TumblogWritings, musings and generally lighthearted bantee

At last, Silmarillion Seminar Episode 20, “Thingol, Father of the Year” (on Chapter 19, “Of Beren and Luthien”) is now available for download.

Episode Four is now available!

Prof. Corey Olsen and Dave Kale finally get to the heart of the matter and discuss Thorin Oakenshield.  They compare his different portrayals across The Hobbit, Appendix A of The Return of the King, and different versions of The Quest of Erebor and analyze how they may be combined and adapted by Peter Jackson’s team in the upcoming The Hobbit films.  They focus in on his testy relationship with Gandalf, as well as his rivalry with Bilbo over the leadership of the group, and they speculate how the filmmakers may craft his story arc and character development.  Finally, they zero in on one specific moment: will the filmmakers preserve Thorin’s early capture by the elves of Mirkwood, or will they add him to the battle with the spiders?

Prediction of the Week: How will Thorin end up in the Elvenking’s dungeon?

Prof. Corey Olsen and Dave Kale tackle one of their favorite events in all of Middle-earth history: The Battle of Azanulbizar.  Heroic deeds, cinematic taunts, slaughter and death, and, of course, the burned dwarves: they cover it all.  They share some of their favorite passages from Appendix A of The Return of the King, delve into the geography of the valley of Azanulbizar and its appearance in The Lord of the Rings, and speculate about how the War of the Dwarves and the Orcs may factor into the The Hobbit film and its backstory.  They also address listener feedback about Thrain and Thror and share the “shadow and a threat” that have been growing in their minds: will the filmmakers conflate the Battle of Azanulbizar and the Battle of Five Armies?

Listen to Episode 3 now!

The Mythgard Institute, in conjunction with the Middle-earth Network, is proud to announce the long-awaited launch of the Riddles in the Dark prediction game attached to the RITD podcast by Corey Olsen and Dave Kale.

The prediction game brings together guest analysts, hailing from some of the most popular Tolkien websites and podcasts on the Internet.  These experts will take part in competitive speculation about how The Hobbit will make its transition from beloved book to epic film every two weeks!  All guesses will be aggregated in a giant prediction grid – and updates will be posted to the Mythgard site, Riddles in the Dark pages and Tolkien Professor iTunes feed.

Learn more in the News section over at mythgard.org!

In this session, Dave Kale and Corey Olsen discuss the extraordinary sequence of misfortunes that afflicted the House of Durin, especially Thror. They explore Thror’s story and gruesome death in Appendix A ofLOTR and The Quest for Erebor and connect it to the story of The Hobbit. Finally, they speculate on what role Thror may play in the upcoming film, particularly in the light of casting news.

Learn more and listen to Riddles in the Dark

Faerie and Fantasy Class 23 (Princess and the Goblin, Chapters 1-10) is now available for download. See? I’m getting the production gears in motion again!

Silmarillion Seminar #19, “Fingolfin, We Hardly Knew Ye” (Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin), is now available for download. You can get it on the iTunes feed, as usual, or you can also find it on my The Silmarillion Seminar page!

A brand new chapter in the tolkienprofessor.com‘s history is opening in front of you, dear visitors!

With the help of Mythgard Institute, my recently-launched school for the study of Tolkien and related works, I have just completed a complete redesign of the Tolkien Professor website.  I think you’ll love it, but let me give you the tour!

To start, content will now be easier to find than ever before with spaces for featuring new materials as well as old favorites.  There will also be more opportunities to share exclusive content, especially as the three-fold happenings of the 75th anniversary of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, the publication of my Exploring The Hobbit book and the premiere of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit film. An exciting 2012 for Tolkien fans, no doubt!

So poke around, have a look at the new tolkienprofessor.com and get comfy – and definitely stay tuned for more updates, announcements and much, much more!

The Mythgard Institute, in conjunction with the Middle-earth Network, is excited to announce a new bi-weekly podcast from The Tolkien Professor, Corey Olsen, and Middle-earth Network Radio Programming Director Dave Kale.

The 30-minute Riddles in the Dark podcasts began Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:00 am UTC-5 and will be broadcast live on Middle-earth Network Radio.  The archived podcasts will be available for listening 24/7 in a new addition to Mythgard’s Exclusives section.

Read more in the official press release…

Announcing the completion of my The Hobbit lecture series, started all the way back in 2006!  The latest episode, Number 8, is online now for your listening enjoyment.