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Extreme fandom manifests itself in many ways: fan fiction, fan films, and, in worst case scenarios, stalking. And, despite the amount of fame one achieves, it's hard for anyone to not "geek out" on their favorite stuff. Take Stephen Colbert of ComedyCentral's The Colbert Report who managed to devote an entire week to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and interviewed members of the cast and director Peter Jackson. While doing celebrity interviews isn't exactly new, Colbert is a notorious fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, with knowledge of Tolkien bordering on the academic since he speaks elvish. Colbert was even invited to the New Zealand set of The Hobbit while the movie was in production.
"He’s such an expert on Tolkien, he really is, he can quote it at length," Ian McKellen told THR about Colbert. That expertise was on display when Jackson appeared for his interview. While discussing The Hobbit's recent transformation into a trilogy, the director asked Colbert to explain what Tolkien's intent was for the appendices at the end of the Return of the King novel, which Jackson is using as further source material.
watch the interview >> Posted 12.10.12 by Ryan -
Typical hobbit.
We're still a little dizzy from the footage revealed in last month's second full-length trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (and the subsequent extra scenes), yet, as the promotional campaign shifts to the small screen, more snippets of footage have arrived in the movie's latest TV spot.
Based on author J.R.R. Tolkien's first trip to Middle-Earth, The Hobbit is a more whimsical tale than the Lord of the Rings trilogy, as evidenced in the TV spot, which sees Gandalf (Ian McKellen) trying to convince Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) to leave the comforts of his beloved Shire, interspersed with footage of Bilbo battling trolls and Gollum (Andy Serkis). As McKellen revealed to Coming Soon during a set visit, the lighter tone should be reflected in the final product.
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watch the TV spot and read more from mckellen, freeman and jackson on the adaptation >> Posted 10.26.12 by Ryan -
Return to Middle-earth with new still images from The Hobbit
If you're a fan of high fantasy, then you're probably already drinking a pint of Gaffer's ale and singing "The Road Goes Ever On" in celebration of Tolkien Week along with the thousands of other J.R.R. Tolkien fans around the world — that is, assuming you haven't been stuck in the Mines of Moria since 1978, the year the American Tolkien Society first proclaimed Tolkien Week and set Sept. 22nd as Hobbit Day. With the first part of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings prequels opening in less than three months, Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema and MGM decided to join in on the fun by releasing a huge batch of new still images from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, with a new trailer to follow later today. Pour yourself another pint and enjoy the new still images with us as we reminisce about seven of the things that we have been missing about Middle-Earth and are looking forward to when Tolkien's creations return to the big screen this winter.
see the new images >> Posted 09.19.12 by BrentJS -
It's been over a month since director Peter Jackson released the seventh production video from the set of his two-part prequel, The Hobbit, which was the last footage available to fans until Jackson revealed some edited footage to those lucky enough to get inside Hall H during Warner Bros.' Comic-Con presentation. Luckily, Jackson has released an eighth video, which shows snippets of what was shown that day.
Starting at Comic-Con, Jackson introduces a behind-the-scenes look at the final week of shooting, which concentrated mostly on the second part, There and Back Again. Jackson is quick to point out that he can't reveal much from the second movie, but there's plenty for fans to enjoy, including Cate Blanchett on the set as Galadriel acting alongside Ian McKellen as Gandalf; Orlando Bloom as Legolas being directed by second unit director Andy Serkis (who also plays Gollum); plus sections devoted to new cast members Sylvester McCoy (who plays the wizard Radagast) and Lee Pace, who is seen preparing to play the Elven King Thranduil.
watch the video >> Posted 07.24.12 by Ryan -
Fans haven't seen any more official footage from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first chapter of the two-part prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, since the first trailer arrived at the end of last year. However, director-producer-co-writer Peter Jackson has been good about releasing production video on his Facebook page.
Starting where the fifth production video left off, the latest peek into Jackson's The Hobbit continues to show beautiful shots of the New Zealand landscape used for the movie's sets, with commentary from some of the dwarves in the cast — Bifur (William Kircher), Kili (Aidan Turner), Fili (Dean O'Gorman), Ori (Adam Brown), Nori (Jed Brophy), and Dori (Mark Hadlow). The video also has Martin Freeman, dressed as from Bilbo Baggins, and Andy Serkis in his capacity as second unit director. (Serkis also returns as Gollum (in motion-capture) in the movie.)
watch the video >> Posted 03.01.12 by Ryan -
Following hot on the furry little heels of the release of the first poster and trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first chapter of the two-part prequel to The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy — and just in time for the holidays — co-writer, producer and director Peter Jackson has delivered yet another "present" for the fans: a new video blog offering a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie.
The fifth such production video blog Jackson has released to date, the latest one focuses on "the logistics of location shooting." As boring as that may sound to some — and we do see a lot of loading and unloading of vehicles and equipment — the 12-minute video also contains beautiful shots of New Zealand and "Hobbiton" and tons of footage of cast members on the set in full costume, from original LOTR actors like Sir Ian McKellen as the wizard Gandalf and Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, to Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, the central character of The Hobbit, and several (if not all) of the actors who play the company of dwarves (creator J.R.R. Tolkien's spelling) who hire Bilbo to "burgle" for them from the mighty dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).
watch the production video >> Posted 12.26.11 by BrentJS -
Actor Ian McKellen has played a variety of roles in his long career, but two of his most iconic have been the mutant leader Magneto in the X-Men trilogy and the wise wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. McKellen is reprising the role of Gandalf in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, the upcoming, two-part prequel to The Lord of the Rings, and it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role (thankfully, we don't have to for now). However, during an interview the December issue of Empire (via New Zealand Herald), however, McKellen revealed that he initially turned down the role of Gandalf.
At the time I was about to play Magneto in the X-Men film in Toronto. I was already committed to that ... and it meant I couldn't get to New Zealand in time. So I had to tell [writer-director-producer] Peter [Jackson] I could no longer do Gandalf.
How did mckellen end up as Gandalf? >> Posted 11.12.11 by Ryan -
Writer-director-producer Peter Jackson has used his Facebook page to reveal casting announcements, video blogs and more for his upcoming, two–part prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy,The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, but Entertainment Weekly has the first photos from the movie.
An official photo of the cast has been previously revealed, but this is the first time the actor have been shown in costume, though the photos keep mostly to Martin Freeman, who plays Bilbo, and Ian McKellen as Gandalf, who should look familiar to all who have seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Accompanying the photos are some notes from Jackson, who complimented Freeman and his performance.
He fits the ears, and he's got some very nice feet. I think he's got the biggest hobbit feet we've had so far. They're a little bit hard to walk in, but he's managed to figure out the perfect hobbit gait.
more from jackson >> Posted 06.24.11 by Ryan -
Gone are the days when fans could only read about upcoming movies in magazines and watch footage in trailers on TV before seeing the real thing on the big screen. Director Peter Jackson has recognized that the peering blogs of the Internet don't keep anything secret for long, so he's introduced a commitment to transparency through his Facebook page. Jackson has already delivered a Master class in frame rates, and his latest offering is a video blog that goes behind the scenes of The Hobbit, chronicling the start of production.
watch the video >> Posted 04.14.11 by Ryan -
We're still a couple weeks away from the start of principal photography on The Hobbit, but pre-production work on the highly-anticipated two-part prequel to the The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy has been underway for some time (at least as far back as March 2009 when Weta, the special effects, props and digital visual effects company behind LOTR, District 9, Avatar and many other movies, announced that it was "in production" on The Hobbit). LOTR director Peter Jackson returns to the world of Middle Earth created by J.R.R. Tolkien and this time he has brought 3-D technology with him. Sir Ian McKellen, who played the wizard Gandalf in LOTR and will reprise the role in The Hobbit tweeted several weeks ago that he "saw Bilbo in 3D," and now he has updated his personal website with a blog about the experience.
read what mckellen wrote about 3-D bilbo >> Posted 03.09.11 by BrentJS