The Hobbit News Archive
Most Recent News Articles
2009.06.22 14:03 MST
del Toro Confirms Hugo Weaving in The Hobbit
In an interview with BBC Radio 5, upcoming Hobbit movies director Guillermo del Toro confirmed that Hugo Weaving will definitely be returning to play the role of Elrond in the two movies set to come out in 2010 and 2011. Weaving joins both Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis as original members of the Peter Jackson movie trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, who will star in the Hobbit films.
Elsewhere, according to MTV, del Toro recently said he is too busy with the production of The Hobbit films to be involved with game development of an accompanying Hobbit video game. "It's too ambitious to try and tackle that along with The Hobbit," said del Toro. However, he did say his team will be involved in a later game.
2009.06.05 13:50 MST
Bilbo Actor to be Named Soon
MTV News is reporting Guillermo del Toro has announced that he has narrowed the list of potential actors to play Bilbo Baggins from four down to only one. "I believe we're very close now to saying one name," said del Toro. Though the actor has not been contacted directly, talks with his representatives have already begun.
2009.03.30 12:53 MST
Spiderman Director, Sam Raimi, Agrees on del Toro
Back in the early days of the Hobbit movie rumor mill, Sam Raimi's name had been bandied about as a possible choice to direct the upcoming Hobbit film. Raimi, director of the classic Evil Dead movies, as well as all four recent and future Spiderman movies, has now commented on the topic. Apparently things never got much beyond a phone call with Peter Jackson, who will be producing The Hobbit. As soon as Raimi found out Guillermo del Toro was chosen to head up this new movie he immediately agreed with the choice.
"I think that, sheepishly, he may have made the right decision. Guillermo’s such a brilliant filmmaker that I’m dying to see this version," Raimi said recently in an interview with Filmonic.com. "It would have been an excellent job but Peter Jackson is the producer and he chose who he thinks would be the best filmmaker, which is Guillermo del Toro, who I love."
2009.03.17 16:12 MST
Wikipedia article on The Hobbit films
There is an informative Wikipedia article on the upcoming Hobbit films. Here is a snippet, followed by a link to the full article:
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh expressed interest in 1995 in filming The Hobbit, which would be part one of a trilogy (the other two would have been based on The Lord of the Rings).[1] Frustration arose when Jackson's producer, Harvey Weinstein, discovered Saul Zaentz had production rights to The Hobbit, but distribution rights still belonged to United Artists (who had kept those rights because they believed filmmakers would probably adapt The Hobbit rather than The Lord of the Rings, and therefore wanted a profit).[2] The studio was on the market, so Weinstein's attempts to buy those rights were unsuccessful. Weinstein asked Jackson to press on with adapting The Lord of the Rings.[3] New Line Cinema eventually produced The Lord of the Rings, and their rights to film The Hobbit were set to expire in 2010.[4] In September 2006, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, owner of UA, expressed interest in teaming up with New Line and Jackson to make the prequel.[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit_(film)
2009.02.09 16:33 MST
Viggo on The Hobbit
Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings films, as well other memorable roles in such movies as Eastern Promises, A History of Violence, Hidalgo and Carlito's Way, gave
TotalFilm.com an interview regarding the upcoming Hobbit movies. Without revealing any official plans whether or not he will be returning as the heir of Isuldur, King of Gondor, he did go as far as to say he'd "rather finish the job myself than have another actor do it."
“I’m interested in principle, but I’d want to see it done in the right spirit of Tolkien," he said, while also indicating approval for upcoming director Guillermo del Toro. “He’s strongminded, intelligent and probably just as stubborn [as Jackson]."
Mortensen wasn't sure if The Hobbit production would be "as big a circus" as the Peter Jackson movies, but said it would probably be "as bewildering a set-up as the other three."
He also indicated a preference for the first of the three movies, The Fellowship of the Ring, due to the "balance in the way that all the races of Middle-earth were presented... It was more about the relationships."
2009.01.09 13:36 MST
Hobbit Movie Postponed?
Apparently there are rumors out there that The Hobbit movie (to be shot in 2 parts) is going to be postponed. Originally slated for a Christmas 2011 release date, with the second installment out the following Christmas, it is now suspected the first won't be out till 2012 (hopefully pre-Mayan-Apocalypse!).
Another LOTR-based website,
TheOneRing.Net claims they have contacted director Del Toro and he says these rumors are unfounded. So all we can do is hope he's on point!
2008.11.19 13:27 MST
Interview Snippet with Hobbit Director
Movie Reporter website, IESB.com, recently interviewed upcoming Hobbit movie director, Guillermo Del Toro at the Nov. 11th Hellboy DVD release party in Hollywood. Here's a quick snippet from their interview:
IESB: Do you feel like the Hellboy franchise prepped you for what you are doing next, The Hobbit?
GDT: Maybe it did, I don't know about that, in the timeline, The Hobbit happened a couple of months after we wrapped Hellboy, so we were not thinking Tolkien when we were doing Hellboy. We were doing a different brand of fantasy. So what I am going to do in The Hobbit is very, very different from what I did in Hellboy II visually so I think it was a very nice technical challenge in preparation for The Hobbit.
IESB: Is your Hobbit going to look like it's all part of the same universe with Lord of the Rings?
GDT: I think that eventually there will be a point and there will be sections where it will blend becuase it has to, you know, we really are thinking about the five movies as a single adventure, but without a doubt The Hobbit will also stake out it's own visual ground, so there are so many of the lands and the characters and the creatures and the adventures of the Hobbit that are never visited again in the trilogy that they can stand on their own and they will stand on their own. You know when you go to the Shire, it's going to be the same Shire but if you go into Mirkwood, you're going to get Mirkwood the way we envision it.
IESB: Are there any good Mexican restaurants in New Zealand you have visited?
GDT: There will be when I am done (laughing).
2008.10.24 08:48 MST
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."
- J.R.R. Tolkien
2008.09.22 10:15 MST
Happy Birthday Bilbo & Frodo!
Not only is this week official Tolkien Week, today, September 22nd is the birthday of both Frodo and Bilbo Baggins!
Since 1978, when celebrations began, Tolkien Week has been the week containing September 22nd. Many schools, libraries and bookstores put up displays this week commemorating J. R. R. Tolkien and his son, Christopher J. R. Tolkien and the collection of influential books they've produced: The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings (comprising The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King), Unfinished Tales, and The History of Middle-earth. Often fans get together for special readings from the books or marathon movie events, showing all of the recent Peter Jackson films.
September 22nd is Hobbit Day, and the date of the Long Awaited Party. Celebrations include games, feasts, costume parties, fireworks, etc. Technically, as some Tolkien purists point out, the date September 22nd in the LOTR books is not calculated according to our Gregorian calendar but instead as part of the Third Age method of reckoning. They contest that the actual date would then be September 14th on our calendar. However, most fans and organizations don't feel the need for such legalities and stick with the 22nd. Whichever date you choose, enjoy the good times and have some cake!
--
In other news, Ian Holm will apparently not be returning to play Bilbo in the new Hobbit films, but will possibly play a different character. John Noble will also probably not be returning as the Denethor, Steward of Gondor. A) His character does not appear in the Hobbit, and B) even if del Toro wanted to put him in the second Hobbit movie, which spans the gap between the Hobbit and the LOTR, Holm has said he would have to turn it down due to his role in J. J. Abrams new series
Fringe.
“If they said, ‘Would you come and play Denethor again,’” Noble said, “I would have to say, ‘No, I’m doing [new J.J. Abrams television series] ‘Fringe’! And I certainly couldn’t play a younger Denethor or even Echelion now that I’m an older John. Not even with makeup.”
Also, rumors are spreading that others, including Liv Tyler and Viggo Mortenson, may be returning to play in one or both prequels. Mortenson told MTV:
“I haven’t heard anything. Ian is very proactive. He’s been banging that drum!. It was a very important project to all of us and especially to him I think. He wants to make sure Gandalf is in there and in there early! I’m going to cross that bridge when I get to it. Obviously, I would rather have the chance to play that role myself since I originated it on film than have someone else do it.”
2008.08.29 16:12 MST
Del Toro Talks About Prospect of Hobbit
An article yesterday in The Herald Sun of Australia describes del Toro's thoughts on directing the new movie,
The Hobbit, which Peter Jackson will be producing.
"In the dawn of The Hobbit, I'm starting to interact with the fan community on the Tolkien internet community,'' del Toro says.
The director says he was both daunted and excited about the prospect of taking on the mega-successful legacy from New Zealand director Peter Jackson, who was behind the trilogy, which scored at the box office and at the Oscars.
"I think it's a privilege,'' del Toro says.
"If somebody built a great building and they told me go insane and create the most beautiful three-storey penthouse at the top of this building and I'd go 'absolutely I'll do it' - because I believe that the craftsmanship, the beauty that can be brought to that universe, makes the movies able to stand on their own, but be part of that symphonic work.
"My father was irresponsible enough to buy us a motorbike when I was seven and one thing he said is, if you're ever afraid, don't get on the bike.
"It's the same with filmmaking, if you're ever afraid, don't go in there.
"Be daunted, always daunted and be always prepared, but never be afraid. So I'm not afraid, I'm really eager.''
2008.08.04 14:19 MST
Lee Offers to Play Smaug
After previously expressing his willingness to reprise his role as the wizard Saruman in the upcoming 2011 movie The Hobbit, Christopher Lee has apparently reconsidered due to the "tremendous journey" involved in travelling to New Zealand to film. Lee, 86, has instead offered to perform the voice of Smaug the dragon. "I could do that in England, you see, I wouldn't have to go to New Zealand," Lee said.
Speaking in July at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, Lee passed on a few rumors
about the upcoming film, as well as it's currently untitled sequel. "They said there's going to be another [follow-up] film which we've been told is going to about the Great Council of the Wizards, the Istari, and of course in those days thousands of years before, Saruman was a great, fine, dignified, noble man. But he changed of course, as we know; he wanted to become the lord of the rings himself - that of course is in the trilogy."
Both Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis are slated to return for the next two movies, the first to be released in December 2011 and the sequel the following year.
2008.06.28 18:52 MST
Toro to Direct Hobbit Movie
Guillermo del Toro, director of
Pan's Labyrinth and the new
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, will be directing the new
Hobbit movie, co-produced by NEW LINE & MGM. Legendary LOTR trilogy director Peter Jackson will be an Executive Producer.
Del Toro said: “This is a great honor, and I am indeed blessed to become a part of the filmmaking community that Peter, Fran and their extraordinary team of collaborators have created in New Zealand. I want to thank them, Bob Shaye, Michael Lynne, Toby Emmerich and Mark Ordesky for entrusting me with such an incredible project. Contributing to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ legacy is an absolute dream come true.”
There will be a Hobbit sequel, as well.
