From www.stuff.co.nz (via The Dominion Post)Despite a challenge from The Dark Knight, Peter Jackson’s The Return of the King is still king at the New Zealand box office. The latest Batman film, which broke box office records for an opening weekend in the United States, made $1.8 million in New Zealand, $800,000 short of the $2.6 million record accomplished by The Return of the King in 2003. However, The Dark Knight had the biggest opening weekend for a film so far this year, beating Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($1.6 million), I Am Legend and Iron Man (both $1.3 million).

FanExpo Logo Ruth let us in on a Canadian Convention next month called FanExpo Canada 2008. LOTR alums include Sean Astin and Brad Dourif. Other guests of note include WES CRAVEN, BUZZ ALDRIN, KATE MULGREW, EDWARD JAMES OLMOS, BRENT SPINER, MICHAEL ROSENBAUM, JAMIE BAMBER, KRISTY SWANSON, JEREMY BULLOCH, ALEX ROSS and HENRY WINKLER (what? Yeah I wrote that). [FanExpo Canada 2008]

Viggo Mortensen From seattlepi.com: Don’t be surprised if you’re at Mount St. Helens this weekend and you run into Viggo Mortensen. The Academy Award-nominated actor will be there filming scenes for the big-screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel “The Road.” It’s a post-apocalyptic tale of a journey taken by a father (Mortensen) and his young son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) across a barren landscape blasted by an unspecified cataclysm that destroyed civilization and most life on Earth. Mortensen and Smit-McPhee will be shooting scenes with director John Hillcoat Friday through Monday. The film also stars Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Michael K. Williams and Robert Duvall.

Craig Parker From www.stuff.co.nz: New Zealand actors Jay Laga’aia and Craig Parker are playing key roles in a new American swords and scorcery television series being filmed around Auckland. Filming of Wizard’s First Rule, the first book in Terry Goodkind’s popular The Sword of Truth books began this week. But the 22-episode series has been renamed Legend of the Seeker – apparently to avoid religious concerns among American audiences about scorcery. Executive producers Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert told a comics and fantasy convention of the name change, and announced the New Zealand actors, Entertainment Weekly reported. Craig Parker Cast in Raimi’s ‘Wizard’s First Rule’

TORN  CruiseFrom Garfeimao: The first Cruise to Middle earth was first announced at San Diego Comic Con last year, albeit with little fanfare, so it’s only fair that the second Cruise to Middle earth, also known as The Sequel, be announced there too. But I think I’ll give you a little hint here, just so you know to look for it at the convention. Oh, and comic con will be the last chance to get on to this year’s Cruise to Middle earth before the prices go up. Continue reading “The Cruise to Middle earth, the Sequel – full announcement at Comic Con”

con2008-header_logoThere are lots of reasons to attend Comic-Con or even follow along at home as the San Diego Comic-Con becomes the very center of the popular-culture universe including a good dose of Tolkien-related material. The 2008 SDCC has a “Hobbit-centric” flavor and kicks off today (Wednesday) has plenty to keep the Middle-earth enthusiast busy including TORn’s very own sneak-peek of the forthcoming pair of movies centered around “The Hobbit.” Read on for everything you need to know about SDCC 08! Continue reading “Middle-earth is in the air at Comic-Con”