News to make you smile via Digital Spy:

LOTR stars to buy 'Hobbit house'
01:53 GMT, Saturday 13th December 2003 -- by Neil Wilkes
Three of the Lord of the Rings cast are planning on buying a house together in New Zealand, the country where the films were made.

Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan - all of whom played hobbits in the epic trilogy - became such good friends whilst making the movies that they've decided to set up home together.

Wood, 22, told the Daily Star: "We want a house in New Zealand because we don't want to lose connection with the country. It makes sense to go in together - we could holiday separately or together."

Grandmother Helen is leaving today on a cruise aboard the Norwegian Majesty, embarking from Charleston.

Here's her route if I read the site correctly:



Bon voyage!

Nice to see one of my favorite movies called a "classic."

The owner of the inn which starred in the film Local Hero has been ordered to return it to its former colour after an outcry from film buffs.

The Pennan Inn, the setting for the 1983 classic featuring Burt Lancaster, was painted aqua blue more than a year ago by its owner, Brenda Kutchinsky.

The repaint provoked complaints from fans from as far away as America and Cyprus when they realised that the exterior of the quaint hotel was no longer the colour that it was in the film.

Yesterday the Scottish Executive said the building had to be repainted white. The decision follows a long-running battle between Mrs Kutchinsky and local councillors.

Pennan became famous when it was the backdrop for the Bill Forsyth film in which an American oil tycoon played by Lancaster sought to buy up the whole village.

It was also famous for its red telephone box, which was the only means by which the agent sent on the tycoon's behalf could contact his boss.

Mrs Kutchinsky added: "All the complaints came from visitors or people who have moved out of the area. Basically they want us to live on a film set and I don't think that's fair."

An Executive spokesman said that the blue was "entirely out of context with the established colour of the area".

via The Telegraph (UK)

Peter Jackson is smart.

JRR Tolkien's great grandson is to appear in the next instalment of the blockbuster Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.



Royd Tolkien, 34, took the part of a Gondorian Ranger in the new film adaptation of his famous relative's stories after director Peter Jackson invited him to join the cast.

Mr Tolkien said: "I was just blown away when Peter Jackson came up with the idea of putting a Tolkien into the film and to be a Gondorian Ranger is a huge privilege."

He said he was "incredibly proud" his great grandfather's stories had been recreated for the big screen.

via The Telegraph (UK)