· Fact or rumor? Gandalf posted some rumors on The White Council that some of his friends are portraying Elves in the Peter Jackson movie, and that the Elves will be given a "glow" effect to help distinguish them from Humans. This is good (although, technically, only Elves from Aman should have this glow, but if the Wood Elves glow, hey, more power to them!). Aragorn will also reportedly give a pre-battle pep-talk in Sindarin. Gandalf isn't sure of where Aragorn would do this. Could be Gondor, could be Lorien, could be a little something special. (Peter, please don't hurt the Elves -- they're all we have left.)

· Please pardon our preening as The New Zealand Herald Online quotes Michael's Suite101 column for April 7.

· New Line Cinema announces that the internet preview broke the record for most trailer downloads.

· Xenite.Org has launched a Middle-earth mailing list. The list is intended for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and his stories about Middle-earth. See the Middle-earth mailing list homepage for more details on guidelines and how to subscribe.

· New Line Cinema has cast doubt on the selection of Polish composer Wojciech Kilar as the composer for the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. According to Scorereviews.com, a New Line executive says that they are favoring James Horner for the job, which was supposed to be wrapped up in Kilar's corner months ago. Thanks to Tolkien-Movies.Com for bringing this to everyone's attention.

· Look for Michael's review of the Internet Preview at Suite101's Tolkien and Middle-earth topic.

· Concerned about Peter Jackson's portrayal of Aragorn and the hobbits? Well, this so-called Tolkien purist is ecstatic over Viggo Mortensen's description of the characters and their relationships to one another:

What initially impressed Viggo about Aragorn was the character's self-sufficiency. "He can survive in nature, live from it, read its signs and live happily, not needing anyone, not relying on anything but his own knowledge and discoveries. There's a humility in that way of life I really admire. But he has to come into his birthright as a prince and take on more responsibility. He's not certain where it will lead him."

Aragorn, he adds, finds the Hobbits puzzling. "They're these small, fat creatures who get tired and want to stop to eat five times a day, and Gandalf asks Aragorn to lead them through long journeys. But he grows to love them because of their connection to nature and their goodness, and he wants to protect them."

And what about Arwen? "She really is the love of his life," Mortensen says. "But he's not always sure how he feels about her because they're so seldom together or able to be at peace. So, he's not sure whether he can love her or be worthy of her. He knows how much she will have to give up to be with him, and it weighs on him."

· New Line Cinema will be giving fans a sneak preview of the heroes, creatures, and "the TALE that inspired millions" on their official Lord of the Rings movies Web site (see the graphic in the upper right-hand corner of our site) on April 7.

· Sir Ian McKellen has done his level best to reassure the concerned fans who have sent him email. Gandalf the Grey should sound somewhat like J.R.R. Tolkien (I approve). He reads each chapter of the book as they film those parts of the story (I APPLAUD HIM!). He has suggested some changes to the writers when he felt something had been left out, and he diplomatically defends their very difficult decisions. And he says "the Balrog will be digitally realised" to match his performance.

· Tom Shippey, author of The Road to Middle-earth, is working on a new book at his publisher's request. He has reportedly said he doesn't feel he has anything new to say about Middle-earth, but we'll see.

· The Rivendell set is still under construction, according to the latest reports around the Web, but we know that extras have already been filmed on the location.

· We've finally got a working schedule posted for the Tolkien and Middle-earth track at Dragoncon.

· Steve Babb and Fred Schendel of Glass Hammer will be appearing in the Tolkien and Middle-earth track at Dragoncon.

· Ever hear of Glass Hammer? They produced an album called "Journey of the Dunadan" (available on CD, now back in print) a few years ago. Well, they're producing a music video now about Tolkien's world. Check out their vision of Arwen. You can learn a little more about Glass Hammer's plans for the coming year by reading this interview with Steve Babb, the band's leader. Check out the artwork for their latest album here.

· Toy Vault is considering reissuing the Lord of the Nazgul action figure due to missing lines of text in the package liner notes. No official word yet.

· TheOneRing.Com is now Tolkien-Online.Com.

· Tol Galen is reporting that David Wenham has been cast as Faramir.

· Eomer has been cast, according to TheOneRing.Net, although they don't yet have a name. But fans will be breathing a sigh of relief as word spreads that one of Tolkien's most popular warriors is assured a place in the movies.

· Have you purchased your Lord of the Nazgul action figure yet? Toy Vault's first deluxe action figure in the Middle-earth Toys line comes with liner notes taken from Michael Martinez' Web site essay. More importantly, it's come to our attention that the first printing of the boxes contains a major flaw. Will future printings contain the same flaw?

· Our friends at Tolkien-Online.Com are reporting that the city of Wellington (in New Zealand) is seriously considering developing a "Hobbitville" attraction, perhaps based on the movie sets.

· Do you like to be spoiled? Check out our movie plot summaries for "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers", and "The Return of the King". We'll try to keep up with all the latest revelations about the various changes to the story.

· Costa Botes is filming the behind-the-scenes documentary for "The Lord of the Rings".

· We have added a news article archive search button for The Press in New Zealand to our news search links.

· Bernard Hill has been chosen to play Theoden, according to the OneRing.Net.

· Marton Csokas, known to Xena fans as Borias, father of Xena' son Solan, has reportedly been cast as Celeborn.

· Are we reading for Peter Jackson's Aragorn? Check out Michael's latest Suite101 Tolkien/Middle-earth column.

· New "official" release dates have been announced: "The Fellowship of the Ring", Christmas 2001; "The Two Towers", Christmas 2002; "The Return of the King", Christmas 2003. Why release the movies 1 year apart instead of 6 months as originally indicated? One reason may be that rereleases of the earlier films ala Star Wars strategies of past years will help build up anticipation among the audiences. The extra time will also allow more post-production work on each film, if that becomes necessary.

· The Hobbiton set was burned, apparently in preparation for a "Scouring of the Shire" segment. Of course, Hobbiton wasn't burned in the book....

· The first trailer for "The Lord of the Rings" was shown at ShoWest on March 6. Harry Knowles has provided a review of the trailer on his Web site. He is hinting that New Line Cinema may release a downloadable version of the trailer on their Web site.

· Did you know...that the official "Lord of the Rings" club is actually hosted by Lycos?

· Xenite.Org recently changed Web-hosting ISPs, and it seems like from the moment we said, "Go!", everything that could possibly go wrong did. Murphy was watching over us in February! Anyway, we apologize for the long delay in updates, although as always our news searches and links were up-to-date.

· Elrond and Eowyn have been cast. Hugo Weaving will play the wise Half-Elf of Rivendell, and Miranda Otto will play the warrior princess...er, Eomer's younger sister.

· E! Online has a fascinating report about Gandalf and Saruman as portrayed by Christopher Lee and Ian McKellen. They have filmed a magical battle between the two wizards in Orthanc and McKellen provided what may become a Classic Outtake.

· Still not sure about Peter Jackson as a director and producer? Check out these reviews on MediaJunkies.Com for one fan's insights.

Current Rumors about the Lord of the Rings Movie

· Elven warriors at Helm's Deep. Whatever could they be doing there? Filming battles from the days of the Last Alliance, or maybe from the days of the War of the Elves and Sauron? Hm....

· Peter Jackson is supposed to have a walk-on role in Bree.

· Eowyn is said to be queen of the Mark but she will still marry Faramir. Eowyn will also kill Grima Wormtongue for having murdered Theoden. If this is true, then the encounter with the Lord of the Nazgul may be out of the movie (or else Merry's role will be cut). Also, the Scouring of the Shire will probably result in Saruman's being slain by the Hobbits (unless someone else is introduced).

· Will there be a Lord of the Rings Theme Park? Probably not. But the idea is interesting and it remains to be seen what Saul Zaentz can pull out of his hat. The rumor was found on Sean O'Kane - Connolly's LOTR site.

· It's being reported in numerous places that Tolkien's grandson is planning to have a cameo in the Lord of the Rings movies in despite of his family's wishes.