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September 11, 2007 - September 18, 2007

News for Sep. 18, 2007

Baggins Birthday Picnic This Weekend Too!

9/18/07, 11:16 pm EST - Xoanon

Southern Californian hobbits, elves, rangers and even orcses, or simply Tolkien fans, are invited to join in the merriment of TORN's Annual Baggins Birhday Picnic which will take place on Sunday Sept 23 starting at noon in Griffith Park near the Merry-Go-Round. Costumes are encouraged, and prizes will be bestowed upon the most beautifully or most creatively attired lads and ladies. There will also be games, trivia, and maybe even the traditional impersonation contest (if partygoers are up to it). And wonderful prizes to be won. The picnic is potluck so bring something to share. RSVP to Arwen@theonering.net.

Baggins Birthday Picnic

Tolkien Forever's Annual Hall of Fire This Weekend!

9/18/07, 9:08 pm EST - Xoanon

Reminder to all Los Angeles Tolkien fans: This Saturday September 22nd is Tolkien Forever's Annual Hall of Fire starting at 4pm in Glendora. It will be an enchanted evening filled with fun, food and fellowship. There will be music, art, poetry, and costumes are encouraged. The dinner is potluck, so please bring a dish to share. Please RSVP to Saystine@att.net for specific directions to the event.

TV Watch: McKellen on Charlie Rose

9/18/07, 9:04 pm EST - Xoanon

McKellen on Charlie Rose Jonathan let us know that you can catch Ian McKellen's recent interview on 'Charlie Rose' online at charlierose.com. An added bonus is catching his 1999 interview with Rose, just a few years before he became a household name.

A Conversation with Ian McKellen

Tolkien Lecture in Toronto

9/18/07, 8:58 pm EST - Xoanon

Jo writes: The White Tree Fund is hosting a Tolkien lecture in Toronto next Thursday, September 27 at 7.00 pm. It will be held at Hart House, University of Toronto. Dr. John Browne is speaking on "Tolkien as Wordsmith: One Reader's Journey Through the Lord of the Rings". Tickets are $10 if you're a member of the Toronto smial or $15 for non-members. Please bring along any old children's books or magazines to be donated to the Parkdale Project Read, a local literacy group. For more info and to get tickets see: www.whitetreeefund.org.

Robert Jordan 1948 - 2007

9/18/07, 8:55 pm EST - Xoanon

Robert Jordan 1948 - 2007 Ford of Rivendell writes: I heard that Robert Jordan; author, veteran, historian, and family man, passed away on Sunday, and wanted to let you folks know, as TORn has reported news about him and his stories as many Tolkien readers travel to Jordan's books and worlds as well. Here are a couple links to AP articles where I first found it.

Author Robert Jordan Dies James O. Rigney Jr., Who Wrote as Robert Jordan, Dies at 58 Discuss

'The History of the Hobbit' - This Friday!

9/18/07, 9:37 am EST - Celeborn

The History of the HobbitWhile there is no official news on 'The Hobbit' movie yet, we can always count on Houghton Mifflin to continue to put out wonderfully crafted publications from Tolkien's universe. The lastest batch of new books, 'The History of the Hobbit,' are coming this Friday to stores new you, just in time for the 70th Anniversary of the publication of 'The Hobbit!'

"A beautiful boxed set: the definitive examination of how Tolkien came to write his original masterpiece, including the complete unpublished draft and little-known illustrations and unpublished maps, along with a new edition of the classic work itself."

The books are being sold individually and released on Friday, Sept 21st in bookstores nationwide. However, if you are interested in purchasing the two books together, along with the speciacl Anniversary Edition of 'The Hobbit,' you'll need to wait until October 26th. All are available right now on Amazon.com for pre-order.

History of the Hobbit - Part 1 Part 2 Set

The Hobbit: 70th Anniversary Edition Discuss

News for Sep. 17, 2007

Sala Baker Imprisoned in Panama?

9/17/07, 9:14 pm EST - Xoanon

Baker Imprisoned in Panama? No, you were not seeing things when you caught the season 3 premiere of 'Prison Break' tonight on FOX, that was Sala Baker. Baker, who played a few roles in the LOTR trilogy (most notably Sauron), had a small role as 'World' in tonight's episode. Sharp eyed fans may have even caught his Eye of Sauron tattoo during the pivotal final fight scene!

Discuss

Martin Freeman Responds to Hobbit Questions!

9/17/07, 7:04 pm EST - Celeborn

The MTV Movie Blog is back at it with more 'Hobbit' rumors, this time picking up on a suggestion started right here at TheOneRing.net's very own message boards.

Martin Freeman as Bilbo?"...But one actor we wouldn't want to see return is actually the actor when it comes to a Hobbit movie. While wizards and elves and part elf-men all age slowly (or not at all), hobbits get old quick, and we can't imagine a 51-year-old Bilbo played by the same actor who brought him to life on his eleventy-first birthday.

But if not Ian, than who? How about "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" star Martin Freeman? Internet scuttlebutt has him front and center as a replacement candidate, and no one can argue that he doesn't looks the part. So when we caught up with "The Office" alum while he was promoting his new film "The Good Night," we asked him to address the hubbub...'

Granted Martin gets Hobbits and Goblins mixed up, we still think he looks pretty darn good for the role. Jump over the MTV for the Q/A and then rant and rave on the TORn boards.

MTV Movie Blog Discuss

Happy Birthday Bruce Spence!

9/17/07, 5:13 pm EST - Xoanon

Collectormania 7 Images

Today is Bruce Spence's Birthday! Bruce Spence (born September 17, 1945) is an Australian character actor. He is perhaps most famous as the Gyro Captain in Mad Max 2 (also known as "The Road Warrior") and Jedediah the pilot in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. He also performed the voice of Chum in Finding Nemo, the Mouth of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the Trainman in The Matrix Revolutions and Tion Medon in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

News for Sep. 16, 2007

Celebriel’s Dragon*Con Report: Making “The Hobbit” Happen

9/16/07, 1:30 pm EST - Xoanon

Celebriel’s Dragon*Con Report: Making The Hobbit Happen Celebriel writes: TORn’s panel, “Making The Hobbit Happen,” presented by staffer Larry Curtis and co-founders Chris Pirotta (Calisuri) and Bill Thomas (Corvar) was a centerpiece of Tolkien Track programming, given on Saturday and again on Monday in the Hilton’s International Ballroom. They took us through the Power Point presentation now posted here, which reviews the complicated publication and film rights history of Tolkien’s works, especially as they relate to “The Hobbit.”

Making “The Hobbit” Happen

Boston Baggins Birthday Celebration

9/16/07, 1:13 pm EST - Xoanon

Tamara writes: We are gathering on the weekend of September 22nd, to celebrate the Birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and we invite any interested Ringers to attend.

On Sunday, September 23rd, we will meet at 2PM at the Boston Common, across from the AMC Movie theater for a potluck, trivia, readings, discussion and lots of fun. Please RSVP here and join our Yahoo discussion group, onewhitetree, for more details on this and future events. We look forward to seeing all of you and renewing our fellowship!

RSVP for the Boston Baggins Birthday Celebration

WIRED Q&A with Andy Serkis

9/16/07, 1:07 pm EST - Xoanon

WIRED Q&A with Serkis Celebriel forwards a new Wired Magazine interview with fan favorite Andy Serkis, discussing his work in the PlayStation 3 title Heavenly Sword and upcoming films Freezing Time, about Victorian photographer Eadweard Muybridge, and Inkheart, about an antiquarian bookbinder who, when he reads aloud, can bring characters from books into the real world.

WIRED Q&A with Andy Serkis

Silmarillion Anniversary Writing Contest

9/16/07, 12:58 pm EST - Xoanon

Silmarillion Anniversary Writing Contest Dawn writes: The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is hosting a writing contest in honor of the thirty-year anniversary of the publication of The Silmarillion. We will be awarding banners to the Silmarillion-based stories, drabbles, poems, and essays that earn the highest word count in reviews, as well as to the reviewer who writes the most words of reviews for contest entries.

Silmarillion Anniversary Writing Contest

A mermaid's tale

9/16/07, 12:37 pm EST - Xoanon

A mermaid's tale Double amputee Nadya Vessey is about to become New Zealand's first mermaid. The keen Auckland swimmer will soon be fitted with a mermaid-style tail made by special effects company Weta Workshop, the creative minds made internationally famous for their work on Lord of the Rings and King Kong.

A mermaid's tale

Entertainment Weekly Talks To Viggo Mortensen

9/16/07, 12:31 pm EST - Xoanon

Entertainment Weekly Talks To Viggo Roheryn sends along scans from the latest Entertainment Weekly, featuring Viggo Mortensen in their Spotlight department, mostly related to "Eastern Promises." Also be sure to take a look at EW's coverage of the Toronto International Film Fest, they have a few Viggo interviews. Lastly, take a look at this link for a bit of LOTR goofiness with Viggo on 'The Colbert Report'.

Viggo's EW Scans

John Howe's Journal: A Few Words, A Few Pictures

9/16/07, 12:08 pm EST - Xoanon

John Howe's Journal: A Few Words, A Few Pictures With kind permission John Howe has allowed us to re-print his newsletter entries as they are released. Take a look at the latest edition! FEW WORDS, A FEW PICTURES (Or Determining How Many Words a Picture is Really Worth at Current Market Value) By John Howe: I've often considered that artists should be subject to restraining orders, forbidding them to approach any closer than 100 yards to writing about their ownwork. Alas, I am a convicted and incurable recidivist, and like most of my earnest colleagues, am already serving a life sentence, so a few words won't hurt. Those of you who've had the pleasure (or the misfortune) of meeting me will likely know I feel very strongly about this whole business of making pictures. (Deep inside me is a thoroughly repressed professor, chained up and living on bread and water.)

John Howe's Journal

News for Sep. 14, 2007

Chocolate Fish Cafe to Close?

9/14/07, 5:01 pm EST - Xoanon

Chocolate Fish Cafe to Close? Terumi Isogai writes: I am a fan of LOTR who is living in Wellington, New Zealand. The big news in town is that the famous Chocolate fish cafe is in danger of closing by the end of this year, due to rising cost. You might know this already but I thought we as fans could start some sort of petition trying to stop this from happening.

I am a Japanese national and write blog about Wellington and LOTR related news in Japanese. I know a lot of fans from Japan still consider this cafe as oe of tthe LOTR locations and keen to visit as many times as possible. This cafe is sacred place for LOTR fans!

Please read this article from the Dominion Post. If you could spread the news to other LOTR fans, I am sure we might be able to save this little cafe!

Chocolate Fish Cafe to Close? Discuss

McKellen Takes On Another Dark Mountain: 'Lear'

9/14/07, 4:51 pm EST - Xoanon

McKellen as Lear and Sylvester McCoy as his Fool In the U.S., most people know Ian McKellen as the villainous Magneto in the X-Men movies — and of course as the wizard Gandalf, in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. But long before he became an international superstar, McKellen was known as the finest Shakespearean actor of his generation. He's played Romeo, Macbeth, Iago, and Richard III (on stage and on film) and now he's touring the United States with one of the greatest Shakespeare roles of all time: King Lear.

McKellen Takes On Another Dark Mountain: 'Lear'

Versatile Viggo

9/14/07, 4:30 pm EST - Xoanon

A Long Expected Party TORONTO - Viggo Mortensen may be a physical, intimidating presence on screen but in person he is more wiry than you expect, and much, much quieter. A serious, philosophical actor, the Manhattan-born Mortensen (he grew up in New York and South America and his father is Danish, so he's multi-lingual) is an exhibited photographer, poet, painter and publisher. If that isn't enough "P" talents for one man, he's also a pianist whose new album is "Time Waits for Everyone."

Versatile Viggo

News for Sep. 13, 2007

Flight of ConChords on DVD - Nov 6th

9/13/07, 2:54 pm EST - Celeborn

ROTK Complete RecordingsTORn staffer Deej has alerted us to the November 6th release of 'The Flight of the Conchords - Season 1' DVD set. Right now, through Amazon.com, you can place your pre-order for this one-of-a-kind HBO comedy featuring everyone's favorite LOTR extra, Figwit. You won't want to miss Episode 11/ The Actor in which LOTR plays a big role!

Flights of the ConChords - Season 1 Discuss

Viggo Mortensen open to involvement in 'The Hobbit'

9/13/07, 1:08 pm EST - Celeborn

A Long Expected PartyCelebriel reports, According to an article on the MTV Movie Blog, Viggo Mortensen is open reprising his role as Aragorn in "The Hobbit." And according to Viggo, one thing’s for certain: Whether he’s in it or not, he thinks there’s only one man that could possibly bring the story to the big screen. “It seems pretty obvious that Peter Jackson would be the person to direct it,” he said. Read the full report from MTV.

MTV Movie Blog Discuss

'A Long Expected Party' Gearing up for 2008!

9/13/07, 12:47 pm EST - Celeborn

Our good friend White Lady of Rohan sends along this tidbit about 'A Long Expected Party' coming in Sept 2008:

A Long Expected Party"Greetings fellow Hobbits and other Middle-earth denizens! Bilbo would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the celebration of his birthday, during the weekend of September 25th-28th, 2008 (( that's next year folks )) at Shaker Village in Central Kentucky. Shaker Village is as much like the Shire as any place on Earth. We will have games, music, guests and much more! Bilbo is waiting for hear from you. Please check out our site and come join us for the fun and Fellowship!"

TORn met the organizers of this event at DragonCon and are pretty impressed with what they have planned. Check out their official website!

A Long Expected Party.org

Exploring Middle-earth – Garth Agarwen

9/13/07, 12:15 pm EST - Xoanon

Vanessa "Saffron" Price, Online Community Representative for The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, writes: Tour the ruins of an ancient Rhudaurian fortress, now known as Garth Agarwen and learn what happened to this once-beautiful land of streams and rivers. [More]

WETA Press Update

9/13/07, 12:08 pm EST - Xoanon

Here's the news from Weta HQ this week.

Weta Designed book launch (Wgtn) this Saturday
Weta's Richard Taylor opens exhibition tomorrow night
Prince Caspian film Artwork revealed [Part II]
Exclusive Hellgate: London gameplay footage
Weta Productions teams with education programme
Lord Cockswain comic series revealed
Speakers for upcoming Special Effects symposium announced
New Rayguns testimonial from 'Princess Ceruleao'
Interview with Flagship Studio CEO Bill Roper
Prosthetics wizard Gino Acevedo opens up to TheNewDowse
Weta Digital Photographic Exhibition

News for Sep. 12, 2007

ROTK Complete Recordings Coming November 6th!

9/12/07, 12:56 pm EST - Celeborn

Laurelin sends us great news for fans looking to complete their recording collections!

ROTK Complete Recordings"BURBANK, CA--(Marketwire - September 12, 2007) - Howard Shore's complete Oscar®-winning score for "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," from the epic film trilogy "The Lord of the Rings," will be available for the first time in a deluxe five-disc edition from Reprise/WMG Soundtracks on November 6, 2007.

This historic release contains 3 hours and 50 minutes of music on four CDs, comprising the full score of the 2003 film. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - The Complete Recordings" marks the third and final edition of the three complete recording releases of the film trilogy whose score has been honored with three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. This deluxe set includes exclusive new artwork, packaging, liner notes written by Doug Adams, author of the forthcoming book "The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films," and features Annie Lennox performing the Oscar®-winning song "Into the West."" [ Read Full Release]

If you want to start your collections, check out the previously released 'complete recordings.' [ Complete TTT Recording ] [ Complete FOTR Recording ]

Discuss this in our Forums!

TV Watch: Viggo Mortensen on 'Letterman'

9/12/07, 11:41 am EST - Xoanon

Viggo Mortensen is slated to be a guest on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' tonight on CBS. He is there to promote his latest film 'Eastern Promises', which is currently premiering at the Toronto and Montreal Film Festivals, and opens this weekend. 'The Late Show' airs on CBS at 11:35PM.

Happy Birthday Ian Holm!

9/12/07, 11:34 am EST - Xoanon

Holm at Cannes

Happy Birthday Ian Holm! Sir Ian Holm, CBE (born 12 September 1931), is an Academy Award-nominated and Tony Award-winning English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles, including the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in the first and third films of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Sir William Withey Gull in From Hell, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element and as the android Ash in Alien.

Not @ Work - Photo Exhibit from WETA Staff

9/12/07, 11:16 am EST - Xoanon

Not @ Work - Photo Exhibit from WETA Staff

The folks at WETA write: Last years photo exhibition went so well that we decided to put on a sequel.

Not @ Work - Photo Exhibit from WETA Staff
Friday 21st - Saturday 29th September, 2007
12pm-9pm Weekdays, 10am-5pm Weekends
Free Entry
Thistle Hall Community Gallery, Wellington

News for Sep. 11, 2007

Dragon*Con 2007: Tolkien Track Highlights

9/11/07, 9:15 pm EST - Xoanon

Dragon*Con 2007: Tolkien Track Highlights - TORN Table Celebriel reports, Well another Dragon*Con has ended, and Tolkien Track attendees are still busy this week editing photos, uploading videos, emailing new and old friends, and getting costumes and props cleaned and safely put away. Here are just some of the track highlights this year (not including Anne Petty’s Dragon Smackdown and TORn's 'The Hobbit' DragonCon Presentation, which are covered separately). [More]

Viggo Mortensen May Hit 'The Road'

9/11/07, 8:47 pm EST - Xoanon

A rep for Viggo Mortensen confirms that the Lord of the Rings star is in early talks to star in the big-screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's best-selling, Oprah-approved novel The Road. The story, about a man and his young son traveling through a desperate, post-apocalyptic world, is being adapted by Joe Penhall (Enduring Love). Aussie John Hillcoat, who helmed last year's down-under Western The Proposition, will direct. [More]

Jackson saves historic Wellington chapel

9/11/07, 8:44 pm EST - Xoanon

Director Peter Jackson has performed his own mission of mercy by buying a historic Wellington chapel, valued at $10 million, to save it from the clutches of property developers. In May, the Sisters of Mercy applied to have the 83-year-old Our Lady of the Star of the Sea chapel removed from Wellington City Council's list of heritage buildings -- and announced plans to put the 1.35-hectare site up for sale. The plans sparked an outcry from Seatoun residents, including Jackson, who were concerned the property would be bulldozed to make way for townhouses. Sisters of Mercy congregation leader Sister Denise Fox told The Dominion Post the order received an unsolicited approach from Jackson and his partner, Fran Walsh, in late July. [More]

Kristin Thompson & Rick Porras Booksigning

9/11/07, 8:37 pm EST - Xoanon

Kristin Thompson, author of The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood, writes: I am going to be doing a signing event for The Frodo Franchise in New York on September 27. It starts at 7 pm at Barnes & Noble Upper West Side, 2289 Broadway at 82nd Street, tel. 212.362.8835. It should be an exciting evening, since Lord of the Rings co-producer Rick Porras will be joining me for a conversation before the signing! We’ll talk for perhaps half an hour and field questions for fifteen minutes or so.

Rick was one of my interviewees for The Frodo Franchise, and he provided a lot of fascinating information. As most TORN readers know, he was involved in the film in a wide variety of ways, including directing some scenes, helping to coordinate the videogame production, and touring visiting VIPs around the Wellington facilities. [More]


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