Xoanon here,

Well this was a rather unsuspecting surprize. After placing a call with Elijah Wood's agent concerning 'media matters', I heard some rather cool news!

'He's down under right now, working on LOTR'

'Right this very second?' I asked

'Yes, he'll be there for the next 18 months'

Well we all knew filming is set to start next month, but to actually hear news that the cast and crew are gathering in NZ sends shivers down my spine!

As far as we can tell, Billy Boyd is in NZ right now, along with John Rhys-Davies, and now Elijah Wood!!

Great things are afoot!!

Xoanon here,

Ringbearer.org is reporting that Brian Sergent has been cast as Ted Sandyman. While these bit castings are going on all the time, I have yet to hear about this one. If any NZers want to contact me with some more news about this, please do so. More news to come :)

Xoanon here,
AICN is reporting that Ethan Hawke has stated himself that he will play Faramir, while this can be seen as the ultimate confirmation I stress to you that I spoke with his people just yesterday and it was still 50/50.
Still, read on:

You may have already heard this, but Ethan Hawke disclosed at the Toronto Film Festival that he will make an appearance in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. According to Mr. Thurman — who was sporting grotty fu manchu maxillofacial hair and a grotesque thrift-bought cowboy shirt — he will play Faramir, younger brother of Boromir, who by your reckoning will played by Sean Bean. Hawke went on to state his lifelong fondness for Tolkien’s work, his reverence for the material, etc. He also said that Tom Bombadil (sp?) will NOT appear in the first film, which you probably already know. Hope this is of use to you.

‘‘Doo-Ron Upchuck’’

Xoanon here,

As more and more NZers send me these great scoops (keep it up guys!). More little interesting tidbits come flying my way. Here what I recieved this morning.

I signed up with a talent agency a few weeks ago, and was delighted to find out that they were putting forward people to LotR...

...while talking to one of the guys there found out about the filming. That was all he could tell me as it was all he had been told by Weta.

Also, a friend of a lady I work with was selected as an Orc. She is under 5'2" and my co-worker told me she had to wear these big platform shoe type things.

Thanks to 'A' for the scoop!

Well it looks like I'm going to have to debunk my own rumor here. "urax" sent me a detailed report of what went down in Sweeden.

Apparently a reporter caught Ashley Judd for an interview, during the interview the reporter noticed her copy of LOTR and asked her if she was involved. She said 'no, but I did see some details and I'm very interested'.

So there you go

Xoanon here,

You may have heard that the swords for LOTR are fragile and light? Well it's total shash, my contact, who is actually on the inside tells me all.

He told me that they are heavy and realistic, but are dull. The training for the fighting is taking place as I write this and the trainers must use padding (doesn't sound to fragile to me do they?)

Now you know, trust the real source :)

Barliman's chat at 9pm ET, tomorrow September 15th! for this gaming event!

Xoanon here,
Well I've had this bit of info for a while now, and since my inquiries got me nowhere I put it to you, the fans, to find something out for me.

I recieved an email from somone claiming to have recently seen Ashley Judd (from 'Kiss the Girls') with her very own copy of LOTR. As I said I made numerous calls and was bounced around more times than a marble in a washing machine, so if anyone, ANYONE has some news about this get back to me.

For now all I can say is, Eowyn?

He gets upset when people don't think about him constantly (kinda like my GF). Well Round 2 with a LOTR Writer still needs more questions from you! What do you want to know from a film writer who was first asked to write a treatment for LOTR? Send in your questions today!

Did you miss Round 1? Click here.

From The Press

High Hopes for Giant Chair in Sockburn



Manaia Rehu and Danny Morris are hoping their giant chair might be used in the film Lord of the Rings.

Standing nearly 3m tall, the chair has been carved out of the stump of a large English garden oak from the grounds of Selwyn School. The oak had to be felled for safety reasons.

The men run Naturally Narlly Furniture, specialising in big furniture, but nothing on the scale of this piece. They also have a concrete-cutting business, and were working at the school when the opportunity to get the wood came up. Chainsaws were put to work on the massive stump, and the result now sits outside their workshop in Sockburn.

"We carved it up because we didn't know what to do with it,"

Mr Rehu said.

"Someone said why not approach Peter Jackson (director of the Lord of the Rings). We sent him photos, and it's on file, so hopefully he can use it."

Mr Rehu said children found the chair amusing, often climbing up on it. Naturally Narlly also had plenty of smaller chairs around the place, the sort that might be suitable for elves, he said.

Xoanon here,

After a little digging I managed to get some news on Ethan and Uma (don't you always want to say Uthan and Ema? Maybe it's just this cold medication). I managed to speak with someone 'in the know' and this is what I was told.

'They are still in negotiations'

That's all I could squeeze out of the woman, I even showed her a sexy picture of Calisuri and she still wouldn't give me more. So all you Uma/Ethan fans, keep those fingers crossed.

Ready for our latest round of Live Chats at Barliman's? This weeks guest is none other that John Race, head designer of 'ORCS: Revenge of the Ancients'. Ask John (as well as some members of his team) your design, art, computer and gaming questions!

The chat will start at 9 pm et at Barliman's the best place for Tolkien chat on the web!

Xoanon,

well it looks like our favorite rumor has died once and for all. TheOnering.net placed a call with Sean Connery's agent in LA. After asking if Sean is still interested in a smaller role in LOTR:

'To be honest they never came back with any other offers'

And I asked if Sean was interested in pursuing any particular role:

'After he turned down the Gandalf thing it was dead'

So there you go.

Xoanon here,

You've all been asking me 'where's that article?' well I was being responsible and making sure I was allowed to post it up!

Here it is, enjoy!

Entertainment Weekly issue #(503) and cover date 9/17

RINGS Cycle

Tolkien fans hit the Web over Lord of the Rings movies-two years early

First of all, Frodo is the coolest, and Elijah Wood is the best-the best-to play him. Second, if Christopher Lee doesn't rule as Saruman, I will not see the movie. Third, they won't get any big actresses-the women's roles are too small. Eeeil Meej cen el Kate Winslet. That's Elvish for "I totally love Kate Winslet." Who won't be in the movie. Which kills me.

There's talk on the Internet, lots of talk, about the trio of live-action Lord of the Rings films, which director Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners) is filming back-to-back-to-back over the next 18 months for New Line Cinema. Now some facts: There are several hundred websites devoted to J.R.R. Tolkien's literary masterpieces. Already half a dozen Ring hubs are scuffling to be the top providers of scoop on the films. And in May, New Line launched its official www.lordoftherings.net -thought to be the earliest film-site debut ever-as the tip of a savvy online marketing plan for the movies.

The first of which won't be released until the end of 2001. The first of which won't even begin filming until October.

Why the big rush? As Gordon Paddison, director of interactive marketing for New Line, puts it: "Lord of the Rings is a slam dunk for the Net." Translation: It has the frenzied fan base of a Star Wars, the branding possibilities of an Austin Powers, and the mythological richness of a Blair Witch Project. All of which, it will be noted, were Internet marketing juggernauts.

And all of which New Line now plans to run Rings around. The studio is on an online mission to spread good news of Middle-earth to the masses, as well as getting the converted really Shired up. The main studio site(www.newline.com) offers a special edition of the trilogy, along with a note from Jackson explaining his vision for the films. Other tie-ins (Pippin Pops? Gollum Goggles?) are in the works. Eventually, goods from the movies themselves will hit New Line's Internet auction block: Prop masters have been instructed to save everything from random sketches to the One Ring itself. The official lordoftherings.net will soon become a nerve center for the films, featuring a customized, downloadable browser, production diaries, breaking video, chats, in-depth guides to Tolkien mythology, and-wise move-highlights from hot fan sites, which the studio acknowledges will be crucial to good buzz.

The question remains, of course, whether New Line can profitably exploit a fan base that has both contrarian arms and a whole lot of time to kill before the movie opens. In fact, the studio has already had to quell a July Internet uprising that began when fans gathered at the Rings-friendly Ain't It Cool News started howling like a pack of rabid hobbits over New Line's refusal to dish.

A little discord is to be expected. These are passionate folks, after all, with opinions and criticism-galore-of plot and casting choices. "There is a pro-and-con even split for almost every name being put out," says Mike De Luca, president of production for New Line. And those names are put out early: Although the studio has been playing coy, the Internet broke the news that Wood is Frodo, Sean Astin is Sam Gamgee, Ian Holm is Bilbo Baggins, and Ian McKellen is (who else?) Gandalf.

Most of the buzz can be tracked back to the fan sites. In Liverpool, Laurence Moss, webmaster for the unofficial Peter Jackson Online (welcome.to/pj-online), posted Holm's casting after "sources" e-mailed that they'd seen the actor in New Zealand, where filming is based. Michael Regina, webmaster for the Montreal-based site TheOneRing.net (theonering.net), has a section packed with spy reports, including Leonardo DiCaprio Rings rumors ("End of Middle-earth as we know it"). And Joram Manka, who heads the lavish Ringbearer.org (ringbearer.org) from North Prairie, Minn., has started an online petition to restore the mysterious, beloved character Tom Bombadil (think of him as the Rings' Boba Fett)-rumored to be scratched from the movie. Manka has 3,500 signatures so far, and upwards of 125,000 hits a week. Despite such potential trouble spots, New Line looks as though it might be able to play nice with fan sites. Director Jackson has already submitted to two Ain't It Cool Q&A's to soothe RTFs (Rabid Tolkien Fanatics) worried about the adaptation. And studio exec De Luca wrote AICN a mea culpa of sorts, offering his e-mail address for fans with questions. He now receives more than 150 queries a week-and fan sites are, so far, actually listening to his answers. As for the grousing and gossip, he's not concerned that the early buzz will turn ugly. "The Internet is all good. These people love the books so much they can't not go see the movie," he says.

Manka agrees. "I can see this as big as or bigger than Star Wars," he says. "I totally expect people dressed up as Gandalf at the premiere." Advice: Get your long wooden staff early, and avoid the 2001 rush.
-Gillian Flynn

Thanks to Gillian for letting us be part of the LOTR experience!

You may have heard a rumor about Aussie pop star/actress Kylie Minogue being tipped to play Galadriel? Unfortunatley it's untrue, TheOneRing.net placed a call to her Manager who 'has not recieved a call from anybody'.

I say unfortunatley because as soon as I saw this woman I thought 'wow, she'd be PERFECT!', Kylie is a relative unknown in North America, but in Asia, Europe and her native Australia she's the biggest thing around.

She has done quite a few films and is next to play 'Jess' in 'Sample People' and will have a roll in 'Cut' due out in 2000.

Xoanon here,

The dudes over at CHUD have written up another little essay on why LOTR will rock, and this time it's about you guys, the fans.

Here's another in my ongoing series of reasons Peter Jackson's take on THE LORD OF THE RINGS books will represent a big stride in fantasy filmmaking. Before I mentioned the value of having a director versatile enough to shoot ultraviolence as well as drama. Then I brought up the shot in the arm that fantasy films will get from this trilogy. Now I move on to the next...

For the rest of the article, click here

(Thanks to Brian from CHUD for the tip!)

Check out Anwyn's new counterpoint and other updates in the Green Books.

I get fan art daily and try to post it all the time. So keep checking the fan art section for the latest submissions.

Thanks to Jody Bower for this weeks poll! (check out the old polls here.)

Xoanon here,

News has reached me that 1 out of the 9 Dark Riders has been cast! I have a name, but I am yet to confirm, he is not an actor by any repute, and is a NZer. From my Spy 'Tama', she tells me he's a Fire Dancer and took Theatre Studies in NZ. More news to follow

Well, It's September 12 and filming begins in less than a month down in beautiful New Zealand. Over the past few weeks we've been given casting news whenever it comes to us (from the Gods above) but now it's time for you NZers to come into action.

This is a call to arms (or cameras or whaterver!). Do you know anything about the goings on down there? Are they using your best friends-uncles-cousins-sisters back yard to film something? Let us know!

Drop us a line here at xoanon@theonering.net, if you are consistent and give us some good stuff we'll give you access to post your own items in our Spy Reports.

This is, however, not me telling you to cut fences or break into buildings. Keep everything safe, clean and fun. And get those Spy Reports rolling in!

This is straight from 'The Sunday Mail' in the UK:

Sean's Bean cast as lord of the ring
By Chris Brandes

Sean Bean has landed a leading role in a new Hollywood epic based on Tolkien's best-selling adventure Lord of the Rings.

The 40-year-old actor, who played the hard-hitting soldier Sharpe in the ITV series, will star as the warrior Boromir in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first movie of the film trilogy.

Last night, a Hollywood insider said: "It's a fantastic role for Sean. The three movies are expected to be huge box office hits.

"It's quite a large role although the character will not be in the two sequels."

Sean - whose rogue secret service agent Alec Trevelyan battled Pierce Brosnan's James Bond in GoldenEye - will appear alongside other British stars including Sir Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee and Ian Holm.

The insider added: "Executives have been after Sean for quite some time. They're delighted he is finally on board for the project."

Sean's character Boromir is described as a "tall and handsome" lord - who joins the quest to destroy the evil Sauron.

He is initially tempted to possess the ring but redeems himself by saving his companions during battle.

Sean, last seen as real-life SAS man Andy McNab in a TV version of the book Bravo Two Zero, will start work on the movie in New Zealand next month.

(Thanks to Nona for the tip!)

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly (Backstreet Boys Cover) has a 2 page article on LOTR. This 2 page article is in a little booklet only issued for subscribers of EW, if you don't get this mag, go get it! Unfortunatley the article is not on newsstands, TheOnering.net is working on getting the article available online.

We know what Merry looks like, but do we know what he'll sound like? Tehanu gives us the goods on butter accents:

I did a long and boring trawl of the Net to find out anything I could on Dominic Monaghan, the Merry man.The best resource turned out to be the Hetty Wainthrop fan page, because Dominic stars in that show. It is a British TV series, and as far as I could gather Dominic is the teen sidekick to the redoubtable detective Hetty Wainthrop.There were lots of letters from teenage girls who reckon that Monaghan is the best young actor around, and they gush over how cute he is. I can't argue with the latter, he sure looks cute.One happy person in Stockport said that she was amazed to find that Monaghan came from that same area and went to school at St. Annes' RC school there.Stockport is near Manchester, so with any luck Merry will have a Northern accent you could butter your toast with.

Thanks! Tehanu

Our 3rd chat session was a success! Smeagol88, Head of Platus Productions turned out to be a great chatter and was very informative! As it turns out, we had a surprise visit by 'Wynn' head of graphic design at Platus.

After our last chat with Tom Mayo, we had an 'open mic' session, it turned out to be really fun! So we started off our latest chat with an open mic, It was very fun! We later moved to a more formal arrangement, to let smeagol88 breath a little!

check out the Chat here

Next weeks chat guest at Barliman's is already lined up! Continuing on our gaming theme next weeks chat will feature none other than John Race, Head Designer for Sierra's 'Orcs: Revenge of the Ancients'.

Sierra's game is considered the most 'advanced' of all games being made in co-ordination with the films. Check out our Gaming Havens review!

Missed yesterdays chat? Read it right here.

Want to know what LOTR is REALLY about? Just click over to 'Suite101'. There is a great article by Michael Martinez.

Martinez goes really far back and tells all! A must read for all. A great essay on 'The Rings of Power' and the book to movie crossover.

What Can We Expect From the Upcoming Movies?


Well, this is a topic that will come up again and again as P-day (Premier Day -- or maybe Peter Jackson Day) approaches. Let's put aside all the media hype right now and concentrate on the real hype: fannish expectations. There are three sets of fans involved in the process of hyping the movies and they are not always easy to distinguish from each other. There is so much agonizing going on, as well as celebration, that sometimes it's difficult to tell who is whomFirst there are the Tolkien fans. They seem to group themselves into the Fundamentalists and the Radicals. The Fundamentalists cry "No movies!" and the Radicals yell back "Jackson forever!" Well, okay, there's a third camp between these two extremes: the Wait-an-seers. They were at one time the majority but I'm not so sure a majority exists any more...

For the rest of the story, Click here

Thanks to Hobbs3 for the tip!

Xoanon here,
Michael Deluca the emailiac as I like to call him, has apparently mentioned that Sean Bean will indeed play Boromir. The news is on Cirdans LOTR page, hopefully more news to follow as I check up on this.

UPDATED!(10:40am ET)

TheOnering.net™ has just learned, through Sean Bean's agent that he HAS been cast as Boromir, this is official confirmation! TheOneRing.net™ just placed the call a few moments ago to the UK. :)

Xoanon here,

9/9/99 (Doomsday for some reason) at 9:30 pm et, we will be having our 3rd live chat over at Barliman's. These are great fun and always packed! This weeks guest is 'Smeagol88', Head of Platus Productions. Come on over and chat!

The photo's we posted a couple days ago of Orlando Bloom were in fact correct! AICN confirms this with a great image of the actor who will play Legolas. Check out more images on our Orlando Bloom cast page.