BitofEarth.net reports that their campaign to get the large cinema in Portland, Oregon for the charity showing of The Two Towers and Sean Astin’s Long and the Short Of It was a success. Now, Sean himself will be in attendance, so if you want tickets for this very special event on April 5 showing starting at 7.30pm, we suggest you hurry!

Update!

Due to the volume of out-of-town requests, as of 3pm (PST) tomorrow afternoon (April 3), Regal Cinemas will be accepting credit card orders over the phone for screening tickets. The number to call is 503-287-0338 Tickets are still $8. All you have to do is give your credit card number and expiration date, then show up before 4pm on Saturday with a photo ID.

End update

After all, you are getting a Special Charity Screening with the “Long and Short of It” and a personal appearance by Sean Astin for the same price as a regular movie.

There are still 450 seats available at the box office … but more than 250 have been sold in the last 18 hours.

Now, you do need to go to the Box Office to get your tickets there no internet or phone orders. The address is:

Regal Lloyd Center 10 Cinema
1510 Ne Multnomah Blvd
Portland, Oregon 97232

However, the good news is that the price has dropped because New Line Cinema and Regal are both generously donating their take. The price is now only $8 – the same price as a regular movie – $10 or $12. That’s a real bargain for the chance to see Sean Astin, his short film and The Two Towers all in one evening!

However, there are no discounts for pensioners, students or children.

Tickets are still available, but you should hurry because this really is a one-off event!

All money raised goes to Reading is Fundamental.

Halfdan Hansen sends us the great news!

Sotheby’s have listed for auction a unique prototype of the One Ring made by Jens Hansen, during the design process for the film. Jens Hansen was a noted New Zealand jeweler, and designer of the One Ring for the trilogy. An original concept drawing by Dan Hennah, Twice-Academy Award Nominated, will be offered with the piece.

[Click here to see the listing!]

From the Sotheby’s (eBay) web listing:

The sterling silver ring and concept design sketch are actual working items from the design process for the creation of the One Ring for the “Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy filmed in New Zealand. The ring is one of only 7 known remaining silver prototypes, each one different, representing the evolution of the design process. The ring includes the original sketch drawn by Supervising Art Director and Academy Award Nominee Dan Hennah. The ring was handmade by master goldsmith Jens Hansen and comes with a certificate of authenticity. The ring is in a wooden box.

RedWood City, CA. April 1, 2003: Electronic Arts makers of the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and the upcoming Return of the King have entered into a contract with New Line and Warner Brothers to develop a line of games crossing over the characters of Peter Jackson’s the Lord of the Rings films with chracters from Warner Brothers’ Harry Potter. Electronic Arts has again selected Neil Young to Produce this new line of games. “It’s really exciting to see such loved characters given an opportunity to mix. We can finally have Aragorn say ‘Hey lads lets head to Hogwarts!’ which is really something we’ve been wanting to do for some time.”

The Games, which does not yet have an official name, will debut in the Fall of 2004 for your PS2, XBox, and for the PC. The Creative Team behind The Two Towers is working closely with the teams at WETA Workshop and with the folks at Warner Brothers to bring gamers the best of both worlds, Hogwarts and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth.

Set in 13 tunningly detailed levels taken straight from the big screen, players must battle the evil forces of the Dark Lord Sauron while unraveling the riddles of Dobby in an effort to protect the Ring of Power and restore peace to Middle-earth and Platform 9 3/4ths. The Game features third-person action/adventure gameplay and a tactical combat system.

EA’s The Lord of the Rings vs. Harry Potter PlayStation 2 video game is rated “T” (Teen) and carries an MSRP of $49.99. The game is co-developed by EA’s Redwood Shores Studio and Stormfront Studios. For more information on EA’s The Lord of the Rings games, visit the official product website at: www.lordoftherings.ea.com.

Last year, New Line Cinema tapped EA as the exclusive interactive games licensee for the trilogy. The license grants EA the exclusive rights to develop and publish products based on the movies for next generation video game consoles, PC and handheld platforms.

CLICK HERE FOR REACTIONS FROM THE GAMING HAVENS STAFF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENEW LINE CINEMA’S THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING DOMESTIC RELEASE DATE MOVED TO MAY 12, 2004

Last Release to be Biggest

Film delayed to maximize postproduction efforts and bring trilogy to a suitable closing

Los Angeles, CA, April 1, 2003 – New Line Cinema’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, will be held for domestic release until Wednesday, May 12, 2004. The effects work on this third and final film of the trilogy will surpass its predecessors in scope and intensity, and the producers as well as director Peter Jackson feel that the extra time will cement the film’s status as the king of fantasy films and the crowning jewel of New Line’s massive effort to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic to the screen. A senior New Line executive made the announcement, joined by Jackson, who stated, “With the earlier Oscars in 2004, the original December release date will not make the deadline for Academy consideration. Given that fact and the tremendous amount of work needed in postproduction for this film to reach its full potential, New Line has decided to take the extra time in order to best please the fans.”

Jackson added, “The May release schedule is typically the biggest of the year, including the kings of the summer box office. The lineup for 2004 is a bit empty at the moment, and we feel that placing Return of the King in May will give the fans something out of the common run of action films to appreciate all summer as well as establish New Line at the top of the order for the summer rush.”

Jackson, the cast, and the effects house, WETA Workshop, will be working on postproduction for the remainder of 2003.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King stars (in alphabetical order) Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif, Bernard Hill, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, John Noble, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, Karl Urban, David Wenham, and Elijah Wood.

New Line Cinema presents a Wingnut Films Production, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, directed by Peter Jackson. The screenplay, by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair and Jackson, is based on the classic trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. The film is produced by Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. The executive producers are Robert Shaye, Michael Lynne and Mark Ordesky. The director of photography is Andrew Lesnie, A.C.S. The production designer is Grant Major. Michael Horton is the editor. The co-producers are Rick Porras and Jamie Selkirk.

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Zandra writes: “You posted something about LOTR sheet music and where to get it….The site MusicNotes.com has most of the LOTR music available to order a hard copy or to download digitally on its player (which is free to download, which has tons of cool features itself) to print youself or save it. They will also give the first sheet free to preview or print. They have a huge variety of music from vocal to piano and other instremtental pieces ..they go from classical to film and tv etc…I was highly impressed with their LOTR selection and esatatic with “Evenstar” as we speak..This site (as well as yours ;)) is a must for any musical LOTR fan.”