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Sean Astin is doing a book signing and discussion for his book "There and Back Again : An Actor's Tale" today (October 16th) at the Boston Museum of Science. [mos.org]

For a full list of Sean's upcoming tour dates and locations, click here!

Five minutes after arriving in Boston, Sean Astin - ``Sam'' in the blockbuster ``Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy - launches a quest. He wants a bite to eat. Merrily ditching his handlers, Astin, 33, strolls down Land Boulevard, finds a restaurant and sweet-talks the staff into making a pre-lunchtime snack. The upbeat actor is decidedly more svelte than the onscreen hobbit, but Astin's wool sweater, sturdy shoes and jaunty cap could have been tailored in the Shire. [More]

Oct 15 (Los Angeles)------- 8X Entertainment, the Hollywood-based production company which produced the 1999 hit film, “The Omega Code,” has begun a three week film shoot in northwestern India. The historical epic, “One Night With the King,” is based on the best selling novel, “Hadassah: One Night With The King” by author Tommy Tenney. The “One Night With The King” cast includes such notable talent as John Rhys-Davies as Mordecai and John Noble as Prince Admantha. Both actors starred in the blockbuster trilogy “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Two Towers,” and “Return of the King.” [More]

Roheryn writes: The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly features a rundown of who the most powerful people are in the entertainment industry today. "Movie Creatives" lead the pack, and Peter Jackson is listed very high, second only to the "passion"-ate Mel Gibson. [More]

Asphodel the PR Hobbit writes: A small farm southeast of Columbus Ohio was recently transformed into the Party Field to celebrate Bilbo Baggins’ birthday. The Ohio Ring Council fan club’s version of the Long Expected Party, held Sept. 18th, drew over 75 revelers from throughout the Shire and as far away as Ontario, and West Virginia. [More]

In other news of interest to fantasy fans, Sci-Fi.com's website has some trailers for the mini-series they're making based on Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books. [More] Looking very good, though it's hard to tell much in a few seconds with the usual spiel about magic and good and evil courtesy of Hollywood's "Mr Voice."

Sam Loves Rosie, a friendship and matchmaking site for Middle-earth fans, celebrates its first year of operation. It sounds like it's been a real success story. [More]

The Official Lord of the Rings website (http://www.lordoftherings.net) has updated with an amazing snippet of clips from The Return of the King Extended Edition. Included in the clips are a few 'surprises!' !!!SPOILERS!!! [Click Here]

LOCATION UPDATE
A lot of fans have written in to say they cannot find the clips. If you follow the link above, you will be taken directly to the homepage of LordoftheRings.net. This page is heavily ladden with flash content. In the lower set of four graphics, you will see one on the extreme left titled 'New Video!' Click on that image and a window will pop-up with the clips. Hope that helps!

BIG VIDEO UPDATE
Our good buddy Adam K did a little scrounging around and found a link to a high-res version of the video! Check it out! [Click Here]

Kelly writes: It was announced that David Wenham will play an upper class Anglo-Australian landowner in Nick Cave's epic-scale period drama, The Proposition. It appears shooting has started. [More]

Dominic Monaghan will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live LATE tonight on ABC. He is there to promote his new hit TV show 'Lost' (which I highly recommend -Xo). Jimmy Kimmel Live airs at 12:06AM on the east coast. [JKL Home Page]

Garfeimao writes: Check out the notice on the Project Monaghan website listed below. They have a nice poster for "Lost", Dominic's new, highly entertaining series up for auction. The moneies raised in this, and other auctions, will be donated to Tree People, a local Los Angeles group that plants trees in urban settings. This poster is signed by several in the cast and crew of "Lost", so follow the link and bid on the auction. [More]

Abby writes: The LOTR Exhibit at the Powerhouse museum in Sydney is now open for ticket purchases, plus they've added in the opening date for the exhibit. [More]

Ashby & PippinSkywalker send along reports from Sean Astin's book signing session in Huntington, NY last night. [More]
Be sure to watch this space for Thorongil's exclusive interview with Sean where he talks about his book, fandom, and possibly coming to ORC!

Isembard Took sends along this radio interview with Sean from MIX 107.3 FM. [Right Click and select 'Save As']

Theoden writes: On Good Day Live this morning they had Dominic Monaghan promoting 'Lost' on Fox, and they ended the interview with a brand new clip from the Extended Edition of the Return of the King. It was a clip between (highlight to read!)Theoden and Merry, the latter offering his sword to the King, and Theoden gladly accepting his services.
Click here to download the video, thanks to the folks at dominic-monaghan.us! (.wmv format, you will need an unzipping utility to view it) [Clip]

"The treasure is likely to be your death, though the dragon is no more!" With these words Roäc, the old raven, predicts grim times for Thorin and Company. Although Dain and the dwarves of the Iron Hills will soon arrive to aid their kin, they can hardly outnumber the host of men and elves now besieging the Lonely Mountain. With winter is coming on all begins to seem hopeless. [More]

Sean Astin is doing a book signing and discussion for his book "There and Back Again : An Actor's Tale" today (October 14th) at 8PM at Book Revue in Huntington, Long Island. [Bookreview.com]

For a full list of Sean's upcoming tour dates and locations, click here!

Check out Smeagirl/Girllum's report from the Union Square Barnes & Noble event in Manhattan yesterday! [More]

Warren sent along this link and I found it interesting. A group of 3D artists are trying to create a complete 3D version of Minas Tirith from the films. They work on a volunteer basis, and are looking for more folks to join in. Sounds like fun! [More]

Continuing his Book Promo Tour, Sean Astin will be on ABC's 'The View' tomorrow (October 14th). Check your local listings. [More]

Colleen writes: Sean Astin was on the Fox News Channel today. He laughed when his family was refered to as "hollywood royalty" and thought that only applied to people Princess Grace and her ilk. [More]

Here's the first thing anyone should understand about "Lost," ABC's high-profile new adventure drama: It's not really about a hungry monster chasing a bunch of plane crash survivors around a remote desert island. [More]

Royal Selangor Sculptor Greame Anthony in Montreal

Martin writes: Graeme Anthony (Australian LOTR pewter artist) is touring Ontario in November. The only date I know is November 2 in Waterloo, Ontario at Household China and Gifts. The address is 300 King St. North. He will be there from 11am till 2pm, signing pieces bought for the event. [More]

JB The bfi London IMAX Cinema will be screening all 3 theatrical versions back to back over night on Friday 19th Nov .Sat 20th and the following weekend on Fri 26th & 27th. They are calling it "Spend a night in Middle Earth". Although the films will only be in 35mm and will not be in IMAX format on the screen, when I saw the double bill there last year the sound system was amazing. [More]

Sean Astin is doing a book signing and discussion for his book "There and Back Again : An Actor's Tale" today (October 13th) at 7PM at the Union Square Barnes and Noble in New York. [Directions]

For a full list of Sean's upcoming tour dates and locations, click here!

SAN DIEGO, CA – October 12, 2004 – Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online (MMO) gaming, today announced that lengendary British actor Christopher Lee and Hollywood star Heather Graham have been cast to lend distinct character and voice to the two main characters of EverQuest II. Mr. Lee and Ms. Graham bring their high-profile acting talents to this revolutionary project which encompasses more than 130 hours of spoken dialog, the equivalent of more than 65 feature films worth of content. [More]

canadanthony writes: The University of Toronto is hosting a FREE one hour lecture on "The Christian Imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien" on Saturday, October 16, at 10 AM. You have to register to attend the lecture, and you may have to be an alumnus of U of T. It will be presented by the Reverend Guy Trudel at St. Michael's College. [More]

Iconic British actor Christopher Lee was recently the subject of a special tribute at the British Film Festival in Dinard, Brittany. In a career that has lasted nearly 60 years, the 82-year-old actor has made more than 200 films and specialised in a long line of memorable villains, from Dracula to Scaramanga and The Lord of the Rings' Saruman. [More]

Jonathan There is a 'Rings' DVD Exclusive plus some clips from Viggo Mortensen's photo portfolio in the November 2004 issue of Premiere magazine. I bought the magazine the moment I saw it at Barnes & Noble, and I am pleased to say it is a great piece (it even includes a handwritten note by Viggo, along with some of his great photography) and definitely worth looking at. There are also memorable blurbs from the cast and a preview of the ROTK:EE coming out in December. It was a generous tribute by Premiere.

Bad news for those planning on attending Ring*Con 2004 in Bonn, Germany this year: due to filming commitments John Noble had to cancel his appearance. John will be filming in India for a new movie called 'One Night With the King' in which he'll play a character called Prince Admantha. In the meantime; head over to Ring*Con.de for the full program (including John's panels which will be filled by hopefully a yet to be announced guest) and more! Don't miss out on what promises to be another great weekend! [Ring*Con.de]

Ian Berriman from SFX Magazine writes: I thought your readers might be interested to know that the next issue of SFX (in shops on on Wed 27 October) includes an interview with John Noble (aka Denethor). If you visit our site you can find a detailed breakdown of the contents of the issue. [More]

TORN ANNOUNCES THE GRAND OPENING OF "THEONELION.NET"!

Since late June, a new set of yellow "location pointers" have appeared on major intersections in West Auckland, New Zealand. It's a sure sign that filming is in progress somewhere not too far away, and every morning cast and crew for the project will be homing into that location from wherever they live. These particular pointers are marked "LPP" for "Lamp Post Productions." If you've ever read The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe, you might remember a particular lamp-post which is in Narnia. Sure enough, filming for The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe is in full swing and hundreds of people are converging on this very ordinary corner of the world to create another world which is much more enchanting. [www.theonelion.net]

The television network behind hit comedy shows Friends and Seinfeld has signed two Wellington comedians to develop their own show for American audiences. In what is believed to be a first for Kiwi comedians, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement have been snapped up by NBC after an executive saw them as Flight of the Conchords at the Montreal Comedy Festival in July. [More]

Carpe_Gimli sends along this article about the honorable Sir Ian McKellen on the possibility of "The Hobbit" and his new role in "Neverwas." (Watch out for the typos- "Galdalf" *cringes*) [More]

Computer Graphics (CGI) whiz Eric Leven is returning to Penn State, his alma mater, tonight to give students insight into the world of visual effects. Leven graduated from Penn State with a film and video degree in 1994. A chance phone call in Los Angeles led him to Tippet Studios -- the studio that won an academy award for Jurrasic Park. [More]

Peter "The Hutt" writes: The EE of the "Return of the King" is not out yet - however, theeaster egg for this upcoming DVD release has already been revealed. It has been made possible by British laws, which force all video andaudio materials to be submitted for rating by the British Board ofFilm Classification (BBFC). !!! EE SPOILERS !!! [More]

Folks from The EDGE Art Gallery write: We're very excited to let you know about our current plans for the upcoming "Lord Of The Rings" Movie Marathon Celebration of all three extended DVD versions of "THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING," "THE TWO TOWERS," and "THE RETURN OF THE KING" on Saturday, December 18. [More]

Bumpy writes: Not all Symphonies are created equal! The (July) Houston Symphony was flawless in my opinion. Sissel was the soprano soloist and I thought she was wonderful. She nailed all the high notes and I didn't notice if they weren't EXACTLY like the movie - they felt like they were to me. The children's chorus was great in Houston. [More]

From the 'Too Funny to Miss' files comes the independent film 'Fellowship 9/11.' This short spoof is a searing examination of the Aragorn administration's actions in the wake of the tragic events at Helms Deep. [Click Here]

Nora, Patty & Andrea send along great reviews and images from the LOTR Q&A session with Howard Shore! [More]

Isilnáriën writes: As wonderful as living in Hawaii is, we are often left out of the mainstream of events. But things are looking up! We have, at least for the moment, our own resident Hobbit (Dominic Monaghan), although sightings of said Hobbit are rare (I suspect he may be "lost"....or off surfing somewhere). And now with the Hawaii International Film Festival getting ready to kick off, we will be treated to a visit by David Wenham. He will be on the panel of judges and will be giving a seminar on acting. There will also be a showing of another film he is in called "Getting Square". [More]

Kris writes: Lawrence Makoare was a special guest star at the Belgian FACTS convention in Ghent (Belgium). He reported that he would get the chance to see the EE of ROTK as soon as next week and that it would contain extra scenes with (highlight to read!) Gothmogh and the Witch King, among which the confrontation with Gandalf in Minas Tirith! Lawrence also mentioned the ORC event to me!

Jagged Edge Films announces the DVD Release of An Insomniac's Nightmare starring Dominic Monaghan. The official release for this DVD is December 1, 2004, but a special pre-order period has been launched between now and that time. Should it become available before the official date, those that pre-order may receive theirs even before the December 1st release. [More]

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle-earth's Game Design Director Dustin Browder talks about the games POWERS in this edition of Inside the Battle. (Quicktime Needed) [More] [Gaming Havens]