lord of the rings

Good news, Goonies fans. Or LOTR fans. Or 24 fans. Sean Astin has bigger plans than just a meerkat soap opera. He's reportedly in negotiations to star in an ABC comedy pilot called The Guys. It's about five dads who become friends when their kids have a playdate at one of the fathers' homes. If two of the four Hobbits are on ABC, can we start calling it Middle Earth?

The Sci Fi network just announced its purchase of the U.S. rights to a German production, titled Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King, based in part on the Ring of the Nibelungs myth. Never heard of the myth? Apparently it's been known to have inspired composer Richard Wagner's operas and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, so what's one more?

The movie stars Benno Furmann, Kristanna Loken, Alicia Witt, Julian Sands and Max Von Sydow. The German version first aired on German TV in 2004, where it was the year's top-rated TV movie.

Honestly though, if Sci Fi's track record is any indication, I have high hopes for this mini-series. Though, the question is, is this mini-series meant to stand on its own, or is it a test precursor to a full-blown series? The movie was top-rated on German TV in 2004, if that's any indication to its success here in the U.S.