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"Age of the Hobbits."

In the case of Hobbit vs. Hobbit, "Hobbit" wins. (Yeah, that's pretty confusing, but you'll understand in a moment.) A California federal judge has granted Warner Bros.' motion for a temporary restraining order on "Age of the Hobbits," indie film company Asylum's low-budget rip-off of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," which hits theaters Dec. 14, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"The majority of factors weigh in favor of a finding of likelihood of confusion, and no factor weighs against such a finding," Judge Philip Gutierrez said in the ruling Monday.

What we learned about "The Hobbit" from the National Board of Review Awards

"Moreover, the finding is particularly strong on the three factors that courts have found to be the most important, especially in the context of the Internet: similarity of the marks, relatedness of the goods and use of similar marketing channels."

Producers of "The Hobbit" filed the lawsuit last month, accusing them of creating a "knockoff" movie based on J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novel and infringing on their trademark on the word hobbits.

Asylum's lawyers fired back, claiming their use of hobbits is fair, since it references a term used by archaeologists, not the Tolkien character, but the judge wasn't having it.

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" world premiere arrivals

"Asylum's argument appears to ignore the connection between the term used to describe Homo Floresiensis and Tolkien's hobbits," the judge writes. "Asylum treats the use of the two terms as completely unrelated, but the terms are in fact closely related: Scientists gave Homo Floresiensis the nickname 'Hobbit' because its appearance resembled Tolkien's hobbits, as described in his novels.... Given that Homo Floresiensis received the nickname 'Hobbit' specifically because of its resemblance to Tolkien's fictional hobbits, the Court finds Asylum's argument that its movie is wholly unrelated to Tolkien's work because it is about Homo Floresiensis to be disingenuous."

"Age of the Hobbits," a film about a "last village of clever, peace-loving Hobbits ... attacked and enslaved by Java Men, komodo-worshiping, dragon-riding cannibals," was scheduled to release tomorrow.

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The adventures in Middle Earth are soon set to return to the big screen with the highly-anticipated "The Lord of the Rings" prequel, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," and once again, fans will get to see Frodo Baggins, as played by Elijah Wood. But this time, they'll only get a glimpse.

Frodo isn't the Hobbit hero at the center of this story. In fact, "The Hobbit" is set 60 years before the events of the "Rings" films.

"We learn the story of Bilbo Baggins, which was (played by) Ian Holm in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy," Wood explained during a Wednesday morning appearance on TODAY. "So this is him as a young man (played by Martin Freeman) going on his first adventure. It's the story of him kind of becoming the character that he is."

It's a story Wood relates to. After all, he feels like he became the man he is during his "Lord of the Rings" experience.

"It was hugely impactful," he said of his time working on the epic films. "The way I think of it is more in terms of how it changed me as a person. I was in New Zealand for four years, made some of the best friends of my life. I kind of grew into being a man. I was there when I was 18 and left when I was 22, basically. So I kind of grew up. It was formative years for me. "

Catch (a little) more from Wood when "The Hobbit" opens in theaters nationwide Dec. 14.

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• VIDEO: Watch the trailer for 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'

Bilbo Baggins appears to enjoy the quiet life of a hobbit -- but when a swarm of boisterous dwarves (and one mysterious wizard named Gandalf) descend on his home one night in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," he's eventually convinced to join them on their adventure. 

However, in a new video that's going viral, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Parody" by The Hillywood Show, the way in which Bilbo is convinced is slightly altered.

To the tune of "Shots" by Lil Jon (don't worry, the obscenities have been altered in the lyrics here), the dwarves take over Bilbo's home and do their convincing with liquor. A lot of liquor. Consumed in large gulps from beer steins. At first, Bilbo isn't too into the party atmosphere -- but once he gets a few steins down his gullet, he becomes quite the party hobbit, signing on to join the dwarves on their quest.

As the YouTube notes explain, "What happens in Middle Earth, stays in Middle Earth."

Bonus trivia note: The video was co-produced by Peter Facinelli, of "Twilight" and "Nurse Jackie" fame. Check it out!

Related content:

• 'The Hobbit' star Martin Freeman says film's sets were 'awe-inspiring'
• Ian McKellen: I never worked with Elijah Wood on 'Lord of the Rings'
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• 'Hobbit' premiere in New Zealand draws estimated 100K fans
• VIDEO: Watch the trailer for 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'

Phil Walter / Getty Images, file

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key reportedly defended his "gay" remark by saying it was "just a slang term" used by young people.

New Zealand's prime minister has been rebuked by "Lord of the Rings" actor Ian McKellen for joking about a radio host's "gay" sweater.

John Key teased broadcaster Jamie Mackay for wearing a red top instead of blue, the color of his National Party. “You've got that gay red top on there,” Key said in the interview on Friday.

It was reportedly the second gaffe on the same day for Key, who was accused of earlier telling an audience of students that LA Galaxy soccer player David Beckham was "thick as bats***."

Radio New Zealand said Key described Englishman Beckham as handsome and "a really nice guy" but "thick", according to a report in Britain’s Daily Telegraph.

Key refused to comment on the alleged slur on Beckham, but defended his "gay" remark by saying it was "just a slang term" used by young people, according to television news website TZ NZ.

"If someone was offended by it then I apologize but it's not exactly like a term you don't hear everywhere,” he said. "I voted for gay marriage, I'm hardly homophobic. I led the charge on it."

However, McKellen, the British actor and gay-rights campaigner who played Gandalf in the New Zealand-filmed "Lord of the Rings" franchise, said Key "should watch his language."

In a blog post on Monday, he wrote: "I'm currently touring secondary schools in UK, attacking homophobia in the playground and discouraging kids from the careless use of 'gay' which might make their gay friends (and teachers) feel less about themselves. So even as he supports the proposal to introduce same-gender marriages in New Zealand, I do hope John Key listens to his critics and appreciates their concern. Careless talk damages lives."

Australia’s Herald Sun reported that Twitter users criticized Key, calling his "gay" remarks homophobic and his comments about Beckham embarrassing.

Twitter user Guy Williams posted: “John Key is quickly becoming to New Zealand what Borat was to Kazakhstan.”

The Herald Sun also reported that radio host Mackay had dismissed the exchange as "nothing more than harmless banter".

"It's a storm in a teacup... no wonder the media sometimes gets a bad name," Mackay added.

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Warner Bros.

Martin Freeman plays Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," the first film in the trilogy.

If you've been impatiently combing the Internet for every last bit of news about Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" which hits theaters Dec. 14, here's something concrete at last. You'll be able to buy advance tickets to the first film of the planned trilogy starting this Wednesday, Warner Bros. announced in a press release.

Tickets will go on sale online beginning at noon Eastern, and once theaters open on Wednesday, you'll also be able to buy advance tickets at certain locations.

"We’re expecting a big result as we start the journey for all 3 films," a Warner Bros. executive told Deadline.com.

If "The Hobbit" isn't enough Tolkien for you, as of Wednesday, you can also buy tickets to marathon screenings of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. You can park yourself at a theater on Saturday, Dec. 8, or Sunday, Dec. 9, for those three-movie days. These are the extended-cut versions of all three films, so you may want to pass on the extra-large Icee.

Will you see "The Hobbit" trilogy? Tell us on Facebook.

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Passengers on Air New Zealand won't be sitting through a very dull safety video -- instead they'll see a clip that features Gollum crawling through the aisles and Peter Jackson finding the One Ring on the cabin floor.

PHOTOS: The Hard Road to "The Hobbit"

The airline company has debuted a Middle Earth inspired safety clip that was produced in partnership with Weta Workshop, which created the special effects for the "Lord of the Rings" films and the forthcoming "Hobbit" prequels.

The safety video, titled "An Unexpected Briefing" -- a reference to the first Hobbit film titled "An Unexpected Journey" -- features an aircraft pilot outfitted as a Grey wizard, an elf explaining how emergency oxygen masks work, passengers trying to pronounce "Mordor," and even Jackson uttering the infamous phrase "my precious" to the ring.

COVER STORY: "The Hobbit": Inside Peter Jackson and Warner Bros.' $1 Billion Gamble

"To have Gollum step off the movie screen for the first time and into an Air New Zealand aircraft is incredibly special and Sir Peter Jackson delivers a superb cameo," said Mike Tod, Air New Zealand's General Manager of Marketing and Communications, in a press release. 

The "Rings" films have been filmed in New Zealand, and the country has capitalized on the franchise's popularity, calling itself the "Home of Middle Earth" on its official tourism site. 

Watch the full video here:

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