Hugo Weaving to play Elrond again

Monsters and Critics reports that Hugo Weaving will reprise his role as Elrond in the upcoming “Hobbit” movies, joining Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis as cast members from the Peter Jackson “Lord of the Rings” movies who are slated to appear in Guillermo del Toro’s “Hobbit” movies.

Okay, Geeks of Doom covered the story first, but I just like the name “Monsters and Critics”. Geeks of Doom noticed that 8 months’ work has already elapsed on creating the dragon Smaug.

I wish I had more to report but that’s really all I know about the story at this time.

Elrond, of course, is a minor character in the book but I can imagine he has a larger role to play in the movies since some of the background material will be fleshed out. For example, we should expect to see Elrond in any White Council segments since he was supposedly a member of the council (according to Tolkien, who should know). Will Cate Blanchett be asked to reprise her role as Galadriel, I wonder?

Smaug should be more interesting than the Balrog of Moria was in Peter Jackson’s movies because, frankly, the Balrog just sort of came and went (as in the book). Smaug is a more substantial player in the Hobbit tale.

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SF-Fandom is a fan-run moderated Web discussion community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. Founded in 2001, SF-Fandom is part of the Xenite.Org Network of science fiction and fantasy Web sites.

Pennsylvania Hobbit Festival seeks volunteers for June 13 event

I love writing about and promoting local community events that have a connection to J.R.R. Tolkien. And if you have been following the Hobbit News newsletter then you may recall I mentioned this festival in the January 25, 2009 issue of Hobbit News.

It’s a community event but on June 13, the Woodland Hobbit and Fairy Festival will be held at the Hemlock Springs Historic Crafts & Cultural Arts Center, 72 Mitcheltree Hollow Road, in Keating Summit, PA.

I noticed that this news story suggests that volunteers are still needed for the event. Of course, that’s a subscription news site so you won’t be able to read the full article for two weeks. Not very helpful, in my opinion.

Anyway, if you live in the Keating area and think you could help with the Festival, you should check out their Web site.

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SF-Fandom is a fan-run moderated Web discussion community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. Founded in 2001, SF-Fandom is part of the Xenite.Org Network of science fiction and fantasy Web sites.

New Hobbit News issue published

The latest Hobbit News newsletter includes a couple of stories about Hobbit housing. A family in Wales has built a little hobbit house in the woods and a park in New Zealand has opened a hobbit hotel.

Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien enjoy reading minutiae about how Tolkien is changing the world one Hobbit hole at a time.

Issue ten (10) was published on May 25, 2009 (Memorial Day).

BTW — Middle-earth Talk Radio remains on hiatus for another couple of weeks due to heavy schedules.

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SF-Fandom is a fan-run moderated Web discussion community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. Founded in 2001, SF-Fandom is part of the Xenite.Org Network of science fiction and fantasy Web sites.