One of our new men out in NZ, John, sends these photos from Stone Street Studios in Wellington. This is a studio located about 2 minutes away from the coolest place on earth, also known as WETA Workshop & WETA Digital, and in between that is Park Road Post, where some LOTR work, and most of the work on King Kong was done..basically this neighborhood is the trifecta of movie-geek heaven.

When I was down in Wellington last April I caught up with LOTR producer Barrie Osbourne, we was hard at work on his next film 'The Water Horse'. I also had a chance to meet the director Jay Russell. At the time they were just about ready to begin shooting, this looks like they may be in re-shoot phase, the shoot in Scotland may or may not have happened yet, who knows. As you can see in the photos they seem to be planning something quite BIG to be on the blue screen...anyone who has read 'The Water Horse' already knows the answer to what that 'something' may be. Take a look at the photos and what John has to say! [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 'LOST: Season 2', 'Supernatural: Season 1', and two great episodes of classic Doctor Who 'The web Planet' & 'Inferno'. Be sure to check out the Criterion Collection edition of 'Seven Samurai', Blu-Ray edition of 'Full Metal Jacket' and the 9/11 film 'United 93', plus a whole lot more! [More]

The BIG news has finally hit. A Ringer Spy who was recently in the New York offices of New Line Cinema has reported that they clearly saw 'The Hobbit' on the film schedule for 2007. Here's what the spy had to say:

"Please leave my email anonymous as I have some very exciting news to report. I was in New Line's NY offices to discuss upcoming projects when I clearly saw something very intriguing on a year planner. 'The Hobbit' was clearly marked on what looked like July 2007. I couldn't exactly take a moment to investigate the calendar with my audience in the room, but it definitely said 'The Hobbit'. Lets hope this is a PJ project!"

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian promises to be an even bigger visual spectacle than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was — if that's possible. However, in spite of the top-notch CG work done on LWW by companies like ILM, Rhythm + Hues, and Sony Imageworks, the producers of Caspian are apparently hiring different companies for the sequel, notably two British effects houses. Industry sources tell IGN Filmforce that Moving Picture Company and Framestore, both based in London, will be responsible for the bulk of the film's digital effects. [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 'Will & Grace: Season 5', 'Survivor Palau', 'Desperate Housewives: Season 2' and 'Arrested Development: Season 3' Series on DVD. Some animated goodies like 'Darkwing Duck', 'South Park: Season 8' and 'Talespin'. New movies out are 'Akeelah and the Bee', 'Lonesome Jim', 'Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World' and a TON more! [More]

Maureen writes: I did a quick check in the search feature and don’t see any announcement about several free—and excellent—lectures on features in our favorite books. Kreeft (pronounced Krayft) draws on the works of Lewis and Tolkien together, showing how much in accord they are. I think the fans might appreciate these—and some of Kreeft’s other commentaries. He has a great grasp of mythopeia. [More]

From cinescape.com: The nominees to the 2006 World Soundtrack Awards, to be handed out during the Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent, Belgium, on October 14, were revealed today. Dario Marianelli, Alberto Iglesias, James Newton Howard and Gustavo Santaolalla all received two nominations each.

”Best Original Song Written for Film”
- “A Love That Will Never Grow Old” from Brokeback Mountain (Gustavo Santaolalla/ Bernie Taupin)
- “Can’t Take It In” from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Harry Gregson-Williams/Imogen Heap)
- “Magic Works” from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Jarvis Cocker)
- “Mdlwembe” from Tsotsi (Kabelo 'Kaybee' Ikaneng/Zola
- “Our Town” from Cars (Randy Newman)