Tag: The Hobbit

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Video game giant Embracer to acquire IP rights to The Lord of the Rings, Hobbit

Karlstad, Sweden-based Embracer Group is set to acquire Middle-earth Industries, the company that owns the IP rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit series.

As part of the deal, the video game giant will be granted the rights to movies, video games, merchandising, theme parks, stage productions and more. Embracer is purchasing the IPs from the California-based Saul Zaentz Company for an undisclosed sum.

Already, though, Embracer is talking about potential avenues for the properties, including “additional movies based on iconic characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn and other characters from the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien.” For now, though, the next big The Lord of the Rings release will be The Rings of Power, a big-budget live-action series premiering on Amazon Prime Video on September 1st.

In any case, Middle-earth Industries is the latest in an ever-growing lineup of acquisitions from Embracer Group. Over the years, the company’s portfolio has grown to include the likes of Deep Silver (Saints Row), Gearbox (Borderlands), Saber Interactive (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary) and Dark Horse Comics (Hellboy). Most recently, the company announced a deal with Square Enix to acquire several of the Japanese gaming giant’s properties (including Tomb Raider and Deus Ex) and studios (like Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal).

Image credit: Warner Bros.

Source: Embracer Group

Categories
Cinéma

Peter Jackson in talks over third Hobbit film

Peter Jackson is in talks about making a third ‘Hobbit’ film.

The ‘Lord Of The Rings’ director is thinking of splitting ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’, the sequel to 2012’s much-awaited adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel, into two separate films.

Speaking at the Warner Bros. press conference at Comic-Con in San Diego, Peter said: "That’s a discussion we’re having. We have certainly been talking to the studio about some of the material we can’t film, and we’ve been asking them so we can do a bit more filming next year.

"I don’t know what would come of that, whether it’d be extended editions or whatnot. But those discussions are ongoing."

Peter thinks there is so much more material to explore, and hinted that the potential extra movie could be based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s 125 pages of additional notes found at the end of third ‘Lord of the Rings’ book ‘The Return Of The King’.

He said: "I’d like to shoot a bunch more material that we [couldn’t] shoot. There’s so much good stuff in the appendices that we haven’t been able to squeeze into these movies."

The two prequels to ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ trilogy see Martin Freeman star as Bilbo Baggins, and the first ‘Hobbit’ film has finally finished shooting after more than a year of filming in New Zealand.

The first film, ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’, is scheduled for release on December 14.

Categories
Musique

Elijah Wood to DJ in the UK

Elijah Wood is bringing his DJ skills to the UK.

The ‘Lord of the Rings’ actor will perform with his Wooden Wisdom project at the Bushmills Live festival in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on June 20th.

Elijah and his musical collaborator Zach Cowie will be performing their first show outside of the United States at the event, joining a bill which also includes Snow Patrol.

the group will also donate their performance fee for the festival to the local Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast.

Colum Egan, Master Distiller for Bushmills, said: "I am really looking forward to welcoming Elijah to the Distillery. He is a great actor and DJ and I have already seen him perform in Los Angeles. The line up for the Bushmills Live event just keeps getting better and I can’t wait for 20th June."

Elijah, 31, has recently completed his latest film, reprising his role of Frodo Baggins from the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies in the Peter Jackson directed ‘The Hobbit’.

Tickets for Bushmills Live can be won through a competition run on the brand’s Facebook page.

Categories
Cinéma

New Peter Jackson video update from The Hobbit set

Director Peter Jackson has posted a fourth video update from the set of The Hobbit, reports Coming Soon.

In the 10-minute video, fans will get a behind-the-scenes peek at the 3D technology that Jackson and his team have put in place, as well as a look at the production in progress, including make-up, costumes, and concept art.

Jackson said he wished he had had this 3D technology when he was shooting Lord of the Rings, and mentioned they had taken 3D stills at the time. The director also mentioned how much greater the filmgoing experience would be for J.R.R. Tolkien fans, saying that 3D HD draws viewers right into the film, immersing them.

In the highly technical discussion about 3D, everyone is wearing 3D glasses while they shoot digitally against a green screen, using 5K memory cards with film speed running at double the normal speed, 48 frames per second picking up every little detail. The crew believes they are breaking new technical ground with the 3D method they are using, including concept art that is also done in 3D.

Fans can look forward to Jackson’s next video update, which will be shot on location in New Zealand as the production will be moving out of the studio shortly.

The first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will be in theaters December 14, 2012 and the second part, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, will be released December 13, 2013.

Categories
Cinéma

New video blog from Hobbit set

As filming continues on upcoming Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, director Peter Jackson has unveiled a new video blog from the set of the epic film, reports Deadline.

This newest video blog centers around the movie’s 13 dwarf characters, giving fans a good look at the various characters and costumes, including interviews with many of the actors.

A particular highlight towards the end of the blog is the set visit from John Rhys-Davies, who played the dwarf Gimli in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy. While Gimli will not appear in the upcoming Hobbit films, Rhys-Davies passed along a few words of advice to the new dwarves and had the opportunity to meet Peter Hambleton, who portrays Gimli’s father Glóin in the prequel.

The film will be released in two parts. The first, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, is due out December 14, 2012, with the second part, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, following on December 13, 2013.

Many stars from the Lord of the Rings trilogy have returned to reprise their roles, including Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Andy Serkis (Gollum), Christopher Lee (Saruman) and Hugo Weaving (Elrond).

Categories
Cinéma

A Hobbit’s tale of location scouting

The crew of upcoming Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit have released a new video blog showing their progress in filming the epic blockbuster, reports Coming Soon.

The video opens with the crew explaining how they are filming the huge movie – with 254 days of shooting in total – in blocks, with time off between each round of filming. This gives the actors a break and allows post-production work to begin on the parts that are finished.

The blog picks up at the end of the second round of shooting and shows director Peter Jackson using the break to do some location scouting for the remaining scenes. 

The film will be released in two parts. The first, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, is due out December 14, 2012, with the second part, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, following on December 13, 2013.

Many stars from the Lord of the Rings trilogy have returned to reprise their roles, including Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Andy Serkis (Gollum), Christopher Lee (Saruman) and Hugo Weaving (Elrond).

Newcomer Martin Freeman stars as the young Bilbo Baggins with Ian Holm returning to play older Bilbo.

Categories
Cinéma

New images from The Hobbit

Eager Lord of the Rings fans can get their first taste of The Hobbit movie with a couple of photos unveiled by Empire magazine.

One image shows Ian McKellen in the role of Gandalf, the second shows Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins. A few days ago, director Peter Jackson announced Evangeline Lilly (Lost) had joined the cast of the two-part film.

In an interview with the magazine, Jackson said, "I’m exactly the same filmmaker as I was ten years ago. I’m trying to nail the same thing that I did before. I’m just telling the story."

Currently filming in New Zealand, the first of the two-part prequel will be titled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, released December 14, 2012, and the second instalment will be called The Hobbit: There and Back Again, released December 13, 2013.

Some of the actors from Lord of the Rings will reprise their roles in The Hobbit, including Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, and Orlando Bloom as Legolas. Andy Serkis will play Gollum to Christopher Lee’s Saruman, and Hugo Weaving is still Elrond. Actor Ian Holm returns as the older Bilbo Baggins, while Martin Freeman stars as the younger hobbit.

Categories
Cinéma

Evangeline Lilly and Barry Humphries join The Hobbit

With the smashing success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, director Peter Jackson returns to Middle-Earth with the two-part film, The Hobbit, where Bilbo Baggins undertakes a quest to regain the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the dragon Smaug.

Jackson has just announced two new cast members, Lost star Evangeline Lilly and British comedic actor Barry Humphries, also known as Dame Edna Everage.

“Evangeline Lilly will be playing a new character – the Woodland Elf, Tauriel,” Jackson wrote on his Facebook page. “Her name means ‘daughter of Mirkwood’ and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.) What is not a secret is how talented and compelling an actress Evangeline is; we are thrilled and excited she will be the one to bring our first true Sylvan Elf to life.”

He went on to mention that Humphries is a fine actor, and that he was “also highly excited that Barry Humphries will be portraying the Goblin King, in much the way Andy Serkis created Gollum. Barry is perhaps best known for his business and social connections as the long-time manager of Dame Edna Everage.”

Some of the actors from Lord of the Rings will reprise their roles in two-part prequel, including Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, and Orlando Bloom as Legolas. Andy Serkis will play Gollum to Christopher Lee’s Saruman, and Hugo Weaving is still Elrond. Actor Ian Holm returns as the older Bilbo Baggins, while Martin Freeman will play the younger hobbit.

Currently filming in New Zealand, the first of the two-part series will be titled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, released December 14, 2012, and the second installment will be called The Hobbit: There and Back Again, released December 13, 2013.

Categories
Cinéma

The Hobbit titles and release dates announced

Since March, various titles and release dates have been circulating for the much-anticipated film adaptation of The Hobbit, the prequel to Lord of the Rings, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The studios have finally officially announced that the first film of the two-part series will be titled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, released December 14, 2012, and the second installment will be called The Hobbit: There and Back Again, released December 13, 2013.

Both titles are drawn from the original author J.R.R. Tolkien, as There and Back Again was the alternative title for his 1937 book, and My Unexpected Journey is Bilbo Baggins’ discarded title for a fictional book.

With the smashing success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, director Peter Jackson returns to Middle-Earth with these two films, where The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, undertakes a quest to regain the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the dragon Smaug.

Jackson wrote the script with Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro. Some of the actors from Lord of the Rings will reprise their roles in two-part prequel, including Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, and Orlando Bloom as Legolas. Andy Serkis will play Gollum to Christopher Lee’s Saruman, and Hugo Weaving is still Elrond. Actor Ian Holm returns as the older Bilbo Baggins, while Martin Freeman will play the younger hobbit.

After a few delays, shooting is underway in in director Peter Jackson’s homeland of New Zealand.

 

Categories
Cinéma

Stephen Fry signs on for The Hobbit

Legendary British actor Stephen Fry is confirmed as the newest cast member in Peter Jackson’s upcoming film, The Hobbit, reports LoveFilm.

Fry (A Bit of Fry & Laurie, QI, Bones) will play the greedy Master of Laketown, who causes problems for protagonist Bilbo Baggins when the hobbit arrives in town. 

"I’ve known Stephen for several years," Jackson posted on Facebook. "In addition to his writing skills, he’s a terrific actor and will create a very memorable Master for us." The versatile Fry is also known in the UK for his audiobook recordings, including all seven Harry Potter novels.

Jackson also announced that actors Ryan Gage and Conan Stevens would join the cast. Gage plays Alfrid, the Master’s conniving servant, while Stevens will play an orc named Azog.

The film, due out in 2012, is a prequel to the highly successful Lord of the Rings trilogy, also adapted and directed by Jackson. Most of the original cast will return to reprise their roles, including Elijah Wood as Frodo, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Orlando Bloom as Legolas and Christopher Lee as Saruman.

The Hobbit is set many years before the Lord of the Rings. The story follows a young Bilbo Baggins, a reluctant hero who sets out on a journey to help a group of dwarves reclaim their home and treasure from the dragon Smaug.