The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Set Visit. IGN was honored to spend two days on the New Zealand set of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey last May where we observed filming and chatted with the cast and filmmakers about the highly anticipated adaptation of J.R.R.
Tolkien's classic fantasy novel. At the time of our set visit, The Hobbit was still planned as a two-part adaptation. Suffice to say, the ensuing months saw the two-film adaptation stretched into a trilogy and much of the action-packed sequences that we observed filming will now happen in the second film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. That means we're under embargo for another year before we can tell you about the cool stuff we saw being filmed. So what can we tell you about our trip to Middle-earth? It was truly amazing to be able to set foot on the set of The Hobbit, which is situated on the backlot of Stone Street Studios where Jackson and Co. have long operated.
Gandalf Stands Alone. THE COMPLETE FAR SIDE’s 5th Anniversary: An Appreciation in 10 Panels. Five years ago, Gary Larson released The Complete Far Side, the definitive collection of his cartooning and the coda to his career.
Larson’s fans, this one included, had kept hope kindled that he would revive The Far Side, even though he hadn’t drawn new cartoons for it in more than a decade. It’s hard to remember now how bizarre and shocking The Far Side was; today’s cultural landscape is much more accepting of the random, off-beat, and downright strange. Larson’s strangeness was all the more unsettling because of its apparent normality; his rural-to-suburban world of cats, cows, kids, and couples seemed to live in a world almost like ours, but a good couple of steps away from it.
Looking back on it now, The Far Side is a strikingly analog world; rotary phones and four-door cars are about the extent of the technology. Computers themselves are absent, let alone the internet, cellular phones, or any of the ambient technology that surrounds us. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Sixteen Things Calvin and Hobbes Said Better Than Anyone Else. To paraphrase E.B.
White, the perfect sentence is one from which nothing can be added or removed. Every word plays its part. In my more giddy moments I think that a simple comic strip featuring Calvin, a preternaturally bright six year-old, and Hobbes, his imaginary tiger friend, features some of the most lucid sentences committed to print. And when I sober up, I usually think exactly the same. Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes ran between 1985 and 1995. So here, in no particular order, is a selection of quotes that nail everything from the meaning of life to special underwear.
(NOTE: Check out Part II: Sixteen MORE Things Calvin and Hobbes Said Better Than Anyone Else) On life’s constant little limitations Calvin: You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocket ship underpants don’t help. On expectations Calvin: Everybody seeks happiness! On why we are scared of the dark Calvin: I think night time is dark so you can imagine your fears with less distraction. On the tragedy of hipsters.