Following our very successful FOTR-EE movie watch party of last week, the fun continues this Saturday as we settle in to view The Two Towers Extended Edition. Join us in TORn's Hall of Fire chatroom tomorrow when we dust off our copies of the film and pop it into the DVD player. After the usual confusion, at around 5.30pm EST we'll all press play on our individual DVD players and proceed to cheer and jeer (or discuss and argue, if you like!) the finer points of the film. We will finish up next weekend (January 28th) with Return of the King. [More]

For information on IRC chat and how to take part in the fun, visit our FAQ. Chat is family-friendly and easy in TORn's lively chat rooms. If you've never checked it out, this is a great chance to meet the regulars and have some fun.

TheOneRing.net and Creation Entertainment are proud to bring you the complete schedule for The One Ring Celebration. This comprehensive line-up of onscreen talent, scholars, artists and fans alike will make this a weekend to remember. Attendees will have the chance to have Elf ears applied, sing along with Gandalf, learn Tengwar, ask Miranda Otto what it's like to kill the Witch King, and watch an impromptu art demonstration, as well as get involved in enthusiastic scholarly discussions about Professor Tolkien and his works. Evening events will include a costume contest, a concert by the awesome local band, the Fenians, and watch the second annual One Ring Awards presented while munching on delicious desserts. And the only reason we have not brought this schedule to you earlier is the simple fact we are still adding to it as I write this. Here is the newest panel that has been added since Creation put up the schedule earlier today. [Get Tickets Now!] [ORC Shedule]

Saturday 11:00AM - Panel - "Bringing Sideshow Collectibles to Life: The Creative Process Behind Designing Lord of the Rings Figures."

Participants: Heath Hammond, 3D Production Manager and Senior Designer - Scott Klauder, 3D Product Coordinator - Jared Chapman, Product Designer - moderated by Dusty Finn, Web Communications Coordinator

Description: Three key members of the Sideshow Collectibles 3D Development team are here to fill you in and answer your questions about the creative process behind bringing your favorite LOTR collectibles to life, from research and development to manufacturing. This is your chance to get up close and personal with these collectible works of art and the people who design them! [ORC Shedule]

Carvin writes: This time, I'm attaching the song "Beware The Wolf" from the Voiceprint Records (UK) release "In Elven Lands." The title of the album comes from the opening verse of this song. The rhythm of "Beware The Wolf" is derived from the poetic metre of Tolkien's "Song of Beren and Luthien." [More]

djdeathskiss writes: ORC attendees may be interested in this, it was posted on worldwithoutsundays.com: Sun, January 22, 2006 - Old Towne Pub That's right! Just in time to see us after ORC on Sunday! World Without Sundays (who perform on 'Ringers: Lord of the Fans') will be playing at the Old Towne Pub located at 66 N Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena, CA. Show starts at 8pm. For directions or more information about Old Towne Pub check out their website.

Order 'Ringers: Lord of the Fans' on DVD Today!

Get your tickets for ORC today!

Dominic Monaghan's Golden Globe winning show 'Lost' is on tonight at 9PM EST on ABC. TORN's chatroom now has a special 'Lost' screening room, login to #lost at 9PM and watch with fans from around the country! [ABC.com ] [TORN Chat]

Elijah Wood was on a repeat airing of 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' last night (Jan 16th) on NBC. This aired back when he was doing promotion for both 'Green Street' and 'Everything is Illuminated'. However Ringers may enjoy their long discussion about...Ringers! He mentions some of the more...interesting Elijah Wood sites..and a connection with Dominic Monaghan...? Take a look! (33.6MB MOV)[More]

Carvin writes: Here is the opening track from the Voiceprint Records (UK) release "In Elven Lands," entitled "Tir Im" (Watch Over Me). As an opening piece, it is more of a prayer than a story-telling song. Tir Im is based on the music of mediaeval composer Hildegard von Bingen. It features Caitlin Elizabeth on lead vocal and cello. [More]

Any TV show that can turn Sean Astin, professional hobbit, into a badass in a black suit is capable of 'most anything, I'd say, and sure enough, the second hour of last night's 24 season launch did just that, introducing Astin's Lynn McGill as a government overseer (Department of Defense? Homeland Security?) so adept at wielding power that he managed to make the show's underrated man of granite, CTU's Bill Buchanan, back down like a meek puppy. [More]

Durham University doctoral student Danielle Smith is undertaking an ESRC- funded project into the experiences of tourists to mythical and fantastic locations, through two case studies- the landscapes of New Zealand/ Middle Earth, and Arthurian sites in the South West of Britain. Through working with tourists at these sites, she hopes to illuminate how locations from fiction or legend are important to us, and the ways in which we experience these landscapes. What does it feel like to 're-live the magic' of your favourite scenes, or to 'walk in the footsteps' of mythical heroes? Danielle has a research website, at www.durham.ac.uk/d.e.smith, with further information on the project. She is also currently looking for individuals who have been influenced to visit New Zealand by the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, whether on a specific themed tour, or independently, visiting some of the locations as part of a broader itinerary. Please contact her by e-mail at d.e.smith@durham.ac.uk

caoil writes: Mellyn Annui, our Tolkien group here on the shores of the sea (Vancouver, BC) is having a Trilogy Day on Saturday, January 28th. If there are other Ringers out there who might like to join us, please email me at westernringers@yahoo.ca for further details (we need final numbers by Jan 21, so email soon!). We are starting the movies at 9:00am that day. There will be some breakfast snacks available (though if you want second breakfast, you should bring it yourself). Costumes are definitely encouraged.

Peter Jackson, Viggo Mortensen and Dominic Monaghan were all at the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California last night (January 16). Peter was nominated for 'King Kong', Viggo was there to support 'A History of Violence' and Dominic Monaghan for his TV show 'Lost'. Take a look at a few choice images from last night here. [More]

Asylum stars Natasha Richardson in an unsettling psychological thriller about the repressed, 1950s wife of a psychiatrist and her affair with a convicted killer (Marton Csokas). Stella, Max, and their son Charlie move to a high-security psychiatric hospital, where the priggish Max joins the staff and hopes to ascend, in time, to the top spot, replacing the soon-to-retire hospital director. Standing in Max's way is another doctor, Cleave (Ian McKellen), who takes a quiet yet somehow sinister interest in unhappy Stella's apparent attraction to Edgar (Csokas). [More]

Ruby sends along these images from the Viggo Mortensen/Georg Gundi booksigning at the Track 16 gallery on Saturday the 14th of January. Follow this link for more images. [More]

Carvin writes: Cliff 'Quickbeam' Broadway suggested that I send you a track or two from the upcoming Voiceprint Records (UK) release, "In Elven Lands" for review. Verses to Elbereth Gilthóniel features Jon Anderson singing in Sindarin, two verses in praise of the Vala Varda. [More]

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) January 16, 2006 -- The editors of the business-travel Web site sixnewthings.com have selected their “Twelve Most Intriguing New Things for 2006.” Among those making the 2006 list are the first building that will rise at the site of the former World Trade Center complex, a musical stage version of “The Lord of the Rings” and a skywalk that will allow tourists to walk out over the Grand Canyon. The new Seven World Trade Center, whose opening is expected in late summer, made the list because of its symbolic importance as the first replacement for the complex of commercial buildings destroyed during the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. [More]

Helen writes: I just wanted to pass along that McMenamins Kennedy School in Portland, Oregon is hosting this event on Saturday, Jan. 21: J.R.R. TOLKIEN BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, With music by The Buds of May and the "LOTR" film trilogy! [More]

9 a.m. for film trilogy
2 p.m. for events
7 p.m. for music Free All ages welcome

* Costume Contest
* "The Hobbits Greatest Hits"
* Balloon Guy
* Trilogy showing benefits Oregon Food Bank ($3 or 2 cans of food)

Jenna writes: Ian McKellen will be on TV in the UK tonight (Jan 16th) on the tv show 'The Bigger Picture with Graham Norton' at 10.35pm on BBC1.

From 'Telcontar' at LOTR Chicago Fellowship: Live near Chicago? Well, pull out your LOTR garb and join us for a party filled with costumes, food, and a viewing of 'Return of the King' [extended version] on a 12-foot screen with Dolby surround sound system. Whether you're dressed as a Hobbit, Elf, Dwarf, Wizard, Orc or Ent--or just as a fan!--please show your love of Middle Earth and LOTR fandom and come watch the shows! [More]

Whitney Pastorek writes: How do you make a stage musical out of a story that took more than nine butt-numbing hours to tell on film? Matthew Warchus, director of The Lord of the Rings musical (currently in rehearsals and set for a March 23 world premiere in Toronto), told Entertainment Weekly's Whitney Pastorek what he's learned during the three years spent adapting Tolkien's trilogy into a world-music-based, three-and-half-hour experience. (Step one: Plan for two intermissions.) [More]

Elijah Wood will be on a repeat airing of 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' tonight on NBC. This was first aired while he was promoting Sin City. 'Late Night' airs on NBC at 12:35AM.

There is only one reason to be even more excited about the long-awaited return of 24..Sean Astin! Sean Astin has joined the team of the hit show 24, an action-packed drama set around the Los Angeles based government agency CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit) starring Kiefer Sutherland. The unique thing about this show is that each episode is only an hour in the show, so each season of 24 episodes is only 1 day..making for a very intense season every time! Kiefer's character 'Jack Bauer' has in the past seasons (called 'Days') been forced to almost kill a presidential candidate, saved LA from a nuclear bomb, a killer virus, and more! Watch the first 2 hours unfold tonight (Jan 15th) starting at 8PM, and then 2 more tomorrow (Jan 16th). Hold on to your seat, don't blink, and expect the unexpected...Jack's Back! & Sean Astin is with him! [More]

Catch up with Amazon.com
24 Season One
24 Season Two
24 Season Three
24 Season Four

Bob Ironside writes: Hello, just thought I'd send you some pictures of a Queen Size headboard and bed I've just carved for my daughter. It's of Beren and Luthien and their first meeting in the woods. It's out of Ash and took a long time to carve. Luthien is dancing as the flowers spring up under her feet and she's holding a blossom up to a nightingale in a branch while Beren looks on from a crouched position by a tree to the side. There is a stag on one side and a doe and fawn on the other as well. [More]