"The Hobbit" is finally happening! - To go into production at MGM

[OscarGuy]

It would be nice to have Blanchett back, but now I think we can put to rest the rumors of an "Assault on Dol Guldur" sequence because Aragorn would have been involved in that. And how he thinks Legolas couldn't be involved in this is beyond me. Legolas himself was from Mirkwood and while a young elf, would still probably have been alive at the time of Frodo's imprisonment.

[MovieWes]

The official casting announcement has been pushed back to December 15th according to WB. Casting began on December 8th, however. And it's looking more and more likely that Tom Waits is going to voice the dragon Smaug. Pretty interesting out of left field casting if you ask me.

In other news, Peter Jackson has revealed that only three LOTR actors are returning for The Hobbit: Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, and Cate Blanchett. I have to think that this statement was an error on Jackson's part because Andy Serkis has already given a verbal commitment to the project (unless Jackson's only counting live actors, not CGI characters).

Dec 8 2009 6:37 PM EST
Peter Jackson Reveals Which 'LOTR' Stars Will Return For 'The Hobbit'
'Gandalf, being a 2,000-year-old wizard, is still around and plays a major role in 'The Hobbit,' explained the filmmaker.

By Larry Carroll

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" movies thrilled millions of moviegoers, endeared themselves to us, and touched fans so deeply that many feel like Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the Grey, Aragorn, and the rest are members of the family. It's no surprise, then, that they've spent the six years since "Return of the King" wondering if we'll ever see those characters onscreen again. Now, Jackson is hard at work prepping a return to Middle-earth with "The Hobbit" and has revealed to us that three — and only three — of the "Rings" actors will be returning for the family reunion.

"Gandalf, being a 2,000-year-old wizard, is still around and plays a major role in 'The Hobbit,' and we're having Ian McKellen reprise," explained the filmmaker, who is executive-producing the flick and writing the screenplay. "There's a couple of other characters: Elrond, who was played by Hugo Weaving [in the original films], and there's a possibility of Galadriel, who was played by Cate Blanchett."

With that, the fiercely loyal-to-J.R.R. Tolkien filmmaker shot down any talk of folks like Orlando Bloom, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen or John Rhys-Davies being shoehorned into the prequel via flashback, flash-forward, dream sequence or any other Hollywood trickery — as much as some fans might like to see them again.

"In some respects, it's a prequel," Jackson said of the flick, which he plans to begin filming in mid-2010. "In book terms, the world of 'The Hobbit' takes place 60 years before 'The Lord of the Rings,' as it was written by Tolkien. So, not a lot of the characters actually feature, because they weren't around yet."

As for the film itself — the first of two planned "Hobbit" flicks — Jackson gave us an update. "Guillermo Del Toro is the director of 'The Hobbit' — we're producing it for him — and I'm involved in the scriptwriting, which I love," he explained. "Screenwriting is my favorite part of the whole process. I'm very happy being one of the writing team on 'The Hobbit,' and we've written the first script. It's two movies, and we've written the first script, which the studio responded well to. And we're now halfway through the second script."

"At this rate," he said, "we're on target to begin shooting the first half of next year."

As for his returning stars, the filmmaker, whose "The Lovely Bones" hits theaters later this month, said McKellen is onboard, and he has no fear that Weaving and Blanchett would be willing to return as well.

"They are elves, so once again, in the realm of Middle-earth, they're immortal, they don't age," he said of Galadriel and Elrond, the only returning "LOTR" main roles besides Gandalf in his script. "We have a process that would start with showing them the script. We're not [beginning] any official process until we have the 'official' script that they can read."

[MovieWes]

Will Tom Waits be a Hobbit?

December 5th, 2009 by xoanon

Epleterte writes: Again an awesome Hobbit casting rumour from Aintitcool’s “AICN: Downunder” column, From Latauro’s post: AICN-Downunder: your one-stop shop for HOBBIT casting news. There’s nothing like breaking the (admittedly-unconfirmed) news about Brian Cox getting all dwarf-like to bring your old sources out of the woodwork. Another trusted anonymous name from way back — who, I might add, had heard the Brian Cox rumours before I published them — has another name to add to the pile: Tom Waits. As much as I’d like to say he’s a lock, I’m told he’s simply someone the production is talking about — but they seem to be talking about him pretty seriously. But how inspired is this? So very left field, yet oddly perfect. And here I was thinking Cox was the coolest guy they could hand an axe to.

[MovieWes]

Some crappy news from TheOneRing.net...

Hobbit Filming Delayed to Mid-Summer

November 29th, 2009 by Altaira | Discuss

Several reports are coming in that filming for The Hobbit will be delayed from the original estimate of March 2010 to mid-summer 2010, possibly July. The German site, moviereporter.net, reports that, as part of an interview regarding The Lovely Bones, PJ estimates filming will begin towards the middle of next year:

“We’re currently working on the second script which we hope to have completed by the end of this year or beginning of next. When the scripts are completed, we can begin with the exact calculation of the necessary budget. We hope to start filming in the middle of next year. However, we’ve received no green light from the studio yet.” (- translated from German – read the original quote here).

PJ didn’t elaborate on whether this will affect the proposed release dates of December 2011 and 2012. More than two years elapsed between the start of filming for The Lord of the Rings movies in October, 1999, and the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001. However, they are only tackling two films this time, plus the previous movies provide them a head-start on on a number of pre-production items such as some of the set and location designs (Bag End, Rivendell). This is sure to cause quite a bit of buzz!

------------------------------------------

The Hobbit Pushed to 2012?

December 1st, 2009 by Altaira | Discuss

A few days ago, we reported here that Peter Jackson has indicated filming for The Hobbit will be delayed to mid-2010. Doing the math on how long it took to film The Lord of the Rings movies was sobering with respect to achieving a 2011 release, but we found reason to be optimistic in the fact that many sets, set designs, etc. won’t have to be created from scratch. Today, however, we’ve been alerted to more sobering news on the release from the WaxWord blog over at thewrap.com:

“Executives close to the project said that Warner Brothers is now likely to release the first film at the end of 2012, and not at the end of 2011 as had been hoped for by the fans. The second part would be pushed to 2013.”

No need to lose hope for a 2011 release yet though. The article also quoted PJ as saying a final decision about the release dates won’t be made until the screenplays, budget and schedule are complete. More than ever, all eyes are on Guillermo, Peter, Fran, Phillipa and the studio.



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[MovieWes]

Okay, things are about to get underway! According to TheOneRing.net, the casting announcement will be made on December 8 via www.lordoftherings.net!



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[MovieWes]

By the way, shouldn't this thread be moved to the Coming Soon section?

[MovieWes]

From TheOneRing.net...

Brian Cox Rumors Abound

November 13th, 2009 by xoanon

Latauro (via epleterte) from Australia chimed in to Aintitcoolnews today about a potential casting decision in The Hobbit production. Although nothing is sure, Brian Cox seems to be a strong contender to one of the dwarves. And for what my two cents are worth: That’d be awesome! Brian Cox is beyond cool. Here’s the excerpt:

This is a news item I’d love to proclaim with all-out certainty, but my tried and trusted source(s) aren’t sure if this is a total lock, or whether it’s just someone they’re seriously interested in. Either way, producers of THE HOBBIT have begun looking at casting for the dwarves (dwarfs?), and one name has emerged as a major contender: Brian Cox. He’s a brilliant choice for the role: physically, he fits with the depiction of the the race in LOTR (well, Gimli), and he’s a born Scotsman. Also, he could yell at Galadriel for adding narration. So there you go. If this comes to fruition, you heard it here first!

Brian’s name has been mentioned before, in April we announced he was voicing he audio version of ‘Sigurd and Gudrun’. We also mentioned he was a strong frontrunner in fan casting for Balin.

[MovieWes]

Looks like we won't be seeing John Rhys-Davies as one of the dwarves. Oh well.

Exclusive: Rhys-Davies On The Hobbit
The former Gimli talks dwarf casting

John Rhys-Davies was, of course, Gimli the dwarf in The Lord of the Rings, and gave the series many of its funniest and most memorable moments. And while Gimli doesn't appear in The Hobbit, his father Gloin does, so we asked him recently whether he'd be back for another go.

"I've already been asked and to be honest with you, I wouldn't. I have already completely ruled it out. There's a sentimental part of me that would love to be involved again. Really I am not sure my face can take that sort of punishment any more."

So not even a small cameo?

"Why would you want to do it if it was just a couple of shots? When you've been 1 of 1, why would you want to be 1 of 13?"

But the production did ask if he'd be interested in returning.

"It was just a gentle "What would you feel about putting it on again?" But no. I'd be interested in trying to create a different type of persona within... the thing. That is challenging as an actor. I'd really prefer to play something quite different. Maybe an Elf. They've got a different set of problems with The Hobbit because you've got 13 dwarves, a whole band of them... You're trying to represent a whole race... You're trying to do for dwarves what The Lord of the Rings did for hobbits. "

Hmm, so Gimli won't be playing his own father, it seems - but he isn't completely ruling out a return to the world of Middle Earth. Still, we're going to have to put him out of the running in our fantasy casting of Thorin Oakenshielf, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori and Ori.

[MovieWes]

UPDATE: Ian McKellen Gives Hobbit Update

Source:Empire October 13, 2009


Empire magazine talked to Sir Ian McKellen about reprising Gandalf in The Hobbit and it's sequel. Here's the update he gave about the Guillermo del Toro-directed films:

"The scripts for the two films will be delivered very soon," he revealed. "Then they'll be budgeted, and then they'll be cast. And they'll be going when they've always said they would be, which is next spring – March or April. Guillermo even told me at one point, 'We're going to film for 383 days.' He's got that artistic autism! Jackson's the same; they're very, very, very alike. They also very different, but they've so much in common. They both can't stand Hollywood and have wonderful imaginations, and they're both obsessed with gore and fantasy. Both of them laugh a great deal. Guillermo's one of the most brilliant men I've ever met. His English vocabulary is way superior to mine!"

UPDATE: TheOneRing.net adds that Ian McKellen was a guest of UK's Channel 4 Paul O'Grady Show today and confirmed that he has received "both" scripts. He says that "Lord of the Rings" cast members will be returning, but he doesn't know who will play Bilbo, though he believes it will be an English actor.



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[MovieWes]

Could THE HOBBIT be THREE Movies? And Will Peter Jackson Direct the Third?

by Charles Mihelich Posted:August 18th, 2009 at 12:30 pm

First off, we must be clear that this is all strictly RUMOR material. Nothing is confirmed, and while this rumor has been attributed to a credible source, things are always subject to change.

At Comic-Con, Steve had a chance to talk to Peter Jackson about his upcoming projects, and he briefly touched on “The Hobbit”. Though he said no casting decisions had been made, he did say that “The Hobbit” would be in two parts, with the first to release in December 2011 and the second in December 2012. My, how things change in a matter of two weeks. MarketSaw has it on good faith (again, rumor) that a THIRD hobbit movie is now scheduled, which will act as a bridge to the Lord of the Rings series. More rumor info that you’re going to want to read after the jump.


From MarketSaw:

1. THE HOBBIT(s) will be in stereoscopic 3D.
2. THE HOBBIT will be shot in THREE movies - two Del Toro movies covering the book itself and a third bridge movie.
3. Peter Jackson will direct the bridge movie.
4. Smaug and the characters in THE HOBBIT will be darker than in the book.

At Comic-Con, Jackson told Steve that the studio hadn’t greenlit the project yet , but then we reported that Hobbiton was already mid-reconstruction, so they are definitely prepping for something huge. Also, the revelation that a third film will bridge “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” gives clarity to Jackson and Del Toro’s April interview in which they said the SECOND film would NOT bridge the two.

So basically we’ve gone from two Peter Jackson produced, Guillermo Del Toro directed movies to two Peter Jackson produced, Guillermo Del Toro directed movies and a third, Peter Jackson directed bridge movie. Which is huge. I feel comforted by Jackson’s return to the director’s chair in the final installment of the series (even though it won’t be so chronologically with the “Star Wars”-esque production timeline). Del Toro is a fine director and I don’t doubt he will give us an imaginative and fantastical “Hobbit”, but Jackson is tested in this department and seems to paint from Tolkien’s palate in a way that no other can.

MarketSaw3D.com’s source goes on to say this:

“Smaug will be a mixture of practical and animation …going purely on practical, the design rocks. I think THE HOBBIT may be a different beast to the book, at least in terms of going darker. And judging from Smaug “and the Gollum tweaks” will be something to rival the previous attempts at the very least. It is still very lock and key at the moment. I can tell you this, Peter Jackson is very keen to have the two part Hobbit tale set in 3D. Del Toro however is holding back on that school of thought. At least for the time being. Im hearing word “and its only speculation at the moment”, that it wont be two films. It will be three. The two parts and the bridge movie. Word alone is not trustworthy. However I hear this from lots of people. And have seen things to indicate this may be the way it is heading. Del Toro on Hobbit duty, Jackson on the bridge project. Time will tell.”

-

So we’re also getting a darker version of The Hobbit, which I’m also pretty psyched about. I always felt that there was too much disparity between “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings”. “The Hobbit” was required 7th grade reading, whereas the rest of the series skewed decidedly older. Smaug is going to be a sight to behold, especially since Del Toro and Jackson are both absolute masters of special effects. More as we get it.



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[MovieWes]

Doctor Who's David Tennant tipped to play Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit

Doctor Who star David Tennant's next screen role may be in The Hobbit, it was claimed.

The 38-year-old is tipped to play Bilbo Baggins in the big screen adaptation of JRR Tolkien's book.

The Scottish star leads a list of stars, including James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe, vying to play the title role of Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit." The film – which may be split in two – is based on Tolkien's children's book prequel to The Lord Of The Rings hit series.

Tennant is due to make his debut appearance at the world's biggest science-fiction and fantasy convention Comic-Con in the US next week.

And Rings director Peter Jackson is also expected to announce his choice for the role when he attends.

Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times, said yesterday: "David Tennant just happens to be making his very first trip to the San Diego expo to promote "Doctor Who," a television series that he will soon be leaving behind. "Peter Jackson, the producer of the two-film "Hobbit" series that begins its theatre run in 2011, is also slated to appear this year, and, well you can see the dot-connecting possibilities. ...

"I think Tennant would be exceptional in the role."

In the Lord of the Rings Trilogy Bilbo Baggins was played by the veteran actor Sir Ian Holm. But in The Hobbit he is a sprightly 50 years old – although hobbits live to be well over 150 years old.

Tennant is currently filming St. Trinian's, The Legend of Fritton's Gold, and will be last seen as the tenth Timelord in a Christmas special.

Several members of the original cast are returning, including Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf.

And Christopher Lee – who played Saruman – has announced he would like to come back, too.

The 86-year-old said: "I've read the books time and again. Originally Saruman The White and the rest of the wizards, or the Istari as they call them, were immortal.

"When it all started, Saruman was the noblest, the finest, the bravest, the most dependable and reliable of them all, he was number one. But somewhere, somehow, and it was never actually explained, he turns.

"I'd be interested in seeing how that transition from good to evil occurred and, yes, of course I would return to the role if I was asked."

[Sonic Youth]

‘Hobbit’ Heirs Seek $220 Million From Time Warner Over ‘Rings’

By Brett Pulley
Bloomberg.com

July 15 (Bloomberg) -- J.R.R. Tolkien sold movie rights to his “Lord of the Rings” novels 40 years ago for 7.5 percent of future receipts. Three films and $6 billion later, his heirs say they haven’t seen a dime from Time Warner Inc.

The accounting methods used by New Line Cinema, the Time Warner unit that made the movies, will face a jury’s scrutiny in October, when the heirs’ lawsuit against the New York-based media company is set for trial in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The case, if not settled by then, may provide a window into accounting practices that let Time Warner deny proceeds of the Oscar-winning films to Tolkien’s heirs. The litigation also threatens to derail two “The Hobbit” films that, if their predecessors are a guide, could generate $4 billion in sales.

“Usually it’s not outright thievery by the studios, but death by contract,” said Pierce O’Donnell, the Los Angeles- based lawyer who represented the late columnist Art Buchwald in a successful case against Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures in 1988. “It’s an esoteric world where black doesn’t mean black, and white doesn’t necessarily mean white.”

Tolkien’s family and a British charity they head, the Tolkien Trust, seek more than $220 million in compensation, according to Bonnie Eskenazi, an attorney with Greenberg Glusker, the Los Angeles firm representing the heirs.

The Tolkiens also want the option to terminate further rights to the author’s work, as the original contract lets them do in the event of a breach, according to the complaint. News Corp.’s HarperCollins Publishers, which holds Tolkien’s publishing rights, is also a plaintiff.

Settlement Talks

The two sides have held settlement talks, Eskenazi said, adding they remain far apart and are proceeding to trial.

“Should this case go all the way through trial, we are confident that New Line will lose its right to release ‘The Hobbit,’” Eskenazi said in an interview.

Time Warner declined to comment, according to Scott Rowe, a spokesman for Warner Bros. in Burbank, California. The company is asking Judge Ann I. Jones to reject the heirs’ claim they can revoke rights to the “Hobbit.”

The studio is represented by Brad Brian and Mark Helm at Munger Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles.

“The studios have historically played hardball in litigation,” O’Donnell said. “Also, these are hard times and they maybe think it’s cheaper to pay the lawyers than to pay a large claim. And maybe the lawyers think they have meritorious defenses.”

New Films

Time Warner and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. are collaborating on the new films. MGM holds international distribution rights through its ownership of United Artists, which struck the original deal with Tolkien and later sold production rights that ended up with New Line.

In an e-mail, Harry Sloan, chairman and chief executive officer of Los Angeles-based MGM, declined to comment.

Tolkien’s works already have a litigation history. Peter Jackson, who directed all three “Rings” films, sued New Line in 2005, claiming the studio miscalculated his proceeds from the first movie. They settled for an undisclosed sum in 2007. Jackson is in pre-production in Wellington, New Zealand, for the two “Hobbit” films, which he is producing, according to Rowe.

Producer Saul Zaentz, who once owned film rights to the “Rings,” also sued New Line over his share of the receipts and settled in 2005 for $168 million, Variety reported at the time.

The three films based on Tolkien’s fantasy epic -- 2001’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”; “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” in 2002; and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” released in 2003 -- have generated almost $3 billion in worldwide box-office receipts, and another $3 billion from DVDs, merchandise and other sources, according to Rowe.

Share of Gross

Tolkien, a writer and professor at Oxford University who died in 1973, received $250,000 from United Artists when he signed over the film rights in 1969, according to a copy of the original contract, which was filed as evidence in the case.

Under the contract, New Line was to pay a percentage of all gross receipts, after deducting 2.6 times the production costs, plus advertising expenses in excess of a certain amount, according to Eskenazi.

The heirs, including Tolkien’s son, Christopher, 84, and his daughter, Priscilla, 80, say New Line inflated expenses and excluded revenue from its calculation, meaning the family “will never see any payment at all,” according to the complaint. They also allege New Line allowed some documents to be destroyed.

New Line’s Accounting

Gross receipts typically consist of the studio’s share of box-office sales and revenue from sources such as home video, TV, merchandise and music royalties, O’Donnell said.

New Line’s accounting included 20 percent of home- entertainment revenue, instead of the 100 percent called for in the contract, the heirs say. The studio excluded foreign revenue, saying Warner Bros., not New Line, received those sales for distributing the films abroad, according to the complaint.

“The agreement says ‘all,’” Eskenazi said. “All does not mean 20 percent. All means all.”

The company says a reworking of the Tolkien agreement reduces the family’s share in the second movie, “The Two Towers,” according to the complaint.

The heirs also question expenses, according to Eskenazi, including an advance payment to an unnamed principal in the “Lord of the Rings” films for an unrelated project, and a $1 million completion bond charged against gross receipts for each of the three films, even though a bond was issued only on “The Fellowship of the Ring.” The studio also deducted a distribution fee for the home-video market, she said.

“My instinct tells me this is Hollywood accounting in the extreme,” said O’Donnell, who wrote a book, “Fatal Subtraction: How Hollywood Really Does Business,” about the Buchwald case. “If I was a betting man I’d say there’s money owed.”

The case is Christopher Reuel Tolkien v. New Line Cinema Corp., BC385294, Los Angeles County Superior Court.

[MovieWes]

One more thing: the official casting for Bilbo Baggins is going to be announced by Peter Jackson at the San Diego Comic-Con sometime between July 22-26, where he's promoting his new film District 9.



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[MovieWes]

Exclusive : Weaving not on Hobbit yet

Author: Clint Morris Date: Thursday, June 18th, 2009 Time: 9:43 pm

A week or so ago word hit the web – with a thump! – that Hugo Weaving was set to reprise his role as Elrond (from “Lord of the Rings”) for Guillermo Del Toro’s “The Hobbit”. Thing is, it’s news to Weaving, who told me earlier today (at an interview for his new film, “Last Ride”) that he’s yet to have a discussion with anyone concerning the film.

“I knew that if and when it happened I’d get a call and we’d chat about it, but I haven’t spoken to anyone about it. Someone said to me ‘I hear you’re doing the Hobbit?’ I said ‘Well, um, probably’, they said “No, no. you’ve signed on’. I haven’t actually talked to anyone about it. Doesn’t mean I won’t be doing it, [I’m] just not onboard yet.”

Weaving hasn’t met the prequel’s director but says the he’s “really excited that [Del Toro] is directing. He’s a fantastic choice – an absolutely wonderful choice, just brilliant. It’d be good to get back together with Andy Serkis and Ian McKellan, and whoever else comes back – there’s not many other characters that could come back I guess. Bilbo is back, but you’ve got to have a much younger version of the character. Whereas Elves and Wizards it doesn’t matter – you might just have to age me back though”, he laughs.

[MovieWes]

Del Toro confirms Hobbit casting
Sunday, June 14 07:56 am

Sir Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving and Andy Serkis will all be appearing in the new film version of The Hobbit, director Guillermo del Toro has confirmed.

"(They are back) in the roles from the original (Lord of the Rings) trilogy," the Mexican director told Simon Mayo on his BBC radio show.

Andy played hobbit Gollum, Sir Ian, Gandalf, and Hugo appeared as elf Elrond in the original films, directed by Peter Jackson, who takes on a producer role for The Hobbit.

"Peter Jackson has been incredibly gracious, and respectful," said Guillermo.

"He understands we're going back to that universe but it's to a different director. He is celebrating those changes of sensibilities in a gleeful way with me. We are just two geeks having an incredibly great time."

The director confirmed he would be making two movies in New Zealand from the original novel by J. R.R.Tolkien.

"Two films are going to serve the one book," he said. "I feel like a shorter version you would have had to eliminate a few of the things, as a reader, I would consider iconic.

I am trying to preserve the set pieces I consider essential to the book."

The first Hobbit film is slated to be in cinemas at the end of 2011.