The Hobbit
 

Suprisingly no thread for this yet, or it's old enough to not turn up in searches.


Anyways, Del Toro was slated to direct. Then he left the project earlier this month. Now it's being reported that Peter Jackson has decided to fully take over.
So it's gone from good, to bad, to better than before.

Discuss.

Last I heard Jackson wanted to do it in two parts. Is that still the case?

Yea. They wrote two movies.

As of right now it's all written and planned. Del Toro and Jackson wrote together, but MGM's financial problems held things up a bit so Del Toro had to leave.
Now it appears to be going ahead.

I don't think anyone's been cast besides Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis

Which dwarf?

Robin Williams.

love the Hobit. I am a Thorin Oakenshield mark

The one with cancer? Was he in the animated version?

I'm over scenery porn.

Pass.

Just like the books.

Yeah, pretty much.

So they finally got all the problems holding this up worked out. It got the greenlight last week and is far along in pre-production. I think they start filming this winter and it releases in late 2012.
Peter Jackson is directing now, since Del Toro had to leave.

They announced the casting today:

http://images1.fanpop.com/images/ima...29_300_455.jpg
Martin Freeman from the The Office UK as Bilbo

http://www.tvthrong.co.uk/files/u847/gisbourne.jpg
Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield


Also, a bunch of various actors playing Dwarfs and such. I don't think they've said who is voicing Smaug and stuff yet.
Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis are back. Hugo Weaving too. No idea on who else is back.

http://www.tvthrong.co.uk/files/u847/gisbourne.jpg

This guy doesn't look like a dwarf.

they're chopping off his legs below the knees so he can live the part

That's what makeup is for. John Rhys Davies wasn't even recognizable outside of his voice, and I would assume the same would go for anyone else

It's a good thing Peter Jackson held onto control or Eddie Murphy would be playing every role

Yeah, I would have hated the scene when Smaug burns LakeTown and a fat black family's farts cause even more damage.

Other cast:

Aiden Turner (Being Human) and Rob Kazinsky (EastEnders) as Thorin’s nephews Kili and Fili; Graham McTavish (Secretariat, 24) as Dwalin; John Callen (Power Rangers Jungle Fury) as Oin; Stephen Hunter (All Saints) as Bombur; Mark Hadlow (King Kong) as Dori; and Peter Hambleton (The Strip) as Gloin.

eddie murphy is the only name i recognize in this thread

Hasn't this film been in the works for ages now?

Thorin is described as being fierce, and aged with a superbly long beard. This should be interesting.

Yeah, but he had this dwarfish look about him.

This guy is too pretty.

What are you saying? That nobody tosses a dwarf's salad?

That's exactly what I'm saying.

Martin Freeman is perfect..

It might be a while longer before they make this film:

THE prospect of losing a two-part, $500 million Lord of the Rings prequel prompted New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to act.

Just four months before principal photography was due to begin, director Peter Jackson warned Thursday that Time Warner's New Line Cinema will move production of the The Hobbit - beset by labour uncertainty - out of the country.

New Zealand Actors' Equity union, which previously called on actors around the world to refuse to work on the film, appeared to back down after Jackson's warning, with Actors' Equity organiser Frances Walsh declaring "industrial issues" no longer a barrier.

After Jackson's comments, Key stepped up his campaign to keep the project on Kiwi soil, The Wall Street Journal reports.

He and members of his government want to meet with Warner executives in New Zealand to discuss what can be done to make sure it does not lose the blockbuster.


According to New Line spokeswoman Candice McDonough, the California-based company has not decided where to make the film. She declined to comment on whether production executives would meet with Key.

"It's really tragic for New Zealand," Key's spokeswoman Jane Fraser-Jones said of the possible loss.

With an economy struggling to shake off the effects of the global financial crisis and a recent earthquake in Christchurch, the country's second-largest city, the government is eager for the investment the film represents.

Some economists estimate that the real economic cost of losing The Hobbit would far exceed the $500 million budgeted to make the film.

Doesn't sound like there's any problem with the production. Just New Zealand trying to convince them to film there.
Is that decision supposed to stall them? Seems like they will decide and get underway regardless.

They started filming!

Much-Maligned The Hobbit Actually Starts Filming
Greg Tito | 21 Mar 2011 5:26 pm
Filed under: greg tito, new zealand, peter jackson, the hobbit
After union disputes, sickness and bankruptcy, The Hobbit production started principal photography today.
Peter Jackson has been trying to get this film made for a bloody long time. He started off just producing the prequel to his blockbuster fantasy The Lord of the Rings with Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro as director. When del Toro couldn't work the filming into his schedule, Jackson offered to step in but the financial troubles at MGM threatened to derail The Hobbit and it took a joint deal between Warner Bros., MGM and New Line to provide the necessary funds. Then, just when it looked like it was moving forward, a union boycott demanding that more roles be offered to New Zealand actors almost forced production to move to Europe or another location. Finally, Peter Jackson himself had to be hospitalized with a perforated ulcer. Despite all the troubles, The Hobbit, which will be told over two films, began capturing images on celluloid today under Jackson's direction.

http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/gl...v/50/50868.jpg
http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/gl...v/50/50870.jpg



The film stars Martin Freeman (The Office, Sherlock) as Bilbo Baggins journeying with a group of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield, played by British TV veteran Richard Armitage. Returning from The Lord of the Rings is Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Andy Serkis as Gollum and Elijah Wood as Frodo. Also returning is Ian McKellen as Gandalf, the actor having confirmed that he will reprise his role in the new movies.
Despite the good news that Jackson has begun shooting, we fans still have a long time to wait as the planned release dates are 2012 and 2013. I'm still quite interested in the framing element of Frodo reading the story of his adoptive father's exploits from the Red Book of Westmarch. I think it will really bring the disparate elements not only of The Hobbit but also Tolkien's amazingly in-depth source material and backstory.
Ya, I can't wait.
Source: Warner Bros. PR

Looking forward to this.

Fuck Frodo.

Read The Hobbit.

Finally :love:

Wait, was Galadriel in The Hobbit? I can understand a young Frodo but even that is a bit of a stretch.

No wonder I liked that so much.

I tried reading The Hobbit around 10 years ago, and after 40 pages I was so bored that I put it down and never went back to it. I don't regret doing so.

that looks like so much fun

Yeah I was filled with joy watching the video, just knowing I'll be back in that universe with the music and the characters. Love it.

http://www.fandango.com/movieblog/ne...Newsletter%202


New 'Hobbit' Pics Give First Look at Martin Freeman as Bilbo

By: Peter Hall on June 23, 2011 at 10:19AM Comments (7)

It's a good time to be a fan of Middle Earth. Next week, Warner Bros. new Extended Edition Blu-ray box set comes out, but today something even a little more special is ready for your early morning eyes: your first look at the characters of Peter Jackson's new two-part film epic, The Hobbit.
Yes, back when production started to really gear into place, we got a look at a few of the sets, but today Entertainment Weekly has shared our first look at Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins. A whole cast of <s>other hobbits</s> dwarves can be seen behind him as he stands in the hallway of his familiar home, Bag End, but it'll take a keen Hobbit-fan to identify them all.
But we also have our first production photo of Gandalf (pipe in hand, of course), as well as a new behind-the-scenes photo of Jackson giving Freeman some on-set direction.

Yeah, can't wait for these movies.

Dori, Nori, and Ori:

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets..._jackson-1.jpg

Looks like video game characters/CGI People.

Ya fuck that. It looks horrible for movie characters.

Oin, Gloin:

http://spinoff.comicbookresources.co...t-dwarves2.jpg

C'mon no way that's a candid shot. Fucking photoshopped to bits, them.

Honestly these shots look like artist's rendering of the characters/design sheets.

Exactly. Now quit pointlessly dissecting them. As far as pre-movie concept shots go, they are not bad.

I don't like the braiding on Dori's leftmost beard-braid. Gonna ruin the whole movie for me.

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2oZSfT1ANgI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I love that they are doing these.

"Oh what shall we do with the funny little things?"

I am doing a shitty low budget horror movie right now and tow weeks ago a producer got the whole crew's attention at lunch.. He announced that our lead actor Luke Even got the part of Bard the.Bowman.. Luke was sitting at the table in front of me and he was hearing this news for the first time.. It.was amazing seeing the emotion run through him..

Bombur, Bofur, and Bifur

http://icv2.com/images/20535Hobbit_Group1-xlg.jpg

Lots of Dwarf people this go-round.

Well, the book is full of dwarves, after all.

You mean Luke Evans.

''Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all,
One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."

Thanks.

Balin and Dwalin

http://icv2.com/images/20554balin-an...dwarves-LG.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/2ypf803.gif

BALLIN!

That dwarf on the left reclaimed Moria?? No wonder they got annihilated so easily.

Pretty fucking excited about this to be honest.

YES

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/i3V3-KdAWYs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Marked out at the final seconds

Marked out like a little girl at Twilight at Rivendell and of course the ending.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6e-3i1ploR4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Love these vid-docs. First movie I've been this excited for because of 3D. Didn't get to see Avatar in 3D and I was gonna see Transformers 3 regardless of anything. Gonna be good to step back into this universe.

Beginning of that vid: "Ugggh. 3D...."

By the end of that vid: "Cool, 3D! Gotta make sure to see this one in 3D!"

This thread makes me miss Jeritron..

Ditto. He loved his LOTR :'(

Get the same feeling in the Dark Knight Rises thread.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UGM1RB73Zso" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Wow, I wasn't the biggest fan of the LOTR movies, but I'm digging this

Straight up emotional over this.

Bilbo is the reason I got into books in the first place. Love The Hobbit so much.

Looks A+
Super excited.

Yep, some of my flatmates did those shots in the trailer. Good old Weta Digital.

Looks great but I can't see this topping any of the LOTR flicks.

On top of that, new production video:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dY1JmJw8EBg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vsDiiARZ66Q?version=3&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vsDiiARZ66Q?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Astounding how much time and effort are put into these things.

Superb stuff

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GsZ0qKX8uWE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cTUQi8HBlg4?version=3&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cTUQi8HBlg4?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Alrighty then, with Batman done time to get back onto this hype train.

Can't wait to see Smaug.

I wasnt impressed.

Probably because you can't spoil this movie.

Probably movie 2, which is another year to go at least.

I've read the book. I'm just not impressed with the trailer. The one I saw had a bunch of dwarves and a dude that looked like John Travolta in Battlefield Earth. I just wasnt impressed. Its been a while since I watched the cartoon and read the book, but if I remember right, I wasnt too impressed with them either.

I liked the book, but I am still skeptical as to how they are going to make 2 movies out of it. Scenery porn will only last so long.

This is my only concern with the movie, but I will still watch it on the first day.

I've read this book so many times I don't know if anything they do can match what I envisioned as a child and as an adult.

http://www.icv2.com/images/23529gollumlg.jpg

Also, there's talk of turning it into 3 movies instead of just 2 - they're just not sure there's enough source material to do it.

They bloody well not make this into 3 movies :foc:

I think they are adding extra stuff like what Gandalf goes off to do or something.

I can't see why that's a bad thing. Let them have another trilogy if they could do it.

I try not to be one of those people who gets all uppity about staying true to the source material but the story itself is good enough. They don't need to stretch it out as a blatant cash grab. Let's face it, that's the reason for stretching out the material.