It appears that Frodo is coming home. Not to the Shire, but to Warner Bros. Though neither company said anything about it, New Line’s licensing deal with Electronic Arts for “Lord of the Rings” games expired at the end of last year. Originally set to end in 2007, the two companies agreed on an extension that March until the end of 2008 (the pact also included literary rights holder Tolkien Enterprises). The last game released under the deal was January’s poorly received, soft selling “Lord of the Rings: Conquest” (one of the reasons the game turned out so badly may have been that developer Pandemic had to get it done before EA’s rights expired at the end of 2008, though apparently the publisher got a two-week reprieve to release it in early January).
Since EA first got its hands on the “Lord of the Rings” license back in 2001, New Line has transitioned from an independent studio under the Time Warner corporate umbrella to a label for Warner Bros., which now handles most of its business operations. Warner, of course, has its own videogame unit, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, that has grown from a licensing unit to a full-fledged publisher with its own slate of AAA titles. Lord of the Rings game rights now at Warner Bros.
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Dr. Amy H. Sturgis will be giving the keynote address (“Pushing the Boundaries of English Studies: From Middle-earth to Hogwarts”) at this year’s English Studies Symposium at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee on March 21, 2009. The event will include a full day of presentations made by graduate students and faculty from universities all over the Southeast. There is a fee to attend, but there’s also a fully catered deli lunch at no extra cost. If you’re in/near the area, please join us! More information is available here.
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Turbine has just released a batch of screenshots for the upcoming Volume II: Book 7: Leaves of Lürien, the first free content update for The Lord of the Rings Online since the award-winning game expansion, Mines of Moria, was released last fall. The new screenshots illustrate changes to the new player experience that will take effect with the launch of Book 7. Turbine has revamped the new player experience for elves, dwarves and the race of man.
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Sean Astin told SCI FI Wire that he’d be thrilled to reprise his Lord of the Rings film trilogy role as Sam Gamgee in the upcoming big-screen adaptations of The Hobbit. However, because the Rings’ beloved quartet of Hobbits don’t actually appear in The Hobbit, Astin doubts that he’ll be asked to appear in the films. Astin’s comments run counter to those of his Rings co-star Dominic Monaghan, who told MTV News in January that he believes that he, Astin, Billy Boyd and Elijah Wood will play some role in the two Hobbit features. The films will be produced by Rings mastermind Peter Jackson and directed by Guillermo del Toro. SCI FI Wire spoke to Astin today, while he was promoting ION Television’s upcoming miniseries The Color of Magic. Following are edited excerpts from that exclusive interview, in which he also talked about the 10th anniversary of filming The Lord of the Rings and his other upcoming genre projects. Astin up for Hobbit if Hobbit up for him
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As vice president of finance for Decipher Inc., Rick Eddleman controlled every aspect of the company’s money. His brother-in-law, Warren Holland, had founded the Norfolk-based company in 1983. It quickly took off, producing and selling a line of collectible and role-playing card games such as “How to Host a Murder,” “Lord of the Rings” and “Star Wars.” Holland hired Eddleman to work part time on Decipher’s computer systems. By the end of 1992, Holland asked Eddleman to become vice president of finances for the company. Prosecutors say Eddleman embezzled more than $1.5 million from the company over nine years. Eddleman pleaded guilty in Circuit Court on Monday to 12 counts of embezzlement. He faces a maximum sentence of 12 years under the terms of his plea agreement when sentenced in June. The Decipher Fallout
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I really doubt that is a word, anyway, PJ (not that one) sends this in: In case it hasn’t been mentioned yet, here’s a nice site with panoramic view’s of Tolkien’s old Oxford haunts. Panorama-vision Oxford
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