Doug Jones and GDTIn an interview with IESB.net, actor Doug Jones (who is one of Guillermo del Toro’s regulars) and director Guillermo del Toro had a wonderful banter about the possiblity of Doug Jones appearing in the Hobbit. Guillermo had this to say:

“I believe he (Doug Jones) will be there. I’ll give him a very hard thing (to do). That will be very difficult for him to pull off. He will suffer and he will spend long hours in make-up. That is all I can say.”

To this Doug Jones replied, “And what else is new?”

Thanks to forum member Empedocles for the heads up. For the complete video interview with Doug Jones and Guillermo del Toro about Hellboy II: The Golden Army, jump on over to IESB.net. [IESB.net]

Guillermo del Toro From Hollywood.com: The Hobbit, Hellboy II, a lifetime achievement award … it seems Guillermo del Toro is unstoppable. When the Oscar nominated director postponed his Los Angeles Film Festival appearance from Monday to Thursday we couldn’t wait to talk with him about his upcoming projects. Instead Hollywood.com caught up with del Toro at the Saturn Awards where he was being honored for his life’s work. “It’s premature but I accept it anyway because I love the f*cking trophy,” he told us. ‘Hobbit’ Update: The Latest from Director Guillermo del Toro

Peter Jackson2From the Otago Daily Times: Reader’s Digest commissioned an independent research firm to survey a representative sample of 500 New Zealand adults. The Most Trusted survey asked respondents about three categories: individuals, professions and brands.

“Cuddly filmmaker Peter Jackson is right up there at 14, while Queen Elizabeth ties with Richie McCaw at 20th equal just ahead of food-in-a- minute merchant Allyson Gofton and Hayley Westenra.”

Most Trusted? Well, if a man is willing to bare his soul… or the soles of his feet, he’s pretty much an open book.

greattobenominated.jpgA reminder that “The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring” will be shown this coming Monday, June 30, by the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences as part of their “Great to be Nominated” series. Since we first reported this story here the participants in the discussion panel have been finalized and what a panel it will be! From VFX World.com:

“Following the screening, producer Barrie Osborne, executive producer Mark Ordesky, film editor John Gilbert, supervising sound editor Ethan Van der Ryn, Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel and U.S. casting director Victoria Burrows will participate in a discussion about the film.”

Check out vfxworld.com for more information. Thanks to message board member diedye for the reminder. Oh, and if any of you are lucky enough to be there, be sure to send a report to us at spymaster@theonering.net!

Guillermo Del ToroShawn Adler over at the MTV Movie Blog is going to have an opportunity to interview Guillermo del Toro next week and he wants you to submit your questions:

Now it’s time to return the favor. Next week I’ll be speaking with newly minted “Hobbit” director Guillermo Del Toro, and I want you to give me some good questions that I can bring with me. No fair repeating a question he answered in our last chat or in his recent Q&A – we want news. So fire away, Tolkien fans. If you leave a name, I’ll tell him it came from you, and we’ll post video of his response online.

Read the full article over at the MTV Movie Blog. [Read More]

LOTR SymphonyRingers Nerwen and Jussi sent us excited emails this morning with the good news for Finnish ‘The Lord of the Rings’ fans:

The Lord of the Rings Symphony will be coming to Finland for the first time in May 2009. Tampere Philharmonic will perform the symphony on the 1st and 2nd of May 2009 in the Tampere-talo, with the Tampere Philharmonic Choir and the Pirkanpojat boy’s choir. The performance will be conducted by Markus Huber, who has travelled with the performance in many countries. Soprano Ann De Renais will perform as the soloist.

Tickets will go on sale June 23rd for these performances. [More Info]