Lord Of The Rings wheels out stage for Ł25m musical

Now it is a massive revolving wheel, a complex web of wires, struts and machinery. But in a few weeks it will be transformed into Middle Earth for what is easily the most expensive musical to be seen in the West End. This moving floor - nearly Ł1 million worth of automated engineering - will be the basis of the set for the Ł25 million production of The Lord Of The Rings at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Previously, the most expensive West End production was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which cost Ł6.2 million to stage. One of the most dramatic scenes where the revolving stage will be used to full effect is the battle of Helm's Deep. It will rise and fall to show the Orcs first preparing for battle and then storming the fortress. [More]

Be sure to check out our weekly Sideshow Collectibles update! Each week we provide an update on your favorite Sideshow goodies, from busts to premium figures and more! Take a look! [More]

The stars of the hit UK comedy movie Hot Fuzz will appear at New Zealand's first ever MySpace Black Curtain Screening at the Embassy Theatre, Wellington, on Friday March 9. MySpace.com is the world's premier internet lifestyle portal for communicating with friends and discovering culture. The Black Curtain Screenings are exclusive, free national movie premieres which give people the chance to see the latest films before anyone else. To become a member of Black Curtain Screenings people need to create a Myspace account and visit this link. Once they have added themselves as a friend to this profile they will then receive details about each secret screening as they become available. [More]

Lord of the Rings fans are in for a real treat. The dedicated legions of lovers, spanning from children to adult professionals, of the celebrated book and film trilogy now have a musical experience to look forward to. Howard Shore, 60, who has composed the scores to more than 60 films, will have his orchestral compositions for the Lord of the Rings performed live in concert by a symphony and a mixed chorus. [More]

Interesting news out of the UK today. The Lord of the Rings is ranked No. 2 on Britain's 'Best Read' list. You may be asking, what ground-breaking piece of literature could possibly beat the masterpiece that is The Lord of the Rings?! Well ladies, looks like Mr. Darcy and the crew from 'Pride and Prejudice' have taken the crown. Read the full article through the link. [Read More]

Sevilodorf writes: A heads up about a special showing of Alatriste starring Viggo Mortensen at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood on Saturday March 16th. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. Link below goes to write up on the Spanish Cinema Festival. [More]

AN ICONIC 20ft stainless steel statute to celebrate Birmingham's links with Lord of the Ring's creator JRR Tolkien is set to get the green light. The giant Ent Treebeard, a walking tree creature from the classic fantasy story, could soon be strolling across Moseley village green. It has been designed by the Moseley Statue Group, part of the local business association, to draw tourists and Lord of the Rings fans to the area. [More]

The Embassy Theatre in Wellington has sent out their latest newsletter. The big news is that they will be screening all three LOTR films this March as part of their summer series (North America's winter). From the newsletter: Peter Jackson's Academy Award winning films should only be seen in the luxury of our leather armchairs and on our giant screen.

LORD OF THE RINGS: The Fellowship of the Ring - March 18
LORD OF THE RINGS: The Two Towers - March 4 - March 25
LORD OF THE RINGS: The Return of the King - March 11 - April

TheOneRing.net, TORn Message Board Members, myself and many others actually have our names on a chair in the theatre. I had the pleasure of seeing 'March of the Penguins' there last April. Take a look at some of our photos from the trip.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is raising hundreds of millions of dollars to produce sequels to some of its most popular films, such as The Terminator and The Pink Panther, at a time Wall Street investors are eager to pay for movie making in Hollywood, the company's chairman said..."We are putting together a fund to finance our franchise movies -- James Bond, The Pink Panther, The Terminator and The Hobbit," MGM Chairman Harry Sloan told reporters, explaining the financing may be raised in more than one single fund. [More]

Lorien "Ramen" Carney, Community Relations Specialist for The Lord of the Rings Online writes: We’ve just posted a new Point of Interest on the official LOTRO web site, the North Downs area known as the Fields of Fornost. Today’s selection is served with two new screenshots that depict the somber environment and crumbling monuments of this once-proud region. "Travel to the Fields of Fornost in the North Downs, home to the once-principle city of the Kingdom of Arnor." [More]

From UGO: Karl Urban is no stranger to physical characters, havingtaken on roles in The Chronicles of Riddick, The Bourne Supremacy, The Lord of the Rings and DOOM. However, the Kiwi thespian admits to us that his latest film Pathfinder was his most physically demanding role to date. As Pathfinder gears up for an April 27, 2007 release, Karl was more than happy to talk to us about spending time with Viking lore and Indian culture plus the physicality required to play the character Ghost, a man caught between two distinct cultures during the Viking era. [More]

Jeff Anderson, president and chief executive officer of Turbine Inc., told SCI FI Wire that Lord of the Rings Online: The Shadows of Angmar is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that takes its cues directly from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, but that also expands on them. "[We] took a lead from the master [and] focused [the game] on the first book [in the trilogy] and covered the storyline as Frodo and Sam leave the Shire and start moving towards ... Rivendell," Anderson said in an interview at the New York Comic Con over the weekend. "Post-launch we are going to tell more of the story as the fellowship leaves that area and goes forth ... all the way to Mount Doom."

The main storyline of the game covers many of the same events as the first book of Tolkien's trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, Anderson said. "Everything from Gandalf being captured ... [to] Strider meeting up with the fellowship at The Prancing Pony [to] the fight on Weathertop," he said. "We've got all those moments in the game, and we communicate that through a variety of different mechanics: through text, through voice-over, through game cinematics. Those all make sure that the player is aware of where the story is." [More]

Jean, director of the Tolkien Track at Dragon*Con writes: I wanted to let you know that we are already revving up for this year's Dragon*Con this fall. Our site has been updated and we are anxiously awaiting word from Dragon*Con on our guests for this year. For more information, check out this website or contact tolkientrack@gmail.com

Ian Collier from The Tolkien Society writes: Are you a dad, mum, grandparent, uncle, aunt with an interest in Tolkien? Are you a young person with an interest in Tolkien? Then Reading Day is designed for YOU. Tolkien Reading Day encourages the use of Tolkien's works in education and library reading groups, as this year's day falls on a Sunday the emphasis is on families reading together. [More]

The February 25th, 2007 comic 'Get Fuzzy' features a banner saying "Frodo Failed". Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Some very cool TV on DVD like 'The Brady Bunch - S4 & 5', 'Captain N The Game Master' & 'Da Vinci's Inquest - S1'. The big releases of the week are 'A Good Year' & 'Stranger Than Fiction'. Personally I'm interested in 'Great Cars Collection' & 'George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing'! Check out the whole list here! [More]

Veteran actor Ian McKellen's much anticipated first turn in the lead role in Shakespeare's King Lear is set to reach Australia this year. Among his generation's greatest actors, McKellen has been confirmed to lead the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company in productions of the theatre classics King Lear and Chekhov's The Seagull for a limited 10-performance run at the Arts Centre in Melbourne from July 28. The tour will reunite McKellen with director Trevor Nunn for the first time in 17 years. [More]

The message board community of TheOneRing.net has concluded its own vote on the Oscars and officially, we had a tie! "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Queen" tied over on the "Pollantir" section of our new boards (the poll section) where fans can vote on just about anything! "Pan's Labyrinth" was another big winner picking up TORn non-awards for "Foreign Languag Film," "Cinemtography," "Makeup," "Original Score," "Art Direction," and tying for "Original Screenplay." Come see all the winners here! [More]