Keen eyed viewers on our message board have spotted something interesting in the recent press conference video coverage from Hobbiton.

Watch out for a lot of furniture outside of Bag End around 40 seconds in the video. This is not a confirmation that the auction of Bag End at the end of the story will be in the movies but looking at this short clip I think it is not just a wild guess that it will be included. What do you think? Comment below.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is set to premiere in Wellington in late November 2012, director Sir Peter Jackson and Prime Minister John Key announced today at the Hobbiton set in Waikato. Wellington previously hosted the world premiere of the final Lord of the Rings movie, Return of the King, in December 2003. Over 100,000 people packed into the city’s CBD to watch the preceding parade. “I think Warner Bros in particular were blown away by the Return of the King premiere – no one in the international industry could quite believe how the country got behind that,” Sir Peter said today.

See the full 11 minute press conference here. More..

From empireonline.com: It’s ten years on since four little hobbits set off from the Shire on an epic quest that spanned Middle Earth and took in vast battles, demonic monsters, wizardry, Orcs and, ultimately, enough Oscars to fill the Lonely Mountain. It’s ten years that have seen the rise and fall and rise again of two-part prequel The Hobbit, now firmly in production in Wellington, offering moviegoers an imminent return to Middle Earth.

Obviously this all called for a big celebration so a celebration is what Empire is having. The new issue is more bursting with revelry and nostalgia than a Friday night at the Prancing Pony. There’s tall tales – well, tallish tales – memories; behind-the-scenes pics from Aragorn himself, Viggo Mortensen; Oscar night reflections from Ian McKellen, Peter Jackson and Mortensen; and rarely-seen concept art.

Best of all, though, is a gathering of the four hobbits themselves: Elijah Wood (Frodo), Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee), Billy Boyd (Pippin) and Dominic Monaghan (Merry). It was so momentous it called for its own trailer – and here it is for your perusal pleasure. Sadly the Nazgûl got stuck in LA traffic.

Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released the first of four new videos discussing the cultural phenomenon of The Lord of the Rings, as well as how The Lord of the Rings: War in the North fits within this world. This video features commentary from well-known faces from the entertainment industry discussing their personal affinity for The Lord of the Rings.

Film stars Dominic Monahan and Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings) discuss exploring this world in their childhoods; actors Brian Posehn (The Sara Silverman Show) and Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) speak to its dominance within the fantasy genre, and gaming experts Alison Haislip (G4) and Miri Jedeikin affirm The War in the North’s authenticity, as well as noted Tolkien scholar, Corey Olson. Continue reading “WBIE Release First of Four Videos for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North”

Lord of the Rings and Hobbit actor Andy Serkis took a break from filming at the weekend to pay a short visit to Queenstown. While in the resort Serkis, who plays Gollum/Smeagol, took a ride with Ziptrek in the exhilarating Kea 6-Line Tour, which features the world’s steepest tree-to-tree flying fox. More..