Fictional Frontiers with Sohaib is talking a lot of “Hobbit,” these days as news comes out fast and furious. Sohaib keeps inviting the TORn staff back and we keep on talking. You can hear the latest segment here along with some other great topics including “Star Wars”.
Category: Director news
TheOneRing.net would like to wish a very happy birthday to Sir Peter! New Zealand filmmaker, producer and screenwriter, Peter Jackson is best known for The Lord of the Rings trilogy adapted from the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is also known for his 2005 remake of King Kong and as the producer of the critically acclaimed film District 9. We venture to say this past year was more eventful than PJ ever imagined it would be. Now that things seem to be back on track for “The Hobbit” to move forward, we wish Peter a productive and successful upcoming year.
WacoKid writes: After last week’s Hobbit casting news I thought you might find this new interview with the mighty Brian Blessed of interest – the first five minutes he’s talking about Z-Cars and Flash Gordon but at the end of the video he mentions he was in discussions with Guillermo del Toro over a role in The Hobbit, with del Toro particularly interested in some Welsh mythology linking Brian and dwarves. Thought I’d highlight this as I’m not sure I’ve previously heard confirmation that Brian was in talks for a role in The Hobbit. More..
New Line, Warner Bros and MGM are pleased to have concluded successful discussions with the New Zealand government this past week. We’d like to thank Prime Minister Key, his Cabinet and the other dedicated New Zealand officials for their support and cooperation, which helped assuage our concerns and enabled us to keep The Hobbit in its proper home of New Zealand.
We’d also like to express very special appreciation to Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and the people of New Zealand for their tireless support of The Hobbit and their commitment to maintain and grow their vibrant film industry. Filming is scheduled to begin in February 2011 and we look forward to returning to Middle-earth.
From stuff.co.nz: Brett Hodge, owner of Matamata Post and Rails, which has supplied the timber for The Hobbit duology since construction began in February, told the Waikato Times that Sir Peter Jackson’s company Three Foot Six was building the home of the Hobbits to last.
What they did last time was build a temporary set, but now it’s a permanent set.
It will begin a perpetual celebration around the party tree, on the set, where The Fellowship of the Ring began with Bilbo’s disappearance.
The Green Dragon, where the dwarf Thorin Oakenshield awaits Bilbo Baggins ahead of their quest, will include a real thatched roof and the nearby Bywater bridge, made from polystyrene blocks resembling stone for The Lord of the Rings, is being rebuilt in permanent stone.
Read more of the article over at stuff.co.nz that ends with quotes from none other than members from our very own message boards.
It’s been five months since GDT departed The Hobbit, but now that the movie has finally been greenlit and is on schedule for a February 2011 shoot, there’s little doubt he still feels the loss of what might have been.
ContactMusic caught up with Guillermo and questioned him concerning his quitting The Hobbit, and as the man’s said to various people numerous time before, he reiterates that leaving the director’s chair was indeed the hardest decision of his life.
It’s the hardest decision I’ve ever taken. I have incredible heartache. I feel terrible about it. It’s very hard. It’s getting a little easier to talk about it, but essentially it’s like you’ve been recently widowed and everybody (is) asking you how exactly your wife died. It’s pretty morbid.
There was no other choice, I kept postponing, I kept fending off the problems, I kept compartmentalising, I kept with it, everything we could (do).
I’ll be able to watch it and (I will) probably enjoy it. But you know, with The Hobbit, I feel like the guy (survival mountain climber Aron Ralston) in the real-life experience that Danny Boyle just did his movie (127 Hours about). I was hanging by a thread on my arm for so long that at the end of the day you have to cut it off. Do I like having one arm less? No. But did I have to? Yes.
Excerpted from an article at ContactMusic.com.