In a sparse, sunlit loft, programmer Stephen Regelous quietly works alone every day to the hum of his laptop. But what he’s really doing is leading the masses. Regelous created Massive, the special-effects program behind the colossal battles in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Using Massive, the Oscar-winning Weta Digital team pulled off anticipated scenes for the latest installment, The Two Towers — such as the battle at Helm’s Deep — by digitally generating smart crowds to supplement the live action. [More]

(CBS) One year ago, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings” went from one of the biggest gambles in motion picture history to one of the most acclaimed. [More]

Julez writes: Some nice Two Towers goodies up on icLiverpool’s site including London premiere pics, an excellent review and movie stills gallery. [More]

Debbie writes: Just a reminder to those looking for ways to pass the time before Two Towers opens: I’m posting my comic, Waiting For Frodo, on a daily basis until TT opens. Today’s strip includes photos of Rosie at Weta Digital’s IT Christmas party!

Grey Area writes: Here in the UK, Channel 4 have a morning / breakfast show called RI:SE. This morning they had a brief bit on TTT, humourous in nature concerning the antics of Gollum. [More]

(This is of course a joke, for all of you who are about to send me an email concerning this -Xo)