For those attending viewings of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ this weekend, you may find yourself listening to the end of Howard Shore’s ‘The Bridge of Khazad Dum’ playing as part of the brand new ‘Man of Steel’ teasers. If you have seen The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, you know (SPOILERS) that when Gandalf falls at the bridge, we have an amazingly emotional and dramatic score to accompany this significant event. I get chills just thinking of the scene. Now, for better or worse, that same theme is used to build emotion for the next attempt to revive the Superman franchise. How do you feel about it? Share your thoughts in the comments, our forum and on Facebook! If you somehow managed to go through the last 10 years without owning Howard Shore’s award-winning score, we highly suggest you pick up today! (There are obviously many versions of the score to own, so browse around a bit) [LOTR:FOTR Score] [Kevin Costner Voiceover Teaser] [Russell Crowe Voiceover Teaser]

Hobbits are taking to the skies once again, but instead of riding giant eagles they are flying Air New Zealand.

The airline has cut a two-year deal with film studios New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to promote the two upcoming movies, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Passengers to and from the United Kingdom and North America will get to fly on two film-branded Boeing 777 aircraft and watch a special edition of the in-flight safety video, both made with the help of Weta workshop.

A Boeing 777-300 will be transformed into a flying billboard for the first movie and a Boeing 777-200 for the second movie.

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TheOneRing.net scored a few exclusive moments with Peter Jackson in the Comic-Con press line to chat. He was asked about his additional filming plans for The Hobbit.

Jackson says that he greatly desires to go back and film more in Middle-earth. This extra footage may or may not be destined for extended editions — extended editions are something that we definitely expect to see. However, the exciting possibility is that a third Hobbit film is also on Jackson’s mind — and he admitted it!

He wouldn’t outright commit to anything. He didn’t say: “Yes, I’m doing a third film”. On the other hand, he didn’t close the door completely.

His words: “There’s much more material from the Appendices of Lord of the Rings that we didn’t fit in.”

Remember though, we reported the other day that Warner Bros has no plans for a third film. Studio sources told Variety that “the plan was always for two.” What will happen? Well, it may all hinge on what sort of success An Unexpected Journey has this December.

Update: Now with video from the press chat!

Hours into Comic-Con, one rumour kept circulating around San Diego: that Peter Jackson would announce a third Hobbit film during Warner Brothers’ Saturday panel. However, studio spokespeople have told Variety that But Jackson isn’t getting ready to give audiences more “Hobbit.

There are “no planned or surprise announcements” involving a third film these spokespeople say. “The plan was always for two.”

According to Variety, Jackson wound up with more footage than expected during their 266-day shoot in New Zealand. Rather than making a third film feasible, would the best of this footage not be more likely to end up on an Extended Edition? Thanks to Quackingtroll for the heads-up!

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TheOneRing.net were invited to tour the Gentle Giant Studios just before Comic-Con to get an exclusive sneak peak of their HOBBIT line of mini-busts. This report will show you a few images of completed busts, and a few images of ‘works in progress’ so that you can learn what goes into making these delightful collectibles.

It was an invitation met with a resounding “yes!” by TORn staffers Garfeimao and Quickbeam, when both realized they could glimpse very early into the process of the digital magic at Gentle Giant.  The digi-wizards at GG provide incredibly high-res digital imaging of characters and pieces to filmmakers, visual FX companies like WETA, toy manufacturers, and animation studios.  The resulting 3D digitization can lend itself to effects work, masks, and remarkable sculptures…. More after the break with a gallery of exclusive images of yet-to-be-released HOBBIT characters!

Continue reading “TORn’s Exclusive *1st Look* at Gentle Giant’s Hobbit Line!”

From MovieswithButter.com: At CinemaCon in April, Peter Jackson presented a exclusive ten-minute preview clip of The Hobbit. The footage, played at 45 fps, received mixed reviews from fans: complaints mainly due to the footage looking both hyper-real and unfinished.

According to Jeffrey Wells,  Warner Brothers is considering “massaging” the unnaturally realistic look of the 48 fps format of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” for Comic-Con. They may add grain to the footage to make it look more cinematic and less like high-def video.

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