{"id":41633,"date":"2011-01-11T08:39:21","date_gmt":"2011-01-11T13:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/?p=41633"},"modified":"2011-01-11T16:57:03","modified_gmt":"2011-01-11T21:57:03","slug":"its-really-official-now-wood-serkis-press-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2011\/01\/11\/41633-its-really-official-now-wood-serkis-press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Really Official Now: Wood & Serkis Press Release"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"ELIJAH WOOD AND ANDY SERKIS TO JOIN THE CAST OF PETER JACKSON\u2019S \u201cTHE HOBBIT\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Los Angeles, CA\u2014January 10, 2011\u2014Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis are set to join the cast of Peter Jackson\u2019s highly anticipated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s epic \u201cThe Hobbit.\u201d The films, which are scheduled to commence principal photography in February 2011, mark Jackson\u2019s return to Middle-earth following his Oscar-winning \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d trilogy. The announcement was made jointly today by Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema, Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros. and Steve Cooper, co-Chief Executive Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.<\/p>\n

Jackson, who directed all three \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d films, will helm the two films back-to-back, telling the story of \u201cThe Hobbit\u201d in two parts from a screenplay by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro. <\/p>\n

Elijah Wood (\u201cThe Lord of The Rings\u201d trilogy, \u201cEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind\u201d) will be returning to play Frodo Baggins the young cousin of Bilbo Baggins and Andy Serkis (\u201cThe Lord of The Rings\u201d trilogy, \u201cKing Kong\u201d) will be returning to play the character Gollum. <\/p>\n

Peter Jackson welcomed the two back.”I cannot imagine returning to Middle-earth without these two wonderful actors. We began this journey together ten years ago and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Eiljah and Andy again.” <\/p>\n

The actors join the previously announced cast including Martin Freeman (TV\u2019s \u201cSherlock,\u201d \u201cBreaking and Entering\u201d) as Bilbo Baggins, Cate Blanchett (\u201cLord of The Rings\u201d trilogy, \u201cThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button\u201d). Ken Stott (\u201cCharlie Wilson\u2019s War\u201d, TV\u2019s \u201cRebus\u201d), Sylvester McCoy (TV\u2019s \u201cDoctor Who\u201d), Mikael Persbrandt (\u201cEverlasting Moments\u201d, \u201cDay and Night\u201d). Ryan Gage (\u201cOutlaw\u201d, TV\u2019s \u201cDoctors\u201d). Richard Armitage (upcoming \u201cCaptain America: The First Avenger\u201d), Aidan Turner (TV\u2019s \u201cBeing Human\u201d), Rob Kazinsky (TVs \u201cEastEnders\u201d), Graham McTavish (\u201cSecretariat\u201d), John Callen (TV\u2019s \u201cPower Rangers Jungle Fury\u201d), Stephen Hunter (TV\u2019s \u201cAll Saints\u201d), Mark Hadlow (\u201cKing Kong\u201d) and Peter Hambleton (TV\u2019s \u201cThe Strip\u201d). Additional cast announcements include James Nesbitt (\u201cMillions\u201d and TV\u2019s \u201cCold Feet\u201d) Jed Brophy (\u201cLord of The Rings\u201d trilogy, \u201cDistrict 9\u201d), William Kircher (\u201cOut of the Blue\u201d) and newcomer Adam Brown.
\nSince \u201cThe Hobbit\u201d films received a green light on October 15, pre-production has been in full swing with release dates targeted for December, 2012 and December, 2013. Jackson will utilize groundbreaking visual effects and his incomparable storytelling to bring J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s novel to the big screen. Both \u201cHobbit\u201d movies will be filmed in Digital 3-D, using the latest camera and stereo technology to create a high quality, comfortable viewing experience.<\/p>\n

The two films are being co-produced by New Line Cinema and MGM, with New Line managing production, Warner Bros Pictures handling domestic distribution and MGM distributing internationally.<\/p>\n

Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham are producing the films, with co-writer Philippa Boyens serving as co-producer and Ken Kamins and Zane Weiner as executive producers. The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed \u201cThe Lord of the Rings\u201d trilogy, also from the production team of Jackson, Walsh and Cunningham, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office.. In 2003, \u201cThe Return of the King\u201d swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture \u2013 the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy\u2019s production was also unprecedented at the time.<\/p>\n

ABOUT NEW LINE CINEMA:<\/strong>
\nNew Line Cinema continues to be one of the most successful independent film companies. For more than 40 years, its mission has been to produce innovative, popular, profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line produced the Oscar\u00ae-winning \u201cThe Lord of the Rings\u201d trilogy, which is a landmark in the history of film franchises. New Line Cinema is a division of Warner Bros.<\/p>\n

ABOUT PETER JACKSON\/WINGNUT FILMS:<\/strong>
\nPeter Jackson is one of the world’s most successful filmmakers. His monumental achievement co-writing, co-producing and directing The Lord of the Rings trilogy (with fellow Academy Award winners and frequent collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens) earned a total of 30 Academy Award nominations and 17 Academy Awards. Jackson and Walsh received their first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for their acclaimed film Heavenly Creatures. Jackson, through his New Zealand-based Wingnut Films banner, also was responsible for the globally successful 2005 remake of King Kong which earned over $500 million worldwide and 3 Academy Awards. Jackson most recently directed the Academy Award nominated The Lovely Bones; an adaptation of the acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, which to date has earned nearly $100 million worldwide; and produced the global sensation, District 9, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. He is also developing a trilogy of films with Steven Spielberg based on Tintin, the world renowned comic book series by Herge. In 2010 he received a Knighthood for his services to film.<\/p>\n

ABOUT METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC.<\/strong>
\nMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. is actively engaged in the worldwide production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home video, interactive media, music, and licensed merchandise. The company owns the world’s largest library of modern films, comprising around 4,100 titles. Operating units include Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc., United Artists Films Inc., MGM Television Entertainment Inc., MGM Networks Inc., MGM Distribution Co., MGM International Television Distribution Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC, MGM ON STAGE, MGM Music, MGM Consumer Products and MGM Interactive. In addition, MGM has ownership interests in domestic and international TV channels reaching over 130 countries. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ELIJAH WOOD AND ANDY SERKIS TO JOIN THE CAST OF PETER JACKSON\u2019S \u201cTHE HOBBIT\u201d Los Angeles, CA\u2014January 10,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[32,46,22,1300,4,148],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-serkis","category-wood","category-headlines","category-hobbit-cast-news","category-hobbit-movie","category-hobbit"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1tLoH-aPv","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41633\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}