Founder’s Day fun continues this weekend with the Sixth Annual Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy Marathon! (phew, that’s a long title!)

Join us Saturday, May 1, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT. in TORn’s chatroom “Barliman’s” as people from around the world sit down at their computers with one common goal: to virtually gather with other fans to watch all three Lord of the Ring extended editions straight through. Geeky? Yes. Fun? Absolutely. Find all the details on our Marathon FAQ.

But that’s not all! Also on Saturday night Barliman’s will be holding a special Hobbit discussion between “The Two Towers” and “Return of the King.” (approx. 5:30 p.m.):

Speculation and anticipation are mounting among Lord of the Rings fans as news about the Hobbit continues to dribble out. With scripts for the two films drafted, but the project still awaiting the studio greenlight, TORn’s Hall of Fire returns to host a discussion asking “what next?” What can we expect to see in the films? Who will take the lead role? And will it be wall-to-wall dwarves, or will there be additions and casualties? Come along, and bring your own rumours for discussion!

So please join us on the TORn IRC server this Saturday for two very special events! Read more

Thanks to poster Woodyend for finding this nice tidbit of news.  Ronan Keating has apparently auditioned for a role in The Hobbit as part of his quest to move into the movie industry.  There was no mention as to what role he auditioned for or when he might hear back from the producers behind the two-part Lord Of The Rings prequel.

Keating said: “I don’t think I’ll get the role of The Hobbit. But I would like to take on roles which nobody would expect. I don’t want to be reduced to love stories. I’d like to try dark, edgy roles. I need a challenge.”  More.

Moviefone scored an interview with Peter Jackson about the pair of ‘Hobbit’ movies that have been burning up internet bandwidth as every site remotely related to popular culture has been scrambling to get the lowdown on what in the devil has been going on. Director Guillermo del Toro has feed us information on our message boards and we have some reliable sources, but producer Jackson set the record strait on a couple of important facts:

* He says the 2nd script is now finished. “So the studio’s got both scripts now, which is a milestone,” said Jackson.
* The two movies haven’t been “delayed” because they never had a schedule
* No actors have been cast because the film hasn’t received a greenlight from the studios
* He confirmed our report about the MGM situation slowing up the start of production

You can read the whole story right here. Thanks to Magpie on our message boards and the blog of TORn friend Doug Adams on his LOTR music blog.

Discussion board member olipowell has chimed in on the Movie: Hobbit board about casting for Bilbo:

I now know 2 people who have read for Bilbo that I went to Drama school with and I can say categorically they are both entirely unknown outside of the world of theatre & bit TV parts. So…they ARE seeing and have seen unknowns and I would not be surprised if that is the route they take.

Join in on the discussion!  [Discuss]

TheOneRing.net has received rock-solid information from an absolutely reliable source that the MGM financial situation is indeed what is behind the delays of the start of “The Hobbit.”

The venerable film studio behind James Bond and about 4,000 other titles is reported to be in about $3.7 billion in debt but holds the distribution rights for two “Hobbit” films that are under contract to be made by Warners Bros. The two studios have an agreement in place to produce and distribute the film but financial difficulties for MGM, including the potential sale of the studio and its holdings, including rights to the films based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien, has delayed the films.

The source inside the production has told TheOneRing.net that all of the wrangling with MGM is indeed a significant part of possibly pushing the films back.

“At this stage we are all working and hoping for the best case scenario. Without a doubt, the MGM situation carries great importance.” Continue reading “Source says the MGM situation of ‘great importance’ to two potential ‘Hobbit’ films”

Thanks to ringer ‘smokerings’ from the forum for alerting us to this story. On of Guillermo del Toro’s favorite actors, Ron Perlman, has been cast in the upcoming ‘Conan’ film as Conan’s Dad. What does this have to do with ‘The Hobbit’ films? Well, we are beginning to see a trend. Actors who we would expect to have a role in the Hobbit films are taking other roles in films coming out in 2011. One can start to jump to a few conclusions…either the actor(s) will not be involved with ‘The Hobbit,’ their roles in these other films do not prevent them from working on ‘The Hobbit,’ or (what we believe is more likely) ‘The Hobbit’ is being delayed to a 2012 release. As always, this is all speculation and rumor. Discuss it in our forum! [Read Article]