ELIJAH WOOD AND ANDY SERKIS TO JOIN THE CAST OF PETER JACKSON’S “THE HOBBIT”
Los Angeles, CA—January 10, 2011—Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis are set to join the cast of Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic “The Hobbit.” The films, which are scheduled to commence principal photography in February 2011, mark Jackson’s return to Middle-earth following his Oscar-winning “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The announcement was made jointly today by Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema, Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros. and Steve Cooper, co-Chief Executive Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
Jackson, who directed all three “Lord of the Rings” films, will helm the two films back-to-back, telling the story of “The Hobbit” in two parts from a screenplay by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro.
Elijah Wood (“The Lord of The Rings” trilogy, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) will be returning to play Frodo Baggins the young cousin of Bilbo Baggins and Andy Serkis (“The Lord of The Rings” trilogy, “King Kong”) will be returning to play the character Gollum. Continue reading “It’s Really Official Now: Wood & Serkis Press Release”
More fantastic news for Hobbit fans! The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Sir Ian McKellen will reprise his role as Gandalf the Grey in the upcoming Hobbit movies: Ian McKellen has signed on to return as wizard Gandalf in The Hobbit, the two-pic adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien novel being directed by Peter Jackson. The dealmaking on Hobbit for a slew of Jackson veterans from his Lord of the Rings trilogy has been coming fast and furious and comes on the heels of Andy Serkis finally inking his deal to reprise Gollum. Read More…
Update: Sir Ian’s comments – “For a year or more, I have been arranging my professional commitments around the possibility of The Hobbit films starting at almost anytime.” Read more at www.mckellen.com.
Mike Fleming over at Deadline.com is reporting that Andy Serkis is close to signing on for The Hobbit. Any would of course be reprising his role as Gollum. In addition, rumor has it that Sir Christopher Lee is also in talks to reprise his role as Saruman. Saruman was the leader of the White Council, a council of the Wise in Middle-earth that decided to try to oust Sauron from his fortress in Mirkwood forest at the time of The Hobbit. And, if you can stand even more good news, Sir Ian Holm is also rumored to be in talks to appear in the movies as an older Bilbo. Read more about this at Deadline.com
Meanwhile we will try to get the news about Andy directly from Andy himself, stay tuned!
Linuxelf writes: Brief news clip on New Zealand’s Prime Channel about the possibility of Elijah Wood returning in The Hobbit, as first reported on Theonering.net.
From joystiq.com: It may sound counterintuitive, but it seems that going free is a great way to make money. On the Ten Ton Hammer podcast, Turbine’s Adam Mersky announced that monthly revenue has tripled for Lord of the Rings Online since the game went free-to-play in September — “which is obviously making us very happy.” The effects of the freemium transition were already noticeable in October, when revenue doubled. Executive producer Kate Paiz said that Turbine is “super-pleased” with the response to the change. “We’re getting so many new players in and the world feels alive and vibrant.” We’re convinced. Starting right now, Joystiq is going free-to-read. No longer will you have to pay a monthly subscription fee to read our content. We’re looking into microtransaction-based quests and weapons.
EXCLUSIVE – Deadline hinted first but TheOneRing.net can confirm that Elijah Wood will step in front of Peter Jackson’s cameras and return to Middle-earth for a part in ‘The Hobbit,’ — and we even know how. Despite how some fans will respond at first, the reasons are organic and natural and might not upset some of the most ardent purists.
ELIJAH WOOD AND ANDY SERKIS TO JOIN THE CAST OF PETER JACKSON’S “THE HOBBIT”
Mike Fleming over at Deadline.com is reporting that Andy Serkis is close to signing on for The Hobbit. Any would of course be reprising his role as Gollum. In addition, rumor has it that Sir Christopher Lee is also in talks to reprise his role as Saruman. Saruman was the leader of the White Council, a council of the Wise in Middle-earth that decided to try to oust Sauron from his fortress in Mirkwood forest at the time of The Hobbit. And, if you can stand even more good news, Sir Ian Holm is also rumored to be in talks to appear in the movies as an older Bilbo. Read more about this at 
