Created "by fans for fans", the 40-minute Lord Of The Rings fan film The Hunt For Gollum, is not your average amateur fan-made production. "Adapted from elements of the appendices" and featuring some impressive production values, it debuts online May 3rd, and is also being screened at the Sci-Fi London convention. Check out the First and second trailers.
posted by namewithoutwords on Apr 23, 2009 - 80 comments

The Hobbit Name Generator: You have a secret name. Discover it. [more inside]
posted by chillmost on Dec 16, 2008 - 86 comments

Some Thoughts On Balrogs.
posted by homunculus on Feb 15, 2008 - 45 comments

DM of the Rings (comic). The Lord of the Rings if it were a Dungeons and Dragons game. [more inside]
posted by bugbread on Oct 27, 2007 - 66 comments

"It is an army bred for a single purpose; to destroy the world of men."
posted by dazed_one on Jun 4, 2007 - 22 comments

Council of Elrond You have stumbled upon one of the largest resource sites on the web offering a variety of unique features based on the creative works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
posted by konolia on Mar 29, 2007 - 11 comments

Star Wars in 5 Seconds. The Empire Strikes Back. Return of the Jedi. Dozens more from this YouTube user, including Batman; The Lord of the Rings I, II, and III; Amadeus; The Passion; The Princess Bride; Titanic; The Big Lebowski; and my personal favorite, The Lion King.
"In 5 seconds" not to be taken literally. Some audio may be NSFW.
posted by Partial Law on Mar 8, 2007 - 49 comments

The Thain's Book is an online encyclopedia of Middle-earth in the Third Age. Oh, you're an expert? Take the Middle-earth Challenge and prove it!
posted by owhydididoit on Oct 8, 2006 - 11 comments

The LoTR musical needs Hobbits of a certain stature. What stature is that, budding thespians might ask? Well, smoot-height, of course! (Actually, 5'7" — or 170 cm — is the maximum height a would-be Frodo or Bilbo could be.) Another requirement is the ability to sing two songs ... and hairy appendages wouldn't hurt. So start knitting those foot-merkins! Auditions: 18 September, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Catherine St (tube stop: Covent Garden).
posted by rob511 on Sep 12, 2006 - 25 comments

Did The Wizard of Oz inspire Lord of the Rings? "The first film version of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz was released in the summer of 1939, less than a month before World War II officially began. Though started as early as 1937, The Lord of the Rings was largely composed during the war years, but not published until somewhat later. Therefore, it is by no means impossible that J.R.R. Tolkien saw the magnificent MGM movie before he wrote most of his magnum opus. Could Oz have influenced his tale somehow, consciously or unconsciously?"
posted by Joey Michaels on Apr 7, 2005 - 35 comments

One does not simply walk into Mortor.
posted by swift on Jan 19, 2005 - 61 comments

Fraud of the Rings LOTR cartoon satire...My favorite.
posted by konolia on Dec 22, 2004 - 28 comments

Yes, I am a pathetic geek. And yes, this homemade LOTR version of Monopoly rocks. Much more beautiful than the Hasbro product (which I bet doesn't include a shortcut through Shelob's Lair). Too bad there doesn't seem to be much of a homemade movement happening. Or is there? Little brothers everywhere need somethng cooler than a dumbed-down Shrek 2 edition. [via kottke]
posted by scarabic on Dec 6, 2004 - 14 comments

Lord of Rings Flatulence Mashup. [NSF mature people] [wmv 53 seconds]
posted by srboisvert on Sep 25, 2004 - 7 comments

Tricksy those hobbitses What happens when two girls bilk LotR fans, trick the celebrities, and leave a volunteer holding the bag? Continued fan outrage and careful tracking.
posted by FunkyHelix on Jun 9, 2004 - 19 comments

Part 4 of the Mario brothers tragedy is up! A follow up to this post. Finally, no more sleepless nights.
posted by dazed_one on Apr 30, 2004 - 11 comments

Once more, with hobbits... A Lord of the Rings / Buffy the Vampire Slayer adventure, heralded by the folks at the Z+Partners blog as "rip, mix culture" incarnate... offered here for your delectation.
posted by silusGROK on Apr 12, 2004 - 4 comments

New Zealand critic blasts LOTR. Big budget movie special effects have overshadowed the timeless are of storytelling and character development. "..The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is, as a work of cinematic art, ham-fisted, shallow, bombastic and laughably overrated.." [More Quotes inside]
posted by stbalbach on Apr 8, 2004 - 48 comments

What not to do at a showing of Return of the King...
posted by bluedaniel on Dec 30, 2003 - 32 comments

"This is frankly one of the greatest films ever made." Harry Knowles reviews "Return of the King."
posted by adrober on Dec 13, 2003 - 56 comments

Did you think about buying tickets to the one day showing of all three LOTR movies? It would have been a good investment.
posted by alms on Nov 10, 2003 - 15 comments

The Lord of the Rings: The Extended Versions: On screen. Got 11 or 12 hours to spare? Want to see Peter Jackson's epic trilogy, all of it, all at once, all on the big screen? Your wish has been granted. See the first one, or see the second one, or on December 16th, see both -- and then see the premiere of The Return of the King, too. Bring your adult diapers, kids.
posted by honkzilla on Oct 3, 2003 - 27 comments

Final Lord of the Rings trailer [Quicktime Movie]. No sign of it yet on the official site. (Via BBC)
posted by MintSauce on Sep 29, 2003 - 37 comments

One Ring Circus -- insanely detailed Lord of the Rings costumes stitched up by some fans...for those who can't wait 147 more days.
posted by serafinapekkala on Jul 22, 2003 - 12 comments

Gollum's acceptance video for winning Best Virtual Performance at the MTV Movie Awards. [Via /.]
posted by homunculus on Jun 8, 2003 - 24 comments

Lord of the Rings...THE MUSICAL. You heard it here first, folks.
posted by adrober on May 28, 2003 - 14 comments

Just how well do you know The Lord of the Rings? Test your knowledge here, courtesy of the Tolkien Sarcasm Page. Also of interest: the LOTR board game, and a brief synopsis of LOTR for you students who have to write a quick book report but just don't have the time to read the actual books.
posted by UKnowForKids on Mar 31, 2003 - 6 comments

I'd like to thank the Academy. And the French. Film critic Michael Sragow, late of Salon and currently of The Baltimore Sun, ruminates on the upcoming Oscar telecast and wonders why such a "lib-rad industry" would sit-out the night and pass on the opportunity to bang us all over the head with soporific political messages. In actual movie talk, he sez of LOTR: "I don't think there has been a fantasy film IN MOVIE HISTORY as faultlessly acted, as magnificent in its scope and invention, and as enthralling in its narrative drive as I'm sure the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy will turn out to be. "
posted by baltimore on Mar 21, 2003 - 2 comments

Secret Diaries from the Lord of the Rings.
posted by Ron on Jan 9, 2003 - 22 comments

Tolkien's Eleventy-first. Today would've been JRR Tolkien's 111th birthday. According to the Tolkien Society, the proper thing to do is to raise a glass at 9 pm and say "The Professor." Mary-Ann was not available for comment.
posted by condour75 on Jan 3, 2003 - 13 comments

The piercing truth of the One Ring
.wmv file
posted by Witty on Dec 6, 2002 - 17 comments

Protest Lord Of The Rings "The Two Towers"!!! "We believe that Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema's actions are in fact hate speech. The movie is intentionally being named The Two Towers in order to capitalize on the tragedy of September 11." Satire?....please.
posted by Dr_Octavius on Oct 24, 2002 - 42 comments

Sure, Peter Jackson's might be the most famous, and you've probably all heard of Ralph Bakshi's animated version and the Rankin-Bass one, but did you know that there have been other cinematic adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien's works? Take a look at this 1960s musical adaptation of The Hobbit, for instance, or a 1940s Warner Bros. version of the complete trilogy. (Movie downloads require Quicktime.)
posted by UKnowForKids on Oct 2, 2002 - 16 comments

Howard Shore tops list of 30 greatest film scores for Lord of the Rings according to a poll from Classic FM. John Williams predictably enough takes a chunk of the top ten. The site also has audio interviews with Shore and Williams. More about the poll at The Telegraph.
posted by Summer on Aug 28, 2002 - 33 comments

Aaah, the joys of PetitionOnline.com. As of right now, 840 people have petitioned Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema to change the name of "The Two Towers," the sequel to The Lord of the Rings, saying that Jackson purposely made the title in reference to the September 11th attacks. Nevermind the fact that the book of the same name was published by Tolkien in 1954. Naturally, there is a petition against the petition. Hooray, democratic process!
posted by littleyellowdifferent on Apr 30, 2002 - 39 comments

"It's the ring. It's getting heavier". This site is offering a 20Mb Quicktime download of the trailer for LOTR: The Two Towers. Very obviously a bootleg filmed in a theatre -- it's got an annoying flicker and the sound is a bit mussy -- but pretty decent quality otherwise.
posted by maudlin on Apr 8, 2002 - 21 comments

Lord of the Hackers? Sherri Turkle writes in the NYT:

Adolescents are wise in the psychology of computer games and Middle Earth. They live in a world they can't control, in a body that seems increasingly alien. To them the computer world is soothing, offering reassurance through mastery. Just as each episode of "The Lord of the Rings" presents a danger and each has its resolution, so many adolescent boys move from one block of intransigent code to another, from one screen to the next, declaring victory as they go. But this distinction is about more than gender; it is about ways of looking at the world — real, imagined or computer-generated. Some pioneers of computing had a style of working that rewarded risk. They spoke of programming itself as though it were a dangerous quest. At M.I.T. computer hackers even had a name for it: "sport death." To pull back from the impending doom of a system crash required near magic, an almost empathetic knowledge of the intricacies of code. For this community, a certain bravado came to be seen as valuable, even necessary, beyond the world of programming.

Any programmer-hobbits care to comment on this? This doesn't exactly describe my feelings when unsnarling html.
posted by mecran01 on Mar 8, 2002 - 41 comments

Lord of the Rings sweeps Baftas It must be wierd for Peter Jackson to be working on the final two acts of his trilogy when the first part is winning awards. I think this is what can be termed 'pressure to perform'.
posted by feelinglistless on Feb 24, 2002 - 9 comments

New Line may add footage to the end of the theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring. "We're going to change the last reel out and do a preview of Two [Towers] at the end of the last reel..."
posted by tranquileye on Jan 25, 2002 - 32 comments

A Beautiful Mind sweeps the Golden Globes. There you have it folks. As an unabashed LOTR fan, I was mildly disappointed, but not at all surprised that the outsider Peter Jackson did not get his due.
posted by insomnyuk on Jan 20, 2002 - 36 comments

Kiwi EH Calling all NZers .. Lord of the Rings fans may enjoy it too.
posted by johnny7 on Jan 15, 2002 - 20 comments

Lord of the Rings stars get tattooed. "The nine stars who made up the fellowship in the blockbuster movie trilogy were tattooed with the same symbol by Wellington tattooist Roger Ingerton at his Roger's Tatooart studio. Sunday News can reveal the symbol is a number nine in Elvish - a language spoken in the films."

And no, that isn't a spelling mistake. They got inked by at a tattoo parlour that seems to be missing a 't' in the name.
posted by animoller on Dec 22, 2001 - 16 comments

If you were expecting the Lord of the Rings movie to receive as much if not more scrutiny from Conservative Christians as Harry Potter did you’re in for a surprise. Despite LOTR being filled with violence and intense fantasy imagery few churches or religious watch-god groups will be condemning the fantasy epic like they did the occult heavy, yet kid-friendly Harry Potter flick.

The reason is simple: Tolkien was a devout Christian.
In fact, Tolkien persuaded C.S. Lewis, who himself later wrote several Christian classics, to become a Christian. The two are credited with paving the way for a new genre of devotional literature, influencing authors like Charles Williams, T.S. Eliot, G.K. Chesteron and Dorothy Sayers.

Fortunately for most Tolkien doesn’t let Christian imagery dribble into his stories the way C.S. Lewis did. So expect religous LOTR friendly reviews from all with the possible exception of the ChildCare Action Project. One has to wonder though - if Harry Potter author, J. K. Rowling, was more publicly religious would her books be as controversial?
posted by wfrgms on Dec 5, 2001 - 38 comments

In some places on this planet, even 'Tolkienists' are being arrested Tolerance for alternative lifestyles is apparently non-existent in Almaty, Kazakstan. "Almaty's police are resorting to torture in their war against Kazakstan's burgeoning bohemian counter-culture. Their targets are a growing army of street musicians, alternative artists, a cult devoted to Tolkien, anarchists and gays, whose unconventional lifestyles infuriate them." Go here for more on the Tolkienists.
posted by Lynsey on Jul 30, 2001 - 10 comments

Pirated LOTR trailer. But only the sit-in-cinema-with-camcorder-hope-I-don't-get-caught type way. A textural description. Not officially available online until the 19th. It's 2.4 megs, Quicktime 4 required. Aliens bless the Internet.
posted by holloway on Jan 15, 2001 - 7 comments

Lord of the Rings Trailer released...wow is it something. I wasn't too sure about this one before (Liv Tyler as Arwen? Oy...), and, while the acting may suck, it looks like it's going to be quite a spectacle.
posted by RakDaddy on Apr 7, 2000 - 15 comments