Peter Jackson is back on Hobbit project

I heard about this cash wrangle and it sounded like those in the know were pretty much resigned to moving to the UK to film it would be good for the UK film industry if it came here and England and Scotland certainly has the scenery as well as the facilities but a blow for new zealand who never really took advantage of the Lord of the rings I remember after these films were done how Hollywood producers were meant to be falling over themselves to film there.

There were a few movies filmed in New Zealand after LOTR, they also capitalised on the tourism aspect of it, tours of the Hobbiton area and stuff like that.

I like the casting of Bilbo.

I don't think it REALLY matters who's directing. This will make a killing regardless, the only point where it might make a difference is in the splitting it into two movies, if they do that, and the first one sucks, then the second part could bomb. Well, not "bomb", but it won't do as well as the first one, if the first one was bad. As long as the new Director keeps it all within a similar feel as the LOTR trilogy, it should be fine, you don't want them to be glaringly different, like if they got Tarantino to do the Hobbit movies, Which could actually be kind of awesome in some way....

I love the book, but I'm not sure I want the movie. LOTR was so awesome and perfect, but The Hobbit now has to live up to those movies but using different actors.

And WTF about it being in two movies?

Pippin wrote:

I love the book, but I'm not sure I want the movie. LOTR was so awesome and perfect, but The Hobbit now has to live up to those movies but using different actors.

And WTF about it being in two movies?

Well, I think Sir Ian McKellan is still going to be Gandalf and Hugo Weaving will probably still be Elrond so it wont be a completely different cast, but I dont know if Christopher Lee will return as Saruman or Cate Blanchett will return as Galadriel or Marton Csokas as Celeborn.

The thing about two movies is that one will probably end with the Desolation of Smaug and the other will probably feature the Battle of Five Armies and the driving of the Necromancer from Dul Guldur - not necessarilly in that order. If you add in whatever Gandalf was doing before meeting Bilbo and after ditching him, Thorin and Company after crossing the Misty Mountain then you can add a bit more to the story.

I would imagine that Peter Jackson will start it off with backstory - like the start of the Fellowship of the Ring - about the coming of Smaug and the sacking of Dale and Erebor and will, at the very least, show Gandalf penetraiting Dul Guldur and finding Thrain and getting the map in that backstory if he doesn't start the film properly with that. And then he could add the meetings of the White Councils where in the first one Gandalf fails to convince them to unit their strength against the Necromancer and the second one, after he had crossed the Misty Mountain with Thorin and Company, where he succeeds. Then there is of course the action part in the driving of the Necromancer from Dul Guldur.

So there's whole second story to be told alongside Bilbo part and in tandemn with the Hobbit.

The cast so far is as follows:

Confirmed roles

Bilbo Baggins - Martin Freeman
Thorin Oakenshield - Richard Armitage
Balin - Ken Scott
Dwalin - Graham McTavish
Bifur - William Kircher
Bofur - James Nesbitt
Bombur - Stephen Hunter
Kili - Aiden Turner
Fili - Rob Kazinsky
Dori - Mark Hadlow
Ori - Adam Brown
Nori - Jed Brophy
Oin - John Callen
Gloin - Peter Hambleton
Galadriel - Cate Blanchet
Beorn - Mikeal Perbrandt
Radagast the Brown - Sylvestor McCoy
Drogo Baggins - Ryan Gage

Unconfirmed Roles

Gollum - Andy Serkis
Gandalf - Sir Ian McKellan
Elrond - Hugo Weaving
Legolas - Orlando Bloom
Aragorn - Viggo Mortensen
Voice of Smaug - Bill Nighy

Roles yet to be filled (some of these may be omitted from the film).

Celeborn
Saruman
Bard
Thranduil
Dain Ironfoot
Bolg
Great Goblin
Glorfindel
Master of Laketown
Bert -\
Tom - - >Trolls
William -/
Gwaihir
Roac the Raven

More Viggo? Don't tease me. I would love it if he would do this. He did say a while back that he was going to take a break from acting because he hates promoting films.

It's just internet rumours that Mortensen will be in the film at the moment and it might be complete rubbish.

Wasn't he human? How is that possible then?

Aragorn was of a race of man, Numenorean, who had a lifespan that was something like 3 times the regular guy. He was around 70 something during the War of the Ring, so he should have been around during Bilbo's tales.

Officially Aragorn born 2931 and in 2941 Biblo begins his adventure. So Aragorn would be just a child during this movie-damn it! 2956 Aragorn meets Gandalf.

Aragorn was 10 during the time period of the Hobbit, so perhaps I got it a bit wrong but, as I said, I was going on internet rumours and they can be extremely unreliable.

They could still shove him in it I guess. Movies don't have to mesh with the books.

Then again, Peter Jackson is directing and he would have taken it all into account.

They could cast Viggo as Arathorn in the movie. He could play his dad and that would give us ladies something to enjoy.

Arathorn was dead. He died about eight years before the Quest for Erebor.

What about Arathorn's younger brother Hank?

Well, Viggo is old now, so I suppose I will have to just let it all go.

Sir Ian McKellan has confirmed that he will reprise the role of Gandalf and Andy Serkis has comfirmed he will return to play Gollum. Elijah Wood is rumoured to possibly be reprising his role as Frodo Baggins (though most likely just a cameo appearance), Christopher Lee is still considering whether to reprise his role as Saruman and Ian Holm is similarly considering whether to join the cast as well (though I dont know if its a cameo as an older Bilbo Baggins or some other role). Saoirse Ronan has also agreed to join the cast though her role is not currently known, however it is rumoured that she will play a Silvan Elf called Itaril who guards Thranduil's halls in Mirkwood (likely a character made for the film) or Primula Brandybuck (Frodo's mother). Hugo Weaving and Orlando Bloom are still in contract negotiations. Also rumour has it that Brian Blessed has been cast but there is no word as to what role. Leonard Nimoy has been rumoured to be up for the vice of Smaug and David Tennant is rumoured to be up for the role as Thranduil but this is internet rumours and probably had no truth in them. Dominc Keating has also confirmed he's auditioned but that's all the info we have on that and Shane Briant has been rumoured to have been cast as the master of laketown.

As to a release date, the current one is December 2012.

So an updated cast list:

Confirmed roles

Bilbo Baggins - Martin Freeman
Thorin Oakenshield - Richard Armitage
Balin - Ken Scott
Dwalin - Graham McTavish
Bifur - William Kircher
Bofur - James Nesbitt
Bombur - Stephen Hunter
Kili - Aiden Turner
Fili - Rob Kazinsky
Dori - Mark Hadlow
Ori - Adam Brown
Nori - Jed Brophy
Oin - John Callen
Gloin - Peter Hambleton
Galadriel - Cate Blanchet
Beorn - Mikeal Perbrandt
Radagast the Brown - Sylvestor McCoy
Drogo Baggins - Ryan Gage
Gollum - Andy Serkis
Gandalf - Sir Ian McKellan

Unconfirmed Roles

Itaril or Primula Brandybuck - Saoirse Ronan
Elrond - Hugo Weaving
Legolas - Orlando Bloom
Voice of Smaug - Bill Nighy
Saruman - Christopher Lee
Master of Laketown - Shane Briant

Roles yet to be filled (some of these may be omitted from the film).

Celeborn
Bard
Thranduil
Dain Ironfoot
Bolg
Great Goblin
Glorfindel
Bert -\
Tom - - >Trolls
William -/
Gwaihir
Roac the Raven

Potential cast:

Dominic Keating
Brian Blessed
Leonard Nimoy
David Tennant

Leonard Nimoy?

An update to the cast list:

Confirmed cast:


Hobbits:

Young Bilbo Baggins - Martin Freeman
Old Bilbo Baggins - Ian Holm
Frodo Baggins - Elijah Wood
Drogo Baggins - Ryan Gage

Dwarves:

Thorin Oakenshield - Richard Armitage
Balin - Ken Stott
Dwalin - Graham McTavish
Bifur - William Kircher
Bofur - James Nesbitt
Bombur - Stephen Hunter
Fili - Rob Kazinsky
Kili - Aiden Turner
Dori - Mark Hadlow
Nori - Jed Brophy
Ori - Adam Brown
Oin - John Callen
Gloin - Peter Hambleton
Thror - Jeffrey Thomas
Thrain - Mike Mizrahi

Elves:

Galadriel - Cate Blanchett
Elrond - Hugo Weaving
Thranduil - Lee Pace
Legolas - Orlando Bloom
Lindir - Bret McKenzie
Tauriel - Evangeline Lilly
Itaril - Saorise Ronan

Men:

Bard the Bowman - Luke Evans
Master of Laketown - Stephen Fry
Alfrid (Master of Laketown's servant) - Ryan Gage
Beorn the shapechanger - Mikael Persbrandt

Wizards:

Gandalf - Ian McKellen
Saruman - Christopher Lee
Radagast - Sylvester McCoy

Orcs:

Azog - Conan Stevens
Great Goblin - Barry Humphreys

Misc:

Gollum - Andy Serkis
Voice of Smaug - Benedict Cumberbatch
Voice of the Necromancer - Benedict Cumberbatch

I just found out that the character Dain Ironfoot will be played by Billy Connolly. Bet its going to be quite a laugh on set, what with Barry Humphreys, Stephen Fry and Billy Connolly.

I am really looking forward to these movies. I am a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings stories and the movies, but The Hobbit is the only one of the books that I could read repeatedly. I'm not too pleased with the trailer coming out a year before the movie releases, though. What a long time to wait

I wonder if Del Torro will join in for the creation of Smaug? From what I've read his plans for the dragon were aaaawesome.

I think Del Torro's off the project altogether. I've not heard anything of his involvement, not have I found anything on it on his Hobbit blogs.

Yeah, I think he's out all together. I have confidence in Peter Jackson though since he did the best anybody could have done with Lord of the Rings - Hobbit should be exciting.

I know that the advanced screening of the Hobbit wasn't well recieved but that seems to have been about some technicality over the type of camera or film used rather than the story itself. The pictures of the actors in costume look impressive though and I did enjoy the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-D79P1ScdU&feature=fvst

Yeah, it's going to be presented at double the normal frame rate. I'm hoping they have the technology out here so I can see it at 48 frames a second, because that just sounds interesting. Now that I know it'll be a little disorientating, I can expect it. But that definitely won't deter me from seeing it. It's actually got me intrigued.

I've heard they'll present it at the normal frame rate too.

There've been a lot of video blogs (as Peter Jackson does). I haven't seen many of them, but what I've seen is really interesting.