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Weeping Hobbits, Naked Hobbits: Merry and Pippin Recall Their Favorite Moments Making Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings films are filled with incredible characters, but few can bring smiles to the faces of millions around the world like Dominic Monaghan’s Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck and Billy Boyd’s Peregrin “Pippin” Took. Despite it being over 17 years since The Return of the King premiered in theaters, these two have kept very close and have decided now is the perfect time to give back to The Lord of the Rings community by starting their very own podcast, The Friendship Onion.

IGN was able to sit down with the pair to discuss this podcast adventure – which just reached its 11th episode – and they also shared some of their favorite moments from filming The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd

Regarding undertaking this podcast journey, it turns out they had been talking about starting a project together since The Lord of the Rings wrapped.

“Well, it came from Dom,” Boyd said. “Dom became a fan of podcasts quite early. Since Lord of the Rings, me and Dom have been talking about doing a project together. We’ve done a few little things together. He was like, ‘Podcasts! That’s the way forward. We can change things on a weekly basis and invent little things and tell stories.’ Basically, what we do when we meet up anyway.”

The podcast itself is filled with interviews from the cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings (like Elijah Wood) and stories from two of the hobbits who were actually there. One of the tales has to do with The Grey Havens scene at the end of The Return of the King, which Monaghan says was the most difficult scene for him to film.

“Well, we had to do it three times! If you were to ask all four of us, ‘Pick a scene you can guarantee you only have to do once and not go back to,’ we probably would have said Grey Havens, just cause we were all there weeping like children,” Monaghan explained. “So, doing it three times, I definitely think that the third version that I did, the one that’s in the film, is probably not quite as hysterical in terms of the state that I’m in as the first one, or possibly even the second one. So, that was tough.

“And then, you know, Hobbits are so in touch with the vulnerability of their emotions. It’s not like a human stood there watching a friend leave, where maybe they shed a tear and feel sad. Director Pete[r Jackson] wanted us to kind of be in a mess. It was challenging to do. You don’t often get asked to do that as actors and all four of you are standing there very vulnerable doing it three times. It’s pretty costing.”

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Billy places the blame on Sean Astin, the actor who played Samwise Gamgee – and who accidentally forgot to put on his vest after lunch, therefore ruining continuity.

“And for those of you who don’t know why we did it three times… Sean Astin was wearing the wrong costume! After lunch, he took off his vest to eat lunch. When he came back he forgot to put the vest on, so for continuity, it was ruined,” Boyd said. “We came back another day and filmed it again, and the film got destroyed in the factory where it gets processed. So we had to then do it again another day! That’s why we had to do it three times.”

Then there are the moments in The Lord of the Rings trilogy that may have not happened at all. One famous story from the set of the films is related to the song Pippin sings to Denethor in The Return of the King called “The Edge of Night.” That song came to be partly because Boyd was singing Tom Jones’ “Delilah” at karaoke one night and co-writer Philippa Boyens was so surprised by his voice that she felt she had to find a singing part for him in the film.

Monaghan also recalled a memorable story from the filming of the Hobbits and Boromir play-fighting after they leave Rivendell in The Fellowship of the Ring.

“I seem to remember the little play-fighting that took place between myself, Billy and Sean Bean was kind of thought up on the spot, based around the fact that we were always kind of having fun with other castmates and we were always practicing our sword fighting skills,” Monaghan recalled. “So, you would see the four hobbits as the same size, kind of picking up their skill games.

“I think the idea with Pete was, he had said, ‘Now that you’re with these human warriors, maybe they noticed that and they are giving a little extra amount of classes. And, maybe, as being hobbits, you can be a little cheeky with Sean Bean, with Boromir, and it can show a little bonding experience.’ So, you know, do a little three stooges thing – whack him over the head and jump on top of him. I seem to remember that being relatively semi-improvised on the day.’”

Boyd jumped in and said he was upset while shooting that scene because, despite him previously fencing in competitions, he had to act like he wasn’t good at sword fighting.

“Yeah, you’re right! And I hated that we weren’t supposed to be good at swords,” Boyd said. “I used to fence in competitions. So I know how to use a sword. And then we got to work with Bob Anderson, who is probably the greatest sword master ever in movies. He taught Errol Flynn and Darth Vader. I loved being with Bob Anderson, and he said, ‘Remember, you’re not supposed to be good with a sword.’ So, I had to stop [acting like I knew] what to do with a sword. It was awful!”

Then there was the time Peter Jackson was being pressured from above to have one of the four Hobbits die in the film, even though they survived in the books. Luckily, Jackson didn’t succumb to the demands of the producers, but Monaghan had some thoughts on who the unlucky Hobbit could have been if this darker path was taken.

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“It’s a good job that didn’t happen, because it would have been me,” he laughed. “It definitely would have. There’s no way they are killing Frodo and Sam, and the only ones that would be left would be Merry and Pippin. They wouldn’t kill Pippin because Pippin has a really strong story with Gandalf. It would have definitely been me. I think Pete quite rightly was like, ‘This is a luminary piece of written work, and we need to stick close to the text.’ So, he stuck by his guns. Yeah, I’m thankful that didn’t happen.”

It turns out the cast made some home videos while filming the trilogy. When asked if these would be part of certain episodes of the podcast, Monaghan said that there may be some footage in there that isn’t suitable for the public…

“I think I have four or five tapes that are labeled ‘New Zealand,'” Monaghan said. “I’ve not looked at them for a long time. I’m sure [we could include it in the podcast] if we told the production company that myself, Billy, Sean, Elijah, maybe Orlando and Viggo, would all pull together stuff and they could have a look at it. But, I think there is probably some slightly nefarious stuff that maybe you don’t want to put into a documentary… like naked Hobbits!”

When not podcasting, the pair have taken up League of Legends during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I have to say, for it to be a free game… free-to-download… free-to-play… the amount of hours of enjoyment we’ve got out of it is incredible,” said Monaghan. “And it’s an incredibly difficult game…”

“Not for me,” Boyd jumped in to say. “I am probably one of the world’s great Dr. Mundos!”

“He’s a fantastic Dr. Mundo,” Monaghan agreed. “It’s just so much fun. Not only are you doing your little tasks that you’re supposed to do as your characters… as your champions, but you’re also able to enjoy the triumphs of your teammates or some of the ridiculous failures of your teammates. We’ve laughed, we’ve joked, we’ve had fun. I think I’ll continue to play. I think I’ve now reached a ceiling, Billy hasn’t, but I’ve now reached a ceiling where I know I won’t get better. I’ll remain this average level. For Billy, the sky is the limit.”

Just like Boyd’s League of Legends skills, so is the potential of The Friendship Onion, which most recently had creative director and head of Weta Workshop Sir Richard Taylor on.

Oh, and if you are new to the show and want to start at the beginning, you’ll also get a chance to hear how the pair react to trying their first Twinkie. Priceless.

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The Friendship Onion is available on podcast services around the world like Apple Podcasts and Spotify, as well as on YouTube.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Newest Fast & Furious, F9, Comes To On Demand From July 30

The ninth film in the popular Fast & Furious franchise, F9 has shattered pandemic box office records since it hit theaters on June 25. Now, fans who are unwilling or unable to venture into the cinema will be able to watch the action blockbuster, as F9 comes to VOD on Friday July 30.

Universal has taken advantage of a deal with cinema chains that shortens the traditional theatrical release window, allowing it to release films as premium-priced videos on demand much sooner than it would have before the pandemic. Under the current deal, movies like F9 that make over $50 million over their opening weekends must maintain theatrical exclusivity for at least five full weekends.

With that condition now fulfilled, F9 will be available on VOD platforms like Vudu from Friday, Rotten Tomatoes’ Erik Davis announced in a tweet. As reported by ScreenRant, the movie will most likely release at a price point around $20, though this is liable to vary in different territories.

GameSpot’s review of F9 scored it 9/10, with reviewer Chris Hayner saying: “in the latest installment, Fast 9, the franchise takes the final step in accepting how ridiculous the premise has become. And, thankfully, it works like a charm.”

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick Addresses “Tone Deaf” Response To Lawsuit

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has issued a letter to employees addressing the lawsuit brought against the company by the state of California that alleges widespread harassment, discrimination, and a “frat boy” culture at the gaming giant. In the letter to staff, he called the initial response from Activision Blizzard “tone deaf,” and promised changes. “It is imperative that we acknowledge all perspectives and experiences and respect the feelings of those who have been mistreated in any way,” Kotick’s letter read. “I am sorry that we did not provide the right empathy and understanding.”

Activision Blizzard’s initial response called the lawsuit “distorted, and in many cases false,” and was widely condemned by staff who saw the response as downplaying legitimate issues at the company. Over 1000 current and former employees at the company signed an open letter that condemned the company’s initial response to the lawsuit, with current employees also planning a walkout on Wednesday as a protest. Activision’s share price has taken a hit since the walkout was announced, plunging from around $90 a share on July 26 to $82.38 on the 27th.

The letter promises five immediate changes within the company, including adding more staff and support to its human resources team, and implementing “listening spaces” moderated by third parties for staff to share ideas for improvement. Another list item reiterates that diverse hiring practices are mandatory for all open positions–though this policy was already in place earlier this year.

The letter also said that leaders and management across the company were being evaluated, with anyone found to have “impeded the integrity of our processes for evaluating claims and imposing appropriate consequences,” to have their employment terminated. Kotick also said that some “inappropriate” in-game content would be removed, though did not specify what content or games would be modified.

The employees behind Wednesday’s walkout have their own list of demands, including an end to mandatory arbitration clauses, new recruiting and hiring policies that improve diversity, and making compensation for employees public. You can read Bobby Kotick’s full letter below:

This has been a difficult and upsetting week.

I want to recognize and thank all those who have come forward in the past and in recent days. I so appreciate your courage. Every voice matters – and we will do a better job of listening now, and in the future.

Our initial responses to the issues we face together, and to your concerns, were, quite frankly, tone deaf.

It is imperative that we acknowledge all perspectives and experiences and respect the feelings of those who have been mistreated in any way. I am sorry that we did not provide the right empathy and understanding.

Many of you have told us that active outreach comes from caring so deeply for the Company. That so many people have reached out and shared thoughts, suggestions, and highlighted opportunities for improvement is a powerful reflection of how you care for our communities of colleagues and players – and for each other. Ensuring that we have a safe and welcoming work environment is my highest priority. The leadership team has heard you loud and clear.

We are taking swift action to be the compassionate, caring company you came to work for and to ensure a safe environment. There is no place anywhere at our Company for discrimination, harassment, or unequal treatment of any kind.

We will do everything possible to make sure that together, we improve and build the kind of inclusive workplace that is essential to foster creativity and inspiration. I have asked the law firm WilmerHale to conduct a review of our policies and procedures to ensure that we have and maintain best practices to promote a respectful and inclusive workplace. This work will begin immediately. The WilmerHale team will be led by Stephanie Avakian, who is a member of the management team at WilmerHale and was most recently the Director of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement.

We encourage anyone with an experience you believe violates our policies or in any way made you uncomfortable in the workplace to use any of our many existing channels for reporting or to reach out to Stephanie. She and her team at WilmerHale will be available to speak with you on a confidential basis and can be reached at [email protected] or 202-247-2725. Your outreach will be kept confidential. Of course, NO retaliation will be tolerated.

We are committed to long-lasting change. Effective immediately, we will be taking the following actions:

  1. Employee Support. We will continue to investigate each and every claim and will not hesitate to take decisive action. To strengthen our capabilities in this area we are adding additional senior staff and other resources to both the Compliance team and the Employee Relations team.
  2. Listening Sessions. We know many of you have inspired ideas on how to improve our culture. We will be creating safe spaces, moderated by third parties, for you to speak out and share areas for improvement.
  3. Personnel Changes. We are immediately evaluating managers and leaders across the Company. Anyone found to have impeded the integrity of our processes for evaluating claims and imposing appropriate consequences will be terminated.
  4. Hiring Practices. Earlier this year I sent an email requiring all hiring managers to ensure they have diverse candidate slates for all open positions. We will be adding compliance resources to ensure that our hiring managers are in fact adhering to this directive.
  5. In-game Changes. We have heard the input from employee and player communities that some of our in-game content is inappropriate. We are removing that content.

Your well-being remains my priority and I will spare no company resource ensuring that our company has the most welcoming, comfortable, and safe culture possible.

You have my unwavering commitment that we will improve our company together, and we will be the most inspiring, inclusive entertainment company in the world.

1 Dead, 1 Critically Injured In California Following Shooting During Forever Purge Showing

A viewing of The Forever Purge in Corona, California turned deadly on Monday night when a shooter opened fire on moviegoers, killing one and critically injuring another, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The shooting occurred at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings RPX theater on Monday night. Police were called at 11:45 PM, where they found a 19-year-old man who was taken to the hospital in critical condition. An 18-year-old woman died at the scene.

Corona Police Department Cpl Tobias Kouroubacalis confirmed to THR that the victims were watching The Forever Purge when the shooting occurred. The fifth film in the Purge franchise escalates the premise of the original film–a 12-hour period in which all crime becomes legal–with Purgers trying to take the event past its 12-hour bounds.

The Corona Police Department has not yet made any arrests following the shooting.

Image credit: Getty Images/Ethan Miller/Staff

Matt Damon’s Daughter Dunks On Him For The Great Wall

Pretty much everyone agrees that Matt Damon’s film The Great Wall is not a very good movie. That includes his daughter, who apparently gets great joy out of teasing her father, Damon himself said on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter).

“She just likes giving me s***,” Damon said. “She’s playfully hard on me. She doesn’t go to see my movies on purpose, the ones she thinks might be good. She crushes me on the ones that don’t work.”

“Whenever she talks about it, she calls it The Wall,” Damon said. “And I’m like, ‘come on, it’s called The Great Wall.’ And she’s like, ‘Dad, there’s nothing great about that movie.’ She’s one of the funniest people I know.”

That the movie was panned by critics was not news to Damon, though, who said he could see the writing on the (Great) wall after director Zhang Yimou (Hero, Raise the Red Lantern) began to cave to pressure from Hollywood.

“I was like, this is exactly how disasters happen,” Damon told Maron. “It doesn’t cohere. It doesn’t work as a movie.”

“I came to consider the definition of a professional actor, knowing you’re in a turkey and going, ‘OK, I’ve got four more months, It’s the up at dawn siege on Hamburger Hill. I am definitely going to die here, but I’m doing it,” Damon said of the experience. “That’s as s***** as you can feel creatively, I think. I hope to never have that feeling again.”

Matt Damon’s next upcoming movie, which releases July 30, is Stillwater, which tells the story of a father trying to get to his daughter, who is imprisoned for a crime she says she didn’t commit. After that, the actor is confirmed to reprise his greatest role yet, that of Actor Loki, in the upcoming Thor: Love & Thunder, which hits theaters on May 6, 2022.

Dead Space Remake: Is EA Back in Gamers’ Good Graces? – Unlocked 504

EA’s just-announced Dead Space remake leads us to discuss whether or not EA has turned the corner and started to re-earn gamers’ trust. Plus: our impressions of Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox Series X and S, a bit on Death’s Door, The Coalition’s Unreal Engine 5 tech demo, Halo Infinite’s imminent multiplayer tech test, and more! (P.S. This was recorded prior to Microsoft’s earnings call.)

Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our new YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 download of this week’s episode. For more awesome content, check out the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, featuring an interview with The Elder Scrolls Online boss Matt Firor about his RPG roots, the future of the popular MMORPG, and what else the studio is working on as part of the Xbox Studios family:

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Oh, and you can be featured on Unlocked by tweeting us a video Loot Box question! Tweet your question and tag Ryan at @DMC_Ryan!

For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review.

Xbox Series X|S Are the Fastest-Selling Consoles in Xbox History

The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are officially the fastest-selling Xbox consoles ever, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

This news came as a part of the company’s earnings call today, during which Microsoft announced that it had now sold more X and S consoles life-to-date than any other previous Xbox console generation, with demand for the consoles continuing to exceed available supply. Supply limitations on Xbox and other gaming hardware are expected to continue for some time due to an ongoing chip shortage, with Intel’s CEO saying the shortage could drag on even into 2023.

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Alongside this news, Nadella reiterated the company’s recent commitment to being “all-in on gaming,” something he said in June alongside the announcement that the company would work with global TV manufacturers to embed Xbox gaming directly into internet-connected TVs.

Microsoft’s earnings today included a smattering of other Xbox tidbits. The company’s gaming revenue in its most recent financial quarter was up $357 million or 11% year-over-year, driven largely by sales of Xbox consoles. Specifically, hardware sales were up 172% year-over-year, which makes sense given that Microsoft wasn’t selling a new console this year, and now they are.

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This lift was offset somewhat by Xbox content and services revenue being down $128 million or 4% thanks to fewer third-party games coming out in the most recent quarter, whereas game revenues were strong by comparison to last year due to stay-at-home mandates.

Unfortunately, Microsoft did not provide an update on Game Pass subscriber numbers during the call. It does project “low double-digit” growth for Xbox gaming revenue in the coming quarter, and that Xbox consoles will continue to experience supply constraints.

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Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

New Okami Crossover Will Let Monster Hunter Players Ride Around On Amaterasu

Monster Hunter Rise announced its next Capcom crossover, and it’s bringing back Amaterasu from Okami.

On July 30, Capcom will release its second collaboration between Monster Hunter Rise and other Capcom games. The first Capcom Collab stayed in the family with a collab between Rise and Monster Hunter Stories 2. The second collab will branch out and let players ride Amaterasu as a Layered Armor for their Palamute.

Check out the trailer below.

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The Amaterasu Layered Armor set for your Palamute will be cosmetic-only but there’s some loving attention to detail. Like in the original Okami, your Palamute will leave a flower trail behind them as they run and jump across the land.

The trailer also does a wonderful job of splicing footage between Monster Hunter Rise’s take on “Ammy” and scenes from the original Okami. Amaterasu has really changed in the years since Okami was first released.

While Amaterasu is back for Monter Hunter Rise, there’s no word on whether there will ever be a new Okami game, though developer Ikumi Nakamura has tried to pitch one.

In the meantime, read IGN’s Monster Hunter Rise review and guide for everything about Capcom’s massively successful hunting game.

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Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor.

Daily Deals: A Content Creators Dream Sale at Amazon

Are you a content creator? How about just someone who is into the PC space? Today is a good day for you then! Neewer has a ton of great products on sale right now, including various lights and stands that would be a huge help for content creators. There’s also some great gaming PCs up for offer, as well as some nice upgrades for storage and a really nice Samsung monitor. That’s not all of course, as we’ve also got listed some Apple AirPods, a Ninja Air Fryer, an Arcade Cabinet and more!

Daily Deals for July 27th 2021

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World of Warcraft Will Remove Inappropriate References From WoW and WoW Classic

As teams across Activision Blizzard reckon with the fallout of last week’s bombshell lawsuit, the World of Warcraft development team published a statement on Twitter announcing it will remove inappropriate references from both WoW and WoW Classic.

This is also the first Tweet made on the account since the lawsuit was announced.

In a public statement signed by the World of Warcraft Team, the developers announced that while the studio moves forward with plans to improve its workplace, there is immediate action the team can do now.

As such, the developers are working to “remove references that are not appropriate for our world. This work has been underway, and you will be seeing several such changes to both Shadowlands and WoW Classic in the coming days.”

While the WoW Team didn’t name any specific changes that will be coming to the game, WoW has several references to developers and team members, some of whom were named in the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing lawsuit.

One example is a reference to Alex Afrasiabi, a creative director on World of Warcraft who was specifically named in the lawsuit. The documents say his behavior among female staff was so inappropriate his office was nicknamed the “Crosby Suite,” a misspelled reference to alleged rapist Bill Cosby.

Afrasiabi can be found as an NPC in WoW with the name “Field Marshal Afrasiabi.”

Last week, the CDFHE filed a lawsuit accusing Activision Blizzard of fostering a work environment where women and other marginalized groups were systematically disadvantaged and vulnerable to sexual harassment. Activision Blizzard issued several statements, some of which claimed the lawsuit was “distorted.”

In response, over 2,000 current and former employees signed an open letter criticizing the statements as “abhorrent and insulting,” and today workers at Blizzard announced plans to stage a walkout on July 28 in protest.

Former executives like Mike Morhaime and Chris Metzen have also issued public apologies for failing the employees at Blizzard during their tenure.

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Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor.