Sean AstinBelleferret writes: You may want to report that (not unexpectedly) Sean Astin will be providing the voice of Samwise Gamgee for the backstory for the upcoming game, LOTR: Aragorn’s Quest. More..

Elrond - Hugo WeavingThanks to TORn message board member Theodred for digging up this great scoop! In the following BBC Radio 5 Simon Mayo interview, ‘Hobbit’ director Guillermo del Toro confirms that Hugo Weaving will be cast in the upcoming ‘Hobbit’ films. While he does not specifically say he is returning as Elrond, when speaking of Andy Serkis, Ian McKellen and Weaving he says, “…as the roles they originated in the trilogy.” I think we can make a good assumption that means Elrond! Take a moment to listen to the Simon Mayo broadcast over at BBC – the Hobbit casting talk is around the 02:10:55 point. Enjoy! [BBC Radio]

peter-jackson-2009The New York Times broke this story that one Peter Jackson will be a guest at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con.The director of the “Lord of the RIngs” trilogy of films has been a regular at the convention but only via video and has even said on recorded messages shown at the four-day celebration of popular culture that someday he would like to attend. He introduced material like the King Kong vs. three T-Rex scene from “King Kong,” and also said his “hellos” to LOTR fans during the production of the films. He will officially be on hand at this year’s event to talk about “District 9,” which he is producing for director Neill Blomkamp but he also has several other irons in the fire, such as producing “The Hobbit,” with Guillermo del Toro in two parts and working on “Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn,” with Steven Spielberg and preparing for the release of his own “Lovely Bones,” adaptation of Alice Sebold’s novel. Continue reading “Who will be at SDCC 2009? Peter Jackson! (& TORn)”