With The Hobbit back in desolation-of-smaugproduction this month, a couple of new sets are up at Mt Crawford in Wellington for a 10 week stint of new and pickup shots:

Fairfax NZ news spoke to to Sir Peter Jackson’s spokesman, Matt Dravitzki, said the site on Miramar Peninsula was being prepared for a few days’ filming as part of 10 weeks of final-cut shooting for the last two installments of the trilogy.

“We’re back filming in Miramar for 10 weeks, here till early July. We will be filming on Mt Crawford for a few days.”

In-case you haven’t noticed, the writer of the article did accidentally type the second movie title as ‘The Demolition of Smaug.’ Mistakes happen! Follow the link for the full article and some new SPOILER imagery.  [Click Here]

Fell Beast being hoistedOf the three trips I took to New Zealand in 2003 and 2004 to conduct interviews for my book, only the first happened before the release of The Return of the King. I didn’t go thinking that I would suddenly be privy to spoilers and secrets. Shooting was over, I assumed (wrongly), and I figured my interviewees would not tell or show me anything confidential.

But at times they did. In my previous installment of this series, “Places Full of Magic,” I wrote about the facilities I visited. Now it’s time to reveal a few things I learned there—and kept quiet about. Continue reading “Researching THE FRODO FRANCHISE: Part 4, Now It Can Be Told: Secrets and Spoilers”

PJGandalfAndDwalinWelcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!

Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – June 3, 2013”

Aragorn at WeathertopReports are everywhere today that Viggo Mortensen turned down a role in Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit.’ The headline implication being he was specifically asked to reprise the role and turned it down. The reports are wrong (in fact, most are removing a critical word in the quote). Here’s the exact excerpt from The Guardian’s interview with Viggo Mortensen:

In Peter Jackson’s Hobbit film, several of the Rings cast reprised their roles. Was he asked to take part? “No. Before they started shooting, back in 2008, one of the producers did ask if I would be interested. I said, ‘You do know, don’t you, that Aragorn isn’t in The Hobbit? That there is a 60-year gap between the books?'”

Viggo’s immediate answer to the question is ‘No.’ He was NOT asked to take part. Secondly, he was asked in 2008, when The Hobbit screenplay and pre-production was in its most early stages. The producer who asked the question probably asked the same to every single LOTR cast member to gage the writing team’s options for the script.

Continue reading “Viggo ‘Turned Down’ Role as Aragorn? Not so fast…”

wetalogoThe Weta World Tour continues in June with Supernova. Starting June 22nd-23rd in Sydney and June 29th-30 in Perth, fans will get a chance to come together to celebrate what they love about the pop culture. The team from Weta will also be making the trip to both places bringing their magical work creating Middle-earth with them. While at their booth make sure you grab one of their Weta Treasure cards, which is good for discounts or prizes via the Weta website. That’s not all! If you happen to be going to either of these locations you will get to meet cast members of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. So make sure to get your ticket to the show before it sells out!

Check out the Full article on Weta’s appearance: WETA TO ATTEND SUPANOVA SYDNEY AND PERTH IN JUNE

List of Middle-earth celebs making an apperance:

  • John Callen – Oin the Dwarf
  • Adam Brown – Ori the Dwarf
  • Jed Brophy – Nori the Dwarf
  • Karl Urban – Éomer
  • Mark Ferguson – Gil-galad

the-hobbit-OIN_GLOINWelcome to our weekly live webcast — known as TORn TUESDAY — a unique show format where you can come into the chat and participate live. We are now on the 4th part of our ongoing series of discussions on the History of the Dwarves who undertake the Quest of Erebor.  Today we switch gears to discuss OIN and GLOIN (father of our Fellowship member Gimli) and learn about the great fate tying up these characters in the House of Durin’s Line! Bring your questions and join us LIVE for what will be a very illuminating discussion of dark Dwarven secrets! We have *JUST* confirmed that our actors playing these roles have been whisked away to the studios in Wellington, where Peter Jackson has commenced new shoots for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug!

Join us for TORn TUESDAY every week at 5:00PM Pacific: brought to you by host Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway and producer Justin “I Haven’t Read The Books Yet” Sewell — as we discuss the unique characteristics of each Dwarf. We shall learn how they fit into the larger history of Tolkien’s legends — and what Peter Jackson & WETA did to help us distinguish these rough and tumble travelers from each other (using more than just colored hoods). Our innovative live show includes worldwide fans who join us on the Live Event page with a built-in IRC chat (affectionately known as Barliman’s Chat room). Be part of the fun and mischief every week as we broadcast *live* from Meltdown Comics in the heart of Hollywood, U.S.A.!

NEXT WEEK:  Bifur, Bofur…..  and Bombur, for real this time!

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Follow Cliff ‘Quickbeam’ Broadway on Twitter: @quickbeam2000