The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Andy Serkis’ production company, The Imaginarium, has secured the film rights to George Orwell’s classic novel ‘Animal Farm’, as well as the Samantha Shannon series ‘The Bone Season’.
In discussing his approach to ‘Animal Farm’, Serkis says “I think we found a rather fresh way of looking at it. It is definitely using performance capture, but we are using an amalgamation of filming styles to create the environmments.” In addition to directing, Serkis also plans to act in the film.
To read the rest of the article (including his opinion of the 48 fps technology used in ‘The Hobbit’), head over to The Hollywood Reporter.
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SPOILER WARNING! Our French partner site Tolkiendrim.com has scored some amazing high resolution imagery of Bolg – the imposing and horrific monstrosity from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey! The high resolution imagery show great details including dried blood (as Tolkiendrim.com suggests, possibly signs of cannibalism??) and some artifacts from his dwarven foes. View this full article to see the three images. [Tolkiendrim.com]
Continue reading “Tolkiendrim.com Hi-Res Photo of Bolg! – SPOILERS”
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“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
– J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
We got our first look at the young Bilbo Baggins statue at Comic-Con 2012. As was the case for Gandalf the Grey, and the non-exclusive version of Thorin Oakenshield, Bilbo Baggins went up for Pre-Order October 1st, 2012 and is an open edition which allows fans a solid chance at getting all three of these amazing statues.
Bilbo Baggins is a 50-year-old Hobbit, comfortable with living in Bag End and enjoying his daily life. On April 25th, 2941 of the Third Age, that would all change with a visit from the wizard, Gandalf the Grey. After an unexpected party, Bilbo was convinced to join Thorin and company on their adventure to Erebor, setting in motion events that would change his life, and the fortune of Middle-earth, forever.
PACKAGING
The graphics on the box for Bilbo are similar to those of the Gandalf statue, having a very Middle-earth-like look and feel to them. As with the Gandalf box, there’s a shot of the character, graphics for the title of the movie, Weta logo and the name of the character. The sides present a couple of different looks with one side showing great shots of Bilbo from different angles, and the other side showing some of the additional products that will be coming out for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The back of the box contains a great story on Bilbo and his importance to the events of The Hobbit. Unlike the Gandalf statue, you have to plug Bilbo into a base which is stored inside the box (the Thorin base was outside of the box).
SCULPTING
Brigitte Wuest is the sculptor of Bilbo, a name that fans of Middle-earth well know for her many amazing works like the Theoden Statue, Morgul Lord and Gandalf the White on Shadowfax. As with those statues, she nailed Martin Freeman’s look as a young Bilbo Baggins, which is to say fans will be getting an amazing likeness. The detailing of Bilbo’s outfit is really fantastic and the whole outfit gives off a very real vibe to it, looking like something worn by someone going through what Bilbo goes through. Two of the nicer small details with Bilbo are the embroidery work on Bilbo’s scarf and the hair on his feet. Another great thing is the detailing of Sting and Sting’s scabbard, both impeccably done. The pose of the statue is also awesome: we get to see Bilbo not just being the nice Hobbit we know he is, but we get to see him as the hero he becomes over the course of The Hobbit. From top to bottom this statue is a must have for any collector.
PAINT
The paintwork on Bilbo is simply fantastic. As with Gandalf, you have great, clean lines and the details are brought out even more so by the wonderful paint job. As good as the skin tones are on Gandalf and Thorin I think Weta really did a superb job with Bilbo, taking their work to another level. The paint work on the clothes look worn (obviously from a little later in his journey), but shows the proper wear of someone out on a long and perilous journey. I also love the paint work on Sting, and the scabbard with both items looking very much like their on screen counterparts with none of the sculpting details being lost in the paint job. I really can’t say enough good things about the paint job on this piece and just how impressed I was when I opened this amazing statue.
Overall
Bilbo retails for $200 on Weta’s website. As with Gandalf the Grey and Thorin, Weta was very successful in creating a fantastic statue capturing this little Hobbit as we will watch him grow on screen. I really just love everything about this statue from the little embroidery work on his scarf, wear of the clothes, likeness, paint work, detail, pose, etc. I love this statue more than I did when I saw it all those months ago at Comic-Con and having it in my collection brings a big smile to my face. There is nothing to not like about this statue and collectors are lucky that this statue is an open edition. Definitely two thumbs up!
SPECIFICATIONS
Bilbo is an open edition with a retail price of $200.
PHOTOS
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“Bilbo Baggins. I’m looking for someone to share in an adventure.”
-Gandalf to Bilbo before a possible unexpected journey
One of the many statues Weta Workshop had at Comic-Con 2012 for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was Gandalf the Grey. On October 1st, 2012, fans around the world got the chance to order this amazing statue, as Gandalf was one of three statues that were in-stock that day. Thankfully, Gandalf is an open edition statue, allowing those of us who badly want this item a chance to add him to our collections.
On March 15th, 2941 at the Prancing Pony in Bree, Thorin Oakenshield met with Gandalf the Grey where a discussion took place about reclaiming Erebor. Gandalf was able to convince Thorin to make the journey to reclaim Erebor and help secure the North from potential future problems. Once again Gandalf would help play a pivotal role in helping make sure Middle-earth would not face certain dangers.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Gandalf the Grey Statue Review”
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Here’s some new, unpublished images from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey courtesy of Cinemarcado! The new photos reveal scenes with Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf The Grey and a photo of a very youthful-looking (and slightly creepy) Frodo Baggins. Some of TORn’s chatters suggest that the images may not have been colour-graded yet.
[Cinemarcado] [TORn Gallery]
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The German fan site Herr-der-Ringe-Film has posted new pictures from The Hobbit movies that are currently on display at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The picture to the right depicts Lee Pace, as Thranduil. Thranduil is the king of the elves of Mirkwood, and father to Legolas. Here, we see him in an intricate silver costume with his head adorned by a silver crown entwined with leaves. Another new picture depicts Legolas aiming his bow and arrow towards the camera. There’s also a great picture of Elrond in armor, already revealed to be in the Hobbit movie calendar.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is billed as the largest book fair on the planet. It runs through tomorrow (Sunday, October 14), so if you’re lucky enough to be in the area, be sure to stop by. In the mean time, head on over to Herr-der-Ringe-Film and check out the pictures. Read More…
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