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January 24, 2001 - January 30, 2001

News for Jan. 30, 2001

LotR on TV instead of the Big Screen?

1/30/01, 3:55 pm EST - Calisuri

Check out this great spoof story from iFilm.

"...But according to this internal memo—apparently from AOL/Time Warner assistant Chief Operating Officer Dick Harris—New Line's $275 million Lord of the Rings trilogy/gamble, starring the likes of Elijah Wood, Liv Tyler and Ian McKellen, may not exactly be coming to a theater near you...But not to fear: You've got a TV, right? "

Thanks to Dave for sending us the link. [More]

read the fine print at the bottom of the article.

GAMING: Games Workshop to make tabletop LOTR war game

1/30/01, 11:29 am EST - Xoanon

From: about a million and one Ringer Spies :)

Games Workshop have seemingly secured the rights for producing a game based on LOTR. [More]

LOTR Theme Park in NZ?

1/30/01, 11:25 am EST - Xoanon

Ringer Spy Silmarien sends in word from a NZ Listener article about a possible LOTR theme park in Wellington, I wonder if there will be height restrictions for the hobbits... [More]

But he was playing a Heavy!

1/30/01, 11:14 am EST - Xoanon

Ringer Super Spy RD sends in word that we can vote online for the 2001 Blockbuster Entertianment awards at www.blockbusterawards.com

We can vote for Ian MCkellen (Gandalf) in the best villian (X-Men) category in the movies section.

Tolkien Collectibles

1/30/01, 11:12 am EST - Xoanon

Ringer Spy JK sends in some info on some Tolkien goodies available in Ireland [More]

Media Watch: Globe & Mail

1/30/01, 11:06 am EST - Xoanon

For the second time this month, the Globe & Mail has LOTR in a front-page banner (in the person of Merry), as part of a "best of 2001" feature. LOTR (the movie) shares the page with William Blake, Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi.

Thanks to SK for the tip!

Weekly Ebay Items

1/30/01, 12:26 am EST - Xoanon

This weeks Ebay items are in! Check them out for some really cool stuff! [More]

Weekly Cast Watch: Jan 29-Feb4

1/30/01, 12:00 am EST - Xoanon

Another great chance to see your LOTR cast members on the small screen! [More]

News for Jan. 29, 2001

Awesome New Green Books goes LIVE!

1/29/01, 4:33 pm EST - Quickbeam

Greetings -- Quickbeam here.

Huzzah! Today we proudly unveil our completely overhauled Green Books... so let the magic begin with an explosion of brand-spanking-new content!

1. Come "Out on a Limb" with me to play the best LOTR boardgames on the planet. Actually, there are only two.

2. Turgon gives us modern high-tech Tolkien publications, via Print on Demand. That's over on his "Bookshelf."

3. Our newest Staff person Ostadan writes his "Lore & Letters," featuring an insightful journey into the Runes and Alphabets of JRRT.

4. Stalwart Ringer Tookish puts tongue in cheek with "Tookish's Ticklers." All humor, all the time. Be sure to send him your cartoons, jokes, parodies, and links.

5. The "Special Guest" column debuts with J.W. Braun's "Fate of the Nine Walkers." Next month YOU could be our Guest!

6. We research your toughest Q&A -- feast on these and more:
  a. Was Middle-earth actually our planet Earth?
  b. Why take two silly hobbits into the service of Kings?
  c. What evil would befall Middle-earth in "The New Shadow?"
  d. Déagol-- cousin or just friend to Gollum?

7. Next month our "Moon Letters" will be updated with zillions of new poems and fiction. Send us your submission today by clicking here.

Our hats are off to the hard-working Calisuri, who created the new design and navigation tools. You will find your way around easily with new Search functions, Archives, and Links.

On behalf of our hard-working Staff I salute you, the Reader, for making us the best Tolkien Study Group on the Web. Sit back, relax, and be erudite as we explore the WORDS and WORLD of Tolkien.

Much too hasty,

Quickbeam

LotR on IMDB

1/29/01, 12:33 pm EST - Calisuri

Lord of the Rings has hit the front page of everyone's favorite movie site, IMDB.com. LotR is listed first in the "Coming to a theater near you..." section. Thanks to Dan for the tip. [More]

Bad For Your Elf

1/29/01, 10:58 am EST - Xoanon

SEAN Bean has a Hobbit of playing the hard man.

And he certainly has his Orc cut out in a new £120 million movie adaptation of the Lord of the Rings. [More]

Thanks to Nona from The Compleat Sean Bean.

News for Jan. 28, 2001

Elijah Wood's B-Day!

1/28/01, 2:36 pm EST - Xoanon


Today, January 28th is Elijah Wood (Frodo) birthday! Elijah was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1981. That makes him the big 20 today! Happy Birthday Elijah! One more until you're legal in the US!

NO SUPER BOWL LOTR SPOT

1/28/01, 1:57 am EST - Xoanon

Despite rumors and stories on AICN and right here on TORN, we have learned that there will be NO LOTR trailer/teaser during the Superbowl. On the up side, I heard they play a game during the whole event, could be fun.

Link direct to the new (and they are new) pics on AOL. !UPDATE!

1/28/01, 1:01 am EST - Tehanu

This isn't the most elegant way to do this, (the webgurus are away today) but thanks to Elwen at least we have a temporary link to the new LOTR pictures.

UPDATE

I guess someone caught on to our link, so we have posted the images in our movie scrapbook. Check out the gallery. [Movie Scrapbook]

!!!SPOILERS!!!

News for Jan. 27, 2001

New images on AOL site.

1/27/01, 8:50 pm EST - Tehanu

"AOL has put Frodo front and center as today's featured "AOL ad subscribers pay $20 a month to see". The campaign, which will probably last only a day, has about 10 clickable photos, including some I haven't seen. Gimli is wielding an axe about four times bigger than the one a Tolkien reader visualizes. Boromir is blowing his horn, not to the heavens, but rather like a clarinet. Hope you have access to AOL, 'cause the campaign won't last long, maybe 24 hours."

Thanks to Elfstain for that.

LotR Teaser Top Download

1/27/01, 10:34 am EST - Calisuri

The Lord of the Rings Teaser Trailer is the top trailer download at Real.com, beating out 'Save the Last Dance' and 'Tomb Raider.' Thanks to Eriol for the tip.

Also, check out Real.com's LotR page for direct links to the 5mb and 11.4.mb teaser downloads. [More]

Official Site Full Screen Trailer

1/27/01, 12:43 am EST - Calisuri

The Official site has a full screen trailer online! But not so fast...its still Real Video. To their credit, you can now DOWNLOAD the full screen version to your computer and then watch it. [More]

News for Jan. 26, 2001

They're searching for the Hobbit!

1/26/01, 10:14 pm EST - Tehanu

They've done it! Assassinfilms' 'Searching for the Hobbit' website is fully online. Looking for something entirely different? (More)

Cate Blanchett interview

1/26/01, 8:23 pm EST - Tehanu

There's an interview with Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) over at Mothership.com. She says a little about how she felt to be involved in the Rings. (More)

Dagorhir, Tolkien Live Action Battle!

1/26/01, 6:42 pm EST - Jincey

This news just in from Berendir:
You've only read Tolkien. They live it in Dagorhir Battle Games! Tolkien's Middle Earth meets Dark Age Europe in this safe, action-packed national battle game. Go here to view the rest of the article and hear more about this exciting live Tolkien battle game!

Shop: Gollum Gold!

1/26/01, 1:08 pm EST - Calisuri

The good folks at Badali Jewelry are offering Tolkien fans across the world a brand new item! Gollum Gold is a 24k plated One Ring replica on a gold chain. Check it out! [More]

Weekly Ebay Items

1/26/01, 10:32 am EST - Xoanon

More exciting than a bowl of really interesting flowers! [More]

In Depth Mike Deluca Interview

1/26/01, 1:00 am EST - Xoanon

The folks at Fade In Magazine really went full tilt on this amazing interview with former head of production at New Line, Mike Deluca. [More]

News for Jan. 25, 2001

Screening of a cult classic

1/25/01, 11:46 pm EST - Xoanon

From: The Vancouver Sun

Tolkien fans are deeply conflicted over the film trilogy headed their way and, writes Trent Ernst, the first trailer did nothing to dim the controversy. [More]

The Starlit Jewel CD Available

1/25/01, 9:05 pm EST - Xoanon

The folks at Flowinglass Music send us the news on a new CD you can please your ears with. [More]

Mckellen at Holocaust Memorial Day Event

1/25/01, 8:58 pm EST - Xoanon

LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Britain"s Queen Elizabeth will not attend the country"s first Holocaust Memorial Day this weekend, further fuelling the debate over who should or should not attend the highly controversial event. [More]

Merchandising for Kids

1/25/01, 8:51 pm EST - Xoanon

From: StocDred

I found a LOTR article that you might not have access to... it's in a great monthly magazine called Kidscreen. Kidscreen focuses on "reaching children through entertainment". [More]

Hall of Fire Live Chats Jan 27 & 28

1/25/01, 7:50 pm EST - Tookish

This weekend The Hall of Fire will be open for debate! Our topic: How and why has no other author done what JRR Tolkien did? More details here. First timers welcome!

Licence to kill....

1/25/01, 4:51 pm EST - Tehanu

Not really. But "Riskbreaker" wrote in to tell us:

"I just received word from someone "in the know" that New Line Cinema has licensed the props weaponry, primarily) from the film out to two companies: Marto Swords and United Cutlery. Both companies have produced movie/TV replica swords in the past and thus have experience. Let's hope they do it right!"

Great. I'll order their replica Glamdring, ESPECIALLY if they throw in, ABSOLUTELY FREE, a set of genuine gensu steak knives. I wanna hear those ads, "But wait, there's more!..."

We're hip.

1/25/01, 4:38 pm EST - Tehanu

I've got a theory that if you are a complete nerd and ignore all fashions, eventually you fall so far behind that you find yourself ahead of the pack - voila, a trendsetter. (That was a 'voila' missing the little line over one of the vowels, BTW. Not a miss-spelled viola.) So is this true of being a Tolkien fan, or do we just come to this website to delude ourselves that we've got friends?

According to USA Today, Tolkien fandom is hip enough that the official LOTR site features in their Web Guide's "Hot Sites" list today.

He's BACK!!!

1/25/01, 12:39 am EST - Tehanu

Looks like the days of spy reports aren't quite over yet. CD ran into Elijah Wood (Frodo) in LA and learned something interesting. (more)

Fan Art Contest ends soon!

1/25/01, 12:10 am EST - Gamgee

Just a reminder, one week until the end of the Fan Art Contest! [More]

News for Jan. 24, 2001

Video discussing LOTR board game and creator released!

1/24/01, 11:41 pm EST - Gamgee

Lord of the Rings Board game creator, Reiner Knizia, has made a video detailing all the specs to his invention! Should be a good score for all gaming and Tolkien fans alike! [More]

Holm's 'From Hell' Update

1/24/01, 9:05 pm EST - Xoanon

Harry over at AICN has some new info on the latest film to star our very own Ian Holm (Bilbo) 'From Hell'. [More]

DeLuca's Sweet Deal

1/24/01, 8:51 pm EST - Xoanon

Way to go, Michael :)

From: WonderBroad via IMDB

New Line Cinema and Fine Line Features, which remained distinct entities insulated from the Warner Bros. monolith after being acquired by Time Warner in the Turner Broadcasting merger, began downsizing Tuesday as part of an overall retrenchment following the takeover by America Online.

The online magazine Inside reported that New Line alone will be forced to cut 20 percent of its overhead, resulting in deep staff cuts. More than 100 employees of the unit are expected to be pink slipped, the magazine noted, with 18 layoffs coming in the New Line Home Video operation alone. The firings occur even as the New York Daily News was reporting that Mike De Luca, ousted last week as New Line Cinema studio chief, was being offered a $100-million deal to set up a production company at the same studio that fired him. "Who would walk away from that?" an unnamed source remarked in an interview with the newspaper. "It's one of the most lucrative production deals ever, similar to what Peter Guber got when he left Sony or what Sid Sheinberg got from Universal."

Dutch Trailer News

1/24/01, 12:50 pm EST - Calisuri

Leo from LordoftheRings.nl passes along some good news for you Dutch LOTR fans. The teaser trailer will be out next week there. [More]

Filming at Haywards Quarry last weekend?

1/24/01, 10:29 am EST - Xoanon

Ringer Spy Painty, a trusted Ringer sends in some info on some possible re-shoots or Unit B shooting for LOTR?

There was filming at the Haywards Quarry on Sunday friends drove past and a busload of "guys in black armour" drove in and there were flags on the balconys. Looks like they were still doing some crowd scenes.

Webmasters UNITE!

1/24/01, 10:21 am EST - Xoanon

The NZ Listener chimes in again with a report on the WB and the strong arm tactics the film production company is using against Harry Potter online fans. Two 15 year old webmasters have been sent legally threatening letters from Warners (yes, 15 year old). We can all be thankful that New Line runs a fan friendly production house.

NZ Listener Article

1/24/01, 10:16 am EST - Xoanon

The NZ Listener goes in depth and far into the future lookinf at December 19th, 2001. [More]

Thanks to Silmarien for the article!

Coming Soon: A Wonderful New Green Books!

1/24/01, 2:13 am EST - Tehanu

Greetings, Quickbeam here.

To our wonderful readers who have waited (im)patiently since November for more Green Books features, I apologize.

We haven't updated in some time as we have been remarkably busy behind-the-scenes, working with many creative people to bring you something dynamite! On Monday, 29 January 2001, we will unveil a totally revamped Green Books section with plenty to feast on:

1. Great new staff writers
2. Calisuri's beautiful redesign
3. New navigation tools
4. Humor and Special Guests
5. Piles more Q&A
6. .....and future Kiwi surprises (wink)

This is going to be exciting, grand, and you may even learn a thing or two! Stay tuned for more...

Tol Galen: Despatches from the Blue Screen Workshop

1/24/01, 1:34 am EST - Tehanu

Beren over at The Company of the Ring has been writing some tantalising reports on some of the things he saw in the last weeks of filming last year. Well worth a look. (More)

The Trailer in NZ again.

1/24/01, 12:52 am EST - Tehanu

We posted a link to a TV3 report on their trip to the cinema last week to ask moviegoers what they thought of the LOTR trailer. They updated their site with the next days' news before everyone that wanted to had seen it - but they did notice the surge in visits to their website! So they're reposted it, and here it is, with a little video clip.

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