Ringer Spy Trueogre sends in this report from the Collectormania 2003 event from Milton Keynes in the UK. I absolutely love the picture of John Rhys Davies with the birthday balloon. Trueogre also got to meet Sala Baker, Billy Boyd, Bruce Hopkins and Andy Serkis. [More]

Each week, I scour Ebay looking for the hot Tolkien items up for sale. I post the most interesting here for you to bid on! [More]

Take a look at the LOTR stars you can catch on the small screen this week! [More]

Today, May 5th, is John Rhys-Davies's (Gimli) birthday! John was born on 5 May, 1944 in Salisbury, England. That makes him 59 today! Happy birthday John!

The christopherleeweb writes: Christopher Lee will be hosting an event in London to celebrate the release of his new DVD The Making of a Legend on Saturday the 31st of May. There will be a special screening of one of his classic films, a screen talk and finally he will be signing copies. An official announcement will be made as soon as the limited number of tickets to attend this event become available as well as extensive information on this DVD. [More]

Sarah writes: Channel 4's (UK) countdown of the 100 greatest movie stars on May 4/5 included LOTR actors Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) and Christopher Lee (Saruman). Orlando Bloom (Legolas) is named in the stars of the Furture section.

Adrian writes: This Ian McKellen (Gandalf) article is from the April 26th edition of The Times. Take a look! [More]

Sweeney Agonistes writes: Atlanta's Fox Theatre is showing TTT on June 5 at 8 pm as part of their annual summer movie festival. Tickets are $7 the day of the show. [More]

Haddy sends in these pictures of Andy Serkis (Gollum) and Billy Boyd (Pippin) at Collectormania 2003. Take a look! [More]

We thought this book existed already, but apparently it won't be due out til next year. Syd Allan's page talks about the progress of the book and the way it will be presented - there is apparently TWO versions: Tolkien made a verse translation (not completed) and a prose translation. Scholar Michael Drout is working on both. [More] This link is a goldmine for anyone interested in Anglo Saxon language and literature - thanks to Quinn for sending it.

FoolofaTook.com has finished the TTT part of their Action Figure Storybook, which has been pretty popular. [More] NOTE: Use the link in the News section instead of the Book Selection, that one doesn't work.

Up until now, nobody's actually said WHAT the Embassy Theatre needed in order to reach the standard New Line was requiring in order to host the World Premiere. A Radio NZ interview with Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast gave us some information on the size of the problem. It sounds manageable and she gave the impression that she was motivated to find a solution. [More] According to the Dominon Post, though, the Embassy Trust needs more than what the mayor indicated. [More]

The Embassy Theatre Trust held an emergency meeting yesterday, after The Dominion Post revealed on Saturday that Wellington could lose the world premiere of The Return of the King unless the Embassy was revamped to world-class standard by December. [More]

This is an odd one - McKellen's answers are as thoughtful as usual, there's a few places where a careless reporter misheard the interview transcript, [Gandalf in "Little Earth"?] and some of the least flattering shots of Sir Ian I've ever seen. [More] Thanks to Charlie for the link.

Thanks to Matt for this article from the Nashua Telegraph in New Hampshire. They must be an intelligent lot over there, or maybe just times have changed - three years ago you would NEVER have an article in a mainstream paper that treated the subject with respect. [More]

This sounds good: a dazzling multimedia collaboration between actors Rick Miller and Dawson Nichols, who take on dozens of different characters who all share an obsession with J.R.R. Tolkien, including the director and producer of "Into The Ring", a film about the Lord of the Rings phenomenon. [More] Thanks to Tigerlily for the link!

The current issue of Playstation Magazine has a rather nice article about the upcoming The Return of the King PS2 game. The article features some very, very nice screenshots from the game, including Aragorn in action and a shot from the Winged Nazgul! Ringer Spy Buck sent in a scan which can be found in our scrapbook! [More]

The battle of the Pelennor fields - the greatest battle of the Third Age. Theoden and his army engage the Haradrim, while the footmen of Gondor drive against the hosts of Morgul under the walls of Minas Tirith. As the fighting grows furious and Theoden lies wounded on the field, Merry and Eowyn find themselves confronting the Black Captain of Mordor's host, the Witch King. [More]

Okay, the details are a little sketchy, or perhaps my understanding is, but this Sunday at 7 pm, the city of Honolulu is presenting The Two Towers for free at the Kapolei Fairgrounds as part of its Sunset on the Plains weekend. The movie will be shown on a 30-foot screen. [More]

A behind-the-scenes look at the major role Linux played in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers from the May edition of PC Magazine. Thanks to TORn Staffer Maegwen for the link. [More]

Ringer Fan Michelle reports that Fandango.com is running a "most anticipated sequel of the year" poll. RoTK is up against a few heavyweights. Wander on over and register your vote. [More]

The story about the fate of the Wellington Premiere and the Embassy Theatre refurbishment continues to evolve. We will continue to monitor this story with great interest. According to Stuff.co.nz, Executive Producer Mark Ordesky says New Line Cinema is committed to a Wellington debut for RoTK, but the Embassy must offer a similar standard to the Odeon Leicester Square in London and the Ziegfield Theater in Manhattan where the two previous Rings world premieres were held. [More]

Peter Jackson is seeking 200 blondes as extras for additional shooting for Lord of the Rings, Stuff.co.nz is reporting. According to Casting Director Liz Mullane, the extras will get between two and six days' work from May 20 till the end of June. [More]

Rohirrim ... surely that narrows the range of pick-up scenes? - Dem.

Last fall Ian McKellen and the cast of 'X2: X-Men United' (out today) were not-so-quietly filming on the west coast of Canada. Ian sat down with us via telephone to share with us his experiences on the 'X2' set, and his future in film and theatre. [Interview] [Showtimes]

Environmentalists dress like Tolkien's tree creatures for protest. Greenpeace used a scene from the popular Lord of the Rings movie trilogy Thursday to attack the B.C. government's new working forest policy. Protesters on stilts who were dressed up as moss-covered trees marched toward the B.C. legislature. [More]

The May issue of Out! Magazine features this page dedicated to Ian McKellen (Gandalf). [More]

Poor John Howe...he's one of the most celebrated fantasy artists of all time, yet people don't recognize him on the street! Well now he's fighting back...and getting a good jab at his pal Alan Lee at the same time! [More]

If you were planning on ordering the limited edition Orthanc Environment from Sideshow/Weta Collectibles, you might want to place your order SOON! From what our sources tell us, approximately 50,of the 750 run, are left to pre-order. After that, its gone. [More]

For anyone that gets PBS-U, the Standard Deviants will be doing Rings, Kings, and Things on May 4th. "Get ready for a fun-filled exploration of the fabulous genre of Fantasy literature. The Standard Deviants cover some of fantasy literature's greatest stories, including The Lord of the Rings, Le Morte d'Arthur, and Beowulf, with a special look at what makes these stories so great." Here's the schedule with more details. Thanks to Kygirl for the link.

People have sent in lots of little bits about the LOTR cast members: Cate's casting in 'Alias Grace,' more ways to pick up John Rhys-Davies' interview in Wales, Orlando and Sean in 'Troy,' and a really great review of Sir Ian Mckellen's recent film work. Thanks to everyone who wrote in. [More]

Barnes and Noble is offering a free four week online course to learn about Tolkien and his work. [More] Thanks to Sweep for the news!

Italian fans might enjoy this LOTR event being held in the village of Bardi, near Parma. It has a castle, and next Sunday (May 4th) it will host the "Lord of the Rings' saga" in which they will reproduce the main scenes of the books... LIVE!!! [More]

There's a very clever satire on Mcsweeney.com, which claims to be "Unused audio commentary by Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, recorded for FOTR extended edition." [More]

Do NOT go to this site unless you understand what the word 'satire' means, otherwise you may be moved to email the writer in a manner that will cause him to laugh a lot at your expense. Thanks to Anita for the link.

Tolkien fans are gathering in Toronto this December to celebrate the release of ROTK. [More] While TheOneRing.net is not involved in anyway with the organizing of this event, its worth a look! It is also important to note, as many fans have asked us, that New Line Cinema is not officially involved with the gathering.

WeeTanya noticed this on the Tolkien Society's calendar of events - a Q&A with Sir Ian on May 4. "Come and meet Gandalf, Magneto and Richard III in person. Sir Ian McKellen, patron and neighbour of The Space, invites the audience to ask questions about his life and career. All ages welcome." [More]

A real castle near the center of Holland was the location for this years Elf Fantasy Fair last weekend. Amongst a whole range of special guests were Tolkien-illustrator extraordinaire Ted Nasmith and Gamling-actor Bruce Hopkins. I was fortunate enough to be there as well and spend some time with both, here's a short report. [More]

Douglas Anderson writes: I recently got the finished cover for my book TALES BEFORE TOLKIEN: THE ROOTS OF MODERN FANTASY, due out in August from Ballantine Books. [More] [Shop]

The folks from The Tolkien Society write: 2003's Tolkien Weekend at Sarehole Mill (17th-18th May) will be the biggest yet! This is the fourth such event, and now an annual item in the Birmingham calendar. Sarehole Mill was the "original" for the Mill at Bywater in the Shire in The Lord of the Rings. [More]

Dusty sends along news that the SideshowToy 'No Admittance' bookends will now be sold though a Houghton Mifflin special deal starting this Fall! Take a look! [More] [Shop]

True-Hearted Easterling writes: The May 27 issue of PC Magazine has a Two Towers article on page 70, along with a picture of Gollum and a geeky graph depicting servers, workstations, software, and Gollum. The article, entitled "Linux Goes to the Movies," is a case study of Weta Digital by Brad Grimes and is described as "A behind-the-scenes look at the major role Linux played in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."

Anyone with scans, send them along!

Niki writes: I just got an e-mail from our Disney branch manager. It looks like the first trailer for Hidalgo will be on Terminator 3, which opens on July 4. That is still a bit in the future, so things could change.

In a follow-up from this story we posted yesterday, NZCity reports the following. "New Line promises Wellington will continue to host the world Premiere of LOTRIII, regardless of refurbishing cinema. Wellington's Lord of the Rings world premiere is not in jeopardy. The City Council has reversed its original decision to underwrite a $7 million refurbishment project for the Embassy Theatre, which they initially thought was a condition of the capital being the venue for the first showing of the final part of Peter Jackson's trilogy." [More]

Temesia sends us this little article about Ian McKellen (Gandalf) from People Magazine. Who knew Gandalf was so "cheeky"?!?! [More]

Given the chance to visit anywhere on the planet, 14-year-old Eric Gullion of Memphis, Tennessee, chose to come to the place where the Lord of the Rings was brought to life. Eric, who has a rare blood disorder that caused his liver to fail last year, is visiting locations where the Lord of the Rings was filmed, thanks to international children's charity Make-a-Wish. [More]

Michelle writes: I was listening to the NZ radio station the edge this morning and the DJ had a quick interview with Lawrence Makoare at the NZ Music Awards. Lawrence said he was doing reshoots in two weeks and that he was playing two different characters and just re-doing some old shots and stuff. He also said that 80% of ROTK had been shot or finalised and that the re-shoots were to get the last 20%.

ElanorSam writes: I am going to a science fiction convention in Baltimore in July called Shore Leave, and John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) is a guest. [More]

Meriadoc writes: The May issue of YM Magazine has a quiz on page 40. The very first question is "If you could be any character from The Lord of the Rings, who would you be?". Also, there will be a "Regional Cooking From Middle-earth" Book Signing in Homestead, Pittsburgh, PA at the Waterfront (1 mile from Sand Castle). It will be held at the Barnes & Noble on May 3rd, 2 - 4PM.

Sydney, Australia (April 28, 2003) Roadshow Entertainment today announced the DVD and VHS release of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The central film in Peter Jackson�s motion picture trilogy epic adventure of good against evil, The Fellowship that was formed in The Fellowship of the Ring faces unimaginable armies and lethal deception while also witnessing ancient wonders and the untapped strength of the peoples of Middle-earth. [More]

LadyEowyn writes: Orlando Bloom (Legolas) was featured as one of ElleGirl's 25 Stars. It is currently in the May/June issue in newstands now.

Lee writes: China's government has prepared a reading list for people staying at home after karaoke parlours and cinemas were shut to stem the spread of SARS and LOTR is naturally on the list. [More]

New Line pushing for a trailer in MAY? ROTK in SFX trouble? Ian Holm making a Hobbit mini-series?

NOT ON THIS PLANET

Read the following and put your mind at ease. [More]

When the second season Showtime's comic-based "Jeremiah" returns this year it'll have a new cast member. This year Jeremiah (Luke Perry) and Kurdy (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) will be joined in their travels by Sean Astin, who is best known to fans as Frodo Baggins' traveling companion Samwise Gamgee in "The Lord of the Rings" movies. [More]

Asfaloth sends along info from the E!'s Fashion Files. Just Liv's fashion faux-paus. & Sir Ian's "totally wizard" threads.

TORN staffer Arwen writes: Here are some new pics of Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) from the Hidalgo shoot. [More]

Also, Perceval Press is publishing a new booklet of Viggo's pictures to accompany his exhibition "Un hueco en el sol" at the Fototeca de Cuba in Havana. [More]

The Mighty Squid writes: In an interview John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) mentions going to to reshoots for ROTK on 5/9/03. [More]

Auckland Mayor John Banks says if Wellington can't cope with the Lord of the Rings premiere, the City of Sails can If Wellington is unable make the grade for the world premiere of the third Lord of the Rings film, Auckland can. The Wellington City Council will decide tonight whether to underwrite the refurbishment of the Embassy Theatre. New Line Cinema - the trilogy's home studio - says the capital can only host the Return of the King premiere if the theatre is up to scratch. New Line says the theatre is a crucial element in the premiere. [More]

Nia writes: On Friday the 9th May at 7pm John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) is going to be on the Welsh programme 'Popcorn', on Welsh channel S4C. He'll be interviewed as he returns to Wales to visit his family.

Alexis writes: I thought you guys might like to see some pictures of a birthday cake I did up for my husband's 30th. Cakeworks in Calgary made the cake. They can be found online at www.eatcake.ca. [More]

The new Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) film 'Veronica Guerin' now has a trailer online. [More]

Dominic Monaghan shows his love to the crowd

TheOneRing.net spent a few precious minutes with Dominic Monaghan at 'The Two Towers' premiere in Los Angeles. Quickbeam asked Dom about Merry's 'coming of age' in TTT and how it will continue in 'Return of the King'. Dom also shows his love to the fans and TORN! Produced by Asfaloth. [More]

maegwen writes: The Noble Collection has finally posted a new item in their LOTR collection � Galadriel�s brooch. [More] [Shop]

The folks from ANCANAR, the indie film company working on a LOTR-inspired film, write: After months of waiting, the Ancanar Teaser Trailer has finally found a home at IFILM (www.ifilm.com), the web�s leading source for popular media. The trailer will appear online this FRIDAY MAY 2ND, available in Quicktime, RealPlayer, and Window Media formats, free to view for all. [More]

The folks at Friends of Sci-Fi write: Just thought you guys might like to let your readers know about our convention with John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) on Saturday November 22, 2003. [More]

PippinSkywalker sends along the latest list of LOTR allumni joining the crew for the first film in the Narnia series 'The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe'. Some of these will look familiar!

Special Effects: Richard Taylor
Producer/Design Director: Grant Major

Jeff L sends in an interesting Frodo refrence from the John Ritter show '8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter'. Take a look! [More]

We're putting out a call for help here. Do you love teaching? Do you enjoy introducing new readers to Middle-earth? Have you always dreamed of designing the perfect study course for the curious LOTR reader? TORN regular Mallorn is looking for people to help create a new subsite on TORN which would be a truly international resource for anyone teaching Tolkien either professionally or as a hobby. [More]

Our good pal Lawrence Makoare (Lurtz) writes: Just thought I would pass on some useless piece of information if you wanted to use it on the web. I'm presenting an award for The 2003 New Zealand Music Awards on the 30th April 2003. It's for "Outstanding International Achievement Award" Which is for a solo artist or group who have achieved Outstanding results on a global platform. Results will be published on www.nzmusicawards.co.nz. Might even have some pics of the night in there. Cheers, Lurtz.

The folks from Best Of Both Worlds Conventions writes: We are organizing the first Australian Lord Of The Ring event. Our line up now reads: Bruce Hopkins aka Gamling, guardian of Helm's Deep & Sarah McLeod aka Rosie Cotton. [More]

Henrik writes: Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) is attending the opening of his own photo-exhibition at "Brandts Kl�defabrik" in Odense, Denmark. The opening takes place on the 27th, and on the 28th he will be reading some of his poetry to the audience. If any of you understand Danish, look at this article from a local newspaper. [More]

Frodo Baggins writes: Figwit a.k.a. Bret McKenzie and his partner Jemaine Clement just performed at the Aoteaora New Zealand TV2 International Laugh! Festival as the Flight Of The Conchords. [More]

Unless you've been living under a rock you know you can catch Ian McKellen (Gandalf) as master of all metal Magneto this Friday in 'X2: X-Men United'. But if you can't wait that long to see Ian or any other LOTR star on the small screen, take a look at our weekly cast watch! [More]

The folks from Region 4 write: Peter Jackson's masterpiece Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring ruled the evening picking up 5 awards for categories including; Best Use Of Special Features, Best Audio Commentary, Best Box Set Presentation, Best DVD and Highest Selling DVD 2002. A special message was also presented by Peter Jackson himself on the night. [More]

The April 2003 issue of 'Electronic Gaming Monthly' Magazine features from screenshots and news about the new 'Return of the King' game. [More] [Gaming Havens]

Eogwyn sends along some tantilizing information on two people being interviewed for the TTT Extended Edition DVD. Take a look! [More]

Well..at least we has last night! Hippoga sends in word that our Viggo made an apperance on the HBO series titled 'Six Feet Under'. [More]

The May 2nd issue of Entertainment Weekly discusses and has a screenshot from the 'Return of the King' video game. [More] [Gaming Havens]

Movie website FilmJerk has news on three cast projects from LOTR. First is Hugo Weaving's (Elrond) 'The Matrix Reloaded', Orlando Bloom's (Legolas) 'Ned Kelly', and Viggo Mortensen's (Aragorn) 'Hidalgo'. [More]

Diana writes: I was on holiday down in Cornwall, and I found out what Bilbo done when he reached the Undying lands. [More]

Jocelyn writes: UW-Milwaukee is offering "JRR Tolkien's FIction" this fall for both undergrads and graduate students. The course is hidden in the fall catalog under course listings for the English Department. It is being taught by Dr. Xavier Baron, he specializes in Medieval literature, Chaucer, the Arthurian Tradition, Charles Dickens, contemporary London poetry, London in literature and art. [More]

Ringer Spy Taniwha dropped us a line to let us know that some construction has begun at Stone Street studios in Wellington. Looks like the re-shoots are well on the way. Check out these intriguing pictures! [More] Minor Spoilers!

Ringer Spy Frodo's Girl recently scored some fantastic close-up pictures of a suit of Gondorian armour! She was walking by Dymocks bookstore in Wellington and noticed they'd changed the armour in the window from Elvish to Gondorian, and tramped back with a camera today and took these great shots. Check them out! [More]
Minor Spoilers!

Updated! We've added a couple more shots that have close-ups of the detailing on the breastplate and helmet. Great stuff!

Ringer Fan Diana writes that the Simpson's spoofed Gollum on last evening's episode in the USA. She was unsure if it was really Andy Serkis voicing the character, but wrote: He played a cowboy who gathered up the remains of a picnic at a Dude Ranch being visited by the Simpsons, scooping up all the trash into a sack, whispering 'My preciousssssssss' ... N3M0 adds that as the credits rolled, Andy's name did come up, so looks like it really was Andy on the Simpsons.

The 2nd day of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books was a huge success! Check out the gallery from the last day of activities. [More]