Talk: "Tolkien & The Spirituality Of The Hobbit"

Through our contacts at the Roxy Cinema, I've been alerting to a Tolkien event happening next week.

On December 18 at 7:30pm, local vicar Dr Tim McKenzie will be delivering a talk on "Tolkien & The Spirituality Of The Hobbit" at the clubhouse of the Seatoun Bowling Club (16 Dundas Street, Seatoun).

 All are welcome - and the talk itself is free. The bar will be open for refreshments.

 I plan to attend, and will be driving through town to get there - let me know if anyone needs a lift.

Welly-moot Event: Wellington Premiere of Hobbit 3 BOTFA at Roxy

On December the 2nd, early in the morning, the Roxy will be hosting a special event and advanced screening of Hobbit 3 BOTFA for a select audience. The exclusive event, is Invitation Only, and the Welly-moot has been given a number of invitations to distribute amongst its members.

Those regular attendees of our meetings who were able to attend the event, as well as a number of other deserving Tolkien fans, have now been contacted, and your tickets should now be making their way to your door. If you haven't heard anything from the movie's distributors (Roadshow Ltd) by now, please get in touch with me as soon as possible!

I've been sent a press-release from the good folks at Roadshow Ltd, so rather than me retyping their event, here's the complete text from their memo.

---

MIRAMAR CELEBRATES THE FINAL FILM IN THE HOBBIT TRILOGY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, 25 November 2014 – Auckland, New Zealand

Gearing up for the release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Roxy Cinema in Miramar, Wellington will play host to a special celebration on December 2 (NZT), with an advanced screening of the film to an audience of fans, local cast and crew from film production with Sir Richard Taylor in attendance.

The Miramar event is part of a global celebration of the final journey to Middle-earth and will be linked via interactive satellite with the film’s London World Premiere, which will stream live before guests and VIPs prior to watching the highly anticipated finale of The Hobbit Trilogy.

Marking the end of an era, this special premiere event brings together the Wellington film community to celebrate all the hard work and inspiration that has gone into bringing the world of Middle-earth to life for The Hobbit Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy more than a decade ago.

“It’s truly fitting that the Wellington celebrations for the film will be held here in Miramar where it all began; as a phenomenal journey and era comes to an end,” said co-founder and co-director of WETA Workshop Sir Richard Taylor.   “The day marks a significant milestone in our career, and I am both excited and eager for what is next to come.”

Counting down to the New Zealand release of the film, New Zealanders can also enjoy a special 10-day projection presentation at The Roxy starting December 1.

The Hobbit Trilogy will be brought to life on the front of The Roxy building where a state-of-the art 10-15 minute projection show will play multiple times each night just after sunset.

“Ann and I are thrilled that our iconic, award winning cinema is playing host to such a significant and world-class event,” said Roxy co-owner Jamie Selkirk.

Showcasing the breathtaking special effects created by WETA Workshop and WETA Digital using sound and projection, the presentation follows the film’s characters and creatures on their adventures through the first two films leading up to the release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Sir Richard Taylor also endorsed the projections. “I hope visitors to The Roxy are inspired, and enjoy their time in the heart of the film making capital, Wellington,” he added.

The incentive is supported by Weta Workshop, Weta Digital, Wellington City Council, Wellington Airport, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, New Line Cinema and The Roxy.

The film, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro Goldwyn-Meyer Pictures (MGM), is the third and final film in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy and releases across New Zealand cinemas on December 11.

New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Present a Wingnut Films Production, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.”  As with the first two films in the Trilogy, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the final film is a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), with New Line managing production.   Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM. 

Ends

---

 

Hobbit 3 BOTFA Release - Wellington Events

NB: This page will no longer be updated - check our new Calendar page instead.

---

Like last year, I've been collecting details about events planned around the opening of the final installment of The Hobbit movies.

Also: if you HAVE extra information on these, or other events, please let me know!

• Update 1 (26/11/2014) : December 2 Premier event at the Roxy added.
• Update 2 (26/11/2014) : March 7 official opening of Rivendell Archway updated.
• Update 3 (26/11/2014) : December 2 Ian Brodie Exhibition and Book Signing event at the Roxy added.

---

Hobbit 3 Release, Wellington Calendar
(last updated November 26, 2014)

November 14, 2014

• Embassy Theatre tickets go on sale for the Hobbit 3 midnight session. Full details on their facebook page.

 

November 30, 2014

• Last date for entries in the Stansborough Prizedraw for an authentic Gandalf Hat!

 

December 2, 2014

• Wellington Premiere for Hobbit 3 BOTFA at the Roxy Cinema, starting at 6:30am (early morning!), breakfast at 7:00am, and an early showing of Hobbit 3 BOTFA for a lucky audience. Event is Invite Only, and invites have been sent out already.

 

December 2, 2014

• In the evening of the same day as the Premiere, Best-selling New Zealand author ("LOTR location Guidebook", "Hobbit Location Guidebook") Ian Brodie will be opening his new exhibition of photography at the Roxy Cinema, starting at 07:00pm. He will give a talk, and will be available to sign books as well. Time to bring in your LOTR guidebook, and buy the new Hobbit guidebook (which mentions the Welly-moot!)... 

 

December 5-6, 2014

• Caburlesque Middle-earth Madness, R18-rated Cabaret Burlesque show at the Fringe Bar, tickets from $20. Their 2012 show Bare and Back again was a real treat - don't miss this event! It's a small venue, so get tickets ASAP!

 

December 10, 2014

• Red Carpet Hobbit Fan Party, at the Roxy Cinema, from 9:00pm to midnight. Tickets are $265. Special guests are California Dreamers William Kircher's (Bifur) band. No door sales, prebooked tickets only.

 

December 11, 2014 - 12:01am midnight

• First showing of The Hobbit 3 BOTFA at the Embassy Theatre

 

December 28, 2014

• Last Welly-moot meeting of 2014, venue to be decided. More details will be posted on this blog later.

 

7 March, 2015

• Official opening of the Rivendell Archway. More details will be released in the coming month.

Welly-moot #3.5 report (from October 26)

Another two months, and another meeting has been held, once again at the Roxy Cinema in Wellington's Miramar suburb. It was well attended, we ended up having to shift to another part of the building to accommodate everyone, and then bring in more seats as well, so that was good.

Jack and Alex opened the meeting, and there were introductions all round. Jack had some updates also on other business.

• The Rivendell Archway is now completed, at the Kaitoke Regional Park in the filming locations, exactly where the original stood. All the building work has been completed, and the paint has been applied. Only two things remain - we are waiting for the end of summer so we can apply a layer of weather-dependent artificial yogurt-mould, and in the next three months we're expecting an official opening ceremony from the Wellington Great Regional Council. Jack will update the group when this takes place.

• The Hobbit 3 - The Battle Of The Five Armies will open early in December for general release, the exact date will probably be December 11th or thereabouts. The World-Premiere red carpet event will be held in London, as expected. A few functions have already been announced; a (more) complete list will be posted later.

• Welly-mooter Emily (aka 'Sadie von Scrumtious') has announced that there will be another Middle-earth themed Burlesque Cabaret to celebrate the last Hobbit movie. The event will be held in Wellington at The Fringe Bar on December 5th and 6th (Friday and Saturday). Both nights will feature a costume competition for the audience, so prepare to get involved! The event has an R18 rating (for adult themed naughtiness!), and tickets will be around $25. I'll post more details on our facebook page at a later date.

• Welly-mooter Kumiko has won the Student Prize at the end of her three year Weltec course’s Graduation Exhibition, to loud applause from her peers and the rest of the audience. Well done Kumi!

• The Stansborough Prizedraw is in full swing, so if you want to win a full-sized Gandalf Hat, make sure you're in to win!

• Sir Peter Jackson's Hobbit Fan Competition has finished, and the winners selected - of the 150 biggest fans around the world, three of them are Welly-mooters! Ash and Cinnamon managed to snag a seat to New Zealand (ok, not far to fly!), and on the names list, I noticed that Nicolas Gonzalez, formerly of Milford Sound but recently returned to Spain, is also returning to Middle-earth. Well done, all of you, and also to all those who tried and weren't successful. On the Welly-moot facebook page we'll be following their adventures through screenshots taken from the New Zealand 100% Pure YouTube videos. Follow us there!

Theme: Hobbit 3 BOFTA - What's The Story?

Finally, we got around to the theme of the day - what will be in the final Hobbit installment. Peter Jackson's last Hobbit film will includes plenty of sword-clashing and arrow-flying action for your dollar, but there’s also a lot of story materials. We spent a large part of the afternoon covering these points (and more!)

• Smaug, having left his treasure-filled nest, will wreak havoc on Laketown
• Thorin has yet to actually retake the Lonely Mountain for his people
• Bard’s quest for redemption needs closure
• Four Dwarves have been left in Laketown (Kili, Fili, Bofur & Ori) – what will their roles be in Laketown?
• The relationship between Tauriel and Kili
• Amidala will get pregnant with twins, while Anakin will turn to the dark side
• The movie needs to carve out screen-time for Bilbo (Martin Freeman), so that his story may actually be brought to a proper concluding point; after all, he's the main link between Hobbit and LOTR
• Setting up other developments that transpire in the Lord of the Rings films

Other points:

• According to the predicted synopsis posted on TheOneRing.net, Thorin will get obsessed with the treasure in the mountain and will refuse to share it --- remember that Thorin's grandfather grew mad with his obsession with gold in the previous movies
• Smaug is not the only danger faced by the Dwarves. The Necromancer has sent legions of Orcs to attack the Lonely Mountain. In the second movie Gandalf was the amongst the first to discover the Necromancer's return in Dol Guldur. He also witnessed the march of his armies.
• A difficult question in Hobbit 3 is posed to all the races in Middle-earth. Elves, Dwarves and Men will have to decide whether they will stand together against the forces of Sauron or die fighting between themselves. So far, there appears to be no good relationships among them.

On a related note, two days before the meeting, a number of leaked photos were posted to TheOneRing.net, probably from the new Brian Sibley "Making of Hobbit 3" book due out in the next month or so. The photos were pulled from the site within 24 hours, but one of the mooters managed to take copies before they were removed. After checking with everyone if potential spoilers would be acceptable, they were shown briefly. If anything, they just made us want to watch the movie even more! And no, they won't be posted here.  
[I will give one detail though - ominously, a pre-battle Thorin appears to be wearing a RED SHIRT. Not good. Just sayin'.]

All too soon, it was time to pack up again. By the time of the next moot, we will (hopefully!) all have seen the movie, and we will no doubt have a lot of new information to digest!

As seems to have become a Welly-moot tradition, Jack & Alex are planning on having another post-christmas moot/party at their house, but full details will be announced in due time.

Headsup: Welly-moot #3.5 is tomorrow! (2:00pm at the Roxy on 26/10)

Just an advance warning for anyone interested in joining the NZ Tolkien group tomorrow. Our meeting will take place this Sunday 26th of October, at the Roxy Cinema, at 2:00pm.

The theme for the meeting is the next (and last!) Hobbit movie. What do we think will be in it, and what will the difference be between the last movie and the last part of the book.

Also - the second Hobbit movie has just been released in its Extended format - has anyone had a chance to see it yet? Come talk to us about it!


Come and speculate with us! Everyone is welcome, entry is free, and you will be a member for life after attending just one meeting!


  - Jack

Stansborough competition!

Last week I was speaking to the good folk of Stansborough Textiles, who made all the beautiful material for the Middle-earth movies (amongst other many things!). Welly-moot visited them last year, and we got to see the ancient looms making "actual" Elven fabric.

www.stansborough.co.nz

Cheryl from Stansborough showed me the new products which will be released for the final Hobbit movie (The Battle Of The Five Armies), notably a new set of fingerless Gandalf gloves - very nice!

Gandalf's gloves - same design, same wool, same sheep. Now also for mortals.

So, we talked for a while, and we thought it might be nice to get these in (on?) people's hands before Christmas 2014.

For an extra incentive, with every purchase you will go into the draw for one fullsized Hat of Gandalf the Grey (a value of nz$320). The Gandalf hat is fully licensed, and authentic down to the last detail, including the patches on top.

Alex the Grey

How do you get into the draw? You get one entry into the draw if you buy any of the following products:

• a set of Gandalf's new fingerless gloves (1x entry)
• the super-cute Gandalf Mini-Hat (1x entry)
• the magical Gandalf Scarf (2x entries!)

 

Buy any of these, and go into the draw to win the world's coolest hat!

To qualify, purchase them straight off their website before the end of November 30, 2014. In the order form "comments" field, make sure you type "Welly-moot".

All prices on the site are in New Zealand Dollars, and world-wide shipping is free, so that's all good!


NB - this draw is open to everyone, you do NOT have to belong to our group (yet). It won't hurt though, and we have a meeting on October 26th, if anyone's interested in joining. :)

Two weeks till Welly-moot #3.5 (October 26th)

The next Welly-moot will be held in two weeks, at the Roxy Cinema as usual. Originally we had hoped to be present at the opening of the new Archway in Rivendell, but it looks like that's still going to be some time away. More on that as I get more information.


The discussion for the meeting will be focussed on the third and last installment of The Hobbit - The Battle of the Five Armies. Specifically will predict the things that WILL be in the movie, things that MIGHT be in the movie, things that SHOULD be in the movie, and things that may hopefully MAKE it into the extended version.

This will be the very last Welly-moot meeting before a related Peter Jackson movie comes out, so I can't think of a better discussion! I'm guessing the followup of this could be the next meeting - what DIDN'T make it into the movie (December moot?) :)


So, everyone, please watch the two previous Hobbit movies one more time, read the last parts of The Hobbit book once more, and come to the meeting with a shopping list of how your version of the script would go.

Venue: The Roxy Cinema, upstairs by the windows

Time: 2:00pm

Date: October 26th, 2014