Fans of the music of Academy Award-winning Howard Shore will have two opportunities to interact with the composer during the Chicago performances of "The Lord of the Rings Symphony: A Symphony in Six Movements" on October 8 and 9 at the Auditorium Theatre.

Read the full story at M&C.

Larry Godfrey is hoping some Lord of the Rings magic will help inspire Britain's Olympic archers to even greater success in Beijing four years from now.

Godfrey narrowly failed to give Team GB a second surprise archery medal on Thursday after Alison Williamson had claimed bronze in the women's event.

And he believes a new generation of crackshot archers could emerge as they try to emulate Legolas, the bow-wielding elf from the Lord of the Rings trilogy played by Orlando Bloom... More

Just two more weeks of outdoor movies remain in Seattle — get 'em while it's hot.

Renton's free Cinema on the Piazza presents "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" tomorrow night, preceded by a live performance by the New Orleans-style band Kingbees of the Bayou. In downtown Renton on South Third Street between Burnett and Logan; see www.GoRenton.com or call 425-226-4560 for more information. Source.

The trailer for Cate Blanchett's film "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" is now online over at Empire Movies.com!

Thanks to Heather for the news tip!

The studio behind the Lord Of The Rings movie trilogy is being sued for $20 million by movie and music mogul Saul Zaentz in regard to alleged unpaid royalties.

Zaentz's claim against New Line Cinema states he is owed a percentage of adjusted gross receipts after he bought the rights to the works of the story's author, JRR Tolkien, in the 1970s - licensing it to the movie company in return for a share of the profits.... More

The Battle for Minas Tirith in The Return of the King uses advanced computer-generated imagery to recreate the battle scenes from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Pioneering work in artificial intelligence development by Weta Digital, the technology-based half of director Peter Jackson's production company, was used to create a simulation of every 'agent' in the scene.... More

Cate Blanchett is the latest celebrity to condemn the beauty industry's obsession with youth.

The Lord Of The Rings star agreed to be the face of skin care products SK-II. According to the Daily Star But the 35-year-old slammed the industry for worshipping youth.

She said: "When I flick through magazines, I like to see images that have a mind at work behind them. "While i'm sure there is a mind at work behind a 12-year-old girl, it's something different from a woman in her 30s."... More

He will join Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue, who have already been announced as the voices of the shaggy dog Dougal and Florence, the little girl.

A spokeswoman for the Lord Of The Rings star, whose voice has already been recorded, said: "He's delighted to be involved... More

We are proud to announce that Mr. Karl Urban, Eomer in The Lord of The Rings Trilogy will be attending The Fellowship Festival for all three days. We are particularly honoured, as this will be Karl’s first trip to the UK for some years since he hit the big time with The Lord of The Rings and most recently The Bourne Supremacy.

If you want to meet Karl face to face don’t forget to get your tickets now, only 300 tickets allowed per visitor per day. You can get your tickets here!

Karl tells us that he is looking forward to meeting you all!

With the announcement of Karl, we now have an amazing 15 members of the cast and crew attending The Fellowship Festival making the event the biggest LOTR gathering in Europe ever!

Other confirmed cast and crew attending:
Bernard Hill – King Theoden
John Noble - Denethor
Craig Parker - Haldir
Mark Ferguson – Gil-Galid
Bruce Hopkins - Gamling
Sarah McLeod – Rosie Cotton
Jed Brophy – Sharku/Snaga
Lawrence Makoare – Lurtz/Witchking/Gothmog
Jorn Benzon - Rumil
Jarl Benzon - Glorfindel
Cameron Rhodes – Farmer Maggot
Sandro Kopp - Gildor
Gino Acevedo – Weta Workshop
John Howe – Conceptual Artist
Alan Lee – Conceptual Artist

Plus 7 speakers and experts from The Tolkien Society and beyond.

See you there!

Warmest wishes
The Festival Team

In the opening scenes of new spy thriller The Bourne Supremacy, a Russian hitman packing an arsenal of weapons pursues Matt Damon's character, Jason Bourne, through a bustling seaside village in Goa, India.

Midway through the film, in a house in Germany, Bourne engages in a fight to the death, using kitchen utensils, with another hitman.

There's a theme here - it's not Bourne's regular run-ins with European killers-for-hire and it has a New Zealand flavour to it.... More