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As a hobbit named Frodo inched his way toward the fires of Mordor and a celebrated fantasy trilogy came to a close, hundreds of Antelope Valley residents braved a long wait and late hours to see how it all turned out. Approximately 1,200 moviegoers purchased tickets to five midnight showings Tuesday of the third and final "The Lord of the Rings" movie, "The Return of the King," at Cinemark 22, according to theater management. Four of the five screenings were sold out by 8 p.m. Tuesday. Hundreds of fans arrived late Tuesday afternoon, turning their wait for prime seats into...

I was soooo dissappointed with the return of the king. It started out ok (except for the first chapter) but after Gollum knoks out Sam in the craks of doom it got really weird, corny and just plain bad. My list of reasons; 1. Everyone knew and understood Gollum/Smeagol without having or wanting to watch him murder Deagol. It was totally sick and unnecessary. 2. Frodo was somewhat 'normal' at the end of TTT, and in the beggining of ROTK Frodo is like corrupted and half dead. The transition from good to corrupted was divided in to threes instead of...

The midnight hour proved profitable for Frodo and the gang. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" took in an estimated $8 million domestically from 2,100 midnight screenings Wednesday, according to distributor New Line Cinema. That was about double the haul for midnight screenings of last year's middle chapter, "The Two Towers." That film played in about half as many theaters for those midnight showings. Results from the midnight screenings alone were almost half the $18.2 million that part one, "The Fellowship of the Ring," took in over its entire first day two years ago. The midnight...

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King! FReeper reports and reviews thread Beyond this point there be spoilers! Like spoilers? – Keep reading! Don't want spoilers? – Click HERE and don't look back!

OPENING NITE: Just returned from a midnite showing of The Return of the King. Awesome. If you were wondering whether it would stack up to I & II - you won't be disappointed. One part that all red-blooded FReepers will enjoy: The good guys are referred to as "men of the West." And, eagles save the day. I won't say more and spoil it for you. Given Saddam's capture, this movie comes out at a most opportune time. Well worth seeing twice - at least.**** 4 STARS

Note: There is a minor spolier in the third paragraph, so skip that one if you haven't read the books.) After seven years in the making, the final film of the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, THE RETURN OF THE KING, opens this Wednesday. The good news is that, like the others, it was worth the wait. The better news is that, even more than the others, what we see on screen respects the Christian faith of the book's author, J. R. R. Tolkien. Tolkien wrote that LORD OF THE RINGS is a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so...

Digital warriors thought for themselves - and their first thought was to run away ---------- It's the greatest and most spectacular battle in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. But filmmakers faced one surprising challenge - how to keep the computer-generated soldiers from fleeing the battlefield. Director Peter Jackson had laid down his requirements for the Battle of Pelennor Fields - the climactic engagement in The Return of the King in which the heroic defenders of Middle-Earth face the overwhelming might of Sauron and his armies of Darkness. Jackson wanted the computer-generated antagonists to have absolute authenticity on the big...

'THE RETURN OF THE KING' Triumph Tinged With Regret in Middle Earth By ELVIS MITCHELL Published: December 16, 2003 Aragorn, played by Viggo Mortensen, prepares to face Sauron's forces in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." Gondorian and Rohan soldiers unite to save Middle Earth in "The Return of the King," the conclusion of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. From left, Frodo (Elijah Wood), Gollum (Andy Serkis) and Sam (Sean Astin) transport the One Ring in "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." After the galloping intelligence displayed in the first...

Search for evidence on the DVD commentaries and other materials that accompany Peter Jackson’s epic film production of The Lord of the Rings. You will be hard pressed to find an acknowledgment that the work comes from a Catholic writer. Yet Tolkien said the fact that he was “a Christian (which can be deduced from my stories) and in fact a Roman Catholic” was the most important and “really significant” element in his work. He called The Lord of the Rings “fundamentally religious and Catholic.” Jackson and his collaborators recently took some time at a press event to contemplate the...

At a recent get-together with the cast of The Lord of the Rings, perhaps the most passionate observations came from John Rhys-Davies. He’s the actor who plays the dwarf Gimli, the proud defender of the ancient ways of the dwarfs, who know or thing or two about the collapse of civilizations: The dwarf civilization was left in ruins, as The Fellowship of the Ring, the first Lord of the Rings movie, made clear as the company of the ring struggled through the Mines of Moria. He’s also the actor who gave his voice to Treebeard the Ent in The Two...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," the final installment of a cinematic trilogy based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, was named best picture of the year on Monday by the New York Film Critics Circle. The off-beat comedy "Lost In Translation," from Focus Features, won a pair of major awards doled out by the critics, with Bill Murray named best actor and Sofia Coppola taking best director honors. Hope Davis took the best actress award for her performances in "American Splendor," and "The Secret Lives of Dentists." The film critics group,...

Here are a couple good websites devoted to bloopers found in the Lord of the Rings movies.www.moviemistakes.comwww.hobbitslive.com

In his first interview with interrogators, former Iraqui dictator Saddam Hussein has admitted to hiding in the Hobbit Hole for months."I thought it would be the last place anyone looked for me," he said. "Like my hometown of Tikrit it's closed, insular. The inhabitants spend all their time talking to each other about Hobbits, Orcs, Gandalf, and Frodo. Sort of like the Camel market, only stranger. With my new beard, I figured I'd blend right in."Military officials admit that the thought of wading through tens of thousands of posts and replies in search of the tyrant was a daunting task....

Maybe it's the pointy ears. Whether we're talking about "The Lord of the Rings" or "Star Trek," I can never fully embrace a franchise where characters wear prosthetic earpieces. Nor, for that matter, am I crazy about swords (whether forged in a lake of fire or capped with a shaft of light), runes, hellhounds or old bachelors in flowing robes. Soon after the "The Return of the King" is released in theaters Wednesday, it will start harvesting millions of dollars and thousands of Oscar votes. Judging by the first two films in the "LOTR" trilogy, I don't doubt that "The...

I am a great fan of the Professor's story of the War of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings is wonderfully written; the last time I read it I found myself reading aloud to myself. The language rings and shimmers. Professor Tolkien agreed with his many critics that the story was too short. The Professor was correct in this, I believe. Another thousand pages would have rounded out the story nicely. I have a question, important to me, that I wish the Professor would have answered about Orcs. What were Orcs really like? Jackson gives his opinion in Towers...

"Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" Opening Party and Premiere in Paris Interrupted by Protesters "Intermittents du Spectacle" (Showbiz Intermittents) attack the Francois Mitterrand National Library in order to protest against globalization and the French Minister of Culture & Communication. The exposition of cinematographic memorabilia from the movie accompanying the "The Lord of the Rings" event as well as the premiere in Paris were ruined by the group of protesters and celebrities had to be evacuated.

<p>LOS ANGELES — Viggo Mortensen (search) was never supposed to be the man who would be king.</p> <p>When director Peter Jackson (search) started filming "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy in October 1999, he had another actor cast as the warrior Aragorn, a reluctant hero whose courage and royal bloodline help defeat the ancient evil of Sauron.</p>

What's the appeal? Reconsidering "The Lord of the Rings" By Sarah Bryan Miller Post-Dispatch 12/13/2003 Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of The King.' (New Line) Actor Viggo Mortensen isn't everyone's idea of Aragorn, the Ranger turned ruler in "The Return of the King." But that's all right with the legions who love "The Lord of the Rings." Their overwhelming desire to see a film version of the classic books they love draws even the critical to return to each new video chapter. Millions more who have never picked up the books...

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole! Where Many Paths and Errands Meet... First thread: New Zealander builds Hobbit holeSecond thread: The New Hobbit HoleThird thread: The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads! (Congratulations, we filled it up!)Fourth Thread: The Hobbit Hole IV - The Road Goes Ever On... The Road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can, Pursuing it with eager feet, Until it joins some larger way Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say....

Recently MOVIEGUIDE® had the opportunity to speak with some key members of the cast and crew for the magnificent final movie, RETURN OF THE KING in the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. Peter Jackson, the director, writer, producer, said it was his intention to make the spiritual aspects of the story even clearer than the book. It was also his intention to make some of the other themes clearer. Peter pointed out that Tolkien was deeply influenced by the two world wars, but always said that he wished he had been born 100 years earlier when England was more like...