TOLKIEN CHARACTERS BECOME LIFELIKE COLLECTIBLE SCULPTURE.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

WESTLAKE VILLAGE - With ``The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' already taking the nation's megaplexes by storm, Sideshow Toy's newest line of collectibles based on the movie franchise may benefit from the fan fervor surrounding the film.

Sideshow is selling a collection of detailed statues and busts with a pedigree that will likely pass muster with even the most devoted fans of books by J.R.R. Tolkien and the ``Rings'' movies. They were designed by Weta Workshop of New Zealand, the special-effects company of New Line Cinema's ``The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy.

``It's the first time in merchandising licensing history that a collectibles company has partnered with an element of the production itself,'' said Greg Anzalone, president of Sideshow Toy. ``They are beautiful pieces, and we are very, very excited to be tapping into what we consider to be mainstream properties.''

Last year, Sideshow produced 40 different collectibles in conjunction with the release of ``The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,'' first in the film trilogy. It produced 30 additional items for ``Two Towers'' that will be available Jan. 15, and 20 more are planned in conjunction with the final film, ``The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.''

The newest collectibles include hand-painted polystone busts of the characters Legolas Greenleaf, Saruman and Galadriel. The final group coinciding with ``Return of the King'' will include detailed statues of Gandalf the White, Gimli and an Easterling soldier.

The association with the ``Rings'' franchise has raised Sideshow's profile to such a degree that it was chosen to do a collectibles line for the most recent James Bond film, ``Die Another Day,'' as well as the entire Bond library of films dating back 40 years. Both the ``Rings'' and Bond lines are multiyear, multimillion-dollar deals for Sideshow.

``We are pleasantly overwhelmed right now,'' Anzalone said. ```Lord of the Rings' is clearly the marquee product line for Sideshow, and the Bond fan base is legion all over the world.''

Before ``Lord of the Rings,'' Sideshow had been associated largely with niche properties such as classic monsters, cult favorite movies including ``Young Frankenstein'' and ``This is Spinal Tap,'' and classic television shows with devoted followings, such as ``Hogan's Heroes'' and ``Get Smart.''

The company now is associating itself more with current mainstream properties, as with its ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' line of collectibles.

Next year, the company will debut collectible busts based on the entire ``Star Trek' universe - with characters ranging from Spock to those in the current series ``Enterprise.'' Collectible characters from ``The Simpsons'' and Muppets including Kermit the frog and Miss Piggy will be among other major undertakings.

In a unique collaboration, Sideshow teamed with New Line Home Video to create the collectible Argonath bookends that are part of a ``Fellowship'' DVD gift set available at major retailers. The set comprises a five-disc DVD edition of the movie with bonus materials.

``As far as I know, there has been no other product attached to a video release like this,'' said Laura Abely, senior marketing manager for New Line Home Video. ``The reaction has been incredible, and it is selling very well for us. The fan base for Tolkien is so strong and so spirited, and they do look for authenticity and credibility.''

The ``Two Towers'' line ranges in price from $25 to $300. Until 18 months ago, Sideshow's merchandise was sold to such mass-market retailers as Wal-Mart and Toys 'R' Us. But the retail strategy has evolved to specialty comic book shops and collectibles stores: Spencer Gifts, Tower Records and online sales via www.sideshowtoy.com.

Sculpting of the first collectible set actually began while the actors were still filming the movies, which were shot in sequence over a period of almost two years in New Zealand.

``A lot of the actors, like Liv Tyler and Ian McKellen, were able to go into the sculpting shop to see what was going on with their sculptures,'' said Robin Ferguson, Sideshow's vice president of retail sales. ``They came down in costumes, and a lot of major actors were able to have some say in how their sculpture was represented.''

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Photo:

(color) A Westlake Village firm got to model its polystone statues of Gandalf the White and fallen wizard Saruman from the actors who play them in the ``Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy.