New Promo Images From THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Source: Warner Bros

Comic Con time is upon us again and all the studios out there are going ape-shit crazy releasing new images and trailers for their upcoming projects. The latest entity to send some thing our way, Warner Bros who supplied these great promotional images for "The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey"

Above - RICHARD ARMITAGE as Thorin Oakenshield in New Line Cinema's and MGM's fantasy adventure "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Photo by James Fisher


KEN STOTT as Balin and GRAHAM McTAVISH as Dwalin in New Line Cinema's and MGM's fantasy adventure "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Photo by James Fisher

STEPHEN HUNTER as Bombur, JAMES NESBITT as Bofur and WILLIAM KIRCHER as Bifur in New Line Cinema's and MGM's fantasy adventure "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Photo by James Fisher

DEAN O'GORMAN as Fili and AIDAN TURNER as Kili in New Line Cinema's and MGM's fantasy adventure "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Photo by James Fisher

JOHN CALLEN as Oin and PETER HAMBLETON as Gloin in New Line Cinema's and MGM's fantasy adventure "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Photo by James Fisher

JED BROPHY as Nori, ADAM BROWN as Ori and MARK HADLOW as Dori in New Line Cinema's and MGM's fantasy adventure "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Photo by James Fisher

The First Look At THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

Source: Warner Bros

Here are the first images from THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY:

Caption for above - MARTIN FREEMAN as Bilbo Baggins in New Line Cinema's and MGM's fantasy adventure "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Photo by James Fisher



MARTIN FREEMAN as Bilbo Baggins in New Line Cinema's and MGM's fantasy adventure "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Photo by James Fisher



IAN McKELLEN as Gandalf in New Line Cinema's and MGM's fantasy adventure "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Photo by James Fisher



IAN McKELLEN as Gandalf in New Line Cinema's and MGM's fantasy adventure "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Photo by Todd Eyre



Writer/Director/Producer PETER JACKSON with MARTIN FREEMAN on the set of New Line Cinema's and MGM's fantasy adventure "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Photo by James Fisher

THE HOBBIT Begins Filming In New Zealand

Source: Warner Bros

Production has commenced in Wellington, New Zealand, on "The Hobbit," filmmaker Peter Jackson's two film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's widely read masterpiece.

"The Hobbit" is set in Middle-earth 60 years before Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar®-winning "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."

The two films, with screenplays by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson, will be shot consecutively in digital 3D using the latest camera and stereo technology. Filming will take place at Stone Street Studios, Wellington, and on location around New Zealand.

"The Hobbit" follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever ... Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities ... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

Martin Freeman takes the title role as Bilbo Baggins and Ian McKellen returns in the role of Gandalf the Grey. The Dwarves are played by Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Ken Stott (Balin), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), William Kircher (Bifur) James Nesbitt (Bofur), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Rob Kazinsky (Fili), Aidan Turner (Kili), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), John Callen (Oin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Mark Hadlow (Dori) and Adam Brown (Ori). Reprising their roles from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy are Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Andy Serkis as Gollum and Elijah Wood as Frodo. Jeffrey Thomas and Mike Mizrahi also join the cast as Dwarf Kings Thror and Thrain, respectively. Further casting announcements are expected.

"The Hobbit" is produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, alongside Carolynne Cunningham. Executive producers are Ken Kamins and Zane Weiner, with Philippa Boyens as co-producer. The Oscar®-winning, critically acclaimed "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, also from the production team of Jackson and Walsh, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office. In 2003, "The Return of the King" swept the Academy Awards®, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture — the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy's production was also unprecedented at the time.

Among the creative behind-the-scenes team returning to Jackson's crew are director of photography Andrew Lesnie, production designer Dan Hennah, conceptual designers Alan Lee and John Howe, composer Howard Shore and make-up and hair designer Peter King. Costumes are designed by Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor.

Taylor is also overseeing the design and production of weaponry, armour and prosthetics which are once again being made by the award winning Weta Workshop. Weta Digital take on the visual effects for both films, led by the film's visual effects supervisor, Joe Letteri. Post production will take place at Park Road Post Production in Wellington.

"The Hobbit" films are co-produced by New Line Cinema and MGM, with New Line managing production. Warner Bros Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television licensing being handled by MGM. The two films are planned for release in late 2012 and 2013, respectively.

In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit...

See Also:So What If The Hobbits Weren't in The Book? / Peter Jackson Wants To Chat With You About The Hobbit

It's Aliens vs Humans In Peter Jackson's District 9

Written By: Ken Hulsey

With so many good horror movies being made these days, it is not too surprising that a really good looking sci fi movie was able to sneak in under our radar.

"Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson has been working on a good old sci fi epic, which until very recently, has been kept under pretty tight wraps, called "District 9". The film is about a group of alien refugees who are held against their will in a prison camp in South Africa.

The trailer for this one is quite impressive. It looks a lot like "Terminator" and "Transformers" mixed in with a good chunk of "Alien Nation." Unlike "Alien Nation", however, the aliens in this one haven't come to settle in with us humans. In fact both the insect-like refugees and the human powers that be seem to be doing everything in their power to keep each other segregated. It is easy to gather that 'racism' and 'prejudices' are the underlying themes to this one. Certainly the choice of the location for "District 9", South Africa, is a big giveaway in that department.

Jackson is serving as producer on "District 9", the directing duties were given over to Neill Blomkamp, whose short film, "Alive in Joburg" was the main inspiration for the production. In fact just about every facet of Jackson's film comes directly from the prior short.

Here is the film's synopsis:

"District 9" is the tale of extraterrestrial refugees stuck in contemporary South Africa.

It's been 30 years since the aliens made first contact, but there was never any attack from the skies, nor any profound technological revelation capable of advancing our society. Instead, the aliens were treated as refugees. They were the last of their kind, and in order to accommodate them, the government of South Africa set up a makeshift home in District 9 as politicians and world leaders debated how to handle the situation.

As the humans begin to grow wary of the unwelcome intruders, a private company called Multi-National United (MNU) is assigned the task of controlling the aliens. But MNU is less interested in the aliens' welfare than attempting to understand how their weaponry works. Should they manage to make that breakthrough, they will receive tremendous profits to fund their research. Unfortunately, the highly advanced weaponry requires alien DNA in order to be activated. When MNU field operative Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) contracts an unusual virus that causes his DNA to mutate, the tensions between the aliens and the humans intensifies.

Wikus is the key to unlocking the alien's technology, and he quickly becomes the most wanted man on the planet. Ostracized and isolated, Wikus retreats to District 9 in a desperate bid to shake his dogged pursuers.

"District 9" looks like the good old kind of sci fi a lot of us have been craving for a while. A good combination of top-end special effects and a thought provoking story. There seems to be a lot to savor here, great looking alien creatures, great looking alien and human tech and machines, including what look like cool robot designs.

The marketing machine for "District 9" has just begun getting into full swing. Trailers and adverts are starting to pop up just about everywhere in preparation for the film's August 14th release.

Check out this cool MNU website that has been set up by Tristar - http://www.d-9.com/

Here are a couple of pics and the trailer for "District 9":

Peter Jackson Wants To Chat With You About The Hobbit

Source: Peter Jackson / Dark Horse Comics

An Unexpected Party - A Special Message from Peter Jackson

Several years ago -- it seems like lifetime now -- I invited 20 questions from fans right at the start of embarking on The Lord of the Rings trilogy. For me, it was an important and enjoyable moment, when I was able to begin a relationship that helped define our attitude to that unique project. It gave me a sense of responsibility that stayed etched into my brain for the next 5 years.

Well, the time has come again! With us right on the cusp of beginning pre-production on the Hobbit, and its companion movie, it seems fitting to do the same thing again.

It's also fitting that our director, Guillermo Del Toro will join me in answering the questions, since he will be bringing his considerable personal vision to these two movies. It's my moment to hand the baton to Guillermo. It's time for him to address your concerns.

So this is how it will work: we ask all fans with an interest in The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings to send one question to this website. Ask us anything! Guillermo and I will select and answer the 20 most common questions, so that we can both attempt to address the key issues as best we can.

Our answers will be released during a one hour live web chat, hosted by Weta, with both Guillermo and myself logged on. In addition to answering your 20 questions - for the entire hour, we'll take additional live questions and chat about the projects with anybody who's interested.

Please send us your questions and register for the live chat -- and we'll talk to you all in a couple of weeks!

Cheers,
Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro invite you to a live internet chat about The Hobbit.

Peter and Guillermo would love to answer your questions and hear your comments about our new adventure into Middle-Earth.Please register now - to make sure you don't miss out on the Unexpected Party and get regular updates on the movies.

Weta are excited to be hosting this one-hour live online chat on our website www.wetaNZ.com.

Please check the start time for your time zone below:
Los Angeles (Pacific) -- Saturday 24 May 1 pm
New York (Eastern) -- Saturday 24 May 4 pm
London -- Saturday 24 May 9 pm
Paris, Berlin, Rome -- Saturday 24 May 10 pm
Sydney -- Sunday 25 May 6 am
Wellington, Auckland -- Sunday 25 May 8 am

See you at the Unexpected Party!

P.S. Please invite your friends - just forward this to as many as you like!