Karl Urban is ready and waiting for a pummeling. His face is a painstakingly bruised and bloody mess with just the right amounts of sweat and grime applied by the make up department. Working for several years in New Zealand, Urban was one of a small horde of actor’s from down under who broke onto the Hollywood radar with “Lord of the Rings”. [More]

From djdeathskiss (via Dark Horizons): Viggo Mortensen is in negotiations to join the cast of Spanish language flick “Teresa” reports Production Weekly. Novelist Ray Loriga is helming the “near psychedelic vision of the raptures and writings of a towering figure, 16th century Spain proto-feminist mystic saint Teresa of Avila. Paz Vega (“Spanglish”) will play Teresa, Mortensen will play a cleric. Victoria Abril and Leonor Watling are also cast. Mortensen worked with Loriga before on 1997’s “My Brother’s Gun”. Shooting begins November 21st in Spain.
UPDATE: Elfstone writes: Viggo was in Spain two days ago promoting A History of Violence in the Sitges Terror Film Festival. He said that he declined the offer of playing in Teresa because he couldn´t have enough time to prepare for the role since he was doing the “A History of Violence” promotion.

Post-trilogy careers vary from Sandler comedies to B-movie horror flicks. As members of a close-knit fellowship venturing into unknown territory on a mission that could leave them wealthy and powerful — or just as easily destroy them — the stars of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy are seeing how life can imitate art. In the two years since fans shed tears and said goodbye along with the “Rings” cast at the conclusion of “Return of the King,” stars Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Sean Astin (Sam), Elijah Wood (Frodo) and John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) have seen their careers head off in decidedly different directions. While some projects have succeeded on various levels, others have fallen faster than the “one ring” into the fires of Mount Doom. [More]

Howard Shore Wins Grammy Today is Howard Shore’s Birthday! Howard was born on October 18th, 1946 in Toronto, Ontario. That makes him 59 today! Happy Birthday Howard!