Ever since a “casting call” for The Hobbit found its way on to the internet back in January 2010, fans have been wondering much concerning the role of the Elf-maiden (or alternately, Elf warrior-wench!) who’ll supposedly go by the name of Itaril and fall in love with with a young Elf-lord.
It wasn’t long before fans began speculating the casting for the role and, subsequently, Saoirse Ronan got linked to it. But much fun as the speculation was (and is), neither the rumoured role nor the rumoured casting choice have gone down well with many fans. And whether or not the rumours had a ring of truth to them was anyone’s guess.
Come January 2011 and the media has finally gotten to catching up with Saoirse Ronan and asking her directly concerning the possibility of her being cast in the upcoming films. From RTE.ie:
The Oscar-nominated Irish actress is strongly rumoured to be in talks to play the character Itaril in the films, but she did not reveal any further details at the launch of the IFTAs in Dublin yesterday.
When asked if she would like to play the role, she replied: “Yeah if I was asked, certainly.”
Continue reading “Of Saoirse Ronan… and Itaril”
By Mike Fleming at Deadline.com: BREAKING: While Peter Jackson and Warner Bros are figuring out where they’ll shoot back-to-back installments of The Hobbit, Jackson has begun to set his cast for the ambitious projects that will begin shooting in February for release in December 2012, and 2013. As Deadline told you last week, Martin Freeman is set to play Bilbo Baggins, the adventurous Hobbit whose adventures and discovery of the One Ring leads the story up to The Lord of the Rings. Freeman has appeared in films ranging from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Hot Fuzz to Love Actually.
Jackson has cast several other significant Dwarf characters.
Richard Armitage (MI-5 and Captain America: The First Avenger) will play Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the Company of Dwarves which sets off to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from a thieving dragon. Aidan Turner (Being Human) and Rob Kazinsky (EastEnders) will play Kili and Fili, members of the Company of Dwarves. Graham McTavish (Secretariat) will play Dwalin, John Callen (Power Rangers Jungle Fury) will play Oin; Stephen Hunter (All Saints) will play Bombur, and Mark Hadlow (King Kong) plays Dori, while Peter Hambleton (The Strip) will play Gloin. Continue reading “Deadline: Peter Jackson Sets First Names For ‘The Hobbit’”
Thanks to poster Woodyend for finding this nice tidbit of news. 
Ronan Keating has apparently auditioned for a role in The Hobbit as part of his quest to move into the movie industry. There was no mention as to what role he auditioned for or when he might hear back from the producers behind the two-part Lord Of The Rings prequel.
Keating said: “I don’t think I’ll get the role of The Hobbit. But I would like to take on roles which nobody would expect. I don’t want to be reduced to love stories. I’d like to try dark, edgy roles. I need a challenge.” More.
Tom from dvdactive.com sends along news the Peter Jackons’s ‘The Lovely Bones’ will be out on DVD and Blu-ray on April 20th. More details: Paramount Home Entertainment has announced 1-disc DVD ($19.99) and 2-disc Blu-ray ($29.99) releases of The Lovely Bones for the 20th April. We have no word on any extra material for the 1-disc DVD – if anything is included we’ll let you know just as soon as we hear anything. The 2-disc Blu-ray however will include an extensive production diary in 15 segments hosted by Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens that follows the film’s shoot and post-production work on the visual effects. More..
Pre-Order the DVD on Amazon.com [Blu-ray]
The Boyzone star is hoping to relocate to America with his wife, Yvonne, and his children this summer as he attempts to make the transition into films. But if his plan succeeds, he may end up having to pack up once again for New Zealand – where Guillermo del Toro’s Lord of the Rings prequel is set to be filmed.
He explains, “We are going there (to Hollywood) in July, Yvonne and the kids. We’ll get the kids enrolled in school there. It may be for six months or we could even give it a year. We’ll see what happens. I’ve done a couple of castings… I’ve done an audition for The Hobbit. That starts shooting in New Zealand in July so we’d be based there for quite a while instead of LA if it happens.” More..
