Now this is something really special, I love concept art, the initial stages of creation, you can see it all happening here. Universal had no small feat to accomplish with these games, how do you create an entirely different look and feel from a film tha this been seen by million around the glbe, yet STILL stay true to Tolkien? You be the judge with these 40 plus images, some of them are fantastic, some seem only 1/2 completed, while a small few leave much to be desired. Take a look and enjoy the ride!

The Australian Effects & Animation Festival in Sydney, Dec. 1-4, covers 3 days of seminars and master classes, as well as 4 evenings of screenings and networking opportunities. There will be an Opening Night Party where you can meet the speakers, which include Jim Rygel and Randy Cook from Weta Digital, woo hoo! [More] Thanks to Lolly for the news.

Andrew writes: “I was surfin’ the web and I checked the Lord of the Rings Action Figure Storybook, and I noticed they added quite a few pics. They have added Walls of Moria, Rivendell, and some more of Gandalf and Bilbo.” [More]

The release date has not been confirmed yet, but it is expected an early December release due to Christmas sales. [I’m assuming he’s talking about the extended version – T.]

The price of the big edition will be 60 •, the extended part will be translated by the same actors as the cinema version, and even the audio comments will be subtitled.

Also, there’s good new about this… the National Geographic will be included in Spain and Germany, as I’ve been told, though it is not 100% confirmed.

So, if things go on like this, we will have the full Extended edition with an impressive work of translation. And cheaper than other countries, wich is certainly rare!!.

Thanks to Dani for the news

Remember Deborah Ridpath Ohi’s online journal about reading LOTR for the first time? She’s doing the same now with The Hobbit. She invites comments from readers. [More]