The subject says it all folks. An interesting article from the LA Times comes our way this evening concerning James Cameron’s lofty quest to be mentioned alongside Tolkien, Star Wars and Star Trek.

“You’ve got to compete head on with these other epic works of fantasy and fiction, the Tolkiens and the ‘Star Wars’ and the ‘Star Treks,'” Cameron said. “People want a persistent alternate reality to invest themselves in and they want the detail that makes it rich and worth their time. They want to live somewhere else. Like Pandora.”

Check out the full article at the LA Times site.  [Full Article]

A recommendation to ban the construction of dams on a Central Otago river to protect a rare fish called Gollum, named from The Hobbit book, has been hailed as a major victory by environmental groups.

A tribunal – appointed by the Ministry for the Environment – decided to protect the “bug eyed” fish came after receiving submissions from anglers, environmental groups, gold-miners, skiers and kayakers favouring further protection of the Nevis river.

[Full Story at NZHerald.co.nz]

Hobbit fans have been waiting for years to see progress on the movie version of Tolkien’s classic novel The Hobbit.  Or at least word on what final decision will be made.  There is now hope that some answers may be forthcoming.

Stuff.co.nz posted an interview with Peter Jackson mentioning that Warner Bros was  “making progress untangling the MGM situation, so we should have certainty with The Hobbit sometime soon”.  A decision on whether Jackson would direct the film has not been reached but that verdict likely would be part of any potential announcement.

According to the article, Jackson is anxious to finalize everything in order to “map out a five-year plan for projects that will keep many people very busy”.  That would be happy news for the movie industry in New Zealand and the very enthusiastic fan base. 

You can read the entire article here.

Bilbo Baggins

Ringer Cherie sent in this beautiful picture of her 17 week old puppy, Bilbo Baggins (a Corgi), and it got us thinking. We’ve never asked the fans worldwide to submit their pictures of pets named after Tolkien related characters. We know there are a lot of you out there with pictures, so let’s share them with all of Tolkien fandom!

Here are two ways to participate:

  1. Forums – Click on the ‘Discuss‘ link associated with this post and you will magically transported to our forum where you can submit a reply with your pet picture(s).
  2. Use Flickr – Post your picture in our ‘Tolkien Pet Gallery‘ on Flickr. We’ve made it a public group, so as long as you have a Flickr account, you should be able to participate.

Feel free to post in one or both places – whatever is easiest for you! We’d love to see your pictures and we will occasionally be featuring your pets right here on TORn’s homepage! Oh, and if there are any Tolkien related businesses out there that want to share some prizes for the folks who participate, drop us an email! [Discuss] [Flickr Gallery]

Update: for those of you new to posting on our message boards, no less uploading pictures, there’s an excellent tutorial at the TORn Image Guide (by board member Magpie) and/or you can email Altaira@theonering.net for help.

Luthien writes: I make corsets for a living, and as a huge fan of all things Tolkien I decided to give a “one ring” corset a go. It took me hours to paint the script onto this corset once I had finished the rest of it, but I’m really proud of it. More..