December 19, 2005 – The Hobbit still faces legal hurdles before Jackson can make the missing film in the Lord of the Rings saga. However, there’s still a chance we’ll get to see Bilbo’s first journey in a few years’ time. Peter Jackson explained the Hobbit situation to the media during the King Kong premiere gala: “MGM used to own The Hobbit and then MGM got bought by Sony a few months ago, and so now Sony have the rights — or half of The Hobbit rights, and New Line have the other half. Now, New Line and Sony have to talk to each other and I don’t think that anyone’s going to call me until those rights issues are resolved. That’s entirely between them, so…” [More]

Do you want to be good? Or do you want to be evil? Either way, we have the details on the good and evil campaigns in The Battle for Middle-earth II. EA plans to release the public beta test of The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II this week, and in preparation for this real-time strategy game, we’ve got the details on the game’s two single-player campaigns. Like its predecessor, The Battle for Middle-earth II will let you play as either the good or the bad guys as you attempt to lead your forces to victory. Below, we’ve got the details on the 16 missions in both campaigns. In addition to the campaigns, there’s a Risk-style metagame that will let you try to conquer the whole of Middle-earth as you like. The Battle for Middle-earth II will ship in early 2006. [More]

Voiceover artist Shawn Meunier sent along an MP3 of his work on the radio commercial for the LOTR Musical in Toronto..take a look! (.70MB MP3) [More]

Despite starring in three of the most talked about movies in recent years, Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen tries his best to shun the fame game. You’d be more likely to see him at a poetry reading than gallivanting round Beverley Hills with a model on his arm. With his rugged good looks and star quality, the actor could have quite easily fallen into the trap of becoming tabloid fodder like many stars before him. But he is notoriously cagey about his private life and considers any discussion of his own romantic affairs as “not pertinent.” [More]

HOLLYWOOD – Hollywood stars Orlando Bloom and Kate Bosworth have sparked rumors they have become engaged to be married, after perusing London’s top jewelers this weekend. The Kingdom of Heaven actor, 28, has enjoyed an on/off relationship with the 22-year-old beauty since January 2003, after they met filming an advertisement for clothing giant Gap. An onlooker tells British newspaper The Sun, “They were picking out engagement rings and she was trying them on. They popped into lots of flash jewelers on New Bond Street. But they were in Bulgari and Van Cleef & Arpels for the longest period. [More]

The voting booth is open, and a good number of ballots have already been returned! Make sure not to miss your chance to vote for the best of 2005’s Lord of the Rings creative and scholarly writing, and acting. Winners will be announced at the official One Ring Award Ceremony, taking place during the ORC weekend of January 20th-22nd 2006 from The One Ring Celebration in Pasadena CA. Don’t delay, award those people that have made a difference in the world of Tolkien this past year! [VOTE]