Category: Hobbit Movie
Cate Blanchett will play Maid Marian alongside Russell Crowe’s Robin Hood in the Ridley Scott-directed adventure pic for Universal Pictures. The film, which had been called “Nottingham” but is undergoing a title change, begins production in early April. Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer is producing with Scott and his Scott Free banner. The drama, originally scripted by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris and then rewritten by Brian Helgeland, has evolved into a “Gladiator” version of the Robin Hood legend. Crowe starred in that film and Scott directed it. The film will be shot on a $130 million budget, benefiting from favorable exchange rates and tax credits that come from shooting in London. Scott will be aiming for a PG-13 rating. Robin Hood woos Cate Blanchett
From Entertainment Weekly: When the news came down yesterday that a heretofore unpublished book by J.R.R. Tolkien will be hitting bookstores in May, I was a little surprised that I, an avowed Tolkien dilettante, felt a genuine twinge of excitement. Although I have never read Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, I did love me Peter Jackson’s LOTR moving pictures something fierce, and I’m quite twitterpated to see what director Guillermo Del Toro and exec producer Jackson have cooking for The Hobbit. Maybe this new Tolkien story — which the good professor reportedly wrote before spinning his tales of furry-footed Hobbits and ring-seeking dark lords — would prove just as richly filled with fodder for a sweeping fantasy epic that wins oodles of Oscars. EW.com
Elven x sends this in: This week’s guest on Fictional Frontiers with Sohaib is Michael Regina from TORN (our own Xoanon) And with lots to talk about and a full summary of what’s been happening in the realms of Middle-Earth Please feel free to comment on the show and the discussion! Fictional Frontiers is aired Sundays at 11am Philadelphia time. You can listen online at WJNC1360AM Philadelphia, listen to the podcasts, or visit the Fictional Frontiers website.
Message board member diedye found this IGN interview in which Christopher Lee discusses his role as a Bond baddie in “Man with the Golden Gun,” and speculates about reprising the role of Saruman in the upcoming Hobbit films. This part, in particular, sounds promising:
“IGN: Would you be willing to reprise the role?
Lee: In the spirit very much so. But I’ve reached an age now [86] where going to New Zealand again would be a very considerable effort. It would not be easy because it’s an exhausting journey. Even with a break I’m not sure I could do it.
IGN: If they could film your part in London, would you be interested?
Lee: Oh yes, of course. I’d be delighted.”
Lee: In the spirit very much so. But I’ve reached an age now [86] where going to New Zealand again would be a very considerable effort. It would not be easy because it’s an exhausting journey. Even with a break I’m not sure I could do it.
IGN: If they could film your part in London, would you be interested?
Lee: Oh yes, of course. I’d be delighted.”
In case you were wondering how the man who portrayed Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films feels about videogames, Babble put up a fascinating interview with Andy Serkis (via Ars Technica) in which the actor discusses storytelling in games, the challenges of parenting as an atheist vegetarian, and, uh, being eaten alive by an enormous, toothy phallus. Seriously. “Games — there’s no heart in them,” asserted Serkis — himself a veteran of Heavenly Sword’s development. “They’re not about anything that is lasting,” he continued, and whether or not you agree with that assessment of gaming’s current state, the actor has some interesting thoughts on the future of the medium. Andy Serkis Talks Storytelling in Games