TheOneRing.net has a long tradition of convincing and slightly irritating April Fool pranks. We believe this one was one of our best in both respects. Hope you fell for it! And let’s all hope we have real good news about The Hobbit films in the near future!
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According to a source very close to the production, this draft of the official press release is supposed to be released with the launch of the LOTR Blu-Ray set on April 6th. But as always, TheOneRing.net has it exclusively for you first! Read on!
“The Hobbit” to begin Principal Photography in New Zealand in October
Guillermo del Toro Directs International Cast
1st film release scheduled for late 2012
(Los Angeles, April 6, 2010) — The Hobbit films will begin principal photography in Wellington, New Zealand, on October 11, 2010, under the direction of Guillermo del Toro, it was jointly announced today by Barry M. Meyer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros; Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer of Warner Bros; Stephen Cooper, President and Chief Operating Officer of MGM; Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer of New Line Cinema. The date marks the 11th anniversary of the start date of filming of “The Lord of the Rings,” trilogy, also in New Zealand.
The production follows the tradition of Middle-earth movie-making by filming the two films in the saga — “The Hobbit,” in two parts — not consecutively but concurrently, as though they were one giant motion picture production, a feat first established by “Lord of the Rings,” director Peter Jackson who along with Fran Walsh, serves as Executive Producer for this production.
Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel originally written for children and beloved by readers of all ages, the film will have a same-day red carpet premieres around the globe on Tuesday, September 21st, 2012, the landmark 75th anniversary of the publication of “The Hobbit.”
Those high-profile premiers will include cast, crew, guests of the film studios and media including a celebration in the writer’s native Oxford, United Kingdom. Other participating cities are Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Salt Lake City, Tokyo and Wellington.
General release for the public will be on Friday, December 31, 2012.
“You see,” joked director Guillermo del Toro, “we kept our promise to fans and released this film before the end of the world,” in a reference to the Mayan calendar which concludes time on that date. “We recommend everybody take Friday off to catch an early screening — just in case!”
The Lord of the Rings franchise stars (in alphabetical order) Cate Blanchett, Marton Csokas, Martin Freeman, Mark Ferguson, Sir Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis and Hugo Weaving with other cast members to be announced before production begins.
The screenplay is written by del Toro (Hellboy, El laberinto del fauno) Jackson (Meet The Feebles, King Kong); Walsh (Heavenly Creatures, The Lovely Bones) and Philippa Boyens (Lord of the Rings, District 9). The producers are Barrie M. Osborne (The Matrix, Face/Off), and Rick Porras (Contact, Lord of the Rings).
* MGM and Warner Bros. will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.
* Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films based on “The Hobbit.” New Line, under direction of Warner Bros. will manage the production of the films.
