Brian Cox for the Fall of Arthur!

… or “Whatever happened to ‘The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún’ audiobook?”

I confess that I have yet to acquire an audiobook for any of the Tolkien books currently available.

Cinematic Middle-earth Syndrome

– or the CMeS issue …

It’s a quiet Saturday evening and instead of heading out, you decide to stay in and watch a good film.

Admit it. We’ve all been there; me, more often than most people. 🙂

Expect ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ this December … plus, DOS EE!

Peter Jackson announces Hobbit 3’s altered title

Forget The Hobbit: Into the Fire; the third film will be renamed The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – states Peter Jackson on his Facebook page, here.

In the mind-blowing statement, Jackson discusses how he and his team arrived at such a significant alteration:

Púkel man spotted in the High Fells!

This is strictly non-canon but I’m going to throw it out there and receive your feedback …

You may have already noticed, upon prior viewings of The Desolation of Smaug, that in the High Fells scene (after Radagast and Gandalf emerge out of the tombs), we get a shot of a very familiar statue – a Púkel man.

The Hobbit: Into the Fire?

Yesterday, fan site theonering.net posted an article detailing how New Line Cinema has registered another name for The Hobbit franchise, possibly hinting at a change of titles.

The Hobbit: Into the Fire instead of The Hobbit: There and Back Again?

Experiencing the Music of the Ainur

– Comprehending and Conceptualizing the Ainulindalë in the real world

Ever read Dante Alighieri’s La Vita Nuova?

Which Two Towers?

A question perhaps not as common as Who is Tom Bombadil? or Do Balrogs have wings?, is the equally-ambiguous issue of which Two Towers give their name to the second volume of The Lord of the Rings.

From a book perspective I never found myself asking this question, since the answer seemed to present itself clearly – even though in contradiction with what the films have offered us.

The Desolation of Smaug is upon us!

– Well, not literally – but at least, in Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD

I’ve personally been longing for this release since I saw the film back in December.

When Fili became Kili … The Heirs of Durin Riddle

It seems Kili is determined to take over …

Not only did we get two Hobbit films concentrating on just one brother’s character – leaving poor Fili mostly out of the story – but he’s also been given his sibling’s own place at a certain moment in An Unexpected Journey.

Confused?

Let me explain …

There and Back Again: The Shortest Middle-earth film?

Perhaps the most intriguing point Richard Armitage made in a recent interview during the Empire Awards ceremony last week, was that the third film will most likely be shorter than the rest.

A shocking statement for some, no doubt!

I was taken aback as well by this comment; but after a while I tried to consider the reasons for this – if it turns out to be true.