Sideshow Collectibles has started their Comic-Con celebration early with the launch of their month-long Online Comic-Con. Each day they are revealing new products, exclusive discounts, and a slew of contests and giveaways. Today’s super secret product release was the Gandalf Statue, part of their recently launched Lord of the Rings Statue line-up. These statues, like the previous Sideshow/Weta line-up, are made of heavyweight polystone. Unlike the past line-up, the hope is to capture the essence of each character instead of simply capturing a moment from the films. They released Aragorn as Strider a few weeks ago, teased Legolas in a video, and now have made the Gandalf statue fully available for pre-order today. We’ll keep you updated on any other Lord of the Rings related events during their Online Comic-Con. [ Pre-Order Gandalf ]

The Warner Brothers Shop is looking for help from the Tolkien community as they prep their next Lord of the Rings T-Shirt! Starting today and running through Monday, you can share your opinions about the ‘Green Dragon’ design and then save 20% on select merchandise throughout the weekend. The survey literally takes all of 30 seconds! Follow the link to share your opinions [T-Shirt Survey]

Ataahua writes: Ian McKellen was interviewed by TV3’s Campbell Live last night, as our favourite wizard is in Wellington for the stage production Waiting for Godot. You can view the video here.

Visitors to Westfield Manukau City may be shocked to find a fiery beast residing in the mall from Monday 28 June. Part of Westfield’s school holiday programme, Weta Workshop sculptor Kim Graham will be inspiring and educating up-and coming artists as she works in ‘The Dragon’s Lair’ on a ‘life-sized’ dragon sculpture. Kim will also be inviting young shoppers to lend a hand in bringing the creature to life. Kim will be demonstrating sculpting from 10am daily and encouraging children to help her as she works. While talking through the sculpting process, she will explain techniques & tools and reveal how movie magic happens. The dragon is currently a 5 foot 9 inch Plaster of Paris covered sculpture with one tonne of clay to be added over the next two weeks. More..

Sideshow Collectibles Morgul Lord Premium Format Figure

Sideshow Collectibles has revealed the full product gallery and pricing information for their upcoming ‘Morgul Lord’ Premium Format Figure.  The exclusive version of the piece, available only at their website (SideshowCollectibles.com), will include a switch-out flaming sword and begins pre-ordering tonight at approximately 5-6pm ET. There have been quite a few characters in this premium format figure line-up, and some are still available to order. They include Gandalf the Grey (pre-order), Moria Orc (instock) and Galadriel (instock). (psst – If you got one of those $25 TORn Gift Cards the other week, you can use them on the instock items!) For the complete Morgul Lord gallery click on the following link. [Morgul Lord] Oh, and last week Sideshow also revealed the latest statue in development…looks like a Legolas in Helms Deep armor. [Check out the Video]