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
Hop aboard the Lake Town and Shire Railroad November 09, 2000 at 12:35:44
That's right. Railroads in Middle-earth! And why not? It's all fantasy, and if some people can have green-skinned Orcs, plate-armored Orcs, and pointy-eared Elves, then railroad hobbyists can have rails in Middle-earth. [more] Official Web site NOT updated November 09, 2000 at 11:08:01
Yesterday Xenite.Org reported what appeared to be (to our reporter) some new content on the official movie Web site. We have been assured the content is not new. [more] Should New Line Cinema follow suit? November 08, 2000 at 13:51:01
Lucas Online, a division of LucasFilm Ltd., has entered into a deal with AtomFilms to provide material fans can use to make their own Star Wars movies. [more] Tour the official Hobbiton set November 08, 2000 at 13:31:47
How long have these photos been up on the official Lord of the Rings movie Web site?
New sound clip on official site? November 08, 2000 at 13:26:44
Don't you wish they'd let everyone know when the update the 'Live on Set' interviews? We do. [more] Suite101 -- Better late than never November 08, 2000 at 13:19:47
Oops. Looks like we fell asleep on the job when Michael Martinez posted his most recent article to Suite101's Tolkien and Middle-earth topic. [more] Sauron's military machine reduced to motley mob November 01, 2000 at 16:39:32
E! Online's Force of Hobbit November 1 update indicates that the Orcs of Mordor may be less efficiently organized than Tolkien portrayed them to be. [more] Suite101 -- Downloads and Dragons: Look what they've done to Fantasy, ma! October 28, 2000 at 16:24:51
Michael Martinez' latest article at Suite101 looks at the 'Dungeons and Dragons' trailer and considers what the movie portends for the future, as well as comparing it to Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' movies. [more] Movie plot summaries revised October 28, 2000 at 16:20:54
We've updated our guesswork at how the three 'Lord of the Rings' movies will play out. [more] Dungeons and Dragons: Today's the day October 27, 2000 at 14:26:46
Well, not to see the movie itself, but the official Web site has been updated and now includes the trailer, which is also being released with 'Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2'. [more] Easton Press: Oops, wrong price (and more info) October 27, 2000 at 13:43:20
Xenite.Org incorrectly reported the price for the Easton Press Tolkien Classics collection as $48.25. [more] We have a new look... October 27, 2000 at 13:11:16
Xenite.Org is growing. The new look for the Fact/Rumor Roundup is a reflection of that growth. [more] It's raining Hobbit plays! October 24, 2000 at 21:29:01
Tolkien Online is reporting that West Valley College in Saratoga, California is staging a musical performance of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. [more] Visualizing Middle-earth now carried by Amazon, BarnesandNoble October 24, 2000 at 14:26:13
Michael Martinez' book, Visualizing Middle-earth, is now listed with two major online bookstores and more listings are expected. [more] A palantir in the hand is worth... October 24, 2000 at 13:53:40
TheOneRing.Net has posted a scan of an August call sheet for Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings'. Although some folks are all excited about seeing that it was indeed Saruman (Xenite.Org suggested as much way back when), we noticed something we feel is more interesting. [more] Get the Tolkien Classics in a leatherbound 5-book set October 24, 2000 at 13:43:37
Tolkien collectors take note. Easton Press has published The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion in a special 5-volume set of leatherbound books. [more] Told you so: 'Greg Kramer nearly steals the show as the serpentine Gollum' October 24, 2000 at 05:11:46
Toronto Star theatre critic Richard Ouzounian admits he is no real fan of Tolkien, but he gives the 'Hobbit' play which just opened a thumbs up. And in particular he has something nice to say about actor Greg Kramer as Gollum. [more] Jupiter MediaMetrix warns Hollywood: don't distribute films on Internet yet October 23, 2000 at 14:14:44
EV, a service by Variety, has published an article about a report just published by Jupiter MediaMetrix, the oldest Web statistics provider. [more] Could PC Zone be more wrong? October 23, 2000 at 13:47:50
TheOneRing.Net picked up a story from PC Zone in the UK which claims that Electronic Arts has secured the rights to publishing all games related to Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies. But there are some problems with the story. [more] Suite101 Article: The Quests of Middle-earth October 21, 2000 at 06:18:56
This week's Suite101 Tolkien and Middle-earth article looks at the quest theme. [more] 'Ancanar' begins filming October 21, 2000 at 06:02:57
Ancanar.com has updated again, and the independent movie production inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion stories is now officially underway. [more] Realm of the Ring swamped by fan-preview downloads October 21, 2000 at 05:52:53
Jonny Grindlay asked other Webmasters to host the MPEG preview on their own sites if at all possible. Xenite.Org has now made the preview available on its own server. [more] More dragons coming to a film near you October 21, 2000 at 05:46:52
First there was 'Dragonslayer'. Then there was 'Dragonheart'. Now there is 'Dungeons and Dragons'. And soon there will be 'Reign of Fire'. [more] Dungeons and Dragons trailer to be released week of October 27 October 21, 2000 at 05:42:48
IGN Film Force is reporting that the DnD trailer briefly appeared on a few Web sites before New Line Cinema asked that the copyrighted material be taken down. [more] 100 years ago, before we had hobbits, we had munchkins, and Toto, too October 21, 2000 at 05:34:24
In the year 1900 L. Frank Baum published his second novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and he set into motion a literary epic which would span 40 novels, several movies, and generations of idiomatic citations of his work or the derivative works. [more] Sir Ian McKellen talks about the Balrog October 20, 2000 at 02:26:28
Entertainment Tomorrow spoke with Sir Ian McKellen, who plays Gandalf in Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' movies about the upcoming Balrog scene. [more] The Listener digs deep into LOTR films' impact on New Zealand October 19, 2000 at 17:40:44
If their analysis of the tax situation is as fraught with errors and mis-statements of fact as their brutal handling of Tolkien's storylines, everything is probably rosy in New Zealand's film industry and tax base after all. [more]
