Putting aside our cynicism for a moment (and our dislike for brash commercialism), we bring you this new airline safety video from the folks at Air New Zealand. Why is this one of interest to us, or anyone else?

Well, it’s inspired by, and features quite a few characters from, The Lord of the Rings and the upcoming Hobbit films. Because they are all produced in New Zealand, get it?

Confused? You won’t be if you just watch and enjoy.

One aspect of LEGO games that has always stood out was the central hub location where players would go in and out of missions. Originally, this was a small location of only a few rooms that chapters could be explored by entering. This was the primary setup for LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones. More recently, LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes changed this format with an open world Gotham for players to traverse and go into story missions when they saw fit. Now, Traveler’s Tales needs to switch up for the format again for LEGO The Lord of the Rings.

While it made sense in LEGO Batman’s world for the caped crusader to be able to travel around Gotham at his whim, that just isn’t the case with the tighter narrative that needs to be told during The Lord of the Rings. Even in LEGO format, The Lord of the Rings needs to have a clear beginning and ending location that players can’t just skip to. As anyone who has watched, or especially read The Lord of the Rings, it isn’t the destination that mattered to the story as much as it was the journey that got the heroes there.

One of the most intimidating prospects for a game developer may be the chance to work on a franchise they grew up loving. There is so much pressure put on themselves to uphold the high standards they set because they don’t want to let down themselves, other fans or the creators of it. But it also gives great opportunity for talented teams to make something special that can stand alongside other creative works associated with that franchise. Traveler’s Tales is one of those teams that has shown both love and respect for everything from Star Wars to Harry Potter in the LEGO universe and are undertaking the formidable legacy of The Lord of the Rings in their next game.

When you look at LEGO The Lord of the Rings at first, what you may notice first is the world going on behind the characters. There is a blend of both picturesque landscape combined with scenics from the films created out of LEGO. Much like they did with LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, LEGO The Lord of the Rings will have a large open world format with side quests for players to take part in instead of just following the story of the game.

If you are on The Flickcast, you already know the story. A band of mismatched heroes takes an impossible journey to escort the smallest of men to the most dangerous of locales all to destroy a ring that could destroy them all. How do you improve on that ageless tale? Why, add LEGOs of course.

At Gamescom, WB Games revealed the latest trailer for LEGO The Lord of the Rings. Following in the tradition of LEGO Star Wars or LEGO Indiana Jones, LEGO The Lord of the Rings will follow the events of the movies while adding in the quirky LEGO humor. In the tradition of LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, the game will also feature voice acting.

New to the LEGO brand though is having actual sound bites from the movie used in the game. While it hasn’t be revealed whether or not any new audio has been recorded for the game, it will be interesting to see how much Traveler’s Tales has fun with some of the most iconic scenes while using the current audio that so many of us have memorized at this point. The trailer below already gives a hint both at some of the epic scenes brought to life using LEGO as well as some of the lighthearted fun that the developers have had playing with some of the films’ memorable scenes.

Check out the full trailer after the break and keep it here for more on LEGO The Lord of the Rings set to come out this fall for Wii, Nintendo 3DS, PC, XBox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Ever since the dawn of LEGO games there has been a hole. A hole in the catalog, a hole in the very hearts of LEGO fans world-wide, and that hole was a lack of a LEGO Lord of the Rings game. Thankfully, all the legal red tape has been decimated and WB Games and Traveler’s Tales look to fill that hole as soon as possible.

The debut trailer for the long-awaited game has hit and it promises a true to the movies experience. The LEGO games were long presented with out dialogue, but in 2012 the developers are breaking away from that tradition. LEGO Lord of the Rings seems to take full use of dialogue from the films, while retaining that LEGO playfulness.

Of course this trailer also shows off a couple really exciting LEGO interpretations. First we get to see the Balrog in all of his LEGO goodness, and he comes across very well in the form. We also see most of the Fellowship in LEGO form, which includes the first ever LEGO Sean Bean.

At this point I want to buy about 30 copies of this game so I can play it daily and not worry about it wearing out. Hopefully those stupid high expectations, that I no doubt share with many of you, can be met by the developers.

Take a look at the debut trailer after the jump.

Fans of the Action/RPG genre are eagerly awaiting the release of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, a new role-playing title from Snowblind Studios. WitN will feature an expansive three-player cooperative campaign allowing players to form their own fellowship, as well as a series of in-game challenges which will test players abilities to work together.

To emphasize the importance of co-op gameplay, the developers have released a behind-the-scenes / gameplay trailer focusing on “The Power of Three,” and highlighting the different abilities and tactical advantages offered by each character class.
From Premier PR:

“Each hero in this tale – Andriel the Elf, Eradan the Human, Farin the Dwarf – contributes a vital talent further uniting the Fellowship.  Hear from the creators themselves as they delve into the inner workings of the game’s heroes.  Utilising teamwork and communication, players can join together to fight the War in the North. ”

Watch the video below, and keep an eye out for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North when it releases for PS3, PC, and XBox 360 on November 1st, 2011  in the U.S., and the 25th in the UK.

The music from the Lord of the Rings films might very well be the best ever written for a film. Howard Shore often considered the entire project as his opera, structured in a sweeping and broad style that worked hand in hand with the epic story. So it is a natural that 10 years later the music is still exciting fans around the globe.

The music has been revisited again, this time being constructed as a symphony in six movements. The full twelve hours of music from the original films has been pared down into the six movements, each reflecting one of the six books of the original Lord of the Rings novel.

“Maestro Ludwig Wicki personally selected the musicians who comprise The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and who perform on this recording,” said Shore. “Over the past four years he has perfected this music in Lucerne, Switzerland. His precision and supreme musicianship is evident throughout the recording. I congratulate him on his success and thank him for his masterful approach in bringing this score to life.”

Up yours, Snow White! Fans of dwarves and fantasy alike will be pleased to see the latest photo from Peter Jackson The Hobbit, featuring all 13 dwarves doin’ their dwarf thing.

From the left, they’re Jed Brophy as “Nori,” Dean O’Gorman as “Fili,” Mark Hadlow as “Dori,” James Nesbitt as “Bofur,” Peter Hambleton as “Gloin,” Graham McTavish as “Dwalin,” Richard Armitage as “Thorin Oakenshield,” Ken Stott as “Balin,” John Callen as “Oin,” Stephen Hunter as “Bombur,” William Kircher as “Bifur,” Adam Brown as “Ori,” and Aidan Turner as “Kili.” [Not pictured: Wilford Brimley as “Groin,” Brian Cox as “Drunky,” and Rip Torn as “Farty.”]

Reprising their roles from the Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy are Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, and Orlando Bloom. Martin Freeman (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) will star as Bilbo Baggins.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is scheduled for release December 14^th, 2012; The Hobbit: There and Back Again December 13^th, 2013.

Click through for a larger version of the pic.

Sean Bean is an incredible talent. Not just because the man has been working for over 25 years in nearly 100 projects, but because he knows a good thing when he’s hit it. In the past decade, since his role as Boromir in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Bean has managed to make a name for himself in the fantasy realm.

From Red Riding: In the Year of our Lord to Black Death and most recently Game of Thrones, the man knows he looks good wearing armor and weilding a sword, so why fix something that isn’t broken? It turns out he’s keeping with that motto as he’ll be portraying the king in Relativity Media’s upcoming Snow White film.

From Variety:

Bean will soon close a deal to play Snow White’s father, whose kingdom is destroyed by Roberts’ evil Queen.

Lily Collins stars as Snow White, while Julia Roberts and Armie Hammer co-star as her wicked stepmother and princely love interest, respectively.

As promised, Peter Jackson is delivering on some great goodies and sneak peeks on his upcoming return to the world of J.R.R. Tolkein with The Hobbit. First we got a great look at the dwarves Nori, Ori, and Dori, and now we’re getting a few more great dwarves revealed, as the first image of Kili and Fili surfaces.

Played by Dean O’Gorman (Fili) and Aidan Turner (Kili), these two dwarves will aid Bilbo in his upcoming journey across the globe. Here’s the official description.

Two of the youngest Dwarves, Fili and Kili have been born into the royal line of Durin and raised under the stern guardianship of their uncle, Thorin Oakensheild. Neither has ever travelled far, nor ever seen the fabled Dwarf City of Erebor. For both, the journey to the Lonely Mountain represents adventure and excitement. Skilled fighters, both brothers set off on their adventure armed with the invincible courage of youth, neither being able to imagine the fate which lies before them.

A bit familiar, these characters all look like they belong in the world Jackson helped create on film a decade ago with The Lord of the Rings. That’s more than something another famed trilogy director could pull off (looking at you, Lucas!).

Take a look at the full image after the jump and keep your ears and eyes open for more glimpse at The Hobbit in the coming months leading up to the film’s release.