Well sadly I missed the live chat on NZ’s Stuff website, but hopefully it and the associated twitter feed will be up for a while longer so you can read what was talked about. Check Here JRD will also be appearing at Wellington’s big sci-fi fantasy fest, Armageddon, this weekend.
Year: 2011
From slashfilm.com (via Quackingtroll): Last week at CinemaCon, James Cameron gave a big presentation called “A Demonstration and Exclusive Look at The Future of Cinema”. You might remember reading about it here on /Film.
At the demonstration, Cameron noted that not only will he shoot Avatar 2 with this new technology, but George Lucas and Peter Jackson were also in support of the changes, and that Jackson had even explored shooting The Hobbit at high speeds. Cameron had heard that Jackson suffered illness before he could complete the tests and convince studio brass to make it happen. But it seems that Cameron heard wrong….
The basic gist is this: Cameron proposes that future movies should be shot and projected at either 48 or 60 frames per second. All of the digital film cameras are able to shoot at that speed, and all of the second generation digital cinema projectors (2010 on) should be able to project at that speed with a software upgrade. The result is a lot smoother movement, less of the strobing effect, which gives the impression of an enhanced resolution. And of course, the higher frame rate will help with the discomfort some experience with 3D. The footage I screened during Cameron’s presentation, shot/screend at 48 frames a second in 3D, looked incredible. The best way to describe it, is to quote Cameron: “If watching a 3D movie is like looking through a window, then [with this] we’ve taken the glass out of the window and we’re staring at reality.” More..
In an exclusive interview with Collider.com, Orlando Bloom confirms he’s been in talks to return as Legolas in Peter Jackson’s upcoming Hobbit films.
Excerpts from the interview follow:
Collider: Are you going to appear in The Hobbit?
Bloom: Yeah, it’s looking like that. I’m really excited about going to see Pete [Jackson] again. It’s still a little up in the air, but the idea of working with Pete is fantastic. I can’t actually really talk too much about it, at this point. I just was given the script to piece through, so it’s quite exciting.
Collider: The whole script?
Bloom: Yeah!
Collider: Will you have to do anything to physically prepare for that role again?
Bloom: Are you telling me that I’ve put on weight, in the last 10 years? I just have to grow my hair really long and blonde again.
Collider: Isn’t he a younger version?
Bloom: Yeah.
There’s a lively discussion going on over at our message boards with fans speculating (both seriously and in jest!) the role Legolas will have in the films. Join in the fun!
Helmets off to Michael Noer at Forbes. He has written a tremendously funny and intelligent piece for Forbes as part of its “Fictional 15” look at fictionally rich characters, including everybody’s favorite worm of Middle-earth. He walks us through Smaug’s net worth:
We know from the novel that Smaug’s wealth comes down to three primary components, the mound of silver and gold that he sleeps on, the diamonds and other precious gemstones encrusted in his underbelly, and the “Arkenstone of Thrain,” which is depicted as something like the Hope Diamond on steroids.
Smaug The Unassessably Wealthy and 14 other fictional characters can be found here whiile the bit focusing on Tolkien’s creation can be found right here. Can two films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” (featuring Smaug) earn a sum equal to a dragon’s hoard? Enjoy and discuss!
Exclusive to The Hollywood Reporter:
Gollum Actor Andy Serkis to Serve as Second Unit Director on ‘The Hobbit’ (Exclusive)
“There is really a sense of Peter [Jackson] wanting people around him who totally understand the material and the work ethic,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Andy Serkis, who played the iconic Gollum in Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Rings, is taking on a new role in The Hobbit 1 and 2. In addition to reprising his role as the tragic creature, Serkis also has been tapped by Jackson to serve as second unit director on the two films, which are now in production in New Zealand.
“I think I understand Peter’s sensibility and we have a common history of understanding Middle Earth,” Serkis told The Hollywood Reporter. “A lot of the crew from The Lord of the Rings was returning to work on The Hobbit. There is really a sense of Peter wanting people around him who totally understand the material and the work ethic.” [Full Release] (Thanks to Ringer Kookie for the heads up!)
Thanks to everyone who sent this in. Stephen Colbert and James Franco have a Tolkien-geek-off (on the April 5th Colbert Report, minutes 19:45 – 21:00). Colbert wins. Take a look! More..