Production has begun in London on Academy Award®-winner Martin Scorsese’s adventure film Hugo Cabret. The live-action film, to be photographed in 3D, stars Academy Award®-winner Ben Kingsley (Shutter Island), Sacha Baron Cohen (Bruno), Asa Butterfield (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas), and Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass).
Hugo Cabret, Scorsese’s first film shot in 3D, tells the tale of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. When Hugo encounters a broken machine, an eccentric girl, and the cold, reserved man who runs the toy shop, he is caught up in a magical, mysterious adventure that could put all of his secrets in jeopardy.
Also appearing in the all-star cast are Academy Award®-nominee Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes), Ray Winstone (London Boulevard), Christopher Lee (Lord of the Rings), Helen McCrory (“The Special Relationship”), Frances de la Tour (Alice In Wonderland), and Richard Griffiths (The History Boys). Read
Drama-heavy FX is getting serious about comedy. To wit: The cabler has successfully wooed ex-hobbit Elijah Wood to headline its in-the-works U.S. remake of the hit Australian sitcom Wilfred.
The project, which is being adapted by Family Guy vet David Zuckerman, revolves around a guy (Wood), a girl, and a mixed-breed dog named Wilfred, whom Zuckerman describes as “part Labrador retriever and part Russell Crowe on a bender.”
This marks Wood’s first major foray into television. The Lord of the Rings vet will next be seen in the fall film The Romantics opposite Katie Holmes, Josh Duhamel, and Anna Paquin.
Cinema Blend is relaying news tweeted by Fox communications executive Chris Petrikin that Andy Serkis will be joining the production of Rise Of The Apes, the prequel to Fox’s Planet Of The Apes. Serkis will be playing Caesar , the “chimp who leads the simian revolt.”
Weta will be responsible for the visual effects. Let’s hope Andy’s schedule will be flexible enough to include Gollum whenever The Hobbit production is allow to continue. Read the entire story here.
Editor Mike Fleming with Deadline New York has a follow up to recent news regarding negotiations with Peter Jackson to direct The Hobbit. While he comments it is “probably the best news for debt-laden MGM in years” it has stepped up the pressure on MGM’s studio backers. He writes:
Now the MGM creditors also must decide either to commit MGM’s half of the production costs for the two films or take available outside funding, all before the studio works out its future ownership strategy. If the creditors don’t seize on the momentum, MGM risks losing its chance to release the first film in December 2012. (The second film would follow a year later.) And there is a good chance that Jackson will change his mind, meaning that inaction costs the studio an enormous opportunity.
He adds that process steps to keep existing rights deals in place probably won’t happen until late July at the earliest, a timeframe viewed as too long to wait for decisions on The Hobbit. Read the entire article here.
A quote on Ain’t It Cool News has been posted under “Of Incomplete Stories Regarding Spiderman And The Hobbit” and is from a source named “Derek”. For those who are familiar with Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste, the character of Derek was played by Jackson himself. When Harry Knowles asked “Derek” whether he was directing, he said:
No, nothing has really changed – I’ve always said that me directing was one option, and so that’s not really news. The studio are working out what that deal would look like, because how else do they know if it’s a viable option? But it’s honestly one of several different options – many irons are in the fire right now. What’s of great concern to everyone right now is trying to stay on schedule and not slip back another year, because we will start losing people – and that’s increasingly difficult as each day passes. A lot of people – both film makers and studios are working very hard right now, trying to get a positive outcome here.”
It appears all sides are pushing feverishly to get The Hobbit moving as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence though hurdles obviously still remain. Stay tuned to TORN as updates and news continues to unfold.
Guillermo del Toro popped up at the Saturn Awards and Collider corned him for an interview about all kinds of things including his involvement with “The Hobbit” and his future projects while Deadline’s report that Peter Jackson is negotiating to take over directing duties of the Hobbit are lighting up the internet.
The Saturn Awards honor the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror which means del Toro is right at home and while walking the press line he stopped and talked about past present and future on video for about 20 minutes. He still hopes to make an announcement at or around Comic-Con about his next project and he talks a about working with Jackson, Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens, Weta Workshop, Alan Lee and John Howe. He even talks about his man cave and says his Comic-Con experience is like Sarah Jessica Parker in a shoe store. And, his is pretty funny! (“I dress like bleep, I drive an old car and I spend all my money on crazy art or toys.”)
TheOneRing.net has yet to get a confirmation of the Jackson report but Deadline is pretty solid and we promise to update as soon as we get official word one way or another. GDT compared talking about “The Hobbit,” to speaking about a girlfriend the day after a painful breakup.
Guillermo del Toro Talks THE HOBBIT, HELLBOY 3, FRANKENSTEIN, AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, SATURN AND THE END OF DAYS from ColliderVideos on Vimeo.
Production has begun in London on Academy Award®-winner Martin Scorsese’s adventure film Hugo Cabret. The live-action film, to be photographed in 3D, stars Academy Award®-winner Ben Kingsley (Shutter Island), Sacha Baron Cohen (Bruno), Asa Butterfield (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas), and Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass).
Cinema Blend