More WizardWorld Chicago 2003 Images - Sean Poses

We've got two very detailed reports from WizardWorld 2003 which is currently wrapping up in Chicago at the moment. Telcontar & Naomi both send in their report and photos from the event! [More]

Murky Majare is a new name to me, I"ve never had a report from him/her before. However he/she does have a few interesting details on the FULL ROTK preview we shall see on the TTT DVD (and yes the trailer we posted is part of it). Take a look! !!!SPOILERS!!! [More]

..And seems to have a rather hard time of it as well it seems. Thesun.co.uk website has posted a few 'new' images from ROTK (not really new at all in fact). The website lists a few scant details and even manages to lable a picture of Merry and Pippin as Frodo and Sam...'nuff said! [More]

Each week I scour Ebay looking for the hot Tolkien items up for sale. I post the most interesting here for you to bid on! [More]

Take a look at your favorite LOTR stars you can catch on the small screen this week! [More]

Emma writes: Here are a few photos of Sean Astin at Wizard World today. All he did was 2, 2-hour autograph sessions so there's not a lot of variety. You might want to mention that Sean decided to stay and sign another day, which he was NOT scheduled to do, so if people can still get there Sunday they might be able to see him after all. [More] [WizardWorld Website]

Ringwaif writes: I read in the August 9th issue of the Globe and Mail that the CBC (Canada's equivalent to the BBC) owns the television rights to the films the Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers. This was apparently confirmed by LOTR's Canadian distributor Alliance Atlantis.

Meade writes: I thought you might want to see this article about Radiohead's new video that mentions LOTR and the use of demo Massive software. [More]

Greetings, Quickbeam here.

During our visit to Comic-Con we met a great DJ who came all the way from N.Y.C. to share his Middle-earth music with us. Wait till you hear these tracks! [More]

Council of Elrond has breaking news about the latest candidate to enter the California Governor Recall Election. [More]

Twilight Elf writes: The compilation CD, "The Celtic Circle", features a Howard Shore track entitled "The FOTR Suite", which isn't found on both the FOTR & TTT OSTs. This is the 1st time I've spotted a LOTR track in a compilation. There's also a version of "May It Be", by Ryan & Rachel O'Connell. Other artistes featured include Sinead O'Connor, Loreena McKennitt, Clannad etc. [More] [Shop]

mattman writes: Thought you guys might like to know that Toys'R'Us in the US will be running a special for the week of Aug 17th-23rd, if you reserve your copy of the 2 disc TTT set for $5 down your total price will only be $14.99 + tax.

Carwen writes: The British Royal Mint is going to produce legal tender LOTR coins. There was an story on this ("Lord of the Rings: A New Adventure in Coinage") in Numismatist. It includes pictures of the designs for three coins (Frodo, Sauron, and the Ring). (PDF Document) [More]

Lady of the Mist writes: Here are my pictures of the LOTR picnic that took place July 26 at San Francisco's Stern Grove. We wanted to share it with our TORn sibs. [More]

Caradoc writes: There was a Verizon commercial promoting their ROTK promo. It looked like it had short clips from TTT. It ended with the "Can you hear me now?" guy asking his well known question while holding the gates Helms Deep against battering ram hordes.

Readers who venture beyond the material published while Tolkien was alive, are quickly faced with ambiguity: what is the right version of a story? What is the 'correct' history of Galadriel? What is the 'correct' background of the orcs? [More]

SideshowWeta has just released a series of new statues from their upcoming Return of the King products! The set includes the Theoden Statue (seen here at Comic Con), the Fell Beast and Morgul Lord Statue, and the King Elessar Statue! Don't get too excited...The images for the Fell Beast and King Elessar will not be released until November, but they have opened up the pre-order for those collector's who want to reserve their piece. Check it out! [King Elessar] [Fell Beast] [King Theoden]

Last night I posted this story about an amazing Ent costume spotted at a festival. Well this morning Marc sent along some more pictures of this so-called 'Ent-Man' (ok I call him that -Xo). Who is he? Where does he come from? No one seems to know...not even Marc: 'He did a stage show one year on stilts and talked about the costume while on stage. He said it took many years to build.' [More]

Have YOU seen Ent-Man? If so drop me a line!

Sean Astin is not what you would call a comic book fan. He's not even a casual reader. He also hasn't played a comic book character or directed a superhero film --at least not yet. "I did audition for 'Daredevil,' but my good buddy Jon Favreau actually got the part," the 32-year-old actor says. [More]

AZ Telcontar from the Chicago Fellowship writes: Come gather together with fans from the Midwest and beyond for a fun time packed with all sorts of "Lord of the Rings" events! Some of our activities include viewing the extended DVDs of Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers... [More]

Irascian writes: Sean Astin and Elijah Wood have now been added as official attendees on the Collectormania 4 home page, but they won’t be there on the Friday! Collectormania are concerned about the number of people planning to attend Collectormania 4 in October to see “the hobbits” – especially since they cannot appear on the Friday since they are doing New Line junkets that day. [More]

Bryan writes: Amazon.com is having a Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Sweepstakes where the Grand Prize is a trip for 2 to New Zealand including airfare, hotel, rental car, and $500 spending money. First prize is the Noble Collection Lord of the Rings Collector's Chess Set and second prize is the Collector's Edition DVD of The Two Towers: Extended Edition. [More]

Ahriell writes: Following last year's report when Bret McKenzie (aka Figwit) visited the Scottish Fellowship at the August dvd party we had, the same is happening this time round. [More]

Just a reminder to all living in and around the windy city that Sean Astin will be attending WIZARDWORLD CHICAGO 2003 this weekend. [More]

This weekend will see FOTR/TTT Screenings in Ontario, Missouri, and Alabama. Take a look at the details! [More]

These past few days has seen a flurry of activity in our new Scrapbook section. Just in the past 24 hours we've added a MASSIVE amount of images for you to oogle over!

-First up are some great character poster from The Two Towers. [More]

-Next is a STUNNING set of images from the wizards at WETA Digital. [More]

-There be Ents here! From Birch to Oak and Willow...all the Ents you could Moot together! [More]

-Last is an update on all the GenCon 2003 images, check out Sean Astin and John Rhys-Davies in action! [More]

More to come!

Irascian writes: The latest issue of SFX (September) leads its news pages with reports from Comic-Con with the New Line panel headlining (scans attached). Most telling (or worrying?!) quote from Andy Serkis: “I’m looking forward to where the character [Gollum] is going to take them [the audience]. Because I think they think they know what’s going to happen to him, bu they’ll have a few surprises in store.” And Richard Taylor is quoted as saying of the third movie “It is easily two times more epic than film two. It will be the largest, most complex movie ever made”. For Orlando Bloom fans the same issue has 7 pages on “Pirates of the Caribbean” and an ad for the October issue (out on September 6th) that will apparently put Return of the King centre-stage with “everything you need to know about the final part of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth masterpiece!” [More]

Be sure to check out our entire Comic-Con Scrapbook images!

The folks from Sabertooth Games sent along these images from their LOTR mini set. [More] [Gaming Havens]

Ringer Spy Beth sends along proof that Ents are indeed alive and well and live in Wisconsin! [More]

New Line Cinema writes: There is a new Q&A feature on the official site with Bernard Hill! Read as the actor behind Theoden, King of Rohan, discusses working on the trilogy and the upcoming film The Return of the King! [More]

Lady AegisFang writes: To follow up my other email about Future Shop the other day, I found out that Archambault stores are running a contest and the prize is the Lord of the rings Mirage Holographic Image Chamber. You can enter the contest either by pre-ordering your copy of LOTR:TTT or by sending them a hand-written letter. Contest is open to Canada residents only. [More]

Two of the world's biggest book publishers are battling it out with competing biographies on film-maker Peter Jackson, and The Lord of the Rings director himself has stepped into the fray. HarperCollins UK is to publish an authorised biography on New Zealand's most successful director late next year. RandomHouse New Zealand is to publish an unauthorised biography, possibly at an earlier date. [More]

Meg writes: The August issue of Biography magazine (with Tobey Maguire on the cover) has a list of the 100 best movies of the past 25 years. There are 10 categories with 10 movies in each. Just thought you would like to know that The Two Towers is one of the ones listed under Fantasy.

Mark writes: As you have revealed to us, Annie Lennox will be recording a song for the upcoming 'Return of the King' movie. Presumably it will be an original, but with a bit too much spare time on my hands I started thinking about what existing Annie Lennox/Eurhythmics songs might fit into the movie or indeed, possibly create additional story. The end result is that I set up a poll at here. [More]

Ringer Spy Baker sent along this scan from the latest issue of Australia's Blockbuster Member's Magazine, it features this image of Frodo I've never seen before. [More]

Ringer Spy Mo slipped us a much better copy of the image. Additionally, Ringer Kate reminds us this image was first revealed in Brian Sibley's The Making of the Movie Trilogy. [More] Update: Also, Ringer Spy Bryan makes an educated guess that this is a photo of a lost shot where Frodo sits at the bottom of the staircase at Weathertop which leads up to the summit of the ruins.

Ringer Spy Meriadoc writes: Friday, August 8 at 8 pm EST there is going to be a special on the ROTK video game. The special will also include ROTK footage! It's going to be on the Game Channel (Ch. 136 on Comcast).

Media Watch: Computer Gaming World Talks ROTK Game

Ringer Spy HAZLeyedONE1 sends along these scans from the latest issue of Computer Gaming World Magazine, take a look at quite a few screenshots from the ROTK game! [More] [Gaming Havens]

Just when you thought they'd stopped compiling movie lists another one hits the newsstands. The Australian edition of Empire magazine has put together for its September issue a rollcall of "100 Movies That Changed the World". It's a selection that relegates regular list-topper Citizen Kane to second place. Number one, according to Empire, is Jaws. [More]

WETA was present at the recent SIGGRAPH convention and handed out 2 fascinating reports on 'Hero Shading' and the making of Treebeard to the people in attendance. Take a look at these 2 reports that go into amazing details on the making of Gollum and Treebeard. [More]

We seem to be getting flooded today with requests to point people in the direction of the hidden TTT trailer Easter Egg on the FOTR Extended Edition DVD. Here's a link to more info for those who are about 9 months behind the rest of us. ;) [More]

NB: This is an old report we have dug up for you. We have known for some time that the UK R2 DVD is the only different one - it does not contain the MTV Spoof, but is exactly the same in every other way. There's no need for everyone to e-mail me. - Dem.

John Deering's one panel comic Strange Brew decided to poke fun at Tolkien and LOTR in this comic. [More]

Sven Lugar writes: An overnight battle will take place at Mount Pinos! This is at the McGill campground which is 1/2 the elevation of our usual site, so there will be less wear & tear on the body! The Event is at the McGill campsite on the road up to Mt Pinos. [More]

Karl Urban—who reprises the character of Éomer in the upcoming third Lord of the Rings film, The Return of the King—told SCI FI Wire that his character plays an important role in the finale. "He aids the Fellowship to achieving their goal of distracting ... Sauron," Urban said in an interview. [More]

Japanese distributor Nippon Herald Films has sold a record number of advanced tickets to The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King - even though it does not open in Japan until Spring 2004. [More]

A Wellington journalist named Ian Pryor is working on a biography of Peter Jackson. In a written interview request obtained by TBHL Pryor writes of having done interviews for the book in New Zealand, England, Germany and Spain. It appears that his book has not been authorised by Jackson or New Line. Judging by the interview request, it follows Jackson's filmmaking career from the short films he made as a child through to Lord of the Rings. The book is being published by Random House in New Zealand. Apparently an American publisher has expressed an interest in the book. More info soon!

frodo's girl writes: Since I walk by the Embassy Theatre everyday, I thought y'all might be interested in a few pics of how the refurbishment is going, and I thought I'd put in a plea for the Embassy Trust. [More]

Xoanon here, doing the math it looks like a 'DeLuxe Chair Package', in which a chair is branded with your name on it for 10 years will cost you 150$ NZ. Which comes to about $87 American or $122 Canadian. I'm getting mine today!

Premiere Magazine's latest issue has a Fall preview guide, they count ROTK as one of the best films to catch next season. Take a look! [More]

Let your voice be heard for the Viewer's Choice Award at the 6th Annual DVD Awards with Leonard Maltin. FOTR is listed! [More]

Dimple Danderfluff writes: Bruce Hopkins (Gamling) will be appearing on 'Good Moring' in New Zealand on TV1 at 10am Thursday 7th August.

We thought this was common knowledge, however a whole slew of you (an entirely different slew than the ones asking about the ROTK trailer...well some of the same slew but mostly different...I'll go have a little sit-down now... -Xo) have been asking about the easter eggs, hidden segments on DVDs, in the Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Edition DVDs. Take a look! [More]

WrightWords writes: Eagle Taxi Ride: This cartoon answers that question most on Lord of the Rings fans' lips (apart from what's Orlando Bloom's phone number) - why didn't they just hop on an eagle and drop the ring into Mount Doom? Note to the nitpickers - yes, I know this scene never happened in the book - I was taking artistic licence. You should be more concerned about how my eagle looks more like a giant sparrow! [More]

You have mailed us by the hundreds, nae, thousands... "Where can I find the ROTK sneak trailer?" "How can I find that trailer?" and even more, "Hey, you haven't posted the trailer, but I know where it is!"

The fact is -- We DID post the 'trailer,' and were one of the first sites to do so. However, New Line Cinema politely requested we remove all links to it, and to not direct people towards other unsanctioned postings of it. We believe in New Line's right to make this request.

How does this relate to you? Well, since we cannot post links, files or screencaps, we'd like you to STOP e-mailing us with the requests for and directions to the ROTK teaser footage -- our inbox truly overfloweth!

As of Thursday, July 31, New Line has stopped tracking The Two Towers domestically. In other words, the movie has ended its run as far as the studio is concerned. Final Official Gross: $339,751,253. However, The Two Towers is still playing in a few theaters. It was at 30 starting on Aug. 1. But New Line is notorious for stopping tracking when movies are still playing -- often hundreds of thousands of dollars will accrue after they cut them off. I'll try to dig up some Two Towers numbers and post them later, but it won't be with New Line's blessing. [More]

Well, Aussie fans might be shut-out of Verizon's USA promotion, but here's a contest just for the fans Down Under. Rosie-Posie Brandybuck writes: Just thought you might want to let folks know there’s a competition running on lordoftherings.com.au. If you pre-order the theatrical DVD or video by August 25, you go into the running for a new Landrover! Check out the website for details. [More]

There isn't a lot of information here, but Stuff.co.nz is reporting a parade in Wellington prior to the film premiere which may feature stars from the film. [More] As soon as we have more details, we will let you all know!

EA Games has added to its site an interview with Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan as they play the new ROTK game. Also: a gallery of images, and other con snippets. [More]

A bit late notice, but Magpie writes: The Minnesota Fringe Festival is sponsering a 3 man presentation of The Hobbit. There's a show tonight (Tuesday, August 5) and another on Friday (August 8). [More]

Coby writes: I went to Pirates of the Carribean on Saturday in Shibuya. During the trailers there was a minute-or-so long trailer for ROTK. Don't get your hopes up though, it was just an ad for ticket preorders. [More]

Ringer Spy Yusuf writes: The Two Towers DVD will be officially released on the 26th of August in Turkey. The DVDs will include the Turkish dubbed and subtitled versions of the film. And also the official Turkish release date for ROTK is 19th of December, 2003. [More] [Pre-Order R1 TTT EE: DVD]

Lady AegisFang writes: There will be a free screening of LOTR:TTT on giant screen at 3 Future Shop in Canada (Richmond, B.C., Edmonton & Toronto). If you come dressed as a character of the movie, you'll have a chance to win a 500$ Gift Card. Also if you pre-order LOTR:TTT, they give you an exclusive Future Shop calendar of LOTR:TTT. (Xoanon is dismayed that they overlooked the Pointe-Claire, Que. Future Shop!) [More]

Chris Arnot joins a tour party looking for evidence of JRR Tolkien among the satellite dishes and net curtains of Birmingham. It is a Saturday morning and 10 intrepid students of JRR Tolkien's works are edging their way along a brambly path in deepest rural Birmingham. [More]

New Line's The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers has achieved the unique distinction of becoming the only film playing solely in open air theatres to break into the Swiss top five. The second part of Peter Jackson's trilogy adaptation grossed $63,897 (SFR 87,156) on eight screens, climbing 141% and rising from 16th place to fourth in its 33rd week on release. [More]

Eleanor writes: I'd like to let people in and around Geneva, Switzerland, know about two movies at cinélac, a great open-air-cinema on the lakeshore of the lac Léman, where you can sit and watch fab movies on a big screen while admiring spectacular sunsets over the mountain-range and the illuminated city on the other side of the glittering lake! They are showing "The Two Towers" on aug 6th at 9:30 pm, in the FRENCH version, though, and "Pirates of the Carribean" on aug 15th at 9:15 pm; that one being the english original version.

A spy by the name of Jedi over at Comingsoon.net has posted a bit of information about the scenes in the Two Towers Extended Edition and some minor spoilers for RoTK. A lot of the Towers information we've already read in AICN's report, but there are some very interesting clarifications on several scenes. Thanks to Ringer Jim for the heads up. [More] Spoilers!

Amazon seems to be running a special offer for the (Region 1) Two Towers Extended Edition. You can currently order it for just US$25.99 - a 35% off the listed price. What's more, you also receive immediate access to a special streaming media featurette on the filming of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in Amazon's Digital Library. [Pre-Order]

According to fashion mag Elle, LoTR is beginning to influence fashion trends. With pictorial "evidence". Thanks to Ringer Stormcrow for the heads up. [More]

Every so often I get an e-mail saying: "Where can I get tickets to the RoTK Premiere?" I hope all those people are paying attention now, because Ringer Ichadette writes about a competition that Verizon Wireless is running that opens on August 5. The prize? Two tickets to the RoTK world premiere in Wellington. The catch? It's only open to USA residents (curses!). [More]

UPDATE: Apparently the contest is limited to mainland USA residents only... Sorry Hawaii and Alaska!

Making my daily perusal of Slashdot I noted they had posted a link to site that's "A guide explaining the basics of using Daniel Smith's Tengwar fonts (and compatible ones). No previous knowledge of Tolkien's invented alphabets is required." While Elvish is not my forte, I believe this is simple transliteration, not translation. The fonts themselves have been around for many years now, but the guide may be helpful for some. [More]

BBC Online has a little test of your Tolkien knowledge. I don't think it's new, but I stumbled on it this morning wandering around the internet. There's also links to heaps of other interesting Tolkien stuff. [More]

Each week, I scour Ebay looking for the hot Tolkien items up for sale. I post the most interesting here for you to bid on! [More]

Ringer Lonestarr reminds us that young ringers with an acting bent who live in the Los Angeles area have an opportunity to become involved in the Patricia Gray-authored stageplay version of The Hobbit. The Canyon Theatre Guild is holding auditions tonight (Monday, August 4) and also on Tuesday, August 5. Monday’s auditions are for children aged 15 and under only. Tuesday’s auditions will be for those 16 and older. Full details at the Theatre website (in the "Auditions" section). [More]

The Little Haven Hospice for Children, Essex UK, offers respite to children affected by life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses. A recent addition to the hospice's facilities is an enchanting Hobbit garden, inspired by Tolkien. The garden is complete with a replica of Bag End, and a rosewood statue of Gandalf. The garden offers a place for children and their families to both rest and play. If anyone is interested in finding out more about the hospice and the great work that they do, please contact Laurea Fox, 01702 220350 [More]

A press release from the garden opening can be found [here]

Xoanon here, I thought this was an interesting article considering all the outdoor LOTR screenings I posted today. Take a look at this article from USA Today (via Yahoo!) about the joys of screening a film outdoors. [More]

Celebrities, movies, comics, toys and gaming unite at Wizard World Chicago 2003, the world's largest pop culture expo. More than 40,000 fans are expected to attend the annual show, featuring appearances by hundreds of pop culture's top writers, directors, actors and artists. This year's highlights include: Sean Astin- This actor played Samwise Gamgee, the trustworthy sidekick of Frodo Baggins in the "Lord of the Rings." Astin's other film credits include "Goonies," "Memphis Belle" and "Where the Day Takes You." [More]

REZ writes: TTT will be shown at the UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Mini Park on Friday, August 8th. The movie begins at dusk. [More]

Here's the weekly cast watch, a chance for you to catch your favorite LOTR star on the small screen this week! [More]

GliowienRayna writes: There will be a "free" showing of TTT at Founders Park Outdoor Cinema in Springfield Missouri this coming Saturday Night (August 9th) at dusk. You can pick up free tickets at area downtown sponsors. [More]

Poppy writes: Sean Astin (Sam) will be a keynote speaker at the Generations United Conference Oct. 15-18 in Alexandria, VA. [More]

Media Watch: Ultimate DVD Magazine Talks TTT DVD

Marianne sends along the latest issue of 'Ultimate DVD Magazine' which has an article on 'The Two Towers' DVD and an interview with Ian McKellen (Gandalf). [More]

SciFi.com has a little interview with Sean Astin about nailing his climactic scene at Mount Doom. "It wasn't acting anymore. It was one of the most moving [experiences]. [Director] Peter [Jackson] was just sobbing." [More]

Reason.com offers up an intriguing essay on the nostalgic yet progressive appeal of hero quests, as seen in LOTR, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. A very good read. [More]

Ringer Spy Hanafos wrote in to tell us that the Special Edition South Korean TTT DVD case we showed you last weekend (See South Korean TTT Special Edition -Xo) was only a test image. He has the real DVD case and sent along some great pics to prove it! [More]

Isilme writes: For fans in the Washington, DC area, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is sponsoring a *free* big-screen, outdoor showing of FOTR on August 16 at Strathmore Hall. Local restaurants & vendors will be selling food and proceeds will benefit the NIH Charities. [More]

CRB writes: The 2004 edition of Time's Almanac for kids features our very own Frodo on the cover. [Click here to buy]

Irascian writes: 'Previews Magazine' August 2003 issue, available from all good comic book stores, contains a preview card (Aragorn) from the Return of the King TOPPs series due to be launched in November. Scans of card, full page ad and info attached. [More]