The-Fellows-Hip
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Lord of the Rings fan film to screen at GenCon and DragonCon
Tolkien fans are many, but few have the opportunity to see their creative works honoring Lord of the Rings presented before large audiences. One lucky group of fans will have just that. The fan film The Fellows Hip will be screened at GenCon in Indianapolis this year. Fans can catch the movie on Friday, August 17th, at 1:30 p.m. EDT in the Westin Grand Ballroom IV and Saturday, August 18th, at 9:30 p.m. EDT in the Westin Grand Ballroom V. Folks who miss these showings can also watch the film at DragonCon or even this weekend's Return of the Ring celebration in the UK. In the film, a fellowship of four gamers embarks on their own epic journey to fight injustice, right a wrong, expose evil, and possibly even conquer at a Lord of the Rings Online gaming competition. While noting that the film does include parody, the creators emphasize that the film is an homage to Tolkien's great works, one that combines their love of LOTR with their love of MMO gaming. Watch as a black rider makes the heroes dive for cover in the teaser trailer after the cut. And to learn more about the film, be sure to read Massively's interview with the creators.
The Perfect Ten: MMOs in movies and television
While 1982's Tron explored what virtual life might be like inside a massive video game, it wasn't until fairly recently that real MMOs have crossed the divide between niche and mainstream to be referenced in television and films. Depending on how you see it, this mainstream acceptance of geek culture can be a thing to be either celebrated or shunned. What's for certain, however, is that we've only started to see the beginning of such mentions. In today's Perfect Ten, I cobbled together a list of the first 10 MMO references that I know of from movies and TV shows. Some might be nothing more than a background detail or a throwaway line, while others are completely centered around the advertisement, er, massively multiplayer online roleplaying game. I tried hard not to use "cheats" such as fake MMOs featured in shows like The Guild, so this list is all about real-world titles with no sugar substitutes. Ready? Insert quarter and hit player one!
The Road to Mordor: A talk with the crew of The Fellows Hip: Rise of the Gamers
Buzz has been increasing about an intriguing independent film that looks to blend Tolkien love, geek pride, and Lord of the Rings Online fandom into one epic adventure. Called The Fellows Hip: Rise of the Gamers, this movie is about a group of friends who undertake a journey to a convention in order to participate in a LotRO gaming competition (and stick it to some bullies while they're at it). Many blogs, such as LOTRO Reporter and A Casual Stroll to Mordor, have promoted this up-and-coming film, and after seeing the trailer, we too became fascinated with what could be a fun movie that puts MMO gaming front and center. One may not simply walk into Mordor, but with the right connections, one could phone the folks up there. We got on the line with three crew members for The Fellows Hip -- Ron Newcomb (producer, director and writer), Scott Mathais (producer and writer), and Shane McClung (producer) -- to see just what type of lovable insanity would cause a group of people to throw together such a movie.
Lord of the Rings Online fan film trailer released
Game-related fan films are a dime a dozen at this point, and if there's an MMO out there, chances are someone's made a movie out of its in-game footage and uploaded it to the web. The Fellows Hip: Rise of the Gamers is a horse of a different color, though, as most of its footage is live-action and it focuses on Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online as a plot element instead of the narrative canvas proper. A Casual Stroll to Mordor is currently featuring a new trailer for the film, which tells the tale of a geeky guy who finds meaning (and apparently, a girl) while questing his way toward the top prize in a LotRO gaming competition. Check out the trailer after the cut, and read more about the flick at The Fellows Hip website.
