the VIP panel at the Lincoln Center event

I was lucky enough to attend the RotK screening and Conversation with Peter Jackson at this weekend's LotR event at Lincoln Center. Today's conversation included stories about Peter's early film career, the making of gollum, and lots of cast gag stories. All in all, it was an incredible event! Read [More]

The Results are in! Highlight below to find out:
The Two Towers won 'Favorite Motion Picture Drama,' but did not win 'Favorite Motion Picture.' This award went to 'Pirates of the Caribbean.'

Don't forget to cheer for The Two Towers during tonight's People's Choice Awards airing on CBS in the US. The Two Towers is up for Favorite Motion Picture and Favorite Motion Picture Drama. Thanks to Pip for the reminder! [More]

In a claim disputed by several studios, director Tim Burton's family fable "Big Fish" reeled in the No. 1 spot in its first weekend of wide release by selling $14.5 million worth of tickets. But that sounded like a whopper to others in Hollywood, particularly New Line Cinema, which said its reigning champ, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" earned more. [More]

From the A&E Website: A behind-the-scenes look at the sets, special effects, and people who made "The Lord of the Rings" the most popular movie trilogy of all time. Includes a trip to a pub with the Hobbit boys and interviews with director Peter Jackson and actors Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellan(SIC), Miranda Otto, and Orlando Bloom. Premieres: Sunday, Jan 11 @ 10pm ET/PT. [More]

Celebrial, Tedster, elanor & Flourish were some of the lucky few who attended the Lincoln Center events this weekend in a very frigid New York City. Take a look at their wonderful reports! Now with more photos added! [More]

Brandon from boxofficemojo.com writes: ROTK has raked in $710.4 million worldwide in just its first 22 days of release, 30% ahead of TTT at the same point. Add in FOTR's and TTT's grosses, and the LOTR trilogy has grossed over $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office. ROTK is well on its way to surpassing TTT and FOTR. Here's the worldwide breakdown, showing what each movie has made in each country, including ROTK's opening weekends, release dates and screen totals. [More]

The Discovery Institute writes: Join noted British actor John Rhys-Davies for a rollicking evening as he talks about the meaning and the making of The Lord of the Rings and answers audience questions about his long career in films and TV. [More]

Diana writes: I just got my Premiere magazine through the mail (Feb 04), and there is a portion of the magazine celebrating "The Year of the Director." On the second and third page of the magazine, there is an ad saying "International Creative Management...Joins Premiere Magazine in Celebrating THE YEAR OF THE DIRECTOR." There are pictures of six directors, Peter Jackson included. In the 'Directors of 2003' part of the magazine is a long statement from Peter Jackson and a cute caricature.

Miggie writes: Sean Bean is participating on the Dazzler Campaign in the UK, in which celebrities design jewellery to help raise funds for the National Osteoporosis Society. Among the paticipants are Sir Elton John and Phil Collins. [More]

Liv & Viggo in London

Ringer Spy Nazz attended the MANY press confrences during the ROTK media blitz last month. In this article he chats with actors Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler. [More]

Julia writes: I attended the Lincoln Center showing of the Lord of the Rings movies on Sat January 10. We got pretty good seats and there were actually lots of tickets left. Then we right away went to the stage entrance to Alice Tully Hall, conveniently located just around the corner, to wait for the arrival of the cast. [More]

Tanja wrote in from Germany about this cool, if slightly bizarre, LOTR-themed ad promoting the use of condoms and HIV prevention. It's here and it's called "Der Ring 2003 video." The voiceover says something like: "Choose the power of the ring. It will protect you from harm and be a valuable friend to you.". Not sure they got the meaning of the One Ring right, adds Tanja.

9th annual Critics' Choice Awards

4 for 4!!! Peter Jackson and the entire ROTK Production team has just won Best Picture at the Critics Choice Awards for their work on The Return of the King! Billy Boyd accepted in person and Peter Jackson was once again accepting via satellite.

Peter Jackson has just won Best Director at the Critics Choice Awards for his work on The Return of the King! Peter accepted the award and thanked everyone via satellite. For those lucky enough to have the E! Network you can watch the show live right now!

Congrats PJ!!

Anyone in Wellington want a genuine piece of Moria? Roberta has a bit that blew out of the film workshop one stormy day. It's a piece of foamrock 650mm X 900mm, painted and chiseled to have a nice hewn look, looks like a piece of Moria. Going in the garbage on Wednesday unless you email her first. robertag@clear.net.nz

More responses to my review of ROTK and some of the additions and corrections people sent in. [More]

The entire ROTK Cast has just won Best Ensemble at the Critics Choice Awards for his work on The Return of the King! Billy Boyd accepted the award on the behalf of everyone. For those lucky enough to have the E! Network you can watch the show live right now!

Howard Shore has just won Best Score at the Critics Choice Awards for his work on The Return of the King! Howard accepted the award and made a small speech. For those lucky enough to have the E! Network you can watch the show live right now!

Thorongil writes: As all of us here at TORN are big fans of Tolkien's works, we have varying opinions and levels of how much we like or dislike Gollum in the books. While engaged in many discussions over the years with other TORN staffers and ringers from around the world, I have never heard anyone say Gollum was their favorite character. Well, after seeing Andy Serkis' perfomance as Gollum in all three LOTR movies, that may very well change. [More]

Sean Astin in Entertainment Weekly

The January 2004 issue of Entertainment Weekly features this interview with Sean Astin. [More]

After the phenomenal popularity of New Zealand magazine Pavement’s previous two The Lord of the Rings special issues, the magazine is about to publish its third and final instalment to this amazing trilogy. [More]

Ringer Spy HobbitMerry writes: On Monday night, January 5th, 2004-- a radio station in the L.A/Orange County area called K-Mozart (and I believe they are on 105.1) held a special free screening of Return of the King with Sean Astin as a guest for Q&A afterwards. [More]

In a sickening example of marketing gone awry...TORN presents ROTK-themed Valentine's Day cards and stickers. Because, as you well know, nothing says loving like an image of Gollum sneering at you. My personal favorites are the Denethor Card (a character which oozes love from the get go), and the slightly homo-erotic Pippin & Merry card with the words 'I'll always be on your side' written on them. Some poor boy or girl will be getting this one from his schoolyard crush and won't know if they want to kiss under a tree or or share a pound of salted lamb. [More]

Chris writes: ROTK has been nominated along with five others for the 16th USC (University of Southern California) Scripter Awards, which aims to find the best book to film adaptation of the year. [More]

COLOGNE (Hollywood Reporter) - Howard Shore, who won an Oscar for his score to "Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring," has signed on as one of the hosts of this year's Berlinale Talent Campus, the six-day filmmaking training camp that runs alongside the Berlin International Festival (Feb. 5-15), organizers said Friday. [More]

A BIG thank you to Diamond for sending this transcript to us! [More]

Andy Serkis at the ROTK Premiere in LA

Ringer Spy Nazz attended the MANY press confrences during the ROTK media blitz last month. In this article he chats with actor Andy Serkis. An animated, whirlwind of passion and ideas, Andy's mind seems to be constantly racing, with such energy firing behind his remarkable eyes that it takes t -10 seconds to be swept up in his enthusiasm and affability. [More]

Having seen all three movies it's time to take a look at the movie trilogy as a whole. How coherent are the different storylines? How well do the individual movies work on their own? How does the focus shift between characters from 'The Fellowship of the Ring' to 'The Return of the King'?[More]

This Sunday, January 11th, Peter will participate in a Q&A at Lincoln Center via satellite from New Zealand. We have learned that Peter had hoped to attend in person, however, as you know, he is currently working to complete the extended edition of The Return of the King. (Rather important work!) Due to the upcoming production schedule for King Kong, if PJ does not complete the extended edition now, word has it, that the ROTK EX would not be able to be finished for two years! PJ feels that would be unfair to us fans who has been so supportive of the Trilogy.

The Lord of the Rings finale is set to be the trilogy's most successful film after taking $270m (£148m) in its first 12 days outside the US, a report says. That is 27% ahead of the second film at this stage, Variety magazine reported. [More]

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" has a good shot at holding onto the box office lead for a fourth consecutive weekend. [More]

Los Angeles, CA, January 2004 - Composer Howard Shore, who won the Academy Award in 2001 for his score for the first installment of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," can add a number of nominations to his list of honors. Shore recently received a Grammy nomination for "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and two Golden Globe nominations for "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" for the Best Original Score and Best Original Song "Into The West," performed by Annie Lennox and co-wrote with Fran Walsh and Annie Lennox. [More]

Taking time out from the production of extra scenes destined for the Special Extended DVD Edition of Return of the King, Joe Letteri, Weta Digital’s visual effects supervisor, takes us through the final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. [more]

Cameron Crowe is said to be zeroing in on an actor to replace Ashton Kutcher in "Elizabethtown," a DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures co-production. Orlando Bloom is at the top of Crowe's list, according to sources, and early discussions are under way for Bloom to take the role opposite Kirsten Dunst. [More]

Brandalf85 writes: AOL is having their online movie awards going on right now and ROTK is in almost every category! [More]

Isembard Took and Brandalf chime in: You DON'T have to be an AOL Member to vote!

Graham from the Lincoln Center was kind enough to send us an update on the great LOTR events happening this weekend in New York City. He tell us that Peter Jackson will NOT be there in person, but will be participating via sattelite from NZ. Also the confirmed guests who will be there are Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Bernard Hill and Liv Tyler. Tickets for most of the events are sold out. Look for exclusive TORN coverage next week! [More]

Rob writes: Thought this might be of interest to your readers. I did the research myself so you can use it if you like. Out of the 75 Best Picture Oscars awarded, this is how the winners were spread. [More]

Last week TORN was contacted by the folks who run www.elijahw.com, they claimed to be running 'The Official Elijah Wood Website'. The tone of their letter left me doubting its authenticity. After a little investigation TheOneRing.net can now confirm that this site is NOT AFFILIATED with Elijah Wood in any way. His publicist remarks 'It is not legit. Elijah has no official site and has not given anyone permission to claim they are.'

Andrew Lesnie On The Red Carpet

Ringer Spy Nazz attended the MANY press confrences during the ROTK media blitz last month. In this article he chats with Director of Photography Andrew Lesnie. Andrew Lesnie - Academy Award winning cinematographer of The Lord Of The Rings films (for The Fellowship Of The Rings) Cinematography: The art or technique of movie photography, including both the shooting and development of the film. [More]

The Science Museum will keep the doors of its blockbuster Lord of the Rings exhibition open until midnight this Friday and Saturday - to cope with the demand for tickets as visitors rush to catch the show before it leaves Europe. [More]

The epic odyssey of little hobbit Frodo is about to be concluded in The Return Of The King, the third part of The Lord of the Rings. And for young American actor Elijah Wood, the final part of the trilogy is the end of his own epic journey. [More]

Elijah Wood and Sean Astin will be special guests on The Charlie Rose Show tomorrow night. [More]

A BIG thank you to Lisa for sending this transcript from last nights episode of 'The Daily Show with John Stewart'. [More]

The chances of Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson making a film version of The Hobbit seem to be growing. Jackson has already said he'd be interested if a deal on the film rights can be agreed with the Tolkien family. [more]

In the first shocker of the Oscar season, "Cold Mountain" director Anthony Minghella has been overlooked by his peers for a Directors Guild of America nomination. "It really trips up 'Cold Mountain,' because if there was any movie that looked like it had a chance to upset 'Lord of the Rings,' that was it," says awards maven Tom O'Neil. [More]

LOS ANGELES, JANUARY 7, 2004 "American Splendor" was voted Best Picture of the Year, it was announced tonight by Jean Oppenheimer, President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA). The runner up was "Lost in Translation". LAFCA's 29th annual achievement awards ceremony will be held Monday, January 26 at the St. Regis Hotel in Los Angeles. [More]

(New York City) -- CINEMARATI, the renowned organization of professional online film critics from across the globe, today announced its distinctive nominations for the fourth annual Cinemarati Awards. [More]

ROTK Premiere: Denmark

Ringer Spy Nazz attended the MANY press confrences during the ROTK media blitz last month. In this article he chats with producer Barrie Osborne. [More]

NEW YORK - The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association is the latest group to honor Peter Jackson, naming him the best director of 2003 and choosing "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" as the year's best film. [More]

'The Lord of the Rings' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' heartthrob ORLANDO BLOOM is making an all-new movie -- and ET's behind the scenes for the exclusive! "It's great to do a movie without a sword once in a while," Orlando tells ET. [More]

Aelfwine writes: I've researched the following LOTR-related appearances in addition to what's on the news right now:

Jan. 12: Sean Astin on "The View"
Jan 13: Andy Serkis on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"
Jan 14: Sean Astin on "Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn"

Tom Woodward from DVDAnswers writes: A Danish reader contacted us today regarding the runtime for the extended edition of ROTK. He managed to get in touch with the Danish interviewer that spoke with Peter Jackson to basically try and clarify the 4 hour 50 minute runtime he mentioned. It turns out that the runtime is actually 4 hours and 15 minutes. Seems the interviewer made a mistake! [More]

Stevan writes: but Ian McKellen was on the chat show "Richard and Judy" in the UK this afternoon. [More]

A 39-year-old Triangle man was with his family at a Saturday afternoon screening of "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" at the AMC Theater when the people behind him were making a lot of noise. Chinn says one of the people slapped the soda from the man's hand and put him in a head lock and began beating him. [More]

It is a season whose starting date doesn't appear on any calendar, and yet by the time it's over every year, it always seems to have been inexcusably long. [more]

Haddy writes: Jon Stewart said that Elijah Wood would be his guest on the Daily show tonight (Jan 7) - 11pm on Comedy (comedy central in the US).

LordofLorien writes: The "Live with Regis and Kelly" show will be having Sean Astin from the LOTR trilogy as guest this Friday, January 9th.

The Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson would love an Oscar - but despite the trilogy's incredible success, he's not getting his hopes up. The series' final installment The Return Of The King has gained adoration from fans and critics alike, but while he'd love an Academy Award, Jackson is well aware that making fantasy films isn't the best way to go about it. [More]

Eowyn writes: Viggo Mortensen is #10 on VH1's 100 Hottest Hotties list! The show will air on Friday January 9 on VH1, at 10 pm EST. By the way Orlando Bloom was also on the countdown at #76, and that show will probably be repeated over the course of this week.

The Return of the King today earned Peter Jackson his third straight nomination for the Directors Guild of America Awards, the first filmmaker ever nominated three years in a row. [More]

The third instalment of cult film trilogy Lord of the Rings has had fans queuing at Australian box offices over the new year period, grossing $7.69 million in just four days. [More]

More than 6,000 people have submitted reviews for Return of the King. Is yours one of them? So far, the verdict seems to be pretty good - 4.7 rings out of a possible 5. Costume design gets the highest rating at 4.89, while editing is rated the poorest - a 'lowly' 4.17. Don't forget to submit your own review! [More]

John Noble at the ROTK Premiere in Los Angeles

Ringer Spy Nazz attended the MANY press conferences during the ROTK media blitz last month.

An energetic, undeniably talented South Australian-born actor whose theatre work has been acclaimed all around the world. Probably one of the best interviews of the junket and certainly had most of us in tears of laughter at several instances throughout the interview, while lacing every moment with gravity and deep emotion. [More]

Olando Bloom in Teen People

Ringer Spy Minnie sends along this article from the February 2004 issue of Teen People Magazine. [More]

Ian McKellen's play 'Dance of Death' has opened its doors today in Australia. [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. on Tuesday said it would introduce a smaller and cheaper version of its popular iPod music player next month to challenge rivals in the market for flash-memory-based digital devices. [More]

The folks from VH1 write: VH1's New Hit Show, "Totally Obsessed," celebrates pop-culture and the people obsessed with it. We would love to do a segment on a fan of the "Lord of the Rings" movies, books, and/or characters. We are looking for people who are not just fans but who have gone to extreme measures for their passion of Tolkien's masterpieces. If this is you please email your obsession, and photos to zachary.johnson@vh1staff.com

Andy Serkis will be visiting New York, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Los Angeles next week in support of his new book Gollum: A Behnid the Scenes Guide of the Making of Gollum'. (The Chicago event, originally scheduled for January 13, is off.) [More]

Melonie of the Shire writes: Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan will be in some parades in New Orleans this Mardi Gras. Wood will be riding in the Krewe of Bacchus parade on Sunday night, and Monaghan will ride with the Krewe of Orpheus on Monday night. [More]

Interesting factoid of the day... rockergall writes: Being an avid fan of both the Lord of the Rings films and the band Metallica, I am happy to report that Kirk Hammet of Metallica is a fan of the films. In the most recent issue of the Metallica Club Magazine he lists his top ten favorite things of the year 2002. His number five favorite thing of the year is the The Two Towers EE!

Nominations for the Directors Guild of America Awards were just announced. Peter Jackson has landed his third nomination in a row!

Peter Jackson, ROTK
Clint Eastwood, Mystic River
Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation
Peter Weir, Master and Commander
Gary Ross, Seabiscuit

LOS ANGELES — He once was a Goonie. But Sean Astin is no fool when it comes to the ways of Hollywood. You don't get raised by showbiz troupers like TV-movie queen Patty Duke and Addams Family patriarch John Astin and not pick up a few pointers. [More]

Nessa writes: On the Aussie ABC TV programme "7.30 Report" tonight (Tuesday 6th Jan), one of the interviewees was Sir Ian McKellen. [More]

Kailin writes: I get Academy press releases sent to me regularly, and this one regarding the Sound Editing possible nominations popped into my inbox today.

Seven Films in Competition for Sound Editing Oscar(R)

Beverly Hills, CA - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced the seven films being considered for Achievement in Sound Editing for the 76th Academy Awards(R). [More]

"Finding Nemo"
"Kill Bill: Vol. 1"
"The Last Samurai"
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"
"Seabiscuit"

NEW YORK -- Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" scored a triple crown Monday, taking picture and director awards in each of three annual film honors lists from the Online Film Critics Society, the Kansas City Film Critics Circle and the Las Vegas Film Critics Society. [More]

Viggo Mortensen walks into the Grove movie theatres at Third and Fairfax in Los Angeles, approaches the concession stand, and orders a Coke. He's about to speak to a packed house of fans, many of them actors, who are being treated to an advance screening of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the final installment in Peter Jackson's wildly successful gamble at adapting J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved novels to the big screen. [More]

Holly writes: The Washington Post picks Top 20 Hottest Destinations for 2004, New Zealand is #8 on the International side. [More]

Sasha from oscarwatch.com sends along word that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King has nabbed a Producers Guild of America Nomination for Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson & Fran Walsh! Congrats!

Despite its immense popularity, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings has long been criticized by feminists who say that there are too few female characters and that those who do exist are most notable for their conventionality. The first charge is irrefutable: there are only three major and six minor feminine roles in the three fat volumes that comprise Rings. Even the numerous horses in the story all seem to be male! [More]

The Mail Order Team from The Australian Post write: I wanted to let you know for your news area that Australia Post has just released a Souvenir Stamp Sheet for Lord of the Rings - Return of the King. [auspost.com.au]

The latest issue of Rolling Stone Magazine had this small article on 'Pandemoniuminamerica', Viggo Mortensen's latest album featuring songs with Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd. [More]

Elijah Wood will be on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' tomorrow morning. Be sure to check your local listings for the correct time.

Lady Druadan writes: Here is an article about Värttinä and the Lord of the Rings musical in Finnair's December 2003 - January 2004 Blue Wings magazine. [More]

Vivendi Universal Games, ATI, BAWLS and GameSpy Arcade are proud to bring you an action-packed tournament in War of the Ring's The War for Middle-earth. Players will compete throughout February and March for a shot at winning the $40,000 grand prize, a trip for two to Los Angeles, CA and other great prizes. On January 27th, 28 participants will be chosen randomly from all of those who entered. Don't delay, sign up today! (Oh yeah, one TORn visitor will be selected for automatic placement in the tournament! Represent us well! ) [More]

British Ringers should keep their eyes open for something new in the stands, as Ringer Spy Irascian pointed out: "Lord of the Rings Collectors Models", a new fortnightly magazine, has launched in the UK this week and the first issue has a special launch price of £2.99 (normal price £5.99). [More]

John from Sev.com.au writes: Daily comic strip Terrible Twos has a Lord of the Rings theme to it today as it looks at how a toddler's 'addiction' to pacifiers can be a lot like Gollum's addiction to the one ring. Check it out here!

"The 2003 Year-End Zeitgeist offers a unique perspective on the year's major events and hottest trends based on more than 55 billion searches conducted over the past year by Google users from around the world." Apparently "Lord of the Rings" was a very popular subject, coming in at number eight! Thanks to Ringer Yarrow for the link. [More]

Empire is running a poll for favourite installment of Lord of the Rings. Go vote, if you haven't already. [More]

Oscarwatch.com is reporting that New Line is taking an aggresive approach with confusion over the eligibility of the RoTK score for the Oscars. Oscarwatch says that a contact with New Line publicity called them today with the news that the score is in fact elligible and that the studio is fairly adament about making this known. [More]

With the release of the third and final Lord of the Rings film, New Zealand director Peter Jackson finds himself with a little time on his hands for the first time since he undertook the epic project seven years ago. [More]

The Australian's Luke Slattery muses on the modernity of an ancient tale. The typos in some of the character names are amusing. [More]

The characterisation of Denethor seems to have ignited both controversy and discussion among Tolkien fans the world over. But is John Noble pleased with the result, and with Return of the King? [More]