Interesting article by film critic A.O. Scott in today's The New York Times, lamenting the current crop of lackluster Hollywood blockbusters. LOTR is mentioned as a rare exception:

And of course there are still grand, commercial entertainments with the power to amaze and transport us. The first installment in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, for instance, was a work of unfettered, disciplined ingenuity designed to nurture the imaginations of its viewers rather than to numb them.

You must register on the website to read the entire article, but registration is free. [More]

milaya There's a small clip on CBS's website, where the host of the Amazing Race, Phil Keoghan interviewed Richard Taylor in New Zealand. [More]

W'dfara writes: Parade is a magazine supplement found in many American Sunday newspapers. In "Walter Scott's Personality Parade" column in today's edition (May 19, 2002), there is a Tolkien-related question and answer:

Q: Did rock star Sting get his stage name from one of the swords in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit? - Eleanor Rapp, Vienna, Va.

A: Sting (Gordon Sumner), 50, is a Tolkien fan, but that's not the source of his name. Early in his career, he wore a black-and-yellow striped sweater resembling a yellowjacket. One night there was a heckler in the audience. A band mate told Sumner, "Get him, Sting!" The name stuck.

There's a little bit of Marrickville in Middle Earth, the first images from the new Lord Of The Rings film reveal. After all, one of the film's stars is inner-west actor David Wenham, who is shown in photographs from the new film, The Two Towers, in his role as Faramir, a reluctant yet brave warrior from Gondor. [More]

Irascian writes: The new UK magazine SFX (June issue) has a pull-out double-sided A3 spread of photos from "The Two Towers". The same issue also has a great picture of the new Sauron figure from GameWorks. [More]

Barlimans Regular Lai found a lecture transcript comparing LOTR to Wagner's opera cycle "Ring des Nibelungen". The speaker was Dr. Bradley J. Birzer, Professor of History at Hillsdale College and author of forthcoming study of J.R.R. Tolkien's thought, to be published by ISI in 2003. "When the Swedish translation of The Lord of the Rings appeared in 1961, its author was appalled. Fluent in Swedish, J.R.R. Tolkien found no problems with the translation. Indeed, Tolkien often considered the various Scandinavian languages as better mediums for his Middle-earth stories than English, as the medieval Norse and Icelandic myths had strongly influenced them. His disgust, instead, came from..." [More]

The Figwit site has moved to a bigger-bandwidth location. Here it is, Figwit Lives! They have some fresh news...a photo of Figwit's father, who plays Elendil, for starters. [More]

I always love people that combine their passions creatively. Retelling LOTR in LEGO is one example. This fly-fishing guide to Middle-earth is another. The fishing journal is particularly delightful.

News from CherryC: New Line Cinema revealed it was in negotiations with British playwright Tom Stoppard to take the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy by Philip Pullman to the big screen. This is good news for lovers of seriously brilliant fantasy. Look's like LOTR's success has thrown that door wide open. [More]

[Omigod, I love this new server....posting news is such a BREEZE! *Muah*muah*muah* to all of you who set it up!!!]

Ringer Spy Flinch sends along these great pics from the Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) book signing event, attended by our very own Quickbeam and other friends we made at The One Party last March! [More]

Taniwha writes in again with nothing more than a little 'Jamb' sign...but to us LOTR fans it is quite possibly the coolest thing in the world! More LOTR filming!

"I Finally found a JAMB sign that wasn't somewhere totally dangerous to photograph, but got a really bad shot of it due to reflected light. These were heading FROM Miramar to the motorway (or at least as far as the Mt Victoria Tunnel) but I lost the track then - probably led back to wherever the Ent was coming from, which could have been Centreport..."

Streyeder writes: FoxNews just showed some wicked snippets of the LOTR game for the XBOX. One was (I believe) Strider fighting off Orcs and the second was Legalos taking some very cool rapid-fire shots off his bow! [Gaming Havens]

Welcome to the new TheOneRing.net, running on its brand new Dell PowerEdge 1650 server! Over the next few days you might find some errors in the site, a side effect of the transition from our previous server to our new one. So bear with us in the meantime, and enjoy the benefits that our new server brings!

Update: If you are interested in the geeky specifics behind the new server follow the link [More]

For many months, TheOneRing.net has searched for a new server to replace the ailing one which has served us so well for so many years. Well, thanks to the support of many of the fans themselves, we have that new server and today we make the transition from old to new. What does this mean? Well, at roughly 13:00 EDT/19:00 CET, the site will cease to exist as we make the change and will do so for at least half an hour and most likely more. So next time you visit the site, hopefully you'll be using our brand new server!

This weekend, join us in the Hall of Fire as we discuss the Two Towers chapter The Uruk-hai, an insight into how the minions of evil work and a closer look at the life of an Orc in the War of the Ring. [More]

Peter Jackson is the subject of today's poll on the Internet Movie Database: 'Aside from Lord of the Rings, which Peter Jackson film do you think is his best?' [More]

'Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones landed in Australia, where much of it was shot at Fox Studios in Sydney, with the market's highest non-holiday opening day ever and the second-biggest day overall. The champion of Oz remains The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which rang up $2.25 million from 405 theaters in its first day, averaging $5,588.' [More]

Brandon Gray
Boxofficemojo.com

'Fellowship of the Ring' has just recently reached a new milestone, surpassing 'Return of the Jedi' to become the ninth highest grossing movie of all time. The epic fantasy surpassed the epic fantasy on Saturday, May 11, its 144th day of release. After three theatrical releases, Episode VI of George Lucas' Star Wars franchise grossed $309,306,177 in its lifetime. [More]

Read up on EA's latest plans to bring The Two Towers to both PlayStation 2, and Game Boy. [More]

Join us for part one of this exciting look behind the scenes at the crew responsible for the Lord of the Rings Trading Card game! Part 1 brings us up close and personal with Chuck Kallenbach recent winner of the Nigel D. Findley Award! [More]

Join us in the first of many Gaming Havens events June 16th at a still undecided location. We will be celebrating Decipher's new TCG Release "The Realms of the Elf Lords". Festivities will include a card demo, discussion on new tactics and strategies, and a great way to win prizes from the new set... by participating in our Elf Lords Costume Contest!

If you have any questions or would like to contribute to this event please contact Flinch. Check back for more info as we finalize the details, and in the meantime take some time to look over Decipher's new Elf Lords area! [more]

Jef Anderson writes:There will be a Dagorhir battle on May 25 starting at 7:00pm in the Antelope Valley - that's right - it is a night time battle - Out here in the High Desert on nights when the moon is full - the visibility is awesome! Until we joined with Aggelgorod this was the only time we would fight - You need to try it out! Here is our flyer for more information. [More]

Nona writes: Apparently Sean Bean (Boromir) will be arriving in NZ later than June 1st, he'll only be there for about four days of filming. Also the latest issue of Hello! magazine has a pic of Sean with Cilla Black at the Beckhams' World Cup party. [More]

Kim writes: Oz magazine Who has put out it's own Most Beautiful List with Orlando Bloom (Legolas) and Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) included. [More]

The latest movie coup for New Zealand is 'The Last Samurai', directed by Edward Zwick (Courage Under Fire, Legends of the Fall) and starring Tom Cruise. The costume designer for this film is LOTR Oscar nominee Ngila Dickson. Once again it appears that New Zealand's scenery is the main reason why a Hollywood film has been lured to this country. [More]

Elise G writes: Elijah Wood (Frodo) chatted with a Brazilian interviewer a few months ago, but only an audio version is available, with no text or video. The 47 minute interview has some interesting questions and Wood gives detailed answers. [More]

Sideshow/Weta Collectibles has updated their Lord of the Rings homepage with a $3 discount on the Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck polystone bust. And while its not Lord of the Rings related, Sideshow/Weta has also started pre-ordering The Muppet Show polystone busts! Currently you can order Kermit the Frog, Beaker, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Rowlf the Dog. [LOTR Busts] [Muppets]

I'm not sure this has been confirmed elsewhere....Sources in Wellington say that Wellington, New Zealand will be the location for the first world premiere of The Two Towers. Date? not sure - around December 18.

Interesting article from Chris: ".When it comes to the relationship between the fantasy and sci-fi genres and worries about technology, there's a huge elephant in the room. So huge, in fact, that it's some half a million words long. The novel in question, in case you hadn't guessed, is J.R.R. Tolkien's 1954-55 fantasy romance The Lord of the Rings..." [More]

Kailin writes: Don't forget to remind people that Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) will be doing is signing today at the Virgin Megastore in Hollywood at 7pm. He's promoting 'SignLanguage', his book of all his art photos.

Antipodean Viggophile writes: Oz fans should try to catch Getaway on the Nine Network tonight at 7:30 PM. The show is having a To the Movies special and Sorrel Wilby will be visiting locations for LOTR in NZ.

Garth from DarkHorizons has the third and final instalment of his report from the set of the new Karl Urban (Eomer) film 'Ghost Ship'. [More]

Many may not have heard, but a small, non-studio film called 'Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones' has hit theatres around the world today. The film's main heavy is non other than our very own Christopher Lee (Saruman). (I've seen it, it rocks! -Xo) [Showtimes]

A few Ringers have been reporting on this new book. From MK: "I picked up a copy of "The Art of LOTR:FOTR" yesterday (May 15) at the Virgin Megastore at Union Square, NYC. The book is great - everything I had hoped to find and didn't in the earlier releases (Visual Companion and Guide)." Other people emailed who've have been similarly impressed.

NZ website Scoop talks about another major film being made in NZ, starring Tom Cruise. The exposure provided by LOTR is giving some hoped-for benefits to the local industry. [More]

Mike sent us this link to an ABC news article about the fan reaction to the latest Star Wars. A pic of Elijah talking to fans headlines the article. [More]

Ringer Spy Taniwha sends along these great pics from the StoneStreet Studio backlot! While I still need to do some digging to see what this odd set may actually be....Check out Taniwha's report! !Spoilers! [More]

Jennie writes: Billy Boyd (Pippin) is in an ad for Tennent's Lager in the UK! It's apparently one of a series of adverts funning on TV cop shows. He plays the voice of a can of beer! [More]

Entertainment Tonight aired the special teaser trailer to 'The Matrix' sequels, featuring our very own Hugo Weaving (Elrond), which can now be seen online. They are also doing a special on 'plus size women' and have mentioned that Liv Tyler's (Arwen) sister (and not Liv herself) will be part of the segment.

KT SHY sends in this article from PlayStation Magazine, with a pic of our very own lovely Liv Tyler (Arwen), take a look! [More]

Ringer Spies KT and Malva writes: Finally I have scanned some of my Japanese LOTR articles! Unfortunately I haven't been able to get them translated, but the pictures sure are pretty! [More]

The latest Star Wars update on E! has an interview with Star Wars director George Lucas. Lucas talks about LOTR and the two crews working close together in the south pacific. [More]

Alccirith writes: There is a small write up in a Singapore magazine, Eightdays, on Elijah Wood (Frodo) [More]

Garfeimao sends in her report on a new book expected out soon, The Art of LOTR:FOTR, take a look! [More]

Melissa sent this in from the June edition of Premiere: "The June edition of Premiere magazine has a cover story on Star Wars: Episode II. Throughout the article are references to Lord of the Rings [More]

Happy Birthday Cate Blanchett! The Lovely Cate was born on May 14th, 1969 in Clayton, Australia. That makes her 33 today! Happy birthday Cate!

LONDON � IN "Star Wars: Episode II � Attack of the Clones," Christopher Lee portrays Count Dooku, a former Jedi knight with possibly lethal separatist tendencies. Dooku might or might not be the movie's No. 1 bad guy. But the film's director, George Lucas, admitted that the character's name is a teasing nod to Mr. Lee's association with the role of Count Dracula. He wanted, he said, an actor whose steely menace would be artfully concealed by elegance � a bogyman less bald than Darths Vader or Maul. [More]

JBG was part of the studio audience for 'Inside the Actors Studio' with our very own Ian McKellen, here is his report! [More]

the Tolkien Society sends in the details of their third annual Tolkien Weekend in Sarehole Mill, and it looks like it's going to be a great weekend! Check out all the cool things to do! [More]

At 12 midnight PST on May 15th, your chance to win great prizes in our Two Towers Teaser Poster contest will end. [More]

Ringer Spy POD sends along this interesting bit of information.

Just to let you know I know that some more filming will be going on near Mt Ruapehu shortly. [More]

Mt Ruapehu archive information: For the past 3 years we at TheOneRing.net have covered many locations all over New Zealand. We have quite a few news stories about Mt Ruapehu, including some great pictures! Take a look! [More]

Showbizireland.com ran an interview with the lovely Alison Doody (Indiana Jones 3, A View To A Kill) today, she had this to say about LOTR

"I was not retired in fact I even looked at going for a role in Lord of the Rings but being in New Zealand for 18 months put me off the idea." [More]

Perilous Hobbit writes: I was watching Jeopardy on my local CBS station today when a catagory named "Recent Films" popped up. The $200 question in this catagory was "This person played 'Gandalf' in the 2001 movie 'Lord of the Rings'. A contestant immediately buzzed in and replied "Ian McKellen".

Sedat writes: I just read that Sean Astin (Sam) will be one of the voice actors in Squaresoft's new game 'Kingdom Hearts', other voice actors are David Gallagher ("Seventh Heaven"), Hayden Panettiere ("Ally McBeal"), David Boreanaz ("Angel"), and Christy Romano ("Even Stevens"). [More]

No, this isn't a course on how to write those annoying letters that you have to send to 15 people, it is a seminar on the making of chain mail much like the type used in LOTR. Ianthe tells us all about it! [More]

Orangeblossom Brambleburr writes: Just a reminder to all, Sean Astin will be a guest on 'Dinner for Five' on the Independent Film Channel tonight. The show airs at 5:00 PM EST [More]

Nancy sends us her full report with some great pictures from the last IMAX screening of LOTR:FOTR in Perth, Australia. [More]

With a certain level of secrecy, the top brass at New Line Cinema just got back from a visit to New Zealand. As the rumor has it, they were there for an update on the status of The Two Towers and to see a 'rough-cut' of the film. The information we have tells us they absolutely loved what they saw. Most seemed to agree that it was even better then Fellowship of the Ring. Hey, sounds good to me! We'll investigate further and see if we can get any kind of official statement on the trip.

Missed all the news this weekend? Were you too busy treating the special moms in your life like the godesses they are? Well good for you! Now follow the link to see what you may have missed this weekend! [More]

Perfect skin. If Lloyd Cole had been singing around the traps now, that song would have to be about Cate Blanchett, whose pale, pearly skin seems to glow from within like those milky globes on art deco lamps. It is hardly the look of the bronzed Australian of myth; nor is her cool, poised intelligence, remarked on by everyone who meets her, exactly what outsiders expect. A good Aussie sheila is loud and brash, feisty and philistine; Blanchett is more like a brainy Grace Kelly. [More]

JBG writes: Ian McKellen (Gandalf) is getting taped for Bravo's "Inside the Actor's Studio" tonight (Monday, May 13th) at The New School in Manhattan, NYC.