The Lord Of The Rings News

LOTR is CinemaBlend's No. 1 fantasy film

December 8, 2007

The Golden Compass opens this weekend and makes it’s bid to be the next big thing in fantasy movies. It’s got a lot to live up to if it’s going to make headway with by now, almost spoiled fantasy fans. Fantasy movies are bigger and better than ever, and audiences have learned to love swinging swords, rampaging orcs, deadly dragons, and wily staff-wielding wizards. At Cinema Blend, there are few things we love better than tossing a dwarf.

So, to figure out which fantasy movie is really the best of the bunch Cinema Blend represents audience’s favorite fantasy flicks. The result is the latest CB Top 5.

TOP 5 Fantasy Movies

5. Harry Potter
4. The Neverending Story
3. The Princess Bride
2. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
1. The Lord of the Rings

“The Hobbit”: Peace in Middle-Earth?

October 5, 2007

Last month, in the academic journal Science, paleontologists presented new evidence that they had discovered an overlooked relative of prehistoric man. Officially, they've labeled the species Homo floresiensis — unofficially, they're calling them ''hobbits'' — but by any other name what they've found are the 18,000-year-old fossilized remains of a three-foot-tall hominid with a recessed chin and a brain the size of a Wiffle ball.

Now the legal battle that's kept The Lord of the Rings' prequel, The Hobbit, hung up for years — a bitter feud between Rings director Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema co-chairman Robert Shaye — may finally be nearing resolution. At this writing, no agreements have been announced and details of the negotiations are sketchy, but sources close to the talks tell us that they're detecting a lot less frost in the air, and that a deal may be reached that could help usher J.R.R. Tolkien's maiden Middle-earth masterpiece to screens before the end of the decade. ''There has been a detente,'' says one insider. There is now the beginning of a discourse between Peter Jackson and New Line that's running parallel to the litigation proceedings.''

In Hollywood, any movement on this long-stalled project is major news. It was The Hobbit, after all, that first introduced the world to the lovely and terrifying universe of Middle-earth. The novel is set about 60 years before Lord of the Rings, and for many readers who dove into Tolkien's work as kids, it retains a warmer glow in memory than the daunting and sometimes slow-moving trilogy. The story has precisely the same themes — of loyalty and unexpected bravery — that made the Rings series huge. And by huge we mean gargantuan, with each film earning about a billion dollars worldwide between 2001 and 2003, along with 17 Oscars, including ones for Best Director and Best Picture. In Hollywood, in other words, The Hobbit is that rarest of magical creatures — a sure thing.

Happy 42nd birthday to David Wenham!

September 21, 2007

David Wenham, who was born in Sydney, Australia on September 21, 1965, is 42 years old today. David Wenham played Boromir's brother Faramir in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and was cast as Faramir because of his resemblance to Sean Bean. He was also in Moulin Rouge! and most recently Van Helsing, and he's been voted Australia's sexiest man alive.

Kiwi director Peter Jackson has won the first round in his fight with Hollywood studio New Line Cinema over profits from The Lord of the Rings.

September 20, 2007

A judge has fined New Line, the film trilogy's financial backer, $US125,000 ($NZ169,000) for failing to turn over court-ordered documents in the case.

The Hollywood Reporter said Jackson's lawyers might also be allowed to inspect New Line's files if the studio did not produce several audits within 21 days.

New Line must also hire an outsider to collect electronic documents, including e-mails, it said.

Jackson sued New Line two years ago over money made, including DVD payments, from the first The Lord of the Rings film, The Fellowship of the Ring.

When Jackson's suit was filed it did not specify the amount of damages sought, but his lawyers later told The New York Times they believed Jackson was underpaid by as much as $US100 million for all three films, which had made more than $US4 billion.

Tolkien's son completed father's unfinished epic

March 25, 2007

All aboard for Middle Earth! Christopher Tolkien, son of the late, legendary creator of The Lord of the Rings, has completed an unfinished story started by his father which is to be published this April.

Mr Tolkien has spent the past 30 years working on The Children of Hurin, which his father began in 1918 and later abandoned. Though excerpts have been published this will be the first time a completed version of the epic story featuring the elves and dwarves of Middle Earth has appeared. It will be published by HarperCollins in the UK and by Houghton Mifflin in the US.

Mr Tolkien said: "It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the Children of Hurin as an independent work, between its own covers."

Mr Tolkien, 81, who lives in France, has spent much of his life organising, deciphering and publishing stories of his father's that only appeared handwritten, often on scraps of paper. He has admitted that at times he has been forced to use guesswork to decide upon his father's intentions.

Despite this he has been a successful editor of his father's work and in 1977 he oversaw the publication of the novel The Silmarillion. This was followed by Unfinished Tales in 1980, and then the 12 volumes of The History of Middle-earth between 1983 and 1996.

His father's Lord of the Rings trilogy has sold more than 50 million copies and was made into a hugely successful series of Hollywood films, directed by Peter Jackson. Christopher Tolkien spoke out against the films, saying he believed the novels were not suitable for film adaptation.

Today is Tolkien's Birthday... and the Toast is "The Professor"

January 03, 2007

Every year on January 3rd, The Tolkien Society reminds us to make a toast to The Professor... for indeed today is his birthday:

On January 3rd Tolkien fans around the world are invited to raise a glass and toast the birthday of this much loved author at 21:00 (9 pm) your local time.

The toast is "The Professor".

For those unfamiliar with British toast-drinking ceremonies:

To make the Birthday Toast, you stand, raise a glass of your choice of drink (not necessarily alcoholic), and say the words 'The Professor' before taking a sip (or swig, if that's more appropriate for your drink). Sit and enjoy the rest of your drink.

Royd Tolkien backs Peter Jackson for The Hobbit

November 13, 2006

J.R.R. Tolkien's great-grandson Royd Tolkien (who had a cameo in The Return of the King as a Ranger in Osgiliath) has let everyone know exactly what he thinks about the prospect of someone else other than Peter Jackson directing The Hobbit. Here's an excerpt:

Before the films were made i held massive reservations and fears that JRRT and LOTR would be used as merely a tool in producing revenue and ultimately a substandard film. But it's different now, and it's different because of Peter.

Whilst i don't know the inner relationship between New Line and Peter, what i do know is that they backed him, all those years ago, to produce LOTR. For that part and many more they played, i'm forever grateful.

If Peter hadn't made LOTR with the respect he showed to my Great Grandfather, i'd not have felt compelled to voice my opinion.

THE HOBBIT in 2007?!

September 5, 2006

The BIG news has finally hit. A Ringer Spy who was recently in the New York offices of New Line Cinema has reported that they clearly saw 'The Hobbit' on the film schedule for 2007. Here's what the spy had to say:

"Please leave my email anonymous as I have some very exciting news to report. I was in New Line's NY offices to discuss upcoming projects when I clearly saw something very intriguing on a year planner. 'The Hobbit' was clearly marked on what looked like July 2007. I couldn't exactly take a moment to investigate the calendar with my audience in the room, but it definitely said 'The Hobbit'. Lets hope this is a PJ project!"

The Lord of the Rings: A Source-Criticism Analysis

August 2, 2006

Experts in source-criticism now know that The Lord of the Rings is a redaction of sources ranging from the Red Book of Westmarch (W) to Elvish Chronicles (E) to Gondorian records (G) to orally transmitted tales of the Rohirrim (R). The conflicting ethnic, social and religious groups which preserved these stories all had their own agendas, as did the "Tolkien" (T) and "Peter Jackson" (PJ) redactors, who are often in conflict with each other as well but whose conflicting accounts of the same events reveals a great deal about the political and religious situations which helped to form our popular notions about Middle Earth and the so-called "War of the Ring.". Into this mix are also thrown a great deal of folk materials about a supposed magic "ring" and some obscure figures named "Frodo" and "Sam". In all likelihood, these latter figures are totems meant to personify the popularity of Aragorn with the rural classes.

New Lord of the Rings Game is on its way

July 29, 2006

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.

LOTR Concert Summer Series 2006!

May 11, 2006

Howard Shore's The Lord of the Rings symphony will reach major milestone this summer when the San Francisco symphony gives 100th performance of the work in July. Performances in Cologne, Germany and Denver, Colorado this month precede busy summer season, with concerts slated in both Europe and America.

Howard Shore wrote his six-movement The Lord of the Rings Symphony for symphony orchestra, adult and children's choirs, as well as solo instrumentalists and vocalists, totaling more than 200 musicians on stage. Working with conductor John Mauceri, who first suggested that the music of The Lord of the Rings be preserved as an independent work for the concert hall, Shore created a two-hour symphony drawing from the nearly 12 hours of music he composed for Peter Jackson's phenomenally successful film trilogy. Shore has received three Oscars for the scores and four Grammy awards for the soundtrack recordings. The six movements of the symphony correspond to the progression of the epic through the six books that comprise J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. These movements capture the enormous complexity and limitless imagination of Tolkien's creation - from the simple, pastoral beauty of the hobbits' Shire to the magic and mystery of the Elves and the monumental battle scenes - in music by turns explosive, ethereal and, ultimately, transcendent.

LOTR: Film Tourists in New Zealand

January 24, 2006

Tourists are still coming to New Zealand because of The Lord of the Rings more than two years after the last film in the trilogy was released. The activity has been revealed by German graduate student Anne Buchmann, who is studying the impact of New Zealand films on tourism for a PhD at Lincoln University.

Ms Buchmann's findings include:

• More than 150 locations were being touted to film tourists.
• A third of tourists who took scenic flights so they could see landscapes featured in The Lord of the Rings had not seen the films.
• A small number of tourists repeated tours. Ms Buchmann encountered tourists who had returned to do the same film tour for the third time.
• The largest number of film tourists in New Zealand at the same time was during the world premiere of The Return of the King in 2003, but there had been a steady flow since.
• Tourists who were hardcore Rings fans had given way to more mainstream tourists who had seen Peter Jackson's trilogy.
• Some tourists had visited remote locations and re-enacted scenes from The Lord of the Rings.
• A few felt that New Zealand had become "more real" to them because it was used to represent Middle-earth.