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Buzz Feed
02-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Buzz Feed
27 Budget-Friendly Wayfair Backyard Upgrades
A tree face that instantly reminds me of LOTR, but if you want a little more ~flair~ you paint yours and name it like the reviewer did. Cast with stone and coated with resin, your new friend AL (or whatever you decide to name yours) will greet you throughout every season. 🌳 Promising review: "Love him, paint him with him stand is AL." —JamiePrice: $27.99 (originally $50.90) An arch trellis for fairy lights *or* climbing plants in your raised garden bed *or* even beautifully scented jasmine. I'm currently daydreaming of how I have the perfect place for this in my own backyard. Promising review: "Perfect for vine planting. Makes an amazing shady plant tunnel! Great for increasing yields and preventing spoilage by avoiding touching the ground." —CarolPrice: $32.99+ (available in three colors) A 2ft x 4ft decorative screen so you can block the view of your neighbor's unkept yard. Your backyard is pure bliss, and you can't be bothered to look at their mess, plus they're paintable if you are looking to add some color to your decor — be bold! Promising review: "These panels are great. Love them as an alternative to lattice for the base of our porch. Great quality as well." —JoannPrice: $48.62 (available in two colors) An outdoor umbrella with solar lights to shade you by day and light you up by night. The top-mounted solar panel allows you to have the umbrella anywhere in the yard without worrying about plugging in lights or constantly changing out batteries. Promising review: "They are the perfect size to place between dining tables outdoors. The lights are warm and inviting. The canopy is more of a cream than a white, but still works well with white linens." —GinaPrice: $72.99+ (available in 24 colors) An outdoor rug for making any patio look oh-so-chic. This rug is both water and fade-resistant to withstand the elements of your outdoor space, aka it'll last for years. Promising review: "Good quality carpet. Looks great on my back porch. Glad I purchased it! Never disappointed with Wayfair products. Purchased two!" —JeanPrice: $26.99+ (originally $74+; available in seven sizes and colors) A cedar plank garden pathway so you can stroll through all the hard work you've been putting into your growing garden. Helpful for being able to water and prune your 🪴garden🧑🏼🌾 without having to walk through dirt or mud. Promising review: "Love this walkway so much I ordered more! So unique!! Recommend this product. Best of all, NO assembly required. Just roll it out…" —CheriePrice: $47.88 (originally $62.44) A set of throw pillows for an easy way to upgrade the outdoor furniture you already have. Reviewers rave about how comfortable these pillows are, which, we all know, isn't always the case with outdoor pillow material. But it is with these babies! Promising reviews: "Perfect accent pillows for the rug! I purchased again, very well- made, very weather resistant — water just beads off like it's been waxed but still are extremely comfortable. Love them." —Jay"This timber floral design is a perfect accent for our porch seating. What a bonus that they are comfortable and made with quality material and workmanship!" —KellyPrice: $29.99+ (originally $44.99; available in 44 colors and patterns) A steel patio gazebo to bring instant elevation to your backyard. Close the screens at sunset to keep those pesky mosquitos out while you pour yourself a crisp glass of white wine. Promising review: "I love this GAZEBO!! The only downfall is the instructions! Make sure you put the netting outside of the poles!!! My husband and I weren't aware of this until we noticed bugs coming in, and then we figured it out and put it on the outside. Other than that, LOVE IT!!" —ElishaPrice: $171.99+ (originally $215; available in five colors) A round planter that'll bring an upscale, hotel-like look to your yard. These have pre-drilled drain holes to help prevent overwatering. Promising review: "I bought the 16-inch pot in black, and it's perfect. Exactly what I wanted for our new home. It's a quality piece without being terribly heavy. In my opinion, it's just right. It's not going to tip over but I can move it if I need to without help. I love it!" —JenniferPrice: $59.99+ for two (available in three sizes and five colors; also available in single sets) A swing set with one belt swing and one saucer swing because the kids can't be bothered to enjoy the backyard without a little incentive. It can support up to 440 pounds which is great because the little ones will be begging you to join in on the fun. Promising review: "Well constructed, assembly was a breeze, very happy with product and would recommend to others." —DottyPrice: $129.43 (originally $209.99) Some lawn edging that looks like a tiny white picket fence — a sweet way to bring that whole white-fence dream to your garden beds. It gives your planters a neat, polished border without the full-size version's cost (or commitment). Price: $30.99 (originally $48.86) A set of two solar lights with a sophisticated and sleek design. These energy-efficient lights have a dusk to dawn sensor so they will automatically turn on when the sun goes down. Promising review: "Love these! Each is a set of two lights. They look really nice. Very fashionable. They add an element of design to the patio. They are relatively lightweight, which makes them easy to move. And they put out really good light. We have four in total on a very large patio and it really lights things up nicely without being overly bright. Highly recommend!" —AnonymousPrice: $108.99+ (originally $132.99, available in four colors) A set of four woven hanging planters that will look beautiful hanging from your patio. The macrame hanger gives a bohemian feel and can hold up to a 12-inch pot (plants and pots not included). Promising review: "My favorite purchase from Wayfair so far! These can hold quite a bit of weight and they add so much beauty to our space! Thank you!" —AllisonPrice: $31.99+ for four (available in two colors) A plastic container hose reel you can easily wind up and conceal the garden hose when people come over to visit, or you're just tired of tripping on it every time you go outside. Promising review: "The hose reel provides protection from the scorching sun and is much more eye-appealing than looking at the hose. It also serves as a little table. No assembly required—just hook up your hose. It is small but big enough for my 50 ft hose." —CindyPrice: $72.99 (originally $128.99) An outdoor firepit that has a table for cool winter nights and creates beautiful ambience outdoors. I have a similar one, and the table is clutch for snacks and drinks. Promising review: "Looks cute on the back porch! Different settings allow for more or less heat control. I love the cover for the fire element! It allows for multi-purpose use!" —AnonymousPrice: $166.99 (originally $199.99; available in three colors) A metal frame swimming pool with a filter pump and cover so your new favorite activity stays clean all summer long. If bright blue isn't your thang, use exterior paint to change the color of the outside of the pool to better fit your backyard aesthetic. Promising review: "I love this pool, my kids love it! Family that comes over always asks where I got it from." —AnonymousPrice: $295.99 (originally $541.98) Landscaping rocks to line the pavers you are finally getting around to laying this season. You can use mulch glue to keep them nicely in place in your new walkway and reviewers even love how great they work in gardens to help with drainage. Promising review: "Love these rainforest rocks, I have a small garden that has poor drainage and clay soil, so can't really grow anything. These rocks have been perfect, will be ordering more to complete my project." —GillianPrice: $35.01+ (available in four colors) A round picnic table treated with water-based paint to add a layer of protection so you will have yearsss of gatherings ahead for you and the fam. I love a rounded table because no one is left sitting at the end allowing everyone face time. Promising review: "Lovely product. Easy to put together and elegantly designed. Very sturdy." —PaulaPrice: $227.99 (originally $249.99) A side table cooler that's multitasking so hard you'd think it's on the clock. With the capacity to hold 40 12-ounce cans, you won't have to constantly refill the cooler and can enjoy the party. Promising review: "This is the best convertible cooler, tabletop I've ever yourself one." —CherylPrice: $104.99 (available in two colors) Or, if your looking for a pop of color, a set of metal side tables that comes in five colors. There's a slight variation in size between the two tables to give dimension. Promising review: "Perfect for my new deck, I love the bright color too." —AshleyPrice: $101.99+ (available in five colors) Rust-resistant bar stools because yours have seen better days. A rustic yet industrial look with powder-coated iron frame and acacia wood for the seat and backrest. Promising review: "Put both together in 20 minutes, it was so easy — I did it by myself. Only one size screw to use. Good looking, sturdy and comfortable, no cushions necessary!" —Anonymous Price: $143.99 (originally $162.99) A portable bar cart with a stainless-steel work top so you can prepare meals right next to the grill. The side handles are great for when you have to move the cart but also for hanging tea towels and utensils from. I'll be expecting an invite to this backyard BBQ. Promising review: "This is a great addition to our screened-in porch. We have had it for over five years and it still looks fantastic. It gets a few rust spots on the stainless steel over the course of the year (exposed to wind, rain, and cold) but they clean up easily." —EricaPrice: $246.99+ (available in two colors) Or strictly a drink cart if cocktails are more your forte, but don't worry, there's room for snacks, too. This is great for moving around your patio and backyard if you're hosting. Promising review: "Great bar cart for my patio! Perfect size and made extremely well. Very easy to put together! Don't hesitate on this if you're in need of one!!!!" —ElizabethPrice: $99.99 (originally $219.99) A 140-inch diagonal protection screen for outdoor movie nights, because what easier way to get the kiddos outside than allowing them screen time. Unfortunately, you'll have to watch Despicable Me 4 for the 100th time, maybe a movie marathon where you watch them all. Price: $36.99 A modern planter box that's crack-resistant and are specially treated with UV inhibitors to prevent fading. Home hack: buy several plants, keep them in their pots, and put them directly into the planter so you don't have to fully fill the box with soil. Promising review: "LOVE this planter! It is well-made, sturdy, and stylish! Perfect for my little cactus garden!" —BrittneyPrice: $63.99 (available in four colors and sets of two) A portable concrete tabletop fireplace to add some ambience. Complete with two skewers so you can roast marshmallows for dessert. I should probably mention you can use it indoors too!! Price: $48.99 (originally $74.99) A weather-resistant floor fountain that'll give your backyard a relaxing vibe. Imagine this beauty lit up in the evening as you sip on your favorite beverage and sit under the moon on your favorite outdoor chair... Price: $135.99 (originally $340)
Epoch Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
NZ to Spend Another Half Billion Dollars to Lure Hollywood Back to ‘Wellywood'
The New Zealand government is to try to regain the country's status as a movie location of choice for big-budget Hollywood productions—something that saw Wellington widely referred to as 'Wellywood' in its heyday. To do so, available funding for the International Screen Production Rebate will increase to $250 million (US$147 million) for 2024/25, and to $210 million from 2025/26 onwards. Eligible productions will be entitled to a 20 percent rebate where production costs are more than $15 million for feature films, and $4 million for television productions. 'A further 5 percent rebate is available to productions spending more than $30 million, which meet additional criteria for industry and economic growth,' Finance Minister Nicola Willis said. The local screen industry keeps about 24,000 people in work and has generated about $3.5 billion in annual revenue, she said. Overseas film companies' local productions had brought nearly $7.5 billion to New Zealand in the past decade, which was supported by $1.5 billion in rebate payments. Related Stories 5/15/2025 5/8/2025 'The reality is we simply won't get the offshore investment in our highly successful screen sector without continuing this scheme,' Willis said. Aiming to Regain Hollywood Popularity The unique geography of the small South Pacific country, coupled with modern facilities such as high-speed broadband and state-of-the-art post-production facilities, have seen major movies filmed there including Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy, Mission Impossible: Fallout, M3GAN, the Avatar series of films, and the 2005 version of King Kong. However, landscape and amenities aren't enough on their own, with other countries keen to attract big-budget epics not just for the money they bring to the local economy but also the tourism boost they provide. New Zealand tourist operators still profit from taking visitors to Lord of the Rings locations, including the town of Hobbiton, now a permanent fixture. It's been 22 years since Wellington came to a halt for the world premiere of the first of the LOTR movies. Although successive governments have maintained the subsidy, other countries have since started offering more. Cabinet therefore decided to increase support to better reflect 'current forecast demand,' according to Willis, who made the announcement at Jackson's Weta Workshop production facility in Wellington. Latest to enter an increasingly crowded market is Queensland, which plans to become 'a global leader in the screen industry by 2028' by offering government incentives (
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Lord of the Rings' Sequel Gets Official Release Date
It's been 22 long years since the release of the Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and 11 years since the release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Yet in the decades since the release of these respective films, dedicated fantasy fans remain hopeful about one day seeing another entry in The Lord of the Rings series. Fortunately, that long-awaited dream is soon to be a reality. According to Variety, Warner Bros. has set a release date of December 2027 for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. The film had previously been delayed from its 2026 release date, but this recent announcement from the studio is sure to leave lifelong LOTR fans jumping for joy. Unlike The Lord of the Rings trilogy or The Hobbit films, The Hunt for Gollum likely won't be based on a full-scale novel or story from series author J.R.R. Tolkien. Rather, it's more likely to be based more heavily on Tolkien's Appendices throughout The Lord of the Rings books, many of which provide additional information about some of the series' many characters, settings and canonical history. As the title suggests, the film will act as a prequel to the original LOTR trilogy, specifically following the former Hobbit turned malevolent creature, Gollum (also known by his original name, Sméagol). In the films, Gollum appears as a tragic antagonist pining after the One Ring of Power, crossing paths with Frodo and Sam on their quest to Mount Doom. Andy Serkis, the celebrated actor who provided motion capture for the character, will once again portray Gollum for the upcoming film. Interestingly, Serkis -- who's also known for his roles in King Kong, Batman, and the rebooted Planet of the Apes series -- will also act as the movie's director, taking over production duties from original LOTR and Hobbit filmmaker, Peter Jackson.
Spectator
09-05-2025
- Business
- Spectator
The Lord of the Rings gave me my moral compass
In a recent diary for The Spectator, the editor noted that many of the world's leading tech companies have names inspired by The Lord of the Rings: Peter Thiel's Palantir and Mithril; Palmer Luckey's Anduril. 'J.R.R. Tolkien has a curious hold on the minds of Silicon Valley's Trump supporters,' he wrote. Well, they're not the only ones. If I had founded a company I probably would have called it Anduril too. While less odd teenagers spent their money on CDs or football boots, I used to have a life-sized replica of the Elvish sword hanging above my bed. I, like the tech bros, was a LOTR obsessive. A super fan. I still am. Tolkien was a genius and I have read his books many times over.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Everything to know about ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum': Cast, release date, director
We wants it. We needs it. But we gotta waits for it. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (working title), the highly anticipated LOTR spin-off film from Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema, will hit theaters in December 2027. Yes, you read that right — moviegoers have to wait two-and-a-half years to see their favorite pale-skinned Middle-earth monster from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world up on the big screen again. Read on for everything to know about the new movie, including information on the cast, release date, and director. More from GoldDerby 'The Conjuring: Last Rites' scares up a trailer, Cannes adds last-minute films; the Who plots 'farewell' tour, and more of today's top stories With a new pontiff announced, here's what to know about Martin Scorsese's upcoming documentary on Pope Francis 'I've never been on a show that got this kind of recognition': Katherine LaNasa on 'The Pitt's' success and Dana's 'existential crisis' As of this writing, only Andy Serkis has been announced as starring in the new film. And yes, he's reprising his role as Gollum, a creature who was obsessed with the One Ring (which he called "my precious"). The English actor rose to fame in the early aughts for his motion-caption work on the original Lord of the Rings movies. He won the Best Digital Acting Performance category at the Critics Choice Awards for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and shared in that organization's Best Acting Ensemble prize for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. But what about Gollum's frenemy, Gandalf? In June 2024, Ian McKellen stated he was open to playing his popular wizard again in future projects, and in October 2024, screenwriter-producer Philippa Boyens teased that The Hunt for Gollum film might include Gandalf in some form. Stay tuned. Mark your calendars for Dec. 17, 2027, as that's the official theatrical release date for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Warners made the announcement in May 2025, more than two-and-a-half years out from the big day. All of the prior LOTR and The Hobbit live-action films directed by Peter Jackson opened around the same time: The Fellowship of the Ring on Dec. 19, 2001; The Two Towers on Dec. 18, 2002; The Return of the King on Dec. 17, 2003; An Unexpected Journey on Dec. 14, 2012; The Desolation of Smaug on Dec. 13, 2013; and The Battle of the Five Armies on Dec. 17, 2014. Clearly, Middle-earth comes alive in Serkis is doing double-duty on the movie, as both the star and the director. It'll be the fifth feature film he's directed after Breathe (2017), Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), and Animal Farm (2025). The producers of The Hunt for Gollum will include Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens — who all worked on the original LOTR and The Hobbit trilogies — plus Zane Weiner. The screenwriters will be Walsh, Boyens, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou. Serkis has announced that filming will take place sometime in 2026. "We are right at the beginning of the writing process," he said in February 2025. "We will be prepping later this year. Prep takes a good chunk of time, six or seven months, and then we will be shooting next year. So, it backs into that December 2027 release date." It's been reported that Wellington, New Zealand, will serve as the production hub for the two upcoming Lord of the Rings films. When Middle-earth Enterprises was acquired by Embracer Group in 2022, a new deal was struck with New Line Cinema to make two new Lord of the Rings movies. The first is The Hunt for Gollum, and the second has not yet been made public. "We've begun to work, conceptually, on two different live-action films, the first being The Hunt For Gollum, the second one still to be confirmed," Boyens revealed in October 2024. If you haven't seen a Lord of the Rings movie in a while (or ever), you probably need a refresher on Gollum's backstory. Basically, he used to be a Stoor Hobbit named Smeagol, but when he found the One Ring by a riverbed and put it on, it extended his life and transformed into a monster. He became obsessed with the One Ring and stalked all of its future owners, until he eventually acquired it again at Mount Doom in Mordor and died while falling into a volcano. Throughout the original movies, Gollum is seen talking to himself in his unique style of speech, and often calls the ring "my precious." Don't be confused, this new film has nothing to do with the 2009 fan-made movie from British filmmaker Chris Bouchard. He created an unauthorized short film called The Hunt for Gollum for about $5,000, based on Tolkien's written works. It's currently free to watch on YouTube and has a whopping 14 million views. The plot: "Prompted by Gandalf, a ranger by the name of Strider sets out to search for the creature Gollum, who knows the location of the Ring." SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby Orson Welles movies: All 13 films as a director ranked worst to best Gary Cooper movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best George Clooney movies: 17 greatest films ranked worst to best Click here to read the full article.
