Guardian Logo Martin sends along this link to an audio interview with RDT, take a listen: Jason Solomons talks to upcoming British actor Thomas Turgoose about his role in the new Shane Meadows film Somers Town and Xan Brooks quizzes Guillermo Del Toro on Hellboy II and his new project The Hobbit. Film Weekly Chats up Guillermo Del Toro

Del ToroAmbrose Heron of FILMdetail.com recently spoke with Guillermo del Toro about Hellboy II and they also discussed some interesting tidbits about the writing of the ‘Hobbit’ script:

I seem to have a never ending mine of reading material. I started by reading everything I could get my hands on that Tolkien wrote of Middle-earth. And then I started reading as many books as I can about Tolkien writing about Middle-earth. I want to get as familiar with the cosmology and the genealogy and the geography of that place as possible. Because for many, myself included, it has to become a real place again.

Continue reading “FILMDetail Speaks with GDT on ‘Hobbit’ Progress”

Guillermo del Toro and Peter JacksonFrodo Franchise‘ author, Kristin Thompson, points us to Variety.com today with further official word that our favorite scribes have all signed on the dotted line, so to speak:

Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have officially signed on to collaborate on “The Hobbit” and its sequel with director Guillermo del Toro. The announcement, from exec producers Jackson and Walsh and New Line president Toby Emmerich, came four months after del Toro confirmed he had signed on to direct both pics.

Read the full article at Variety.com and strap on your seatbelts – the funs is just getting started! [Variety.com]

Some news on the funding behind the upcoming ‘Hobbit’ films from Bloomberg.com:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., the movie studio controlled by private-equity firms, is raising as much as $600 million to produce some of its biggest films including “The Hobbit.” […] MGM’s would be the first movie fund completed since Deutsche Bank AG and Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures scrapped plans last month to raise $450 million. The MGM fund includes “The Hobbit,” being produced by “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson […] ”The Hobbit,” being directed by Guillermo del Toro, is scheduled for release in December 2011. Jackson’s three “Lord of the Rings” movies, distributed by New York-based Time Warner, each cost about $95 million to make, according to Imdb.com.

Thanks to Diedye for the heads up on the article and click on the link to read the full story. [Bloomberg]

Park Road Post Logo DMN Newswire–2008-8-18–The Neo panel will be brought straight into front line service to carry out the full DI on Peter Jackson’s forthcoming film ‘The Lovely Bones’. Three further full DI projects are already booked in before the year end, including Alex Proyas’ feature ‘Knowing’, which is shot entirely on the RED camera. Adam Scott, Head of DI at Park Road, is enthused with Neo: “It’s a beautiful piece of kit, the clients will love it,” he says. “Neo will make the whole color grading process more time-efficient, streamlined and faster too. Having all the color tools instantly available just one touch away makes this a true colorist control surface and it will look extremely impressive in our ‘hero’ DI theatre. It’s all about improving the client experience and Neo is central to that.” Park Road Post Production purchases Neo