p.m. New Line Cinema presentation starting about 10:30 a.m.. The craziness happened in Ballroom 20 of the spacious San Diego Convention Center which seats only about 5,000 people. While that number sounds impressive, the supply didn't come close to meeting the demand. Academy Award winning Halle Berry's panel opened the day at 10:30 a.m. for Warner Bros. forthcoming Gothika.

The convention opened its outside doors at 10 a.m. leaving the schedule-savvy fans to navigate a few hundred yards of hallway, a triple-tall escalator, an outdoor courtyard and finally another hallway to the doors of Ballroom 20. Needless to say, it was a mad rush further complicated by the rest of the day's schedule. Besides the Rings cadre of Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Dominic Monaghan, Elijah Wood, Sala Baker, Richard Taylor and the other genius' from WETA, super stars like Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale (more on her later), Angelina Jolie, Robert Englund, Scott Speedman and yes, a whole lot more were all in attendance. Each of these stars have mega-fans at Con and since it was obvious getting in the magical ballroom was going to be difficult, fans just waited all day. As two fans left a presentation, Warner's for instance, two more were let in. The folks inside had the option of staying all day, and some did.

As frantic as Rings fans were, Angelina Jolie seemed to draw the very most devotion and perhaps surprisingly, from females. One fan, given a shot at asking a question, told Jolie that she has waited outside starting at 2 a.m. in order not to miss the event. Other fans, and nobody is making this up, appeared at the TORn booth crying because of the long lines and being separated from their family.

Eventually, finally, at last, New Line Cinema took possession of the sacred hall. TORn, thanks to New Line, was able to position itself in a little reserved spot just off stage right in order to bring you, the fans images that are distinctly more than small figures on a big stage somewhere off in the distance. New Line wisely used the time to present its Fredy vs. Jason film with Englund chatting about his work. Their presentation was appreciated or admired by most but the excitement, and this is more than a cliche, was cranked up a notch when the stage was cleared and the Rings portion began.

Richard Taylor was handed the reigns and whipped the audience and the program into a full gallup immediately. He introduced his "boys" from the WETA shop including John Harvey, Daniel Falconer, Greg Tozer, Ben Harker and Bay Raitt. Each helped explain and demonstrate a specialization that they performed for WETA. Taylor also brought out the physically imposing Sala Baker dressed to the nines in his film-ready Uruk-Hai gear, looking suspiciously like the leader of the Helm's Deep charge who stood on a rock and urged his troops to attack. An armored elf was presented along with a Rider of Rohan and a quaint Hobbit, ready to tend to the vegetable garden.

Taylor and each of his crew the chance to explain how they worked on their particular subject. Taylor colored the crew's comments with his own, creating a lively dialog that gave the audience into the brilliant madness that is WETA workshops. If you haven't heard Taylor speak, indulge me as I attempt to explain. His speech is lazer focused as if it were memorized and recited with passion. He speak fast and furious but in a warm New Zealand accent. His passion shines through every phrase as he rattles off mind-blowing numbers and statistics that gives listeners an idea of the size of the Lord Of The Rings production. One believes he worked miracles on pre-production, on set and currently during post-production. Incidently, WETA is busy, busy, busy, running in some fashion 24/7 to complete "Return Of The King." Somebody just might give them an Oscar.

Taylor on Harvey's production sword by sitting on them: "John developed a really high-tech method to getting our swords nice and flat. With his technique he can produce 50 swords a day sitting on his ass."

Details were plentiful and while TORn recorded virtually every word if I try to deliver them all here, I may not get this report finished before Sunday starts.

The crew including an angry-looking Orc threw out some special t-shirts the audience and then brought out a jolly Dominic Monaghan to inspect the work on the Hobbit feet being applied on stage. He rated it a 7 on a 1-10 scale, danced a bit and welcomed Andy Serkis to the stage. Serkis has been lurking around Con signing for fans and generally being as warm as anybody invited to be a guest. He delved a "shut up precious" in his vile Gollum voice much to the delight of the audience and pipped in a Slinker vocal or two during the rest of the event. WETA played his first audition for the audience and explained that after decided to use Gollum his physical approach to the character forced them to scrap everything that had done. "How the %@#$ did I get the job?" he asked after seeing this initial performance. Monaghan also watched with keen interest, apparently having never seen the footage before.

They showed early prototypes of the creature and the few moments of "official" film in FOTR when the "old" Gollum begins following the Fellowship in the Mines of Moria.

Serkis explained the now familiar tale (to TORnados) about the phone call in 1999 that sparked his interest in the Gollum role and the three weeks it would require to accomplish. He remembered Gollum from reading the book in his younger years and before long Peter Jackson was in London explaining that the character would be CG, but that how it would be done was, as yet, unknown.

Serkis talked about his vocals of the character. "I carried the pain in my throat a bit like my three cats at home when they have furballs."

The stage's brightest stars were soon introduced as Wood and Astin were brought out to shrill screams of delight. The group discussed how the tech guys and the actors innovated and learned their movie-making techniques as they went along. The actors talked with Serkis about his work and Wood summed it up best: "Despite all of the technology, your performance on set is what made Gollum for me."

Astin remembered something else. "You ripped my wig off and it really hurt."

"Good," Serkis laughed back.

Serkis' physical fleshing out of the role changed the work of WETA and the look of the character entirely.

Astin talked about his film "The Long And Short Of It" which was received warmly by the knowledgeable fans. Flashes of the film were shown with bits of behind-the-scenes footage.

"The entire five minute short and the entire eight minute making of will be included on the (theatrical version of Two Towers) DVD," he said.

Jackson on Ian McKellen next appeared on screen. "Hello Comic-Con," PJ smiled from the filmed presentation. "I would love to be at Comic-Con but unfortunately we are too busy. We do have a three-minute preview of the twelve-minute preview of the three-hour film (Return Of The Kings)."

The preview rolled and most of it was spent talking about the giant size of the battles. Mark Ordesky from New Line appeared on the preview to tease the size of what is to come. "This will truly dwarf Helm's Deep. Helm's Deep was really just an opening skirmish." Ordesky explained that the battles are fought with question, "can we all buy Frodo a chance?"

Honestly TORnados, Ordesky's question was moving, hinting to me that this last Rings film might just be good. Then came a comment with Astin.

"We all know this is a classic battle of good and evil." Then Astin, either a good actor or very sincerely asked, "but at what cost will good win?" Honest, cynical reporter MrCere was moved and on the convention floor later more than one fan talked to me, unprompted, about how they felt real emotion at the same time.

Wood, on video, promised "the complete deteriation of Frodo."

Hopefully our pictures speak louder than words and our gallery should be full of TORn photos. Sean Astin will be on hand all day long Sunday at the "Showmasters" booth to sign for fans. I have tons more to relate about Day Four. AMAZING things happend and you will get a full report...soon.. Quickbeam passed along a fantastic Astin story that I still need to share. The TORn buttons have become a major collectors item, Woods and Monaghan played some video games and practically started a riot by playing the characters designed after them. I also have a whole separate report on some of the non-Tolkien brilliance that is available at Con, call it an essay if you will. Those are just the major points I still need to cover in our Day Four report. Stay tuned.

Hall Of Fire Chats This Weekend
Pippin_Took @ 8:25 am EST

The Tooks and the Brandybucks were the two most influential families in the Shire. Both families contained a strong Fallohide strain, a fact that might account for why they were more adventurous than most hobbits. Some would even claim great reknown in the far away realms of Rohan and Gondor.

The Brandybucks traced their descent from Gorhendad Oldbuck who moved to Buckland from the Marish and changed the family name. There the Brandybucks dwelt in Brandy Hall, an enormous Smial beneath Buck Hill. The head of the family was the undisputed Master of Buckland, ruling what was essentially a small country of its own on the border of the Shire.

The Tooks lived in the Tookland of the Westfarthing. The thainship was hereditary in the family and the Thain of Tookland was probably the most powerful hobbit in the Shire. We shall discuss the families, their roles in the Shire and the doings of some of the family members among which we find the most colorful personalities the little hobbit realm produced. Some became leaders, adventurours and even sailors. The most famous are of course Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took who most appropriately excelled in the War of the Ring.

Join us this weekend in #thehallofire as we explore the Took and Brandybuck families.

Upcoming Topics:
July 26-27: What fascinates you most about LoTR and Middle-earth?
August 2-3: RoTK, Book 6, Chapter 1: The Tower of Cirith Ungol.
August 9-10: Tolkien and Canon
August 16-17: Colours in Tolkien's World
August 23-24: RoTK, Book 6, Chapter 2: The Land of Shadow.

Times:

Saturday Chat:
5:30pm ET (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday (07:30) AET]

Sunday Chat:
7:00 pm (19:00) CET
[also 1:00pm (13:00) ET and 3:00am (03:00) Monday morning AET]

ET = Eastern Time, USA's East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
AET = Australian East Coast

Having trouble working out a time zone near you? Try this.

Do you have a possible topic for Hall of Fire? Drop us a line at halloffire@theonering.net. And don't forget that you can check out previous chats here.

Comic Con 2003 - Friday
MrCere @ 2:28 am EST

SAN DIEGO - It turns out Jay and Silent Bob are big Legolas and Gimli fans (See Today's Gallery). One of the joys of Comic Con is the load of pop culture icons peppered throughout the event. New Line brings Freddy Kruger sweaters for its booth workers and Warner Bros Pictures turns up with a fully dressed Terminator.

The real fun however are the fans. Along with the scads of Arwens and Legolai stomping around are characters from all corners of the fantasy universe. Obvious heros such as Captain America, Laura Croft, Indiana Jones, Neo and Batman are here but so are cultish icons such as Ash from the Evil Dead movies and Jack from 'The Nightmare before Christmas.' Plenty of the women/girls from Anime show up, all to celebrate the literature, movies, cartoons, comic books and all other potential media. The ghost hunters from Ghost Busters waited in line to meet Sala Baker (Sauron) while Batgirl was pushed by in her stroller. Soon (hopefully) we will post a collection of costume pictures that we gather in only a few minutes time.

Purple hair looks out of place here not because it is unusual but because it is toonormal. Muscled men walk around shirtless and women wear suits that would make bikini models blush. In short, Con is one big friendly freak show, and in the best way possible.

The Lord Of The Rings pavillion continued in its role as the center of Universe with fans at one point calling down the wrath of security because they were blocking the main walking-artery of the Con because of New Lines Two Towers footage. Organizers scrambled to keep the long lines of Sala's fans snaking around New Line's massive area organized and in control.

The TORn Day Three button, "What Are You Tolkien About" has become a rare collector's item because they are all gone. Tomorrow's "Gandalf For President" button is creating an actual buzz among LOTR fans and plans are being made to get to TORn early before the give away is given away.

The WETA crew milled around the Sideshow booth again talking with fans savvy enough to recognize the faces of Daniel Falconer and friends. As always the New Zealanders brought with them their friendly, accesable temperment and seem to truely appreciate those who marvel at their magic. Everybody, even non-LOTR fans, want to stop and gawk at Gollumn, Lurtz and the wraith and have their pictures taken. Sometimes this creates a laughable mixture of genres when Wonder Woman and Slinker meet. Sideshow unvailed its colored Gollum bust on a live web-camtransation. Tookish and Flinch spent time in Barliman's to lend live flavor to our constantly updating live web cam.

Ringers continued to film its Tolkien confessionals and speak with notable professionals from the film and artistic media. The private booth allows fans to be alone with the camera and really pour out their hearts about their deepest Tollkien feelings. Staffer Quickbeam was excited about the level of quality of fans' confessionals calling it "high octane."

The newly launched and updating website for the film continues to gather momentum and present updates. The site is currenlty naming a "fan of the day" each day from the constant steam of confessors from the gigantic pool of Comic-Con fans. Several luminaries have also been recorded including the young Boba Fett from Episode II, Daniel Logan. Check out the website by click here.

Andy Serkis was in the house today, and as always, was a complete gentleman and gave TORn a "Gollumn smile" that will be posted as soon as possible. He signed autographs for fans for hours and hours in a little corner of the convention hall which featured lengthy lines despite not being featured in the most central areas. New Line trotted out Crispen Glover (Willard, Back To The Future) to an almost paparattzi-like attack of cameras and autograph seekers. Security was warmly familiar with the LOTR pavillion before the day was half gone.

Another aspect of the TORn booth and LOTR fandom that is difficult to "report" since it isn't an event as much as an atomospheric condition, is the warm conversation and camradarie that exists between fans. The hardworking TORn staffers (no really, I promise) love to talk to website users and other Tolkien fans (yes, some of them have not YET discovered TORn) about the state of films, this histories of personal fandom and the fun of the convention.

On the gaming front, Sabertooth Games premiered their tradeable Lord Of The Rings miniatures game. It is a pre-painted game and it is lovely. Staffer Flinch will give full details in the days to come. Deciper as always is demonstrating its games and drawing busy crowd. Stay tuned for details. The gigantic day four lurks on the Horizon and a load of fantastic pictures will be posted...uh...soon.

Elves and Pirates in Switzerland
leo @ 5:57 am EST

Apart from all the ComicCon madness there are some other newstidbits to report. Eleanor dropped us a line to tell us about two upcoming events in Geneva, Switzerland.

I'd like to let people in and around Geneva, Switzerland, know about two movies at cinélac, a great open-air-cinema on the lakeshore of the lac Léman, where you can sit and watch fab movies on a big screen while admiring spectacular sunsets over the mountain-range and the illuminated city on the other side of the glittering lake!

They are showing "The Two Towers" on aug 6th at 9:30 pm, in the FRENCH version, though, and "Pirates of the Carribean" on aug 15th at 9:15 pm; that one being the english original version.

Their website is www.orangecinema.ch/en/geneva.htm (or just type www.cinelac.ch). Last year's show of Fellowship was great. And I assure you: if it's gonna rain, it's gonna be fun! :)

Elves and Pirates in Switzerland
leo @ 5:51 am EST

Apart from all the ComicCon madness there are some other newstidbits to report. Eleanor dropped us a line to tell us about two upcoming events in Geneva, Switzerland.

I'd like to let people in and around Geneva, Switzerland, know about two movies at cinélac, a great open-air-cinema on the lakeshore of the lac Léman, where you can sit and watch fab movies on a big screen while admiring spectacular sunsets over the mountain-range and the illuminated city on the other side of the glittering lake!

They are showing "The Two Towers" on aug 6th at 9:30 pm, in the FRENCH version, though, and "Pirates of the Carribean" on aug 15th at 9:15 pm; that one being the english original version.

Their website is www.orangecinema.ch/en/geneva.htm (or just type
www.cinelac.ch). Last year's show of Fellowship was great. And I assure you: if it's gonna rain, it's gonna be fun! :)

Thursday at Comic Con 2003
MrCere @ 1:07 am EST

SAN DIEGO - To goof just a little on a movie classic, "I love the smell of geek in the morning." Day Two of Comic Con 2003 was a intensification of Day One but with a lot more breathing room with a big dose of geek in the air. Instead of a three-hour tour of the convention, patrons could enter the great hall at 10 a.m. and stay on the main floor until 7 p.m..

With a solid number of Con attendees settled into the skyscraper-forest of downtown San Diego, many patrons of the pop-culture super event rubbed the fantasy dust from their eyes and trudged or shuttled down to the more than 400,000 square feet of convention floor space.

Yes, 400,000 square feet of wild and wooly buying, selling, wandering, head-turning displays and head-turning costumes from all conceivable genres. Naturally one can buy comic books but an almost unbelievable myriad of other items are everywhere including toys, posters, weapons, games, magazines, cards, photographs, music, lunch boxes, furniture, clothing and more uncommon items than you can shake a staff at.

As predicted, TORn ran out of its Day One and Two buttons and had to quit selling t-shirts temporarily because demand was much greater than supply. Copies of "The People's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien" moved briskly with our own Ostadan and Quickbeam on hand to personalize copies to happy fans who reveled in the atmosphere thick with all things geek. The film crew for "Ringers" continued to pack in fanatics to its "confessional" to record fans' passions for all things Tolkien.

Six WETA crew men, including the incomparable Richard Taylor, showed up early in the day fresh off a plane from New Zealand to deliver an amazing new display-only, life-size Gollumn statue to the Sideshow area (TORn's neighbor) before the floor opened. Sideshow's CEO Greg Anzalone was delighted to add Gollumn to the terrifying life-size collection which includes a cave-troll head, a mounted wraith and Lurtz.

According to Anzalone, Gollumn was the WETA crew's carry on luggage from all the way across the world and a few weeks ago it wasn't clear if Taylor would have time to create the display because apparently he is busy working on some movie about a king or something.

"That is how committed they are to making this (Comic-Con) a special experience for fans. This is the ultimate gathering of fans because it is a true cross section of fans of pop culture."

Taylor later did a signing in the New Line pavilion and on Day Three he will again be a part of New Line's main presentation at Con's 5,000 seat upstairs room. Last year of course WETA's almost legendary make-up demonstration and guest appearances by a couple of Hobbits and some big bad villains.

"This is the country's leading pop-culture show and it is an honor to be a part of it," Anzalone said.

"The Lord Of The Rings pavilion, made up of eight key companies (Sideshow, TORn, Houghton-Mifflin, New Line, The Noble Collection, Decipher, EA Games, Games Workshop) is great. Fans are having experiences with creators."

Fans were also having experiences with Gollum, getting their picture taken next to the life-like statue by the hundreds. TORn senior Tolkien fan Ostadan called it "the most impressive piece of Tolkien art that I have seen in 30 years of fandom."

Just upstairs from the millions of buyers marching up and down isles was a day full of presentations including a one hour TheOneRing.net panel. TORn gave away a fantastic "Orc Brute" statue made by Sideshow/Weta Collectibles along with several copies of the people's guide. Quickbeam, Tookish, Ostadan and Flinch entertained the crowd with a fan-led discussion which implemented the fans' own comments and questions which ranged from the future of TORn, to possibilities of a Hobbit movie, to the elvish language and potential submersive on-line games set in Tolkien's Middle-earth.

A fandom show-of-hands poll revealed that a few in the audience had never read Lord Of The Rings and glob of others had read the book because of the Peter Jackson movies. The youngest reader who had finished the work was 12 years old and the longest-time reader was a veteran since 1958.

Tomorrow there are no scheduled Lord of the Rings panels, but TORn is planning on selling more t-shirts and doing a few giveaways at the booth. Photos and another report to follow.

Comic Con 2003 - Day 1 Report
MrCere @ 3:04 pm EST

SAN DIEGO - On-line Tolkien fans already know that TheOneRing.net is the center of all things LOTR, but on Comic-Con 2003 Day One, that reality became literal instead of just figurative. Inside the giant expanse that is the Comic-Con's exhibit floor, the Lord of The Rings pavilion sits in the heart of it all. TORn has taken up residence in the middle of the middle, flanked by Sideshow Toys, New Line Cinema and EA Games.

Close neighbors include LOTR publisher Houghton-Mifflin, the Noble Collection's of LOTR themed products, Decipher and Games Workshop. This collection of Tolkien-loving floor space stands as one of the most brilliant, if not the best part of the garganutan (and that is not hyperboyle) event.

Wednesday night, titled preview night, is a chance for fans registered for all four days to canvas the exhibit floor and canvas they did. A significant number of fans made a bee line for the TORn booth to hob-nob with friends and snag one of three TORn buttons specially produced for the event. Wednesday and Thursday feature the green "TheOneRing.net is Hobbit forming" which fans gobbled up lightning fast, leaving only a handful for Thursday.

Also featured at TORn's booth are three t-shirts which also miraculously disappeared as Tolkien fans took advantage of the $15 preview night price. Most popular was the green shirt with the following on the back:
"I WAS...
chased from my house,
stabbed by a wraith,
assaulted by a mutant octopus,
speared by a troll,
stalked by a creepy little man,
drawn into a corpse-filled swamp,
poisoned by a giant spider,
rendered unconscious...
I even lost my RIng,
AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS
LOUSY T-SHIRT

New Line Cinema, promoting its elite DVD's, including LOTR of course, has a giant screen atop a faux-rock stand,flanked by Orthanc - as seen on the live web cam that updates from Con every 10 seconds. Many TORnados have stopped by with a cell phone to call friends and family at home and prompt them to logon to TheOneRing.net to catch a glimpse of them, smiling from Con. Meanwhile, the TORN staff watches "Austin Powers" highlights and moments from "Dumb and Dumberer" over and over and over - and this is but day one.

Also on playing at the TORn booth is "Sauron Speaks - Fat Beats From The Dark Tower," which is a independantly produced record from Morgan Phillips knows as DJ "Supergenius." Phillips produced the disc before he ever found TheOneRIng.net but while promoting his record he discovered TORn and its dominance of Tolkien fandom on-line.

He describes his compositions as "slightly abstracted electro rock" which is an hour blended from Bashki, Rankin-Bass, Led Zeppelin and other Tolkien themed music. Who will like it? Phillips things there is quite a list.

"...hard core fans, fans of art, hip hop, classic rock, epic fantasy...it is a spin on a whole genre."

Phillips has been a Tolkien fan since his childhood when his mother read the books to him. He is passionate about the books and for his taste, Jackson's movies depart too far from the source. His works are available at suckadelic.com.

Neighbor Sideshow has its famous display stone troll head-and-hands up with its fantastic collection on display including its new "Bronze Gandalf," a whole new level of spectacular by any standard. Thirty-six statues were made for the public but four of those were sold by early Thursday morning. Retailing at over $5,000, these amazing creations are sure to become legendary. We will post the image shortly but cover your ears, this is mind blowing. Sideshow trotted out a new life-size creation on Day Two to go along with its Day One Lurtz and Black Rider.

Day One was chaos and the friendly hoards descended on TORn's Rohanian tent. If you haven't made plans to be here, chide yourself, read and weep. If you are coming or haven't decided yet (Californians) turn off your computer now and get a move on. Time and traffic are your enemy. WETA is in the house.