SONG OF THE LONELY MOUNTAIN by Neil Finn

Neil Mullane Finn is a New Zealand recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz and is now frontman for Crowded House. He has also recorded several successful solo albums and assembled diverse musicians for the 7 Worlds Collide projects.

In 2012, Neil recorded the track "Song of the Lonely Mountain", which was featured in the end credits of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

You can listen to it here courtesy of Rolling Stone.  There is a six minute version on the Extended edition of the soundtrack.  Neil Finn was right.  Pop music does need more anvil. [Update: Just an FYI, those two extra minutes are instrumental only. Bummer.]

I’m not really emotional when it comes to music, but this one is digging through my defenses in a big way.  It is well-balanced between soaring and down to earth (the sound of hammer on anvil is practically a requirement for dwarven themed music, and they don’t scrimp on it here), and the whole song has a deep, slow moving determination to it.  But I’ll leave it to more musically inclined folk to explain why it’s awesome on a technical level.  I just know that if I heard it in a context unrelated to The Hobbit I would still enjoy it.

It seems Bilbo is going to have to wait to get his own theme song, because this one is 100% from the dwarf point of view.  I’m most enamored of the inclusion of a whole lot of bitterness in the lyrics.  It does not shy away from the theme of retribution (it just makes it sound strangely soothing). So here are the lyrics... just for you! Feel free to comment!

“Song of the Lonely Mountain” by Neil Finn

Far over the Misty Mountains rise

Leave us standing upon the heights

What was before, we see once more

Our kingdom a distant light

Fiery mountain beneath the moon

The words unspoken, we’ll be there soon

For home a song that echoes on

And all who find us will know the tune

Some folk we never forget

Some kind we never forgive

Haven’t seen the back of us yet

We’ll fight as long as we live

All eyes on the hidden door

To the Lonely Mountain borne

We’ll ride in the gathering storm

Until we get our long-forgotten gold

We lay under the Misty Mountains cold

In slumbers deep and dreams of gold

We must awake, our lives to make

And in the darkness a torch we hold

From long ago when lanterns burned

Till this day our hearts have yearned

Her fate unknown the Arkenstone

What was stolen must be returned

We must awake and make the day

To find a song for heart and soul

Some folk we never forget

Some kind we never forgive

Haven’t seen the end of it yet

We’ll fight as long as we live

All eyes on the hidden door

To the Lonely Mountain borne

We’ll ride in the gathering storm

Until we get our long-forgotten gold

Far away from Misty Mountains cold.

Fake DVD cover of ‘Hobbit’ making the net rounds?

A fake DVD cover for Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey?

A cover for the DVD and Blu-ray version of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” has been making the rounds on the net. The design, as you can see, features Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins as the most prominent figure with Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield close behind. The other dwarves sneak into the image but not prominently.

It is possible this image was leaked from the studios involved but it seems unlikely and this image isn’t a powerful “buy me” image from the movie. No word from any official channels has surfaced to say this is or isn’t fake so we advise not accepting it as the gospel truth at this point.

Happy Birthday FRODO!!!

Born on January 28, 1981, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Elijah Wood began acting as a child, with roles in the films Back to the Future II, Paradise and The Good Son. He was later cast as the hobbit Frodo in the blockbuster The Lord of the Rings film series (2001-03), and then returned to play the character for The Hobbit trilogy (2012-14). Wood's eclectic film and TV career also includes Sin City, Everything Is Illuminated,Happy Feet and Wilfred.

Hobbit fans pissed by lack of Oscar nominations!!!

Peter Jackson's highly anticipated The Hobbit has failed to grab any of the major Oscar nominations, angering faithful fans and continuing an Oscar trend of favoring drama over fantasy film.

The Hobbit received three nominations for best production design, visual effects and makeup and hairstyling but was sidelined in the best picture, best director or any of the leading actor categories.

Jeremic Likens Kosovars to 'Hobbit's' Evil Orcs

Vuk Jeremic, Serbian president of the UN General Assembly, says Kosovo Albanians remind him of the evil orcs in Tolkien's 'Hobbit', while the valiant dwarves, striving to regain their stolen land, are just like the Serbs.

The Serbian president of the UN General Assembly has suggested on Twitter that the blockbuster movie, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", holds important lessons for who is wrong and right in the issue of Kosovo.

TOLKIEN’S INSPIRING TOWER IN NEED OF RESTORATION

When J.R.R. Tolkien was a boy growing up in Birmingham, he would have passed the 18^th century tower called Perrot’s Folly on his way to and from school. Along with other Birmingham landmarks like Sarehole Mill and Moseley Bog, it’s thought to have been an inspiration to the young author.

Unfortunately, over the years, the iconic tower has fallen into disrepair. According to 24dash.com, “the dilapidated tower is a Grade II listed building and is on the national Buildings at Risk register.” The Trident Reach the People Charity, who manage the site, estimate that £1 million would be needed to restore the tower for use as a center for young artists and art exhibitions.

Hobbiton: A home fit for a Hobbit

A quiet valley in the middle of the Waikato isn't the first place you'd think to find the perfect union of art and nature; but then, life is full of unexpected events. Just ask Bilbo.

A 40-minute drive from Matamata's new Hobbit-themed i-Site is a world-first: a permanent movie set open to the public. This is the location of Hobbiton, the village featured in first the Lord of the Rings movies and now The Hobbit trilogy.

'Hobbit' up for 3 Golden Reel Awards

The Motion Picture Sound Editors Guild announced its nominations for its 2013 Golden Reel awards with “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” nominated in these three categories:

-  Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects and Foley in a Feature Film.

-  Best Sound Editing: Dialogue and ADR in a Feature Film

-  Best Sound Editing: Music in a Feature Film

Several films are competing against TH:AUJ in these categories, including “Argo” “Life of Pi” “Lincoln” and “Skyfall”.

For a full list of nominations that include animated films you can click right here.

Hobbit in numbers...

A infographic with a bunch of fun facts from the making of the Hobbit movie. Did you know 4 tons of silicon was used just for the facial prosthetics!

14 INTERESTING FACTS about The Hobbit...

Warning. Things are about to get a little nerdy up in here. It's almost time to shrink a few feet and journey to Middle Earth with Bilbo 'n his pals. Before we get packed, let's broaden our knowledge of all things The Hobbit with some interesting/useless bits of info to make sure we're well equipped should we come in contact with any goblins/ghost-like wargs on our trip.

THE BOOKS, WITH THE

Short Description: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a genuine masterpiece. The most widely read and influential fantasy epic of all time, it is also quite simply one of the most memorable and beloved tales ever told.

Originally published in 1954, The Lord of the Rings set the framework upon which all epic/quest fantasy since has been built. Through the urgings of the enigmatic wizard Gandalf, young hobbit Frodo Baggins embarks on an urgent, incredibly treacherous journey to destroy the One Ring. This ring - created and then lost by the Dark Lord, Sauron, centuries earlier - is a weapon of evil, one that Sauron desperately wants returned to him. With the power of the ring once again his own, the Dark Lord will unleash his wrath upon all of Middle-earth. The only way to prevent this horrible fate from becoming reality is to return the Ring to Mordor, the only place it can be destroyed. Unfortunately for our heroes, Mordor is also Sauron's lair. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is essential reading not only for fans of fantasy but for lovers of classic literature as well. Some like to put on their best Halloween Costumes before reading the books out loud... you should maybe try that one day?

THE MOVIE 2012 RECAP

     Even the most capable bounty hunter in the south was no match for the combined force of Middle-earth's tiniest heroes during the final weekend of 2012, as "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" managed to hold onto its top spot at the box office for the third weekend in a row.

Peter Jackson's opening act in his three-part "Hobbit" series burglarized $32.9 million over the weekend, bringing its domestic total up to $222.7 million, and its worldwide gross at $686.7 million. 

THE RUSSIAN HOBBIT

The first real attempt to turn Professor Tolkien’s book into a film took place in St. Petersburg Studios, with a budget that ran not even close into the millions. 

So... the question is my big JRRT fans... Have you ever seen this version of the Hobbit... Rather interesting...

St. Petersburg residents have long since known what has remained a secret from the rest of Europe: in 1985, director Vladimir Latyshev adapted Tolkien’s book for Leningrad Television, under the title “The Fairytale Journey of Mr. Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit.” Back then, the crew had neither the budget nor the equipment that the New Zealand filmmaker has.

Bilbo Baggins's adventure to the Lonely Mountain had quite a few twists and turns along the way.

The catch? It's a Russian-language film, shot in 1984 on a budget that looks like it was just a smudge less than the $150 million Oscar-winner Jackson is supposedly spending on his film. The JRR Tolkien novel has an interesting Soviet history. It was first published in the country in 1976 with some locally-sourced illustrations, and went through a number of reprints over the years.