Desolation of Smaug Poster!

Finally! Some updates! The trailer is coming this week, and here, for your viewing pleasure, is the first poster for the Desolation of Smaug:

I'm officially getting excited . . . only slightly more than 150 days to go!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug––What Do We Know So Far?

Well, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has come and gone. It was awesome, and now we'll all have to wait a few more months until it comes out on Blu-Ray (or longer if you're like me, since I definitely fall under the 'strapped for cash' category and will by saving my pennies for the Extended Edition coming out towards the end of the year) before we'll be able to see it again. Luckily, there's another whole movie coming out in just ten short months! So there is plenty of speculating, theorizing and geeking out ahead of us.

So, I thought I'd round up all the hints of The Desolation of Smaug we've already been given, and remind myself of all of the awesomeness that the next installment of The Hobbit has in store for us. Jump past the break for a quick refresher of all that awaits our hero, Mr. Baggins:

Incoming: The Desolation of Smaug

So . . . this has been floating around the interwebs for weeks now, but seeing as how I've been out o' the country for a while, I thought I'd better jump back into the whole blog thing ASAP. So . . . here goes.

BILBO IN THE FREAKING LONELY MOUNTAIN! SCRAMBLING THROUGH A PILE OF GOLD!

Awesome . . .

More posts coming soon . . . I promise.

The town of Dale

The super-sleuths at the German Lord of the Rings movies fan-site Herr Der Ringe Film have released the first ever photos of the town of Dale! For those of you who might not remember, Dale is the town of Men that was nestled at the foot of the Lonely Mountain. Thorin describes it to Bilbo near the start of the Hobbit:

Anyway they grew immensely rich and famous, and my grandfather was King under the Mountain again and treated with great reverence by the mortal men, who lived to the South, and were gradually spreading up the Running River as far as the valley overshadowed by the Mountain. They built the merry town of Dale there in those days.

––The Hobbit; Ch. 1: An Unexpected Party

 Sadly, Dale was destroyed by Smaug . . . and by the time Bilbo and his crew reach the Lonely Mountain, nothing remains of the once merry town but ruins.

HDRF asked that their images not be posted on other sites (sorry . . .) so I'll just give you the link to the pictures. As a quick note: the buildings all look to be in good condition, so I wonder if what we're seeing is Dale before the arrival of Smaug . . . and that just makes me wonder what the place will look like when Bilbo and the dwarves finally arrive.

For those of you who don't read German, here are the translated photo captions (courtesy of theonering.net):

• Structure of the set of Dale.
• The red roof tiles seem almost mediterranean.
• Archways, doors and arched windows in Romanesque style.
• Dale extends over several levels.
• The set is supported by shipping containers.
• Is this perhaps one of the bell towers of the town?
• The unfinished battlements of Dale.
• Plywood is the preferred building material on set.
• A set bridge or access way is built.
• A finished piece of wall with round battlements.
• The set of Dale.
• In this view one can clearly see the different levels.
• Back view of Dale and the bridge.
• A Dale building and a staircase in the building.

Fridays at the Mathom-House: Anke Eissmann

The Mathom-house it was called; for anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away, they called a ‘mathom’.

–The Fellowship of the Ring; Prologue 

Seven days done and now it's time for a batch of amazing Tolkien art. Yes, good reader, it's that time again: Fridays at the Mathom-house. This week we'll be showcasing the art of Anke Eissmann, who's website has an awesome section dedicated to her Tolkien art. Anke's art caught my eye because of her use of traditional mediums like watercolor and pen-and-ink, instead of the digital art you see everywhere nowadays. In fact, her watercolor paintings remind a lot of Tolkien's own watercolors. So, limber up your scroller-finger and sit back to enjoy some great Hobbit art:

Durin's Day

History of the Dwarves: Update

So, thanks to my tech-savvy wife, I've fixed the issue with the dwarf infographic. You can now access it by clicking on the image below, which has a link to the full-resolution image. Enjoy!

Fridays at the Mathom-House: Justin Gerard

The Mathom-house it was called; for anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away, they called a ‘mathom’.

–The Fellowship of the Ring; Prologue 

After too long a break, it's Mathom-time again! Friday is here, freedom is near . . . and I've stumbled upon what might just be my favorite Tolkien artist of all time. Here for your enjoyment is the fantastic work of Justin Gerard. He maintains several great websites, all of which can be found through the previous link; but, his blog is a particular treat, since the artist goes into detail explaining the process behind his artwork. Enjoy:

A History of the Dwarves (in color!)

So, a big apology for being so derelict in my blogging. School finally caught up with me and started kicking me in the butt, so I've been focusing on that for the past few weeks. Luckily, my responsible side took over during a time when not too much was going on on the Hobbit Movie front . . . now, I know some people who are more interested in casting and actors might disagree, but as I have next to no interest in that aspect of the movies, I don't feel too bad.

Anyways, even though I haven't been posting, I have been busy working on a little something . . . a map! I've always loved maps, and I am also a huge fan of infographics, so I thought I'd try my hand at combining the two.

So, here for your enjoyment is an infographic detailing the history and travels of the dwarves from the beginning of the First Age down to Mr. Baggin's adventures with Thorin & Co. I'm pleased with how the map turned out, but keep in mind this is my first shot at this sort of thing . . . hopefully I'll improve as time goes on.

The image below is just a crop from the whole map, which can be found and downloaded by clicking on the image:

P.S. The map is pretty detailed, so you'll have to zoom in and scroll around to get the full effect.

Later!

The Strange History of Thror's Key

"Also," went on Gandalf, "I forgot to mention that with the map went a key, a small and curious key. Here it is!" he said, and handed to Thorin a key with a long barrel and intricate wards, made of silver. "Keep it safe!"

––The Hobbit; Ch. 1: An Unexpected Party; p29

It's easy to forget that in the beginning, the quest to the Lonely Mountain depended entirely on a single key and a secret door that the Dragon didn't know about. In fact, without the key, Bilbo wouldn't have been able to get into the mountain, Smaug never would have been ticked off enough by the little hobbit to fly out and attack Lake Town, and Bard the Bowman wouldn't have had the chance to shoot him (did I mention that there would be spoilers?).

So what is this all important key, and where did it come from? That, good reader, is what we'll be talking about today.

The quote above describes the moment when Gandalf first produces the key and gives it to Thorin (who, as usual, is the picture of gratitude). Along with the key came a map, a copy of which is posted right after the break: