With all the rumors and speculation about having “The Hobbit” movies in 3D, it sometimes feels like the big money made by “Avatar” has cast impossible expectations over blockbuster films forever. It also seems that all that cash is simply being attributed to the 3D aspect of the film and so now every movie, including both parts of “The Hobbit,” are part of the hype. Since “Avatar” made sooooo much money, we wondered, “Why stop with visual depth and polarized glasses?” And so we present our “Top 10 ways to make ‘The Hobbit’ movie like ‘Avatar’.” Continue reading “Top 10 ways to make ‘The Hobbit’ movie like ‘Avatar’”
Month: May 2010
Sources all over the place are confirming our earlier report that indeed, there is no greenlight for “The Hobbit,” and that currently 3D isn’t being planned. The director held a conference call supporting the film “Splice,” and predictably those films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book written for children came up during the phone chat. The Mexican director, currently living and working in New Zealand was definitive:
“On both counts, there are no final answers. It is not greenlit. That is categorical. And 3D has been discussed literally once in the room. The budget and the schedule and everything that we are handling – the cost of the film, the number of days it would take to shoot – is being handled right now without looking towards 3D. Is there a chance it will become 3D in the future? Maybe. Right now, it’s not being planned as such.”
According to Borys Kit’s Heat Vision blog with The Hollywood Reporter, James McAvoy has signed on to play a young Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, in “X-Men: First Class,” which Matthew Vaughn is directing for Fox. Fox is moving fast on the production, hiring Vaughn in early May and planning a summer start in London. The movie is being planned for a June 3, 2011, release.
McAvoy had been rumoured to be a candidate for the role of Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming Guillermo del Toro epic The Hobbit, which has yet to be officially green-lighted. More
Kaitlin from zooppa.com sends this in: I read your article on King Kong invading Dodger stadium and I thought the “King Kong’s Path to Universal Studios Hollywood” short film competition on Zooppa would tie in nicely.
A total of $15,000 in cash will be awarded to the best short films depicting Kong’s journey back to Hollywood. Universal Studios Hollywood plans to use the winning videos in the park, online, and for broadcast.
Here is a link to the competition page on Zooppa. Continue reading “One Big King Kong Contest!”
Tamara sends along word about a Tolkien lecture at Harvard: While my program doesn’t allow for any “outside” classes, I just noticed that they offered an inaugural Tolkien course this spring, with the first lecture available on-line. Here’s the link below, but I may audit this one next year, if it is still around! Commencement is today, so I’m not sure how long this will be available, but I enjoyed two very interesting hours listening/watching! More..
ANTH E-164 Tolkien as Translator: Language, Culture, and Society in Middle-Earth (23228) – Marc Zender, PhD, Lecturer on Anthropology, Harvard University.
As the purported “translation” of ancient records from before the dawn of accepted history, J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings grapples with themes of language and identity rarely encountered in fantasy novels. In this course, students study the role of language in making the cultures and societies of Middle-Earth come alive, and are introduced to concepts from linguistic anthropology that shed light on Tolkien’s methods and purpose.
If you are a fan of Lord of the Rings collectibles and fine art, you’ll want to jump over to SideshowCollectibles.com tonight. With the launch of their latest newsletter they have added Funko’s LOTR plush dolls, including Legolas, Gandalf, Frodo and a Moria Orc. Besides being insanely cute, they are also very affordable at only $9.99 a piece. Sideshow has also begun a relationship with renown LOTR artist Ted Nasmith to offer some of his masterpieces. The first two offerings are custom framed versions of ‘The Wrath of the Ents‘ and ‘Eowyn and the Nazgul.’ And if that wasn’t enough LOTR to whet your collecting whistle, they’ve also added the Hobbit themed Taverncraft ‘Smaug the Magnificent‘ mugs which we posted about earlier this week. Oh yea, they’ve also teased a new line of LOTR statues, starting out with everyone’s favorite Ranger!