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NEWS ABOUT: Lord of the Rings

Why Tolkien Wasn't Given Nobel Prize: Bad Writing

Jury member was not impressed with storytelling

(Newser) - His novels became classics, but back in 1961, JRR Tolkien's work wasn't good enough for the Nobel Prize committee. The Lord of the Rings author was nominated that year by fellow fantasy author CS Lewis, but the committee rejected him because his writing wasn't good enough, the... More »

Google Maps Advises Against Mordor Visits

Try searching for walking directions from the Shire

(Newser) - With The Hobbit trailer out , some among us may feel inspired to risk the trek to Mordor. But if you look for walking directions to it from the Shire on Google Maps, you'll be greeted with a warning: "Use caution—One does not simply walk into Mordor."... More »

Hobbit Trailer Has Arrived

Long-awaited trailer reveals much about An Unexpected Journey

(Newser) - An early Christmas gift for Lord of the Rings fans: The first official trailer for the first part of Peter Jackson's two-part adaptation of The Hobbit has been released, reports Wired . An Unexpected Journey, one of 2012's most hotly anticipated releases, stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and... More »

Spoilers Don't Actually Spoil

People like known surprise twists early, says study

(Newser) - Next time you inadvertently spoil the end of a TV show or movie for someone who hasn't seen it yet, bust out this study in defense: Spoilers don't spoil anything, say researchers at UC San Diego. In fact, they say people enjoy a story better if they know... More »

John McCain Blasts 'Tea Party Hobbits'

Skewers hard right, saying vote against GOP plan would help Obama

(Newser) - Is it the return of the long-lost Maverick? John McCain came out swinging at both the left and the right yesterday, calling Harry Reid's debt plan "full of smoke and mirrors," but reserving his harshest language for conservatives, reports the LA Times . Reading from a Wall Street ... More »

Hungary Warns Residents of Disasters ... in Middle-earth

Emergency broadcast system tested using 'Lord of the Rings' locales

(Newser) - Hungary had a conundrum: How to test its emergency broadcast system, but not alarm residents by mentioning real towns? The solution: Use Middle-earth instead, the AP reports. The country’s disaster management agency is warning citizens today about severe weather in Gondor, Rohan, Rivendell, and Helm’s Deep, all locations... More »

Blame Obama for Nutty Candidates

Maybe he needs to visit Christine O'Donnell's fantasy land

(Newser) - Christine O’Donnell—the “Palin Mini-Me” running for Senate in Delaware—is off in her own fantasy world, writes Maureen Dowd of the New York Times : Middle Earth, to be precise. “I aspire to be soft and gentle like Arwen, but realistically, I’m a fighter, like Eowyn,... More »

Peter Jackson to Direct The Hobbit

'Lord of the Rings' mastermind takes over project from del Toro

(Newser) - Lord of the Rings fans, rejoice: The Hobbit will be directed by Peter Jackson himself, Deadline reports. Jackson is negotiating a deal with Warner Bros, New Line, and MGM, and the studios are reportedly willing to spend big on a two-part Hobbit picture from J.R.R. Tolkien's most accomplished... More »

Ohio Mennonites Selling Hobbit Tea Line

Including Gandalf the Gray Tea and Bilbo Baggins Breakfast Blend

(Newser) - A 31-year-old Mennonite farmer has scored the rights to market a line of teas based on JRR Tolkien’s classic The Hobbit, and blends like Bilbo Baggins Breakfast Blend and Gandalf the Gray Tea are now available online —shipped directly from Middle-earth via Ohio. “We liked the small... More »

Top Conservative Flicks of the '00s

Even Hollywood can make movies for the non-'lily-livered:' Nile Gardiner

(Newser) - "Hollywood may well be a bastion of liberalism, but it does continue to occasionally produce major films that advance conservative principles," Nile Gardiner writes in the Telegraph . His best of the aughts:
  1. Master and Commander, 2003: The Peter Weir flick starring Russell Crowe is "an epic tale
... More »

Movie 'Chastity' Sells Better Than Sex

Viewers prefer innuendo to full nudity

(Newser) - Filmmakers looking to score a box-office hit should follow the lead of Twilight, Lord of the Rings, and Spider-Man: keep the love scenes chaste. So claims a new study of more than 900 films released between 2001 and 2005, which shows that, contrary to popular belief, nudity and explicit sex... More »

There Will Be Blood Best of the Best: Critics

Eternal Sunshine and Lord of the Rings tie for second

(Newser) - Back in the day, P.T. Anderson’s There Will Be Blood wasn't even unanimously considered the best film of 2007. But it comes out on top in Gawker 's aggregation of critics’ “Best Films of the Decade” lists, “its straw in the whole damn cinema’s milkshake.... More »

New Moon Eclipses Ticket Records

Twilight sequel leaves Potter pre-sale mark in dust

(Newser) - It doesn't open until tomorrow, but the latest Twilight movie already is breaking records. Fandango, AMC, and MovieTickets.com all say that fans are scooping up advance tickets to The Twilight Saga: New Moon in unprecedented numbers. Thousands of shows are sold out around the country, leaving pre-sale records held... More »

Rings Writer Tolkien Trained as WWII Spy

Hobbit creator turned down chance to join codebreaking team

(Newser) - Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien secretly trained as a British spy in early 1939, the Daily Telegraph reports. Newly released records show that Tolkien—one of his generation's foremost linguists—was given spy training along with 50 other intellectuals and had been picked to join the team trying... More »

Most Enjoyable Film Clichés

From the 'big speech' to the winning underdog, these tropes tickle

(Newser) - Sometimes clichés can ruin a movie. But for some Onion AV Club writers, a good one can't be beat. A sampling:
  • "The big speech scene": The idea that we can all be "eloquent enough to meet the demands of any moment, like Al Pacino in Scent of
... More »

Warners Swallows New Line

Studio falls in latest Hollywood cost-cutting move

(Newser) - New Line Cinema, the studio that created the Lord of the Rings blockbuster franchise, will be folded into the Warner Brothers unit of Time Warner, reports the Los Angeles Times. It's a cost-cutting move and part of a trend that has seen DreamWorks swallowed by Viacom, and Miramax downsized by... More »

Tolkien Heirs Sue Rings Studio Over Profits

Mega-lawsuit could end plans to film The Hobbit

(Newser) - Heirs of author JRR Tolkien and publisher HarperCollins are suing the studio that made the Lord of the Rings films, claiming New Line Cinema cheated them out of $150 million in profit participation, Variety reports. The Tolkien Trust, a charity set up by the author's children, is also seeking a... More »

Jackson to Helm Hobbit

His Rings lawsuit resolved, Jackson embarks on prequel

(Newser) - Peter Jackson has resolved his lawsuit with New Line and plans to helm two much-hyped Hobbit films, the first due out in 2010, according to an Entertainment Weekly interview with MGM chief Harry Sloan. Jackson will co-write and may direct one or both films—unless he and New Line's Bob... More »

New Line: Lord of the Rings or Last Action Hero?

Studio fires marketing chief, struggles to project identity

(Newser) - The movie business' sepia-haired stepchild New Line Cinema fired its chief marketing officer this week—signaling that execs are blistering for fundamental change. After 40 years, New Line has lost its cutting-edge credibility to the Indies, and is ranked dead last in box-office revenue among the majors, the LA Times ... More »

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