Rebecca Keegan writes: Oscar’s supporting actor race will be a hairy one this year — and something of a digital proving ground. Andy Serkis, who played Caesar, the hyper-intelligent chimp in this summer’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” is getting an awards push courtesy of 20th Century Fox. Serkis’ performance — which tracks Caesar from his childhood raised by a human scientist (James Franco) through his political awakening as an adult chimp in a cruelly run primate sanctuary — was delivered via the same computer-graphics techniques used in “Avatar.” More..
Month: November 2011
It’s hard to imagine any movies making as much box-office bank as Peter Jackson’s blockbuster The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The three films grossed almost $3 billion worldwide!
But now that production is well underway on Jackson’s upcoming Rings prequels, does series star Elijah Wood think The Hobbit films have what it takes to outshine LOTR’s moneymaking glory?
“I don’t even know if they’re meaning to outdo them,” Wood told us at Sunday’s Happy Feet Two premiere in Hollywood of the upcoming two Hobbit flicks. “They’re gonna be big. The audience is huge. The anticipation for The Hobbit has been so massive for so long.” More..
Be part of the fun with long-time contributor Clifford Broadway hosting LOTR / HOBBIT artists, fans, fantasy authors, and other special guests on his innovative weekly *live* streaming show TORn TUESDAYS with QUICKBEAM! We launch our program at about 5pm Pacific time — today we are giving away a massive Collector’s Edition “LORD OF THE RINGS: WAR IN THE NORTH” PS3 video game boxed set — courtesy of Warner Bros. Interactive (this thing is about $140 retail value and comes with a leather quiver for arrows, a fantastic cloth-map of Middle-earth, special Blu-ray “music of the game” disc and an Art Book)! Yak it up with folks in Barliman’s chat room or come in via Skype. Check out the broadcast in our LIVE Event section right here every week: 5:00pm Pacific Standard Time!
IGN caught up with Andy Serkis and, among other things, asked him when fans can expect the first trailer for The Hobbit. Here’s what Andy had to say:
“There will be a trailer fairly soon, actually. Around Christmas time, I believe.”
Besides reprising his role as Gollum, Serkis has also taken up duties as Second Unit Director on the films, concerning which he says:
“It’s quite fascinating, I’m having a ball. It’s a huge operation, really. We’re on the road at the moment, at various different locations on South Island in New Zealand. There are some truly remarkable landscapes that we’re filming in. It’s just stunning.”
Andy also spoke a bit about shooting in 5K at 48 fps. To read the entire interview, head over to IGN.
So which December film will have The Hobbit trailer playing in front of it? Join the speculation on our boards.
AICN’s Quint has his third report from the set of The Hobbit! Take a look: Welcome to the third and final Hobbit article focusing on the Matamata (Hobbiton) section of the big location shoot as The Hobbit crew moves all around New Zealand. Main unit spent 5 days in Matamata with second unit getting aerial and pick-up shots after the circus moved on to the next location. In true movie magic form we ended our second to last day with a big shot of Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins hauling ass out of Hobbiton, chasing down the dwarves, and began our final day with Mr. Baggins returning to The Shire as his grand adventure comes to a close. The beginning and the end within one 24 hour period. More..
The Beard sends this in: I see on TORN that there seems to be Hobbit action in Dunedin, so maybe the filming here in Golden Bay is second unit, or maybe they got creative to deal with iffy weather here. The word around the Bay is that they are filming at two locations: Canaan Downs at Harwood’s Hole, and at a private sheep station at Kaihoka Lakes. I was actually at the latter place yesterday, on a social visit with a friend, but there was no sign of filming and the owner apparently told my friend that they were filming at Canaan Downs that day.
In other words– lots of talk about the Hobbit here, but not much fact to share other than the supposed locations. I do believe the Kaihoka Lakes location, as this is a farm family who would have no reason to make up the fact that their property is being used!