At some point, I'm going to get busy and internet-enable my living room. The Cat 5e is already in the wall...I just have to figure out which wire in the rat's nest of wires in the basement is the right one. I have tried, but the way the electrician wired this house is strange. Seems like he wired it as a ring, which makes no sense, but that was the only conclusion I could draw. My first attempt at networking failed. Ultimately I will probably just get some more ethernet cable and run a dedicated line. With a basement, it's not all that difficult.

Honestly, and for what it's worth, heed my advice and forget about all those wires and associated headaches and go with a wireless network.

I have a desktop computer in my bedroom which is where my cable modem with built-in wireless router also sits. From there, and all wirelessly, I have net access to my Xbox 360, AV receiver, TV, BD player, laptop, and smartphone for myself and guests, all in the living room, and all without wires. Just be sure you have WPA or WPA2 encryption set up and you're good to go.

Unfortunately I'm just not a fan of wireless. I'm not convinced it's as stable and interruption-free as a wired network. And if there's anything I don't want, it's a hiccup while updating firmware. One glitch, and the component is bricked.

I'd highly recommend the WDTV http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-S ... 673&sr=8-1

It will play just about every file codec imaginable and you can hook it up to your network or just plug in a USB portable hard-drive and read straight from that. I have 1 and haven't found a file it won't read.

Sir Christopher Lee posts a video message in which he discusses what he's been up to lately, including about 3 minutes of discussion about The Hobbit, starting at about 6 minutes into the video.

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/12 ... ks-hobbit/

Sir Christopher says that he can only accept parts that require a few days of shooting, as he just doesn't have the energy any more. He stated he was shot for 4 days for the Hobbit. He also says he appears in both parts (of course, that's assuming he doesn't hit the cutting room floor, like he did in ROTK).

[quote=""Olorin""]He also says he appears in both parts (of course, that's assuming he doesn't hit the cutting room floor, like he did in ROTK).[/quote]

Bite your tongue!

The White Council scenes will be nothing without Saruman!!!

I'm generally not an emotional guy but, sitting here watching Sir Christopher, I found myself on the verge of tears when he stated that he hoped he would be alive to see the 2 parts of The Hobbit. I've been a huge fan of this awesome man since I saw him in "Horror of Dracula" (American title) in the early 60's (I was about 5 at the time). I've followed his career over all of these years and it'll be a blow when he passes.

A Happy and Healthy New Year to you, Christopher Lee!

Yes, and if for no other reason than that one alone, PJ would go down in infamy forever in my books if he cut the man's scenes from the movie when it may very well be his last appearance on the screen. I can't think of a greater disservice to Sir Lee, and I hope Jackson and Co. have more class than that.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Yes, and if for no other reason than that one alone, PJ would go down in infamy forever in my books if he cut the man's scenes from the movie when it may very well be his last appearance on the screen. I can't think of a greater disservice to Sir Lee, and I hope Jackson and Co. have more class than that. [/quote]

I dont think it will come to that. I do hope he is still alive to see the two films when they're released. I am looking forward to seeing him playing Saruman again.

I also had my first e xp erience of Christopher Lee by being scared to death by him in Horror of Dracula. Dracula is one of the most often played characters in movies and I think Christopher Lee's interpretation was the scariest. He projected such power, authority, and sheer evil, and he could do it with few words. In fact, in one of his earlier Dracula movies (I don't remember if it was Dracula, Prince of Darkness or Dracula Has Risen From the Grave), he had no dialogue at all!

I found it very poignant listening to him talk in this video. He speaks so slowly; I guess his thought processes are slowing down with age. However, he can still e xp ress himself, and he can still act, so full steam ahead! Like Shatner, he is probably keeping himself alive by staying active and staying working.

In any case, I really look forward to seeing him in The Hobbit. When LOTR casting announcements were starting to trickle out 10+ years ago (can you believe it?), he was one of the early ones and I thought, perfect choice for Saruman! He definitely did not disappoint! So it will be great to see him reprise the role. I'm also interested to see how Saruman is presented this time. Will he be good or will he be duplicitous? In the books, at the time of the White Council meetings, Saruman had already fallen in that he was already lusting for the Ring. He initially opposed action against Dol Guldur because he thought that the Ring, which had been lost not all that far from there, might reveal itself in response to the continued presence of Sauron. How will this be portrayed in the movie? And will Saruman be already under the sway of Sauron—will he have already taken that fateful look into the Palantir? Time will tell!

Sir Christopher mentioned in the clip that Saruman in LotR is NOT the Saruman in the Hobbit, in the Hobbit he was still Saruman the white, leader of the white council, just the he said it seemed to mean that Saruman was going to be a "good guy", but I could have interpreted his words wrong.

I hope he is alive until the movies come out, but he does look quite frail in the video.

It seems I remember something in the Appendices about Galadriel preferring Gandalf to head the Council, instead of Saruman. She was probably sensing something going on with Saruman even then.

That certainly is a very touching video.
While some people remain very vigorous at his age, I must say he looks good for a man approaching 90 & to do 5 films regardless of short bit parts or not, my hat is off to him.

I would hope he receives a lifetime achievement award from the Academy this year, he certainly deserves it, and made more films than most could ever hope to boast of. Not sure the actual number but I'm guessing close to 250. When divided by 70 years that more than 3 per year, which translates into working ALL the time every year for an actor.

He reminds me of Vincent Price, who did much the same. And it doesn't surprise me that Tim Burton picked him up for Dark Shadows, he did the same for Price in Edward Scissorhands.

On another note. He begins by mentioning the current state of our world; I would hope you younger members took note of that. Sir Lee has a lifetime to look back upon to compare his view to. I think he sees the precipice upon which the world stands. I pray the leaders (decision makers) of nations, factions, organizations, & businesses have a an epiphany in their thinking and recognize that benefiting the general populace needs to be part of their decisions.

Economics is not just counting wealth, economics is the people; WE ARE THE ECONOMY. In my life I've watched the bottom line rule to benefit the privileged (the haves) and forget about a simple formula, when people work they drive a strong economy. A person who has a job can spend money, those who don't have nothing to spend. When the focus is on stock markets and bottom lines instead of keeping people working, we get to look back on Time magazines person of the year for 2011- The Protester, and the chaos that so closely follows.

Forgive me, I step off my soap box once again.

God bless Sir Christopher Lee, may he live to see what he wants in his heart:
There and Back Again.

My first memory of Christopher Lee was in "The Man With the Golden Gun" and dearly hope he still has years to go. My old neighbor is 91 and he still gets around very well, and his mind is intact. My dad is over a decade younger and in far worse shape, so there's no telling with age. I think he has one of the finest voices to ever grace the air or screen. I listen to his reading of "The Children of Hurin" quite often, and played a sample to my students during one of my lectures. To the LotR fans in the class, the look on their face said it all, since they did not know of his audiobook.

It is quite sad, watching this. His attitude to hopefully make it to the film premiers is heart-breaking, but he's happy doing what he's doing. And that, for me, helps to make his age a lesser issue.

Thanks for the link! And a post Merry Christmas to all here, and a Happy New Year!

Cheers,

Guy

Very well said, Thrandy (You have a streak of eloquence in you, my friend )

And thanks for the heads-up, Legion, on the Audio book C-of-H with Lee reading it.
I had forgotten about that....think I'll buy it (even though I have the book, which, like the Sim I STILL have to read )

The great sword master. The list of actors trained by Bob Anderson would no doubt blow our minds. May he rest in peace.
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movie-swor ... 04485.html

[quote=""Thranduil""]The great sword master. The list of actors trained by Bob Anderson would no doubt blow our minds. May he rest in peace.
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movie-swor ... 04485.html[/quote]

Yeah, I saw that. Sad! RIP, Bob!

Nice to see that video of Christopher Lee. His part is going to be very small in the films, but it's great that he is returning as Sauruman. Radagast's part seems to be fairly large. I remember as a kid reading, and rereading the Hobbit, wondering what the hell Gandalf did that whole time he disappeared, then finding out what he did in the LOTR appendix and The Quest for Erabor in Lost Tales, and about Sauruman, Radagast and the White Council. I still find it hard to believe we are actually going to get to see that stuff on film.

After a bit of a pause in December we are back to work on Hobbit replicas. Just finished up drafting for the Orcrist and scabbard replicas. I like this sword more and more every time I handle it.

Agreed, such a moving video from Sir Christopher Lee.

Kit, thankyou for keeping us updated with these tantalizing bits of information! Time to start saving those bits of paper again to buy some Hobbit replicas. If its already been asked then I apologize, but if not, can you tell us anything about the plaques for the Hobbit replicas? What I'd really like to know is will they match the Lord of the Rings ones? Thanks again!

Thanks for stopping by, Kit.

More to the point with Jamie's question, folks here are speculating what form the Orcrist display plaque will take since the blade is so oddly shaped: will it be displayed horizontally, vertically, or as a tabletop stand like Hadhafang?

Inquiring minds want to know!

P.S. - Forgot to add the link for the thread where opinions about this are being put forth:http://www.ucforums.com/showthread.php? ... #post79916

P.P.S. - Kit, I moved your reply to the aforementioned thread as I felt it all subsquent replies will be more appropriate there.

Tantalizing new Hobbit picture:

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2012/01 ... -of-sting/

[quote=""Olorin""]Tantalizing new Hobbit picture:

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2012/01 ... -of-sting/[/quote]

Yes I saw that picture earlier. Makes me really excited! Not too long now

Very nice i hope that this film the hobbit is gonna be as beautiful as the other films before.
I can't hardly waith.

after everything we have been waiting for... we are 2 weeks into the year of the hobbit, no more "its coming out next year" its coming out THIS YEAR

11 months from now....

11 very long months of waiting. But the wait makes it so much better!

What's another 11 months there gon before you know it.

I'm dying for the movie to get here already! And then we'll have to wait a year again lol...

One question though... why is Sting different? There's no writing on the blade... it's not like Bilbo took it to the Elves and asked them to change it while he was in Rivendell.

[quote=""harristotle""]I'm dying for the movie to get here already! And then we'll have to wait a year again lol...

One question though... why is Sting different? There's no writing on the blade... it's not like Bilbo took it to the Elves and asked them to change it while he was in Rivendell.[/quote]
Some where in here is a more detailed answer, but for now; The inscription was added by Bilbo after he returned to Hobbiton.

[quote=""Thranduil""]Some where in here is a more detailed answer, but for now; The inscription was added by Bilbo after he returned to Hobbiton.[/quote]

Hmm... not a fan of that. Thanks though!

[quote=""harristotle""]Hmm... not a fan of that. Thanks though![/quote]

Why not? ........

[quote=""Aragorn""]Why not? ........[/quote]

I always liked the idea that the sword was untouched from it's condition at the fall of Gondolin. The idea that Bilbo would mess with something that had the history of Sting just doesn't sit right with me.

Well, if you think about it, why would a sword made in Gondolin say "Maegnas is my name, I am the spider's bane" on it? Especially considering that we all know Bilbo used it to kill spiders.

[quote=""Fingolfin""]Well, if you think about it, why would a sword made in Gondolin say "Maegnas is my name, I am the spider's bane" on it? Especially considering that we all know Bilbo used it to kill spiders.[/quote]

Weren't the mountains surrounding Gondolin infested with Ungoliant's offspring? That was how I always looked at it.

Frodo named the sword in The Hobbit, so it would not have had that type of inscription prior to TH.

It is presumed the inscription was added by the Elves when Bilbo was in Rivendell at the end of the Hobbit. All the tales of the quest were recounted there after the Battle of the Five Armies ended, and it seems natural the Elves, who forged the sword in the first place, would do this for Bilbo. I thought this would have been something Elrond had his people do for Bilbo, since he seemed to know the importance of the swords origin, and probably thought it fitting that a blade that survived Gondolin's destruction would be a special thing for this particular Hobbit to have.

[quote=""harristotle""]Weren't the mountains surrounding Gondolin infested with Ungoliant's offspring? That was how I always looked at it.[/quote]

No, this is not the case. The Crissaegrim were heavily watched by Thorondor's Eagles. Most of Ungoliant's brood fled south and east. Some went north to the Ered Gorgoroth, just south of Angand. Perhaps these are the mountains you are thinking of?

As Kit aptly described and others pointed out, Bilbo named the sword 'Sting' and had the runes added to it after his e xp erience in Mirkwood. When it was found in the Troll cave, it was simply a nameless Elven dagger. Only Glamdring and Orcrist were identified by Elrond as having names and a history.

[quote=""Valkrist""]No, this is not the case. The Crissaegrim were heavily watched by Thorondor's Eagles. Most of Ungoliant's brood fled south and east. Some went north to the Ered Gorgoroth, just south of Angand. Perhaps these are the mountains you are thinking of?

As Kit aptly described and others pointed out, Bilbo named the sword 'Sting' and had the runes added to it after his e xp erience in Mirkwood. When it was found in the Troll cave, it was simply a nameless Elven dagger. Only Glamdring and Orcrist were identified by Elrond as having names and a history.[/quote]

Yes, that's what I was thinking of.

I'm still not a fan of it, but it's not like that will ruin the whole movie for me lol. I would love to see them add the inscription to it in the 2nd one though, as Kit suggested. I would be shocked to see it in the theatrical release, but maybe in the extended edition?

[quote=""Nasnandos""]

It is presumed the inscription was added by the Elves when Bilbo was in Rivendell at the end of the Hobbit. All the tales of the quest were recounted there after the Battle of the Five Armies ended, and it seems natural the Elves, who forged the sword in the first place, would do this for Bilbo. I thought this would have been something Elrond had his people do for Bilbo, since he seemed to know the importance of the swords origin, and probably thought it fitting that a blade that survived Gondolin's destruction would be a special thing for this particular Hobbit to have. I have asked if we will get to see that inscription added in Rivendell in film 2[/quote]

That is what I had in mind.

It will also be a nice nod to the fact that elrond would subsequently commission the reforging of narsil and as we all know, that process also involved elvish inscription.

I suppose this suggest that it is part of elven culture to inscribe elven runes on notable weapons.

Overall I would say this little movie backstory fits in quite well with the middle earth lore.

Even though Anduril did not have elvish "cursive" as Tolkien wrote but the Runes traditionally used by the bloodline of kings (as well as dwarves.)

I don't recall at the moment if the runes added for the movie version of Anduril are canon or not, but they did have the Tengwar cursive carved into the pommel, so at least WETA did their best to put them in somewhere. On the blade, of course, we have the Cirth Angerthas, which is still elven, but also adopted by the dwarves.

Of course the inscription on the pommel is indeed the Tengwar, the Runes we just easier to carve "into metal and stone" as Tolkien states in the Index of ROTK. Hence, why the Dwarves liked it better than Tengwar.

Not the crossguard, but the pommel.

As I said, I don't know if this was a movie invention because Tolkien's description may have only mentioned runes on the blade itself, but the WETA prop and subsquent UC replica has both.

Edited dug *slaps forehead*

Here's a recent interview with PJ. He has some very encouraging things to say about how the Hobbit will compare to LOTR in terms of tone and so forth:

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2012/01 ... ings-link/

As I stated before, I am extremely glad that they are taking a slightly "darker" route to the movies. For sure, I know it will be more narrator based and fairy tale like, rather than the historical account of LOTR, but I am glad to hear that it won't be like the cartoon

But.. but... it IS nice in the valley...

[quote=""Valkrist""]But.. but... it IS nice in the valley... [/quote]

[quote=""Valkrist""]But.. but... it IS nice in the valley... [/quote]

Tra la la lally, they're filming down in the valley!

[quote=""Olorin""]Here's a recent interview with PJ. He has some very encouraging things to say about how the Hobbit will compare to LOTR in terms of tone and so forth:

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2012/01 ... ings-link/[/quote]

Finally watched it, I seriously might not make it till December...

It's going to seem like a LONG year, that's for sure.