Peter Jackson will take time out from filming King Kong and suing Hollywood studio New Line Cinema to speak about his Lord of the Rings movies in Sydney next week. Jackson will speak for two hours at the Powerhouse Museum in the Australian city on March 12. The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy – The Exhibition, developed with Te Papa, has been on show there for several months, attracting 128,000 visitors. Tickets for An Evening with Peter Jackson are $A65 ($NZ70). [More]

Turgon writes: The schedule for the Oxford Literary Festival, which runs from Sunday April 10th through Sunday April 17th in Oxford, has been posted on their website. Tolkien fans might be interested in a few events, one by Green Books contributor Olog-Hai (Henry Gee), another on Tolkien's biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, who passed away earlier this year. [More]

Celticwench sends along this link to archive video of the Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger lecture at the Powerhouse Museum in Australia. [More]

Blackbird writes: Please pass along some info about Unsung Heroes of The Lord of the Rings: From the Page to the Screen, by Lynnette R. Porter. It'll be published in late March by Greenwoord Press/Praeger. This is the book for anyone who's a fan of Merry, Pippin, Eowyn, Galadriel, Arwen, Legolas, or Gimli. They're the "unsung heroes" discussed in great detail, in both Tolkien's work and Peter Jackson's adaptation. The book also describes fandom's role in LotR's continuing popularity, as well as the need for Tolkien's heroic characters in a modern world. The book presents an in-depth look at some of our favorite characters who often are not featured in other critical works. [More]

From the Sunday Star Times: Film Director Peter Jackson wants a jury to decide whether The Lord of the Rings distributor New Line Cinema "wilfully, wantonly and maliciously" cheated him out of profits. Jackson's production company, Wingnut Films, is suing New Line and its subsidiary Katja Motion Pictures, for allegedly failing to account for profits from the first film in the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. A film industry expert believes the claim could run to tens of millions of dollars, with any outcome being used to settle claims for the two other Rings movies. [More]

anonymous writes: Charles Ross will be in Vancouver, at the University of British Columbia to do his 'One Man Star Wars & Lord of the Rings'. Both shows will be at 7pm, on the campus of UBC. From the UBC website: Charles Ross brings his one-man show to the Norm Theatre for two exclusive nights. Tickets: $7/students and $10/general for each performance. Click here for more details. [More]

Jess writes: Hello hello! I’ve already told you guys about The Hobbit news from the Sydney Weta Workshop Lecture on Sunday February 27th, and I thought you’d like to hear about the rest of the lecture. Forgive the length, but there is much to tell! After an introduction from Powerhouse Museum staffer and LotR exhibition curator Kerrie Dougherty (fully decked out in Elvish garb), Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger, enjoying a sneaky weekend away from the King Kong set, walked onto the stage amid tumultuous applause from the few hundred Lord of the Rings fans gathered in the Coles Theatre. [More]

Ian McKellen has updated his 'LOTR E-Post' section of his website. Take a look! [More]

KongisKing.net Chatter Dave sends along word that Peter Jackson's Miramar Studios had to be evacuated yesterday (Friday) due to a patrol (gas) leak. There are massive tanks that store Wellingtons fuel and one of them started to leak. 6 fire engines were spotted, it appears no one was hurt. I have tried to locate news on the subject, it seems not to have registered on the radar.

Scientists studying the fossilised skull of the "Hobbit Man" (Homo Floriensis) have found evidence that its brain was more complex than its small size would suggest. [More] More evidence that real hobbits were at least possible! Thanks to Matt for the link.

starexplorer writes: Thought you might be interested in this piece from LiveScience.com, they are running a poll on the 'Wildest Dragons of All Time'. 'Tolkien's Fell Beasts' and 'The Dragons of Middle Earth' (including Smaug and Glaurung) are part of the vote! [More]

We are thrilled today to announce the opening of registration for the eagerly awaited 2006 ONE RING CELEBRATION! In 2005 theonering.net and Creation Entertainment teamed up to present a weekend of wonder that became the most successful genre fan convention launch in history! Thousands of fans from around the globe helped make history as they celebrated with world famous guests and took part in panels, lectures, demonstrations, art and film shows, auctions, contests, costuming events, autographing and photo sessions, and most importantly PARTIES! [More]

Click here to reserve your tickets now!

The folks from Billy's Loons Charities write: We are auctioning off an original designed t-shirt commemorating the movie, Ringers: Lord of the Fans that had it's sold-out World Premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on January 21, 2005. The Filmmakers of Ringers, including Cliff "Quickbeam" Broadway, and Carlene Cordova, graciously signed the shirt and donated it to Billy's Loons Charities to auction. All of the proceeds from this auction will be donated to the Tsunami Relief Effort. [More]

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are in negotiations to team up for "Babel," a drama that Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is directing. Anonymous Content's Steve Golin and John Kilik are producing the project, which Paramount Pictures is the final stages of acquiring. The drama will reteam Inarritu with screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. [More]

Isometric Projections will screen The Lord of the Rings trilogy at the Ontario Place Cinesphere IMAX Theatre in downtown Toronto next month. One Marathon showing of all three movies is planned, as well as, individual screenings of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. [More]

Last night, I along with about 1200 others, attended the Sean Astin Lecture at Bucknell University. After a very informative introduction by Amanda Forsburg, chair of the Student Lectureship Committee Sean, entered the stage of the beautiful Weis Center Theater. It was packed! [More]

NEW YORK - Having written a symphony, Howard Shore — the prolific composer whose music spans from Middle-earth to Howard Hughes' Hollywood days — is now looking to opera. He's working on an opera version of David Cronenberg's horror film "The Fly" for a 2007 premiere by Los Angeles Opera, a collaboration with Cronenberg and librettist David Henry Wong of "M. Butterfly" fame. [More]

LEWISBURG -- A long standing debate has been whether art imitates life or life imitates art. For Sean Astin, some of the roles he's played have defined who he is in real life. [More]

Even though many of his papers and Middle-earth tales were published posthumously, JRR Tolkien wrote prolifically throughout his life. Nevertheless, there remain huge gaps in many of his stories.

So this weekend we're going to ask ourselves: 'If you could commission Tolkien to write more on one thing, what would it have been and why?' [More]

Dominic Monaghan's new hit show 'Lost' continues to get better with each episode. Catch 'Lost' tonight at 8PM EST on ABC. TORN's chatroom now has a special 'Lost' screening room, login to #lost at 8PM and watch with fans from around the country! [ABC.com] [TORN Chat]

Last Sunday I was interviewed by the folks at Sithclan.net, my friends Dany and Seb run an internet radio show called Star Wars En Direct. The topic of the evening was big studios versus fan run sites. Click on the following links for my portion of the interview, where I talk about our involvement with New Line Cinema and Universal. Be sure to download the whole 4 hour show at swendirect.com it is really worth the listen! [MP3 File (21MB)] [WAV File (58MB)] [swendirect.com]

Good Morning America has been airing specials on LOST every morning. They announced another segment on the men of LOST airing on Wednesday (March 2nd) morning. It could be they focus on the ladies on Thursday, but that was not announced. [GMA on ABC]

After taking hiatus to finish More People’s Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien and various real-life intrusions, Green Books is coming back up to speed with a new Anwyn’s Counterpoint—the next installment in the “Anwyn vs. Bill” series. Watch purist Anwyn square off with movie buff Bill, and look for NEW Q&A and MOON LETTERS very soon! [More]

While Cate Blanchett was celebrating at the Academy Awards, one filmmaker was almost as delighted in a Sydney post-production suite. Director Rowan Woods has been editing the Australian film Little Fish, which stars the Oscar winner alongside Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving, Martin Henderson, Noni Hazlehurst and Lisa McCune. With much of her time taken up of late with the play Hedda Gabler and the birth of her second son, it is Blanchett's only film yet to be released. [More]

FilmForce has posted some photos of Viggo Mortensen's latest film 'A History of Violence'. The thriller tells the story of a small town restaurant owner, Tom Stall (Mortensen), whose life is turned upside down by a considerable amount of unwanted media attention after he prevents an attempted robbery, and in self defense kills his attacker. The ensuing national television coverage draws the attention of mobsters who believe he is someone else. [More]

Spotted in The Hollywood Reporter apparently directly from AP: The Associated Press says that director Peter Jackson’s production company, Wingnut Films, has sued New Line Cinema over profits from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. [More]

Miranda Otto's 'Flight of the Phoenix' is out today on DVD. Follow this link for a review and purchase options from Amazon.com [More]

LEWISBURG -- Actor Sean Astin will give the talk, "There and Back Again; An Actor's Tale," at 8 p.m. tonight (March 1), in the Weis Center at Bucknell University. The talk, which is free to the public, is sponsored by the Bucknell Student Lectureship Committee. [More]

Bill Amend's latest Foxtrot collection 'Orlando Bloom Has Ruined Everything' has been released today. The title lets us believe a majority of his LOTR related comics are included in this collection. [More]

UPDATE: The release date for this book has been pushed back, despite the news on Amazon.com, however you are still free to pre-order this book.

Turgon writes: A new book is out: TOLKIEN ON FILM: ESSAYS ON PETER JACKSON'S THE LORD OF THE RINGS, edited by Janet Brennan Croft, and published by The Mythopoeic Press. Order it here ($19.95). It's quite a hefty volume, and many of the essays look highly interesting. [More]

Order 'TOLKIEN ON FILM: ESSAYS ON PETER JACKSON'S THE LORD OF THE RINGS' on Amazon.com Today

Alex Bellos discovers why the football movie is suddenly this year's hot ticket. It may be the beautiful game, but until now football has proved to be resolutely uncinematic. Though sports such as baseball, horse racing and American football have all inspired classic movies, soccer has wallowed conspicuously in Hollywood's second division. [More]

LOS ANGELES - "Million Dollar Baby?" Old news. Jamie Foxx? Ancient history. It's time to set odds on which films will dominate next year's Academy Awards, based on what's visible in Hollywood's ever-changeable lineup for 2005. Granted, no one's seen these movies, and some haven't even started shooting, so who knows which might have that touch of Oscar gold, or which won't manage to be ready in time to qualify? [More]

Jess writes: Hey guys, just sharing a tasty morsel from the Weta Workshop lecture in Sydney on Sunday, concerning The Hobbit movie. During the Q & A session, someone asked Richard Taylor if all the props and such were stored away somewhere in case of a possible Hobbit movie. Richard answered that yes, everytihng is lovingly stored away and that being a part of The Hobbit would be an absolute dream come true for he and Tania. He went on to say that unfortunatley the film rights and such are an extemely complicated business, with everyone form the The Saul Zaentz company to Sony woven up in the intricate tapestry.

Finally! After weeks of preparation - we have posted our ORC Satisfaction Survey for the One Ring Celebration that took place Jan 14th-16th 2005. If attended this event, please give us your feedback and take a moment to fill out this survey. Please allow at least 10 minutes to fill out this survey. [Click Here]

Ringers who are familiar with and are absolutely looney about Monty Python should definitely check this out. Hstaphath has, throughout the last few years, been adapting the movies in a Monthy Python-way guaranteed to make you giggle and snort. After a while of gathering them on message boards he has finally found a place to host them. Monthy Python: The Return of the King can be found here alongside Monthy Python: The Fellowship of the Ring and Monthy Python: The Two Towers!

David Wenham is currently starring in the Melbourne Theatre Company's production of 'Cyrano de Bergrac'. The first reviews of the play are appearing and they are all positive, be sure to read some of them if you are thinking about attending! [The Australian][The Age no.1][The Age no.2] Free registration is required for 'The Age' and kudos to the folks who sent these in!

Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom were in attendance last night at the 77th Academy Awards. Take a look at various photos from the red carpet, Blanchett's Oscar win, and the Govenor's Ball afterwards. [More]

TheOneRing.net has stocked its current t-shirt supplies for the last time. We have every color and every style currently available and ready for prompt shipping. However, when our current supply is out, it is out for good. We get lots of email requesting old shirts that we just can't maintain a stock of. So, don't miss your last chance to own our current styles. [More]