The bare facts ·
Peter Jackson, with funding from New Line Cinema, is producing three movie based on J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". Filmed entirely in New Zealand, and starring actors such as Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Liv Tyler (Arwen), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), and Christopher Lee (Saruman), the movies approximately follow the three volumes most Tolkien fans are familiar with: "The Fellowship of the Ring" (December 19, 2001), "The Two Towers" (December 18, 2002), and "The Return of the King" (December 17, 2003). Xenite.Org has been keeping fans informed about the progress of the movies since February 1998, longer than any other LoTR movie news site. We are also home to some of the best Tolkien and Middle-earth forums, fan fiction, and commentary on the Internet today.
LOTR Movie news archives from August 23, 2000 through September 14, 2000
The Unofficial Dominic Monaghan Web Site has posted a 'Q and A' interview with the actor, and Sean Bean is the subject of a new biography just published. [more]
Jonny Grindlay of The Realm of the Ring has patched together an impressive 4-1/2 minute MPEG preview of the exterior sets used for Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies. [more]
Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News has posted a small bone for LOTR fans. He recently spoke with co-screenwriter Philippa Boyens about Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies. [more]
Another cast member has now given an interview with a New Zealand newspaper: Orlando Bloom, Legolas in Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy.
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VISUALIZING MIDDLE-EARTH, a collection of essays about J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth by Michael Martinez, is now available as a print-on-demand or eBook. The ISBN for this trade paperback is 0-7388-3408-4. [more]
Capitalizing on the popularity of their 'Lord of the Rings' news articles, Stuff has created a gallery of images from their numerous LOTR movie news stories. [more]
The Press was given access to working extras staying on location for Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' as part of their investigation into allegations that extras are being exploited. [more]
Three Foot Six Productions has begun dismantling the Edoras set at Mount Potts. Despite local residents' wishes to preserve the set, the high winds at the elevated location would ultimately destroy it, so the decision has been made to restore the area to it original raw, natural beauty. [more]
A two-minute segment which screams out that it should be two hours tantalizes Tolkien and Jackson fans as One News takes a look behind the scenes of Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings'. [more]
In a move which broadens the industry-wide crisis for theatre chains in the United States, General Cinemas has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, according to Variety. [more]
Stirred by news reports that an international film consultant had harshly criticized Three Foot Six for its handling of extras during filming of Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings', some extras have spoken up to defend the company. [more]
The Realm of the Ring has put up screen captures and video footage from a TV1 news report about 'Lord of the Rings' location filming in Queenstown. [more]
The Press has published an article in which a Hollywood actress/producer has blasted Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' production for exploiting extras. [more]
John Cook, author of the popular Sev Wide Web comics, has posted another LOTR movie cartoon contest. This time he picks on Gandalf the Grey (or, Gonedaft). [more]
With location filming set to wrap up by November 1, there isn't much left for fan sites to guess at concerning what is being filmed. But the construction at the Wingate set seems to be for a major scene in Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies. [more]
Mithrigil Galtirglin, the popular fan fiction author who brought us the musical parody 'Peter's Rings', is back from summer vacation and resuming work on 'The Lord of the Ringers'. [more]
The Evening Post has run a story about the revelation in Sir Ian McKellen's recent radio review that the hobbits in Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies will be smoking their pipes quite frequently. [more]
Murphy, author of the delightful Hobbit-homage 'There and Back Again', is participating in an ongoing interview conducted by Martha Soukup at Inkwell. [more]
The upcoming movie where Liv Tyler engages in a controversial lesbian affair with Kate Hudson has been reviewed by Dean Kish, the Soothsayer, whose syndicated movie reviews are carried on Xenite.Org. [more]
TheOneRing.Net has posted a transcript from a New Zealand news show which discusses the secrecy surrounding the Poolburn set. It appears that the lake will be used, and that a village set is being discussed. [more]
Now Ancanar.com offers more interaction with the fantasy production. Come in and post questions to the four major cast members, Gregory Lee Kenyon, Raiya Corsiglia, Gordon Capps and Jamie Alexander. [more]
Well, whatever Tolkien fans may think of her, Liv Tyler certainly doesn't shy away from controversial roles. It seems Liv and Kate Hudson will be closer than friends in the upcoming movie 'Dr. T. and the Women'. [more]
Ben Milder, founder of the popular Entmoot forums on EZBoard, was interviewed with his brother, Tristan, who also runs a Harry Potter board on the service. [more]
TheOneRing.Net's spy report about Poolburn got us to wondering. And since we blew it with identifying the funeral at Edoras, we thought we'd try to redeem ourselves by figuring out what will be filmed in Poolburn. [more]
Sir Ian McKellen has also updated his famed Grey Books section with loads of new information. Fans who were disgusted by the October update at E! Online will be very, very pleased with Sir Ian's reports.
A reader pointed out to us that 'some Webmasters' (meaning, we can't tell you because we haven't found them) are suggesting the online Tolkien community has identified the wrong Sarah McLeod as Rosie Cotton in Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies.
Apparently fan jibes directed at E! Online's Insider, John Forde, over the October report's naming Eowyn an elf made someone's ears burn. TheOneRing.Net received an apologetic email from Mr. Forde. [more]
The Tolkien purists will be screaming for Peter Jackson's blood over this one. Theoden refusing to send for help in Helm's Deep? What in the world has E! Online's Force of Hobbit revealed this month? [more]
Michael Martinez wonders if the people who write Tolkien criticism actually notice the stories their critiques address. Which is more important: the image of Middle-earth or where one thinks Tolkien found it? [more]
A lucky New Zealander sent us the following spy report. It appears he got to see at least part of the funeral for Theoden in Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' production. [more]
Suite101 prides itself on the selections of links provided by the more than 1,000 contributing editors. Finding quality Web sites is not the easiest task in the online world. [more]
No, not Hairy Gnomes and the Tolkien Geeks, the Druedain! This week's Suite101 article by Michael Martinez is titled 'Have island, will rebel' and it discusses the politics and economics of Numenor.
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Seems like every Tolkien fan site and message has been ablaze with the proclamation with the newly estimated cost of Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies: $675m. [more]
Well, figuratively speaking, of course. Tolkien Online dug up a column by a New Zealand journalist who knows more about Tolkien now than he did about Frankincense and Myrrh many years ago. [more]
It was a slow news day in Tolkien Web site land when she walked into my dusty, smoke-laden office. 'I have a news story for you,' she said. 'Variety thinks you Webmasters make a difference.' [more]
Rachel and her brother Todd and sister Kylie, of Riverton New Zealand, are shown waiting to be measured along with hundreds of other hopefuls auditioning to be extras in Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies. [more]
Tolkien Online has published an article from The Guardian which suggests Liv Tyler, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, and Sir Ian McKellen may film some scenes at the Edoras set of Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies. [more]
This week's Suite101 article takes a closer look at Eriador during the last years of the First Age and the early centuries of the Second Age, before the Numenoreans returned to Middle-earth. [more]
Well, the set is, anyway. The Press reports that the set of Edoras from Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies will be torn down after about two weeks' worth of filming. [more]
