The staff here at TheOneRing.net is dedicated to bringing you, our readers, the most up-to-date, thorough coverage of the Hobbit movies available on the internet. To that end, we’re excited to unveil a brand new section of the site, accessible by clicking the “The Hobbit” icon at the top right of the Home Page. In this “one stop shop” you’ll find detailed biographies of all the cast members as they’re announced, bios of the corresponding characters in the book, and a Hobbit FAQ that will be updated regularly as the production moves along. It also features some stunning character pictures from our guest artists who so far include Charles Burggraf, Colleen Doran, Donnato Giancola and Ted Nasmith. We invite you to send along any ideas you have for future updates and, as always, to join us on our Hobbit Movie discussion board and/or in Barliman’s chatroom.

Many, many thanks to the following staffers and members who contributed to getting the new Hobbit section of the site ready for its debut: Ainu Laire, Altaira, batik, Calisuri, deej, dernwyn, entmaiden, Garfeimao, grammaboodawg, Hamfast_Gamgee, Kangi Ska, Magpie, MrCere, N.E. Brigand, NottaSackville, Quickbeam, Sarumann, weaver, Xoanon.

With the release of the latest Harry Potter film, CNBC has a slide show featuring the highest grossing movie franchises of all time. Here are the top five…

  1. Star Wars (6 Films, $5.49 Billion)
  2. Harry Potter (6 Films, $5.42 Billion)
  3. James Bond (23 Films, $3.55 Billion)
  4. Shrek (4 Films, $2.94 Billion)
  5. The Lord of the Rings  (3 Films, $2.91 Billion)

As you can see The Lord of the Rings makes the top five, but, just as a point of observation, if you average the number of films to the dollar total, you’ll see that The Lord of the Rings has the highest per film average – around $970,000,000 per film. [See the full list]

Beren writes: I received the following statement by the Tolkien Estate regarding the “Wheelbarrows at Dawn” cancellation:

“The J R R Tolkien Estate has been made aware of a statement by ADC Publications concerning its cancellation of its proposed publication “Wheelbarrows at Dawn” by Angela Gardner and Neil Holford.

ADC’s statement suggests that the publication has been cancelled as a result of the Tolkien Estate’s threats to take court action preventing the release of the book.

As this statement is highly misleading, the Tolkien Estate considers it important that the true facts be clarified for those concerned. Continue reading “Tolkien Estate Comments on Book Cancellation”

Looking for a great read? Check out ‘The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise‘ edited by Christopher Tolkien, exclusively available as a print on demand title from the official Tolkien bookstore www.tolkien.co.uk:

A fiftieth anniversary reissue of Christopher Tolkien’s masterly translation of the Icelandic Heidrek’s Saga, including the dramatic Battle of the Goths and the Huns, the lyrical Waking of Angantyr, and the unique riddle-contest between King Heidrek and the god Odin.

This print on demand title is also available to US Customers. [Place your Order]

Did you ever want to ask a troublesome Tolkien question? Just who the heck is Tom Bombadil, anyway? Does the Ring think for itself? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

TheOneRing.net’s Reading Room is intended to be a forum for critical analysis and on-topic discussion of Tolkien’s literary works. Reading Room features include ongoing discussions of Tolkien-related books and topics, where volunteers lead ‘formal’ discussions, as well as posts of general interest you can make at any time!

So please feel welcome, don’t be shy (we don’t bite!) and jump right in! The Reading Room is open to all. [Reading Room]

Melilot sends along word: Regarding the launch of the new book on Hilary Tolkien: It’s been canceled. Andrew Compton sent along a message to explain things – I thought you might want to know before too many people are getting their hopes up. It’s a great pity I think.

Andrew Compton writes:
“I am sorry to have to advise that despite the tremendous work and dedication to this project by Angela Gardner, Neil Holford, the Publishers, designers, artists, and financial backing by ADC Publications Ltd I have no choice but to cancel the publication of the book for legal reasons. Continue reading “New Hilary Tolkien Book Cancelled”