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July 29, 2006 - August 05, 2006

News for Aug. 05, 2006

Lord of the Rings MMORPG Online Video

8/05/06, 10:35 am EST - Xoanon

Turbine sends along a new Lord of the Rings Online video, showing four minutes of high def footage from their MMORPG. [More]

Liv Tyler Bumps into 'Strangers'

8/05/06, 10:29 am EST - Xoanon

djdeathskiss (via The Hollywood Reporter) sends this in: Liv Tyler has signed to star in Rogue Pictures' Strangers for writer-director Bryan Bertino, says The Hollywood Reporter. Mandate Pictures' Nathan Kahane and Vertigo Entertainment's Roy Lee and Doug Davison are producing. Strangers is a suspense thriller revolving around a couple in a remote suburban house who are targeted by three dangerous masked strangers. Tyler will play the female half of the couple. The male role is out to actors, as are the roles of the home invaders. Production will begin in the fall with an eye for an October, 2007 release.

VFX Specialists to Speak at Tate CGI Event

8/05/06, 10:26 am EST - Xoanon

Joe Letteri, visual effects supervisor on 'King Kong', will be among several high-profile guests speaking at The Tate Modern as part of a series of lectures on digital art taking place in September and October 2006. Hosted by Supernatural Studios and sponsored by Autodesk and Escape Studios, the lectures will examine the development of visual effects and computer animation over the last 20 years and explore their future potential. [More]

"Mr. Bliss" - Fan Animated Feature Film

8/05/06, 10:23 am EST - Xoanon

TheHutt writes: "Mr. Bliss", a children's story by J.R.R. Tolkien, has came to life in Russia. The uncommercial society "Tolkien Text Translation" has produced an animated film based on Tolkien's illustrated book. The animation was created from the original drawings by the Professor himself. [More]

News for Aug. 03, 2006

Pssst...it's Bilbo here. D'you wanna buy some Viagra?

8/03/06, 8:56 pm EST - Xoanon

Why is your inbox full of offers for pills? Our correspondent finds the answer in The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins tried to sell me some Viagra last week. It was a surprise: J. R. R.Tolkien never recorded hobbits’ pharmaceutical pleasures as extending any further than a pouch of tobacco, but there he was in my e-mail inbox alongside an offer for “CIjALIS, AMBjIEN, VALjIUM, VjIAGRA”. “When they had dried in the sun, which was now strong and warm, they were refreshed, if still sore and a little hungry,” one Mokosh Bauder wrote to inform me. “Soon they crossed the ford (carrying the hobbit), and then began to march through.” [More]

LOTR: BFMEII Article

8/03/06, 8:54 pm EST - Xoanon

Thanks to Flinch for the link! It’s impossible to divorce Middle-earth II from its controls, and the developer’s success in allowing players to select their forces, move them around the battlefields, manipulate the camera, and successfully manage the game’s structures in order to build an army is a crucial victory. The controls are complex enough to allow players to select individual units, all units on the game screen, and entire armies, but simple enough that novice players won’t need to memorize the combinations of trigger pulls and button presses in order to successfully wield their armies. [More]

Sean Astin Sued After Helicopter Crash Kills Photographer

8/03/06, 8:47 pm EST - Xoanon

DES MOINES, Iowa — The widow of a photographer killed in a helicopter crash while filming "The Final Season" is suing actor Sean Astin, the movie's producers and the pilot, among others. Kathryn Schlotzhauer alleges that the June 30 crash in eastern Iowa could have been avoided if producers and others involved in the film had scouted the area and noted the power lines that brought the helicopter down. [More]

Cameron Taps Weta Digital for Avatar

8/03/06, 8:43 pm EST - Xoanon

Academy Award® winner Joe Letteri and Weta Digital have signed on to create visual effects, creatures and digital environments for James Cameron's much-anticipated and innovative new motion picture, Avatar. "Weta has proven themselves a leader in visionary effects, especially in the area of performance capture based character animation, which is a big part of my new film," says writer/director James Cameron. Cameron continues "Along with their world-class capability comes a genuine passion to blaze new trails and to entertain a global audience with groundbreaking techniques. I'm really looking forward to the collaboration with Joe and his team." Academy Award® winning producer Jon Landau adds "Weta has an incredible depth of creative talent that has continually proven their ability to create technological innovations that allow filmmakers to tell stories which could not otherwise be told. They have the unique ability to seamlessly integrate these technologies into the movie in ways that the audience never questions the reality of the cinematic presentation. We look forward to pushing Joe and his team even further down the road of photorealistic visual effects." [More]

PRESS RELEASE: The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™ Reaches Alpha

8/03/06, 8:39 pm EST - Xoanon

WESTWOOD, MA – AUGUST 3, 2006 – Turbine, Inc. announced today that the highly-anticipated The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™ has entered the alpha phase of development. The first and only massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based on the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings Online™ will allow players to explore Middle-earth™, the most famous fantasy world of all time. The company also announced that over 125,000 fans have already signed up for the Beta Program. [More]

News for Aug. 02, 2006

Golden Joystick noms announced

8/02/06, 4:31 pm EST - Xoanon

The list of nominees for the 24th annual Golden Joystick Awards was released today, with Nintendo's DS continuing its impressive run. The awards ceremony will be held on October 27 in London's Park Lane Hilton Hotel. The winners will be decided by online voting, and all nominated games had to be released in the UK between August 1, 2005, and July 31, 2006.

EA's 'The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II' is nominated for PC Game of the Year in association with ebuyer.com. Click here to see the entire list of nominees. [More]

Emerald Rose & Brobdingnagian Bards Interview

8/02/06, 4:23 pm EST - Xoanon

Lynn writes: West of the Moon just posted 2 new interviews with LOTR-associated bands! CLM sat down with Emerald Rose and had a wonderful chat about their experiences in the LOTR fandom, their adventures at the Return of the One Party on Oscar night 2004, and their future as a band. This wonderfully in-depth interview can be found here.

CLM also chatted with the Brobdingnagian Bards, a Celtic and filk duo who have a Lord of the Rings album, and learned all about podcasts, hedgehogs, and The Bards Movie, starring Kermit Thee Frog. Go read all about it here.

Be sure to check out these great new interviews, and support these wonderful groups that help keep the LOTR fandom entertained!

Comic-Con 2006: King Kong Extended Edition

8/02/06, 4:19 pm EST - Xoanon

August 1, 2006 - On Friday, July 21, 2006, Universal Studios Home Entertainment offered a preview of the forthcoming King Kong (Deluxe Extended Edition) at the San Diego Comic-Con in southern California. The clip was introduced by none other than Peter Jackson himself, who spoke to fans via a pre-recorded message. Included below is a transcript of Jackson's comments: "Much as I would love to come over to California for the summer but unfortunately I've just got so many things to do out here that I can't do what I really want to be able to go shopping at Comic-Con one day - that's what I want to do, shopping, buying toys..." [More]

News for Aug. 01, 2006

Barbara Remington Interview

8/01/06, 5:01 pm EST - Xoanon

N Marion Hage writes: I write for Andwerve Literary Journal, a Los Angeles based publication. I'm an avowed Ring Nut and recently had the chance to interview Barbara Remington, who illustrated the first licensed version of The Hobbit and the three The Lord of the Rings books for Balentine. Barbara discusses the crazy atmosphere surrounding the Tolkien novels, how in haste to beat "Ace" to the punch, Balentine gave her the impossible task of illustrating a story she'd never seen, something they'd done once before when they asked her to illustrate The Hobbit. [More]

LOTR Online Update: Raids

8/01/06, 11:25 am EST - Xoanon

Ramen, Community Relations Specialist for The Lord of the Rings Online writes: We’ve just posted a new Developer Diary introducing the LOTRO Raid system! Content Designer Jared "Amlug" Hall-Dugas takes you on a conceptual tour of LOTRO's Raid system, including goals, design, and how raids fit into our overall game vision. Read about this highly anticipated system today, and make sure to sign up for beta for a chance to be among the first to test it! [More]

News for Jul. 31, 2006

ELF Talent Contest Winner Lyrics!

7/31/06, 8:59 pm EST - Xoanon

Anna, who won the talent contest at ELF 2006 on Saturday with her song "I Would Be A Wood Elf Myself" has emailed us with more information about her award winning tune. As she was walking around the convention on Sunday, several people said they'd be interested in a copy of the lyrics, so she put them on a website. Check out the link! [More]

Hallmark Ends LOTR Ornaments Series?!

7/31/06, 4:45 pm EST - Xoanon

Lisa writes: I was wondering if you knew that Hallmark has decided not to continue making ornaments for the Lord of the Rings. I was so excited a couple of years ago when they started and I now have Frodo and Gandalf hanging on my tree at Christmas time. I was looking forward to having Legolas or Aragorn this year, but they stopped making them! Went with Pirates instead. Do you think you could let people know and thousands of people around the world could e-mail them and request that they at least make the rest of the Fellowship?

Xoanon here, I assume they ended the run due to poor sales figures...maybe someone in the know can let us know more?

A Knight Out in LA Report

7/31/06, 4:41 pm EST - Xoanon

Sevilodorf sends along a very impressive report from Ian McKellen's recent staging of 'A Knight Out in LA' at the Freud Playhouse, UCLA: "It is sometimes said popular authors could publish shopping lists and make the best seller's list. However, there are few actors who could hold a theater full of sweltering people enthralled while reading the Roget's Thesaurus entry for ululate. Ian McKellen managed easily..." [More]

Let the Hobbit Happen! 34931 Total Signatures

7/31/06, 4:03 pm EST - Calisuri

The campaign to let 'The Hobbit' happen continues and if you haven't had a chance to sign the growing petition, join the 34931 signatures to date. It is only a matter of time folks!! [Hobbit Petition]

DVD Tuesday: V, Alice in Wonderland, Curb Your Enthusiasm & More!

7/31/06, 12:38 pm EST - Xoanon

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Check out 'V for Vendetta: Two-Disc Special Edition' with our very own Hugo Weaving. Star Trek Fans voted online for their favorite Klingon episodes form the Star Trek television series, the result is 'Star Trek Fan Collective - Klingon' & 'Good Night and Good Luck' in HD DVD. [More]

News for Jul. 30, 2006

Gook knight: Sir Ian McKellen at the Freud Playhouse

7/30/06, 7:46 pm EST - Xoanon

What were Gandalf from "The Lord of the Rings," Holy Grail scholar Sir Leigh Teabing of "The Da Vinci Code" and Magneto from the "X-Men" series doing at the Freud Playhouse at UCLA last Sunday night? They were all being portrayed on stage by Sir Ian McKellen, the knighted award-winning actor who played them on the screen, at a benefit performance of his updated one-man show, "A Knight Out in L.A." McKellen gave renditions of his other cinematic roles and also read from the Bible, Shakespeare, Roget's Thesaurus (yes, Roget's Thesaurus) and a new work by Armistead Maupin. [More]

News for Jul. 29, 2006

ELF 2006: Friday Images & Report

7/29/06, 12:47 pm EST - Xoanon

ELF 2006 Images The ever busy Ringer Spy Garfeimao sends along this report and images from our ELF convention in New Jersey this weekend! 'The show opened with Daniel Reeve demonstrating some new Middle Earth fonts he will soon be releasing, and him showing everyone some of the letters and maps and things he created for the films. Michael Drout came on afterward and started his lecture by reciting the opening lines to Beowulf, in Anglo-Saxon, no less...' [More]

Comic Con 2006 Images

7/29/06, 12:21 pm EST - Xoanon

Comic-Con 2006 Images Ringer Spy Garfeimao sends along these images from San Diego Comic Con 2006. She was one of the lucky ones to attend! Take a look at the Lost 'Charlie' figure and some great new figures and busts from Sideshow! [More]

The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king Announced

7/29/06, 12:03 pm EST - Xoanon

Electronic Arts officially announced today that they will continue to expand The Lord of the Rings universe with The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king. As the expansion pack to the fan favorite, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, this Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game will enhance every existing feature and offer players the chance to command the rise of evil in Middle-earth while experiencing the epic battles that took place before those depicted in the New Line Cinema films. Full of exciting content, including an entirely new faction, completely new single player campaign, and additional units for all six existing factions, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king, allows players to explore the evil side of Middle-earth. The all new single player campaign's innovative units will help to tell the story of the evil Witch-king's rise to power, domination of Angmar and invasion of the great kingdom of Arnor, home to Aragorn's ancestors. To fully experience the evil side of Middle-earth, gamers can now play as the Angmar faction in skirmish, multiplayer, and War of the Ring modes. [More]

LOTR Online Update: Shades

7/29/06, 12:01 pm EST - Xoanon

Ramen, Community Relations Specialist for The Lord of the Rings Online writes: Today we present a new addition to LOTRO’s Creature menagerie: Shades, cursed spirits akin to those encountered on the Paths of the Dead. There is much to be discovered exploring the lands in LOTRO, but beware the cursed spirits that dwell in the dark places of Middle-earth. [More]

Limited Edition LOTR DVDs Pre-Order

7/29/06, 11:55 am EST - Xoanon

Earl writes: The 2-disc Limited Edition DVDs are up for pre-order on Amazon. Though the price shown is $28.98 each, Amazon is offering a 12% discount; so that makes it $16.98 each.

Pre-Order on Amazon.com
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King


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