Our pal Bruce Hopkins writes: Michael, I am sending this link to a blog I have started writing. I am going to keep a posting going on my version of whats happening here in NZ with the film industry etc. If you were able to let people know they can check it out that would be great! [More]

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Check out some TV goodies like 'House: Season 2', 'Invasion' and 'Threshold' Series on DVD. New movies out are 'Poseidon', 'Just My Luck' & the classic 'The Wicker Man' [More]

Kiwi blokes under 1.3 metres tall who had a crack at being part of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings may again have a chance at stardom in the sequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. A film industry website advertised this week that it is seeking photographs and resumes of males of any race and shorter than 1.3 metres for Kiwi director Andrew Adamson's next film in the Narnia series, Prince Caspian. [More]

From dailyrecord.co.uk: Actress Tilda Swinton received an honorary degree yesterday. The star, who played the Ice Queen in blockbuster The Chronicles Of Narnia, was made a doctor of the arts by Edinburgh's Napier University. The 45-year-old also opened Scotland's first screen academy - a joint venture between the university and Edinburgh College of Art.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - James McAvoy, who played Mr. Tumnus, the Faun, in last year's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," has landed the starring role in Universal Pictures' sci-fi actioner "Wanted." The project marks the English-language debut of Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov. "Wanted" is based on a comic-book series by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones published by Top Cow. The story follows a put-upon young man who discovers that his long-lost father is an assassin. After his dad is murdered, the son is recruited into a covert organization of killers and trained to follow in his father's footsteps. [More]

The next part in the Narnia series is to begin filming in January 2007 and brings together the same four rising stars as in the "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" for another battle against the forces of evil. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the Christian parable and sequel to last year's hit The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, will begin shooting in January 2007 in ‘the forests of Europe’, producer Mark Johnson revealed. Disney is targeting a summer 2008 release as director of the first Narnia sequel, Andrew Adamson, again co-writes and directs. As Director Adamson returns for the new sequel along with the young quartet of British actors: Georgie Henley, 10, Skandar Keynes, 14, Anna Popplewell, 17, and William Moseley, 18, he shared: “If we don’t make [the film] now, we’ll never be able to because they’ll be too old. [More]

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Check out some goodies like '3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 5' and Animal House on HD DVD. Some new collection DVD sets featuring the work of Clark Gable, James Stewart & Ronald Reagan. Be sure to also check out 'Memento' in Blu-Ray and one of the best new cable shows of last year 'Rome: The Complete First Season'. [More]

Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co., the second-largest U.S. media company, said third-quarter profit jumped 39 percent to a record on surging DVD sales of the ``Chronicles of Narnia'' film and higher revenue from the ESPN cable channel. Net income rose to $1.13 billion, or 53 cents a share, from $811 million, or 39 cents, a year ago, Burbank, California-based Disney said today in a statement. Sales rose 12 percent to $8.62 billion. Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger, in the job for less than a year, drove revenue increases in all four units, a sign that Disney is winning back audiences and advertisers under its new management. Disney shipped 18 million DVDs of ``The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' boosting sales at the film unit. Higher advertising rates at ESPN helped increase sale at the cable networks. [More]

Producer Darryl writes: I would like to advice LOTR fans in Australia of a new collectors TV show that has just visited Weta in NZ and features an extensive interview with Richard Taylor. The show screens Saturday night at 8 pm and re-runs Sundays at 9 am and 2 pm on the cable TV provider FOXTEL Australia-wide. The six part series features Weta in shows 1 and 5. And episode 3 is a complete Weta Special with Richard discussing his companies, childhood, creative challenges and goals. LOTR statues and busts make up a huge proportion of the show and two never-before seen unreleased statues are shown. For those outside Australia, DVD sales of the show will come online shortly. Fans can email popcollectables@yahoo.com or visit popcollectables.blogspot.com

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Check out 'Inside Man' Spike Lee's heist thriller, one of the best new shows of last season, the prison drama 'Prison Break: Season One' and for you comic book fans we have 'Ultimate Avengers 2' [More]