Welcome to the Council of Elrond!

Daily Mail Online`s Barry Norman has released his list of the top ten epic films. Click here to see which of Peter Jackson`s `Tolkien`; movies made the list.

Sir Ian will be presiding at the wedding of his friend Patrick Stewart. Wizards can do that, you know. See more by clicking here.

Singer Ed Sheeran recently visited Peter Jackson. Click here to read about what he left with when the two exchanged gifts.

Although we often hear complaints about how few female characters can be found in Tolkien`s Middle-earth books, the author originally fielded complaints about the female characters he used. Click here to learn more about why the complaints were made, and to learn more about Tolkien`s use of female characters.

Click here for the first available pics of Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel. (Please note that many sites have removed similar pics by request and these may not be available for long)

To read about a 10 foot tall sand castle, a detailed replica of Minas Tirith, that took two years to build and was recently destroyed by a storm click here.

Click here to hear Andy Serkis explain why ‘The Hobbit; An Unexpected Journey’ is a family movie.

Peter Jackson has stated that he’d like to direct an episode of Doctor Who. Click here to read about the unusual payment request he suggests, in lieu of cash, for the job.

Click here for a brief reminder about Tolkien Reading Day.

To read about 10 things you might not know about ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ you can click here.

Ireland’s Burren Tolkien Society is convinced that Tolkien’s many visits to The Burren may have influenced his descriptions of The Misty mountains. For details about their upcoming convention click here.

You can click here for a ‘Yahoo Movies’ interview with Martin Freeman.

For details about an infographic that summarizes the characteristics of many of the races found in ‘The Hobbit’, click here.

Warner Bros. has countered The Tolkien Estates copyright lawsuit by filing their own coutersuit. For two looks at the legal wranglings click here and here.

Peter Jackson is about to host a live sneak peak at `The Hobbit; The Desolaation of Smaug`, but there is a catch. To get the special code that will allow you to log in for the live event you must first purchase the Blu-Ray Combo Pack, Blu-Ray 3-D Combo Pack or 2-Disc DVD Special Edition of `The Hobbit; An Unexpected Journey`. Further details can be found here.

Curious as the the actual value of Bag End as Real Estate? For a breakdown of Bag End’s listing price if it was located in Tolkien’s favorite county click here.

For Richard Armitage’s views on Peter Jackson and his role as Thorin in ‘The Hobbit’ click here.

Click here to read the latest figures on the boost the premiere of ‘The Hobbit; An Unexpected Journey’ gave to the economy of Wellington.

You can listen to IGN’s 31 minute discussion with Sylvester McCoy by clicking here.

BuzzFeed’s recent interview with Martin Freeman can be found here and Hypable’s video chat with Freeman can be seen here.

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ recently became the 15th film to pass the $1 billion mark in ticket sales. You can read about it here.

Warner Brothers has recently released some short ‘teaser’ videos, including one with a sneak peek at Smaug. They can be viewed here.

MGM and Warner Brothers have just announced that ‘The Hobbit; There and Back Again’ will now be released in December of 2014. Details can be found here.

On Sunday, March 4th , the CoE Book Club will start reading and discussing ‘The Hobbit’. We will be posting questions and quotes for discussion and looking at art related to the various chapters. For more info, and to join in, you can check out our Book Club here.

Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will lead the way at the 2013 Saturn Awards after landing nine nominations. You can read about it here.

To see J. R. R. Tolkien’s original designs for the covers of the LOTR Trilogy click here.

Although it was not a part of the televised Oscar presentation ceremony, The Hobbit; An Unexpected Journey did win one Technical Oscar. Read about it here.

Did the Premiere for `The Hobbit; An Unexpected Journey` give a significant boost to the economy of Wellington? You can find out by clicking here.

To read about the current and projected Domestic and International sales totals for ‘The Hobbit; An Unexpected Journey’ click here.

For information about Andy Serkis’ new ‘Imaginarium’ motion capture studio click here.

Click here to be reminded of J. R. R. Tolkien’s original cover designs for the Lord of The Rings trilogy.

Click here to check out LOTRPROJECT.com’s interactive analysis of Tolkien’s works.

Black Milk Clothing has come up with a line of print dresses with designs from the Lord of The Rings Movies. Check them out here.

In advance of The Oscars, WETA Digital has posted a new video demonstrating some of the effects used in The Hobbit; an Unexpected Journey’. The video can be viewed here.

Click here to read about a big winner on a ‘The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship’ slot machine. Could this be one of the slot machines questioned in the Tolkien Estate’s lawsuit?

Now that the ombudsman has ordered the New Zealand Government to release documents detailing the many incentives given to induce the studios to film there, the studios are threatening that this will cause them to move future productions elsewhere. The details can be found here.

Click here for a writer’s description of her Hobbit site tour of New Zealand.

There may be some truth in the recent rumors about an upcoming Hobbit theme park. As can be seen from this article, Saul Zaentz Company has applied to register the name ‘Middle-earth’ in regards to amusement parks, campgrounds, gaming machines and arcades etc. Details of the application can be found here.