One-liners: Noteworthy news nuggets

• It's Bilbo's time to shine. The Lord of the Rings himself, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson will produce MGM/New Line Cinema's eagerly anticipated Rings prequel The Hobbit and its planned sequel. The first film is slated to hit theatres in 2010 with the second following a year later.

• Barcelona, Spain-based Neptuno Films has signed deals for its new CGI series The Gloops and Zoomix, which is currently in production, with Korean broadcaster C4U.

Cartoon Network will premiere the 90-minute feature Transform and Roll Out on Wednesday, December 26 at 8 p.m. The special kicks off the brand-new Transformers Animated series, which is set to bow on Saturday, January 5 at 10:30 a.m.

• Toronto, Canada-based CCI Entertainment has scored a slew of 2008 ACTRA Award nominations for the Outstanding Performance-Voice category, with the voice work of Neil Crone (Perky from Erky Perky), Tony Daniels (My Opposition: The Diaries of Friedrich Kellner) and Ellen Ray Hennessey (Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs) all receiving the nod.