C.S. Lewis was good friends with author J.R.R. Tolkien, author of both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. As a big fan of Tolkien, I am pleased to announce that filming on The Hobbit began today in New Zealand. Our friends at Weta have been hard at work for years on the project, and that work is now coming together to bring their next masterpiece to the big screen in the form of a pair of movies based on the earlier work of the brilliant author.
Press Release
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.
I seriously can’t wait for this! I’ve been keeping up with all the news from TheOneRing.net and the-hobbit-movie.com, as well other sites. I’m so excited!
omg!!! i want Narnia news!!! not The hobbit! lol!!!! this is narniafans.com!! not J.R.R.fans.com!!! lol!!!!!! sorry for being so rude but is just that i hate LOTR! they are really badly made!! and has way bad CGI!! lol sorry for all LOTR fans!! its my opinion!! =)
There is such a thing as an incorrect opinion. This is one of those opinions that is not only wrong, but it is also completely based in only a hatred for the film and not anything more than that.
Amen to that Paul. They are really respected books. I am not the hugest fan of them (I prefer Narnia), but a lot of people do and for you,Aslan Fan, to disrespect them like that… It is really immature and sad. Since your a fan of Aslan, I should ask you this,”How would Aslan react to you or this situation and your comment?” to put it in your terms. Quite disrespectful!
THANK YOU
A wise man once said, “If you can’t say anything good, then don’t say anything.”
are you serious? TLOTR was way better than any of the narnia films!
wow this is indeed very exciting!…………thanxs for letting us know….wow its been ages since the LOTR has been made…Paul hmm which series do you prefer…between this series and the narnia series…me personally i like narnia better!….
Yay, I just hope Magician Nephew is released at the same time.
Magician’s nephew would get destroyed by the hobbit.
Maybe it will be destroyed!! but the story will never be the same as Narnia. Narnia is an awesome fantasy!! LTHR is just a typical fantasy!!! boring and way long!! Narnia is 100% better!!!!
Actually, the Lord of the Rings is the reason that modern fantasy even exists. It not only re-defined Fantasy… it defined it. All fantasy since has been influenced by Tolkien. This is why Tolkien seems to be typical, because it was the first and greatest example of a masterpiece. (It was named the greatest novel of the 20th Century for good reason.)
mjm lol!!! those storys are horrible!!! and borring!!!!! Narnia rules!!!!!
My brother’s been keeping me informed with everything about this movie recently. 😉 I’m looking forward to seeing it on the big screen!
lol!!!! jajajajajajajajajajaajajajajajajajajjaja!!!! I love my comment!!! it came out of my Heart!!!!!
I’m SOOOOOO excited about this movie!!!!! LOTR is so epic and I just can’t wait to see how awesome this movie will be! thanks for the post!
OMGoodness! I am SOSOSOSOSOSO excited!!! I haven’t actually seen the LotR, (IK, shame on me. I can’t because my dad says it’s too scary, but after I read the books, he says I am finally old enough.) but I read the book for the Hobbit. I can’t wait to see all four of them!!!
I can’t wait to see it. I only saw the first one in theater and it was a bad experience. I wasn’t into big fantasy like that at the time and I was more Harry Potter obsessed. On top of that when my parents took us to see it, I had a terrible fever so the movie’s intensity only made me feel worse. overtime a long period of time I grew to like them. I wish I found my love for them earlier so I could have seen the last two in theater. Now I will get another chance, finally.
I was a kid when the trilogy came out, and only became a fan two years ago, so I never saw the others in theater. Although other fans wish that The Hobbit had been made sooner, I’m very thankful for the delay, because it means that I will be able to see this movie on the big screen! =)
My thoughts exactly. I was also too young to see LOTR when it first came out and am very glad that I’ll be able to see the Hobbit in theaters! By the time the 2nd part comes out I might even be able to DRIVE there to see it. 😀