EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios’ high-profile The Lord of the Rings TV series has made a key hire. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director Juan Antonio (J.A.) Bayona has been tapped to direct the first two episodes of the big-scope fantasy drama, following in the footsteps of Peter Jackson, who directed the feature…

Rudy Giuliani has been on an interesting journey in the past couple of weeks (some may even argue months). As Donald Trump’s lawyer, he has spoken out about former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and his statements haven’t been consistent. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert illustrated it in a way that everyone can…

UPDATED with statement from Ashley Judd’s attorney Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers are urging a federal court judge to throw out Ashley Judd’s civil suit, arguing that too much time has passed for her to bring a legal claim seeking damages for allegedly ruining her career. Judd sued Weinstein in April, arguing that the once…

Streaming viewers who pay by the month for Amazon Prime benefits, which include free shipping as well as entertainment offerings, now will pay $12.99 a month. The new rate is 18% higher than the previous $10.99. The cost of a full-year Prime membership will remain $99 and the yearly rate for students also stays at…

EXCLUSIVE: Shortly after Harvey Weinstein denied claims that he blackballed Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino from being cast in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, Jackson has chimed back in, calling parts of Weinstein’s denial “insincere.” Here is Jackson’s rebuttal in full: Aspects of Harvey's denial are…

UPDATED: In a deal that is expected to dwarf any TV series to date, I hear the J.R.R. Tolkien estate has been shopping a possible series based on the late author’s The Lord of the Rings novels with a whopping price tag attached. I hear Amazon, Netflix and HBO had been approached about the project, which comes with an…

There’s never been any indication that they celebrate the Fourth of July in Middle Earth, but fireworks of legal independence will be going off anyway. After a grueling five-year court battle, Warner Bros. and the estate of author J.R.R. Tolkien have settled an $80 million rights dispute over The Hobbit and The Lord of…

Uma Thurman made an appearance on Monday night's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where the host brought up Thurman's missed opportunity to star in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Years ago, the Kill Bill actress had passed on playing the role of Eowyn (which eventually went to Miranda Otto) in the lucrative Peter…

UPDATED with quotes: Legendary British actor Sir Christopher Lee has died after being hospitalized for respiratory problems and heart failure. He was 93. Lee, who played Dracula in a series of classic Hammer horror films and was Saruman in the Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit movies, among many other iconic roles, passed…

Lord Of The Rings‘ John Rhys-Davies is staying in the fantasy realm, joining the cast of Shannara, MTV's 10-episode straight-to-series drama based on Terry Brooks' book series. Written by Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar, Shannara is set in our world, thousands of years after the destruction of our…

EXCLUSIVE: ICM Partners has just signed Karl Urban, who’ll reprise his role as Enterprise doc Bones in the third installment of that franchise that will shoot in April. Urban, who first burst on the scene in the Lord Of The Rings films, was last seen in the Fox/Bad Robot series Almost Human. He also starred in The Bour…