NEW YORK (Variety) - The 2001 holidays will be a heady times for Toy Biz, the toy division of Marvel Enterprises. [More]

Well it's never going to be any easier: Scoop newsagency reported today that the Government here plans to double the number of visas granted to young people wanting a working holiday here.

So, getting here and staying here is only the first step, but it's the kinda crucial one. And you could find worse ways to spend a few months if you're not committed to being anywhere else for a while.

Don't email me about it, contact your nearest NZ consulate.

"We got in touch with the legal department four hours before the deadline was to fall on this thing," said LOTR producer Osborne. By then about 15 bids had been put in.

"No weapon or armour used in the making of the trilogy had been given away, sold or lost," said Osborne. "Even though we have thousands, we have them thoroughly inventoried." He went on to say that no armour or swords were being sold currently, and if they did change their minds and decide to sell some after the production was over, it would only be a few pieces. "The original pieces that were made are works of art. They're beautiful."

If you happen to stick around www.mckellen.com long enough, you will be richly rewarded! Sir Ian McKellen has 5 or so audio clips playing on his front page, one of which is Gandalf!

Go to www.McKellen.com, pump up that volume, and wait...and you will hear the immortal words, "One Ring to rule them all..."

From: Belinda

Check out the front page of the Wairarapa Times-Age newspaper. And a friend of mone confirms it, saying he saw several large trucks, camera equipment etc at the Clareville Grandstand on Sunday. With the weather forecast this week, they may be spending most of their time inside! [More]

Marquette got a steal on Tolkien trove

From the Journal Sentinel

A little bit of The Shire is located in Milwaukee.

Marquette University's world-renowned J.R.R. Tolkien Collection contains the original working papers for two of his greatest works, "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," many in the author's own hand. [More]

Hobbit forming

Tolkien continues to set his readers' imaginations to work

By Jackie Loohauis of the Journal Sentinel staff

British author J.R.R. Tolkien once revealed: "I am a Hobbit."

It's turning out that many of the rest of us are, too.

Hobbits are, of course, the 3-foot tall, curly-topped, furry-toed humanoids who take starring roles in Tolkien's legendary literary epic, "The Lord of the Rings." Anyone who has not yet seen a Hobbit - or a Wizard or an Orc or a High-Elven King - should get his broadsword or her shieldmaid spear ready. From distant lands come rumblings that the inhabitants of Middle-earth are about to invade our world once again. [More]

Thanks to C. Bracegirdle for the tip!

Todays 'Sunday Star Times' a nationwide Sunday newspaper had a small piece on a local actress Robyn Malcolm.

It was mentioned that she had just started a small role in LOTR playing 'a female village elder'. She said her first scene was with Liv Tyler (Arwen).

The character wasn't named, but you might be able to make a educated guess.

Robyn is another of the former Shortland St actors, she had a long running part in the soap as the chief nurse.

"Peter is very enthusiastic about this project and is a very big fan of Lord of the Rings, and is extremely knowledgeable and has been steeped in the project for the last 4 years and really has command of every nuance of the book and is capturing it on film, which is very true to form. And yet he has a great way with actors so that he manages to capture a performance that is really unique. He is a great collaborator to work with, which also makes it rewarding for all key people on the set, and probably for everybody because everybody feels comfortable that they can come up and make a suggestion or comment and know that they can do so without being attacked or be subject to the directorial prerogative, and Peter will filter through those things and use what's good, and wither out what's not."

One of English history's most beloved fantasies, The Lord of the Rings, has been made into stage plays, radio dramas, and even opera! This weekend we'll talk in depth about those productions, looking for your favorites or the ones you love to hate.

Have you heard the BBC radio adaptation of LotR? In my opinion it is excellent. But then again I also enjoy the Bakshi LotR and Rankin-Bass' Hobbit. I also feel that Gollum is a character done very well in each of the productions I've heard or seen. What do you think??!!

Bring your expereriences and opinions to share with us this Saturday, June 10, at 5:30 EDT [-5 hours GMT], at the Hall of Fire.

Marvel Wins Toy License For Lord Of The Rings

In what could be a big boost for financially recuperating Marvel Enterprises, its Toy Biz unit has been awarded the master toy license for New Line's upcoming Lord of the Rings films, the Wall Street Journal reported today (Friday).

Click here to view some work by Toy Biz [More]

Calls have been placed to the folks at 'Toy Biz' and all I could confirm is this:

- The deal was just signed this week
- There are no release plans as yet
- The first we may see of any LOTR toys will be in the Toy Fair in February

The exclusive online preview of New Line Cinema's trilogy The Lord of the Rings [lordoftherings.net] registered 1.7 million downloads during the first 24 hours of its release; that's 700,000 more than the trailer for Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace, the previous record holder. The series' first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, starring Liv Tyler and Elijah Wood, is set for a Christmas 2001 release....

Thanks to C.E.R. for the tip!

You can see Elijah Wood (Frodo) in 'The Faculty' on TMN. [More]

You can see Miranda Otto (Eowyn) in 'The Thin Red Line' on TMN. [More]

You can see John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) in 'Canvas' on TMN. [More]

Christopher Lee (Saruman) was a guest on TV Guide Channel's "Insider". The majority of the conversation was about his upcoming BBC movie "Gormenghast". There was brief mention of the Lord of the Rings movie. Check out www.tvguide.com/channel for a video clip. I assume that it is the same clip that was broadcast on the TV Guide Channel. For those who don't have/know what TV Guide Channel is, it is basically a screen divided in half, with the bottom a continous scroll of what is currently on all the cable channels and the top is used for advertisements and TV Guide's featurettes like "Insider".

Click here for the clip (RealPlayer is needed). Note: The clip was not working for me, maybe you'll have better luck :)

Today, June 7, is Karl Urban's (Eomer) Birthday. Karl was born on June the 7th, 1972, in Wellington, New Zealand. That makes him 28 today! Happy Birthday Karl!

Click the image to enlarge

July's Issue of InQuest Gamer has an article on the new blockbuster films you can't miss. They have a section on Lord of the Rings which has pictures from the online footage, and even gives a few spoilers such as information about Peter Jackson, and saying, "He's being as true to the books as film will allow, though the end of 'The Fellowship of the Ring' film reportedly climaxes with the events from the beginning of the trilogy's second book, Boromir's battle with the orcs."

We arrived in Wellington's small Civic Square on a very grey and cold winter's afternoon. There were only about twenty or so people around and a suspiciously jazzy looking band was setting up to entertain us and keep us from scuttling away to our warm holes... [more]