The chances of New Zealand-made movie blockbusters getting Oscar nominations for anything other than technical awards fell yesterday when they were absent from a major Oscar predictor’s nominations. Neither King Kong director Peter Jackson nor Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe director Andrew Adamson were nominated by the Directors Guild of America (DGA) for its annual award. The DGA nominees were George Clooney (Good Night and Good Luck), Paul Haggis (Crash), Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain), Bennett Miller (Capote) and Steven Spielberg (Munich). Adamson was considered an outsider but Jackson was thought to have some chance after receiving a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director and excellent reviews for King Kong. At least four DGA award nominees usually go on to earn Oscar nominations, and their movies usually get Best Picture nominations as well. Oscar predictors say it is highly unusual for directors absent from the DGA nominations to win an Oscar. [More]

Bastian Holze from DEAG CLASSICS writes: On May 28th, the Deutsche Entertainment AG organizes a big live concert named: “The Lord of The Rings Symphony” in the Kölnarena of Cologne, Germany.

A classical orchestra is going to play the original film music from Peter Jacksons trilogy “The Lord of the Rings”, written by the Academy Award Winning Composer and Conducter Howard Shore.

This concert takes place in line with a impressive Multi-Media-presentation of the original Illustration from the Tolkien books. It’s a Must See for every LOTR-Fan or community member! For further information and ticket selling, please click our webpage. ]More]

The voting booth is open, and a large number of ballots have already been received! 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]

Captain Jack Sparrow is back in “Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest.” This time, Jack learns that he is doomed to eternal damnation unless he repays a debt to Davy Jones, the legendary captain of the Flying Dutchman. Go behind the scenes of the anticipated sequel with Moviefone’s exclusive set gallery. [More]

Meghan, Online Community Manager for The Lord of the Rings Online writes: Our first update for 2006 is additional information about the Minstrel class on our Playable Classes page. We’ll be continuing to update the classes through the end of January. [More]

JAN. 6 LAS VEGAS—Early adopters will have plenty of high-definition discs on offer, such as Warner Home Video’s Batman Begins and Million Dollar Baby set for March 28 release and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on April 11, all in HD DVD. Most major studios once again announced plans to collectively release hundreds of titles in high-def this year, including simultaneous releases with DVD of their newest and biggest theatrical releases, such as Paramount Home Entertainment’s Mission: Impossible 3 on both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Though not officially announced, scenes from Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s new King Kong were being shown in HD DVD here at the CES show, and that title, also listed on Amazon.com as coming in HD DVD, is expected to be one of the earliest releases for that format. [More]