SAN DIEGO – The 2009 edition of the Comic-Con is over but its impact is just being felt as major news outlets around the world try to capture the impact and look through the window it provides into the future of popular culture and entertainment.

There are a lot of big-name franchises coming down the pipeline. Here are some highlights from the convention. Read the rest of this entry »

Jerry Vanderstelt has let us know that he will be at Comic-Con and will have at his booth (#4719) “Galadriel’s Blessing” and “Terror over Osgiliath,” two new pieces that will both be available on the dealer’s floor. SideshowCollectibles will also be featuring his Return of the King framed lithograph. You can view all three here.

Vanderstelt said this: “I can tell you a little about these:

ROTK – as the first two, these are sized at 24 x 30 inches, 100 pound paper, aqueous coating, archival inks etc. Limited Edition (signed and numbered ) Collectors Edition ( Signed, numbered and remarqued -a little sketch on the left bottom of the litho of a random ROTK character ). Comes with Certificate of Authenticity.Licensed by New Line Cinema / Warner Bros.”

We have been getting many requests for a link to sign up to our mailing list. We have not added the link to our side menus just yet, but we will soon. To sign up to the mailing list simple click over to this link and add your email address in the ‘Subscribing to Lotr_Announce’ section. Thanks!

Joining the list of LOTR-related guests appearing at Comic-Con is Elijah Wood promoting his film “9″ planned for release on 9/9/09. He will be joined by Jennifer Connelly and Tim Burton, among others. The official Comic-Con schedule describes it as “stitchpunk” and says it takes on the theme of “how one soul can change the world.” Sounds like Wood will fit right in. The panel is set for Friday, July 24, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m., Hall H.

Celebriel forwards this article on production designer Grant Major’s new short film, UNDERGROWTH. “Writing something, directing it, and making my own story is bloody awesome actually,” he says cheerily on the phone from Los Angeles. Grant won an Oscar for his art direction on LOTR: The Return of the King. More..

Liv Rundgren Tyler (born July 1, 1977) is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith’s lead singer, Steven Tyler and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994 film Silent Fall. She then appeared in supporting roles in Empire Records (1995), Heavy (1996), and That Thing You Do! (1996). Tyler later achieved critical recognition in the leading role Stealing Beauty (1996). She followed this by starring in supporting roles including Inventing the Abbotts (1997) and Cookie’s Fortune (1999).

Tyler achieved international recognition as a result of her portrayal of elf princess Arwen Undómiel in the The Lord of the Rings films. She has appeared in an eclectic range of films, including the 2004 comedy Jersey Girl, the indie film Lonesome Jim (2005), the drama Reign Over Me (2007) and big-budget studio films such as Armageddon (1998), The Strangers (2008) and The Incredible Hulk (2008). More..

On June 23, Iranian security forces, reportedly using live ammunition, clashed with protesters numbering in the hundreds in the area of the country’s parliament in Tehran. At the same time, there were indications that a behind-the-scenes struggle was intensifying in the corridors of power even as the government continued its campaign to quiet the populace through propaganda and entertainment. A resident of the capital, who asked for anonymity, sent TIME the following report:

In normal times, Iranian television usually treats its viewers to one or two Hollywood or European movie nights a week. But these are not normal times, so it’s been two or three such movies a day. It’s part of the push to keep people at home and off the streets, to keep us busy, to get us out of the regime’s hair. The message is “Don’t worry, be happy.” Channel Two is putting on a Lord of the Rings marathon as part of the government’s efforts to restore peace. More..

Richard sends along this press release: Intense, dramatic etchings employing the same traditional techniques used by Rembrandt, and powerful black and white drawings all based on the books of J.R.R.Tolkien can be seen at this year’s Pittsburgh Comicon. This type of graphic artwork, rarely seen illustrating the work of the great storyteller, are by veteran Pittsburgh artist Richard Claraval. In the artist statement on his web site, www.richardclaravalart.com, Claraval says, “What I’m interested in is capturing the emotional essence of the powerful images Tolkien’s words conjure in my mind — whether the subject is human drama, or the drama of a place or an idea. (His) imagery is, to me, the most vivid, and inspiring of anything I’ve ever read”. Read the rest of this entry »

From spacecast.com (via Elda): Doug Jones, the actor who is famous for playing the elaborate creatures in Guillermo del Toro’s movies (Pan in Pan’s Labyrinth, Abe Sapien, in the Hellboy series) has announced that he will be in del Toro’s next high-profile projects, The Hobbit and Frankenstein. “We have not had any conversations about what he wants [for The Hobbit],” Jones explains, “but he’s ‘wink-wink, nudge-nudged’ me a couple times with that ‘Yeah, yeah, The Hobbit, yeah, we’ll see you,’” Jones told us. “I don’t know what I’m doing or how many characters it will be, because he tends to like to use me the whole time depending.” More..