Lightwards writes: The New York City Line Party has scheduled their very own theater and will be watching TTT at 9:00 PM on Tuesday the 17th! Due to the threatened transit strike, they have had some last minute cancellations, so if you live in New York and just can't wait until midnight to see the movie, give Lightwards an email at lightwards@aol.com.

Tickets are $17.50, which includes admission to the Line Party and a $5.00 coupon for concessions at the theater. We're planning a great party, with prizes, games, and contests! Come join us!

Ringer Super Spy Peter has just delivered the all-new "In 3 Days" TV commercial to us! So now we have double the TV spot enjoyment! Nazgul, Faramir, Helm's Deep, Théoden and, of course, more of Mr Voice. "So it Begins!" We have three versions for your dowloading enjoyment, all in glorious Quicktime:

TTT-In3Days-low.mov (700kB)
TTT-In3Days-mid.mov (1.9MB)
TTT-In3Days-hi.mov (3.4MB)

Heavy Spoilers!!

It's a new TV Spot! Orcs howling, Wargs yowling, Oliphaunts, Ents, Nazgul and Gollum. And, of course, the ubiquitous Mr Voice! The 30 second clip is downloadable in its original Windows Media Player format [More] (1Mb), A quicktime transcode of the .wmv [More] (1Mb), a slightly larger quicktime encode of the original: [More] (1.8Mb). Updated: And finally a high-quality Sorenson rip [More] (3.5Mb). Thanks to Ringer Spy Cinderz for sending us the file!
Heavy Spoilers!!

Ringer Spy Ford of Rivendell scanned this lovely USA Today poster for us. We have it in two flavours. There's a large version for download here that weighs in at just 328KB. Alternatively, head to the smaller version in our scrapbook. [More]

It's been floating around all weekend. Here's some comments from regulars (and where they've seen it - and where you might too!). [More] Spoilers!

TV Guide has another one of those highly unscientific polly things. Enjoy voting! [More]

The New York Times weighs in with an article that has some wonderful quotes, and serves as anitidote to the "racism" charge that keeps resurfacing. Thanks to Brendan for the link! [More] (The New York Times requires registration, but it is free!)

Ringer Fan Lee went on a shopping spree at Borders and came home with an armload of new magazines with LOTR stories. If anyone is wondering what magazines are featuring LoTR right now, here's a short list. [More]

This controversial review from today's culture section of The Sunday Times Magazine is intriguing in that it presents a reasonably alternative view of the film. Suffice it to say that is quite critical in some areas - some of which criticism might well be quite insightful and perhaps justified, whereas some might well be considerably ill-founded. Needless to say, it is slightly spoilerish. [More] Updated!

Kailin writes: Howard Shore gave a nice two hour discussion today on how to turn a movie image into music. It was a very informative talk on just how a musician puts images into sound. So, here is a little review of the event, and I'll try my best to remember all the really cool and interesting points Mr. Shore brought up. [More]

imandunewen writes: Just thought i'd let you know that saturday night live next week (the 21st) will be the rerun of Ian Mckellen!

Thought you'd like to know that the trailer for Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean is online. The film, set for a summer 2003 release, is based on the popular Walt Disney World ride and stars Orlando Bloom, who plays a young man named Will Turner. The trailer will reportedly premire theatrically in front of The Two Towers. (Quicktime Required) [More]

Serai writes: Here's a scan of the picture of Elijah Wood and Peter Jackson from today's (Dec. 13) USA Today. [More]

April Fresh was lucky enough to spend some time on the set of the Canadian indie film 'Emile' starring Ian McKellen (Gandalf) [More]

Ringer Spy Mo sends along this scan from Macleans Magazine featuring out Elijah Wood (Frodo). [More]

The folks from Gear Magazine were kind enough to send us the cover from their latest issue, which is due to hit newsstands on December 17th. Take a look! [More]

Ringer Spy Rubin sends along these scans from the latest issue of Stern Magazine. The text was not translated and is apparently same old same old news...however some of these pictures are really interesting! [More]

LiningUp.net and TheOneRing.net are running a 5 day line for the release of The Two Towers at the Vista theater in Hollywood, California. If you are in the area and want to participate, just come on down (intersection of Hollywood Blvd and Sunset Blvd) and join up. We have games, movies, prizes and much more to keep you occupied until Wednesday morning at 12:01am! Get in Line Today! [More] [Line Party]

At 7pm EST (midnight GMT) tonight, 21st Century Radio will feature a special presentation ... exclusive interviews with Richard Taylor, Sean Astin, Philippa Boyens, Andy Serkis, Sideshow Toys president Greg Anzalone, and Atlas of Middle-earth author Karen Fonstad. (This is a live internet broadcast, you must tune in at 7pm EST. You can also listen on either Windows Media Player or Real Player.) [More]

Update: For everyone currently having trouble connecting, their server is getting a real hammering. However, they will be posting the interview on their archives on December 19. So don't despair, and please go easy on their server. :) - Dem.

Ringer Fan Jim writes of his experience at the London premiere. [More] Alternatively, try Megastar's review: Writing a review of The Two Towers at this point is about as useful as crafting a 400-page user-manual for soap. [More]

Ringer Spy Ataahua writes: Tonight One Network News in New Zealand carried a story on how Peter Jackson, losing precious TTT editing time attending awards ceremonies for FOTR, used new technolgy built by Weta to help him keep working on the film while overseas. [More]

Treebeard spotted Andy Serkis doing a spot on Headline News, and managed to grap a picture for us to go with this little report. [More]

Not exactly applicable to many of our regulars, I'm sure. However, anyone who feels they need a refresher on LoTR's major characters might like to head here. [More]

The Scotsman reports that an academic has decided to drag out the tired old "the epic is racist" argument. (Insert rant here). [More]

A lot of LoTR TV programming is happening right now. Most of it seems to be in the USA, but there's some bits and bobs happening elsewhere as well. To help everyone out, here's a an extensive programming guide for the next week. Thanks to all who contributed for this report! [More]

Ford reminds us about a show showing New Zealand with a guest, Karl Urban [Eomer]. He'll be talking about TTT and they'll show locations around New Zealand. It's on the Travel Channel. It's called New Zealand: The Royal Tour and is on Sunday night at 9pm et/pt. [More] And Scoop.co has better images of the Air New Zealand plane with the LOTR mural. [More]

Anyone living in Ireland who wants to see soem cool interviews with the cast of The Two Towers and some great clips, from the Three Hunters being ambushed on the plains of Rohan to Frodo and Sam on the road to Mordor, check out the entertainment show Popcorn on TV3 at 8.30 am, Sunday morning. [More]

The official site has added the second interview with Peter Jackson. In this one, Jackson talks about the challenges in creating the Two Towers. So yes, there are a few spoilers here. [More]

Douglas Anderson, the highly respected author of The Annotated Hobbit, made a live and exclusive appearence in Barlimans chatroom last night. We've compiled this transcript of his entertaining chat with regulars and guests. Enjoy! [More]

It's a little late, but HobbitsTeaCosy wrote this Paris premiere report for us to share! [More]

Behind the headlinese lurks an interesting article. The Independent muses on the return of the rings. The monster franchise that is The Lord of the Rings is upon us again. But is the movie any good? It doesn't matter, laments Steve Jelbert. [More]

He slithers onto the movie screen like a creature of the dark, his body twisted into hideous contortions, his angst spilling in verbal riffs from a mouth full of jagged teeth. [More]

Since the beginning of filming for The Lord of the Rings, every female fan has tried to address the burning question: who is the hotter cover star, Elijah Wood or Orlando Bloom? Well, YM.com has tried to put the issue to bed, asking for the fans to vote for their favourite in a poll-off to the death! [More]

Thanks to Kaelan for the story!

This is a very interesting article about the tone and feel of RoTK. Oh, and Jackson has a rough cut already. (I didn't know that bit). Thanks to Gollum Fan for the link. [More]

The latest news from around the world sheds some more light on the release date for The Two Towers in Bolivia and an official release date in Japan! [More]

Andy and Philippe both sent in the link for the BBC NewsRound website, where they have been busy bees, posting transcripts of online chats with Billy Boyd, interviews with the cast on the eve of The Two Towers premiere in London this week and some fun stuff for everyone! Definetly worth a look. [More]

'At It Productions (producers of Channel 4's Popworld) are looking for LOTR mad fanatics to appear on a production that will be screened on Trouble TV (a cable channel) early next year. If you are aged 16-24 and a mad fan then they want to hear from you. They want someone whose love for LOTR is extreme, who has given things up, collected religiously or goes to extraordinary lengths to keep up with LOTR.' [More]

Thanks to Trueogre for the tip!

Hark! the Herald Quickbeam Sings!

I bring you the first comprehensive Movie Review from a TORN Staffer who has seen The Two Towers in all its glory. This review is from the heart of a serious Tolkien fan, written for fans! There are a spoilers indeed; but all necessary for an honest analysis of such a remarkable film! [Click here]

The time for discussing chapters from The Two Towers is over. The time for analysing the latest trailer frame-by-frame and marvelling over our first glimpse of the CGI Gollum has come to an end. The many hours spent speculating over whether PJ's changes to the storyline will work or not are now in vain. Next Wednesday, The Two Towers will be released worldwide and the lives of many Tolkien fans, for better or for worse, will change dramatically. This weekend, the Hall of Fire staff invite you to join us for the final pre-'Two Towers discussion to be held by TheOneRing.net: The Two Towers Movie Preview. [More]

Ian Brodie's LOTR Locations Guidebook has topped the bestseller list in New Zealand and gone into its third reprint in two weeks, and now I've got a copy in front of me it's not hard to see why. [My review] It can be ordered from LOTR Locations.com

This is the TV trailer to end all trailers folks ... this is A Number One KILLER! And not only do we have the download for you, now you can wow yourself with our special frame-by-frame analysis! So, do you want to see massive armies at Helms Deep? Do you want Wargs and Trolls? And do you want Ents, Nazgul Steeds, and super-scary shots of Gollum? If so, go here! [More] [Frame by Frame] !!!HEAVY SPOILERS!!!

Special (and belated) thanks go to Ringer Super Spy Peter for doing the fantastic video capture of this ad for us!

In a sparse, sunlit loft, programmer Stephen Regelous quietly works alone every day to the hum of his laptop. But what he's really doing is leading the masses. Regelous created Massive, the special-effects program behind the colossal battles in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Using Massive, the Oscar-winning Weta Digital team pulled off anticipated scenes for the latest installment, The Two Towers -- such as the battle at Helm's Deep -- by digitally generating smart crowds to supplement the live action. [More]

(CBS) One year ago, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings" went from one of the biggest gambles in motion picture history to one of the most acclaimed. [More]

Julez writes: Some nice Two Towers goodies up on icLiverpool's site including London premiere pics, an excellent review and movie stills gallery. [More]

3 articles in today (12/13)'s USA Today. Different pictures for the print edition, but they are available online. Main article on the films, Sidebar on Miranda Otto and Karl Urban and their characters, and Review of the TTT and FoTR games.

Debbie writes: Just a reminder to those looking for ways to pass the time before Two Towers opens: I'm posting my comic, Waiting For Frodo, on a daily basis until TT opens. Today's strip includes photos of Rosie at Weta Digital's IT Christmas party!

Grey Area writes: Here in the UK, Channel 4 have a morning / breakfast show called RI:SE. This morning they had a brief bit on TTT, humourous in nature concerning the antics of Gollum. [More]

(This is of course a joke, for all of you who are about to send me an email concerning this -Xo)

Art sneds us a great spy report from the Ebert and Roeper TV studio, they filmed thier TTT review today and gave it two thumbs up! [More]

Most period Fantasy films stumble badly when trying to find a young performer capable of playing opposite Britain’s distinguished acting Knights, but Elijah Wood has proven he can certainly hold his own against the likes of Sir Ian McKellen and Ian Holm. And unlike many young American actors, he doesn’t have the kind of contemporary face that seems jarringly out of place in a historical setting. [More]

Elijah Wood (Frodo) is certainly making the rounds this week and next for TTT. This morning he was on the Today show and Live! With Regis and Kelly. (look for reports and/or video online soon!)

You can also catch him on The Caroline Rhea show Tuesday December 17th.

Ansis writes: Air NZ has decorated two of their Boeings LOTR style - big pictures of Frodo and Sam, and scenery. Apparently one will be used when Elijah Wood comes down for the Wellington TTT premiere. [More]

If you have a copy of The Lord of the Rings, you've more than likely read a bit of Douglas Anderson's work. He has the singular honor of being the writer of the 'Note on the Text' that is printed in each book. This was first published in 1993 and has been included in each edition thereafter. [More]

Irascian sends in the following: Report of the Press premiere of The Two Towers and movie review (with spoilers!) [More]

Report of the celebrity (“Gala”) premiere and post-premiere party (no spoilers) [More]

Ringer SPy IrishAngel and friends bare the cold, and a little verbal abuse by John Rhys-Davies, to bring us this report from New York City! [More]

From New York we zip to Paris, la belle Laurean sent in some great pics from the Paris TTT Premiere! Take a look! [More]

Matt writes: Sean Astin's film "The Long and the Short of It" has made the cut for the Short Film Competition at this year's Sundance Film Festival. [More]

MS sends along scans from a recent issue of 'The Wall Street Journal', take a look! [More]

Yup. that's our Viggo Mortensen under there! Flaunt Magazine spent some time with Viggo while he was working on his latest film 'Hidalgo'. Take a look at these truly stunning images! Thanks to Emma for the scans! [More]

The biggest lineparty in the area is the one I'm going to: Midnight at the Coronet, yay! Meanwhile across the Bay, fans will want to look out for a 24-hour solid TTT marathon at the brand new AMC theatre in Emeryville. [More]

Narrator writes: I was watching "Survivor: Thailand" and a new TT commerical aired! The glory! It had tons of new shots! Two huge armies clashing, multiple shots of the winged rider above a city, lots of shots of the ents (one which had an ent hurling something a great distance), and a new shot of the charging wargs. There are even new shots of trolls doing tasks on a wall.

Thanks to everyone who sent this along! The Elijah Wood chat from MSN is now online...take a look! [More]

Emma sends along her pictures from the NYC premiere on December 5th. Take a look! The "group-snow" one is part of the group in front of the Ziegfeld theatre itself. I think this was early in the day, before we all froze. [More]

LiningUp.net is joining forces with TheOneRing.net to bring you “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” 5 Day Line! The festivities will take place at the historic Vista Theater in Hollywood, California. TheOneRing.net and LiningUp.net will be camping out from December 13 until the opening day release of “The Two Towers” on December 18, 2002, to celebrate the next installment of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Come down and join the fun or just say Hi! [More] [Line Party]

Lotta writes: I got the Two Towers soundtrack in the mail today at work, so I thought I'd scan the Treebeard and Gimli pictures from the inserts/cards. [More]

Amnesty International to host Special Preview Screening of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. All proceeds to benefit Amnesty International! [More]

Get tickets & support this worthy cause!

'Sean Astin, who played Sam in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, told SCI FI Wire that he took on a completely different role when he took a job directing an upcoming episode of The WB's vampire series Angel, which he just finished. "The episode is called 'Soulless,'" Astin said in an interview. "On some level I felt like I had arrived."' [More]

TheOneRing.net reported exclusively that Sean Astin would be directing an Angel episode in this newspost back in August.

Xoanon here, I was privy to the live chat with our Elijah Wood last night on AOL. [More]

Julia writes: TV Guide magazine has a two or three page article in the 12/09 issue on the Lord of the Rings: Two Towers. Mostly what you need to know before seeing the movie. [More]

AMC Bay Street 16, the East Bay's newest state-of-the-art megaplex, celebrates its grand opening with 24 straight hours of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" beginning at 12:01 AM Wednesday, December 18th. [More]

The sheer audacity of the forthcoming statement is enough to send film critics, in their black polo necks, round rimless glasses and light dusting of dandruff, spluttering into their popcorn. But here we go and may the combined forces of the Lady of Lothlorien and Gandalf the Grey protect me from their quiver of poison pens: The Lord of the Rings trilogy beats the cannolis out of The Godfather. [More]

At the end of the first Lord of the Rings film, Gandalf, the grey wizard (Ian McKellen), was seen wrestling with an implausible beast, while tumbling into the deep pit of Khazad-dum. LOTR won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects, and for once, it was hard to argue with the wisdom of the Academy. !!!Spoilers!!! [More]

The REX theatre in Paris was transformed into a Middle-earth fantasy land for the Paris premiere of 'The Two Towers' Marion was there and took these amazing pictures and has a great report up now! [More]

Also be sure to check out this report here! [More]

Mary sends in word that Elijah Wood (Frodo) will be on the cover of the latest issue of 'Parade' Magazine (on newsstands this Sunday December 15th). Keep an eye out for that!

Ianthe sends in word about Vivendi's ever-growing financial issues, interesting to note that they sold off Houghton Mifflin (publisher of all the works of Tolkien in the US) to raise some much needed cash. [More]

'While anyone with the sense of a common greenfly will be curled up over the Christmas holiday with a copy of the Extended Fellowship of the Ring spinning happily in their DVD player, director, Peter Jackson has already got the next set of home releases planned. While we'll doubtless see a standard release of The Two Towers next year, we'll very likely see a second extended edition emerge towards the tail-end of 2003, including a wealth of material that didn't make the film's final cut.' [More]

TimD writes: I work for a telephone directory publishing company. Occasionally we will include erroneous listings in the white pages to help us track the use (and misuse) of our directories. As a lark we included a couple of famous Middle Earth denizens with my home address and I got some correspondence a couple of days ago from a major credit card company. It's nice to know even hobbits and elves can get a good line of credit! [More]

Andrew writes: On a local news program tonight they had a clip of the London and Paris TTT Premieres and said that the premiere in Australia would be on Thursday, 19th December at Fox Studios (Home of the Matrix), Moore Park, Sydney. The movie doesn't actually open nationally till the 26th.

The folks from the Forll District Council Department of Culture in Italy send along all the information on this art exhibit opening soon! [More]

jayjay writes: I was one of those happy Hobbit hunters who spent 12 hours in Leicester Square yesterday for what turned out to be a fantastic not-to-be-forgotten evening! [More]

LORD Of The Rings: The Two Towers is not so much a sequel as a second act. Those who were left wanting more at the end of LOTR 1 will be delighted to learn that The Two Towers picks up exactly where the last movie left off. [More]

Liam writes: I saw an ad on one of the local TV stations in Singapore (Channel 5) last night for Return to Middle Earth. It is on this Sunday (December 15th) at 6:30.

Chris writes: The Return To Middle-earth special will air on Australian television on Sunday 15th December 11pm on Channel Nine.

Actor John Rhys-Davies' goal was to walk the twenty-five yards down the red carpet, along 57th St. to the entrance of New York's Ziegfield Theatre, for the premiere of The Two Towers. "The whole twenty-five yards without this," says Rhys-Davies, acknowledging the cane in his right hand. "Standing up straight and not limping." [More]

Hollywood star Liv Tyler cast a spell on a crowd of thousands as she topped the guest list at the UK premiere of the latest Lord of the Rings movie. The elfin actress - who sparkled in a black Stella McCartney satin trouser suit - was stunned by her reception as fans chanted her name in London's Leicester Square. [More]

For those of you who still haven't been thoroughly spoiled: there are (at least) two new reviews of The Two Towers floating around. One of them is from the English newspaper The Guardian and can be found here! The other one is spoiler-free and very positive and can be found at FilmThreat.com! Thanks to Z-man and Henry for those links!

The official site seems to have been lurking quietly the past few days (similar to what I've been doing), but it's back again now with an exclusive interview about making the extended DVD. Thanks to MattForce for the link. [More]

If you missed Saturday's live chat with Brian Sibley, author of the definitive LoTR movie companion books as well as adapter of LoTR for the legendary BBC Radio series, the transcript of the chat can now be read in our features section. [More]

Ringer Fans Luthien and Bellerophon have sent in the cream of their photos taken from the World Premiere of The Two Towers in New York (from the 5th December 2002). These photos complement Luthien's great report of the event. [More]

London's got a Ted Naismith exhibition, NZ will see Karl Urban on the Travel Channel, Costa Rica's got a charity TTT screening for the Make a Wish foundation, and why Australian and Italian LOTR fans feel ripped off. [More]

An architect examines whether it would actually be feasible to build your own version of Bag End, and if so, how. Thanks to Anwyn and John for the link. [More] It occurs to me that the ultimate timekiller for you engineering and architecturally-inclined types out there would be to pool your skills and take this further.

Keep an eye on this website. Today they have interviews with Karl Urban [Eomer] and Miranda Otto [Eowyn] Tiny spoilers only. [More]

Seems a lot of people missed the Time Magazine story 'The Lure of the Rings' when we first posted it. Here it is again. [More]

Another good review, no spoilers, some strong language though. [More] Thanks to all who sent the link.

Ian writes from England: I saw an interview this evening on CBBC's Newsround ... At one point PJ mentioed there being about half an hour of footage which will be on the DVD next year. Also, Billy Boyd will be doing a webchat within the CBBC section of the BBC's website tomorrow (Thurs 12, afternoon)

SkyNews have posted a gallery of photos from the red carpet of the TTT London Premiere at the Odeon in Leicester Square, the site of last year's World Premiere. It's worth checking out just to see how incredibly beautiful Liv Tyler and Cate Blanchett were looking! Also, Shawna sent in this link for some photos from the European Premiere in Paris.

Matthew writes: I go to *snip* High School in CA, and I just heard on the announcements that they are selling tickets for opening day release of The Two Towers, and a whole theater is reserved for high school students! I think some other schools are doing this.

AOLers are in for a treat tonight, Elijah Wood (Frodo) is slated to begin chatting at 6PM EST. Log into the chat area and type 'Elijah Wood' in the chat search.

VARIETY says that the highest rated show in last week's programming in the WB was Wednesday's RETURN TO MIDDLE EARTH, an hour-long documentary on the filming and production of the upcoming film THE TWO TOWERS. The show drew a 2.3/6 in the key young adult 18-49 demographic. [More]

A year ago, Peter Jackson remarked that he regarded the first instalment of his Lord of the Rings trilogy as a kind of extended introduction, and the final chapter as "one long climax". The Two Towers, Jackson said, was "the complicated one", the one "where things go from worse to worse." [More]

Middle-earth and Midtown collided for the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers premiere party at the New York Public Library. Fantastical and regal elements combined for the event, which used lots of props imported from the film's set in New Zealand as decor. Clare Anne Darragh, senior vice president of national publicity for New Line Cinema, and Maria Ruiz of MAR Events oversaw the event's production. [More]

If Woody Allen's first movies are the "early, funny ones" that only hint at what's to come, think of Peter Jackson's first movies as the early, gross ones. [More]

Lord of the Rings actor Andy Serkis has revealed the lengths he had to go to for his role as Gollum, by performing each scene twice so the character could be computer-generated (CG). [More]

NEW YORK--He puts the mischief in Middle-earth and some fear into Frodo. Hands down, the most discussed creature of the new movie millennium is the Gollum. [More]

Yesterday we showed you the Cave Troll Statue from Sideshow/Weta Collectibles. Today its for pre-sale! Jump on over to SideshowWeta.com and check it out. They have also posted an image of Medallion No. 12, The Warg Riders. Needless to say, that is pretty darn cool too! [More]

Maya writes: Peter Jackson was awarded a Platina ticket by the Swedish distributer of the FOTR. FOTR was seen by 2 milion Swedes which is almost 25% of the Swedish population. It beat Titanic. This is the first time they awarded a platina ticket to any movie a golden ticket is awarded to any movie seen by more then 500.000 and has been awarded to a couple of films. [More]

The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers is dramatic cinema, that tells a very compelling human story that both ardent Tolkien fans and general audiences will probably find every bit as satisfying as the first film. [More]

Robert sends along this link to a great report with info on PJ's press conference in Paris...ah..the city of lights! [More]

Stephen writes: I just caught the BBC breakfast news which was doing a piece on the premier. It had a great clip of Andy Serkis asking for Oscar's in the voice of Gollum. (RealPlayer required) [More]

Elijah Wood (Frodo) will be appearing on the Today show this Friday the 13th and NOT on the 12th as we have previously reported.

The BBC's search for Britain's favourite book is set to be a battle between the classics and the biggest publishing phenomenon of recent times - Harry Potter. [More]

Ataahua writes: Peter Jackson has confirmed that the Japanese translations of TTT will be a lot better than they were for FOTR. [more]

With less than a week left before the world-wide release of "The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers" NOW is the time to sign up with a line party in your area. Check the TORn line party page and find the closest line to you. Large or small, chances are good that TORn can help you meet your Rings friends and watch the movie with those who can appreciate it as few fans can. Every line is unique but all are sponsored by passionate administrators. Join in today! [More]

Here's another book for those that want to know more about how Tolkien came to create Middle-earth. It's a good stocking-filler for both Tolkien newbies and those who've read more extensively. [More]

Ringer Spy Aragorn sends us the scans from the LOTR issue of TIME Magazine. [More]

Ringer Spy Serai sends along these great scans from American Cinematographer Magazine. Some really amazing behind the scenes shots! Great SFX stuff! [More]

Maria Jose sends us the cover to Spain's 'Cinemania Magazine' with our Elijah Wood (Frodo) gracing it, take a look! [More]

Rani writes: Finnish LOTR fans got their TTT tickets Saturday 7th Dec, at 8:00 am. In the city of Tampere, first liners came with their tents early in Thursday. The Movie Theatre Plevna provided people power for heaters, which was nice since the temperature was on Thursday -10 degrees Celsius and it decreased to -15 with a wind til Saturday. [More]

The stars of The Lord of the Rings are now helping promote New Zealand offshore. With their positive endorsement of New Zealand and its beauty and activities, stars including Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Karl Urban and producer Barry Osborne are showing visitors to Tourism New Zealand’s www.purenz.com website just how much of ‘Middle-earth’ they can experience while they are in New Zealand. [More]

The latest addition to the Sideshow/Weta Collection, the Cave Troll statue, will be available to pre-order tomorrow, December 11th. Limited to only 750 pieces and cast from polystone, this 25-pound statue continues the excellent standard of detail common to all Sideshow statues and captures the beast's perplexed and angry look perfectly. [More]

Dan writes: Todays edition of The Sun newspaper, a popular, yet racy UK newspaper (tabloid) has an interview with Liv Tyler as part of its 'Two Towers' Week. It features the 'stunning' revelation that... [More]

He's the stuff of nightmares - a twisted, tortured soul with a body which looks puny but possesses a strength born of decay and ruin. [More]

Beth sends in word that the UK media are having a field day with all the LOTR goodies surrounding the TTT premiere in London! [More]

Zorina sends us word that todays 'Globe and Mail' has an excellent story and photo of Gandalf the white. Anyone with scans, send them along!

From IMDB: Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson has rubbished claims he plans to follow up the fantasy trilogy by making a movie of the JRR Tolkien novel The Hobbit. After finishing work on the third film in the series Return Of The King, next year many expected Jackson to turn to The Hobbit and make a prequel. But the New Zealander insists he has no plans to return to Middle Earth when the trilogy is completed. Jackson says, "If I didn't make it, someone else would and I could just pay 12 dollars and go to the cinema to watch it. I wouldn't have to do all the hard work."

Ringer Spy P sends along the latest strip from 'Heart of the City', nice costume! [More]

Paul T writes: The Two Towers soundtrack feels as if someone has taken the Fellowship score, altered it slightly, changed they key here and there, exchanged the choirs for a Russian version, exchanged Enya for a whole host of new voices of similar talent and mixed it with a very European sound and added a very Eastern, if not Arabian undertone. [More]

GET YOUR COPY TODAY!

This link from Son of Saradoc, to a FilmFour article quoting Christopher Lee as he takes the Academy to task for the 2002 Oscars. [More]

Davies [Gimli] speaks eloquently about the accident that happened on the set of La Femme Musketeer recently, and pays tribute to the strong crew who helped him until the ambulance could arrive. [More] Thanks to Wizardlex for the link.

I don't know if they were before, but Ryan in Queensland says that TTT tickets are available to buy from this Thursday (12th) either online at Hoyts.com or at the box office. Get cracking!

Though it has already been available to purchase in some locations around the world, today is the official release date of Howard Shore's score for The Two Towers. Many people I've talked to have said that this is a better soundtrack than Shore's effort for The Fellowship of the Ring which won him an Oscar, so this should be an essential item for any Tolkien or indeed music fan this Christmas. [BUY]

'Hobbit-mania is returning to Europe as the stars of the new Lord of the Rings film turn out for the film's European première in Paris - and lobby for it to win an Oscar. Most of the cast of the second instalment of the fantasy epic, The Two Towers, are expected to greet fans and help build up the excitement for the new film.' [More]

BBC's teenage-orientatead news show Newsround this afternoon showed various interviews between their correspondant and the cast of The Two Towers. Most of the footage shown was light-hearted stuff, from Liv Tyler's disgust at thinking of Orlando Bloom as a sex-symbol, claiming she thinks of him as her little brother, and Billy Boyd giving Orlando Bloom plenty of stick along with cohort Monaghan.

In the UK & Ireland, digital channel E4 broadcasts a show called Fanorama where two diehard fans go head to head to win some prizes associated with their particular fandom. Today's show involved two Tolkien fans going head to head over Middle-earth-styled questions, with the winner earning the autographs of every member of the cast.

Youthful encounters with the magic of Middle have inspired many wonderful creative works, including the artistry of John Howe and Alan Lee, the writings of Ursula LeGuin, the BBB production adapted by recent TORn guest Brian Sibley and a host of others.

On Friday, December 13 at 6 p.m. EST (11 p.m. GMT), TheOneRing.net is pleased to host a chat with renowned Tolkien scholar, Douglas Anderson, editor of "The Annotated Hobbit." [More]

Nessimë did some serious digging for us and found almost every link you can possibly think of related to NZ and LOTR, take a look! [More]

PARIS (Reuters) - For Frodo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring really did come true. "Toward the end, the fellowship was a reality," said Elijah Wood (news), the hobbit hero in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy filmed back to back in New Zealand on a grueling 18 month-schedule. [More]

Grab a seat for Round Two in the war of the wizards. Opening Nov. 15 was Dumbledore, headmaster of Harry Potter's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. On Dec. 18 it's Gandalf, who watches over Frodo Baggins and his comrades in Middle-earth. [More] [Spoilers, if you haven't read the books.]

Greylin sends in word that the Classic FM show 'At The Movies' will feature Howard Shore on December 21st at 6PM GMT. You can listen to it live at classicfm.com

Mikko sends in hisr eport and pictures from the line party in Helsinki, Finland in which over 700 people attended! [More]

Another timekiller while you wait for TTT to arrive - this one thanks to Liz! It's an online LOTR crossword puzzle. [More]

Number 6 writes: "The University of Nevada at Las Vegas, as part of its University Forum Lecture Series will be hosting a lecture on Music inspired by the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien." [Among a lot of really interesting other things...and these are FREE!! - Tehanu][More]

Last time I posted about RingCon 2003 must have been no less then 2 weeks ago, but today I got an email from one of the organisers saying that already 400 people have signed up for the event! And that doesn't even include me, so technically it's 401! If you would like to attend the biggest LOTR-related fanconvention ever or would just like to read some more about it; check out their website: RingCon.de!

Wellington, New Zealand -- He's described locally as a "genius masquerading as an ordinary person," a creative whirlwind, finan-cial powerhouse and folk hero rolled into one. Yet even that can't quite measure the effect "The Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson has had on his native country. [More]

Take a look at the 'Gollum's Song' music video! The Emil'ana Torrini song is featured on 'The Two Towers' Soundtrack (out in North America December 10th). The video features a whole assortment of clips from TTT, nothing new unfortunately, but here it is!

-LARGE (11.8MB)
-MED (2.2MB)
-SMALL (970K)

PARIS (Reuters) - Christopher Lee is piling up his credentials as a cinema icon -- he has played the villain in James Bond, Star Wars and "The Lord of the Rings." All the 80-year-old British actor now needs to complete the set is an appearance in the "Harry Potter" movies. [More]

`THE LORD OF THE RINGS" is the story of a Hobbit named Frodo Baggins who sets out on a quest to destroy a magical ring with evil powers. But the movie version has achieved an equally formidable goal: elevating the status of New Line Cinema Corp. inside corporate parent AOL Time Warner Inc. [More]

BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuters) -- Wanna catch the new "Lord of the Rings" movie before it opens in cinemas later this month? That's easily done if you live in, or visit, China and some other Asian markets -- and you're not worried about copyright laws, Variety reports. [More]

PARIS (Reuters) - For Hollywood star Liv Tyler, it's tough being immortal. "It must be such a drag being 3,000 years old. What a burden -- the aching bones," she said, reflecting on her role as the elf princess Arwen who lives forever in the latest "Lord of the Rings" movie. [More]

LyAh writes: British girlie site handbag.com has some nice pics of the Two Towers premiere in New York City (actors and guests). [More]

Nessimë writes: The New Zealand Herald is including a souvenir magazine in Tuesday's Herald print edition. [More]

Can you handle another review? Are you ready for this one! Click 'More' if you love your fill of Spoilerama! [More]

A MUST SEE on cable tonight (at least in the USA) at 7/8c: Bravo's show Page to Screen will feature our favorite story and the epic tale of how it went from Tolkien's text to Jackson's films. "In the end it would take an army the size of any in Tolkien's volumes - including 1,600 Hobbit feet and 20,000 extras - to make the book of the 20th Century into the movie of the 21st." [More]

Rosie-Posie Brandybuck writes: Love your website immensely. Thanks for all your hard work. Just wanted to let you know that FOTR won the best foreign film award on the AFI (Australian Film Institute) awards last night. [Article 1] [Article 2 (Adobe Required)]

Sir Ian McKellen -- knight, gay-rights spokesman and legendary star of stage and screen -- is the last person you might expect to see rattling through the streets of Victoria in a writer's old Dodge pickup truck with 220,000 klicks on it. [More]

Malatarwen writes: The World Over Live will be intervewing Peter Jackson and some of the other LotR cast members next friday (Dec. 13) at 10:00 (pacific) on the EWTN Catholic channel.

Enyalie writes: I was at a Famous Players theatre in Canada today and picked up the December issue of their movie magazine which has an article spotlighting Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn). [More]