Regular contributor, Daniel Papen, has sent us 19 illustrations to accompany The Hobbit. It goes without saying that the artwork is unique and insightful, and as a result, we want to share it with you. [More]

Has it been 3 months since the last Fan Art Update? Geez, time flies! Over 200 new pieces of Art from Tolkien fanatics around the world! As always, if you are interested in submitting your work and getting your own gallery, simply email me at calisuri@theonering.net with your art! [More]

On a side note, some of the fan art we receive is just plain hilarious! Check out this submission from R. Pastva, titled "Cannot Pass."

Take a look at all the LOTR stars you can see on the small screen this week! Including UK listings and my personal picks. [More]

We're happy to announce the latest fansite out there in the LOTR universe - Middle Earth's Central for Greek fans. Thanks to Harris and his team for their hard work.

Patricia's introduced us to her Viggo Mortensen fansite which is a great place to learn about his other roles besides Aragorn. She's collected screen captures of him from most of the movies he's been in. [More]

According to Ananova, LOTR is one of the blockbuster movies that will be shown on IMAX screens this summer in London. [More]
Thanks to Lee - AGAIN - for the link! : )

What was the key event which led to the publication of The Lord of the Rings? Was it really the publication of The Hobbit, or should we look to something else entirely? The answer may be as surprising as any revelation in the history of Tolkien's world.. [More] Thanks to Links Queen Lee for the link.

"Hrum, Hoom. Do not be hasty, that is my motto." This weekend, the Hall of Fire chapter-by-chapter discussions on The Two Towers roll on towards December as we arrive at one of the most enchanting and exciting chapters from the Lord of the Rings, one which is not only a favourite of many, but also helps differentiate the realm of Middle-earth from the numerous other mythological worlds that exist in modern science fiction as a result. This weekend, the Hall of Fire welcomes you all to a discussion on the fourth chapter of the 'Two Towers, Treebeard. [More]

Thanks to Arien for this article on Weta chief Richard Taylor. "He talks about growing up and his work with Weta, among other things. He also shares his formula for fake blood. Really, what's an article without a recipe for fake blood?" [More]

In Germany the MTV Movie awards will be aired here on MTV ( channel 21 ) on Monday, June 17th. In Australia, For those in Australia who have access to MTV, they'll air on:
-Saturday 15 June, 7 pm
-Sunday 16 June, 8.30 pm
-Monday 17 June, 8.30 am
Thanks to Shanoncia and Ivee.

Tom wrote:"I thought you good folks at TORN might be interested in this link to a page at the Internet Sacred Texts Archive site that has compiled a list of links to source materials that Tolkien drew from when creating the world of his Middle earth. "
The site encourages you to buy their CD-Rom, which looks rather beautiful. Personally I think they miss a heck of a lot of stuff that influenced Tolkien. If the topic interests you, check out my ramblings on Tehanu's Notes

Sideshow/Weta has posted 3D Turnarounds of the Collector's DVD Gift Set box and Argonath figures. They have also posted the details of what comes with the set, along with a breakdown of what is on each DVD! While they are not selling the DVD set on their site, you can check out our pre-order sales page to purchase. Our Pre-order page will be updated regularly with the latest pre-order sites available. [Pre-order] [3D Turnarounds] [DVD Details]

MTV has posted the nomination videos from the Award show last night, take a look at the nominations for Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Christopher Lee and others, follow the 'MTV Awards' link on the following page to see the videos [More]

Beloved by readers for years, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is now being made into a trio of films by New Zealand director Peter Jackson. The undertaking involves a veritable army of actors, stunt people, and techies of all sorts. The culmination of all this creative activity has resulted with the release of the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, at the end of 2001. [More]

For those of you in Wellington, Dymocks Bookstore will be staging an event to launch the new Gary Russell book "The Art of Fellowship of the Ring", on Thursday 20 June. [More]

MTV aired a special 'Behind the Scenes' look at LOTR and TTT before the awards show was presented last night, take a look at a few snapshots from the special. [More]

Lee writes: Electronic Arts has released five new screenshots of the Stormfront Studios-developed PlayStation 2 game, which is based on the Lord of the Rings movies. The first game in EA's multititle deal is The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, scheduled for release on the PlayStation 2 this fall and coinciding with the release of the second movie in the series. [More] [Gaming Havens]

The time has arrived! You can now pre-order the 208 minute version of Fellowship of the Ring! Choose from either the standard 4 disc set, or the super cool Collector's Edition Gift Set, which features figures from Sideshow/Weta and an expanded National Geographic DVD.[More]

Vikki, Melinda and Carrie send along a short note from the MTV Awards...the real question is why didn't they pay for me to get down there?! [More]

Ulaire Cantea and Camp Flinch are tackling key issues behind Decipher's Lord of the Rings TCG. Read Corruption... It's elementary, my dear Samwise, and Corruption... Stretching forth the blade, to catch up on the latest in LOTR TCG gaming.

Sideshow/Weta Collectibles has started shipping their 4th Medallion, "The Last Alliance." If you were also one of their customers who purchased Medallions 1,2 and 3, you will be receiving your free helm, as part of the Helm Rewards program, in the mail. [More]

Northern California looking for a bit of LOTR fun should set aside Saturday, June 15, which is the date of the inaugural Lembas Bake-off and LOTR Pot-Luck Picnic. [More]

For whatever reason, David Wenham (Faramir) is in the new Crocodile Hunter film coming out soon (god help us -Xo), you can check out the new trailer here. [More]

AICN has posted some info on the latest Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) film 'The Last Man', mentioning a title change and possibility that the film may never be made at all. [More]

Winona from The Complete SB writes: Sean Bean (Boromir) is currently in NZ and will be filming his extra scenes until the end of this week.

From: Urban Cinefile Went to mini Middle-earth on Tuesday night, down at Sydney’s Darling Harbour, to see the giant birthday cake with 101 candles catch fire, choreographed fireworks over the miniature lake, and teaser footage from The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers, all to celebrate the coming of The Fellowship of the Ring on DVD and video on August 6, promoted by a $3 million media blitz as well as $2 million worth of promotional tie-ins with the likes of Land Rover Australia, Cadbury Schweppes, Harper Collins, Warner Music and others. [More]

Ivee writes: For those in Australia who have access to MTV, The 2002 MTV Movie Awards will air on; Saturday 15 June, 7 pm, Sunday 16 June, 8.30 pm, Monday 17 June, 8.30 am.

In North America the MTV awards will air tonight (June 6th) on MTV!

As the Stallones and Schwarzeneggers get longer in the tooth, Hollywood seeks a new generation of action heroes. Muscle guys like Vin Diesel look the part. But the future may belong to such counterintuitive toughies as... Ben Affleck? Matt Damon? [More]

See Elijah Wood and gang transformed from actors into Hobbits right before your very eyes in MTV News' exclusive visit to the set of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." Get a glimpse of the sequel to "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" during the 2002 MTV Movie Awards Pre-Show Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. (ET). [More]

Some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters will be shown at London's BFI Imax cinema over the summer. [More]

Cedar Rapids Born writes: Thought you would be interested in knowing that Ian McKellan is up for his performances in LOTR and Dance of Death at GQ. Sir Ian McKellan is up for BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR in a DRAMA for FOTR of course, and , several screens into the survey, for BEST STAGE ACTOR /DRAMA for "DANCE OF DEATH" [More]

Check out the latest USA Today poll! [More]

From: Slashdot "The IT Director for Weta Digital, Peter Jackson's company doing the digital effects for the Lord of the Rings movies, is keynoting at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention. They use a ton of Linux and Perl." [More]

Kia Motors America said yesterday that it will be New Line Home Entertainment's exclusive automotive partner in the home video and DVD release of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." [More]

Popal writes: We have confirmation that the French Region 2 4 DVD edition, including the 30-minute longer Director's Cut and more. [More]

Larry P writes: There’s a New Zealand film just out of the pipe called “Tongan Ninja.” It’s a cocktail of martial artistry, high jinks and high kicks directed by Jason Stutter and contains a Figwit twist! [More]

Dan writes: On the British Antiques Roadshow, I saw a woman whose father was in an Oxford literary club with such notables as C.S. Lewis an J.R.R. She presented a post card from "the Man" himself, and was given a value of 500 quid.

Kelly writes: Here is a link to a transcript of Elijah Wood and Franka Potente appearing as guests on a Canadian radio show called RadioSonic. Taped during the Try 17 shoot, Elijah and Franka play cool music and chat with the host. [More]

EVENING SEMINAR: Wed., July 17, 6 to 8:30 p.m. "In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit." So begins one of the most delightful and thought-provoking tales in the English language. Set in the imaginary world of Middle-Earth, at once a classic myth and a modern fairy tale, The Lord of the Rings and its precursor, The Hobbit, are among literature's most enduring and best-loved books. [More]

Dunno if it's news to you, but Costco is offering pre-orders of our favorite bit o' film. Priced at about twenty bucks, it sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

Want to see what exactly Sierra previewed of their GameCube game based on The Hobbit at E3 in Los Angeles? Well the folks have IGN have made the trailer of the game available to Tolkien gamers everywhere. [More]

Tonight in the UK and Ireland, Elijah Wood appears in the new episode of reality sitcom 'The Osbournes' on MTV UK.

Our official sponsor, Sideshow/Weta Collectibles, has made a change to their Series 5 Lord of the Rings product. The Lurtz, Uruk-Hai Captain figure has been removed from Series 5 (probably will come back later), while Elrond, Herald of Gil-Galad figure has been added back in. The change does not affect the Collector's Society price since both items are of equal value. [More]

Anita writes: Here's a picture that appeared in the 'The Daily Telegraph' newspaper here in Australia. It was apparently taken in the small rural town of Clunes, Victoria, on set of the movie 'Ned Kelly' Orlando Bloom (Legolas) is filming with Heath Ledger. [More]

Erin writes: For those people out there who have a Palm OS PDA and enjoy a game of Mahjongg, there is a game called 'Mahjongg+' by Chris Olson available through Handango (www.handango.com) for $10.00 US. The game has several different tile sets that are available as free downloads, including one that is a set of Elvish Tengwar! This is a great way to play a fun game while learning your elvish letters.

Missed all the news this weekend? Too busy watching soccer? Well fear not! We've got all the news you may have missed in one simple place, just follow the link! [More]