Friends

Circulation: Eight-hundred and eighty-seven. Welcome all!

Note from the Mods: Please encourage friends on your friends list to join and send their news. If you have an announcement you would like to make, a fic you’d like to promote, a question you’d like to ask, we invite you to simply format it according to the rules on the info page and email it to middle_earth_news@yahoo.com. You do not have to be a member to post but we are an open community and encourage everyone to join now. Only the mods may initiate new posts but comments are encouraged.

• From our reader aranellaurelote: Guardian.co.uk :
How do you cut The Hobbit in half?
Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro have been dropping some heavy hints about their Lord of the Rings prequel, but the important question about splitting it into two parts still remains …

• From Ian Collier, Tolkien Society Publicity :
3rd January 2010
The toast is “The Professor”
Tolkien Birthday Toast!At 9pm (local times) on January 3rd fans around the world are invited to raise a glass and toast J.R.R. Tolkien’s Birthday
The Tolkien Society has some webpages: http://www.tolkiensociety.org/toast/2010
where fans across the globe can let other fans know where they’ll be celebrating if they’re hosting a party, or just what particular tipple they’ll be raising. Fans will be able to check the webpage and see who is celebrating where and if they wish to get in touch and join in.
This news and an event page can also be found on Facebook: ww.facebook.com/profile.php?id=717816333#/event.php?eid=213561273896&ref=nf
The Birthday Toast event should be understood to consist of the saying of the toast and a drink (not necessarily alcoholic) of an individual's choice. The information posted by anybody on the Birthday Toast web pages will not be sold or passed on to any third party (outside of the context of the web pages and the ‘Birthday Toast’ event). The organisers do not condone drinking alcohol if it endangers the health or safety of the drinker or others, or contravenes the law.
The Tolkien Society wishes you all a Merry Yule!

• From TORn:
New Zealand casting for “The Hobbit” to begin on Monday
In the last few weeks, we’ve heard from reliable sources that casting directors for “The Hobbit” have been assigned in Great Britain, but the ball is now rolling ‘for real’ in New Zealand! The site acting-auditions.org just posted an announcement that MGM Studios New Zealand casting for ‘The Hobbit” Part 1 will begin this coming Monday, December 14.

LOTRO Expansion New Screens – Skirmishes
Turbine has just released new screenshots for The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood, the digital expansion to the award-winning MMO. The images depict skirmishes from Mirkwood and can be accessed at the ftp site below, along with the Siege of Mirkwood logo, and additional assets. More..

Andy Serkis Getting in ‘Gollum Mode’ Celebriel forwards a wonderful interview with Andy Serkis, focusing on his latest role as Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll and his eagerness to “get back into Gollum mode and revisit him.” More..

Note from the Mods: We would like to invite the moderators of other fandom communities to become ‘reporters’ or ‘scouts’ for middleearthnews. All we ask is that you send us formatted updates on your own communities for posting here.

• tolkien_weekly (drabbles) updates:
Any Tree, Every Tree (Faramir, no rating) by just_ann_now

• nzstories:
The Chronicles of New Zealand - Chapter 44 (Dom/Elijah, Rating: NC 17, Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan meet in New Zealand and fall in love during filming "The Lord of the Rings". As their relationship develops the problems and obstacles increase, but of course nothing stands in the way of true love) by fienchen

• there_n_back Advent Calendar 2009, Prompt #11 and Prompt #12:
Here's the Prompt #11 for your writing pleasure:The Wheel of Fortune and here is Prompt #12: When archetypes fight ...

• tolkien_weekly challenge:
This week's challenge, continuing with the "Trees" theme, is: Pine.

• lotrpiccaptions challenge:
Ooooookay, here we go! Time for another caption contest.

• onering_stills challenge:
Don't forget to enter the current challenge! - it will end on the 14th of December (8:00PM EST)

• claudia603 posted A snippet of some post-quest LOTR AU (Frodo/Aragorn implied, no rating) and Faramir's Thoughts (Frodo/Faramir, rating: R)

• lbilover wrote Pampering Sam (Frodo/Sam, Rating: PG-13)

• blslarner posted inthere_n_back Justice (Faramir, no rating), The Hermit (Radagast, no rating), The Wheel of Fortune (Elrond, no rating) and When Archetypes Fight: Heirophant vs. Magician (Saruman, no rating)

• shirebound wrote The Magic of Words (Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Rated G)

• sylc wrote "Executioner's Potion" 1/1 (Maeglin/Glorfindel, Rating: NC-17, Glorfindel wakes with a hangover to find that he has had sex on his parlour floor and there's a naked Maeglin lying next to him.)

• elanorfairbairn wrote Of Short Leaf and Long Surprises - Chapter II (Merry/Pippin, no rating, Merry and Pippin are off to Southfarthing to investigate reports of Big Folk encroaching into that part of the Shire.)

• ningloreth wrote Yuletide Calendar 11 and Yuletide Calendar 12 (Legolas/Eowyn, Rating: G, The Lord of the Rings, Fourth Age)

• zhie wrote Untitled and Untitled (Glorfindel/Ecthelion, no rating)

• rakshathedemon posted Between Shadow And Sun (Ioreth, no rating, Ioreth remembers the moments when everything changed, on a dark day in March 3019)

• telstar109 wrote Tired and Emotional (Sean/Elijah, Rating: PG-13)

• rakshi wrote 'Bond. James Bond.' (Sean Astin/Elijah Wood, Rating: PG)

• se_seerslair wrote Mesmerism 101 (Sean/Elijah, Rating: NC17, Elijah gets a new hobby; Sean lends a hand)

• aussiepeach posted in troubledtribble Blanket (Sean/Elijah, Rating: PG)

• Via The One Ring Forums
Forums: Movie Discussion - The Hobbit
Updates on the updates and general annotations on TH - So, now that PJ's Lovely Bones tour is almost over, I thought it wise- seeing how some can whip up into a frenzy- to drop by and chat a bit.

Kili and Fil Casting (Maybe) - NOT GOOD! - John and Edward Grimes, the Irish teenagers who became an unlikely sensation on the ITV talent show, have been invited to do a screen test for the movie, scheduled for release in 2011… I really hope this turns out to be a rumour.Jedward have no place within this film at all.

Your friendly middleearthnews mods are constantly on the lookout for all things LotR-related, from fics to fandom events, comics to current news. Make them happy by emailing them at middle_earth_news@yahoo.com.

Fiends and Plains of Middle Earth. From ‘The Thain’s Book’, an encyclopedia of the Third Age

Today's BOOK question : Who at the Farewell Party got a waste-paper basket as mathom for her lengthy letters of good advice?

All comments are screened so that only the mods can see the answers. Comments will be unscreened when the next edition is posted. Any comments on a different subject will be unscreened ASAP.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY sairalinde and lilan14!!!

Thank you so much, caras_galadhon and empy, for taking over while I was away! You're are two fabulous co-mods ♥, I’m happy to work with you!!!

The mods would like to wish anyone having a special day the very best. Please send your special wishes to middle_earth_news@yahoo.com.

(Link contributions are welcome)

From grimnir1:
( cut for size… )

~LOTR Tops Moviefone's Movies of the Decade
If instead of having 10 Best Picture nominees for 2009, the folks running the Oscars had decided to do a Ten Best list for the decade about to end, I doubt that many '09 movies would be on it. And last year didn't offer many legitimate contenders, either. It's not just the economy that's been in a recession lately. [More]

~Tolkien Art for Auction
Sotheby's is delighted to announce that their English Literature, History, Children's Books & Illustrations auction on 17 December (sale code L09777) will include an exceptionally early drawing by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is exceptionally rare for original artwork by Tolkien to be offered at auction. This early example depicts his aunt's farm ('Lamb's Farm, Gedling, Notts') and shows the location where he composed the earliest known writing that relates to his mythology.

The lot can be viewed here or the e-catalogue for the entire sale is available here (please note that the e-catalogue can take some time to load and the Tolkien drawing is lot 178).

~TheOneRing.net Radio Show: Sunday Dec 13th
Blog Talk Radio: Our next radio show is set for this Sunday, December 13th at 2PM Eastern. Our guest will be Sam Roads, artistic director at Microcosm Games, makers of The One Ring Game. We will also be talking about all the latest Hobbit news and other items featured on TheOneRing.net. You can now catch the video feed on Ustream!

We'll be taking questions from listeners via chat, email, text and the old fashioned phone! Visit our BlogTalk Radio page to listen in!

~More information on Brian Cox
It still isn't a confirmation but it is a good indication that AintItCool was on the right track when they claimed a source told them actor Brian Cox was potentially involved in the two-part film adaptation of "The Hobbit." One of our world-wide network of spies was able to ask him face-to-face if the rumors were true that he was involved with the film and he answered with a chuckle and said, 'I'm not at liberty to talk about that'. It proves nothing but that sure wasn't a denial. A guess here would be that Cox is being considered for Thorin Oakenshield. Some of us certainly hope so!

~The latest on 'The Hobbit' from a very reliable source!
One of the most read members of TORn's message boards dropped by to update us on "The Hobbit." How reliable is this guy? Well, since he happens to be directing the two-movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's first published book in Middle-earth and is living in New Zealand to do so, we think trusting Guillermo del Toro's information is rock solid. But we are going to make you click inside to see what he had to say. (It was a lot.) You can also following the link to his post on our message boards and join in the conversation. [More]

~Will Sideshow Ever Use The 'Hobbit' 12-inch Figure Body For Future Products?
The answer to that question, along with TONS of 'Star Wars', 'Avatar', G.I. Joe queries, and more are all a part of our latest rounds of 'Ask Sideshow'! Our newest Q&A kicked off on Wednesday, December 9th and will continue with a new entry each day through Friday, December 11th, so make sure you get the latest scoop on some of your favorite licenses and products by checking-out the links below! Remember, if you have a question that has not been already asked and answered, simply submit it through our 'Ask Sideshow' form (NOT through the comments section on our site) and it could be in a future Q&A feature! [Wednesday, December 9th 'Ask Sideshow'] [Thursday, December 10th 'Ask Sideshow'] [Submit A Question]

Note from the Mods: We would like to invite the moderators of other fandom communities to become 'reporters' or 'scouts' for middleearthnews. All we ask is that you send us formatted updates on your own communities for posting here.

gondorcest updates:

The Tower (Update 2009-12-05; Boromir/Faramir; Adult) by ithiliana

sons_of_gondor updates from co-mod., caras_galadhon:
Saturday, Dec. 5 through Thursday, Dec. 10 inclusive.

City of Shadows by ithiliana
(Boromir/Aragorn, Aragorn/Éomer, Boromir/Éomer, Éowyn/Faramir; Explicit; This fic is set in an AU in which the Gondorians have fallen into the same dark trap that the Númenoreans did in their decline...This story thus has dark elements including slavery and rape.)

The Tower (Update 2009-12-05) by ithiliana
(Boromir/Faramir; Adult; Dark AU, rape.)

Softly by alex_quine
(Aragorn/Boromir; G; An old song weaves a new magic.)

Come to Me by foxrafer
(Viggo/Sean; G; 2009 Halloween treat for govi20; inspired by this picture.)

While these are the LotR FPF and RPF fics/art that have been posted to sons_of_gondor this week, the mods would like to remind everyone that the comm also carries other FPF/RPF featuring the Gondorian actors in non-LotR roles.

From mefas:

~Admin - Stories featuring Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, Men, Other Beings, Villains and Cross-cultural
This week, we're listing stories for a diverse range of Races in Middle-Earth -- Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, Men, Other Beings and Villains -- as well as those stories in Cross-Cultural where the culture clash is part of the tale. [More]

~Admin - Story focus on Drama, Character Study and Non-Fiction
This week, we're listing stories for various kinds of genres -- Drama, Character Study and Non-Fiction. Character Study is a new category this year that has attracted a lot of entries and is a great place to find stories that delve into motivations, while Non-Fiction is home to thoughtful essays about Tolkien's world. [More]

lotricons updates:

111 Arwen icons for fellowship100! (Arwen) by luvboromir24601

December Calendars! (Arwen, Sean Bean) by ladyithildiel

7 Lord of the Rings Icons (Eowyn, Gandalf, Legolas, Saruman, Frodo, Merry) by ohgollygeedamn

10 Lord of the Rings Icons (Aragorn, Arwen, Legolas, Frodo) by sim27

49 Cast icons (Various Cast) by mata090680

Links from mews1945:

ink_gypsy wrote a movie-verse Sam drabble. On Mount Doom (No Rating).

surgicalsteel posted a story in which Halbarad worries about Serindë and a stranger shows up. Vagrant (No Rating).

belleferret posted a Frodo and Sam drabble to accompany the drabble written by ink_gypsy. At the End of Things (No Rating).

sophinisba wrote a crossover ficlet. Frodo stumbles into Camelot. Another Night's Work (G).

elanorgardner's multi-chapter Frodo/Sam story of a knotty problem that threatens to sever their newly changed relationship is Wednesday's Frodo/Sam Advent Calendar entry. To read it, you can find the chapter list here: The Gammidgy Knot (No Rating).

blslarner posted a story in which Eärendil lends what hope he can to those who see his light. Chariot (No Rating).

lily_the_hobbit posted a story in which the Brandybucks enjoy a day of baking for the Yule holiday. The Smell of Yuletides Past (G).

lbilover has gathered all the links to the next part of Reading LotR aloud and listed them in order. You can find them here: Book 2, Chapter 1: Many Meetings (No Rating).

surgicalsteel posted a story in which Gilraen and Talagan make love in the morning. Sunlight (No Rating).

~LotR re-read: Two Towers IV.7, "Journey to the Cross-roads"
"[T]he lack of action can build tension all by itself, though obviously this is a tricky technique because it can easily go just the other way. Here, the silence starts as a 'waiting silence' and 'a false peace', and then is temporarily less threatening because it's tied to daylight."

~The Silmarillion: Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad [cont.]
"This week we shall be discussing chapter no. 20 -- 'Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad'. This is truly a central chapter in The Silmarillion -- I don't think any other chapter connects so many different threads: Morgoth, Glaurung, Gothmog, Orcs, Dwarves, Swarthy Men, the House of Haleth, the House of Hador; the Kingdom of Fingolfin effectively falls, the sons of Feanor commit their last positive act, hence becoming mere vehicles of doom; the groundwork is laid for the betrayal and fall of the hidden realms of Doriath, Nargothrond and Gondolin; but the new hope for delivery is first hinted at." [Part X - The Quest for the Hidden King] [Part XI - A waste of Orkish labour?]

~The Silmarillion: Of Túrin Turambar
"While I was reading the Lord of the Rings, I found the references to the 'days of old' very striking. Many of the older characters talk about them in a very nostalgic kind of way, as if those times will never come again, and as if to lament their passing. Then when I read the Silmarillion, which relates the tails of the Elder Days, I found that it was the same thing. People always speak of times gone by with fondness and regret. They talk about their ancestors and their great deeds." [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]

~Letters from Father Christmas
"Each December from 1920 to 1943, J.R.R. Tolkien's children received letters, often illustrated, written by their father in the guise of Father Christmas, who is the English (or Northern European) embodiment of that December, Christian holiday. Tolkien would contrive that these letters arrived seemingly without his involvement: the postman might bring them with hand-drawn stamps affixed, or they might appear by the chimney, apparently having been delivered 'by elf messenger'. Likewise the Tolkien children's letters to Fr. Xtmas (one of several abbreviations Tolkien used) would disappear, apparently picked up for journey to the North Pole." [1920-24] [1925] [1926-27]

middleearthnews

From estelanui:

~Tolkien and Thomism: Middle-Earth and the States of Nature
An essay by Andrew Nimmo. Thomism is the school of thought deriving from the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas, and it is concerned (at least in part) with the states of man. Tolkien did speak of different states and natures in some of his correspondence.

el_esteleth

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ningloreth!

HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY, aprilkat and onmyshore!

From grimnir1:

Something is Coming…Later
December 15th, 2009
The WB let me know that the exciting event planned for December 8th (tomorrow) has now been postponed for the 15th. We’re still working on trying to gauge what the ’something’ is…any thoughts? Post about it on our message board!

Peter Jackson: ‘Hobbit’ Casting Begins This Week
The search for Bilbo Baggins has begun. Casting on “The Hobbit” begins this week, with wide auditions expected for each part except Gandalf, which is being reserved for Ian McKellen, who played the wizard in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

“We’re auditioning for every role,” Jackson said in an interview, adding he is a big believer in casting a wide net to better match actors with the roles. “What we’ve done over the years is discover a lot of interesting actors, like Orlando Bloom (in ‘Rings’), Kate Winslet (in ‘Heavenly Creatures’), Saoirse Ronan (in ‘The Lovely Bones’). So if you start looking and auditioning seriously, it’s amazing what incredible talent you’ll find out there.”

Jackson denied that he had settled on any actors besides McKellen and pooh-poohed Web chatter that he has approached James McAvoy for a key role.  “Apart from Ian McKellen, who we obviously want to return as Gandalf, we are not really offering any roles to anybody until we’ve done a casting sweep,” Jackson said. Notable that Andy Serkis and Hugo Weaving were not mentioned with McKellen as actors reserved for their previous roles.  Was that on purpose or a simple oversight?  We are sure TORN posters will have some comments on this!  Read the entire article at The Hollywood Reporter.

Hobbit location spy report
Jack over at the Noldor Blog is reporting rumours about a film location in Upper Hutt’s Harcourt Park, possibly near the old Isengard location. This is just outside of Wellington. Read More

Peter Jackson Reveals Which ‘LOTR’ Stars Will Return For ‘The Hobbit’
In an interview today with MTV, Peter Jackson revealed that three Lord of the Rings actors will be returning to reprise their roles in The Hobbit:
“Gandalf, being a 2,000-year-old wizard, is still around and plays a major role in ‘The Hobbit,’ and we’re having Ian McKellen reprise,” explained the filmmaker, who is executive-producing the flick and writing the screenplay. “There’s a couple of other characters: Elrond, who was played by Hugo Weaving [in the original films], and there’s a possibility of Galadriel, who was played by Cate Blanchett.”
Read the rest of the article here..

Note from the Mods: We would like to invite the moderators of other fandom communities to become 'reporters' or 'scouts' for middleearthnews. All we ask is that you send us formatted updates on your own communities for posting here.

tolkien_weekly (drabbles) updates:

News From Abroad (Celeborn) by clodia_metelli
Jewel of the Kingdom (The White Tree; rated G) by kortirion
Diamonds for Forever I, II & III (Ecthelion, Denethor, Arwen; rated G) by kortirion
Fragile (Boromir, Faramir; rated G) by wormwood_7

From lotr_sesa:

Reminder: Deadline Looming.
All stories/artwork are due Thursday, December 17! You have just over a week to complete and submit your stories/art. Simply post them to the comm (at any time between now and then) and they will end up in the queue, where they will sit comfortably until the unveiling on December 24. Currently, we have no submissions in the queue.

While we do expect that everyone who has signed up to participate will fulfill their end of the bargain, we understand that sometimes life does get in the way of plans. If you are having trouble meeting your obligations, please let us know ASAP so that we can accommodate you best/make alternate plans. Remember that being upfront and clear about deadline concerns, while sometimes embarrassing, is far preferable (and much more considerate) than remaining silent and simply fading away.

tolkien_weekly

surgicalsteel posted a fic. Angst warning for this chapter. Serindë, Talagan, Halbarad. Catastrophe.

frodosweetstuff posted a F/S drouble. Sam is Frodo's sunshine. Foggy Day

klramage posted a ficlet as Saturday's Advent Calendar entry. Sam and Frodo are snowed in at Yule. In the Bleak Midwinter

blslarner wrote for the there_n_back challenge. A certain view of Sam. When Archetypes Meet: High Priestess and Emperor.

cyloran posted a drabble for Tolkien Weekly. Frodo, Sam. By Comparison.

surgicalsteel posted a fic in which Serindë has difficulty recovering emotionally from her miscarriage. Affronts

aussiepeach wrote Sunday's Advent calendar story. Frodo asks Sam to teach him how to knit. Knitting

Who is smarter: Gandalf or Sherlock Holmes?
The answer that this blogger/editor comes to might surprise you: http://bordersblog.com/scifi/2009/12/08/john-joseph-adams/gandalf-vs-holmes/.

To be fair, he is promoting his new anthology, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

J.R.R. Tolkien -- Myth, Morality, and Religion
Here's an interesting blog post, written by author Alexis Glynn Latner. I'm not familiar with the book she's writing (nor am I familiar with Anne Rice's recent work, which she also mentions), but perhaps some of you are. Oddly enough, I read this and N.E.Brigand's post on the Movie Board (FOTR and TT rank high in list of 101 best films, 2000-2009) both today. N.E.B. mentions the exact quote from Peter Jackson that came to me when I read Latner's blog:

'There are fantastical elements, there are monsters and incredible cities and armies, things that are fantastical in nature, but we always treated it as if we were making an historical film. This really happened, these people really went through this.'

The blog itself begins here.

Tolkien drawing up for auction -- minimum bid £30,000
Early image of his aunt's farm here.
(h/t John Rateliff)

Via lotrips_finders:

ratherbe4gotten is looking for Glorfindel-centric fics:
Hi, I'm looking for stories where Glorfindel plays a large/ish role.

Give the fact that it's probably a bit of an unusual request I'll happily take whatever people have to offer, genre wise, but if pairings are involved I'm probably more of a slash fan than anything else. That said, I'll take het too if the fic it good.

From estelanui:

dreamflower02

bagma

garnet_took

Today's MOVIE question contributed by empy:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, bluepilgrim, AND HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY, sorne!
Happy belated birthday to Dominic Monaghan!

grimnir1

Hi all! The modly game of musical chairs continues. :) This is empy, back from her travels, stepping in for regular Monday editor estelanui, who is currently returning from her travels.

Jackson says ‘Hobbit’ still targeted for 2011
In an interview with Collider.com regarding ‘The Lovely Bones,’ Steve ‘Frosty’ Weintraub was able to get the skinny on what is going on with the start of the filming of ‘The Hobbit’ movies and when they are targeted for release. According to Jackson, the plan is to still release the first film in 2011. Follow the link for the story and video. Thanks to Mr. Weintraub for the heads up!

Exclusive: ‘Hobbit’ casting 1 female role
It is confirmed, casting is under way on the Hobbit and that is news enough. There have been rumors but now we have confirmation from a source that told us other details about casting as well. In addition to all of that, we have this juicy bombshell: They are casting one female role!
Read the rest of this entry »

Video: John Rhys-Davies Talks Tolkien
Russell Nelson from Leicester Square TV sends this in: LSQTV sat down for an intimate one on one chat with the charming and phenomenally talented John Rhys-Davies last weekend whilst he was meeting UK fans at Collectormania London.

He talks about not only the magic of Tolkien and his experience of making the films, but also about whether or not he’d be interested in returning to the franchise for the upcoming Hobbit films. Read the rest of this entry »

Jackson on Bilbo Casting
US, December 5, 2009 – IGN Movies chatted exclusively tonight with Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson at a cocktail reception for his new film The Lovely Bones, during which time he spoke about The Hobbit.

We specifically asked Jackson if he could rule out any of the oft-rumored candidates to play Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings prequel, specifically Daniel Radcliffe, Martin Freeman, James McAvoy and David Tennant. He said some of them were not under consideration, but refused to say who had been ruled out because he didn’t want anyone to figure anything out via process of elimination. More..

Will Tom Waits be a Hobbit?
Epleterte writes: Again an awesome Hobbit casting rumour from Aintitcool’s “AICN: Downunder” column, From Latauro’s post: AICN-Downunder: your one-stop shop for HOBBIT casting news. There’s nothing like breaking the (admittedly-unconfirmed) news about Brian Cox getting all dwarf-like to bring your old sources out of the woodwork. Another trusted anonymous name from way back — who, I might add, had heard the Brian Cox rumours before I published them — has another name to add to the pile: Tom Waits. As much as I’d like to say he’s a lock, I’m told he’s simply someone the production is talking about — but they seem to be talking about him pretty seriously. But how inspired is this? So very left field, yet oddly perfect. And here I was thinking Cox was the coolest guy they could hand an axe to.

BlogTalk Radio Show: Sunday 2pm EST
On the next TORN radio show on Sunday, December 6th at 2PM Eastern, our guest and author Ethan Gilsdorf will be giving away a copy of his new book Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks. All you need to do to win is listen in, and be the first person who emails the correct answer to a fantasy or Tolkien trivia question.

We’ll also be taking questions from listeners via chat, email, text and the old fashioned phone! Visit our BlogTalk Radio page to listen in!

EW Talks Best of the Decade
With the decade winding down within a few weeks a lot of websites are giving their interpretations of ‘Best of the Decade’. Here Entertainment Weekly has their list of best movies of the decade, with ‘Lord of the Rings’ taking the top of the list.

1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003): Bringing a cherished book to the big screen? No sweat. Peter Jackson’s trilogy — or, as we like to call it, our preciousssss — exerted its irresistible pull on advanced Elvish speakers and neophytes alike. More..

Note from the Mods: We would like to invite the moderators of other fandom communities to become 'reporters' or 'scouts' for middleearthnews. All we ask is that you send us formatted updates on your own communities for posting here.

tolkien_weekly (drabbles) updates:

A Journey Through Trees (Elladan; no rating given) by jay_of_lasgalen
A Satisfactory Approximation Anyway (Erestor, OFC; rated G) by clodia_metelli
Vigil (King Tarannon Falastur, guards; rated PG) by allie_meril
By Comparison (Frodo, Sam; rated G) by cyloran

ardaslash updates:

Ionnath-Estel (The Sons of Hope) - Chapter 18 (Haldir/Elladan and others; rated Adult) by kenazfiction

athelingas updates:

Use (Aragorn/Boromir; rated R) by caras_galadhon

From lotr_community:

We mods at lotr_community have been busy planning the challenges for the first six months of 2010!

January: January is our annual "Potluck" challenge, in which we use up themes and elements from the old year! The January challenge has already been announced, but there is still plenty of time to claim one or more of the prompts. Go to THIS POST and simply comment with which one you want!
February: The theme for February will be "Letters", and we'd like to see a story written in letter form, or a story containing a letter. The element will be a particlar type of letter! (For example: a business letter, a love letter, a letter of condolence, an invitation, etc...)
March: March's theme will be "Mad as a March Hare"-- write a story in which a character seems "mad" or is acting strangely or out-of-character-- for a reason! Your element will be a type of weather, which you will include in the story.
April: In a recent discussion, several members indicated they would welcome a non-fiction challenge. We will assign no theme or element-- write your essay or research or informative article on whatever topic you choose. We ask only that it be focused on Tolkien or his world, and not merely a rant of likes or dislikes.
May: The theme for May will be "Tying Up Loose Ends"; your element will be to fill a particular gap. (Participants may request their gap be set in their choice of the books.)
June: Since the Tale of Years said that Gandalf and Aragorn found the White Tree's sapling in June, that will be the theme this month-- but it doesn't have to be that White Tree-- it can be any of the White Trees in Arda's history. Your element will be a starter sentence.
July: will be a repeat of our very popular "Fixed-Length-Ficlet" challenge, in which you will choose a number and write a story of exactly that number of words!

We hope you will be excited by all of these future challenges and will enjoy taking part in them!

tolkien_weekly

Your friendly middleearthnews mods are constantly on the lookout for all things LotR-related, from fics to fandom events, comics to current news. Make them happy by emailing them at middle_earth_news@yahoo.com.

Father Christmas Letters, 1920-24
Welcome to our three-week discussion of Letters from Father Christmas!

Each December from 1920 to 1943, J.R.R. Tolkien’s children received letters, often illustrated, written by their father in the guise of Father Christmas, who is the English (or Northern European) embodiment of that December, Christian holiday. Tolkien would contrive that these letters arrived seemingly without his involvement: the postman might bring them with hand-drawn stamps affixed, or they might appear by the chimney, apparently having been delivered “by elf messenger”. Likewise the Tolkien children’s letters to Fr. Xtmas (one of several abbreviations Tolkien used) would disappear, apparently picked up for journey to the North Pole.

A selection of the letters was posthumously edited by Tolkien’s daughter-in-law, Baillie, for publication in 1976, as the Father Christmas Letters (Christina Scull and Wayne Hammond report that this edition has the best color, as well as a few images not found in later versions). Further editions followed in 1994, 1995, 1999, and 2004, the last three titled Letters from Father Christmas. The 1999 edition is said to be the most complete, including the text of all suriving letters, plus reproductions of almost all the pictures, many of the envelopes, and of some of the actual letters. (The wikipedia entry on the FCL is rather poor, by the way.) This week I’ll be leading you through the introductory letters of 1920-1931. Next week Elizabeth will examine the long, exciting letters for 1932-1936. And Galadriel TX will cover the poignant final letters during Christmas week.

Via lotrips_finders:

annie66

The fic concentrated around Legolas and started pre puberty until adult, I'm sure the other character was Glofindel but I might be wrong. Glofindel is there to help explain what's happening to Legolas' body as he's going through puberty and the two end up together as adults...I think.... it's slash so I think Glofindel is quite "hands on" when explaining whats happening to certain parts of Legolas' body.

From estelanui:

Look at the new The Hobbit Movie Trailer, then look the real The Hobbit Official Movie Trailer and there is also The Hobbit Trailer (2011-2012) Never Seen Before!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, the_vagrant, AND HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY, domelom!

The mods would like to thank the anonymous benefactor who bought middleearthnews a wonderful virtual gift!

grimnir1

~Tolkien 2005: Souvenir Booklets
The Tolkien Society have recently sent out the Souvenir Booklets to everyone who attended the 2005 Aston Conference and whose contact details we still had available.

If you were there, and haven't received your booklet, or if you know of friends or colleagues haven't received theirs, then please email the souvenir books co-ordinator souvenirbooks2005 AT tolkiensociety.org.

~Tolkien and Philosophy: Congress - Modena, Italy, May 2010
Tolkien and Philosophy
Saturday, 22nd May 2010
Modena, Italy
The Istituto Filosofico di Studi Tomistici (Philosophic Institute of Thomistic Studies), in cooperation with the Associazione Romana di Studi Tolkieniani (Roman Association of Tolkien Studies), presents the congress "Tolkien and Philosophy."

Guest speakers include Tom Shippey, Verlyn Flieger and Christopher Garbowski, as well as the Italian Tolkien scholars and writers Franco Manni, Andrea Monda and Wu Ming 4. [More]

~Video: Spotlight on PJ from Sky Movies
Eleanor writes: Sky Movies Greats in NZ is doing A Christmas Spotlight on Peter Jackson preceding the LOTR movies. I'm not sure if it's been on tv before, but I thought you might be interested! [More]

~Tolkien Reading Event
Anthony and Jessica from herenistarion.org write: It is my hope this finds you well. As most of you know on Saturday Dec. 6th, 2009, 3pm, SI OUTLOUD Is hosting a Tolkien reading event, which I have pasted their event announcement below. We are very grateful to them for allowing Jessie and I, and The Northeast Tolkien Society to participate in this event. We will have a free raffle and some Tolkien related goodies to giveaway, plus take part in the program detailed below. [More]

~TheOneRing.net Radio Show: Sunday Dec 6th
Our next radio show is set for this Sunday, December 6th at 2PM Eastern. Our guests include author Ethan Gilsdorf ('Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks') and professional blogger Jenna Busch (JoBlo, Huffington Post, SCI FI Wire, AOL's Popeater, Newsarama, IGN, UGO, Forces of Geek). We will also be talking about all the latest Hobbit news and other items featured on TheOneRing.net.

We'll be taking questions from listeners via chat, email, text and the old fashioned phone! Visit our BlogTalk Radio page to listen in!

~John Howe Booksigning in NZ
Debo writes: I was at the Weta Cave in Wellington yesterday and there is going to be a book signing by John Howe this Saturday 5 Dec. from 1 to 3pm. The guide also said that John Howe and Alan Lee are in Wellington at the moment working on designs for The Hobbit. Weta Cave

~Hobbit Delay Affects DVD
December 2, 2009 -- We've already reported that The Hobbit, the Peter Jackson-produced follow-up to The Lord of the Rings, has been pushed back a few months and won't start filming until the middle of next summer. But what does that mean for the DVD and Blu-ray release dates? According to Blu-ray.com, it means we shouldn't expect to see it on our home-theater systems until at least 2012.

This is the second blow in recent months for Tolkien fans, following the announcement in September that the highly anticipated Blu-ray release of Lord of the Rings has been postponed until further notice (most likely timed to coincide with the eventual theatrical release of The Hobbit). [More]

~Timeout Talks Films of the Decade
Tom from timeout.com writes: LOTR features in Time Out London's 101 Films of the Decade (should have placed higher. I did my best) with a word from PJ. [Article] [More]

Note from the Mods: We would like to invite the moderators of other fandom communities to become 'reporters' or 'scouts' for middleearthnews. All we ask is that you send us formatted updates on your own communities for posting here.

athelingas updates:

Use (Aragorn/Boromir; R) by caras_galadhon

tolkien_weekly (drabbles) updates:

The Oak and the Ash (Eldarion, his governess; G) by curiouswombat

Time's Out of Joint (OMC, Aragorn, Eldarion; PG) by lindahoyland

sons_of_gondor updates from co-mod., caras_galadhon:
Saturday, Nov. 28 through Friday, Dec. 4 inclusive.

Without Air, Fire Does Not Burn: Part 3/4 and 4/4 by hurinhouse
(Faramir/OMC/Boromir, Denethor; NC-17; Faramir meets a street rat with a questionable past.)

Use by caras_galadhon
(Aragorn/Boromir; R; Aragorn had missed much.)

While these are the LotR FPF and RPF fics/art that have been posted to sons_of_gondor this week, the mods would like to remind everyone that the comm also carries other FPF/RPF featuring the Gondorian actors in non-LotR roles.

From mome_awards:

~2009 Nomination List
Only the stories that received the most nominations were on the final ballot. However, all of the stories that were submitted are worthy of recognition. Here you'll find a list of all the stories that were nominated organized by pairing (some fics may be f-locked). Use it as a reading list, an archive, or a place to refill your fandom tank when someone once again proclaims that the LotR fandom is dead. :-) [More]

From drabblechalleng:

~December Challenge Photos
The December challenge photos are now up and available here.

From the_challenger:

~Challenge Open Call
Welcome to the third open call for challenges! We hope to collect a wide variety of inspiring challenges for writers and artists of all stripes.

Please read the general guidelines for a few hints on writing a challenge. Then when you're ready, leave your challenge in a comment below with a way that we can get in touch with you should we have questions (e-mail, LJ message, a post in your journal, etc.); comments will be screened. One challenge will be posted each week and all challenges will be used.

Thanks for the inspiration!

lotricons updates:

Multi-Fandom Icon Post (Liv Tyler, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, Legolas, Aragorn) by pokecharm

60 LOTR Icons (Various Cast, Characters) by lookslikerain

25 Lord of the Rings (Merry, Frodo, Legolas, Aragorn, Eowyn, Boromir, Sam, Gimli, Gandalf, Theoden) by yureteru

~The Silmarillion: Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad [cont.]
"This week we shall be discussing chapter no. 20 -- 'Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad'. This is truly a central chapter in The Silmarillion -- I don't think any other chapter connects so many different threads: Morgoth, Glaurung, Gothmog, Orcs, Dwarves, Swarthy Men, the House of Haleth, the House of Hador; the Kingdom of Fingolfin effectively falls, the sons of Feanor commit their last positive act, hence becoming mere vehicles of doom; the groundwork is laid for the betrayal and fall of the hidden realms of Doriath, Nargothrond and Gondolin; but the new hope for delivery is first hinted at." [Part II - The New League] [Part III - Waiting for the Beacon] [Part IV - Feints and Taunts] [Part V - Battle is Joined] [Part VI - Of Dwarves and Men, or Elves and Dragons!] [Part VII - The King is Dead. Fast Flee the King!] [Part VIII - The Last Stand of Húrin] [Part IX - The Aftermath of Defeat]

~Did You Ever Notice... Arwen's "Dying Frock"?
"This costume is very similar to Arwen's coronation and requiem gowns. It's a two-piece dress: a sleeveless overgown and an undergown with these huge half-circle sleeves."

middleearthnews

From estelanui:

~Maps of Middle-earth
Various maps of Middle-earth drawn by Tolkien's son, Christopher, with the exception of Thror's Map, which has been drawn by Tolkien himself.

el_esteleth

juliebeth

addie71

capra_maritimus

dreamflower02

febobe

frolijahfan

namarielorien

t_s_publicity

garnet_took

kortirion

Circulation: Eight-hundred and eighty-six. Welcome all!

Hi, everyone! This is estelanui, travelling the globe and stepping in for your regular Wednesday editor, empy, who is off travelling her Country. Meanwhile caras_galadhon is bravely holding the stronghold, bless her! Normal service will resume may be, may be not... eventually. :)

Note from the Mods: Please encourage friends on your friends list to join and send their news. If you have an announcement you would like to make, a fic you’d like to promote, a question you’d like to ask, we invite you to simply format it according to the rules on the info page and email it to middle_earth_news@yahoo.com. You do not have to be a member to post but we are an open community and encourage everyone to join now. Only the mods may initiate new posts but comments are encouraged.

• From Born of Hope:
We're pleased to inform you that the film is online now. Direct link: Born of Hope - Full Movie

• From Ian Collier, Tolkien Society Publicity Officer :
2 Hemispheres, 2 Seminars, 2 Calls for Papers
The Tolkien Society Seminar for 2010 is happening in two parts, one in the UK and one in Australia arranged by the Tolkien Society in partnership with Tol Harndor: The Australian Tolkien Society. The Tolkien Society Seminars provide academics, students and independent scholars with a venue for interdisciplinary dialogue.
Tolkien & Birmingham, 26th June, Birmingham, UK
Papers are invited on the theme “Tolkien & Birmingham”.
( read more… )
Tolkien’s Odysseys – Middle-Earth and Beyond
28th August, Melbourne, Australia
“You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.” - Frodo quoting Bilbo in “The Lord of the Rings”
This significant annual event in the Tolkien calendar is being held in Australia for the second time. The Tolkien Seminar will be held in Melbourne just before ‘Aussiecon 4’ (http://www.aussiecon4.org.au/), the 68th World Science Fiction Convention (2nd to the 6th September).
( read more… )

• From TORn:
The Hobbit Pushed to 2012?
A few days ago, we reported here that Peter Jackson has indicated filming for The Hobbit will be delayed to mid-2010. Doing the math on how long it took to film The Lord of the Rings movies was sobering with respect to achieving a 2011 release, but we found reason to be optimistic in the fact that many sets, set designs, etc. won’t have to be created from scratch. Today, however, we’ve been alerted to more sobering news on the release from the WaxWord blog over at thewrap.com:
“Executives close to the project said that Warner Brothers is now likely to release the first film at the end of 2012, and not at the end of 2011 as had been hoped for by the fans. The second part would be pushed to 2013.”
No need to lose hope for a 2011 release yet though. The article also quoted PJ as saying a final decision about the release dates won’t be made until the screenplays, budget and schedule are complete. More than ever, all eyes are on Guillermo, Peter, Fran, Phillipa and the studio.

TTT at Radio City Press Release
www.TheRadioCityLOTRconcert.com. There is only one Lord of the Rings. Come share in the power. Tickets are now on sale for the highly anticipated The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which will be presented live to film at Radio City Music Hall for two performances only, on Friday, October 8th and Saturday, October 9th, 2010.

Turbine Launches LOTR Online: Siege of Mirkwoodage
WESTWOOD, MA –December 1, 2009 – Turbine, Inc. today launched The Lord of the Rings Online™: Siege of Mirkwood™, the digital expansion to the award-winning massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG). Siege of Mirkwood expands the online world of Middle-earth where players join forces to press further eastward into the dark, foreboding and treacherous forest of Mirkwood and take part in the epic conclusion to Volume II of The Lord of the Rings Online.

Join the Struggle Against Sauron! On Facebook!
Facebook users, get ready for an adventure! You can now experience the world of Tolkien via your Facebook account with the officially licensed Facebook app – ‘The One Ring.’ Microcosm Games has developed a great app which allows you to explore Middle-earth as one of the heroes of The Lord of the Rings, and join in the struggle against Sauron.

Note from the Mods: We would like to invite the moderators of other fandom communities to become ‘reporters’ or ‘scouts’ for middleearthnews. All we ask is that you send us formatted updates on your own communities for posting here.

• silwritersguild: December 2009 Newsletter
( SWG News ) ( Character of the Month Biography: Gilfanon ) ( Funnies: Gothmog and Draugluin ) ( Current Challenges ) ( Around the World and Web )

• tolkien_weekly (drabbles) updates:
Home, Boys, Home! (Aragorn and Halbarad, Rating: G) by kortirion

Early Morning Lesson (Gandalf, Faramir, Rating: G) by wormwood_7

Banks of Green Willow (Faramir, Rating: PG) by lindahoyland

• onering_stills challenge: Special Challenge #1 - Header Challenge: Voting
Voting ends Thursday at 8pm EST

• nzstories: December Themes
December is already here so we have our next set of monthly themes. We're continuing to break down the extended edition movies by scene to honor the spirit of filming. Please remember, though, that these are not written in stone. You are welcome to post about anything related to the films, the books, the cast and crew; anything at all regardless of what's listed here.
This month's themes:
* The Fellowship of the Ring: Scenes 9 - 11 At the Green Dragon through Frodo and Sam sleeping in the forest
* The Two Towers: Scenes 9 - 13 The three hunters chase after the Uruk-kai through Merry and Pippin discover the White Wizard
* The Return of the King: Scenes 11 - 16 Gandalf and Pippin ride to Minas Tirith through Sam warning Gollum as they climb the stairs.

• lotr_lims challenge: Round Nine Sign-Up Post.
This is the sign up post for Round Nine. The first challenge will be posted on Monday, January 11th. You may comment to the post/sign up until Monday, January 18, 2010.

• caras_galadhon wrote Use (Aragorn/Boromir, Rating: R, Aragorn had missed much…)

• blackbird_song reposted The Red Shoes (Billy/Dom, Rating: R, Billy's life running an unknown dance school takes an unexpected turn when a young dancer walks in one day looking for a job)

• rakshi wrote A Bit Of Wet Tongue and Faith or Fear (Sean Astin/Elijah Wood, Rating: PG)

• lbilover wrote The Woodjin: Close Encounters of the Fowl Kind (Sean/Elijah, Rating: PG)

• rhyselle completed for NaQuaWriMo Of Elves, Men and Peredhil (At the end of the Third Age, Elrond Half-elven arrives in the Blessed Realm. Rating: PG)

• Links from mews1945:
shirebound Repost of a hobbit story in which Pippin gets an offer he can't refuse. Can You Sing, Master Hobbit? .

ithiliana A Frodo/Faramir drabble. Rating: Mature. Autumn Return.

gamgeefest posted deleted and alternate scenes from her story, Distractions. Distractions: Deleted and Alternate Scenes.

kortirion For Tolkien Weekly. Old Man Willow. Family Honor.

surgicalsteel In which Aragorn completely loses control of a discussion over a discussion regarding budgets, and Serindë advises him of certain facts. Control.

jay_of_lasgalen For Tolkien Weekly. Part of a series. The Road North.

just_ann_now For Tolkien Weekly. Boromir. The White Tree.
Thanks, Mews!

• Via The One Ring Forums
Forums: Movie Discussion - The Hobbit
Peter Jackson: First Script Is Completed - At a press conference for The Lovely Bones, Peter Jackson has confirmed that the first script for The Hobbit is completed. "The Hobbit will be two movies and we've written the first script and delivered it to the studio whom seem happy with it", the New Zealander told reporters. "We're now halfway through the second script and Philippa, Fran, Guillermo and myself are doing the scripts and having great fun".

Hobbit 1 Will End Here... Because (I'd Put Money On It) - To me it's very obvious and brilliant if the final moments of the Hobbit (1) end with some dramatic music in the background and a wide shot of the Lonely mountain. Much like the Two Towers ended. So i think it's safe to say that the film will split before the death of the dragon. It will show the remaining party walking towards the mountain and you will see it looming in the distance above low lying clouds. It will be epic and also hinting at what to come for Bilbo and the rest.

• From lotrips_finders:
Help the Newbie! - I've been reading in this fandom for just a month or so. I've been a LOTR fan for some 30+ years, but I haven't read the fic till now. I love the characters but I've been afraid the fic would just be too sad, like the books. I've explored some of the archives like West of the Moon, and found some very good fics, but alot of them are just too angsty for me. I would adore to read some long, slashy, romantic, happy Frodo/Sam stories, where the Quest doesn't happen, or happens years later, or happens in such a way the Frodo and Sam are happy together in the end. Does anyone have some recs for me?

Where did the hobbits come from? - Although Tolkien says, that the Hobbits are closer to men, than to any other race of Endor, the question of their origin is still open.

Yesterday’s BOOK question: What was the name of the Eomer’s sword meaning ‘battle-friend’?

Answer: Gúthwinë

the_marquis, bagma, lindahoyland and frolijahfan all answered correctly.

Today's MOVIE question: Who catches the bouquet at Sam's and Rosie's wedding in RotK?

All comments are screened so that only the mods can see the answers. Comments will be unscreened when the next edition is posted. Any comments on a different subject will be unscreened ASAP.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY arahiril!!!

HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY special_majick!!!

The mods would like to wish anyone having a special day the very best. Please send your special wishes to middle_earth_news@yahoo.com.

(Link contributions are welcome)

From grimnir1:

( cut for size… )