TORN Staffer Ostadan sends this in: At Fantasy Flight Games’ site, Dan Clark has been writing weekly articles on Reiner Knizia’s various boardgames. The second one, concerned with Knizia’s Lord of the Rings boardgame, may be of interest to TORN folk who may not have become acquainted with the game when it first appeared. Reiner Knizia’s LOTR Game Article

From MTV.com: With the recent news that Peter Jackson is finally returning to Middle-earth, it’s not just fans of “The Hobbit” who are rejoicing. Just ask Ian McKellen or Andy Serkis. As Gandalf the Grey and Gollum, respectively, these two Tolkien titans are all but certain to return. But what of the other characters up for grabs in “The Hobbit”? We took a look at some of the bigger roles available and picked our favorites. Following Jackson’s casting decisions for “Lord of the Rings,” we considered names that were known, but not necessarily big stars. Check out our choices below and then head over to the MTV movies blog where we tackle the big one. !HOBBIT SPOILERS! ‘Hobbit’ Casting Call: We Want Ryan Gosling, Orlando Bloom For Tolkien Tale

Weta partnership for special effects guru Oscar-winning special effects guru Joe Letteri has been made a partner at Weta Digital. Letteri, an American, joins Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor and Jamie Selkirk as an equal partner and shareholder in the internationally successful Wellington company. He has been a senior visual effects supervisor for Weta Digital, which provides computer-generated effects, since 2001, and will continue in that role. Before that, he worked at George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic for 10 years, and he was a visual effects co-supervisor for the 1997 Star Wars Special Edition. He has played a key role in attracting productions to New Zealand, including James Cameron’s new film Avatar, for which Weta is providing the visual effects. Weta partnership for special effects guru

McKellen records Wordsworth verse Lord of The Rings actor Sir Ian McKellen has recorded a selection of passages from one of Wordsworth’s best-known works for a Cumbria charity. The Shakespearean actor – best known for playing Gandalf in the Tolkien film trilogy – recorded sections of The Prelude for the Wordsworth Trust. The recording, made at Wordsworth’s former home Dove Cottage in Grasmere, is being released on a new CD. McKellen records Wordsworth verse

Chocolate Fish Cafe to Close? Aileen sends along word that WETAs Richard Taylor was quoted in cnbc.com’s Memorable Quotes from 10 Years of “Managing Asia”. His quote: “People asked me, ‘Who do you hire? Who works at Weta?’ And I’ve always said, ‘They are the kids who drew on the back of their pencil cases, and who dream of monsters.’ And that really is the heart of the people here.” Richard Taylor Quoted in ‘Memorable Quotes from 10 Years of “Managing Asia”‘

More 'ROTK: Complete Recordings' Problems? Crystal Goodbody sends this in: Here’s the latest on this, just received from Amazon.ca. I presume that the *ROTK Complete Recordings* will be available later, but this email certainly has me wondering. I would love to hear from you or on TORn as to what the situation is regarding other orders that haven’t been filled. Surely if there is sufficient demand, they can run off more of them??

“Hello from Amazon.ca. We’re sorry to report we won’t be able to obtain the following item from your order: Original Soundtrack (Artist) “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – The Complete Recordings [Import] [Soundtrack]” [Audio CD] Continue reading “More ‘ROTK: Complete Recordings’ Problems?”