Got this from the COE board, where it was lifted from "another board:"

For the past two years, New Line has released special Extended Edition DVDs of the first two theatrical films in November, three months after the first DVD release of each installment and just a few weeks before the next theatrical premiere.

The Extended Edition usually encompasses four discs and includes a new cut of the movie with nearly an hour of extra scenes plus hours of bonus features. Director Peter Jackson has said that the extended cut of Return of the King will run much more than four hours.

Einhorn said there absolutely will be a longer gap between the DVD of the theatrical edition and the Extended Edition of King because the longer cut of the movie itself, which Jackson is still working on, and the extensive bonus features will not be completed in time for a release prior to this fall.

The two-disc edition of the movie being released May 25 will be available in separate widescreen and fullscreen versions of the theatrical release, each of which will include a second disc of bonus features, including behind-the-scenes specials and featurettes, promotional trailers for all home video incarnations of the three Lord of the Rings movies, a preview of the upcoming Lord of the Rings videogame from Electronic Arts and theatrical trailers and TV spots.

There will be no sneak peeks of the bonus features and extra scenes on the Extended Edition as has been the pattern the past two years since that material cannot be prepared in time for the much earlier release of the first DVD."

"Fans will have to wait a little longer for a street date for the extended version, which is expected to run four hours and 10 minutes to four hours and 15 minutes for the feature alone. Although New Line executives would like to have it in stores for the holidays, Lasorsa said it’s possible the set might not arrive until the first quarter of 2005 as the studio works to make sure the set has compelling value for consumers. As with previous segments, the extended set will have bonus materials distinct from those on the theatrical cut."

Noooo! Not 2005!!!!

"Compelling value"?? Do they not know of whom they speak? Don't they know that the extended version itself is compelling enough?

But I do love all those extras so.

They'll get the EE out for Christmas. I have no doubt of that. And if we're lucky they'll institute the Annual Extended Trilogy Theatrical Marathon so that every Christmas we may return to Middle Earth on the big screen for 11 hours at a time.

I'd love to see small theaters doing this all over the country. The Brew 'n View here in Chicago would be the perfect place for it. They already show the first two films separately as midnight flicks quite often.

they'll institute the Annual Extended Trilogy Theatrical Marathon so that every Christmas we may return to Middle Earth on the big screen for 11 hours at a time.

Yes, yes, yes! Please? I'll be very very good every year if I can have this for Christmas.

Also? From the glimpses I got Oscar night of TOR.n pin I was pretty sure it had the White Tree of Gondor on it, and wondered what organisation had lisence to use it.

Yep, the White Tree is on it. The current People magazine--it's in the break room, that's the only reason I read it--has a very nice closeup of it.

For you folks who didn't buy the theatrical releases, New Line is releasing a boxed set of them on May 25th, but there will be no new extra material.

I should point out that this isn't the all singing, all dancing boxset that is rumoured for a release next year and/or beyond. It is instead a simple repackaging of the existing two disc theatrical editions. No new extra material will be included.

Italics mine. I immediately thought, did they get that Whedon guy in for a last-minute touchup?

I loved that too -- all singing, all dancing, all naked, all gay -- that's for the 5 year anniversary, right?