Action-figure.com keep the merchandise reviews rolling. This time, it's a close-up look at Play Along's Moria Orc 3-pack: It’s hard to keep tight details and solid paints on figures so small ... but here it is: the Moria Orc Sneak, Moria Orc Runner, and a Moria Orc Bowman. [More]

AintItCoolNews-reporter Quint is the most enviable man around at the moment. He got to spent a few weeks down in Wellington visiting the set during the pick-up shots for The Return of the King. His reports are now beginning to appear online. In case you missed it: a short introduction of some sort can be found here, and his first 'real' report can be read here! Be sure to check them out, but mind the spoilers!

Some people obviously have too much time on their hands. The person who created the following must have been one of those people, but don't let that stop you. This person has made a one hour long flash movie of the Two Towers using nothing but stick-people! The movie is based on The Two Towers, but is a bit shorter then the 'original'. Be sure to check it out here!

Thanx to Someone for the heads up!

John Cook writes: Last week's Harry Potter/LOTR cartoon caption contest is finished with the winning punchline decided. The cartoon had Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee watching Harry battle giant spiders and trolls,wondering why he seems to go through all the same adventures they did. Check out the final cartoon with the winning punchline at www.sev.com.au!

Sweden's biggest evening paper, Aftonbladet, has awarded TTT best foreign movie of the year and Viggo Mortensen best foreign actor. Additionally, Viggo tells the reporter that they are shooting a fight scene with the dead army. PJ says that everything is under control and that the postproduction of ROTK is the most fun of all three movies even though it is the most complicated movie. For a complete report (in Swedish) and some images follow the link. Thanks to Kneten for the heads up. [More] [English Translation] Minor Spoilers!

Those of you who subscribe to the Starz! Movie channel will get a special treat soon. Starz! will be broadcasting the Extended Edtiion of The Fellowship of the RIng for your viewing pleasure. Check your local listings for details. Thanks to Kathy for the tip!

Ringer Spy Bellerophon alerted us to some interesting discussion of arms and armour over on Council of Elrond's forums that gives just a few snippets about how Sauron might appear in RoTK. We've reproduced the information here, since the last time we deeplinked to CoE we managed to break their site. [More] Major Spoilers! Updated!

Intent on drawing forth Sauron's hidden strength, the Army of the West marches on Mordor. Seemingly bent on self destruction, they provocatively cross the Anduin, set the fields of Morgul Vale aflame and proclaim the return of the Lords of Gondor. [More]

Emily Blunt recently caught up with Orlando Bloom to chat about the Pirates of the Carribean. However, the interview also touches on LoTR here and there as Bloom discusses the recent pickup shooting in New Zealand. This interview comes with strong languange and fangirl drooling advisories. [More]

From The Age: Nicole Kidman simply put on a false nose in The Hours and duly won the Best Actress award at this year's Oscar presentations. But fellow Australian Cate Blanchett faces a much harder nose problem for her next big movie. [More]

Not sure if this is new information, but Torn Staffer MrCere sends this news/reminder that the lineup for Comic Con includes a New Line TTT DVD presentation to be attended by Andy Serkis. [More]

Some news of the Toy Biz Helm's Deep battle pack hitting Australian shores, as well as information about a new Gandalf the White variant. [More]

After a bit of teasing, AICN has posted the first of a series of reports from the set of RoTK. This one contains some tidbits of information about a Saruman pickup shoot that Chris Lee did yesterday. Thanks to everyone who wrote in. [More] Spoilers!

He can act, he can write, and now Hollywood heart-throb Viggo Mortensen is to unleash his painting prowess on Wellington. Mortensen, who played Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is to exhibit more than 100 of his paintings and photographs at Massey University's Wellington campus, the former National Museum, on November 28. The exhibition will be held two days before the world premiere of The Return of the King at Wellington's Embassy Theatre. It will be preceded by an invitation-only gala, to be attended by Mortensen and several other Rings stars. [More]

Don't know if it's too late to be useful, but Ringer JD wanted to share the word: You may be interest to tell people in the UK that there is a programme on the Sky Digital Artsworld channel this evening (Friday 4 July) at 9:55 p.m. BST about Tolkien including readings from Tolkien's works by Dame Judy Dench.

Shelob writes: Four major Brazilian Tolkien Communities joined forces to honor our Friends of the Jedi Council, participating of a huge event in São Paulo, Brazil, last weekend. [More]

The New Line Cinema photo of Aragorn with Anduril has seen a fair bit of analysis lately. Here's some more from Ringer Spy Saruman - trying to pin down exactly where the shot location is supposed to be. [More] Spoilers!

The folks over at BitofEarth.net have posted some amusing promotional drawings for their show. If you've never imagined Gandalf in Dr Frank N Furter fishnets, wander over for a peek. Apparently tickets for their July 5 show are selling fast, so if you were thinking of going, act now. [More]

DonDavis sends in word about the teaser and theatrical trailers for 'Return of the King', when we can expect them, and more intestingly WHAT we can see in the teaser! I've yet to confirm this is the real deal mind you, so take it all with a grain of salt. However, this news can be considered a Spoiler!! [More]

Update: Ringer Spy Mike and Ringer Spy Jeff have combined to land what appears to be a killer blow against any hope of an RoTK Teaser Trailer. Looks like we'll all have to wait for the DVD stuff. [More]

LadyOfRohan writes: The guests on the Charlie Rose show episode that aired last night (July 2nd) on my local PBS station were three film critics. Charlie Rose asked them to name their favorite movie. The answers were 2001:A Space Odyssey, L.A. Confidential and "Lord of the Rings, Parts 1 and 2". All four of them then had high praise for Peter Jackson.

Moz writes: Ian McKellen (Gandalf) was interviewed on Home Truths, TV3 last night by John Campbell. Apparently he has now finished his reshoots for ROTK and has headed off back to the UK. There is supposedly a transcript of the Home Truths interview somewhere on TV3's website but I can't find it. (RealPlayer needed) [More]

From IMDB: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday converted its marketing "guidelines" under which filmmakers can campaign for Oscars to "regulations" and warned that any member "who has authorized, approved or executed a campaign activity that is determined by the Board of Governors to have undermined the letter or spirit of these regulations will be subject to suspension of membership or expulsion from the Academy." It also warned that if there were serious violations of the rules, a film could lose its eligibility for Awards consideration. In a statement, Academy President Frank Pierson said, "There will now be personal consequences to improper campaigning." In an interview with today's (Thursday) Los Angeles Times, Pierson added that stripping a film of its eligibility is "a weapon we've never used, but we are definitely putting it out there."

What could this possibly mean as far as 'For Oscar, Please' ROTK ads? Who knows.

Lisse sends along word on just when you can purchase tickets for the HUGE LOTR exhibit planned for this fall in London, and how much it'll cost you. Take a look! [More]

Andrea sends along a FULL translation to the Ciak ROTK article which ran recently in Italy. It gives a few interesting details including when the re-shoots are scheduled to finish. Who has completed their work (for the last time sadly) and who is yet to come back to New Zealand. It also gives some information on the European premiere dates for ROTK, and some plot details, take a look! !!SPOILERS!! [More]

Maria translated this article from the Danish newspaper 'Fyns Stiftstidende' about Viggo Mortensen's recent trip to Denmark. [More]

Our good friends Jeff Sherrill, Kris Nelson, and Paul Dunne (the Elvish 101 Guys) will be back in #TheHallofFire tonight at 8PM EDT for a lesson in Tolkien's languages. Kris says, "We are going to go over the basic phonology, spelling, and stress of Quenya, interpret some Quenya phrases, and try to correlate everything to Sindarin as much as possible since this seems to be what people are interested in." So stop by this evening and learn a bit of Elvish to impress/frighten your friends! The first transcript can be found [here]

andrea gives us some great info on exactly what the Italian movie magazine 'Caik' has details on! More info on Shelob's lair! And Shelob herself! Take a look! Oh my! !!!BIG SPOILERS!!! [More] Updated!

John son of Joe writes: I have always liked the detail that they put into all the swords in the movies, but when I saw the new teaser poster of Aragorn holding Narsil, I said "Hey, wait a minute. Narsil and Anduril are full two handed swords. And Aragorn isn't holding a two handed sword." [More]

Smedely writes: The August 2003 edition of Home Theater Magazine, the top article is entitled "100 Best DVDs of All Time" 'The new choice for the best DVD of all time: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Platinum Series Special Extended Edition (New Line)' [More]

Nick writes: I Just wanted to let all the fellow Coloradans here that Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Morrison, CO will be playing TTT outside under the stars in one of the most beautiful venues in the world. It fits 9,000 people so it'll be a whole lot of fun! The show is Monday, July 28th at 7pm, but get there early to ensure a good seat! i just saw Braveheart there the other day and it was packed, HUGE screen! And Red Rocks is nationally renowned for its great acoustics so it'll be a treat! Hope to see you there!

RangerOfTheEast writes: BNU (NZ Rugby Team) TO STAR IN LORD OF THE RINGS AGAIN! Following on from the success of last year's soundbite, the Academy Award winning Lord Of The Rings sound team have requested BNU's services once more. If you enjoy running around screaming like a mad man and assaulting your fellow friends then come and join us on Thursday 3 July 2003 from 7.30pm @ Vogelmorn Park. The club will getting some payment but we need to get plenty of people along prepared to make some noise! This will probably be your last chance to play a part in the production of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy (and you can help your club at the same time) so see you all next Thursday. [More]

Follow this link for the original 'soundbite' story we posted on February 16th 2002. [More]

Sezzy writes: On August 22, 23 and 24 repectively there will be showings of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Heavenly Creatures, organised in conjunction with Stockholm Film Festival 2003. The difference is that these showings are outdoors (Gälarvarvet on beautiful Djurgården in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden). All showings start at 8pm and are free entry.

Melian writes: In the July issue of Italian movie magazine called 'Ciak' there is coverage about ROTK. It says something about (Highlight to read Possible Spoilers!) how Shelob will "walk" (very fast except when focusing on a prey), about the premieres and about Andy Serkis possibly playing King Kong(!). There is also a large interview with Orlando Bloom. [More]

SANTA FE, N.M. -- A Santa Fe-based conservation group, Forest Guardians, reports receiving a substantial donation from actress Cate Blanchett. The director of Forest Guardians, John Horning, declined to disclose the amount. Blanchett said she made the donation to help preserve New Mexico's natural splendor. [More]

Jayne writes: As TORN readers know, Tolkien spent his childhood in Birmingham. This summer, there is a chance to attend a summer school at the local university to talk about the literature and visit some of the key local sights he knew so well. [More]

Ringer LoneMirage398 wrote to tell us that E! News Live will be featuring Orlando Bloom (an interview about Pirates of the Carribean) tomorrow night (July 2) in the USA. With a bit more fishing around, I discovered that E! News Live usually airs at 7pm EST. However, as usual, check local guides.

Popular culture strikes again. This speculative ad for pot noodles uses Gollum as the celebrity endorsee. Alas, it's not the real Gollum - just a stand in - but it is rather mind boggling and mildly amusing. Adult themes, but no outright bad languange. Thank to Ringer Bish for the link. [More]

Westlake Village company enters field of high-priced collectibles and scores big. Elliot Lederman knew the man in his office well. He was certain his team could capture every fearsome facet of Frankenstein, Count Dracula, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and other movie monsters in Universal Studios' scary stable. [More]

Ancalime writes: I wanted to let you know that the University Community Orchestra, based at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will be playing a medley of music from Fellowship of the Ring. This is the same piece as the Nicolet High School Orchestra played earlier this spring. The concert will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday, August 10, 2003, at All Saints' Cathedral, 818 E. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee, WI. [More]

Today, July 1st, is Liv Tyler's (Arwen) birthday! Liv Tyler was born on July 1st, 1977 in Portland, Maine. That makes her 26 today! Happy Birthday Liv!

LONDON: The success of the Lord of the Rings movies, and the transformation of Wellington into "Wellywood", could make it harder to produce low budget films in New Zealand. This warning was given at a New Zealand Studies Association conference in London this weekend with claims the success of the LOTR movies was making New Zealand too expensive for locally financed film projects. [More]

Ringer Fan Lolly writes: Digit Magazine has a poll asking "Which movie special effects blew your mind?" Apparently LoTR is leading, but is being dogged by the Matrix. You need to scroll down the page a bit to see the poll, which is on the left hand side. [More]

Ringer James sends this little tidbit in:
I called AMC Veterans 24 here in Tampa Florida about the Return of the King teaser and they are saying that it is before Terminator 3, and possibly Pirates of the Caribbean. But for sure Terminator 3.

Update: We've received a minor flood of e-mails from theatre workers. And unless there's a giant conspiracy to keep the truth from us all, I'm afraid that T3 will not have an RoTK Teaser. [More]

Gryster sent in a perceptive and detailed report about the opening of Viggo's photography exhibition in Odense, "Ephemeris." Apparently this link has been doing odd things, but it seems to be fine now. [More] House of Telcontar also has news and reports on his recent appearances in Denmark.

Red Carpet Tours still has seats available on the 'Rohan' tour which leaves Auckland on November 27 to take fans to LOTR film locations all over New Zealand and the celebrations in Wellington for the premiere of The Return of the King on December 1. The tour will link up with the TORN/Red Carpet party planned for November 30th. More details to follow.

August 2, 3: Summermoot is an opportunity for TS members (& others) to join together and visit an area: whether for walking or browsing bookshops, in the Speyside region of Scotland, close to Inverness and Elgin. [More]

ActionFigure.com has reviewed a new batch of LoTR figurines from Play Along - Armies of Middle-earth - Dark Rider and Armies of Middle-earth - Attack at Weathertop. And, according to the reviewer, they compare pretty favourably with Games Workshop miniatures.
[Rider] [Weathertop]

Ringer spy João finds some parallels between the Tolkien's account of the beginning of the Universe in The Silmarillion, and some recent theories in physics. [More]

Orangeblossom from BitofEarth.net sends along this announcement of a Rocky Horror-style showing of Two Towers in the Portland area on July 5. If you're a fan of MST3k-ing and Rocky Horror - and LoTR - this could be a great night out for you! [More]

The Government is hoping to transform the "Home of Middle Earth" into the "Land of Narnia" with a multi-million dollar cash subsidy scheme for overseas films shot in New Zealand. The bright lights of the movie business have persuaded the Government to spend up to $40 million a year offering subsidies to film-makers who shoot most or all of their film in New Zealand. [More]

Alquawen writes: The Hollywood insider program EXTRA is airing footage from the red carpet at the Pirates of the Caribbean premiere in Disneyland. Orlando Bloom is there, of course. The show airs tonight at 7:00 EST in New York. Check local listings elsewhere.

Ringer Spy Saga writes: Viggo was just as humble and altogether nice as everyone says he is. From the moment they pulled the curtains at Magasinet in Odense he made everybody smile and cheer for him, and for his poems. [More]

The June issue of Cine Live features Orlando Bloom (Legolas) on the cover, doing the 'Caribbean' thing. [More]

In what looks like a film that may very well set Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) up as the first true action hero of this decade, the trailer for his new film 'Hidalgo' has appeared on Yahoo! Movies. [More]

Today, June 30th is Marton Csokas' (Celeborn) birthday! Marton was born on June 30th, 1966 in New Zealand. That makes him 37 today! Happy Birthday Marton!

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]

Celefinniel writes: When we checked into the Disneyland Grand Californian Hotel, they even gave us a huge poster and written instructions on how to attend. They told us we must have been in the park Saturday prior to the official closing time and have a hand stamp to prove it. We had other commitments on the big day, so we went over to the park at 6:30 AM that morning to check things out and received a special pin for the event, and the crucial hand stamp. [More]

Cine Live Magazine has this small article and image of newlyweds Liv Tyler (Arwen) and Royston Langdon. [More]

The June 27th edition of USA Today had this small article on the ROTK teaser poster. [More]

Most of these films are not finished, so at this point it's really a guessing game. There is one film, however, that always figures in the guessing, even though no one's seen it: New Line's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. [More]

After some speculation on if he could make it out of Malta where he is filming 'Troy', Orlando Bloom (Legolas) did indeed make it to California for the premiere of 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. Take a look at about a dozen new pics from the red carpet! [More]

Daniel Cole writes: I thought you might like to see a photo of Weta Workshop's creation of Lurtz. He is one of only (3) 7- foot scuptures in the world. I have the one shown in my theater room and the other two belong to New Line Cinema. According to the president of Weta, he took over four months to build. [More]