Peter Jackson’s production company has cast doubt on the authenticity of one of the world’s largest collections of Lord of the Rings memorabilia. American Troika Brodsk has been advertising in New Zealand papers for items used in the production of the trilogy – and the upcoming Hobbit prequels.

Brodsk believes he has the largest private collection of Lord of the Rings props in the world – between 25 and 30 pieces. He says he already owns Gimli’s axe and Eowyn and Aragorn’s swords but his most expensive purchase is Frodo’s sword, Sting. More..

We’ve been getting unconfirmed reports that LOTR still photographer Pierre Vinet has passed away. His official Facebook page is filled with condolences from friends and fans alike, including Royd Tolkien.

His last film was 2007’s ‘The Water Horse’ however Pierre has been active as a still photographer for motion pictures since the early 90’s. He worked on several Peter Jackson films including King Kong, The Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures and Braindead. His other films include the Narnia films, The Whole Nine Yards, and The Virgin Suicides.

Pierre’s iconic photos of the LOTR character were some of the first images released from the production and are still seen on thousands of products worldwide. See his LOTR photos here…

UPDATE: We can now confirm that Pierre has passed away recently. Condolences to his wife Marjory, friends and family from TheOneRing.net. Please leave notes on his Facebook page, his wife plans to keep it going in his memory.

Linuxelf is building something of an online video archive of New Zealand news segments involving LOTR. Linuxelf writes “I dont think any of this stuff has been seen outside NZ so I thought it would be good to post them so other people can see them”. Take a look at these! Ngila Dickson & Richard Taylor Interviews, plus a segment about Hobbiton Tours. Continue reading “You Want Your Classic NZ LOTR News Segments? You Got ’em!”

Celebriel forwards an article on New Zealand stuntman and motion capture actor Shane Rangi, whom fans have seen in LOTR, King Kong, the Narnia films, and Avatar.

Speaking of his role as The Witch King of Angmar, Rangi says, “I thought I’d make a T-shirt with, ‘I stabbed Frodo’,” beaming good humour. “I go to conventions and talk to people who know who I am, and because they’re right into it they come up and go, ‘You killed Frodo.’ I say, ‘Look, don’t get upset with me, he survived’.” More..