Random_Hobbit writes: A while back you posted info about a ROTK screening in Palm Springs, CA with special guest Andrew Lesnie. The KCET's site now says that Sir Ian McKellen will also be there. Just spreading the info! [More]

At the core of the story in The Lord of the Rings are the cultures that make up Middle-earth: Hobbits, Dwarves, Humans, Elves, Wizards, Trolls, Ents, Orcs, Ringwraiths and Uruk-Hai. Each culture has its own rich way of life, its own customs, myths, ways of dress and even style of fighting. Each is fully developed in The Lord of the Rings, creating the essence of a living, breathing world just beyond our own history. [More]

Hobbitangel sends along a rough transcript of Elijah Wood's interview on the Ontario radio station The Edge. Take a look! [More]

Brendon sends along this scan from the latest edition of the UK Sunday Times. They had had this ad for future issues of their magazines featuring all LOTR content. Geek heaven is coming soon! [More]

Angela writes: I took these screeshots from the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King PC game and though I would share in case any of the subject matter is new to anyone. I am only part-way through the game so there may be more coming along. [More]

Sarah writes: I received the attached from UGC customer services on Nov 15th. We will be showing the first two Lord of The Ring films; Fellowship of the Rings and The Two Towers on the following dates at the cinemas listed below... [More]

michelle writes: I opened my new Spin magazine today (with Chris Martin on the cover) and low an behold there is an interview with Dom Monaghan, Sean Astin, and Billy Boyd.

Anyone with scans of the article, send them along!

Jam writes: There are 10 things you need to know about The Return Of The King, set for a Dec. 17 release as the final instalment of Peter Jackson's epic The Lord Of The Rings fantasy trilogy. Actually, there are dozens of things but we only have time to talk about 10 of them today as three of the trilogy's co-stars -- Elijah Wood (Frodo), Billy Boyd (Pippin) and Andy Serkis (Gollum). !!!Spoilers!!! [More]

TV Watch: Ian McKellen on 'The Simpsons'

Ian McKellen lent his voice to an episode of The Simpsons called 'The Regina Monologues'. In the episode the Simpsons head to London and bump into various english personalities. When meeting McKellen they give him a ton of bad luck by mentioning 'the play' (Macbeth). McKellen gets doused with water, an anvil falls on his foot, zapped by lightening more than once, and finally the entire marquee falls on him. Click here for more screenshots. [More]

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn

Next weeks issue of Newsweek Magazine will feature the cover above and have an entire section dedicated to The Return of the King! Take a look at Jeff Giles' review of ROTK! !!!Spoilers!!! [More]
[Newsweek Backcatalogue]

Update: Newsweek's cover photo shows Aragorn with some pals. It's very spoilerific and we've added it to our scrapbook here. [More]

Ringer Spy Lavs sends in the latest edition of 'The Sunday Telegraph' in Sydney. They had an article on Viggo Mortensen and 'The Return of the King'. [More]

Amir writes: I was very much surprised to hear that the trilogy screening of Lord of the Rings will be here (in Israel)... I went to our biggest Theater in Tel-Aviv and all over the place were posters about the whole trilogy screening one day before the Return of the King arrives. And of course I already bought my ticket. [More]

Primula writes: The Official LOTRfanclub had the pleasure of an online visit with Sala Baker at our Prancing Pony (off-topic) board this past evening when Sala agreed to meet with one of the fans (Lithilien) for a round of message-board Q&A at the Cyber Java Cafe in LA. [More]

Nate from 21stcenturyradio.com writes: The radio program: 21st Century Radio will be streaming and archiving (free real player archives) interviews with Tolkien scholar and author of "The Philosophical Etymology of Hobbit" Professor Stan McDaniel on November 23rd, 2003 from 7-9pm EST. [More]

Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen is back in Wellington - and has revealed he now takes a little bit of New Zealand with him wherever he goes. [More]

Last week Cate Blanchett was on Live! With Regis and Kelly in the am. She was there to promote her new film 'The Missing'. [More]

Thanks to Ringer Mr. MB and Ringer CB we have our first pictures of the impressive Fell Beast atop the Embassy Theater in Wellington New Zealand. Like the Cave Troll for FOTR, and Gollum for TTT, the Fell Beast will perch on the theater for the entire run of The Return of the King. Check out Richard Taylor and WETA Workshop in action as they fuss over the beast and his rider, the Witch King! [Preparing the Beast for flight] [The Beast on perch]

This was in this month’s Onfilm magazine in NZ, and I thought it would interest a number of TORN readers both for the crossover interest in Narnia and for the news of Richard Taylor, Grant Major and John Howe working on these films.[More]

There may be a lot of Auckland Ringers who haven't joined the line party at Village on Queen, but who're doing the trilogy marathon on the 18th [clearly there's a lot of you, 'cos it's sold out...] Or who'd like to warm up for the midnight screening of ROTK. If you're reading this, we'd like to invite you to join Tark's lineparty for refreshments and general LOTR-ness around noon. That's where I'll be anyhow. [More] UPDATE: Nope, I'm wrong - it's only the midnight screening that's sold out. You can still book for the Extended Edition showings at VoQ. Go on, throw a sickie - you know you want to...

TV Watch: Wood, Boyd and Serkis on MuchMusic's MuchOnDemand

Elijah Wood at MuchMusic

Danielle sends along some great images from the MuchOnDemand event with Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis and Billy Boyd. I've added them to Courtney's great transcript of the event. [More]

Spy KFitz writes: I just saw Dominic Monaghan shooting a movie on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, just a stone's throw away from Gracie Mansion. He was at E. 86th Street and the East River, at Carl Schurz Park, filming a drama called "Shooting Livien" with Jason Behr ('Roswell'). [More]

Caitlin sends along word that Blockbuster now has collectable Return of the King gift cards. Take a look! [More]

The November 22nd 2003 edition of The Tennessean had this article on the LOTR Ken and Barbie dolls dressed as Arwen and Aragorn. [More]

Beorthnoth writes: I wasn't sure if anyone had brought this to your attention, but chief Kansas City Star movie critic, Robert Butler, was one of the very few reviewers in the country to pan The Two Towers last December. I think it worth noting that he has completely revised his take in his review of the Extended Edition. I think it worth noting for the broader community - a mark of just how much better this Extended Edition is over the original. [More]

Fireofmordor writes: I've constantly been checking for ROTK to be the featured album on www.lordoftherings-soundtrack.com and finally, it is! shows differant versions of the soundtrack that are available and their content and has downloads available. [More]

E! Entertanment TV is asking: Are you the ultimate "Lord of the Rings" fan? This worldwide search for the biggest LOTR fan will land a lucky winner on a possible new TV show! If you win, tell them TORn sent ya! :) [Details]

We know it's great, but the Aussies have confirmed it: The Two Towers is the Australian Film Institute's Best Foreign Film of 2002. Thanks to Suel for the link: [More].

Talk about breaking news! From Ringer Nessa: Right now, Wellington time Noon Sunday 23rd Nov, something BIG !! is being placed on the Embassy Theatre. I think it is a Fell Beast.

The action can be followed on the Courtenay Place Webcam. [Here!]

Koala writes: UA cinemas in Hong Kong have just released this information concerning Trilogy Tuesday in Hong Kong. [More]

Aaron S writes: I wanted to share this info with you about a LOTR event in Dallas. Half Price Books (5803 Northwest Hwy Dallas, TX 75231) is hosting 'Tolkien Talk!' today (November 22nd) which will be presented by professors from Texas A&M. [More]

Isilnáriën writes: Aloha Xo! I just wanted to let you know about some of the great things going on here in Hawaii for Trilogy Tuesday and the premier of ROTK. Naturally, we are all counting the minutes until December 16th. Although it took three weeks to sell out the theater (rather than the 30 minutes or less it took elsewhere), at last all seats (400+) have been sold. [More]

Courtney writes: I typed up the interview Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, and Andy Serkis did on MuchMusic's MuchOnDemand show on Thursday. It's not 100% verbatim, more about 90% because Andy Serkies rambled quite a bit, and all three actors tried speaking at the same time at some points in the interview. [More]

frodosam sendsa along this 'For Your Consideration' ad featuring Sam and Frodo. [More]

MMS writes: The KROQ (106.7) morning team of Kevin & Bean announced that Ian McKellen (Gandalf) is slated to be on the show on Monday, November 24. UPDATE We have confirmation that he will be on the air during the 8:30am half-hour. If I were you, I'd tune in a little before and after to make sure you don't miss it!

TORONTO (CP) - Andrew Serkis swears nobody ever asks him to do the voice of Gollum. But the barely suppressed grins on the faces of his amigos Elijah Wood (Frodo) and Billy Boyd (Pippin) betray him. "Every journalist, if someone brings in a cup of tea they'll ask Andy to do the voice," Boyd declares with a laugh. "It's the world's greatest party trick," adds Wood. [More]

Mammoth ROTK Billboard

Kevi-Wan writes: Feel free to post on TORN if you wish. I saw two big billboards while driving thru Hollywood today. The one on the side of the building is HUGE! [More]

Ringer Spy Lee sends along these scans of the latest issue of Starburst Magazine. It includes a story called "Small Soldier," focusing on Merry and Dominic Monaghan. [More]

Ringer Spy Lee sends along these scans from the latest issue of X-Pose Magazine. They have a seven page article on LOTR called "The Lord of the Rings: The History of the Saga's Journey from Page to Screen." [More]

Scoop.co reports how a number of LOTR items including large figurines signed by Richard Taylor and the sculptor, are being auctioned online for a children's charity called Kiwi Can. [More]

Remember those fantastic issues that NZ magazine Pavement put out for the first two films? Packed with exclusive photos and in-depth interviews with the stars? They've done it again for ROTK, and they're prepared to make this issue available to TORN readers around the world. [More]

Susan has details about the trilogy marathon in Christchurch, which seems to be the only place to do it in the South Island. [More]

PippinSkywalker writes: The winner for this contest if 13 year old Hilary, whose endearing hobbit like qualities and sweet innocence won AOL voters hearts. She will be interviewing the cast of Lord of the Rings on the Red Carpet at the World Premiere of the Return of the King in New Zealand. All the best Hilary! Note: You can type in Red Carpet VIP in AOL to see her video, however I believe due to techinical problems they have not put her on the main page as the winner. I have talked to HER and many others and do for certain know that she IS the winner.

Amanda writes: The December 2003 issue of Disney Adventures Magazine features this article on 'The Return of the King'. [More]

Marie writes: Here are some scans from the French magazine 'Ciné Live'. There are interviews with Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Miranda Otto, Viggo Mortensen and Elijah Wood, and some pics. !!!Spoilers!!! [More]

Suspiria777 and Eilozette write: Hi, we visit theonering.net frequently and thought you might like a report on the Middle Earth Shuttle in New York City tuesday (November 18th). Sorry to report it was a bit of a disappointment. [More]

On Monday (November 17th) Cate Blanchett was a guest on The Late Show with David Letterman. She was there to promote her latest film 'The Missing'. I've finally managed to get my video in card to work..so here are some screenshots! [More]

Sorry for the confusion, everyone. Tonight's Ticket Exchange was posted earlier today, to allow for a rare European ticket. We will be back on Monday with more tickets -- no, we haven't run out yet, but we're always looking for MORE [Information here]. Just to let folks know now, we have a holiday here in the states next week, so tickets will be posted on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Thanks everyone!

Ringer Spy Goblin sends in a great link to the Wellington City Council site, showing the parade route for the morning of December 1st. For those of you who AREN'T in Wellington, there is also a link to the web cam, so bookmark this page now! [More]

BBC's uber-cool music show Later with Jools Holland, which broadcasts at 11.35pm GMT (literally less than ten minutes from now), will tonight be featuring Annie Lennox who will be performing two songs from her latest album Bare and hopefully will be mentioning her upcoming single 'Into The West' from The Return of the King soundtrack. [More]

So, you went and sprung for the fancy Collector's Edition of the EE and now you're sitting at home wrestling with that pesky Gollum. How frustrating, eh? Well, thanks to SideshowToy.com, here are a few suggestions on how to get the darn thing out of the box without damaging the packaging. [More]

The new scary-as-heck looking film 'Gothika' co-stars our very own Bernard Hill (Theoden). The film has been released today in North America. [Showtimes USA] [Showtimes CAN]

Wendy writes: Enjoy a new look at Eowyn, played by Miranda Otto, the White Lady of Rohan, in this exclusive new video! Also included is a new photo gallery and desktop for Eowyn in The Return of the King. [More]

Aaron S writes: I wanted to share this info with you about a LOTR event in Dallas. Half Price Books (5803 Northwest Hwy Dallas, TX 75231) is hosting 'Tolkien Talk!' tomorrow (November 22nd) which will be presented by professors from Texas A&M. After a brief introduction of Tolkien, the man and scholar, the talk explores how Tolkien adapted medieval sources for his novel and how adaptations of his work form the basis of the modern genre of fantasy in books and film.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand --- New Zealand film and TV figures meet in Wellington this weekend to discuss some of the unprecedented changes facing their industry. The annual Screen Production And Development Assoc. conference runs from Saturday-Monday and is being staged a week before the Dec. 1 world premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" in Wellington. (Registration required) [More]

LlamaStick writes: BBC Radio Five Live have two pairs of tickets to the Premiere of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, in Wellington New Zealand on 1 December. All you need to do is answer this question.

If there was another instalment, what would you call the 4th Lord of the Rings?

Hadley writes: This is for any Cambridge, Massachusetts ringer out there. The following is taking place tonight (7PM) at the Harvard Coop Bookstore which is located at 1400 Mass. Ave., Cambridge: Discussion: Gregory Basshan & Eric Bronson will discuss and sign "Lord Of The Rings And Philosophy: One Book To Rule Them All". [harvard.bkstore.com]

Corsair writes: You may be interested in knowing that the TentMoot people are incorrectly listing Bruce Hopkins as a confirmed celebrity at their event, when he in fact will be attending elsewhere. Another group has a written contract with him at an event on another coast entirely... and the actor has since informed organizers that he is definitely NOT attending TentMoot, and has told the TentMoot people so some time ago. [More]

Update: BoE states that Bruce's name was in fact taken off their list of confirmed celebrities for the event some time ago, but the Sponsor a Celebrity page had not been updated for some time. Bruce's event schedule can be found on his personal site - Bruce-Hopkins.com.

SW writes: I just spoke to UGC Cinema Group Head Office in UK - they had said that they were going to do a trilogy in one or two places. Now distributor has pulled plug on this idea. [More]

Tonight's ticket exchange offering is for TWO tickets to the Pathe Arena in AMSTERDAM. The first person to e-mail maegwen@theonering.net with the following subject line will be put into contact with the ticket seller. The price is € 40.00 + transaction fees and postage. The subject line MUST read: "Amsterdam Tickets please."

The December 2003 issue of Wired Magazine features this article on geek heaven, otherwise known as the server room at WETA Digital. Thanks to DB for the scan! [More]

Ringer Spy Lucas writes: The bad news is that it seems NewLine has decided not to send the extended editions of FOTR and TTT to South Africa. The good news is that South African distributors Nu Metro will however be rereleasing them prior to the ROTK. [More]

The City of Wellingtion is in full preperation mode for the 'Return of the King' premiere. Thanks to Frodo's Girl for the images! [More]

Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd and Andy Serkis continue their Canadian Bacon tour with a stop at the TSN Sportstation to do a stint on 'Off the Record'. This show features frank discussions on all aspects of sports and other topics. [tsn.ca]

From madisonpubliclibrary.org: Tolkien Fans Delight! David Salo is a linguist who has done extensive research in Tolkien's use of invented language. He is a consultant for the Peter Jackson "Lord of the Rings" movies, providing English-to-Elvish translations and working with the films' language coaches. Mr. Salo will discuss invented languages in general, Tolkien's languages in particular, and the role of invented languages in the films. Join us for an evening of Elvish! [More]

The Big Empty, which premiered this week to a sold out audience at the prestigious American Film Institute's AFI fest at the ArcLight cinemas, opens theatrically in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Spokane today. [thebigempty.com]

Christian writes: The Star Wars Insider Magazine this month had a report on Daniel Logan (Boba Fett in SW Episode 2 and 3) and quote "Logan reported that he was soon journeying to New Zealand to do last-minute shots for the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. [More]

Durin was the eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, and in the deeps of time he founded Khazad-dum beneath the Misty Mountains. After the end of the First Age the might of Khazad-dum waxed greatly when it's people was swelled with refugees from Nogrod and Belegost after the drowning of Beleriand. Behind shut doors the city endured through Saurons dominion of Middle Earth, and was named Moria - the black pit - by the Elves of Eregion. In the middle of the Third Age however, evil things were again stirring in the world, and in Moria the Dwarves delved ever deeper in their search for Mithril. Under the foundations of Barazinbar they at last delved too deep and released the terror that would drive them out of the halls of Durin.[More]

Avid Figwit watchers may be interested in this autographed Topps card that was discovered over on E-bay. We also think that there's a certain resemblance to one of the elves in this picture from the Cinema Magazine scans we posted yesterday. [More]

Courtesy of our friends at Council of Elrond, here's a new shot (or at least, one that I haven't seen) or the Morgul host marching forth to war with Gondor from Minas Morgul. [More] !!!Spoilers!!!

Ringer Spy Isilvendë screencapped this stunning picture of Pippin from Verizon Wireless's Lord of the Rings page. Amazing stuff. [More] !!!Major Spoilers!!!

An in-game screencap from EA's Return of the King Gameboy Advance game has surfaced on Elbakin.net. It relates to the Corsairs, but looks to be animation, not film footage. [More] !!!Spoilers!!!

David Wenham's film Gettin' Square is a leading contender for a bunch of gongs at the annual AFI (Australian Film Industry) awards tonight. This roundup of its chances from the Sydney Morning Herald's Gary Maddox. [More]

A BIG thanks to Owl Lover for these great scans and a full translation of the interviews in the latest issue of Germany's Cinema Magazine. Take a look at these AMAZING pictures from ROTK, some of which I've never seen before! Take a look! !!!Spoilers!!! [More]

Meg writes: I heard that Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd and Andy Serkis are in Toronto and they're going to be on 102.1 The Edge on Friday, Nov 21. I also hear that Dominic Monaghan is here too, although that might just have been a mistake by the DJ, I'm not sure. [edge.ca]

(Hey boys...why not stop on by Montreal and we'll go for a drink or three! -Xo)

liz writes: I got home from college today to find a letter from MIT's HSSP SPLASH program (for middle school/high school students). One of the lectures being offered is "Elvish Writing." David Nelson is teaching it, and the description is "An introduction to the Elvish lettering system created by J.R.R. TOlkien, focusing on the English mode of Tengwar. We'll learn the basics of writing with the Tengwar and reading them. We'll look at the corpus of Tengwar produced by JRRT and CJRT, as well as more recent material used in the movies, to gain some insight to the various styles within the English mode.

John writes: I was watching part 2 of The Greatest Motion Picture of All Time tonight (excuse me, I mean 'The Two Towers, Extended Edition), and as I was viewing the credits scroll by I noticed a typo: They list "John Nogle" (with a g) as the actor who plays Denethor, rather than John Noble.

The Portland Oregon Convention Center will be hosting a 5-day Line Party from Dec. 11-15. A lot of cool celebrity guests have been scheduled, including John Howe, Lawrence Makaore, Kirin Shah, Ngila Dickinson, and more! There will be music, panels, workshops (including a WETA booth), a fan art gallery, and...well, just go check out the link to see all the fun! Tickets are on sale at ticketweb.com and there is also a volunteer application you can fill out--free admission on the day you volunteer! Come on and join the fun, Northwest Ringers! [More]

Josh sends along the December issue of Maxim Magazine which has this article on ROTK, including some comments from Sean Astin! [More]

Isabela writes: I was on a train from Lancaster to London for a "study" break when I caught Sir Ian McKellen's face out of the corner of my eye - sadly only a 2D version - but Virgin Trains had interviewed him for their Winter 2003 Hotline edition. The article has a general discussion of LOTR/ROTK (including his favourite LOTR merchandise), plus an interesting aside about gay rights and activism. [More]

Tonight's ticket exchange offering is for TWO tickets to the AMC Lennox Theatre in Columbus, OH.

UPDATE: We HAVE A WINNER. TJ will be put in contact with the seller of this ticket, Yuckabuck.

Everyone's favorite Farmer Maggot Cameron Rhodes wrote in to tell us about a fantastic new play he's currently appearing in called "Ladies Night". The play has been co-written by Stephen Sinclair, who also helped on the scripts for The Lord of the Rings! [More]

Ringer Spy Altaira sends in the good news: Members of their MovieWatcher program can buy up to 10 tickets for ROTK starting today! Here are the details... [More]

Ann writes: In response to your 'Sad News for Irish Ringers' post, UGC may not be showing either FotR or TTT, but Ster Century in Liffey Valley in West Dublin are. [More]

NZboy sends in this story from Stuff.co.nz: Sources have told The Dominion Post that efforts are under way to establish a museum in Miramar to showcase the making of the trilogy and Wellington's film industry. [More]

From their website: Using examples from the first two films Gregory will show the development, through the R&D and pre-production phases, of several key shots from the Lord of The Rings. [More]

The folks from csuohio.edu write: We're very excited to let you know about our current plans for the upcoming 3rd ANNUAL J.R.R. TOLKIEN'S "LORD OF THE RINGS" MARATHON READING CELEBRATION @ Cleveland State University's historic MATHER MANSION, 2605 Euclid Ave, November 20-22, 2003, in Cleveland, Ohio. This event is a cooperative effort between The EDGE: Lutheran Campus Ministry & Art Gallery and the Cleveland State University English Department. All events are FREE and open to the public. [More]

Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd and Andy Serkis will be on MuchMusic's 'Much on Demand' today at 5PM ET. Anyone in Canada and a few lucky views in the Tri-State area will be able to watch them appear live and answer viewer questions. [More]

airearan writes: Viggo and Buckethead's new music and spoken word cd is now available at Perceval Press. The description of the cd reads: Dedicated to Noam Chomsky and using William Blake, Jonathan Swift, and Rumi's prescient wordplay as its point of departure, Pandemoniumfromamerica is a sonic snapshot of 21st century disorientation and dissent. [More]

Our very own Asfaloth writes: I was watching my "Two Towers Extended Edition" special features, Disk 3, "Designing Middle-earth" and about 37 seconds into chapter 2 of the program, they show a shot of Alan standing outside of a tent on location. Sitting next to him and beaming is our very own Tehanu! [More]

Heather writes: I attended the taping of MTV's TRL featuring Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd. I arrived at the studio at 1 pm, braving gusty winds and rain. I didn't have a ticket, since you had to reserve them 3 months in advance, and I had found out about this 3 days ago! [More]

Now that the screeners issue has been set in stone (if not resolved to everyone's satisfaction), the film biz can move forward and concentrate on what's really important in the awards season: the actual contenders. [More]

It was a tale that grew in the telling - wait, I think that's been done before. Anyway, a more than several weeks ago now - more like two months, in fact - I had the privilege of representing TORn at the Best of Both Worlds convention in Canberra, Australia. [More]

This Sunday Fox will broadcast the new Simpsons episode 'The Regina Monologues' which features such Brit celeb alumni as PM Tony Blair, Harry Potter author JK Rowling and the man behind Gandalf himself, Sir Ian McKellen. [More]

Yep, bookings close TOMORROW MIDNIGHT for TORN/Red Carpet's Return of the Ringers party to celebrate the premiere of The Return of the King in Wellington. We're up to 682 partygoers as of tonight....can we break the magic 700 barrier? Kiwis who booked early, I stuffed your tix in the postbox early this morning. What a relief. Everyone else, remember to bring ID to be checked in at the door and receive your souvenir ticket. [If you're thinking 'huh, what party?' read all about it here and book through Ticketek.

Hyuk hyuk, gotta love that pun headline. Who'd have thought "Hobbit-forming" and related headlines would keep on inspiring journalists for 40 years? On to the real story, which is about how Tolkien fans sometimes get addicted LOTR merchandise despite our reservations. Oh, TORN's book gets a mention, as does the wonderful Tolkien and the Great War which I'm reading right now. [More] Thanks again to Lee for the link.

Lee sent in this one: The appeal of wizards, elves and dark lords is being investigated by an Aberstywyth academic in an Internet survey of the Lord of the Rings film phenomenon. [More] Stupidly, the news story doesn't tell how you get to be part of the survey. UPDATE Ahah, Djkvegas found that out for us here.

More news from Scoop: Two brothers Richard (23) and Tom Greenwood (21) have followed Tolkiens Trail in Birmingham, England to discover the true inspiration behind many of the Lord of The Rings and Hobbit locations. Their photographs have been compiled into a calendar along with quotes from Tolkien and interesting facts relating to each location. [More]

One month out, tickets go on sale today (Thursday 20 November 2003) for 'the most anticipated movie of the year' - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - at all Village SKYCITY Cinemas. Scoop.co.nz also has news of the EE Trilogy Marathon event in Auckland, and the special charity screening of ROTK on the 17th. [More]

The Return of the King theatrical poster has landed - this time in high-resolution. Check it out! [More] !!!Minor Spoilers!!!

Andy Serkis's website has posted a small excerpt from his book Gollum which will be launched in December. [More]

Robert Catto writes from Wellington: I've just done another update to my site, with a few new images from last night's installation of the Cave Troll on the Council Building in Civic Square - have a look! [More]

Tonight's ticket exchange offering is for THREE tickets to the AMC River Park Square 20 in Spokane, WA.

UPDATE: We HAVE A WINNER. Elyithan will be put in contact with the seller of this ticket, JeTmAn.

Thanks to JeTmAn and all of our ticket sellers, we will have another ticket opportunity posted at 7 pm tomorrow. Read the complete details HERE. Good luck!

Help your fellow Ringers -- if you have extra tickets, and want to embody the spirit of LOTR, be a "Dernhelm" and help some hobbits get to the big show! Be a 'Ticket Exchange' seller! More information here.

Dan Goldwasser from Soundtrack.net has the opportunity to interview Howard Shore recently. He writes: Howard talked with us about his work on Return of the King, as well as his plans for the coming year. He's not quite done with Middle Earth, so come check it out! [More] !!!Spoilers!!!

Hundreds, nay thousands of pictures from Ring*Con 2003 to oogle over! I have posted a selection of Ringer Spy Walter's pictures in our scrapbook here, but if you really want the big shipment of pictures you should try following the links on Herr-der-Ringe-film.de that can be found here, here or here! Mind you, there's a lot of German language there to break your tongue over!

A lot of people have mailed in their thoughts about Ring*Con 2003. I'll try and post all of them so here's the second batch. To start of with TheKnight (who managed to get the Ringers crew drunk on mead which is quite an achievement!) [More] Next up is Thomas who chimes in with some more information about the closing ceremony I mentioned in my day three report! [More] And last but most certainly not least is Hîriel who shares her thoughts on working during the convention! [More]

Because my presence is required at my mother's birthday dinner, we will be announcing tonight's ticket exchange opportunity at 10pm EST, rather than 7pm. Tonight's ticket(s) will be for a Western location. Please read the guidelines here for information on how to participate. Good luck everyone!

Best Direction: Peter Jackson

Shawna sends along this scan of a ROTK 'For Your Consideration' ad recently spotted on Oscarwatch.com, take a look! [More]

Nate from 21stcenturyradio.com writes: The radio program: 21st Century Radio will be streaming and archiving interviews with Tolkien scholar and author of "The Philosophical Etymology of Hobbit" Professor Stan McDaniel on November 23rd. [More]

Fanie writes: Cyberpresse.ca is having a LOTR contest for Québec and Ontario residents. (Must be 18 and over) to attend the Premiere of "Return of the King" in Montréal, which will be held December, 15th. So unless you've got tickets for the other locations in the world, this one is a pretty good alternative to it! [More]

Sam writes: I was lucky enough to attend the Royal Film Performance of Master and Commander on Monday in London with 2 Lord of the Rings fans. We went through the security check and walked passed the crowds to the entrance of the Odeon Leicester Square. Billy Boyd was a little distance behind us and even though it was a very wet evening he stopped for some time to talk to fans in the crowd... [More]

Viggo Mortensen will answer questions about his photography, painting and poetry before the opening of his two photographic exhibitions Mò Te Upoko-O-Te-Ika / For Wellington at Massey University and the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery, City Gallery Wellington, and a poetry reading fundraiser for Victoria University's International Institute of Modern Letters. [More]

Susan Thea Posnock writes: I know it has been a tough few weeks without a column. I apologize for all those sleepless nights, that constant gnawing at your minds wondering when WHEN will the fiendish hobbit groupie return and bring some light to my pathetic, dark existence. Well, I'm back! Lots to cover, much news—good and bad—since I last wrote. (Watch the language here kiddies) [More]

Yusuf writes: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will officially hit the movie theaters in Turkey on the 19th of December with 156 copies. 71 of them will be Turkish dubbed and the rest 85 will be Turkish subtitled versions of the film. [More]

Holly sent along these scans from the TV Guide insert featuring a "DVD Holiday Buying Guide". Take a look! [More]

Lord of Mordor writes: Bad bad news for anybody living in Dublin, Ireland and hoping to catch Trilogy Tuesday. My sources inside The UGC Cinema on Parnell st in Dublin have informed me that they will now not be showing either FOTR or TTT AT ALL. The decision comes from their head office and it baffles me.

WAM! and the Starz cable network will be holding a three-day LoTR marathon weekend from December 19-21. They'll not only be showing the FoTR EE, and the world TV premiere of TTT, they also have a special Return of the King preview including interviews with the stars. We were lucky enough to get a snippet of these interviews, featuring Miranda Otto, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen Elijah Wood and more! (2.4MB file Requires Windows Media Player)
[More] [Marathon Schedule] !!!Spoilers!!!

The newly redesigned DarkHorizons.com has posted a story suggesting that Andy Serkis (Gollum) will continue to pioneer the world of digital performance as King Kong in Peter Jackon's latest project. "Serkis will once again don his blue body-suit, and is understood to already be studying ape movements and mime techniques as preparation." [More]

Are you in love with your Gollum as 'Smeagol' statue from The Two Towers Extended Collector's DVD Gift Set? Has Smeagol found a place of honor in your home, apartment or dorm? If so, send us a pic! SImply send your name, your picture and a caption to fanatics@theonering.net and we'll post them up in our scrapbook for all to see.

Bad news for those that have Dutch as a first language. The distributor for the movies there today 'announced' (although that is a big word for mentioning it in the passing) that most of the Extended Editions and Collector Gift Sets are delayed over there as well. What they really meant to say was: all the big stores get their stuff in time and the smaller retailers shouldn't hold their breath for it. Read all about it on Dutch community site TheFellowship.nl!

Courtesy of Electric Artists, we're able to reveal the coverart for both the Return of the King soundtrack as well as Annie Lennox's single Into the West. [More]

UPDATE: Again, thanks to Electric Artists, we're able to bring you this special Behind-the-Scenes sample of the making of Into the West, as well as the opportunity to have a listen to the song! [More]

And finally my last report filled with musing on what was good and what wasn't during Ring*Con 2003. Be sure to read it and keep sending me your reports! [More]

Ringer Spy Irascian has a transcription up from the pressconference that kicked of Ring*Con 2003 last Friday. It contains some funny passages and two small interviews with Mark Ferguson (Gil-galad) and Craig Parker (Haldir) at the bottom, and especially the last interview has some interesting quotes... [More]

Scoop.co.nz has an article on Air New Zealand's latest LOTR themed planes, featuring the cast (of course) as well as NZ landscapes by one of NZ's most acclaimed photographers. [More]

So, you went and sprung for the fancy Collector's Edition of the EE and now you're sitting at home wrestling with that pesky Gollum. How frustrating, eh? Well, thanks to our friends at Tolkien Online, here are a few suggestions on how to get the darn thing out of the box without damaging the packaging. [More]

UPDATE: Another alternative appears to be carefully opening the bottom of the box, and withdrawing the statue without having to damage the foam. (Does this matter??) Thanks to everyone for sending this in.

Ringer Spy Harlequin sends in this story from Stuff.co.nz: Four hundred seats on grandstands overlooking the red carpet that will be rolled out for the world movie premiere of The Return of the King in Wellington have sold out in days. By mid-afternoon yesterday, only 13 of the $112.50 tickets were left, Wellington Deputy Mayor Alick Shaw said. [More]

According to MTV.com, Middle-earth hits TRL Wednesday, with hobbits Sean Astin, Elijah Wood and Billy Boyd appearing to promote the TTT:EE and the upcoming release of "Return of the King." TRL airs 5 p.m.(ET/PT), 4 p.m.(CT) [More]

Ringer Spies Indy and Lisa sends in their reports from NYC about the Middle-earth shuttle and the difference between the goals of promotion stunts (nice pictures for newspapers) and the wants of fans (who just want to experience the event.) [More]

Tonight's ticket exchange offering is for TWO tickets to the AMC Lennox Theatre in Columbus, OH.

UPDATE: We HAVE A WINNER. Anglachel will be put in contact with the seller of this ticket, Yuckabuck.

Thanks to Yuckabuck and all of our ticket sellers, we will have another ticket opportunity posted at 7 pm tomorrow. Read the complete details HERE. Good luck!

Mahfudz writes: I just wanna let you know that Singapore will start selling "Return of the King" tickets on Friday, 21 November 2003. For more information, you might like to visit this website... [More]

Line Party Leader Mariella writes: The Loews Boston Common Line Party has some great news: we have managed to arrange our own private theater for ROTK at midnight on December 16th, and there are still plenty of tickets available! [More]

Ringer Spy Bucky Underbelly writes: Just got back from Grand Central Station in New York City where the TTT:EE DVD launch was supposed to be celebrated with a special theme subway car (made up Fangorn-style with leaves and vines and such) between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. ... but they shut it down early! By almost 45 minutes! [More]

Ringer Spy Joseph writes: I've recently noticed that some Return of the King music has already started to be played on Classic FM in the UK, which can be heard over the Internet. Here's the schedule of what has been played and what will be played... [More]

Ringer Spy nel writes: As you're probably gonna receive lots of reports about the fantastic RingCon of this weekend, I just want to share with you some elements I very much appreciated. Mind you, there's some minor spoilers! [More]

For the past 18 years a sparkling 27-foot-high ornament has graced the intersection of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City. It was named the "UNICEF Snowflake" in November 2002. The lighting ceremony — a live, outdoor holiday entertainment event open to the public — will take place on Thursday, November 20 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. [More]

Ringer Spy Kathleen writes: Not sure why (especially since people can now officially buy the DVD), but lordoftherings.net has two snippets of TTT EE DVD on their website, one on the armor of the Uruk-Hai and one on the Three Runners. They were both pretty cool; just thought you should know. [More] !!!Spoilers!!!

Tindomerel writes: I wanted to let all the nearby fans know that as of today, there are still 200+ tickets available (believe it or not) for the Trilogy Tuesday here in Ottawa, Canada! It will be a sad day if we can't manage to fill the one and only theatre in our city that is doing the Tilogy. I think a complete lack of advertising is at fault here because last year there were probably ten or more theatres that were sold out for the midnight showing of TTT.

Some of the people that attended Ring*Con 2003 last weekend wrote in with their thoughts and highlights about the event. Check out the first batch of reactions here and be sure to keep sending me your thoughts, pictures and other Ring*Con related stuff! [More]

Fredrik writes: Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet today confirmed that the tickets for ROTK in Sweden will be released on Monday the 8th of December. The article also says that the final cut of the movie will be delivered to the swedish film censorship body by the end of the month and that it will be accompanied by a "bodyguard" from New Line 24/7. [More]

If you bought one of the Two Towers Collector DVD Gift Sets, you are now finding a place to display your Gollum as 'Smeagól' statue. Also contained in your Gift Set is an exclusive offer to purchase Sideshow/Weta's Gollum as 'Gollum' statue.They have just posted a 360 degree turnaround of this exclusive piece on their website. [Learn More]

Any early-birds who are lucky enough to be home this morning and not still sleeping (I watched Cate on Letterman last night and am now paying for it this morning! -Xo) may want to check out Live! With Regis and Kelly at 10AM ET. Cate Blanchett is set to be one of their guests. [US TV Listings] [CAN TV Listings]

The Maritim Hotel in Bonn, Germany has the past weekend been home of Europe’s biggest Tolkien and Lord of the Rings-related convention: Ring*Con 2003. For the second year in a row all that had anything to do with the books or the movies gathered for a weekend of fun, interesting panels, lectures, workshops and even more fun! Check out my thoughts on the second day here!

And please keep sending me your thoughts on the event!

Not that we haven't mentioned the recent LOTR-TV blitzkrieg that is expected for the next few weeks, but I thought I'd remind you about this before I retire for the evening. Cate Blanchett will be on The Late Show with David Letterman tonight starting at 11:35PM. More images and a report tomorrow!

ianroxas writes: ROTK doesn't open in the Philippines until January. UP Alpha Sigma Fraternity and The Philippine Tolkien Society will hold a premiere for ROTK on December 22, at SM Mega Mall.

Rachel writes: Here are the lyrics from Into The West. The only thing I'm unsure of is "Dawn will fade" or "All will fade". Take a look! [Lyrics] ['Into the West' on AOL] [TORn mirror]

Elf Lady writes: My friend BeastyBunny picked this set up at Toy's R Us in San Francisco (the store on Masonic and Geary). Check out Frodo's hand! !!!Spoilers!!! [More]

Kathleen writes: Those of us with tickets to Trilogy Tuesday are pretty lucky--most of us could have a Second Breakfast anytime we choose. But many people in the community never even get to have a first breakfast... [More]

We've got two more TV appearances to add to our ever-growing list for this week and mid-December. Seems Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis and Billy Boyd will be stopping by the TSN SportsDesk in Toronto for 'Off the Record', and if you haven't heard Elijah Wood is all but confirmed to be hosting Saturday Night Live on December 13th. [More]

GANDALF1985 writes: Billy Boyd (Pippin) was on Richard and Judy, a UK Chat show that is on every weekday afternoon at 5pm. Richard asked Billy about the Cutting of Saurman from the third film Billy answered it by saying that he wasn't aware it had been cut, but did say that it was only a small piece anyway! Billy also said that he really loved the third film, and that he WOULD be at the LONDON premier of the ROTK. [More]

Deagol's Bane writes: I was reading my new copy of New Man magazine and found this short quote from Andy Serkis on playing Gollum. [More]

Kestryn writes: There is an article on Orlando Bloom (Legolas) in December's Elle Magazine. [More]

The AOL-members premiere dropped into our laps this evening, and we had to force ourselves to stop listening long enough to post it! Here you have it folks: the final song of the final movie of the LOTR films, "Into the West" by Annie Lennox. (Grab some Kleenex before playing!) [AOL stream] [TORn mirror]

Nerwen sends in these images from the Finnish lineparty at Plevna theater in Tampere, Finland. 'Tickets will be sold at 6.00am Saturday morning (22.11) and we'll be able to spend the last night inside the theater watching movies and trying out the new ROTK console game. We've also been planning karaoke, dancing, trivia and live role playing games.' [More]

Tonight's ticket exchange offering is for ONE ticket to the AMC 24 in Orange Park, FL.

UPDATE: We HAVE A WINNER. Kithus will be put in contact with the seller of this ticket, SmotherBro.

Thanks to SmotherBro and all of our ticket sellers, we will have another ticket opportunity posted after 7 pm tomorrow. Read the complete details HERE. Good luck!

Ian Brodie will be at Te Papa Museum in Wellington to sign copies of his revised LOTR Locations Guide on Thursday 20th November. [More]

Orlando Bloom in Korean Esquire

Ringer Spy elf ruril sends along these scans from Korea's Esquire Magazine. It features an article and photo spread of Orlando Bloom (Legolas). [More]

Get those TiVo's or VCR's ready....stay up late with a gallon of coffee and a bag of Skittles...here's a quick roundup of all the LOTR TV appearances this week! [More]

He acts! He paints! He writes poetry! And he turns women to jelly. Viggo Mortensen talks to Josie McNaught about his exhibition of photographs taken in New Zealand during filming of Lord of the Rings. [More]

Josh writes: The clip for today on the Official Site is talking about how they captured the crowd, so to speak, for the scene with Saruman and the loads of Uruk-hai who go off to battle at Helms Deep. [More]

Ringer Spy Silicon Gollum writes: Air New Zealand has a press release saying there will be broadcast video footage of the AirNZ Boeing 747 on satellite from 3-4PM US Pacific Time today while the plane is at Los Angeles International Airport. Let's see if anyone with the proper receiver can catch the video. [More]

Bron-Y-Aur writes: MTV is airing the MTV Europe Awards tomorrow (November 18th) at 10:00AM ET. If your waiting to get your copy of TTT:EE then maybe you'll catch Billy Boyd presenting an award!

The Maestro writes: AOL has premiered a "First Listen" of Annie Lennox's "Into the West" from the LOTR:ROTK soundtrack. Very haunting song which, when it plays will only heighten the sadness as the credits roll on this final film.

Idlemindgames writes: I was lucky enough to find a copy of the EE:TTT early and wanted to report some information I found. When I had finished watching the movie I started on the director's commentary. When it came to the scene where Peter has his "first" cameo (when Saruman is giving a "pep talk" to the Easterlings), the man him self said something very interesting... [More]

Roheryn writes: Here's a scan from this week's Entertainment Weekly (Issue #738, November 21). It has a favorable review of "The Two Towers Extended Edition" DVD, awarding it an "A Minus." (So tell me, with a beautifully packaged, completely comprehensive, four-disc set, what more must one do to merit an "A" or "A Plus"?). [More]

Juan Espin writes: I wanted to send you this entertainment column that ran on Friday in the Daily Beacon, the University of Tennesee's student newspaper which reaches over 32,000 people. The column, by Rosemary Nottoli, talks about the obsession with sequels and her own personal obsession with a particular elf. It just goes to show that here in Big Orange Country(Go Vols!) we love our sequels and look forward to December 17. [More]

The Maritim Hotel in Bonn, Germany has the past weekend been home of Europe’s biggest Tolkien and Lord of the Rings-related convention: Ring*Con 2003. For the second year in a row all that had anything to do with the books or the movies gathered for a weekend of fun, interesting panels, lectures, workshops and even more fun! Here’s my thoughts on the weekend, starting with the first day of the convention: the Friday! [More]

Were you there as well? I'd love to hear your stories!

Ster City Cinemas is running a competition offering a pair of tickets to the London premiere of Return of the King as first prize. And all you need to do is fill in this form to enter! (NB: It does not seem to be restricted to UK residents, but I'm guessing it probably is.) Thanks to Ringer Hex for the link. [More]

From Stuff.co.nz: Legal issues are preventing Wellington from capitalising on Lord of the Rings mania, city leaders say. [More]

Wondering just how good the DVD extras on the Two Towers Extended Edition are? TORn Staffer WeeTanya has written this review. [More] Language warning