Elfstone from the Spanish site Elfenomeno writes: "Some time ago an official website videoclip showed us something rather interesting that anybody seems to have noticed. I´m talking about these images of the Gray Havens miniatures. It´s the same clip showed us Cirith Ungol miniature some months ago." We've also added these images to our Scrapbook. [More] !!!SPOILERS!!!

Two more people sent in their reports from Collectormania. The event, held last weekend just outside of London, must've drawn hordes of LOTR-fans. Probably because it was attended by five members of the cast: John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Andy Serkis, Bruce Hopkins and Sala Baker! The first report is from Mary [More], Next up there's a blurb from Gillian [More]

Sean Astin fans won't want to miss this webcast Celedon sent us, of Sean talking about being a volunteer and why he believes in it. [More] It's just short, but very sweet.

The recent spoiler report on the fate of Sauron, Saruman and Grima as portrayed in the next film surprised a few people. Some of this news has been hinted at in previous articles but if you're a relative newcomer to TORN you might have missed them. Some of our readers dug them out to share again, and other speculated on the possible meaning of what we just learned. [More] !!!MAJOR SPOILERS!!!

Mr. Frodo sent us this link to Adam Sandler's website; you can see their pic of Sean Astin [Sam Gamgee] "behind the scenes" on this page.

TheOneRing.net, in association with Planet BB, is turning the spotlight on the fans of J.R.R. Tolkien in a new feature-length documentary titled "Ringers: Lord of the Fans." Yes, this is a film about YOU, the FANS! [More] If you wish to contact the producers, please do so at ringers@theonering.net.

From Stuff.co we get this story about the people lining up to be extras for the reshoots in ROTK, believed to involve two to six days of work. Even politicians are lining up to be considered for a role, and others have come from as far away as Australia. [More]

Ringer Spy Kevin dropped us a line to tell us that IGN's subscriber-only channel has some snippets about EA's Return of the King film. What's very interesting is what these snippets may imply as plot spoilers for the film! So if you don't want to learn what may happen in Paths of the Dead or the host of the West journeying to Mordor, stay well away from this post! [More] Huge Spoilers! Updated!

I posted this a couple weeks ago, but here's a final reminder. Australians currently have the opportunity to see FoTR And TTT back to back at selected Greater Union/Birch Carrol Coyle Cinemas. It's a very limited season, ending on May 14, but tickets are only $15! [More]

Ringer Spy PippinSkywalker tells us Dark Horizons is reporting that Viggo Mortensen's new horseflick Hidalgo has finally had its name change. There's also a small report on the trailer. [More]

If you haven't poked your eye into Gaming Havens in the last day or so, you should definitely do so. For starters, we have new screenshots from the Hobbit. [More]

Then - if that's whet your appetite - Vivendi-Universal has just announced it will be creating a LoTR MMPORG called Middle Earth Online. Check out these early screenshots. [More]

Chris Kataan, the Saturday Night Live veteran, has quit the show to pursue a film career in Hollywood. Why do we mention this on TheOneRing.net? Well, you know Chris from his portrayal of Gollum during the 2003 SuperBowl and other SNL episodes. [Oscar Appearance] [Superbowl Appearance]

Glyndwr sends us this report on JRD's interview on the Welsh programme 'Popcorn.' [More]

Kristina found this in a listing of software events in her area: Milton Ngan of Weta is to be keynote speaker at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention at the Portland Marriott Downtown in July. His conference presentation, called "Tales from The Two Towers," sounds like it will be very geeky, but should be fun if you're into software development. [More]

From Jason, this link to the winners of the 3D awards in Copenhagen, where TTT won an award for best 3D visual effects in a feature film. [More]

This weekend, Hall of Fire will take a look at Denethor II, son of Echtelion II, last ruling steward of Gondor. One of Tolkiens most interesting and enigmatic characters. His rivalry with Thorongil and the premature death of his wife shaped him for his stewardship which saw Gondor facing it's most desperate moments.[More]

Sideshow/Weta Collectibles released yet another great Lord of the Rings exclusive statue today: The Witch-King of Angmar Statue! This statue stands an impressive 16 inches high and is limited to 1000 pieces worldwide. We've managed to get our hands on a great image here. Jump on over to Sideshow/Weta to pre-order today. [Pre-Order]

Ringer Spy SamWyse sends along this NEW image of Frodo in Shelob's lair from 'Return of the King'! It is a scan from the latest MAXIM magazine available on newstands now. !!!Spoilers!!! [More]

Here is a report that comes from VERY reliable sources within the LOTR camp. In regards to this story we posted yesterday (which wasn't even our story, it came from another site). Take a look at what our insider has to say:

This is nonsense. They are still cutting the movie and do not know how long it will be, but it definitely won't be 4hrs & 20 minutes, nor should it be.

That knocks that rumor out the window, down the street and into someone's pot of flowers!

Angelus is not a new spy to us, he/she has sent along information and we KNOW she/he has insider contacts from all over the biz. Take a look at what he/she has to say, some interesting bits of info that I know some of you will hate to hear. Plus that spikey wheel returns (I cannot WAIT until I prove all you non-spikey wheel people wrong...we posted that story YEARS ago!). Anyways, as always take all this with a grain of salt, but know that this didn't come from a random fanboy....it has cred. !!!BIG SPOILERS!!! [More]

Kailin writes: TOPPS apparently just uploaded new images and news for the Update card set due out in August. There is some great looking imagery from the film that was not in the first set of cards, and there are three new autograph cards to look for, the special one being Gollum. The others are Aragorn, and Boromir, which begs the question of why Boromir? He was no longer present among the Fellowship by this film, so this is an interesting choice. [More]

From Tribute Magazine: Ian McKellen, now appearing on the big screen in X2: X-MEN UNITED, is also currently appearing onstage in August Strindberg's 'Dance of Death' at London’s Lyric Theatre. A cat’s presence is required in the play, and producers initially suggested using a stuffed feline. However, McKellen demanded a real cat, so one was found at a nearby shelter and is now making his stage debut opposite the award-winning veteran actor, who will also appear later this year on the big screen as Gandalf in ROTK. Dance of Death runs until June 7.

WeeTanya updates us on 2 Dominic Monaghan (Merry) films 'Spivs' and 'An Insomniac's Nighmare'. [More]

Wellington's Embassy Theatre will close in early June for Lord of the Rings refurbishment, two months earlier than planned, with casual and part-time staff being laid off. The Embassy Theatre Trust was working on arrangements last night for the Wellington Film Festival, which normally takes place at the Embassy in July. [More]

Michelle writes: Tuesday, May 15th Total Request Live on MTV will be a Matrix Reloaded TRL Special. Hugo Weaving (Elrond) will be stopping by the studio with the other lead actors and actresses. Please check mtv.com and/or your tv guide for showtimes.

Robin sends along the May 2003 issue of Movie Insider Magazine featuring an article on ROTK including some interesting spoiler info on (highlight to read!) Elijah Wood discussing the GREY HAVENS! !!!Spoilers!!! [More]

Dan Stevens writes: If you pre-order TTT DVD/PV at HMV Edinburgh Fort Kinnaird, Scotland then you automatically enter a prize draw to win a lifesize figureine of Aragorn. Offer applies to in-store customers only, and a £2 deposit is required. [More]

(is it really called a figurine when it's life-sized? -Xo)

Kevi-Wan writes: Wednesday night in Westwood, CA Warner Bros. hosted the celebrity premiere for The Matrix Reloaded. I was there in the hopes I would get to meet Hugo Weaving for a moment. [More]

It's that time of the year! Time to pre-order your theatrical release of The Two Towers! This special 2 disc set contains special features that will not be available on the November 'extended edition' release, so its pretty much worth getting your hands on. Here is a temporary list of some of the site's offering pre-order. We will be updating this list as more links become available. [More]

The following is from bikkit.com and should be classified as a RUMOR only.

(ROTK) is indeed, far and way better than both Fellowship and Two Towers. It was a 4 hour, 20 minute cut of the film. Feeling that he has proven audiences will gladly sit for 3 hours of quality cinema, Peter Jackson will try to leave the film's 1/6 of a day total time as is.

Natalie sends along her translation from a Russian interview with Liv Tyler, this hard hitting intewview asks the real important questions like 'how was it kissing Aragorn?', and 'How did you go to the bathroom in costume?'....questions...questions that need answering. [More]

Ringer Spy Cailin sends along the May issue of Premiere Magazine with an article on Orlando Bloom (Legolas). [More]

Eledhwen writes: I must confess to choosing to see “Dance of Death” because of Ian McKellen and Frances de la Tour, rather than because of the play. I have barely heard of Strindberg - despite him being, according to the programme notes, Sweden’s best known playwright. [More]

Sergio sends along this link quoting John Gaeta in regards to special effects for The Matrix Reloaded. "This is a massive operation," Gaeta says. "It's the biggest thing that's ever been done that isn't ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) doing 'Star Wars.' It's much bigger than 'The Lord of the Rings.' And we got some stellar performances out of these third party compaies." [More]

Wellington is not guaranteed the world premiere of the third Lord of the Rings movie despite Wellington City Council agreeing to a $4.5 million underwrite of Embassy Theatre refurbishments. New Line Cinema, the film's owner, has made a "commitment", but there was anger behind closed doors as councillors questioned the details of the arrangements. [More]

Craig Parker (Haldir) has been confirmed as a guest for this years Best of Both Worlds Science Fiction Convention. The Convention will take place in Canberra on September 20 & 21. Other confirmed guests include Bruce Hopkins and Sarah McLeod, so it should be great fun there! More information on the Convention can be found here! Thanks to Lolly for the heads up!

Two more reports from Collectormania found their way to my inbox. So for your reading pleasure: more kind words about Billy Boyd, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Sala Baker and Bruce Hopkins. First report is from Hannah [More], Next up is one from Yahweh70 with an interesting rumor on who might attend the September Collectormania! [More]

The British Library has unearthed readings by some literary giants including Tolkien, who can be heard reading from the Fellowship of the Ring, in English and Elvish. [More] Thanks to Edward for the link!

WeeTanya reports that Chris Lee has replied on his website to the spoilers that Ian McKellen dropped about Saruman at a function a few nights ago. [More]

Seán sends in some information gleaned from play.com. Seems yesterday they featured some info on the goodies we are in for in the Collectors Edition Extended DVD (the FOTR version had the Argonath pillars and the National Geographic DVD). What will we see in the TTT version? [More]

The première of the final Lord of the Rings film is expected to be held in New Zealand's capital, Wellington, despite earlier disagreements threatening to derail the event. The film studio behind the hit films said it would move its last prestigious Rings unveiling to Los Angeles if New Zealand's biggest cinema, the Embassy, was not up to world class standards. [More]

Anders sends along these ROTK action figure images giving us a sneak-peek at the costumes used in ROTK! Frodo and Sam in disguise, Aragorn, Eomer and Warrior Eowyn! !!!Spoilers!!! [More]

A new spy in our legion, Iry, sends along this info that he/she/it/they claim to be some of the missing scenes to be added into The Two Towers Extended Edition! !!!DVD SPOILERS!!! [More]

Marianne sends this in: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers has become the fifth highest-grossing film of all time, having amassed international box-office takings over $910 million. The second instalment in Peter Jackson's Tolkien trilogy, it recently overtook its predecessor, The Fellowship of the Ring, which is now seventh on the all-time list with $861 million in box office takings. [More]

Ken writes: The sheep races in Shropshire England were held and one of the sheep, who incidentally didn't win, was named Bilbo Baggins. Saw this on CNN Headline News this morning.

Zip writes: I came across this quote on NataliePortman.com discussing the reason for moving her latest movie "Cold Mountain" back until 2004. 'The official reason will be that "the climate is not right" (an insider says) for a movie whose central character is a deserter. Unofficially, Harvey Weinstein has seen a rough cut of Return of the King (he is an Executive Producer) and says that it is "unstoppable" as a Best Picture winner."

This is for fans in the Canberra area: the Centre Cinema is showing FOTR and TTT as part of its swansong before closing down. [More]

A couple of people sent in reports from this event last night. [More]

A spy report from somebody who's seen at least some of ROTK and the extended DVD for TTT. They're not being too specific, but they're trying to sum up how it struck them. [More]

Wellington city councillors agreed unanimously at an emergency meeting today to underwrite the cost of refurbishing the Embassy theatre to the tune of $4.5 million. This decision should enable Wellington to hold on to the world premiere of the third Lord of the Rings movie, Return Of the King, in December.
Thanks to TORN staffer maegwen! [More]

The Coming Soon website has a quote from Ian McKellen that may or may not give away some major spoilers concerning Saruman's role in The Return of the King. Warning: Spoilers! Highlight text below to read:

"Someone then said they enjoyed the fight scene with Saruman in the first film, and asked if we would see something similar in the third film, Return of the King. Sir Ian replied in the negative, saying that originally Saruman was to have died at the end of the second film but that this would now be the introduction to the third film. 'He falls from a great height and comes to a sticky end', he revealed, before going on to say 'Peter Jackson is a huge horror film fan. That's why he cast Christopher Lee - who better to play Saruman than the biggest horror villain? Knowing that and Peter's great love for horror movies, it's inconceivable that Dracula wouldn't play some part in Saruman's death'."

Hmmm...confirmation of the Spikey Wheel after all? We're keeping our grains of salt handy.

Thanks to Daevon for the link! [More]

Demosthenes here. I just wanted to point out that this originally came from Ringer Spy Irascian's An Audience with Ian McKellen report that we posted up a couple of days ago. Well worth a read, if you missed it originally.

The goodies just keep rolling in at the Noble Collection. A recent check of their site revealed a host of new items including a gorgeous replica of Gandalf's Two Towers cloak pin, the Elvish ring Narya, a 14-karat gold version of Eowyn's flower pendant, and a full-sized replica of Gandalf the Grey's staff! If these pricey goodies are beyond your pocketbook, they also offer Glamdring, Sting, and Narsil letter openers for under $30 each. Thanks to TORN staffer maegwen! [More]

May 9th is the official pre-order date for The Two Towers theatrical DVD, with orders actually shipping around Aug 26th.This coming Friday, we will be posting a complete list of online vendors who are pre-selling the DVD and VHS. Stay Tuned!

Another report from Collectormania, everyone seems to have been there except for me. This one is from a person who got to spend two days sitting next to John Rhys-Davies! I can imagine worse ways of spending time...

[More]

Shelagh sends along this little snippet from an interview with Ian McKellen (Gandalf). During the interview, McKellen was asked about Michael Gambon playing Dumbledore, and if he has any advice for the Irishman. "I do not think that I could give advice to Sir Mike on anything; he will be very good. I hear that he took a very long time to negotiate his fee for playing Dumbledore so he must know what he is doing....". [More]

June writes: I Saw that there's a Lord of the Rings symphony on May 30, at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, California (near San Francisco). [More]

Hugo Weaving (Elrond) will be talking about his latest film 'The Matrix Reloaded' today on E!'s 'News Live'. Take a look if you've got the channel. 'News Live' airs on E! at 7PM. [More]

Way back when Michael Clarke Duncan was still only a bouncer in Chicago, our own John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) played Wilson 'The Kingpin' Fisk in the 1988 TV movie 'The Trail of the Incredible Hulk'. It has just been released on DVD, take a look! [More]

AFP - Plans to hold the world premiere in December of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the last part of the trilogy, were in trouble as the Wellington City Council quibbled over whether to underwrite the renovation of a cinema. Wellington has claimed the film as its own as most of it was made there and director Peter Jackson lives in the New Zealand capital. [More]

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Members of Green Day, Rancid, X, Blink 182, A.F.I., and more lend their voices and likeness to the forthcoming animated/puppetry film "Live Freaky! Die Freaky!" The Hellcat Pictures film was written and directed by independent filmmaker John Roecker and produced by Rancid/Transplants guitarist/vocalist Tim Armstrong. [More]

Nikki writes: I was at Collectormania in Milton Keynes in the UK yesterday. I thought it would be great to send it to you as i also have a few pics to share! [More]

Byga writes: Today I've been at the Bardi castle at the live reenacting of Lord of the Rings. It has been a very impressive show with beatiful costumes and good acting. [More]

As promised Irascian finished his report about Sir Ian McKellen's audiece from sundaynight. As always it's an interesting read and it even features some (minor) spoilers about The Return of the King! [More]

It looks like the soap opera surrounding the worldpremiere for The return of the King has ended. The Mayor of Wellington announced that the city will pay for any work that needs to be done on the Embassy Theatre. Read more about it over at Stuff.co.nz [More]

We can all rest easily and book our planetickets now..

Jerry the Frog productions have recently made a funny "hand puppet movie theatre" about The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (and The fellowship of the Ring), which you can find here! Thanks to Elise for the heads up!

Hugo Weaving (Elrond) is slated to be a guest on 'The Late Show with Craig Kilborn' tonight. He will be there to discuss a small movie coming out called 'The Matrix Reloaded'. Kilborn airs on CBS at 11:35PM EST. [More]

OBI-WAN360 writes: The following is a full report on the Audience with Sir Ian McKellen on Sunday 4th May; Sir Ian arrived arms full to bust with book's and goodies, which were handed out during the evening as prizes to those who were the fasted to answer questions thrown out to the audience. Ian started by talking about the Lord of the Rings, and as if by magic produced various props used in the films. [More]

Mootmate sends along this great transcript from the Q&A session attended by Billy Boyd, Andy Serkis, Bruce Hopkins, Sala Baker and John Rhys-Davies! They dish out news on the TTT DVD, Orlando Bloom's last day on the set, and more! [More]

Finish with the first few reports, check email and find two more, go figure. This time around there's a report from a fan that flew in from Finland for the event! [More]

But more interesting perhaps is Irascian's report which deals about more then just Billy Boyd and features some very nice pictures of the event. Check it out here!

For the past few days a great UK-convention called Collectormania took place just outside of London. It was attended by no less then five actors from The Lord of the Rings: John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Billy Boyd, Sala Baker and last but not least Bruce Hopkins. Some of the reactions from people that attended have just come in, take a read! [More]

On NZoom.com you can currently see two Realplayer video clips which show the interior of the contentious Embassy Theatre. "Capital Goaded over Premiere" is a short overview; the Holmes show's "Wellington in Danger of Losing Premiere" shows the mayors of Auckland and Wellington having a right stoush over it. For some reason you have to click on the Team NZ story to get the Premiere story. [More] The Wellington Mayor insists the theatre WILL be up to standard by December.

TV One News rehashed what we know of the story so far (except now the Wellington City Council isn't making a decision on whether to upgrade the Embassy Theatre until Wednesday). They reprise Auckland Mayor John Banks' offer to host ROTK in Auckland. The horror! Yes, we have a refurbished cinema here, the Civic, and it's a beauty. However the thought of Auckland's clueless city council trying to throw a world-class street party next to it in that monument to abysmal urban planning, Aotea Square, just makes me ill. [More]