December 19, 2022 - Music Observer

Airbnb Offers ‘The Hobbit’ Set for Fans to Rent

Music Observer Staff on December 19, 2022

If the real world holds you down and you’re in the mood for a journey in the fantasy world, then this is for you.

Airbnb now offers a flee from reality into the Shire. Or at least an escape toward the Hobbiton film set in New Zealand used for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies.

The place used this PR stunt to capitalize on the fan-favorite film nostalgia. Its offer encompasses three two-night stays for at most four guests in Hobbiton. Furthermore, it includes a Hobbit-sized 10 New Zealand dollars (around $6) per night.

Originally, Hobbiton was a 1,250-acre sheep. Then, however, Peter Jackson laid his film-magic-making hands on it. In a span of nine months, Jackson’s team remade the Shire of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy. They did it with extra hands from the New Zealand army.

And it included 39 temporary Hobbit Holes.

Only 17 bare plywood facades remained after they demolished the rest. However, Jackson came back in 2009 to shoot The Hobbit trilogy. Afterward, they left behind 44 permanently rebuilt Hobbit holes.

Airbnb Offer

And in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the place permits guests to enter the holes for the first time in history.

“Overnight accommodation will be provided in The Millhouse, a two-bedroom Hobbit-inspired home with a writing nook fit for Bilbo Baggins, and homey décor curated by the trilogies’ creative director Brian Massey,” Airbnb elaborated in a statement.

Save the date.

Book starts at 10 am NZDT (4 pm ET) on December 14. This is for the three two-night stays on March 2 – 4, 9 – 11, and 16 – 18.

The Lord of the Rings

The title points to the tale’s major antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron. So, the Dark Lord Sauron made the One Ring to surpass the other Rings of Power handed to Men, Dwarves, and Elves. It is part of his scheme to rule over Middle-earth.

They published The Lord of the Rings in a span of a year from July 29, 1954, to October 20, 1955, in three Volumes. It includes The Return of the King, The Two Towers, and The Fellowship of the Ring.

Additionally, writer Tolkien divided the masterpiece into six books – two a volume.

The trilogy became so popular that it birthed many reprinted versions and translations into around 38 languages. Furthermore, it inspired several works of art such as paintings, music, films, television, video games, and board games.

The Hobbit

Also known as There and Back Again, The Hobbit is a children’s fantasy book. Tolkien published it in 1937 with critical success. Additionally, it received a nomination for the Carnegie Medal and bagged a prize for best juvenile fiction from the New York Herald Tribune.

To this day, the novel remains as famous as it was.

In 2012, Peter Jackson produced a film based on a fantasy novel. Later, it birthed a trilogy that people will forever love. It includes The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and An Unexpected Journey (2012).

The film series stars Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, and many more high-profile actors.

Kanye West Reveals His Interest in Nazism and Like for Hitler

Music Observer Staff on December 19, 2022

In another controversial instance, Kanye West took things a notch. After his anti-Semitic comments, West praised Adolf Hitler – a dictator.

In a lengthy interview on Thursday, the rapper shared his sentiments with scandalous conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Jones recently received a court order to pay $965 million in damages for spreading false statements about the Sandy Hook mass shooting in 2012.

Kanye’s statements started following Jones, offering him an opportunity to step away from his anti-Semitic remarks on social media.

“You’re not Hitler; you’re not a Nazi, you don’t deserve to be called that and demonized,” he said.

“I see good things about Hitler also,” he added.

“This guy that invented highways invented the very microphone that I use every day as a musician. You can’t say out loud that this person ever did anything good, and I’m done with that. I’m done with the classifications. Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.”

But Hitler didn’t develop highways or the microphone. So perhaps the statement about highways is a mazed reference to the Autobahn – a road project in Germany that started ahead of the Nazis’ rise to power.

We can’t decipher where the microphone statement came from. But, as many know, Emile Berliner invented that technology while working with Thomas Edison in the 19th century.

At one point in the interview, Jones stated that he doesn’t like Nazis. Kanye then replied, “I like Hitler.”

“I don’t like the word ‘evil’ next to Nazis,” he stated. It came after Jones said, “CNN says white people are evil Nazis,” stirring up laughter from the host.

“I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis,” Kanye added.

Kanye and Nazism

Throughout the interview, Kanye sported a black hood on his face. Furthermore, he mostly talked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mocking the newly re-elected politician. Netanyahu is a long-time ally of former President Donald Trump.

However, in recent times, the prime minister slammed Trump for meeting with Kanye and his white supremacist ally Nick Fuentes.

Kanye carried a net and a Yoo-Hoo chocolate milk can to try and ridicule Netanyahu.

“I just heard about this guy two weeks ago, and I thought he had a funny name,” he stated.

Although Kanye’s remarks sent a bombshell to the crowd and made Jones uncomfortable, it’s not the first time the mogul’s name has been linked to Hitler. In October, CNN reported that the Fuhrer fascinated the rapper. He even contemplated naming an album after him.

“He would praise Hitler by saying how incredible it was that he was able to accumulate so much power and would talk about all the great things he and the Nazi Party achieved for the German people,” an anonymous business exec who partnered with the mogul said.

According to the exec, Kanye didn’t hide his reading of Hitler’s 1925 manifesto Mein Kampf. Moreover, he openly talked about his “admiration” for the Nazis’ propaganda use.

Additionally, the source said Kanye’s closest friends know his fascination with Nazism. Another four unidentified sources stated that he intended to name his 2018 album Hitler ahead of changing it to Ye.

FIFA World Cup Has Remade ‘The Notebook’ Embrace

Music Observer Staff on December 19, 2022

Soccer players from France Kylian Mbappé and Olivier Giroud seemed to mirror a romance classic after their win against Poland during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

On Monday, Giroud’s final goal saw France win 3–0 in the 16th round. The win allowed France to advance to the quarter-finals.

After the win, Mbappe jumped into his teammate’s arms for joy. Since then, the photos have gone viral on social media. Fans even made comparisons to Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling’s famous hug and kiss in the 2004 romance film The Notebook.

Nicholas Sparks’ book of the same name inspired The Notebook. Also chronicled is the story of Noah Calhoun (Gosling), a poor factory worker in 1940s South Carolina who falls in love with a rich girl (McAdams).

Between 2005 and 2007, Gosling and McAdams had a relationship. After winning the award for best movie kiss at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, they also recreated the kiss.

The Notebook Cast

It’s hard to imagine any other actor playing the Noah and Ally characters in the movie. But George Clooney shared a shocking revelation, saying he almost got the role of Gosling.

“And I was going to do it with Paul Newman. I was playing the flashback. And Paul Newman was the old guy,” he stated, pointing to the older Noah portrayed by the late James Garner.

“Paul and I talked about doing it. And we were sitting there one day, and I was looking at him. I go, ‘I can’t do this movie, Paul.'” Clooney recounted.

“He was like, ‘Why?’ I was like, ‘Because everybody knows what you look like at 30 years old. You got blue eyes. I got brown eyes. You’re too famous at 30 for me to be playing you at 30. It’s never gonna work.’ And he’s like, ‘I guess you’re right.’ We bailed out, and I think ten years later, they made it.”

Book Journey

The Notebook marked Nicholas Sparks’ first published novel. He wrote it in a period of six months in 1994.

Theresa Park, a literary agent, found Sparks by scanning her agency’s slush pile, picking a book, and reading it. Then, Park proposed to represent him.

Fast-forward to October 1995, and Park obtained a $1 million for the book from the Time Warner Book Group. And they published the novel in October 1996. It topped the list of the New York Times Best Seller in its first launch week.

The Notebook became a hardcover best-seller for over a year.

In his interviews, Sparks stated that he based the story on his wife’s grandparents. The couple had been married for over 60 years when he met them. In his novel, he attempted to depict the lone romantic love of that couple.

Apart from the film, the novel also inspired a television series. Writer Todd Graff developed the show. Furthermore, he executive produced it with Sparks and Park for Warner Bros. Television and Nicholas Sparks Productions.

Additionally, a musical adaptation is now underway. And it will be on Broadway.