The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Directed by Peter Jackson
Written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm
Warner Bros. Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 170 minutes
Release Date: December 14th, 2012

Director Peter Jackson returns to J.R.R. Tokien‘s Middle-Earth with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first entry in a new series of films that serve as a prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Set 60 years before The Fellowship of the Ring, An Unexpected Journey concerns Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), a young Hobbit who goes on a grand adventure with the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and a company of thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage).

Their goal is simple: reach the Lonely Mountain and reclaim the kingdom of Ererbor (and its golden treasure) from the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch), the ‘Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities.’

The journey leads them from Bilbo’s home in Bag End in the Shire to the Elven stronghold of Rivendell and through the Goblin-infested Misty Mountains, where Bilbo encounters Gollum (Andy Serkis), a tragic creature who possesses a golden ring that will change the hobbit’s life forever.

That is, of course, the basic plot of Tolkien’s 1937 novel. Jackson’s film adaptation, however, makes extensive use of appendices and other supplementary materials to expand the 300-page children’s book into a trilogy of films that will eclipse nine hours of screen time.

Earlier this year, when it was announced that Mondo had acquired the rights for Lord of the Rings, fans of the art house and J.R.R. Tolkien surmised that there would be a poster for released in conjunction with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, opening in theaters this Friday. Well the wait is over, and with the film hitting theaters in less than two days, Mondo has unveiled Olly Moss‘ vision of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Check out both – yes there are two – versions of the poster below.

So how do you get this “precious” poster in your hands? Well like most of the previous Mondo releases, you have to follow Mondo on Twitter to find out when the poster goes on sale. Remember Mondo could post the poster on sale at any time.

Amidst all the controversy surrounding The Hobbit High Frame Rate in 3D and decision to expand to a full-length trilogy, Peter Jackson and his team could not have seen this one coming. A report from the AP says that animal wranglers who worked on the movies claim that up to 27 animals died during the course of filming the trilogy. Jackson’s team is refuting the argument by saying that “no animals were harmed on set” and the American Humane Association, the organization which oversees animal welfare on film sets, confirms this claim, although they added that they don’t have the “jurisdiction or funding to extend that oversight to activities or conditions off set.”

A spokesman for Jackson said that while no animals were harmed on the set, there were two horses that died outside of production and that those deaths were avoidable. The spokesman said the that the production company moved quickly to improve conditions after the death of the horses and that the other animals’ deaths were from natural causes.

The animals were reportedly housed at a farm located 186 miles from the main film set and 26 miles from the soundstage that the animal wranglers claim was filled with bluffs, sinkholes, and other “death traps.”

In one month’s time audiences around the world will be taking a return trip to J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Middle-Earth via the comfort of a plush theater seat for the first time in nearly a decade when The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the opening chapter of Peter Jackson‘s eagerly-anticipated three-part adaptation of the 1937 classic fantasy-adventure Tolkien tome that would serve as the prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, hits cinema screens from Oregon to Oslo. To bring this heroic endeavor to life on the big screen Jackson recruited nearly every integral member of the cast and crew that together made the LoTR trilogy the epic achievement in genre filmmaking it almost wasn’t, most prominently composer Howard Shore, who won Academy Awards for his vibrant and awe-inspiring orchestral scores to The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King.

Fans of Jackson and Shore’s previous collaborations were wondering how their latest musical jaunt through the land of wizards and monsters would sound, and most importantly how much of Shore’s compositions for the Lord of the Rings movies would be utilized for the Hobbit trilogy. They can rest easy because the score for An Unexpected Journey, which won’t be available for sale until the Tuesday prior to the movie’s opening, is now streaming for free in full online.

Oooohh! I am SO excited to announce this contest!

Our good friends over at WETA Workshop “” those dream engineers behind so much of the great movie imagery of the last two dozen years “” have given us the opportunity to bestow our readers with three of their amazingly detailed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey art prints direct from their New Zealand workshop.

We’re not giving away three copies of one print, we’re giving away one copy of three DIFFERENT prints; An Unexpected Journey art print by Gus Hunter, Thorin’s Map parchment art print by Daniel Reeve, and Floor Plan of Bag End parchment art print by Daniel Reeve. So when you submit your entry, we ask that you please note which print you desire most.

AND, unlike many of our contests, for this giveaway the folks at WETA have made it possible for us to accept entries from everyone, everywhere! That’s right, it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to do it, but this contest is open to all citizens of the planet Earth “” WORLD WIDE, baby!

One (1) winner will receive:

• One (1) copy of An Unexpected Journey Art Print
  by Gus Hunter

One (1) winner will receive:

• One (1) copy of Thorin’s Map Parchment Art Print
  by Daniel Reeve

One (1) winner will receive: