LOS ANGELES, Calif., December 2, 2002 – Black Label Games, a studio of Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games), has announced it has entered into a production agreement with Liquid Entertainment to develop “The Lord of the Rings™: The War of the Ring,” a real-time strategy (RTS) game for the PC platform. The game will be developed through VU Games’ long-term agreement with Tolkien Enterprises to create interactive entertainment based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic novel “The Lord of the Rings.” The game will be released in early 2004.

Expanding on the world of Middle-earth and its inhabitants as introduced by J.R.R. Tolkien, the game allows players to engage in the epic story though both a good and an evil single-player campaign. Players also will be able to play on both sides in an extensive multi-player mode.

“The selection of Liquid Entertainment, recognized in the gaming industry for their PC strategy title, ‘Battle Realms,’ as the developer for ‘The War of the Ring’ underscores our long-term commitment to creating high-quality titles based on the Tolkien works,” said Torrie Dorrell, general manager of Black Label Games.

Maniklavet writes: I just saw an ad on CBC for a contest to win tickets to go see the premiere of ROTK in New Zealand. It’s open to residents of Canada except Quebec (d’oh! -Xo). [More]

An army of film fans queued for up to six hours to meet movie legend Christopher Lee. The master of menace was in Nottingham to meet fans and sign autographs at the city’s Cornerhouse complex. [More]

Northfield, Minn.-Barrie Osborne, a 1966 graduate of Carleton College and producer of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, will host pre-release screenings of “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” at 6:45 and 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13 at the Block E Crown Theatres complex in Minneapolis. The film opens nationally on Wednesday, Dec. 18. [More]

The folks from Mad Movies write: I am glad to announce that french magazine Mad Movies is publishing its second “directors collection” issue, dedicated to the works of Peter Jackson. This issue features long articles, analysis, interviews, biographies and multiple informations about the movies, the productions and long time collaborators of Peter Jackson. 132 pages, very dense texts, hundreds of color photos, printed on quality paper and no advertisement. [More]

Release dates, charity screenings, sneak previews – from Costa Rica, Singapore and South Africa. [More]