Billy Connolly Joins The Hobbit Cast! Official Release

February 8th, 2012 by newsfrombree | Discuss | | 8 Comments »

Los Angeles, CA—February 8, 2012—Billy Connolly is joining the cast of Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic “The Hobbit.”  The announcement was made today by Jackson, who directed all three “The Lord of the Rings” films and is currently in production on “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” with the films shooting back-to-back in New Zealand.

In the films, Connolly (“The Last Samurai,” “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”) will play Dain Ironfoot, a great dwarf warrior and cousin of Thorin Oakenshield. Peter Jackson welcomed the news of Connolly to Middle-earth:  “We could not think of a more fitting actor to play Dain Ironfoot, the staunchest and toughest of Dwarves, than Billy Connelly, the Big Yin himself. With Billy stepping into this role, the cast of “The Hobbit” is now complete. We can’t wait to see him on the Battlefield!”

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More about Casting Rumors, Headlines, Hobbit Cast News, Hobbit Movie, The Hobbit

‘Star Trek’ nabs Benedict Cumberbatch

January 5th, 2012 by maegwen | Source: Hollywood Reporter | 3 Comments »

From the Hollywood Reporter: “Benedict Cumberbatch, who can currently be seen in theaters in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, has nabbed a major role in J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek sequel. … Cumberbatch is clearly having a moment. The actor, who stars as Sherlock Holmes in BBC’s Sherlock, is also on screens with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and is voicing the characters of Smaug the dragon and the Necromancer in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit.”

Behold, The Hobbit Trailer & Frame by Frame!

December 21st, 2011 by newsfrombree | 16 Comments »

UPDATE! We’ve added our frame by frame analysis to TORn now with a full page of Hobbity goodness. Find it right HERE.

As you can imagine, the poor TheOneRing.net server has been hammered and is crumbling under the pressure of a trailer release. As a result, we’ve added our first pass at a Hobbit Trailer frame-by-frame analysis as a gallery on our Facebook page. Check it out and share your thoughts/opinions! [Facebook Frame-by-Frame]

And of course, enjoy the trailer right here on TORn and then visit the official website TheHobbit.com!

Revealing Tweets peg John Bell as Bain, Bard’s son

December 17th, 2011 by newsfrombree | Discuss | | 1 Comment »

Thanks to Ringer Gaer Carreg for doing some digging and sending in this Oct 6th exchange between the official twitter accounts of actor John Bell and Luke Evans.:

@johnbell123 John Bell
@Mr_Luke_Evans thanks Da! Happy now! See you soon. X
6 Oct

@Mr_Luke_Evans
Luke Evans
@johnbell123 no problem son! See you soon back in NZ
6 Oct

Of course nothing is official until Peter Jackson updates us on his Facebook, but I think its safe to call this one: John Bell will play Bain, Son of Bard. [View Exchange] [Full Cast Listing] [Official John Bell Twitter] [Official Luke Evans Twitter] The New York Times is also listing John as Bain in their official cast listing here.

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More about Casting Rumors, Headlines, Hobbit Cast News, Hobbit Movie, Luke Evans, Production, The Hobbit

EXCLUSIVE: Hobbit Trailer Details Revealed

December 15th, 2011 by newsfrombree | 42 Comments »

Thanks to Ringer Duff Man for sending in this exclusive summary of what we can expect to see in the upcoming ‘Hobbit’ trailer. Read on for his report. Warning: Spoilers lie ahead.

Update – At the request of the Peter Jackson and the production, we’ve been asked to remove the trailer description. Look for the trailer in theaters and online soon!

New WB press release and a mystery bit of casting

December 14th, 2011 by Garfeimao | 16 Comments »

An official WB press release came out today that includes some Plot detail. One new Cast member is in the list, a John Bell, who appears to be about 10 years old or so. No official listing on IMDB yet for this casting, so no idea if he is Bain or Estel, or some other youngster. I’m including a link to an interview with the young actor under the press release.

TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – December 4, 2011

December 4th, 2011 by grammaboodawg | No Comments »

Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!

Bard’s Son Bain to be Seen in The Hobbit?

December 2nd, 2011 by xoanon | 4 Comments »

Otaku-sempai writes: It seems that Bain, the son of Bard, will be included in the films. Actor Michael Fowler has allegedly been cast as the Tall Scale Double for the character. Michael Fowler on starnow.co.uk

Son and heir of Bard the Bowman who.. Spoilers!!! highlight to read! killed the dragon Smaug, and a king of Dale. He was succeeded by his son Brand.

NZ Herald: Actors journey to Middle-earth

December 1st, 2011 by linuxelf | Source: NZ Herald | 1 Comment »

The New Zealand Herald has written this nice piece on ‘The Hobbit’ actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Mikael Persbrandt:

They might be leading men in their respective countries but it’s not their famous faces which have got them heading to New Zealand to join the cast of The Hobbit.

English actor Benedict Cumberbatch – best known as the latest television incarnation of Sherlock Holmes – will be motion captured as dragon Smaug as well as delivering the voice of Necromancer (later known as Sauron in The Lord of the Rings trilogy). The other, Swedish star Mikael Persbrandt, is already in the South Island playing Beorn, a shapeshifting mountain man who is sometimes a bear. While The Lord of the Rings trilogy was a career launchpad for many actors, both Cumberbatch and Persbrandt come to The Hobbit with established profiles. Read More…

Viggo Mortensen will not be in ‘The Hobbit’

November 22nd, 2011 by MrCere | Discuss | | 2 Comments »

Nobody can be shocked or even surprised but some fans were still holding out hope that Viggo Moretensen‘s Aragorn character would return in some form or fashion for the two part presentation of Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit.

In an interview with Movies.com, the actor addressed the question directly and says that while he was once asked if he was willing to be involved, nothing has moved forward at this point. That may not be official, but its about as confirmed as information gets.

“I’m not in it unless it there is some last-minute plan they have, but I thought I would have heard of it by now.”

During the Middle-earth portion of the interview he mentioned the “bridge film” that was once part of the two-movie plan for The Hobbit but was later abandoned when the writing team of Jackson, Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro wrote the episodic children’s book into a two part movie. The mysterious bridge film was dropped. Moretensen also spoke of his third film with director David Cronenberg, titled A Dangerous Method, where the actor portrays Sigmund Freud.

The full article is available right here.

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More about Casting Rumors, Characters, Hobbit Book, Hobbit Cast News, Hobbit Movie, The Hobbit, Viggo Mortensen

Smaug to be performance capture not just voice work says Benedict Cumberbatch

November 22nd, 2011 by MrCere | Discuss | | 1 Comment »

Benedict Cumberbatch will not only provide the voice of the dragon Smaug The Magnificent, he will perform the role using the motion capture technology pioneered by Andy Serkis and Weta Digital, according to the actor himself.

The design of the most iconic villain in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, and indeed probably the greatest literary great worm of the 20th Century, remains a secret and a key ingredient of Peter Jackson’s two part movie adaptation due in December 2012 and December 2013. The actor, the title character acting opposite Martin Freeman in the BBC’s Sherlock, revealed to Collider during a press junket that he hasn’t done his Hobbit stint yet and that he will not only provide the voice for the creature but perform him as well. You can see the video or read the interview right here.

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More about Benedict Cumberbatch, Casting Rumors, Characters, Hobbit Book, Hobbit Movie, The Hobbit, WETA Digital

Crew (and possibly cast) Arrive at Golden Bay – Pictures!

November 11th, 2011 by xoanon | 1 Comment »

Ross was able to snap quite a few photos of the crew arriving in the Golden Bay area to begin filming. He provides more info: One passenger said they were heading to Golden Bay for a week and were to start work today(Sat) however it has been raining there so far this morning. They arrived in Nelson at 4pm Friday and left in rental cars and vans. Nelson helicopter companies have also been providing plenty of air support. Filming from the 3D rig also took place over the Pelorus River area on Friday.

Pelorus River

The Pelorus River is a river at the northern end of South Island of New Zealand in the region of Marlborough. It flows from the Richmond Range into Pelorus Sound. This area is fantastic for camping and is renowned for its magnificent river swimming where the Pelorus River runs through a gorge.

Click here for the photos!