Hallo Folks,

Over the next day or so, you may notice some inconsistancies as we roll out updates to the various sections of the site, especially news, main page, etc.

If things don't look exactly right, we ask that you chack back in just a few as we will be rolling out these changes throughout the weekend.

We hope that you will like the new features and thank you for your patience!

In Fellowship,
Illu ^___^

The Special Extended DVD Edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, from New Line Home Entertainment, is the top contender in the 7th Annual DVD Awards with Leonard Maltin, leading all entries with six nominations.

Read the full story here!

Thanks James! :o)

There are only two days to go to The Fellowship Festival and while it is pretty hectic here at Festival Towers, we just wanted to give you a quick update.

We have just been informed by Karl Urban’s agent that Karl has recently won a new film role which means that Karl will only be appearing at The Fellowship Festival this year so alongside Bernard Hill, Karl is now a worldwide event exclusive. We are very honoured to have both gentlemen join us at the show both have told us that they can’t wait to meet you all.

The event schedule has now been finalised. Due to last minute changes the full programme will be available when you arrive. We have organised question and answer sessions with the cast and crew that are held throughout the day and are repeated every day so you won’t miss out on a thing.

Some of the cast will be showcasing their special talents, check the schedule for times. Come and watch them strut their stuff; they have worked really hard to offer you a really new experience, a chance for you to see them in a new light.

The Tolkien Society have worked incredibly hard to give us many workshops and seminars where you can appreciate the works of Tolkien and Peter Jackson, huge thanks go to Ian and the team for all their hard work.

We are honoured to announce that Sarah McLeod will be singing “Into the West” exclusively at The Fellowship Feast. If you haven’t already got your ticket for the most memorable night of the year, you can buy it at the show from our stand.

Gino Acevedo from Weta Workshop will be transforming a lucky visitor into an orc before your very eyes every single day. We can’t wait to see the results.

The final touches to Mark Ferguson’s new comedy play “The Lord of The Rings 4: Return of The Towering Fellowship” have been finalised and we are looking forward to seeing Mark and some of the other cast members have us in fits of laughter...

EA GAMES are bringing one of their producers to The Festival who will talk to you about how they went about making the films into a game. Essential attendance for those of you who enjoy gaming. Don’t forget that they will also be demonstrating for the very first time, their brand new LOTR games, which are not being released until November.

For those of you who enjoy collecting, you can purchase exclusive items only available at the show and no-where else in the world brought to you by our friends at Cards Inc. You can also purchase official merchandise from our many exhibitors onsite.

Don’t forget, every Festival Ticket holder will be entered into a prize draw to win a holiday for two to New Zealand courtesy of our friends at Red Carpet Tours.

There is so much more that you can do at The Fellowship Festival, we sincerely hope that you make the most of the weekend, you enjoy all the activities that have been organised and have a wonderful time. We are very proud to be involved in such an amazing experience and look forward to seeing you all.

That’s not all folks, we still have some surprises up our sleeves…..and you can still get your tickets here!

Warmest wishes

The Fellowship Festival Team

Sir Ian McKellen worked his wizarding magic on the Wharf's docks this week.

The Narrow Street resident, who played Gandalf in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, turned Great Uncle Bulgaria for the day as he joined scores of Wharfers cleaning Limekiln Dock, by Canary Riverside.

"It's kind of selfish really, because I'm just making my river view better by clearing up the dock," Sir Ian told The Wharf.

Read the full story over at TheWharf.co.uk....

"I am thrilled to be a part of this game," said Astin. "It is obvious that the developers spent just as much time researching and developing the script as they did with the awesome graphics."

Michael Pole, EVP, Worldwide Studios, VU Games, echoed Astin's sentiments: "It is only fitting that we have an actor of Astin's caliber involved with a game like Men of Valor," he said. "The graphics and storyline in Men of Valor mirror many action and war-based films; we have a top-notch game and a top-notch actor."

Read the full story here....

Hullo Folks,

Over the next couple of weeks we are going to be giving the site a bit of a face lift!  The basic colour scheme, layout for the galleries, and areas such as the forums will remain untouched of course, but we are in the process of remastering most of the graphics, and will be going through the majority of the sections and tidying them up a bit.

The biggest changes will be to the main page, and the index pages of various sections...where we will be enhancing how things such as news and articles are presented.

We hope that this will make your time here at WotR much more fun and enjoyable as we continue to try and bring you the very best that Middle Earth has to offer. If you stop by and something doesn't look just right...we ask for your patience and as these changes become apparent with new navigation, etc. we welcome any and all feedback!

More to come soon! :o)

The problem is that Black, who will play film-maker Carl Denham in the $200 million movie, has yet to arrive.

Is it a case of Wellington having a Black double, or revellers having a few too many doubles last weekend?

A message board on United States-based website Internet Movie Database had entries from two Wellington residents claiming they met Black in central Wellington.... More

About 25,000 people around the world – more than double the number expected – completed a detailed questionnaire available on the Internet about the film.

The project is being coordinated by the University of Wales in Aberystwyth and academics in 20 countries, including New Zealand... More

This virtual world, being created by Turbine Entertainment Software of Westwood, Massachusetts, is not yet ready for tourists.

Once it is completed, tens of thousands of PC owners will be able to create their own characters and step into a land of hobbits, wizards, elves, orcs and dwarfs, most of them controlled by other computer owners who want to spend time in the universe created by JRR Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. They’ll be able to explore, fight, make alliances and perhaps even look for treasure.... More

This fascinating exhibition, now at the Boston Museum of Science, showcases the enormous love and respect with which the makers of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy approached J. R. R. Tolkien’s grandly mythopoetic novels. Director Peter Jackson decided early on in the production of his three-film cycle that everything in his Middle-Earth would be made from scratch, and his army of artisans (obviously all as emotionally committed to Tolkien’s work as he) created almost a thousand suits of armor, two hundred latex orc heads, hundreds of weapons, and 20,000 common and household items in a gargantuan effort stretching over several years.

Read the full review at Monsters and Critics!

Thanks James for the news tip! :o)

According to the New Zealand Herald, the largest aircraft graphic ever produced honoured the release of the third and final instalment of the trilogy.... More

Today we'd like to call your attention to a brand new artist displaying his work on War of the Ring for the first time!

Rubén Moreno Martín has has created some wonderful drawings of Orcs, Uruk-Hai, and Istari...and we are proud to be able display his work for your viewing pleasure!

We have also gotten a few more LotR Anime drawings from Christine Lee and have updated her gallery as well.

Stop by the Art Gallery and check out these and all of the other talented artists that want to share their visions of Middle Earth with you!

Thanks again to Rubén and Christine for their submissions!