Hear Ye, Hear Ye

By Order of Proclamation from The Hall of Fire, it is hereby decreed that The Fellowship of the Ring will be discussed in depth chapter by chapter, to commence the weekend of February 17 and 18!

More details here. It's the Tolkien reading group you've always wanted... from now right up to the Fellowship's movie debut in December... with all the comforts of your own little smial... First timers welcome!

Thanks to Quickbeam we have the latest IMDb 'Studio Report' which claims that, "Controversy has erupted in New Zealand following the revelation that the country's Defense Force, the combined army, navy and air force, was paid only $91,000 for the use of 15-250 men, mostly as extras, each day during the filming of Lord of the Rings..."

It's heartwarming to watch a little story grow from a tiny seed to a, well, a slightly larger growth transplanted halfway around the world. (More)

From the amazing mind of Bill Amend (how are you Bill) check out the latest 'Foxtrot':

From: Boris

Here's the official press release from Games Workshop, regarding their upcoming Lot game (check out the cool picture of Saruman!).

This was handed out at Games Workshop's stand at this year's Nürnberg toy fair in Germany. [More]

From: Jebus (via Cinescape)

I found this on the Popcorn website (popcorn.co.uk). Sean Astin (Sam) talks about the LotR films, and his time in New Zealand. [More]

From: Alun

Monday morning (5th Feb 2001), the LotR trailer was shown in full on Channel 4's 'The Big Breakfast' in the UK.

The presenters added a few remarks on the fact that it was expected to break all box office records and a joke that the public should be careful, because the films may be, "hobbit forming!"

Thanks to the tie-in with the movie, LotR gets a blurb on the front page of barnesandnoble.com today, and I quote:

"Also in our Bookstore: Gear up for the epic movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings with a deluxe Millennium Edition box set of the trilogy."

Thanks to Daddy Twofoot for the info!

In December, Ringer fan Saint brought us news concerning the 'real scan' process for making the Lord of the Rings toys. (12/07/00)

Today, Saint sends us news that the next issue of ToyFare Magazine will have the first images of these toys. He also sends a long a link to StarWars.com where we can see what this scanning technology can produce! Check out the great model of Christopher Lee! [More]

We wanted to make sure you knew that Gollum is in the running for the Champion of the UnderGround

He may seem like a pathetic, pitiful psychopath who likes to refer to his Ring as "my precious," but he's a wily one when it comes to riddles. If you guess right, you're home free. If you guess wrong, you're dinner. His opponents had better know how to use their minds as well as their fists.

You can decide his fate and with each vote, you are eligible to WIN the coveted UnderGround Mother Lode, including a Sony AIBO, iMAC DV+, a Dig Dug vintage arcade machine and more! The more times you vote, the more points you'll score. [More]

The meeting was as long as a Tolkien trilogy when it could've been a 10-minute short story.

For those who like to skip straight to the last page, Wellington city councillor Mary Varnham will accompany Mayor Mark Blumsky to New York this month at a cost to ratepayers of about $14,250. [More]

The Official Christopher Lee Homepage has posted some real media clips of Christopher Lee (Saruman) answering various fan submitted quesitons. As we would expect, some folks have asked about Lord of the Rings filming and New Zealand. While he can't mention anything about the movies specifically, he did say, "Peter Jackson is one of the most remarkable directors I have ever worked with in my entire career." That sounds like good news for us fans and a great compliment for PJ! Follow the links in the Q&A forum of this site to find the Real Media clips. [More]

First of all the whole site including the downloads are now accessible for free. Good news! Secondly, they're planning another way for Tolkien fans to participate in the Search for the Hobbit. (more)

The Fan Art Gallery has been updated with some wonderfully creative and beautiful new pieces of work.

$Click for Larger Image$

Check out the full gallery. [More]

Many PC oriented folks are having trouble getting their brand-spanking new QuickTime LoTR trailer files to open and play. The files are in .bin format and need to be unstuffed using a program called StuffIt Expander. This program can be downloaded at Aladdin Systems. We hope this helps!

Just heard this at Barliman's, and thanks to all who sent in an email on it too:

Pippin Took: E! channel is showing the trailer uncut all weekend on their "Coming Attractions" show. Woohoo!!

A number of fans are in a tizzy with the false impression that LotR will be turned into a t.v. show because of this tongue-in-cheek 'memo' we reported a while back. Do not fear, it's a joke!!

But I do love the image of hobbits on Animal Planet... "This here Watcher in the Water is one of the deadliest creatures known in Middle-earth..."

We FINALLY have our trailer in Quicktime!

From: Boof

I was checking out the apple website and I noticed they have the NEW trailer available to view in different sizes, plus they have some icards!!!! Check it out!!

Click here to see it all!

Andy Serkis (Gollum) recently sat down with a UK paper and spoke about his role in LOTR, special effects jiggery pokery and his take on Gollum.

"I think the great thing about Gollum is he is the point of human contact on what the ring does to you," ..."He's very much a case of 'There but for the grace of God'." [More]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Diane Kamahele
Domestic Sales / Public Relation
Sideshow Toy

In what is surely one of the most creative theatrical licensing deals ever, Sideshow Toy of Westlake Village, CA has partnered with Weta Workshop of New Zealand to develop multiple lines of polystone collectibles based on the upcoming film trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. [More]

From: Aiglos

Just to let you know that there was a lotr feature on TV3 News here in Ireland at the end of the program. It was about 5mins long and comprised theatre-quality shots from the new teaser mixed with an interview with Peter Jackson where he talked about finally finishing filming. He mentioned that he'd never do anything like it again and he said he was delighted that it would soon be "hitting the cinema screens."

Its been a long time since I brought you an episode of "How to be Unproductive at Work," so here goes! [More]

Thanks to Phillip for sending us this article:

"The New Zealand army has rejected claims that it should not have used its soldiers to play hobbits or elves in the new film of novel Lord of the Rings" [More]

Guindoriel from http://www.tolkiens-welt.de sent us a link to a great GIF animation of the teaser trailer frame by frame. Its a very cool alternative for those of us with VERY slow connections. [More]

Movie directors are a lot like politicians. They rarely commit fully to anything that might come back to haunt them.

For instance, a director might say complimentary things about his leading lady, but he'll stop short of declaring that she is the best actress in the world for fear of alienating other actresses with whom the director might work. [More]

Thanks to Hamish for the tip!

The fantastic entertainment site, E!online has just updated it's "Force of Hobbit" section, which is just chock full of wicked LotR news! Curious about what PJ has to say about the whole LotR experience? Dying to hear what is going on now that the shooting is done? Check out all the details in this February update! [More]

The Defence Force was paid $205,000 by the producers of The Lord of the Rings trilogy for providing up to 300 staff as extras. [More]

Gollum the Evil Hobbit and Gimli the Dwarf, the next two figures in the Middle-earth Toys line, are now available through the Toy Vault Toy Club. [More]

Thanks to the help of many fans and Ringer Staff members, the frame by frame has been updated. Check out 52 new, high quality images from the trailer and an overhauled analysis of each scene. [More]

Today is your last chance to submit fan art for the 2001 Fan Art Contest! Just a mere 13 hours from now (11am EST), contest entries will no longer be accepted. So get them in today! [More]

DarkHorizons is reporting that Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) may sign up for the lead role of Veronica Guerin in 'Chasing the Dragon'. Jerry Bruckheimer will produce and Joel Schumacher is set to direct.

Nona, from The Compleat Sean Bean page, sent us this today:

Sean [Bean who will play Boromir] has been mentioned in the 02 February 2001 issue of OK! Magazine (Issue 249) as one of their annual top 100 Showbiz Earners.

Check out the magazine clip in our scrapbook. [More]

Ringer Elrabin sent us this link to a Tolkien quiz on their local tv station website. [More]

If you want to really challenge yourself, check out the Green Books Trivia section. Compete against your fellow Tolkien fans for the highest ranking. [More]

New Zealand's TV3 scored an interview with Director Peter Jackson, who talks about his feelings at this stage of the production. There's a little video clip where you can hear him speak and see highlights from the trailer too. (More)