Lord Of The Rings

'The Lord Of The Rings' has been a hugely popular story ever since J.R.R. Tolkien's novel series hit shelves. Despite being written between the 1930s-40s, the fantasy tale is one that has captured the imagination and hearts of people across the globe, and when Peter Jackson's film trilogy hit the big screen, it made some huge waves. Now, Amazon are hoping to milk the cash cow for themselves, after buying the rights to the series.

Elijah Wood played Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' film trilogy

Instead of bringing a whole new selection of films to fans, Amazon have decided to go down the television route. It's the first time the story will be adapted for the small screen, so expectations are huge. Fortunately, the company are one of the leading entertainment businesses in the industry, so if anybody's able to pull it off, it'll be them.

Continue reading: Amazon's 'Lord Of The Rings' Television Series Has A Huge Budget

Warner Brothers Television are said to be in early talks with Amazon Studios about bringing a live-action 'Lord Of The Rings' series to the streaming platform, based on the J.R.R. Tolkien novel series of the same name. The show would come off the back of the hugely successful film series which snatched 17 Oscars, and the follow-up 'Hobbit' film series which also did incredibly well in the box office. The follow-up to the critically-acclaimed 'Shadow of Mordor' video game was also recently released, with 'Shadow of War' gaining great reviews with the critics.

Ian McKellen starred as the wizard Gandalf in the original film trilogy

Reports state that there's no guarantee the show will ever make it to the small screen, but it's clear that the 'Lord of the Rings' franchise is something Warner Bros. are still interested in bringing to life in whatever possible way they can muster up.

Continue reading: 'Lord Of The Rings' TV Series Being Developed By Warner Bros.

He’s been the evil wizard Saruman in one of the biggest grossing blockbuster franchises of all time. He’s played Dracula on almost a dozen occasions, a bond villain and a Sith Lord and he has been knighted by the Queen for his commitment to acting. He’s accepted a BAFTA Fellowship Award for over sixty years of service to the film industry, as well as a lifetime achievement award from the British Film Institute. Yet Sir Christopher Lee, now 92, and still maintaining a commendable acting repertoire, has just begun a career as a heavy metal vocalist. That’s right, the legendary actor and go-to Hollywood villain also possesses a serious set of pipes, and his ominous baritone has found a natural home within the most melodramatic of genres.

Christopher Lee already has three E.P's and an album under his belt

To celebrate his 92nd birthday, Lee has recently released an E.P of covers entitled Metal Night, which is now available to purchase. The record will be his third covers E.P, after two Christmas-themed E.P’s were released in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Lee also received the accolade of the oldest living musician to enter the music charts as his song ‘Jingle Hell’ reached 18th in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His current release features covers of two tracks from the Don Quixote smash-hit Broadway musical Man La Mancha.

Continue reading: Everything You Need To Know About Christopher Lee's Metal Covers Album

Viggo Mortensen, the actor best known for playing Aragorn in the Lord Of The Rings movies, says the second and third films in the franchise were "sloppy" movies and would have been straight-to-video had the first instalment not received critical acclaim. Mortensen doesn't mince his words about the trilogy in a new interview with The Telegraph, claiming that director Peter Jackson was practically "finished" before the first movie got a good reception at Cannes.

Viggo Mortensen at the premiere of 'The Two Faces of January'

"Anybody who says they knew it [Lord of the Rings] was going to be the success it was, I don't think it's really true," he said.

Continue reading: Viggo Mortensen Calls Lord Of The Rings Movies "Straight To Video, Sloppy" Films

We’re two films, five hours and one cliffhanger into The Hobbit film series and final installment, There And Back Again, is due out in December. This means we’re in for about eight months of speculation. The trailer isn’t even out yet, but looking back on the source material, there are a few predictions to be made about the final film. We'd put a spoiler warning here, but you know...the book has been out for almost 90 years, just saying.

This one might be less about Bilbo and more about... well, everyone else.

3. The Battle of the Five Armies. At this point in the franchise, we are yet to see Thorin get consumed by greed, which is one of the main plot points in The Hobbit. At one point, the King Under the Mountain should hole up with his gold and refuse to pay any compensation to the people of Laketown (who at this point are about to have their town torched by Smaug) or to the Wood Elves. The two armies are on their way to lay siege to the mountain, when they discover that there is an orc and warg army on the way too. Basically the culmination of the entire series.

Continue reading: Three Major Predictions For 'The Hobbit There And Back Again'

Erebor, The Lonely Mountain where Smaug the Dragon lives in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, would cost around $6 billion to buy, if it was real, according to a new housing report. US real estate experts Movoto have put together some details of the "multilevel property" to coincide with the release of The Desolation of Smaug - based on JRR Tolkien's Hobbit book. The company has previously estimated the price of Hogwarts, Wayne Manor and Barbie's dream house in Malibu.

Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins in 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'

On the basis that Erebor includes an entire underground city and working on the assumption that Middle Earth mirrors Europe, Movoto has valued Smaug's luxury property at $6 billion. It estimates that the Lonely Mountain is slightly north of Kirov in Russia and is probably around 44 square miles.

Continue reading: The Hobbit: Smaug's Home Erebor Would Cost $6 Billion To Buy

As filming for The Hobbit trilogy comes to an end, the franchise says goodbye to some of its most loved characters. The time has come for Legolas and Gandalf to put down their bow and staff respectively, as the actors that portray them leave behind a loved series.

Here's McKellen enjoying a smoke and some lines

Expected to feature heavily, as he did in The Lord Of The Rings, Orlando Bloom’s Legolas will enjoy his last outings in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which is expected to hit cinemas this December, and the last film The Hobbit: There and Back Again.

Continue reading: Orlando Bloom And Sir Ian McKellen Are Legolas And Gandalf For The Last Time

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Trailer is finally here, and with it, the first look at Benedict Cumberbatch's big scaly fire breathing dragon. The British actor voices Smaug in the second of Peter Jackson's trilogy, which appears for a couple of seconds at the end of the new trailer - however, we still haven't heard the beast's voice and really hope he utters something in the actual movie, or it could be a miserable pay-packet for our Benedict.

Martin Freeman as the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug

Mainly, it's the old characters that have been called upon to hype the latest film, with the dwarves playing a prominent role in the trailer and Bilbo looking a bit bewildered as usual. However, we are treated to the return of Orlando Bloom's Legolas - who literally slides into the trilogy - and Luke Evans' Bard the Bowman. The latter had a minor role in the previous film though is believed to be crucial to The Desolation of Smaug and There And Back Again. According to Yahoo Moves, the Bowman is tasked with stopping the terrifying dragon after warning the dwarves, "If you awaken that beast you will destroy us all."

Continue reading: The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug Trailer: Here's Benedict Cumberbatch! [Trailers And Pictures]

The ring that might well have inspired JRR Tolkien to write The Lord Of The Rings book has been put up in an exhibition at The Vyne in Hampshire, owned by the National Trust.

According to The Guardian, the ring was probably found in 1785 by a farmer ploughing a few miles away from The Vyne in Silchester. A town which flourished before the Roman invasion, was abandoned by the 7th century, it was never reoccupied. It bares semblance to the fictional ring in Tolkien’s books and also the Peter Jackson films, large and gold and featuring a Latin inscription reading: "Senicianus live well in God".

Mysteriously, at Lydney in Gloucestershire, a Roman site known locally as the Dwarf's Hill, a tablet with an inscribed curse was found, which is believed to be related to the ring. On it, a Roman called Silvianus apparently informs the god Nodens that his ring has been stolen. He knows the villain responsible, and he wants the god to sort them out: "Among those who bear the name of Senicianus to none grant health until he bring back the ring to the temple of Nodens." Tolkien was undoubtedly aware of the story of the ring and the curse; he was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford and had been researching it. This took place before he found fame with the publication of The Hobbit in 1937, and the first Lord Of The Rings book in 1954.

Continue reading: The 'Real' Lord Of The Rings Ring Goes On Exhibition

Chris Pine, the actor set to play Captain Kirk in the upcoming Star Trek film, has talked of the pressures of taking on the iconic role.

Smokin' Aces star Pine is to step into the shoes of William Shatner in the JJ Abrams picture which tells of the adventures of the Starship Enterprise during their time at Star Fleet academy.

Though he confirmed he would reveal "not a thing" during an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the 27-year-old did let slip some small details about the movie, set for a Boxing Day release.

"I think the biggest mistake I could ever do would be to try to recreate what Mr Shatner did," he explained. "There are certain qualities that Kirk has that are vital for someone who is a leader of men.

"And those qualities, I definitely wanted to take from what Mr Shatner did in the original series. But my job is to take something new, to Take That and build upon it, really do my own thing. I just feel no pressure when it comes to that."

The young actor admitted he can understand the fears of hardcore fans but attempt to allay some of their concerns.

"I don't have that many credits and people are very worried that their Kirk is going to be destroyed. But I can only say that we're having a great time. JJ has been wonderful and the cast is phenomenal. I think what we're doing is very special."

Pine said he had not met Shatner, but added: "I've met Mr Nimoy a couple of times. He's been on set and we have a couple of scenes in the film, which will be nice, and I'm excited for those."

Though Heroes star Zachary Quinto is to play the young Vulcan, Pine's comments could imply that time travel is featured in the movie or that flashbacks will be used.

After a call for 'odd-looking' extras, much of the movie's major casting has been completed.

British comedy favourite Simon Pegg will play the young Scotty, Lord Of The Rings actor Karl Urban stars as Leonard 'Bones' McCoy and comic actor John Cho plays Mr Sulu.

Continue reading: New Captain Kirk Talks