Peter Jackson has posted a note on his Facebook page announcing the recast of Fili and the much-anticipated announcement of the actor playing Thranduil! Lee Pace will be playing the Elven King Thranduil and Den O’Gorman will be playing Fili. While we create the bio pages for both, check out Peter Jackson’s note! [PJ’s Note] (Thanks to Ringer Beerenberghusky for the heads up!)
On this episode of Hobbit in 5 we discuss Rob Kazinsky’s departure from The Hobbit, Ted Nasmith, illustrator of J. R. R. Tolkien’s works, AMC theaters screening of the Lord of The Rings extended edition, Hugo Weaving recently spotted in Wellington, Peter Jackson’s Easter break message, and this weeks character study is Gollum!
John Farrell’s blog on Forbes has a delightful new video interview with Sir Christopher Lee, the first of a series planned over the next few weeks. His initial interview included a discussion on new media and Lee’s early entrance into hosting a website with help from his son-in-law.
What caught my eye was an initial statement by Farrell on his blog. He mentioned that Lee was “getting ready to reprise his role as Saruman in Peter Jackson’s two-part production of The Hobbit”.
While there is nothing on the video discussing The Hobbit nor is the statement itself a confirmation, the fact that Farrell recently spoke with Lee and chose this particular phrasing of words (without hedging) suggests this was part of their conversation and that Lee directly stated this. It could be a case of an over-zealous Tolkien fan reading too much into that statement but TORN followers may want to scour any future videos for tidbits of information.
Is this a backwards confirmation that Sir Christopher Lee will return as Saruman? Talk about it on our message boards here!
Orlando Bloom is confident he will appear in The Hobbit.
The 34-year-old actor hopes to reprise his role as archer elf Legolas in the highly anticipated two-part film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. The movies, which will be directed by Lord of the Rings trilogy creator Peter Jackson, have created a flurry of excitement surrounding cast members. Bloom says he would love to return to the fantasy franchise and continue his work alongside the talented director.
“I’m going to bet on it,” he said in an interview with MTV. “But I can’t really talk too much about it at the moment because it’s still sort of in the ether. But I would love to go back to work with Peter Jackson. It would be an honour.”
Peter Jackson has just posted on his Facebook page that Rob Kazinsky, cast in the role of Fili, is going to be leaving The Hobbit due to personal reasons.
I am sad to report that Rob Kazinsky, who was cast in the role of Fili, is having to leave The Hobbit and return home, for personal reasons. Rob has been terrific to work with and his enthusiasm and infectious sense of humour will be missed by all of us. I should say that Rob’s departure will not affect ongoing filming of The Hobbit, nor will it impact work done to date, as we had yet to film much of Fili’s storyline. At the moment we are shooting scenes featuring Bilbo without the Dwarves, which will give us time to find a new Fili. I’ll keep everyone posted with updates as they come.
Cheers,
Peter J
This is sad news for many of us too who came to know Rob over these past few months, and especially last week, after seeing him in The Hobbit’s ‘Start of Production’ video.
Your family in TORn will miss you dear Rob… we hope you’re going to be fine, and we wish you all the best in whatever you do and wherever life leads you.
UPDATE: Rob has tweeted the following on his Twitter account:
Thanks for all your support, Peter and team have been the most wonderful and supportive team to work for and it’s with a truly sad heart that things have turned out this way. The Hobbit will go on to be as great as i’ve seen and I will miss the family and friends that i’ve here, From every disaster i’ve tried to make an opportunity. “john d rokerfeller”
On this episode of Hobbit in 5 The Hobbit hits the stage in Cambridge England, HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ is signed on for 2 seasons, Galatia Films launches its own epic sword and fantasy, Glastonbury: Isle of Light and our character study mines the resources of Gloin.