Weta Publishing is pleased to announce its upcoming Weta Originals/Dark Horse Comics publication: Doctor Grordbort’s Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory. The book is a thirty-two-page catalogue that chronicles the world of Doctor Grordbort. Inventor extraordinaire, Dr Grordbort has a gadget for everything, and in this meticulous catalogue of weaponry, he showcases a world where chivalry is not dead, advertising is beautiful, and rayguns look too pretty to be lethal.

Grordbort's Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory

With kind permission John Howe has allowed us to re-print his newsletter entries as they are released. Take a look at the latest edition! Paint Your Dragon (Or Of The Topography of Tesseracts and the Ineffable Benefits of Entasis): I spend a fair bit of time pondering the imponderables (that's why it takes time) of fantasy imagery. Fantasy imagery has been happening for a long time. In fact no culture, ever, has created ONLY realistic, down-to-earth, day-to-day and otherwise familiar imagery. Everything we set our eyes upon is deified, vilifeid, praised or ridiculed, or, with surprising regularity, sublimated by our desires and aspirations. Hence our dawning century of fantasy art, with little fantasy artists scattered the world over, who peer into looking glasses darkly Alice-fashion, hoping for a glimpse of the invisible, a hint of the ineffable, in the hopes of transcribing the sparkle of that particular glamour on paper/canvas/screen.

John Howe's Journal: Paint Your Dragon

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- It seems no iconic figure is beyond Cate Blanchett, who shot to stardom as Queen Elizabeth I, won an Academy Award as Katharine Hepburn and enchanted audiences as the mythic elf Galadriel in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. In "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," which opened Friday, Blanchett reprises her role as the long-reigning queen during her epic struggle to protect England amid a holy war with Spain. A month after "The Golden Age" comes "I'm Not There," with Blanchett one of six actors embodying an icon of modern times -- Bob Dylan. Blanchett plays an incarnation of the musician during the Dylan-goes-electric uproar in the mid-1960s, when fans of his early acoustic sound renounced him for plugging in.

The many faces of Cate Blanchett

Sir Ian McKellen has said that he would like to reprise the role of Gandalf if there is a movie adaptation of The Hobbit. The film of the J.R.R. Tolkien novel has been delayed due to disputes between Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and the production studios. However, McKellen has claimed that he would enjoy playing the wizard again, even if Jackson isn't at the helm. He told Reuters: "When Peter announced he had withdrawn from The Hobbit, he sent me an e-mail saying, 'Because I am not going to do it, it doesn't mean you have to do the same. Of course, you must play Gandalf whether I direct or not.'"

McKellen keen to be Gandalf in Hobbit

Ataahua sends this along: Kiwi actor Karl Urban is reportedly in talks to play Dr Leonard 'Bones' McCoy in Lost creator JJ Abrams' new Star Trek movie. Website The Trek Movie Report says that the Lord of the Rings star is in negotiations to play the starship Enterprise's chief medical officer, a role which one of the film's co-writers, Roberto Orci, has confirmed is a substantial part. But according to a source, Urban's involvement with the film is not yet certain, due to a possible scheduleling conflict. Urban is currently busy filming the movie Black Water Transit, as well as being attached to another movie presently pre-production.

Urban up for Bones Role in Star Trek Discuss

James writes: Hello there! It's been over three weeks since the AME Exhibition in Malta showcased, for the last time, its vast collection of models, including the massive Helm's Deep Model. The AME website has just been updated with a photo gallery containing a large number of photos of the model. Also, an article on 'The Making of' has also been written and posted. Follow this link to learn how this impressive diorama was built from scratch, complete with all the necessary figures to recreating the intense battle scene in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'.

AME Exhibition Helm's Deep Model - The Making Of

stormcrow20 writes: I thought you guys might be interested in this cool tidbit. "Rings" figures make Toyfare magazine's list of 100 best toys of the decade. Four LotR toys made the list:

94. Minimates Gandalf the White
47. Toy Biz Helm’s Deep Legolas
14. NECA Epic Scale Balrog
3. Toy Biz Sauron

LOTR Toys of the Decade

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Orlando Bloom was involved in a minor car crash on a Hollywood street early Friday morning, police said. Witnesses told police the Pirates of the Caribbean star was driving alone on Fountain Avenue when another vehicle cut him off and he hit a parked car, said Officer Ana Aguirre. Bloom, 30, wasn't injured and filed a report with police, Aguirre said. "No alcohol was involved, and he wasn't speeding," Aguirre said. There was minor damage to his car and the parked car, she said.

Bloom in minor car crash in LA

Ringer Spy Michelf writes: The October 6 edition of the public radio program "Travels with Rick Steves" featured New Zealand in its first half hour. The first 6 minutes include a discussion of "hobbit-spotting"--finding LOTR movie sites in NZ. Here is the link. Scroll down to the Oct. 6 "South of the Border" show and click on "Listen to entire show".

Hobbit-spotting on Travel Show

Leandro writes: Elfenomeno.com (the Spanish member of TheOneRing.net Community), in its eighth anniversary, is proud to announce the Spanish version of the Map of Middle-Earth with Google Maps technology. Using the Google Maps API, the map of Middle-Earth drawn by Christopher Tolkien and the power of the "Fenopaedia" (Elfenomeno online encyclopedia), now you can travel from Hobbiton to Mordor, from Rivendel to Erebor, with a simple click of your mouse. Take a look and...Happy Birthday, Elfenomeno!

¿Habla ese orc español?

TORN Staffer Arwen writes: Hello from my mom's computer in France. The Howard Shore concerts in Paris are not canceled, they are rescheduled to June-July 2008 to coincide with the premiere of his opera 'The Fly'.

Magpie writes: The track titles at Amazon.de for the CR-ROTK are now listed. At this moment, I can't find track titles at any other site (Barnes & Noble, Soundtrack.net, or Moviemusic.com).

The Complete ROTK Score Tracklisting!

Huge news from MTV today folks concering the future of 'The Hobbit.' We don't want to steal their thunder, so check out the video and jump on over to the MTV movie blog for the encouraging details!

MTV Movie Blog Discuss

Kevin Johns, (Cult)u're Magazine Cinema Editor, writes: Over at www.culturemagazine.ca we've started a campaign called "Peter Jackson for The Hallows!". Under whelmed with the quality of the last Harry Potter film, we have decided that no one other than Peter Jackson has the skills necessary to make Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the film it deserves to be.

Jackson Wanted for the Deathly Hallows Discuss

The Academy Award winning trio of films known as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is making their way back to the big screen. We invite you to join us on Sunday, October 21, 2007 for this one-day event which will include all three movies, a costume contest, give-aways, and discounted concessions!

Trilogy Screening in Michigan

Kristin Thompson, author of The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood, writes: I've got a long new entry on my 'Frodo Franchise' blog trying to summarize all the recent articles and interviews about the New Line lawsuit and the prospects of PJ directing (or at least producing) The Hobbit. They don’t contain a lot of actual news, but I try to sift out what little there is.

New Line Lawsuit Summary

Vanessa "Saffron" Price, Online Community Representative for The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, writes: Also called “Efts” by the most learned of Scholars, Salamanders are fearsome creatures with a fiery breath and a lust for treasure. Salamanders are found in out-of-the-way places like the region of Evendim, and “out of the way” is just what the unprepared adventurer should get when faced with one of these descendants from dragon-kind!

Creatures of Middle-earth: Salamanders

While perusing the Special Edition of 'Knocked Up' on DVD my wife came across a little Orlando Bloom cameo in the 'Finding Ben Stone' mocumentary. This clip features Orlando Bloom in the lead role getting into a fight with the director.

Orlando Bloom is 'Knocked Up'

Many readers have sent along the link to the Movies.com Fanpoll results. LOTR won 3 categories:

Favorite Movie - LOTR: Return of the King
Favorite Soundtrack - The Lord of the Rings
Best Battle Scene - Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Final battle

Take a look at the complete winners list here!

Movies.com Fanpoll Results

Ciboule writes: French site Elbakin.net has announced today that the two concerts of Lord of the Rings Symphony have been cancelled.

Howard Shore Concerts in France Cancelled

David writes: Didn't see it posted on the site yet, but I noticed that amazon.com has the Return of the King: Complete recordings now available for pre-order. The CD comes out November 6th and is listed on Amazon.com for $59.99.

ROTK: Complete Recordings Available for Pre-Order NOW! Discuss

lyonkeeper sends along this article from the October 1st, 2007 edition of People Magazine. It features an interview with Viggo Mortensen about his role in 'Eastern Promises'.

People Magazine Talks to Mortensen

Tony writes: I thought this might be of interest. Fascinating how first hobbits and now gold rings of invisibility are now scientific realities. Check out this article called 'Gold rings create first true invisibility cloak'.

Gold rings create invisibility cloak

Message Board member 'Daughter of Nienna' points us to a rather insightful article related to New Line's recent penalty and the on-going drama of the Peter Jackson lawsuit:

"...For a complex entertainment case, where lawyer gamesmanship over access to documents and witnesses is fairly common, Hillman's language and the amount of the penalty are striking. "It's almost unheard of," says litigator Neville Johnson, who frequently tangles with studios. "You rarely see sanctions, and you certainly don't see sanctions that high."..."

For the complete story, please jump over to Yahoo! News.

Yahoo! News Discuss