Hi-res Pirates picture of Orlando & Johnny
posted by Irene
Yahoo has posted a hi-res version of the Pirates picture of Orlando and Johnny that was posted on LA Times not too long ago.

The Two Towers up for 7 Empire Awards
posted by Jen
The Two Towers have been nominated for 7 Empire Awards, including Best Film, Best Director for Peter Jackson, Best Actor for Viggo Mortensen, Best Actress for Miranda Otto, Best Bristish Actor for Sir Ian and Andy Serkis and Scene of the Year for Gollum's Debate. The event will be held on February 5 at London's Dorchester hotel.

TTT Best Soundtrack of 2002
Cinescape
Shore broadens the excellence of The Fellowship of the Ring with his new score for The Two Towers, further developing the myriad themes he gave to the first film and introducing a quiver-full of new motifs as he further develops what will become a massive composition.

No Make-Up Oscar for TTT
Yahoo News
Question: What do the menacing orcs in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," the goofy aliens in "Men in Black II" and Nicole Kidman (news)'s nose in "The Hours" all have in common? Answer: None of them made the cut for the best makeup Academy Award.

Games Workshop cashes in on Tolkien effect
The Guardian
Games Workshop, the table-top war games firm, yesterday said sales of orc, elf and other miniature fantasy figurines had been helped by the film version of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

NZ Girl article on Karl Urban
posted by Kim on the LOTRInfo list
Karl Urban is thrilled that he has a wide collection of fan sites, but is not computer literate. “I don’t have a computer. I only know how to check my emails,” says the New Zealand actor.

Chat with Andy Serkis
Scifi
Join actor Andy Serkis for a chat about the character Gollum and his upcoming projects on Friday, Jan 31 at 9pm ET, 6pm PT

Embassy needs $5m facelift for Rings
Stuff Entertainment
Up to $5 million is needed to get Wellington's Embassy Theatre ready for the promised world premiere of the third Lord of the Rings movie in December.

TTT Behind the Scenes clip
posted by Stacie
A video clip from TTT as well as behind the scenes look at making the movie, plus interviews with Elijah, Sir Ian, Viggo, Orlando, Liv and Peter. Nothing new, just excerpts from the WB specials. Registration required.

Orlando says thanks for birthday gift!
posted by Stacie
From Stacie: A group of Orlando Bloom's fans got together and made a scrapbook for his recent birthday. We also collected over $2000 for Greenpeace in his name. My contact at Greenpeace was Megan Hall, and she wrote to me today.

OBM mention in Herr Der Ringe magazine
A Hobbit's Tale
Thanks to A Hobbit's Tale for this scan from the German magazine, Herr Der Ringe, where OBM was mentioned in their Two Towers article.

Towers Cast gets SAG nomination
UPI
Two Towers received a nomination for best cast in the ninth annual Screen Actors Guild awards. The nominated cast included Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif, Bernard Hill, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham and Elijah Wood. The winners will be announced March 9 in ceremonies to be telecast on TNT.

Teesside greets Gollum and Bart
BBC News
The secrets behind Oscar-winning films like The Lord of The Rings and TV cartoon The Simpsons are be revealed on Teesside. A major festival of animation is being hosted by the University of Teesside. The Animex festival will feature some of the animators who created digital characters for the second Lord of The Rings film, The Two Towers.

Potter and Gandalf to do battle at auction
Ananova
Harry Potter is set to go head to head with Gandalf at a book auction. A signed first edition of Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets is up for sale with a first edition of JRR Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings.

'Lord,' trilogy's been hard work
New York Daily News
He's still not done forging 'Rings,' but Peter Jackson can relax a bit. It's midafternoon on Saturday and film director Peter Jackson is at home in New Zealand, talking on the phone to a reporter in New York (where it is early Friday evening).

Jackson to take on US heavyweights at Baftas
New Zealand Herald
Peter Jackson may be up for his second Bafta in a row. Last year's best director award-winner at Britain's answer to the Oscars is nominated in the category this year for the second instalment in his Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers.

Viggo gets key to Tokyo; Liv on ears and wigs
posted by Stacie
Tokyo finally got "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." Its governor handed future King Aragorn, Viggo Mortensen, the key to NYC's sister city. Jumping from Middle Earth's five layers of velvet into jeans and witty dialogue with Ben Affleck in "Jersey Girl," Liv Tyler says: "I felt naked without the wigs and ears. I got used to wearing prosthetics. It became [shades of Nicole] comfortable."

An Interview with Andy Serkis
IGN
Few people have partaken of the latest installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy without departing the theater blown away by a single character: Gollum.

Sean Bean's underwear on auction
posted by Evie
Fans dreams come true: A pair of underpants personalized by Sean Bean is up for auction, and for a good cause