There's never been a shortage of roles for Ian Holm (Bilbo), but the offers just keep getting better. Last year, he played hobbit Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring and the villainous Sir William Gull in From Hell. [More]

Jen writes: I just got my new issue with Selma Blair on the cover and Seventeen mentioned LOTR's DVD release in its annual calendar: In case you were on Mars rather than Middle Earth last Christmas,and somehow managed to miss it,The Lord of the Rings:The Felowship of the Ring comes out on DVD August 6th.

Check out these scans from UK's Empire Magazine, all about The Two Towers. [More]

People who are not yet registered to attend the Ring*Con 2002 in Bonn, Germany might want to change their mind because if you register now you have the chance to win a rare V.I.P.-ticket! The winner will get his money back and will meet the actors of "The Lord of the Rings" (who are there) personally behind the stage! Registering and finding out more information about the Ring*Con can be done at their website, Ringcon.de

I'm beginning to think that I am about the only person who hasn't seen anything of the DVD yet, but ohh well. On any account the BBC has seen the two-disc set and their review can be found here!

Harry from AintitCoolNews.com has also seen the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD, and has his say (including a few spoilers so beware!) about the thing here!

Brian from Light Out Entertainment sends in word that they have some pictures from the extended scenes on the DVD, you can find them here !!SPOILERS!!

Next week we at Gaming Havens will be sitting down for a talk with the Producers of the upcoming LOTR Titles from EA. We'd like to open up the floor for you to send in your questions to deliver to the EA crew. Drop us a line at havens@theonering.net with your questions and concerns! [Gaming Havens]

We just recieved a press release from Decipher announcing their newest kudous: The Lord of the Rings™ TCG Takes Home Best Graphic Presentation of a Card Game and Best Trading Card Game of 2001 Congrats to the Decipher team! [More]

Oscar-nominated FOTR editor John Gilbert talks about his experiences working with Peter Jackson and trimming the film to its theatrical running time in the May/June issue of Editors Guild Magazine. [More]

The beautiful pewter and bronze effect LoTR Chess set we posted about a couple of days ago is also available from an Australian company called Innovations. [More] You can also read our original report here. [More]

Update from Chris: "The LoTR chess set has been on sale in Australia since before Christmas last year. I know this because I received one from a guy with a long white beard and a pointy red hat!!! I've seen them for around $50 AUS on sale or $79.95 AUS Reg. Retail."

NZ news from LinuxElf: "I just wanted to let you know Whitcollus and the Warehouse are now allowing you to preorder the LOTR DVD released on August 6th. They also have a cool promo stand and poster too. The promo stand features Frodo holding the one ring in his hand looking down at it and the rest of the Fellowship behind him."

If ya hate spoilers stop right now! If you don't... Ringer Miss Mac found something of interest in Entertainment Weekly! Scroll to view: 'I probably shouldn't say this, but I'm back in three...as a very old man.' Says Holm. !Spoilerific! [More]

That's right, I've got it, I've seen it and I've showed it to loved ones around me. Now take a gander at my review, and submit your own questions that I'll answer online! [More]

Joe L writes: I attended the Licensing Show in New York City some weeks back, and took these photos of the wonderful life-sized Gandalf the White on Shadowfax statue at the New Line Cinema exhibit. They also had the TTT trailer showing repeatedly on a large backdrop screen. What an experience! !!!Spoilers!!! [More]

Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) told MyMovies.net that, unlike some of her co-stars, she wont be returning to New Zealand to film extra footage for The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers. [More]

Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) says she's very flattered by Lord Of The Rings spoofs. The actress says she found the French and Saunders version of the Fellowship Of The Ring a huge compliment. [More]

Following our first report, emails are flooding in from all manner of TORN spies (birds, beasts...). Ringer Spy Taniwha gives us some earlier confirmation and some startling news about (highlight below to read) Haldir and elves are indeed at Helms Deep, and Haldir dies before Aragorn can save him. !!!Major Super Spoilers!!! [More]

Nona from The Compleat SB writes: Update on Macbeth, which will be staged at the Albery Theatre in London this fall/winter - Sean Bean (Boromir)will of course be playing Macbeth, and Samantha Bond (Moneypenny in the latest James Bond films) has just been confirmed as Lady Macbeth.

Sanel writes: It appears that the armor given to Frodo by Bilbo, that’s light as feather and hard as dragon’s skin, might not be that far fetched after all. A team of Canadian engineers have managed to bond the genes of a goat and a spider to create “spider-goats” that produce silk spider web with milk. The silk is as hard as stainless steel yet light as feather. [More]

It seems that some 10 091 letters were sent to Empire magazine asking for more pictures of our Orlando Bloom (Legolas). So Empire caved and printed one in their latest magazine...some fans just can't get enough! [More]

Revelations that Figwit has had a role in the production of a new movie have fuelled an already burning interest in the latest New Zealand martial arts feature film - The Tongan Ninja. [More]

Sometimes it seems I can't turn around without tripping over another LoTR test that someone has put together. Thanks to the folks in Barliman's for finding this one! [More]

Ringer fan S. Thomas sends us a heads up on a new LOTR product that is currently available for pre-order. Included in this unique chess set are pieces such as the Cave Troll as a bishop, Galadriel as the Queen, and stout-hearted Samwise Gamgee as the pawn. [More]

UPDATE - Ringer fan RH sent us the warning that the pieces are in fact plastic with a pewter/broze effect. (This would explain the price) So expect to get what you will be paying for!

My fellow Canuks over at 'Coming Attractions' have a review of the latest Miranda Otto (Eowyn) film 'Doctor Sleep'. Take a look [More]

Check out some of these great AIM icons you can use while instant messaging! I've got the Sauron eye myself :) [More]

(If you want to see where quite a few of these icons came from, check out our frame-by-frame analysis of the teaser - Arathorn) [More]

Universal Interactive sends us these great images from their 'Lord of the Rings' game they have planed for release in the near future. Take a look at Gandalf's 'cheap tricks' at Hobbiton! [More] [Gaming Havens]

Some Tolkien fans are walking away disappointed after seeing Men in Black II. Why? Not because the movie was bad, but because the Two Towers Trailer was not shown! The moral of this story...make sure you call your local theater ahead of time to confirm the trailer will be playing in front of MIB.

(UPDATE: we are now getting a few reports on fans seeing TTT teaser with MIIB. I guess it really depends on your cinema and luck -Xo)

TheOneRing.net is proud to introduce its first EXCLUSIVE product offering. Thanks to our sponsorship with Sideshow / Weta Collectibles, we can now bring you unique Tolkien-related products that otherwise would not be available to the general public. First up is the 'Orc Legion Helm.' This exclusive piece is a 1/4 scale replica of armour used in The Fellowship of the Ring. It is made out of heavy-weight polystone and has a hand painted finish with a faux bronze patina. If you have not purchased one of the Sideshow / Weta helms, you might not be aware that these things are HEAVY. This particular helm weighs 13oz(368.5 g) and is 6.75in(17 cm) high by 2.25in(5.7 cm) wide. It comes with a display base that has The Fellowship of the Ring and Sideshow / Weta Collectibles Logo as well as the sculptor's signature. Follow the link for images! [More]

On today's show on Passport to Middle-earth on CJMQ 88.9 for Quebec listeners, and Bishop's University Radio Station online for everyone else, we're going to talk about Numenor. We will cover its history, geography, people, but also the colonization of Middle-earth by the Numenoreans, and of course explain how and why the Downfall of the island occurred and investigate particularly on the role Sauron played in its destruction. We will also talk about a very interesting article, "The Gift of Death" by Grant Sterling, and explore a little deeper the concept of death and immortality as Tolkien presented them in his mythology.

So if you're curious about Numenor, tune in! 4pm - 6pm Eastern Time.

Isilwen sends word of the offerings from United Cutlery, which are described in the latest issue of Renaissance Magazine. [More]

Fans living in Reno may want to take their kids to Bruka Theatre's production of The Hobbit which is on currently. [More]

Sideshow/WETA has updated its LOTR homepage with a new interview from Virginia Lee written by Wetamaster Daniel Falconer! If you've been around a while you may remember me oggling the bas-relief sculpture pictured with the interview at ComicCon last year. There is also a 10% discount on the Sauruman statue plus an exclusive TheOneRing.net helm (more details to follow!). [More]

Ragnarok is almost upon us! The only live-action Tolkien festival in the world kicks off this weekend in Cambridge, Ohio. Ragnarok is a week-long extravaganza of mass melee and revelry. Ragnarok is a living, breathing celebration of Tolkien's works and of the European history that inspired those works. [More]

The "Lord of the Rings" films are the result of many peoples' labors, but some "L.O.T.R." collectibles have essentially been the product of a single individual, New York sculptor Patrick Pigott. Last year, Pigott crafted a set of four 12 oz. "Glass Goblets" sold at Burger King restaurants, as well as a quartet of "character replica" statues for Applause, L.L.C. [More]

Charter Members to the LOTR fanclub will no doubt know that their names will be included on the DVD release of LOTR:FOTR. The cool part is that Howard Shore and PJ have decided to write special music JUST for the 19-minute long scroll of names! The bad news? Well...just follow the link for that. [More]

John Rhys-Davies, who stars as Gimli in The Lord of the Rings' movie trilogy and on Decipher¹s The Lord of the Rings' Trading Card Game, will make an exclusive appearance at Origins on Saturday, July 6th in Columbus, Ohio. [More] [Gaming Havens]

Well, almost - Karori Wildlife Sanctuary and Miramar special-effects company Weta are talking about making replica extinct native animals for the sanctuary, ranging from giant moa to tiny frogs. [More]

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has tentatively voted to shorten the Oscar calendar by a month, moving up the film industry's highest honors from late March to late February starting in 2004. [More]

After a pick-up filming involving several of the film trilogy's stars, including Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood and Sir Ian McKellen, film spokeswoman Claire Raskind yesterday confirmed that all had now left the country. [More]

On this wonderful Canada Day I decided to celebrate the Canadian contingent that helped make LOTR alongside their fellow Americans and Kiwis! [More]

Sean Bean (Boromir) comes up 'Empty' and Andy Serkis (Gollum) becomes an 'Escapist', take a look at a couple of new cast projects from these LOTR stars. [More]

Here's your chance to catch your favorite LOTR star on the small screen this week! [More]

Thanks to the hard work of TORn Staffer Arathorn, the frame-by-frame of the latest 'Two Towers trailer has been updated, the quality of the pictures now dramatically improved thanks to the trailer being officially posted on Apple.com in Quicktime, glorious Quicktime. Enjoy! [More]

!!! HUGE SPOILERS !!!

Today, July 1st is Liv Tyler's (Arwen) birthday! Liv was born on July 1st 1977, in Portland, Maine. That makes her 25 today! Happy birthday Liv!

Ringer Spies Aurelie, Emma and Karen sent in these pictures from Ian McKellen (Gandalf) at the gay pride parade in San Francisco take a look at the pics and read Emma's report! [More]

Actor Rob Inglis will be performing "The Lord of The Rings" at The Shaw Theatre at 3pm on Sundays July 7,14, 21 and 28. In a compressed version of the trilogy, concentrating on the mission of Frodo and Sam to destroy the ring of power, he portrays seventeen characters. [More]

Tracy writes: Kia ora to all at TORN. I am finally back at my computer after my trip to Wellington, and the Green Parrot book signing with Viggo! [More]

Smokering sends us this HUGE report from a lecture at the Hamilton Museum (in New Zealand), on 'Chemistry and The Lord of the Rings'. Take a look at what she has to say! !!!HEAVY SPOILERS!!! [More]

Many of us have wondered whether the Teaser Trailer would make it to Apple.com. Well, now it has. And after looking at the full-screen version ... it is gorgeous. Go get it now! (Requires Quicktime) !!!HUGE SPOILERS!!! [More]

Thanks to Chris, John and David for sending in the link.

The fog lifted and thousands of rainbows formed under the blue sky as an estimated half a million onlookers lined the streets to celebrate diversity and progress during the San Francisco's 32nd annual gay pride parade. Sir Ian McKellen was one of the parade's Grand Marshals. Thanks to Aurelie for sending in the link. [More]