With the recent news, from the somewhat questionable source at The Sun, that Martin Freeman has declined to be a lead in two ‘Hobbit’ films, it is time to talk Bilbo Baggins.
While we have no information (yet) if Freeman actually turned down the role, we can say with absolute certainty that he was the first choice to step into the hairy Hobbit feet as early as last year. Developing and keeping good sources means that sometimes secrets must stay secret but since Freeman has been outed now, we can definitively declare that ‘The Sun’ article is absolutely talking about the right actor and so the rest of the story may well have merit. Continue reading “Martin Freeman was ‘first choice’ for Bilbo”
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Although the film version of The Lord of the Rings was a massive worldwide success, getting J.R.R. Tolkien’s prequel, The Hobbit, to the screen has proven much more difficult. With the rights finally sorted out after being tied up for years and a studio feud with Rings director Peter Jackson resolved, the project finally began moving forward in 2008—only to be stalled this year by the looming collapse of MGM, one of the two companies financing the production, should it fail to find a way out of its $4 billion debt. More..
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Hobbit fans have been waiting for years to see progress on the movie version of Tolkien’s classic novel The Hobbit. Or at least word on what final decision will be made. There is now hope that some answers may be forthcoming.
Stuff.co.nz posted an interview with Peter Jackson mentioning that Warner Bros was “making progress untangling the MGM situation, so we should have certainty with The Hobbit sometime soon”. A decision on whether Jackson would direct the film has not been reached but that verdict likely would be part of any potential announcement.
According to the article, Jackson is anxious to finalize everything in order to “map out a five-year plan for projects that will keep many people very busy”. That would be happy news for the movie industry in New Zealand and the very enthusiastic fan base.
You can read the entire article here.
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Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are reporting progress on the MGM debt situation that has famously kept two ‘Hobbit’ films progressing and have stalled a greenlight on the films for years now.
THR details the plans to make the nearly $4 billion dissapear here while the Variety story here details a Wednesday conference call involving debt holders. A lot of things need to fall into place but both stories indicate a September 15 deadline is being respected, which a source told TORn would be met, unlike previous deadlines which have previously been extended. Thanks to friend Kristin Thompson for the heads up on the Variety article.
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Aug 10 (Reuters) – Spyglass Entertainment is nearing an agreement to run Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc once the film studio restructures $4 billion of debt this summer through the bankruptcy process, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. An agreement could come as soon as this week, valuing MGM at about $1.9 billion, the newspaper said, citing the sources. The sources also said MGM hopes to file a prepackaged bankruptcy in mid-September when its latest debt waiver expires, according to the Journal.
MGM creditors have spent the better part of a week with Spyglass co-heads Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum negotiating the makeup of a board, and have worked out financial details, the newspaper said. More..
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With two “Hobbit” movies near the center of the 3D movie debate, the hot-button film topic has cropped up again with some evidence presented from the Los Angeles Times that audiences don’t always love wearing special glasses at movies. Read on.
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