jan-u-wine writes: For LA Ringers (and Astin fans), Rudy will be screening at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica on Thursday, Nov. 17. Sean Astin, Jon Favreau & David Anspaugh will be on hand for a q & a! More..

Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released the fourth and final vignette featuring a new perspective on The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, releasing November 1st. As the first M-rated video game bearing The Lord of the Rings name, this video addresses a simple – though key – element of this title: slaying orcs.

An assemblage of faces from the gaming and entertainment worlds, as well as key members of the Snowblind Studios team discuss not only the sheer fun obliterating the foul creatures that terrorize Middle-earth, but also speak to the violence depicted in the pages of the books, to describe war torn Middle-earth. Sean Astin and Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings), Brian Posehn (The Sarah Silverman Show) and Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) comment on not only the hordes of orc players will face in the game, but other foes that will pursue them, from troll, to goblins, to fell beasts and more. Gaming personalities Eric Eckstein (G4), Alison Haislip (G4) and Miri Jedeikin address the combination of the visceral combat, with the depth and character development of the RPG elements. Noted Tolkien scholar Corey Olsen points out the scribe’s own experience with war, particularly World Wars I and II. Continue reading “WBIE Releases Final Video of Four for The Lord of the Rings: War in The North”

Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released the third of four new videos discussing the theme of Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings. From the world of entertainment, to the development team at Snowblind Studios, this video includes candid commentary from people close to The Lord of the Rings canon.

Speaking to the concept of Fellowship, and it’s vital impact on The Lord of the Rings story, film stars Sean Astin and Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings) discuss the power created through these characters coming together. Actor Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) discusses the coming together of different races, utilizing their different attributes to create an even stronger bond, Experts from the world of gaming, Eric Eckstein (G4) , Alison Haislip (G4) and Miri Jedeikin discuss this theme in relation to concept of co-op play, and actor Brian Posehn (The Sarah Silverman Show) discusses his choice of player race. Continue reading “WBIE: Releases Third of Four Videos for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North”

Where do Tolkien fans gather on Tuesdays for the hottest live chat “call-in” show covering all things Hobbity? Join the fun with TORn Tuesdays LIVE with Quickbeam! Be part of our live streaming show with Cliff offering analysis and wild speculation about the set report from Ain’t It Cool News, as well as a tidbit of inside information about a casting in The Hobbit for “The Old Bellringer” who warns the Men of Laketown of that dratted fire-drake!

Chat with folks in Barliman’s chat room LIVE and we can even bring you in via Skype. Check out the broadcast in our LIVE Event section right here every week: 5:00pm Pacific Daylight Time!

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I stumbled on this short story on Weta and about the chainmaille process. It’s not news, but it is nerdily interesting.

We’ve been talking chainmaille with Emily. These days she’s the Make-Up and Hair Department co-ordinator, but we knew she was one of the pioneers in the chainmaille department and spent a long time putting an unfathomable amount of rings together for the costumes for The Lord of the Rings. Find out what it’s like to put together 5-10,000 rings. Per day. [READ MORE]

Thanks to The Hobbit, New Zealand’s government is now offering additional incentives to attract other big-budget productions. According to Variety,

The changes to the Kiwi incentives have opened up the country’s Large Budget Screen Production Grant (LBSPG) to allow for an additional grant for very large productions ($200 million-plus) as a direct result of the tussle over the “The Hobbit” films last year, when Warner Bros. sought financial incentives to make the big-budget production more attractive.

Now, an additional $NZ9.75 million ($7.75 million) is available to these big productions, and this new grant covers expenditure that may be excluded under the current LBSPG rules.

This move merely formalizes the negotiations thrashed out by the government last year, when it fought to keep the Hobbit pics in N.Z., and is the same deal that Warner Bros. negotiated at the time.