Director Peter Jackson's First The Hobbit Video Blog Highlights Start of Production
Posted 04.14.11 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.
Included in the video is Jackson walking through the sets of Bag End, the chambers of Elrond (the elf played by Hugo Weaving in the Lord of the Rings trilogy), and the caves of the Misty Mountains. It also offers a look at scene blocking Martin Freeman (who plays Bilbo Baggins), the company of 13 dwarves, and Ian McKellen (who reprises his role as Gandalf). Andy Serkis is seen getting makeup applied for the motion capture filming of Gollum, and the video concludes with a blessing of the sound stage that leads into the first day of shooting, with Freeman picking up an all-important ring.
The Hobbit was adapted by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Guillermo del Toro, and Philippa Boyens from J.R.R. Tolkien's novel. Elijah Wood, Sylvester McCoy, Mikael Persbrandt, Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, Graham McTavish, Mark Hadlow, John Callen, Stephen Hunter, and Peter Hambleton co-star.
Next Showing: The first installment of
The Hobbit is scheduled to open on December 19, 2012