Also in this morning's news briefs: Disney picks an unknown prince for Maleficent, another summer indie hits a specialty box-office milestone, and more...
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Empire Magazine gathered ex-Hobbit pals Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry (otherwise known as Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan) for a reunion photo shoot to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring, in the December issue. It'll include Viggo Mortensen's behind the scenes photos, concept art, and stories from the set, and to whet your appetite Empire's released a brief "trailer" from its recent Hobbit cast reunion.
A quick update from Austin, where the Fantastic Debates took place at midnight pitting filmmakers, actors, and astrophysicists against each other in spoken debates before pounding it out in the boxing ring: If you were betting on Elijah Wood to reign victorious over Lord of the Rings buddy Dominic Monaghan (or in Hobbit terms, Frodo vs. Merry, who were debating the awesomeness of another fantasy nerd obsession, World of Warcraft), you'd have lost.
Because there's a chance fellow Hobbit Elijah Wood is going to cream him in the boxing ring tonight, let's take a moment to give props to Fantastic Fest guest Dominic Monaghan, who threw down some Vanilla Ice in yesterday's karaoke rap contest. With his A's cap pulled down low (Moneyball shout out!), Monaghan showed the room that this was clearly not his first time spitting lyrics like, "If there was a problem/Yo I'll solve it/Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it." At least it wasn't "You All Everybody!"
Fantastic Fest's annual Fantastic Debates pit filmmakers, critics, and celebrities against each other in a two-part battle that begins with a podium debate and ends with the ultimate showdown in the boxing ring. This year's Debates, held Saturday night in Austin, Texas, will get even more fantastic than usual as Elijah Wood and Lord of the Rings pal Dominic Monaghan duke it out with some Hobbit vs. Hobbit fisticuffs. Watch their challenge videos after the jump!
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