Scenes shot in Wairarapa will feature in the upcoming Peter Jackson film, The Lovely Bones, with the possibility of other Jackson projects yet to come for the region. Jackson said yesterday no further shooting for the film is planned for Wairarapa “at this time” although some “visual effects elements” may be shot in the region in the near future. “I’m grateful for the local support we received and I’m thrilled with the experience. I ‘m shooting at the moment but I’m hoping to use the Wairarapa for future projects,” Jackson said. “It all depends on the locations needed, which is very much a function of the story being told. Hollywood comes to Wairarapa with Lovely Bone

New Line CinemaFrom IMDB: At least 75 percent of New Line’s staff of 600 are likely to be fired in the coming months despite assurances by Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes on Friday that he wants to retain as many New Line employees as possible, Daily Variety reported today (Monday), citing an “emerging consensus.” The trade publication said that New Line is also expected to shut down its offices in New York and its headquarters in West Hollywood, moving remaining operations to the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. Speaking to New Line employees by satellite on Friday, Bewkes said that Co-Chairmen Bob Shaye and Michael Lynn are “still here,” but “for everyone’s sake, they need to step back from the process.”

(Or Mountains and Molehills of the Mind)

John Howe writes: The other day, walking outdoors was like stepping into a picture. The lake and precocious moon were by Aivasovsky. Not turbulent enough to try as a Turner, but there was a hint of mist courtesy of Caspar David Friedrich. The woods nearby by Klimt, trees and fields below by Corot. A patch of sun by Bieler, a patch of grass by Durer. Mountains by Calame or l’Eplattenier in the distance. In Switzerland, they are never far away, mountains. On a good day, I can see them out the studio window (if they’re sharp, popular wisdom says the weather will turn bad, but there’s no such thing as bad weather, just a switch of painters and palettes.) From our place, it’s a hop, skip and jump, at least in fancy, across the lake and the plateau to the Alps. Remote enough to be a backdrop, sometimes startlingly clear or often near-invisible in the mist and cloud, they are only an hour and a bit by car, but far enough to be more routinely ideas of mountains than looming lumps of vertical rock (which do have a tendancy to tumble down on highways and railways, given that Switzerland’s mountains are very lived-in.) [More]

Epleterte sends us the snippet from Variety’s article ‘Warner Bros. gobbles up New Line’: “The Hobbit” has Guillermo Del Toro in talks to direct, and the picture will be unaffected by the ouster of Shaye and Lynne. Though the films won’t be scripted until a director is hired, and Jackson wraps “The Lovely Bones,” the expectation is that the films will be ready for release for Christmas 2011 and 2012. Harry Potter will have wound down at WB by then, and the corporation will surely welcome another fantasy franchise that has an eager global audience waiting. New Line will distribute domestically, while MGM has international rights.

From the folks at HowardShore.com: We at HowardShore.com feel it is necessary to alert fans and followers of The Lord of the Ring Symphony that there are a number of concerts touring Germany that have no association with Howard Shore. The promoter, Gastspiel- und Theaterdirektion Gerhartz GmbH, calls these concerts “Herr der Ringe von Howard Shore in Concert” in effect confusing the ticket buyer. Please be warned, Howard Shore has nothing to do with these concerts. The music that they play is assembled from commercially available sheet music.

This situation is frustrating and disheartening for Mr. Howard Shore and his associates, who are committed to presenting only the highest quality performances of The Lord of the Rings Symphony created by Howard Shore himself from his award-winning composition. Continue reading “Howard Shore Concert Updates – And Beware of Fakers!”

Guillermo Del ToroSounds like Guillermo Del Toro being courted for “The Hobbit” may have cast a bit of a cloud on the silver lining of optimism at Universal Studios. Check out this excerpt from a story at Variety.com:

U also was caught off-guard after they aggressively courted Guillermo Del Toro, the filmmaker behind “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Hellboy.” The studio gave him a first-look deal, picked up a sequel to “Hellboy” with a budget of more than $80 million, and even bought the rights to his dream project, the H.P. Lovecraft epic, “At the Mountains of Madness.”

But U brass was stunned to suddenly see Del Toro emerge as the likely director of the next two “Hobbit” movies for New Line and MGM. That would lock him down for four straight years in New Zealand.

Langley acknowledges, “We’re in discussions with how to rectify that with Guillermo.”

Thanks to board member ‘Compa Mighty’ for the scoop. The full article can be found at Variety.com [Read More]