JoBlo Movie Podcast I was recently invited to do a podcast with the guys from JoBlo.com. These guys are hardcore movie fans after my own heart and I had a blast chatting with them, take a listen! From Joblo.com: If you’ve ever looked for something on the internet related to the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy you’ve probably ended up on our guest’s website. TheOneRing.net’s Editor in Chief and founder, Michael Regina joins Moreno and I to talk about the site, dish out some juicy HOBBIT info, and let us know how he’s planning on macking Jenna Busch. Strong language warning here! More..

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dailymotion today announced that “Born of Hope,” a professionally-produced feature-length film based on the Tolkien Trilogy, Lord of the Rings, will be screened on the popular global video entertainment site beginning December 1, 2009. This exclusive follows the high successful launch of another Lord of the Rings fan film, The Hunt for Gollum, in May of 2009.

“Born of Hope” tells a Tolkien-inspired original prequel story with a host of characters never before seen on screen. The 70 minute prequel is the story of Aragorn’s parents, Arathorn and Gilraen, along with the characters who sacrificed everything to keep Aragorn safe. More..

Viggo MortensenInki writes: Viggo Mortensen will be on PBS’ Tavis Smiley show DEC 1st! From the website: Oscar-nominated actor Viggo Mortensen talks about his new feature film, The Road, and shares how he was able to maintain emotional fragility for his role. More..

Peter JacksonSeveral reports are coming in that filming for The Hobbit will be delayed from the original estimate of March 2010 to mid-summer 2010, possibly July. The German site, moviereporter.net, reports that, as part of an interview regarding The Lovely Bones,  PJ estimates filming will begin towards the middle of next year:

“We’re currently working on the second script which we hope to have completed by the end of this year or beginning of next.  When the scripts are completed, we can begin with the exact calculation of the necessary budget.  We hope to start filming in the middle of next year. However, we’ve received no green light from the studio yet.”  (- translated from German – read the original quote here).

PJ didn’t elaborate on whether this will affect the proposed release dates of December 2011 and 2012. More than two years elapsed between the start of filming for The Lord of the Rings movies in October, 1999, and the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001. However, they are only tackling two films this time, plus the previous movies provide them a head-start on on a number of pre-production items such as some of the set and location designs (Bag End, Rivendell). This is sure to cause quite a bit of buzz! Be sure to join in the discussion in our Barliman’s Chat or our Hobbit Movie message board.

Peter JacksonPeter Jackson is making the rounds promoting his film “The Lovely Bones.” Thanks to all those who are sending in the many stories from around the world regarding Jackson and his films. Some critics have savaged it and others (like Total Film, love it. Wherever he goes Jackson is getting questions about all his projects including his producers role on the two-film adaptation of “The Hobbit”. But Jackson fans (many of our readers) want to know first-hand what he has done with Alice Sebold’s novel so we have a few glimpses to hold you over until you can see it in theaters for yourselves on December 11. Continue reading “Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lovely Bones’”