This is a blog about the Lord of the Rings franchise, not the Harry Potter one. But I think that J. K. Rowling’s revelation that Albus Dumbledore is gay has implications for all fandoms. After all, one major activity within any fandom of any size is writing fanfiction. One of Rowling’s remarks may provide yet another bit of evidence that fanfiction is fair use rather than a violation of copyrights. Harry Potter is by far the series that has inspired the largest number of fics, but Rings was second during the time when the films were being released. more »

Howard Shore’s website has added a description of the complete recordings of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King soundtrack. The release has been set back a week and is now scheduled for November 13.

Back in August, just as I was getting this blog started, ToyFare magazine celebrated its first decade of existence by choosing the top 100 toys released during that period. Naturally some Lord of the Rings items made the list. I didn’t catch up with the list until recently, though, when TheOneRing.net linked to it. more »

MTV’s “Movies Blog” reports today on some brief comments by New Line Cinema’s co-chairman Michael Lynne when asked about the Hobbit film project. At New Line’s anniversary party on October 5, Lynne remarked, “The Hobbit is in the future,” and added, “There’s more than hope.” more »

In the previous entry I linked to some new articles and interviews that appeared in a cluster on October 4 and 5. They all deal at least in part with the lawsuit that Peter Jackson brought against New Line Cinema and the implications that might have for the chances of Peter directing The Hobbit. I promised to try and unpack all this new material later. Here goes.

I’ve been commenting on the progress (or lack thereof) in these matters for just over a year now. Go the the Hobbit project category and read from the bottom up for a history of that project as covered in the media so far.

Now within a two day period we’ve had the Hollywood Reporter’s brief story on the fact that New Line has decided not to contest the $125,000 fine levied against it by the court; a long Entertainment Weekly summary of the entire history of the lawsuit and the Hobbit project; a nearly hour-long appearance by Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, heads of New Line, on the Charlie Rose Show; and a Reuters/Hollywood Reporter story, “One ‘Rings’ Penalty to Rule Them All,” analyzing the New Line fine. more »

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in recent days, but I’ve been traveling a fair amount. Right now I’m in Austin for my nephew’s wedding.

Some major information on the progress of the Peter Jackson vs. New Line lawsuit has come out. TheOneRing.net links to a Hollywood Reporter story concerning the $125,000 fine against New Line that was declared week before last. New Line has decided to pay rather than contest the fine, so there will not be any delay there.

This week’s Entertainment Weekly (on newsstands today) has a long cover story on the Hobbit situation. It’s also online here. I haven’t had a chance to reread it, but I’ll try to find time over the weekend to write up a commentary piece on these stories and any others that may surface in the wake of New Line’s announcement. In the meantime, if you haven’t read my analysis of the court case and the fine (which does have information not in the EW or other stories), it’s here.

In other news, Amazon now offers the complete recordings of the Return of the King soundtrack for pre-orders.

[Added October 5: Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, co-presidents of New Line, appeared on The Charlie Rose Show last night (as linked on TheOneRing.net). I haven’t had a chance to watch it online yet, but I’ll obviously include it in my commentary piece. Ian McKellen fans, please note that his recent appearance on the show is also still on the front page. It’s all King Lear, with nothing about the LOTR or Hobbit films. It’s well worth watching, and there’s a clip from the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production that is currently touring the USA.]

NOTE:  For an analysis of the items about New Line linked here, see the next entry.