TBHL Staffer Lewman writes: The shirt you've all been waiting for is finally available for order. Come check out the new TBHL SWAG shop where you can put your order in for this season's most wanted fashion item. These t-shirts are a limited edition run of just 500 so go get one now whilst you still can! [More]

From Empire Online: There's not much point reading this page - the review is redundant and the release itself is something of a non-event. Make no mistake, autumn's four-disc edition is the most anticipated DVD this side of Star Wars, and the additional footage arguably 2004's most exciting hour of celluloid; the two-disc tease, however, is for families, not fans. [More]

Ringer Spy Roheryn went to the Cincinnati Flower Show last year. In the spirit of Sam Gamgee, their theme was "Fellowship of the Shire: A Celebration at Bag End." Roheryn's sent a report and some excellent photos of the event. [More]

Alex and many other Ringers have written in to tell us of a random mention of LOTR in "One Life to Live": My mom watches the soap opera "One Life to Live" on ABC and while I was watching it with her, I saw that one of the young characters (a 16-year-old friend of Starr Manning) has the AIM screen name of "Frodo87". The character is referred to simply as "Frodo" when Starr isn't online talking to him.

Laurice writes: Here's a picture of Sean Astin with a pin from the Philippine Tolkien Society. Our thanks goes out to Sharon Watson and Della Starr, organizers of the Starfest Convention in Colorado, and of course to Mr. Astin himself. [More]

From Ringaholic1: Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, played the entire FOTR theme song while opening and closing their retractable roof on Friday night. The theme park always plays themes that are well known in pop culture, so of course we know what that says about LOTR.

Ringer Spy Mararwen sent us this scan of an article about Peter Jackson from this week's Entertainment Weekly. [More]

Miles writes: We've got great news for fans of Elijah Wood and KING OF THE HILL! Elijah Guest Stars on KING OF THE HILL, this Sunday, April 25th at 7:30p/6:30c on [Fox]. And, we've got two clips to share with you (streaming video from Fox.com):

Clip 1 Hi Res: Windows Media, Real Player

Clip 1 Low Res: Windows Media, Real Player

Note: Clip 2 will only be available until Sunday (4/25) afternoon.

Clip 2 Hi Res: Windows Media , Real Player

Clip 2 Low Res: Windows Media , Real Player

Today, Sean Astin took part in an online Q&A session at Whitehouse.gov. Ringer Art Gecko sent us this link to the chat transcript. [More]

Carl wrote to tell us that Hollywoodjesus.com has posted an interview with Peter Jackson. An interview with Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh will be posted next month. [More]

Indy3 writes: EA Games today released a new video clip for the upcoming release of The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth. The video is titled, "Inside the Battle: Unit Emotion" and the game producer goes in to detail about how emotions of creatures and humans help bring the game to life. [More]

Lyrka and Maryann wrote to say that last week's ER made a Tolkien reference: In last night's episode, nurse/med student Abby is performing her rotation in the psych ward. When she replies to a patient in Klingon, a colleague mentions that a friend had a to hire "a translator who spoke Elven" for a patient, "Thanks to Tolkien."

Media Watch! Jason writes: There is a neat (and short) interview in this weeks Entertainment Weekly with Toby Maguire and Kristen Dunst on the cover, previewing this summer's movies. They ask him a few questions about King Kong.

Ian McKellen is playing a dame! Miradan writes: This article from Playbill.com about the 2004-5 season at London's Old Vic Theatre mentions that Sir Ian will be appearing onstage and in drag in a version of Alladin in late december 2004 through January of 2005. [More] And Lee sent in an article about it from ITV.com: [More]

From General Ceel: The Community Arts Center in Williamsport Pa will be showing ROTK April 23, 24, 25, 26, 28 and 29 Evening screenings at 6:30pm. Additional screening Saturday 4/24 at 2:30 pm. [More]

Tina writes: The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) will be showing RotK on April 27th at 8pm in IV Theatre. Costumes are encouraged and prizes will be handed out. [More]

And we'll sneak in this Goonies screening from MerrilyTookish: On April 30, the AMC Lennox theater in Columbus, OH (location of an Ohio Trilogy Tuesday event last December) is lauching it's midnight movie series, with a midnight showing of "The Goonies", featuring Sean Astin. Tickets are $6 for everyone.

Got plans this weekend? Some Loyal Ringers were kind enough to submit local information about the second-run theaters that are currently playing ROTK. We have information for Detroit, Denver, Chicago, Fayetteville NC, Annapolis MD, Bakersfield CA, LA, Montgomery, Providence, Dayton, Milpitas CA, and Pensacola FL. Contact these theaters for current information and show times! [More]

Before Sun and Moon two trees gave light to the Blessed Realm, but in a supreme act of evil the diabolus Morgoth destroys the trees and leaves the world in darkness. The symbolism could hardly be stronger. The devastation of Tolkiens childhood countryside haunts this tale and all his works of fiction.[More]

Sideshow/Weta collectibles have released one of the most hideously collectible items to date with the pre-sale of the Newborn Uruk-hai statue! Check it out! [More]

Disturbing news for those that want to see PJ making 'The Hobbit' straight after he wraps up with King Kong. ComingSoon.net reports today that Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are currently in talks to adapt Alice Sebold's best-selling novel The Lovely Bones. No deal has been signed yet, just rumors... [More]

Throughout the years TheOneRing.net has released all manner of promotional items: stress balls, t-shirts, baseball caps, bookmarks and more. Now we are hopefully going to repay a few of you for supporting our site through the years!

We are teaming up with Sideshow/Weta Collectibles to giveaway a SOLD OUT 3/4 Scale Gollum head, a set of the highly prized Series 1 Miniature Helms, and some of our brand new TORn items. Check out the contest-home for more!

Sir Ian McKellen will play a pantomime dame as part of Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey's first season as artistic director of London's Old Vic theatre. The Lord of the Rings star will play Widow Twanky in a production of Aladdin, Spacey announced on Thursday. [More]

Bekah writes: Here is a photo of my uncle who was in The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, just outside of Twizel. [More]

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - It's central England, not Middle-Earth, but one school is offering its students the chance to learn Elvish. [More]

TolCon's Rebekah writes: Due to technical difficulties with online registration, TolCon's pre-registration will be extended to April 26th. For those who have tried to reserve a room at the Sea-Tac Marriott and were told none were available, this was in error and has been corrected. Rooms are still available! We encourage you to call again and make reservations in the TolCon/NW Tolkien Society block. [More]

Romanticmovies.about.com interviewed Andy Serkis for "13 Going on 30", but couldn't help bringing up his other role: "Though Serkis was replaced onscreen with sophisticated and groundbreaking graphic effects, his ability to breathe life into the character won him the admiration of Tolkien fans and millions of moviegoers the world over." [More]

From Harrow.co.uk: "The third instalment of the epic Lord Of The Rings trilogy, in which he took one of the starring roles as Aragorn, may have swept the board at this year's Oscars, but the self-effacing actor is genuine when he insists he still doesn't see himself as a Hollywood player." [More]

That Talking Fox writes: ROTK is being screened at the Brew and View in Chicago. This means plenty of ale and smoke whilst watching it. Quite fun, if you want a crowd like the ones at Trilogy Tuesday. [More] Wee adds: It's also being screened at the Laurelhurst Theatre in Portland, Oregon. Beer and Pizza! [More]

Geri and Rez wrote to tell us that the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) will be giving Howard Shore a lifetime achievement award. [More]

Cerys writes: Hi, just found out that one of the most popular film magazines in the UK, Total Film, has conducted a pole in its latest issue on Film Epics. I'm not sure if the magazine is out yet, but Lawrence of Arabia came in first place, Ben Hur came in at second place, The Star Wars films came in third. In forth place came The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Quite a nice result!

MTV has nominated ROTK for two movie awards: Best Movie, and Best Action Sequence for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. The 2004 MTV Movie Awards will air June 10 at 9 p.m. ET. [More] You can vote for the winners [Here]

Ringer Grima Wormtongue writes: Here's something I made in my ceramics class. It's a "chip and dip" platter made to look like Mordor, with the Plateau of Gorgoroth as the platter and Mount Doom as the dip bowl. It includes various landmarks such as Barad Dur, the Black Gate, Mount Doom, Cirith Ungol, Minas Morgul, and even the little stairs that lead to Shelob's lair and up the side of Mount Doom. Hope you like it! [More]

Phillip from The Tolkien Society writes: The Tolkien Society and Birmingham City Council are running the fifth annual Tolkien Weekend at Sarehole, childhood home of Professor Tolkien. "This weekend shows families the Mill and surroundings where Tolkien spent some formative years." May 15-16. [More]

This warrants a repost for people who haven't already marked their calendar. D'Anne writes: I think the readers might be interested in this exhibit coming to the Museum of Science, Boston--the ONLY place in the USA! "The Museum of Science will host The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy � The Exhibition from August 1 - October 24, 2004. The much-anticipated exhibition features props, costumes, behind-the-scenes insights, and The One Ring itself. Public ticket sales begin Tuesday, June 1." [More]

Bob sent us a press release for Season Two of Celebrity Poker Showdown: "Season two of Bravo's newest hit will return as big as it debuted [snip]. Some of the celebrities who will be participating this time around include: [snip] Sean Astin [snip]." Premieres on Bravo, Thursday, May 27 (9-11 p.m. ET) [More]

Ataahua writes: The Women in Film and Television International Conference is being held in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time - in Auckland, New Zealand. Large delegations from London, New York, Los Angeles and European cities are attending the conference, and one of the sessions features LOTR screenwriter Philippa Boyens alongside other big-name female Kiwi film makers. [More]

Rhiannon writes: I don't recall this being reported on before, but Sean Astin's book, "There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale," is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.com (in hardcover and abridged audio CD formats). [More]

Meredith writes: On Wednesday April 21, 2004 Andy Serkis is going to be a guest on Conan O'Brien. The show runs from 12:37 to 1:36 am. The show is actually on tonight (Tuesday) but the guide says its Wednesday because it's on after midnight and all. [More]

Claire writes: The "Queen Galadriel", a two-masted sailing ship, has just been officially relaunched after a refit. The hack from the BBC can't spell - the vessel belongs to the Cirdan Trust. As you can see, she's very elegant. Wonder who the people of the trust are fans of! For more on the Cirdan-Faramir Trusts, click here. [More]

Melissa writes: I stumbled across this interesting piece of news while visiting the online Art Renewal Center, one of the biggest art museums on the web. They recently sponsored the First International "ARC Salon" Competition, in which hundreds modern day artists painting in traditional, classical styles entered their works. One particular painting - entitled "Faramir at Osgiliath" - is mentioned in two prize categories: the Chairman's Choice Award, and the Chairman's Purchase Award. It is a beautiful piece of art, as are all the pieces the website has on display. "Faramir at Osgiliath" first appears about halfway down the page, in the Chairman's Choice category. [More]

Happy Birthday Andy Serkis! Andy was born on April 20th 1964 in Ruislip, England. That makes him 40 years old today! Happy Birthday Andy!

A rumor has hit the airwaves (via kryptonsite.com) that Sean Astin may direct an episode of 'Smallville' in Season 4. This would not be Sean's first stint with the WB, as he directed a critically acclaimed episode of 'Angel' last season. Follow the link to head to 'Rumorville'. [More]

April 19, 2004, LOS ANGELES, CA: Horror/fantasy scribe and filmmaker Clive Barker claims the title of �Ringer� by discussing his appreciation for J.R.R. Tolkien�s masterpiece �The Lord of the Rings� in the upcoming documentary feature, Ringers: Lord of the Fans. Mr. Barker granted an interview to Ringers. Mr. Barker speaks of the power and affirmations found within Tolkien�s mythological epic that encouraged him to create fantasy worlds of his own. [More]

Laurie writes: The annual SFWA Nebula Awards were given out in Seattle on Saturday, April 17. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens won their second consecutive screenwriting Nebula. [More]

Barb writes: Canada's Space Station Awards, or the Spacey's, have awarded ROTK 3 of the 5 awards it was nominated for. Best Movie Fx, Best Sci-Fi or Fantasy Movie and Special Achievement Award. [Spacecast.com]

Ringer Spy Shawna attended the Denver Starland Starfest this past weekend, and sent us a richly-detailed report on Sean Astin�s talk. [More]

The third installment of Ring*Con is gearing up for its Halloween 'release'. Ringer Spy Hiriel allerted us to the first confirmed guests. Back by popular demand are Craig Parker and Mark Ferguson while John Noble and German actor Sandro Kopp (Gildor) will be new to the Ring*Con-experience. Head over to the Ring*Con 2004 official website for more!

When it comes to film-making New Zealand is well and truly on the map but it will take some serious petitioning before it makes it onto the globe - at Universal Studios. When tourists arrive from all over the world the first thing they see at the Universal Studios in Los Angeles is a huge replica of the world. The globe is very impressive but has one problem - New Zealand is missing and despite pleas from an expat Kiwi, Universal appears to have no plans to put it there. [More]

Kiwi actors have been left out of New Zealand's film-making bonanza, with officials flouting immigration laws to entice big-budget movie makers. Local actors, already annoyed they were sidelined for roles in The Lord of the Rings after the government waived immigration rules, are upset they are still being ignored. [More]