Thanks to forum member Theodred for tuning us into this video. In it, PJ talks about hid anxiety revisiting his most successful venture to date, but once they got under way on ‘The Hobbit’ they felt very comfortable revisiting Middle-earth.
Category: Production
From scifimoviepage.com: Feel that District 9, the Peter Jackson-produced sci-fi box office hit about alien refugees in Johannesburg, South Africa being made to live in squatter camps has too much of an open-ended ending? Then don’t fear. According to director Neill Blomkamp the studio already “wants” a sequel! And who can blame them? Boasting some impressive special effects by Jackson’s WETA outfit, District 9 was made for a mere $30 million and has already scored an impressive $37.4 million at the US box office over the weekend making it the number one hit, edging out GI Joe: Rise of Cobra to the number two spot in the process. (In contrast the budget for GI Joe was rumored to be $170 million!) More..
Xoanon here, of note is the fact that Blomkamp mentions that filming for The Hobbit is expected to last 370 days, starting in April 2010.
We heard some rumors this week, that remain unverified, that the script for “The Hobbit,” has been delivered to the studio. The rumors indicate that the first draft that Peter Jackson talked about at Comic-Con is in the process of having a budget built from it. Is this true? Can you bank on it? We don’t know for sure, but we have a hunch this is the case.
Then we received the following e-mail tonight from Ringer spy Olli from an all-night LOTR screening which seems to confirm everything we have been hearing and he was definitely not the source of our earlier rumors. He says, “Currently at the all night screening at the bfi IMAX, London of lotr. Ian McKellan dropped by earlier and revealed he is currently re-Reading the hobbit and is expecting to be back in NZ in march. App(arently) he also knows who they’re getting to play Bilbo & that he should be seeing the script within the next week. Well it’s 3:30am – TTT is about to begin so bye!” Big thanks to Olli and our other unrevealed whisperers.
Again, we cannot confirm this but we believe Sir Ian. We think the script is finished, the studio likes it (more or less), Bilbo has been chosen. “The Hobbit,” may have a green light, there may be may be a Bilbo who has agreed in principal (or more officially perhaps) and pre-production might have started or be about to begin! (We think it may have started.) If anybody knows more or know differently, send us word immediately! Continue reading “McKellen says Bilbo is cast; ‘Hobbit’ script likely finished”
Gotta love the return of our Spies to the wonderful sets of Middle-earth! Ringer Spy Periadoc Took sends in the following report from the Hobbiton set in Matamata:
I was in Matamata this weekend and went to Hobbiton, truth be told I wasn’t extremely surprised to see these upgrades but still a good sign.
Not only have they started putting plywood screens with spraypainted “hobbit hole” openings on them as per these pictures, but as you can see they have also planted new trees that will then be relocated and used for the set, the grass here is what they used for thatching as well during the movies, so once again a great sign of things moving on.
They have also, within the last weeks started strengthening the ground around Bag End and put wooden supports up, it seems things are all getting set for a start sometime of the middle of next year!
Check out the gallery of pictures in our scrapbook! [Hobbiton Rebuild Gallery]
Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE: More Pics from Hobbiton Rebuild”
The much hyped and highly anticipated reveal of James Cameron’s AVATAR trailer has just hit the web. Spielberg predicts it will be the biggest 3-D live-action film ever. The cost for this single film is said to overshoot the entire budget for the LOTR Trilogy. Check it out, and tell us what you think about it in our forum! BTW – you may be wondering…how is this fodder for TORn? Well, WETA was involved with the production! [AVATAR Trailer] [React]
We have been sitting on some spectacular news that we can finally share with the world! The Literary manuscripts from Marquette University’s renowned J.R.R. Tolkien Collection, the Holy Grail of Tolkien artifacts, will be on display in New York City to coincide exactly with the “Fellowship of the Ring,” screening and concert at Radio City Music Hall on October 9 and 10. There are other Middle-earth themed programming events planned in Midtown with more details to come.
The exhibit, “The Beginnings of a Masterpiece: Original Manuscripts from The Fellowship of the Ring,” will be held at Fordham’s Gerald M. Quinn Library at Lincoln Center, located conveniently close to the history Radio City location, October 5 through November 19. Continue reading “Tolkien manuscript exhibit to coincide with ‘Fellowship’ concert and screening at Radio City”