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 )Breaking News: The Hobbit!
Turns out twitter can sometimes be useful for more than just finding out what people had for breakfast.
Here’s the latest from @ianmckellen118:
“Hobbit” sets are ready, script ready and movie is casting this month. Fans are not to worry.
The films will get made. I suspect we’ll start shooting at end of this year.
Fiercely protective of Tolkien as I am, it’s good to know that the right people are getting involved. Bringing Ian McKellen back was always a must, and with rumours that Andy Serkis is in too, along with Jackson, Boyens and Walsh writing the screenplay, I’m starting to relax enough to get excited. The big question now is who will direct, after Guillermo Del Toro was forced to quit earlier this year:
“In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming “The Hobbit,” I am faced with the hardest decision of my life. After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures. I remain grateful to Peter, Fran and Philippa Boyens, New Line and Warner Brothers and to all my crew in New Zealand. I’ve been privileged to work in one of the greatest countries on earth with some of the best people ever in our craft and my life will be forever changed. The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. Both as a co-writer and as a director, I wlsh the production nothing but the very best of luck and I will be first in line to see the finished product. I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director”.
I really hope this movie lives up to the almost impossible expectations it has riding on it. The fact that it’s being split into two parts already rankles me, because it seems like a studio that knows it’s onto a good thing trying to get as much money as possible, but that aside, there really is potential for another sensational film here.
All we need now is the casting of the right actor to play Bilbo. I’m actually campaigning for a relative unknown. Everyone dismissed Elijah Wood as a child actor who had no chance of carrying a film like LOTR. Let’s prove them wrong again.
If this actually happens, someone will pay.
This appeared in my browser today and made me feel very ill . I don’t even have words for how unbelievably horrifying it would be if the so called “Jedward” did turn up in The Hobbit. It’s…just…wrong. On every level.
We already know for a fact that they’re talentless attention seeking morons so the chancess of suddenly uncovering an acting ability is very slim.Somewhere a studio hack has thought; “We’re struggling to fund this film. These puppets seem to be making a lot of money for Simon Cowell. Maybe I can cash in too.” Hopefully someone with creative control will step in and go, “Yeah, but they suck.” before it’s too late. Let’s hope it’s just a publicity stunt to drum up some of the dwindling interest.
I know one thing. If they do get in there’ll be a big long queue of already disgruntled Tolkienites marching on Paramount towers. And I’ll probably be joining leading them.
*Disclaimer: usually there would be a photo on this post but I couldn’t bear to have them defacing my blog.*
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 9 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.
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