This image has been removed at the request of Sony

Our moles deep inside the production of 'The Waterhorse' have sent along these three early production stills from the film. This is the outside worlds first look at the movie! 'The Waterhorse' stars Geraldine Brophy, Ben Chaplin & Emily Watson and is directed by Jay Russell (Ladder 49, Tuck Everlasting, My Dog Skip) and produced by LOTR/The Matrix megaproducer Barrie Osborne. The film revolves around a Scottish family who discover a mysterious creature and decide to raise and protect it from the rest of the world. It was filmed in New Zealand and Scotland and it promises to be a great fantasy adventure! Take a look at the photos! [More]

Faramir, Son of Denethor 12-inch Figure - Front View

We've just gotten a batch of hi-res imagery from Sideshow Collectibles of their latest 12-inch Figure - Faramir, Son of Denethor. Check out the gallery and place your pre-order for the regular edition of this figure, as they expect it to sell out soon. The Sideshow Exclusive edition sold out in 3 hours on Friday, but you can get on a wait list if you simply must have the Horn of Gondor. [Hi-Res Gallery] [Exclusive Wait List] [Regular Edition]

John Howe writes: I'll be signing books in Strasbourg from 14h30 to 16h30 this Saturday the 16th, at a new bookshop called KAO BANG, dedicated exclusively to fantasy, 34 rue du Jeu des Enfants, 67000 Strasbourg. (That's in the centre of town, a few minutes from the Place Kleber and about 10 minutes from the train station.) VERY exceptionally, there will be both HarperCollins poster sets for sale: IMAGES OF MIDDLE-EARTH and MYTH & MAGIC. (For as long as they last.)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Days after playing an alluring English art teacher, actress Cate Blanchett adopted a German accent to transform herself into an enigmatic Second World War prostitute in a performance some liken to Marlene Dietrich. Such transition is not unusual for the Australian actress hailed for her work ethic, intellect and cool charm emblematic of leading figures of a Hollywood era long gone. [More]

Win 1 (of only 3) exclusive 'REVELATION' framed gold discs, including a commemorative plaque personally signed by Christopher Lee, and personalized with YOUR NAME!!! Just answer five skill testing questions, enter your personal information, and three winners with the most correct answers will be selected at random. The answers will be posted on Jan. 13, 2007, and Christopher Lee himself will conduct the winners draw which will be webcast live! [CLICK HERE TO ENTER!]

In regards to an earlier story that ran about the Narnia production pulling up roots and moving to the UK, the mysterious N writes: 'I have spoken to a friend of mine working on pre-production for Prince Caspian, and she has dismissed this story as 'untrue' (to put it politely). Work is carrying on as normal.' In fact stuff.co.nz, the news gathering service for New Zealand, has now posted a story about it. Take a look. [More]

Last night we received word from Royd Tolkien himself about the whole 'Hobbit' conundrum. Royd maintains a MySpace Account and a blog to keep people updated on his latest news. He was nice enough to send along his words for us to post online. Take a look: 'I've had a bunch of people asking my opinion on the recent New Line / Peter Jackson / Hobbit news. These are my thoughts...Before Peter made Lord Of The Rings all I knew of his work was that I really enjoyed his films. That all changed a few years ago. He's not only a filmmaker, he's someone that I now trust and respect...' [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 the 'Andy Griffith Show - S8', 'Full House - S5' & 'Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - S1'. Some great animation out today as well, 'The Fox and the Hound 2' & 'Barnyard - The Original Party Animals'. The big releases of the week are 'Devil Wears Prada' & 'Talladega Nights: The Bellad of Ricky Bobby'. Personally I'm interested in 'Kung Fu Hustle' & 'The Doors - 15 Year Anniversary Edition'! Check out the whole list here! [More]

Disney has axed plans to make The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe sequel in New Zealand, wasting pre-production work and potentially leaving about 200 crew jobless. And New Zealanders have been warned they must lift their game if they want to keep their edge in the film industry. The Andrew Adamson-directed Prince Caspian was set to be based in New Zealand. But Walt Disney International president Andy Bird has announced that the film, which it is making with Walden Media, will be shot entirely at Britain's Pinewood Studios, including all the post-production work, The Times reported. [More]

Don't forget, at 8 p.m. EST tonight in the U.S., TNT will be showing "The Two Towers!" Last night there was a good crowd of Ring fans in TORn's chat room watching the movie while ooohing, ahhhing and grousing over their favorite -- and not so favorite -- parts. Ok, I was biggest grouser, but it's all in good fun! Join us tonight for Round 2! [About IRC chat]

Once you've joined the main chat room, type /join #moviechat to get in on the fun.

Weta Digital was called in to make the dragon Saphira more realistic and her battle scenes more climactic. [More]

Air New Zealand has commissioned research that shows stressed out Americans would be better spending their money on a holiday to New Zealand than resorting to therapy to make them feel better. ANZ spokesman Richard Sims commented that the airline couldn't afford to "sit back and wait for the next The Lord of the Rings to transport Americans by screen to New Zealand" [More] We at TORN say, "Why wait?" Red Carpet is still running LOTR locations tours, and you can read what other Ringers thought of them here.

linuxelf let us know about this one: Richard Taylor to appear on 'Holmes', on Saturday the 16th Dec at 07:30 PM, on the Prime channel. From the website; 'Holmes talks to five New Zealanders who are building and leading dynamic and growing businesses, from Doug Bartlett, who invented the TV cart, to the House of Travel's Chris Paulsen and Weta's Richard Taylor.' [More]

Don't forget, at 8 p.m. EST tonight in the U.S., TNT will be showing "The Fellowship of the Ring!" Join fellow Rings fans in our chatroom during showtime! [About IRC chat]

Once you've joined the main chat room, type /join #moviechat to get in on the fun.

For those Faramir and David Wenham fans out there, Sideshow Collectibles has posted their Faramir, Son of Denethor 12-inch Figure for pre-order. The exclusive edition of this figure comes with Boromir's Cloven Horn of Gondor. They expect the exclusive edition to sell out today, so if you want to guarantee getting that extra accessory, place your pre-order soon! [More Info]

Arevanye writes: Netflix has partnered with Martin Scorsese's non-profit organization, The Film Foundation (TFF), to celebrate this holiday season with a unique program. Through this joint venture, TFF provided Netflix with holiday-themed artwork from some of Hollywood's A-list stars, including Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio, Peter Jackson, Martin Scorsese and Charlize Theron. The original celebrity designs will grace the outside of a select number of the iconic Netflix red envelopes which will be distributed to members this holiday season. Netflix will make a donation to TFF as part of the campaign. [More]

Thanks to the tonnes of Ringers who sent in this new comic from the guys at 'Heart of the City'.

Be sure to check out our weekly Sideshow Collectibles update! Each week we provide an update on your favorite Sideshow goodies, from busts to premium figures and more! Take a look! [More]

Today is Dominic Monaghan's Birthday! Dominic was born on December 8th, 1976 in Berlin, Germany. That makes him the big 30 today! Happy Birthday Dominic!

Publishing Director David Brawn at Harper Collins writes to inform us that the Dutch artwork we revealed for The Children of Hurin the other day uses temporary artwork by Alan Lee. That means it's not the final painting for the cover. David says that that Alan is currently working on a new composition, to be used on all editions internationally. Harper Collins hopes to be able to reveal the artwork in the next few weeks.

On December 21st BBC Radio 4 are broadcasting a new translation of "Sir Gawain & the Green Knight". This isn't Tolkien's own translation - though Tolkien was apparently the first translator of the work into modern English. It does however feature Ian McKellan as narrator. [More] Thanks to David for the link.

Elton John was delighted to receive an unexpected gift from Weta bosses Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger moments before he took to the stage for a one-off New Zealand Concert. [More] Thanks to Patricia for the link.

Entertainment Weekly has published a new article on the recent 'Hobbit' happenings taking place in Hollywood. The article is a great summary of where all parties stand on the issue and what needs to happen for 'The Hobbit' to be filmed with Peter Jackson. Thanks to Ringer Rebecca for the heads up! [EW.com]

From IMDB: The TNT channel is virtually certain of pulling in record numbers of viewers when it becomes the first outlet to televise The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King next week. TNT said that it plans to air the hit movie in its entirety on three consecutive weekend nights beginning Friday, December 15. The Sunday showing will mark the end of an 11-hour marathon telecast of all three LOTR features. TNT also said that each of the films will become available via video on demand (VOD) beginning December 24.

Want to chat with other Ringers while watching ROTK? Join TORn's chat room during showtime! [About IRC chat]

Sideshow Collectibles has just released the entire image gallery for the Faramir, Son of Denethor 12-inch Figure. If you are interested in purchasing this piece, it goes on sale tomorrow morning at 10AM PT - however, you must be a Sideshow newsletter subscriber to place your order during that time. [Gallery] [Details]