OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!!
Oh.
My.
GOD.
There aren’t even words for how overexicted I am by this.
To make my day even better, I’m going to see Sherlock Holmes 2 later. Watch this space. 😀
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Things you should know about The Hobbit by now
In the past month or so a lot of news about the eagerly anticipated Hobbit movie has come out. I’ve been getting over excited by the various updates coming from facebook, twitter and TORN, but for those of you who don’t have a constant supply of Tolkien related news, here is a handy break down of all the gossip from Middle Earth
- The movie has been split in half. Which was just about to annoy me until I realised this meant twice as much hobbitty goodness. The first film is called An Unexpected Journey and will be released on 14th December 2012. Part two is There And Back Again and will be out the following Christmas. Start getting your sleeping bags ready for Leicester Square 😉
- Empire magazine were the first to run a cover, giving us the first look at the new movie:
Martin Freeman looks better as a hobbit than a human.- Benedict Cumberbatch has replaced Bill Nighy as the voice of Smaug. Which means at one point Holmes will be talking to Watson. That just about makes up for the loss of Nighy.
- Christopher Lee (infamously cut from ROTK) will be in the movie. He is filming his scenes in the UK.
- Thanks to some creative tweeting from Derren Brown (of all people) there’s a suggestion that filming has already begun.
- Andy Serkis, having already completed a lot of his MoCap work, is directing the second unit. Which is just cool.
- Stephen Fry is playing the Master of Laketown. Which is also pretty damn fantastic
- Elijah Wood will have a cameo appearance
- So will Orlando Bloom
- A flurry of pictures were released last week, giving us a first look at how the cast will look in full dwarf get up:
- Basically, it’s going to be awesome.
For the Tolkienites on Facebook
The legend that is Peter Jackson is blogging via a facebook page, letting those of us who have been eagerly awaiting The Hobbit since before they even said they were making it get some sneak peaks of the upcoming movie.
The first ten minute video takes us on a tour around the new set and has some quick chats with the new (and old) cast. Thought it needed sharing so find the link HERE
The Curse of The Hobbit
No, that’s not the title of some freaky horror spin off. I’m referring to the doomed production of one of the most eagerly (and fearfully) anticipated prequels of recent years.
A while ago I wrote about the issues they’ve been having with finding a director after Guillermo Del Toro quit, but it seems the bad luck is far from over. The pre-production period of this film is already starting to span years, but over the weekend the team have suffered a major setback when the New Zealand set burned down.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, there are rumours that this was no accident, but may have been an arson attack by disgruntled actors’ unions who are quarrelling with the studios over low pay.
There is so much riding on this film, it seems that someone out there just doesn’t want it to get made. Let’s hope the bad luck is over and we can finally get the brilliant movie all us Tolkienites are hoping for.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )The Credit Crunch hits Tinseltown
It seems even Hollywood isn’t safe from the “economic crisis” we’re all in, as spending millions of dollars on production and marketing suddenly starts to seem like a bad idea. Latest to run into (unconfirmed) problems is Paramount, who have mysteriously bumped the upcoming release of psych-thriller Shutter Island from October to February. Not much of a reason has come from the studio, but whispers are circulating that they just can’t afford to promote it right now. It’s a real shame too because I’ve been really looking forward to the film since I first saw the trailer back in August. For those of you who haven’t seen it, enjoy, but don’t get too excited because you have to wait a whole 4 months before you can see it. Boo.
And it’s not just Paramount with money woes. MGM might be starting to regret their epic battle for the rights to The Hobbit now that they (allegedly) can’t afford to make it. After years of studio battles and trying to find a production team that would satisfy the lynch mob who wanted the rights to stay with New Line, they finally managed to get director Guillermo Del Toro on board with Peter Jackson, Phillippa Boyens and Fran Walsh there to write (pitchforks down, lynch mob). Having finally got together a team who could make it work, and with rumours of Andy Serkis and Ian McKellen on board, it really is sad to hear that the movie might never get made. Cinematical makes a good point that it really doesn’t matter that much to the fans which studio makes the movie, but if MGM does have to sell of The Hobbit it will slow down an already drawn out process, and with backers caring more and more about the profit margins, they may end up thinking that the coat-tails of the LOTR movies are now trailing too far in the distance to make the multi millions that will inevitably be spent on the prequel worthwhile.
Of course, the plight of millionaire producers and actors doesn’t seem much in comparison to the huge rises in unemployment that us mere mortals are facing, but, just like in the 1930s, cinema visits are reaching new highs as people look for cheap ways to have fun, and I for one will be very sad to see some of the big Hollywood staples go under.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 8 so far )Movies to see before you die
There are movies which always turn up in these lists, and there are movies that should be there. Currently I’m working my way through my 1001 book and I’ll post reviews here as I go. At the same time, I’ll be writing a movies NOT to see section, a collection of what I believe are the most over-rated movies of all time.
These films have developed a bit of a geek status now, which I hope wont put people off seeing them. It was these films which first got me really interested in movies and how they were made, with much the same effect on my generation as Star Wars had on 
the previous.
It’s not just the epic plotline which makes Lord of the Rings so special, its the work which went into making the troilogy which means that the story of how the movie came to be is almost as epic as the film itself. Taking nearly two years to film, (I think the longest shoot so far) and a further five years in post production, its no wonder that they came out looking as spectacular as they do. The special effects are simply awesome; especialy in Return of the King where “big” no longer even begins to describe what you are seeing.
Special effects aside, the performances by the ensemble cast are also excellent, most notably Andy Serkis as Gollum, who was robbed of an Oscar on a technicality, and Elijah Wood, who caused much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst Tolkeinites when he was announced as the lead, but proves himself to be a very good actor. I can’t imagine anyone else as Frodo now.
I think what makes the film so powerful though, is its spectacular score penned by Howard Shore. The music is so perfectly matched to each scene that you almost don’t need the dialogue to understand the plot. The Breaking of the fellowship, the final movement of Fellowship of the Ring, remains the most beautiful piece of music I have ever heard, probably just tipping the first of the trilogy ahead of the others as my favourite film of all time.
The Stories That Really Mattered 
