News for Sep. 13, 2003 Gandalf: Lord of the Coins 9/13/03, 2:09 pm EST - Xoanon PennyQ sends in this small piece in the UK Daily Mail. It details the LOTR craze in New Zealand. And quotes Ian McKellen (Gandalf) on his thoughts about being on a coin in that country. [More] Empire Australia Talks ROTK 9/13/03, 2:04 pm EST - Xoanon Beriain sends along this scan of the September issue of Empire Magazine's Australia edition, with this look at 'The Return of the King'. "Every thing is under control" Peter Jackson talks about ROTK. He explains how he feels the third film is the reason for making the first two and how he feels the first one is 'merely' exposition, the second adds complication and the third is where all the plot strands unite or in some cases reunite. PJ also goes on to comment on the extreme of emotions in the final film for example when Sam says to Frodo "I can't carry it, but I can carry you" Philippa Boyens comment that she believes this will become one of the great film lines! [More] The One Ring Sculpture in NZ 9/13/03, 1:41 pm EST - Xoanon The One Ring Sculpture Jens and Thorkild Hansen wrote to us with details on the creation of a One Ring sculpture on permanent display at the World of Wearable Arts Complex in Nelson, New Zealand. The 2kg, 6 inch in diameter scale replica of the One Ring was turned from steel, hand polished and richly plated with 5 microns of 18ct gold. The approx. 1ft square cube weighs 42kg and was hewn from an 8 tonne greenstone boulder that had been heli-lifted from Awaroa Point in South Westland. The ring sits atop a massive pounamu river cobble which came from the headwaters of the Arahua river. [More] Boyd Charity Site Online 9/13/03, 1:31 pm EST - Xoanon The BillyBoyd.net loons have opened a charity website in his honor, to promote his work with Help the Aged UK and to help raise funds for this wonderful charitable organization. [More] News for Sep. 12, 2003 Hall of Fire Chats This Weekend 9/12/03, 10:08 pm EST - maegwen With the attention of the Dark Lord turned to outside his borders, Sam and Frodo make their way across the treacherous terrain of the Gorgoroth. Here, at the end of their journey and with no hope of return, the two hobbits resolve themselves for the final steps to Mt. Doom. [More] ...Spoilers NY Times Goes Uber Geek 9/12/03, 7:16 pm EST - Xoanon Athelas writes: The Friday NY Times, "The Annual Fall Preview" has a special "Spotlight on the Lord of the Rings." Not only are the recent articles on Viggo & ROTK reprinted, you'll also find the original NY Times book reviews of The Hobbit (1938), and each successive book of the trilogy. WH Auden reviewed FOTR in 1954 and ROTK in 1956, his reviews are incredibly insightful and moving. [More] GAMING: Treason of Isengard axed 9/12/03, 7:00 pm EST - Xoanon Publisher says The Lord of the Rings game wasn't shaping up as strongly as anticipated. Vivendi Universal Games today confirmed it was ceasing development of Lord of the Rings: The Treason of Isengard for Xbox and PlayStation 2. The title was in development at Surreal Software, the studio currently at work on the action horror game, The Suffering. [More] [Gaming Havens] LOTR Urban Legends 9/12/03, 3:08 pm EST - Xoanon The world has Loch Ness, The Yeti, UFO's, Bigfoot and more. But LOTR fans and aficionados alike have 'Bush's Ring', 'That Hobbit Trailer', 'The Aragorn Question' and more! Check out this little feature we like to call 'LOTR Urban Legends' [More] Update: What about the "Tehanu is really Orlando Bloom" urban legend? I must be getting a dozen "Dear Orlando you are the best elf" emails a week! Nobody's explained that one yet. - Tehanu Italian Hobbiton Party Pics 9/12/03, 1:24 pm EST - Xoanon Nicola sends along this link to some great pictures from the 10th Annual Hobbiton Party held in Italy. Take a look! [More] LOTR on TV Screens in Russia 9/12/03, 1:09 pm EST - Xoanon Natalie writes: Russian TV watchers will see FOTR and X-men this season. For approximately 12 million$ TV Channels "Russia", NTV and STS bought the rights to show a package of WB movies in Russia (though if Russians will show it, then Ukraine, Moldova and Possibly Belarus will see it too). This season the channels will show FOTR, Harry Potter 1, Blade 2 and more. The ORT channel will show the X-men with Ian McKellen sometime this month. (Xoanon just loves those Russian accents...) In Defence of Tolkienshop.com 9/12/03, 1:05 pm EST - Xoanon Nick sends along this email in regards to some comments from another email we posted here a few days ago. He argues that the folks at tolkienshop.com have been nothing but professional and courteuous, we at TORN wish to add that we have nothing against tolkienshop.com, we are simply providing views of all sides in this debate. [More] Media Watch: Aussie DVD Magazine Talks Bloom 9/12/03, 12:54 pm EST - Xoanon Nessa writes: Here is a scan of an interview with Orlando Bloom (Legolas) in the latest issue of the Aussie DVD Magazine Region4. [More] Your Favorite LOTR Characters! Ralph & Ned! 9/12/03, 12:43 pm EST - Xoanon Disco_Dean sends along this odd product sheet featuring some LOTR merchandise of questionable quality. It also features figures with character names like Ban, Michael, Ceciela, Ralph and Ned. [More] Reminder: Parker Attends Slovak Con This Weekend 9/12/03, 12:20 pm EST - Xoanon Just to remind any Slovak fans that Kiwi actor Craig Parker (Haldir) will be attending as a special guest Slovak sci-fi convention Istrocon, September 12th to 14th 2003, Bratislava, Slovakia. [More] Happy Birthday Ian Holm! 9/12/03, 12:16 pm EST - Xoanon Today, September 12th, is Ian Holm's (Bilbo) birthday! Ian was born on September 12th, 1931 in Goodmayes, UK. That makes him 72 years old today! Happy Birthday Ian! Disappointment in India 9/12/03, 4:32 am EST - Tehanu Indian LOTR fans are still waiting for ANY extended edition DVDs of LOTR to be available. Some point out that DVD piracy and fileshare rip-offs are an enormous problem there, and perhaps most film companies think it's hopeless to try and sell legitimate copies of anything there when the illegal competition is so cheap. Still, the fans that want 'real' copies feel frustrated, as Rulinian writes. Moral of the story - don't kid yourself that ripping stuff off filesharing networks or pirating it is a "victimless crime." [More] Best of Both Worlds Convention in Canberra 9/12/03, 3:55 am EST - Tehanu Adele's posting the final details about this Australian convention which happens on Sept 20 and 21. [More] Dragon*Con 2003 Kids Pictures Posted 9/12/03, 1:02 am EST - Jincey One of the best experiences I had this year at Dragon*Con was the Kids Session during Tolkien's Middle-earth fan Track. We had approximately 15 kids ranging in age from 2 1/2 to 8 participating. Kids spent an hour drawing pictures, having their faces painted, making Elvish brooches, getting 'Sharpie' tattoos of their name or initial on their arm, and snacking on 'lembas' and apple juice. It is wonderful to see a new generation of Tolkien fans coming up! [More] News for Sep. 11, 2003 Supanova Starts Tomorrow In Brisbane! 9/11/03, 10:20 pm EST - Demosthenes A reminder for Australian ringers that Supanova begins in Brisbane tomorrow at the RNA showgrounds. Events kickoff at 10am, going through until 6pm, and then everything starts up again on Sunday the 14th at the same time. LoTR fans will enjoy the chance to meet Bruce Hopkins (Gamling) and Bill Hunt (a prosthetics expert from WETA who helped give Lord of the Rings’ characters their super-real look). [More] TTT on PPV Soon 9/11/03, 8:57 pm EST - Xoanon TTT is set to be on INDemand Pay-Per View starting on September 26th. Keep those eyes peeled! [More] The Countdown Collection 9/11/03, 8:54 pm EST - Xoanon The Countdown to The Return of the King has begun. Each week, a new card – one of the 18 stunning alternate-template cards that make up The Countdown Collection – will become available with a $10 purchase at participating retail stores. Collect them all, and you will receive two posters (one depicting every card in the Fellowship block, the other, the Tower block), a binder to house your Countdown Collection, and four bonus preview cards including Tom Bombadil and other Lord of the Rings characters who do not appear in the movies! [More] Massive Nabs Academy Nom 9/11/03, 8:53 pm EST - Xoanon Dany writes: In case you haven't seen this yet. The Academy is considering Massive for a Scientific Achievement Award: Beverly Hills, CA - Fourteen scientific and technical achievements have been selected for review by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Scientific and Technical Awards Committee for 76th Academy Awards consideration, Committee Chair Richard Edlund announced today. [More] Autograph Scams: Be Aware! -UPDATE- 9/11/03, 11:48 am EST - Xoanon Yesterday I posted this story about a fan that was duped out of a whole lot of money. He was attempting to buy 'autographed' items online, he also added a serious warning to all fans interested in doing the same. Since then a ton of folks have written in with comments from both sides of the fence about this topic. [More] More TTT:EE DVD Answers 9/11/03, 11:34 am EST - Xoanon Gollum Special Edition Statue The folks from DVDAnswers write: We've posted a few things on the ROTK National Geographic release here. I've also attached a highres image of the Gollum statue which will be included in the Collector's release....gives you a better idea of what to expect, only really seen small'ish pictures up until now. [More] Gaming: War of the Ring Game Trailer Online! 9/11/03, 11:20 am EST - Xoanon Eowyn writes: I just got a newsletter from Sierra games and they've released a Gamplay trailer of the War of the Ring videogame, which is a strategy game based on the Lord of the Rings! LOTR gaming fans may want to check it out! [Trailer] [Gaming Havens] Take a look at our 'War of the Ring' section on Gaming Havens! Pre-Order the game on Amazon.com More Topps ROTK Trading Cards 9/11/03, 11:05 am EST - Xoanon As a follow-up from yesterday, here are a few more ROTK trading cards from Topps. [More] ROTK Fan Trailer 9/11/03, 10:53 am EST - Xoanon The talented fan that brought us that slightly-convincing Hobbit Movie Trailer is back again. This time with quite a nice looking fan-made trailer for ROTK. Take a look! [More] No EE Screenings in Germany? 9/11/03, 10:50 am EST - Xoanon Jens writes: I started asking around here in Germany if we will get FOTR & TTT Extended Editions. So far I was able to find out that the CINESTAR and UFA cinemas have no plans of showing the EEs (they weren't even aware of that they are shown in cinemas). As I was told, no version of any LotR movies is planned for the IMAX cinemas here either. I am still waiting for answers from the other big chains CINEMAXX and UCI. Maybe they have better news. So, all those German LotR-fans out there: start requesting EEs at your local cineplex. Maybe we can change their minds! Make It Out To....Where Are You Going? 9/11/03, 10:33 am EST - Xoanon Colin Farrell has been named "best signer" in Autograph Collector magazine's 12th annual poll of celebrity autograph givers. The annual survey was released in conjunction with the first Autograph Collector Exposition and a celebrity memorabilia auction to be held this weekend at the Beverly Garland Hotel in North Hollywood, Calif. The top 10 Worst Signers, as listed in the October issue of Autograph Collector: Cameron Diaz, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Orlando Bloom, Shannon Elizabeth, Janet Jackson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Eric Bana, Hugh Jackman and Christina Aguilera. Step 'Into the Ring' in Texas 9/11/03, 10:23 am EST - Xoanon Wandering Mage Chichiri writes: I came across an advertisement for "Into the Ring" which is a brand new 2-man play about two brothers attempting to make a documentary film on our beloved author J.R.R. Tolkein. It'll be performed in McNair Studio in Fort Worth, Texas on September 24, 25, and 26 at 7:30pm, and on Sept 27 & 28 with matinee performances at 2pm, and an evening performance at 7:30pm. [More] Survivor: Middle-earth 9/11/03, 10:21 am EST - Xoanon Speedcorn writes: There are two contestants on the upcoming edition of Survivor: Pearl Islands that have listed LOTR as either their favorite book or movie. Their names are Christa and Shawn and they are both part of the Drake tribe. [More] Tolkien in the Land of Heroes 9/11/03, 1:42 am EST - Tehanu I'm just reading the latest release from Cold Spring Press: This is Anne Petty's "Tolkien in the Land of Heroes." That realm is not just Middle-earth, "but also Tolkien's vast and rich imagination. From it flowers the consideration of the human spirit...his deep humanity, his earnest concern for the fate and his hope for redemption in a world dominated by dark shadows." The book is a wonderful exploration of Tolkien's thoughts on myth, power, loss and longing, heroes and hope. [More] Announcing our ROTK Premiere Party 9/11/03, 12:58 am EST - Tehanu November 30th, 2003 - Wellington, NZ - Skyline Restaurant - 7pm till midnight The long long wait is nearly over. On December 1st, the final film in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy will premiere in Wellington in front of a huge audience of cast, crew, VIPs and celebrities at the rejuvenated Embassy Theatre. And, to coincide with this time of great celebration, TheOneRing.net and Red Carpet Tours cordially invite Travellers from distant lands to join Ringers from all across New Zealand and PARTY! News for Sep. 10, 2003 Widescreen Vs. Fullscreen...Again 9/10/03, 9:10 pm EST - Xoanon A Hobbit writes: I was always wondering how the Widescreen (WV) edition for FotR compared to the Fullscreen version (FV). The recent link was helpful, but lacked a detailed graphical comparison. Since I own both versions on DVD I thought I'd do a new comparison myself. Picked 3 scenes at random. I didn't manage 100% to get the exact same frames, but they're only a frame or two off. I Had to further scale the FV down on two scenes to get them to overlap perfectly. Interesting was that each of the three scenes ended up using a different scale factor for this suggesting that on the FV edition each scene is specifically cropped to give an optimum fit. [More] Autograph Scams: Be Aware! 9/10/03, 8:49 pm EST - Xoanon Every week for almost 3 years I link to interesting eBay items that people may want to check out. Recently I've been adding this warning. Don't be a fool of a Took! DO NOT BID FOR 'AUTOGRAPHED' items! They can easily be fake! Since then I've received plenty of angry letters from fans as well as eBay sellers alike asking me why I've placed that warning online. Well here is one story that can answer that question for you. [More] Media Watch: BuyMagazine Talks Serkis 9/10/03, 8:30 pm EST - Xoanon The folks at BuyMagazine have a nifty little online Magazine you can scroll through. Though it's not as easy to navigate as you would like to think. Go to the following link, click in any one of the cast members of Will & Grace and the magazine should pop up for you. Once it does go to the bottom right of that popup window and go to page 9. [More] Media Watch: Premiere Magazine Talks Bloom 9/10/03, 8:27 pm EST - Xoanon Ferrethobbit writes: The October issue of Premiere Magazine has Orlando Bloom (Legolas) in its list of "The 50 Most Stylish People, Places, and Things in Hollywood", along with a pretty funky photo of him. [More] Topps ROTK Card Preview 9/10/03, 8:20 pm EST - Xoanon Goony1 writes: I bought the Topps Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers update card set which includes 9 Return of the King preview cards. [More] GAMING: Sim City Goes Minas Tirith 9/10/03, 7:53 pm EST - Xoanon Tyler writes: Attached are some screen shots of a city I did in SimCity 2000 modeled after Minas Tirith in Lord of the Rings. The city has not yet grown to full size (as that takes a long time), but you get the idea. I was hoping you could put these up on the fan site. [More] [Gaming Havens] Round Table With Monaghan And Astin 9/10/03, 6:31 pm EST - Demosthenes If you can cope with the horribly formatted text, here's a very interesting interview with Sean Astin and Dominic Monaghan that was done at Comic Con 2003. [More] Power Of The Internet Site? 9/10/03, 6:18 pm EST - Demosthenes Do specialist internet sites such as TORn or AICN have the power to influence the creative decisions of movie studios and directors? The Age speculates. [More] Will Spidey Swing with the King? 9/10/03, 2:11 pm EST - Xoanon Juan writes: Superherohype.com has recieved rumor-mill-word that Sony's super sequel, Spider-man 2, may get teased with the premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. [More] Queen Cate 9/10/03, 2:07 pm EST - Xoanon Cate Blanchett By Paul Hegeman: Cate Blanchett completed six movies in the past two years and gave birth to her first son. So what's driving her? She tells Paul Hegeman. It is difficult to find any actress more enchanting, complex and original in cinema these days than Australian Cate Blanchett. In the five years since she rose to world fame as the leading lady of the costume drama Elizabeth, she has come to guarantee quality and variety. [More] SHOP: LOTR 'Weapons and Warfare' to Hit Shelves Soon 9/10/03, 1:45 pm EST - Xoanon Jess writes: I was just browsing through Amazon's page of LotR books, and one of the new books being released soon is The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare by Chris Smith. The amazing cover features the familiar shot of Aragorn, surrounded by the shadowy figures of Théoden, Legolas and Éowyn wielding a sword! [Pre-Order] [Shop] JRD as Galileo in Cali 9/10/03, 1:37 pm EST - Xoanon Susan Lendroth from The Planetary Society writes: John Rhys-Davies, Gimli the dwarf, will make a one-time only appearance on stage in Pasadena, California on September 22 as the famous astronomer Galileo Galilei in "An Evening with Galileo and His Daughter." A benefit for the non-profit organization, The Planetary Society, the reading is based on Dava Sobel's best-selling book, "Galileo's Daughter,". [More] Watch this space for a chance to win tickets to this event, and possibly meet JRD himself! LA Ringers: Birthday Celebration in Los Angeles! 9/10/03, 1:33 pm EST - Arwen TheOneRing.net is holding a 2nd annual Baggings Birthday Picinic to take place from noon to 6pm on Sunday September 21st at the Hollywood Camrose park (where Bowlmoot was hosted last year as some of you may remember), one block south of the Hollywood Bowl. As always, costuming is highly encouraged, and there will be contests and games and great prizes. Find out more through the link. [More] Go to the News Archives

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