Category: General News

Dominic Monaghan was born on December 8, 1976 in Berlin, Germany.Yesterday was his 32nd birthday. You can see pictures of Dominic here, pictures of Dominic in the role of Merry here and read his cast bio here. Hope you had a happy birthday, Dominic.

Today is Craig Parker’s 38th birthday. He was born in Suva, Fiji on November 12, 1970. In the CoE gallery there are some great pictures of Craig in the role of Haldir here. Happy Birthday Craig.

Today, October 31st, is Peter Jackson’s birthday. He was born in Pukerua Bay, North Island, New Zealand in 1961 and is 47 years old today. You can read his crew bio here. In the CoE Gallery there are pictures of Peter in his own section and photos throughout the general cast and crew section.

Patrick Acton, the owner and founder of “Matchstick Marvels” is currently undertaking a huge project in making a large model (out of matchsticks, of course) of the city of Minas Tirith. You can view photos of the model at his website.

A Los Angeles judge has ruled that the Tolkien Estate may seek compensatory damages against New Line Cinema. The Tolkien Estate’s claim is that New Line failed to pay them any royalties on the money made from the three LotR movies. You can read the full story here.

Some creative students at the University of Illinois pulled a prank concerning the eye of Sauron early Sunday morning. You can read more and see a photo here.

Happy birthday to two of our favorite hobbits, Bilbo and Frodo. At the start of Lord of the Rings Bilbo celebrated his 111th birthday while Frodo celebrated his 33th birthday and came of age. Click here for some great CoE Hobbit Day eCards to send to your friends.

On this day, September 2nd, 1973, Professor J. R. R. Tolkien passed away, only 21 months after his beloved Edith had died. He was buried in Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford, next to his wife. The tombstone reads, “Edith Mary Tolkien Lúthien 1889 – 1971 John Ronald Reuel Tolkien Beren 1892 – 1973” We all thank and…

Happy belated birthday, Billy Boyd. Billy Boyd’s birthday was on August 28, and we apologize for not getting this up sooner. He was born in 1968 in Glasgow, Scotland, and is now 40. You can read his cast bio

In her blog, the Frodo Franchise, Kristin Thompson gives Tolkien fans a nice long update on all the things that have happened involving Christopher Tolkien and New Line Cinemas with the lawsuits. You can read the blog here.