I thought you might like to read the notes yourself! Thanks to hyakuhei and Clay for mailing in.

… “In response to the Potter advertisement, I would just like to say that my local Waldenbooks and Hastings have a similar set up. Waldenbooks’ display even has a sign that says, ‘If you like Harry Potter, try J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings!'”

… “Yup. Sales are on the rise. Which is more than a little gratifying to those of us here at Houghton Mifflin. Tolkien sales generally have doubled over the last two years, with this year-to-date versus last year-to-date showing extremely healthy growth as well. Though press time for reprints is especially difficult to secure in the U.S. at the moment with printing plants around the country operating at 100% of their capacity, we’ve managed to stay ahead of demand in almost all cases. But we did just recently encounter a two-week delay on a substantial reprint of the one-volume paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings (could it be Potter wizardry afoot AGAIN?). Not to worry though… we’re back in stock already.”

… “Hate to bother you twice in the same night, but as I was searching all things Tolkien at Amazon.com (looking in vain for some out-of-print editions) I noticed that there are several books scheduled for an October 2000 release. Most are new editions of the History of Middle-earth, but I noticed at least one book, a $50 paperback entitled ‘The End of the Third Age’, that I’ve never noticed…”

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From: al

The latest Empire Magazine (with John Cusack on the cover) – The Fellowship Of The Ring is listed as the number one film in the top twenty “in production”. Text reads:

01 The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowsip Of the Rings

A possible contender for the all-time franchise of franchises? Mr Lucas, the gauntlet is down.

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If you missed our Friday report, check it out here.

Saturday:

Calisuri and Corvar spent another long day at DragonCon greeting fans, networking, rubbing our sore feet, and spreading the word about the Lord of the Rings movies. Scott Murdock stopped back by and was again a tremendous help. Scott had spent the night making us some excellent signs instead of Calisuri’s poorly hand written ones. Thanks again to Scott and the many other people who have helped us out over the last few days.

Calisuri had the opportunity to attend the Brad Dourif and Karl Urban panel, where he found these Lord of the Rings cast members slightly reluctant to share any inside information on the films. While it was expected that we would not find out much new, what was not expected was the chemistry that Karl and Brad had with the crowd that gathered to ask them questions. Here are a few things that we did learn:

• Brad Dourif has filmed scenes with Christopher Lee already and is not expected back to the set until early next year. He mentioned that working with Christopher Lee was a wonderful experience. Apparently, Christopher Lee is quite the Tolkien scholar and was not afraid to speak up about errors. At times, Lee would correct even the production’s ‘tolkien experts.’
• Some battle scenes have already been filmed with thousands of extras. Karl Urban mentioned he participated in a very large battle with the help of the New Zealand Army. While he was not specific, he did mention that each race had a different fighting style. As Ringer Spy Galadriel has suggested, he describes the elf battle tactics as “smooth” and “fluid” compared to the rough nature of orc combat.
• Karl described his helmet as having “Eomer, Third Marshal of the Mark” written in Rohan around the forehead area and very elaborate decorations elsewhere.
• Mr. Dourif did reveal that he was not the first choice for Grima (I found this VERY interesting, considering he is perfect for the part). He did say that the first choice was an english actor and would not be more specific.
• Brad described how the production has linguists on hand at all times to insure that accents and languages are being spoken correctly. He even took a two-week course on his specific accent for the role of Grima.

(PS – We aren’t allowed to provide the pictures from this session per DragonCon request. No biggy, we have some other pictures from fans a little later on)

One of the highlights of the day was running into Jeff from TheForce.net. We talked quite a bit about Episode II and some of the secrets behind the production. TF.net is the site that started this whole online movie/rumor extravaganza. Sure they might not have been the first site, but they hooked Calisuri into checking their site out multiple times a day. Cal’s original idea for TheOneRing.net was to be to LOTR what TF.net was to Star Wars. We can only hope we have achieved such excellence. As you can tell, we were pretty psyched to finally met Jeff and even more psyched when he gave us t-shirts. (Calisuri has been wearing it for the last 2 days…hey…come on…its Star Wars)

Oh, and remember Fiends Carnival of Souls from Friday’s report? Well, we found a LOTR tie in for the band! Jason Moss the band’s headman is a Auckland (New Zealand) native who has relocated to the Atlanta area! Small world!

While Calisuri, Corvar and Scott slaved away at the booth, Jincey once again put her heart and soul into the events at the Tolkien Track. Here’s a quick review:

Turnout for the second session of LOTR Trivia Contest was a little low. However, Jincey persevered and managed to give 5 t-shirts to the lucky contestants that showed up. These folks were so good that Jincey didn’t even need to give them the options! They would nail the answers on the first attempt!

“The Secrets of the LOTR Movies Revealed” session was packed as usual. Once again, we can’t say too much about what was shown, but we wowed quite a few folks.

Brad Dourif showed up for his second session of “Grima Wormtongue Speaks,” and everyone had a great time. He talked a bit about the costumes and how his wormtongue costume was the most elaborate he had ever worn. He said the details are so small that the movie going audience will probably never even notice them, but they are there. According to Brad, even the elvish script on props is real Elvish and not just eye candy. Brad also talked a good bit about his language coaching. He sits in a room for an hour each day with a language coach and practices his accent. Another interesting fact he let loose…Grima is not pronounced Grime-a but instead Grim-ma. Hey! We didn’t know that..:) Overall, the session was great for Mr. Dourif and his fans.

All of us were thoroughly pooped by the time all the events for the day had ended, so we headed back to the hotel and ate like kings. (well, those of us who didn’t get sick did!) Corvar headed off to check out The Changelings at 11 and Jincey and Calisuri headed to the happenings after the Grand Masquerade! We didn’t plan on being right smack dab in the middle of the ‘walkway’ but somehow we managed to be front row for an amazing costume show. Besides the security guy that kept forcing us to show our cameras (I used a metallic pen to fool the genius) we had a great time hanging out with some folks from the CHUD table and ogling at the amazing costumes. Below you will find some of the more elaborate ones. (Hopefully Jincey will send me her negatives so we can show you the REALLy cool ones)

Thus ended the Saturday events at DragonCon.

Sunday Report:

The third full day of DragonCon started out as the rest. We rushed our large supply of t-shirts and multimedia up the 3 blocks from our hotel. Today our mission was to get rid of as many t-shirts as humanly possible. (Less to carry back) So what did we do? Who would have figured that showing “exclusive” footage would sell those things like hotcakes! Yes, we showed the “exclusive” footage to every passer-by in an attempt to make up for our presentation room being so small. Every single fan was blown away and completely amazed. Every jaw was on the floor. It was a great day. (PS – Half of the profits from the t-shirt sales are going to the Salvation Army, who had the unfortunate luck to have their world convention in Atlanta the same week as DragonCon. We have NEVER seen so many terrified people in our lives! LOL We figure a donation might help them deal with the trauma.)

The one cool fact we did find out on Sunday was that the theatrical trailer for FOTR would be out in November. Possibly before the latest offering from Adam Sandler, Little Nicky.

Corvar attended another sparsely populated “Tolkien Webmaster” meeting. Once again, proof that no matter what we think, WE aren’t that important! 😛

After we packed our booth up in record time, asked Jincey to go get the car, and ran out to the hotel entrance Calisuri noticed someone wearing a TORN t-shirt with a signature on the back! After yelling through a crowd of people, we met up with Chris LoPresto and JJ Kropp. Two lucky guys that had a chance to met Karl Urban and get his autograph! JJ sent along these couple of pics of the ‘merchandise’ and we have one of our own. Pretty cool to see a TORN shirt signed by Karl, I must admit! JJ also had a chance to snap a shot with Grima himself! (See below)

I want to take a sec to thank all the great people we met at this Con, and to mention just a few:

• Xenite.org – Michael Martinez did a great job with organizing this years Tolkien Track. We just need to help him convince Ed Kramer(Chairman of DragonCon) that Tolkien stuff needs a bigger room! 🙂
• Zealot.com – Thanks to Shane and Joe for stopping by and introducing themselves.
• CHUD.com – We finally got a chance to met the makers of the coolest sewer on the internet!
• Lucas Leverett – As you can see in many of the pictures, Apple computer played a major role in our production. Lucas was an Apple rep visiting the Con as a fan.
• Steve Babb and Glass Hammer – These musical magicians are coming out with a Tolkien pub song CD very soon. And if it sounds like what we heard at the Con, we can’t wait!
• Dept 13 – Bob from Dept 13 was just a fun guy we met sat night for a few minutes. Something to do with horror films…check out his site
• The Privateers – Karl Urban‘s latest TV show. Check it out!
• The Jedi Women – Hey, Calisuri misplaced your card! Doh! But it was great to met you folks! UPDATE!Ringer fan Stacy wrote in to remind me who she and the Jedi Women were! (And I did finally find their card!) Check out their The Qui-Gon Jinn Discussion List

We look forward to attending next years DragonCon. DragonCon 2001, the year of Tolkien fandom!

“How much did this thing cost again?”

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Thanks to Hugo our from our buds at lordoftherings.nl

Deal With New Line Provides Toy Biz Extensive Product Rights to Movies Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s Legendary Saga

NEW YORK — JUNE 12,2000 –Toy Biz, a division of Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: MVL), has landed one of the most coveted licenses in Hollywood as New Line Cinema today named the toy company the master toy licensee for the studio’s eagerly awaited fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings. The multi-year agreement provides Toy Biz with extensive worldwide product rights to all three films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s world-renowned literary phenomenon.

The broad range of categories covered include: action figures and accessories, dolls, radio control, remote control and infrared toy products, collectible marbles and accessories, electronic and non-electronic plush, flying toys and LCD watches. The initial products will hit stores coinciding with the release of the first film in the trilogy – The Fellowship of the Ring – scheduled to hit theaters Holiday 2001. The deal was announced by Avi Arad, Chief Creative Officer for Marvel Enterprises, Inc., Alan Fine, CEO of Toy Biz and David Imhoff, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Licensing and Merchandising, New Line Cinema.

“The Lord of the Rings trilogy is, without a doubt, one of the most immense and magnificent projects in the history of film,” states Imhoff. “We have no doubt that this property will be the absolute highlight of Licensing 2000 with momentum only growing stronger in the months ahead. In choosing Toy Biz, New Line has selected one of the category innovators. We are thrilled to have them on board.”

Fine added, “With its intricately detailed fantasy world, incredible range of highly-unique fantasy characters, and a story that has captivated kids and adults alike for more than 40 years, The Lord of the Rings has enormous potential in the marketplace. New Line’s aggressive and innovative marketing plan for the trilogy is truly groundbreaking. Their commitment and complete dedication to the brand is already creating amazing excitement around the films. We are looking forward to working with New Line to create a compelling product line-up that captures the depth, spectacle and appeal of these highly-anticipated movies.”

Widely heralded as the book series of the century, Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy has sold more than 50 million copies to date and has been published in more than 25 languages. Set in a mythic pre-history world called Middle-Earth, The Lord of the Rings saga tells the story of an epic battle between good and evil, involving wizards, hobbits and elves, and a ring with mysterious powers. The adventure focuses on a young leisure-loving hobbit named Frodo who against his will is thrust into the perilous quest to save humanity when he inherits a seemingly innocent magic ring. Frodo soon learns that the ring’s original maker, the Dark Lord Sauron, is desperately seeking it — for it is a ring of great evil which will enable Sauron to enslave the people of Middle-Earth. With this knowledge, Frodo and his fellowship of mythical beings set out on a harrowing mission across Middle-Earth in an attempt to destroy the ring– while avoiding the power of Sauron and the ring itself.

Tolkien’s fantasy world will be brought to life through three, star-studded, special effects filled live-action adventures.

The all-star cast includes: Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif, Sir Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Sir Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, Liv Tyler, and Elijah Wood. All three films are being shot back-to-back and directed by Peter Jackson (The Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures). Excitement for the movies is at a feverish pitch as evidenced by the frenzy surrounding the April Internet preview. In its first 24 hours, the exclusive, behind-the-scenes online preview at www.lordoftherings.net was viewed 1,671,000 times (over 600,000 more first day viewings than the initial Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace online trailer). By the end of the first week, The Lord of the Rings online preview had 6.6 million viewings.

Arad, commented, “Marvel is pleased to be extending its relationship with New Line. This movie franchise has the potential to be one of the biggest blockbusters of all-time. Since we have worked with New Line in the past with the Blade movie franchise, we know their marketing power and understand their goals. With that in mind, we feel that Toy Biz is well suited to deliver the types of innovative toy products expected to accompany a movie franchise of this stature.”

Toy Biz is a division of Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: MVL), one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies with operations in five divisions: licensing, toys, comic book and trade publishing, entertainment and the Internet. Through the ownership of over 4,700 proprietary characters, Marvel licenses its characters in a wide range of consumer products, services and media such as feature films, television, the Internet, apparel, video games, collectibles, snack foods and promotions. Marvel’s characters and plot lines are created and developed through the comic book publishing division, which maintains a leadership position in the U.S. and abroad.

For additional company information visit the Company’s corporate Web site at http://www.marvel.com.

Founded in 1967, New Line Cinema is the entertainment industry’s leading independent producer and distributor of theatrical motion pictures. New Line licenses its films to ancillary markets including cable and broadcast television as well as to international venues. The company, which is a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., operates several divisions including in-house theatrical distribution, marketing, home video, television, acquisitions, production, licensing and merchandising units. For more information on New Line and its subsidiaries, visit www.newline.com

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this news release regarding the Company’s plans are forward-looking statements that are dependent upon certain risks and uncertainties, including the Company’s potential inability to successfully implement its business strategy, a decrease in the level of media exposure or popularity of the Company’s characters resulting in declining revenues from products based on those characters, the lack of commercial success of properties owned by major entertainment companies that have granted the Company toy licenses, the lack of consumer acceptance of new product introductions, the imposition of quotas or tariffs on toys manufactured in China as a result of a deterioration in trade relations between the U.S. and China, changing consumer preferences, production delays or shortfalls, continued pressure by certain of the Company’s major retail customers to significantly reduce their toy inventory levels, the impact of competition and changes to the competitive environment on the Company’s products and services, changes in technology and changes in governmental regulation. Those and other risks and uncertainties are described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.

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After our ImagineCon experience, we didn’t know what to expect from our next adventure into the world of Fandom. We arrived at DragonCon in Atlanta early Tuesday morning without incident, looking forward to a great time at the US’s largest fan-based convention.

Thursday’s Highlights:

The highlight of the day was Karl Urban‘s appearance. (Eomer in the upcoming films) He had travelled 12 hours from NZ and then 4 hours to DragonCon only to have to wait around 2 hours for his luggage! However, by the time he came to do his chat, he was in good spirits and ready to please the crowd. Jincey (our Communications director, or better known as Head Op in Barliman’s) tried to exchange her TheOneRing.net shirt for Karl’s OFfICIAL Lord of the Rings vest. (Oooo…we were all drooling) Unfortunately, he wasn’t too fancy on the idea. Karl was very careful not to say anything specific or too revealing about the filming. He did state that the production is paying great attention to detail and the books are actually on the set, being read and used, everyday. Karl also spoke at length about his new series “The Privateers.” We’ll hear more from Karl this coming Saturday.

Jincey had a chance to check out a rare Tolkien biographical video which included footage of his children and Tom Shippey. It was a great presentation and we will report more on the video later.

The rest of the day was filled with some lessons in Tolkien linguistics, checking out Michael Martinez‘s reconstructing Middle Earth, and manning our fan table.

Friday’s Highlights:

We started off Friday with our “Secrets of the LOTR Movies Revealed” session. While we can’t exactly tell you what we showed there, we will say, that it was really fun to watch the first time reaction of many Tolkien fans. We have never seen so many jaws drop.

After our well attended first session, the room cleared out, just in time for the Tolkien Webmaster forum. Yeah, this is a slight rip on us, but really… are we that important? Needless to say, TolkienOnline, Xenite.org and even the folks from Coming Attractions hung out to chat about the internet and the many issues we webmasters face everyday.

After the Tolkien webmaster track, we set up the table and prepared to met the fans. Corvar and Calisuri spent the bulk of the rest of the day discussing the internet preview with hordes of hardcore Tolkien fans. In the early afternoon, Ringer fan Scott Murdock stopped by to lend us a much needed hand. Notable guests at the table include Terry Brooks, Rogue (of Imaginecon fame), Lucas L. (the Apple Guy), CHUD, Glass Hammer, Web Druid (from Barlimans and Terry B’s webmaster), Zealot.com, and Coming Attractions. With the much needed break Scott allowed us to take, Calisuri and Corvar were able to take a look around and meet some people.

Our neighbors, at the fan table, are Fiends Carnival of Souls. Fiends is a hardcore band which preformed Thursday night, and from what we heard put on an excellent show, regrettably Calisuri and Corvar were recovering from a lack of sleep preparing for the convention.

Meanwhile back at the Tolkien Track, among other Tolkien filled fun, Jincey and Leowyn (of Barliman’s) ran the Tolkien Trivia contest where a few lucky people walked away with bright shiny white TheOneRing.net shirts. After the Tolkien Trivia contest was a chat with Brad Dourif. Brad was willing to say a little bit more about the movies than Karl, but did not reveal anything that was not general knowledge. Brad went on to discuss his role in Dune and his involvement in other films. Following Brad, Glass Hammer unveiled some music from their soon to be released new album, you can expect to hear more about Glass Hammer on the site as Fall approaches.

Closing out the evening, we gave away another copy of the boxed set of LOTR and the Hobbit to the lucky winner Michael Page, greeted many more Tolkien fans, explained more details, and eventually came back to the hotel to prepare this report.

DragonCon continues through Sunday here in Atlanta Georgia; approximately 20,000 people are expected to attend the convention in its 5 day run. DragonCon is the largest fan run convention of its type in the United States.

Expect another report tomorrow when we will hopefully have more time to prepare it.

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The latest issue of Vogue has an article and full spread pics of Cate Blanchett (Galadriel). While the article only mentions LOTR in one brief paragraph, it is an informative piece. You can get a good look into the Aussie who will play our Elven Queen.

Click on each image to enlarge

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