Wired’s Erik Wecks makes a compelling case for Tolkien fans to not get too excited about the Hobbit.
What’s he on about? Well, he noticed something in the teaser (one that many other people did as well), but he’s gone a step further and drawn some interesting parallels to one of the most controversial and bizarre changes that Walsh and Boyens made for The Return of The King. Of course, this being the internet, your mileage may vary. Naturally, there are movie spoilers.
Evangeline Lilly, taking on the role of an invented female Elf character in The Hobbit, has been spotted in Wellington, New Zealand as the second and much longer stint of filming is soon to begin.
Lilly, who has been occupied for six years with the television hit Lost, will play a character written into the scrip for the two films written by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh,Phillipa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro.
Thanks to Ataahua for the heads up from the The Daily Mail.
Today’s press conference opened with an apology from Peter Jackson, who said he couldn’t be there as he was “under a form of medical house arrest” since being hospitalised with a perforated ulcer last week.
“And to be honest, perhaps it’s just as well. These guys make me laugh so hard that I’d be in danger of popping a stitch or something,” Jackson continued in his statement.
Confirming the truth of that, the cast of 13 dwarves and one hobbit kept up a constant flow of quips and wisecracks throughout the whole press conference. We knew Martin Freeman was funny with a good script – well, he’s hilarious without one as well.
TheOneRing.net staffer and regular contributor Treebeard was lucky enough to have the chance to chat with Graham McTavish (Dwalin) about his role in The Hobbit.
Treebeard (T.B.) I am here with Graham McTavish, interviewing him for TheOneRing.net about his upcoming role as a Dwalin in The Hobbit. Hi Graham!
Graham McTavish (G.M.) Hello.
T.B. Did you have any interest in the works of Tolkien before you auditioned for The Hobbit?
G.M. Yes. I’d read “The Lord of the Rings” probably when I was about eighteen, all three straight through, and like most teenagers that encountered the books for the first time, it allowed me to disappear into a whole different world that I always looked forward to going back to while I was reading it. I hadn’t read “The Hobbit,” but I did, very quickly, when I was asked! [laughs] It’s very interesting for me the difference between the two books, I suppose, being that “The Hobbit” seems to me a much more straightforward, linear adventure story. I’ve be interested to find out, when I’ve told people that I’m doing this, a lot of them prefer “The Hobbit”, in some ways. And, also it seems to be amongst every man I’ve met, the first book they ever read. Continue reading “TORN Exclusive: Graham ‘Dwalin’ McTavish Interview”
Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens were interviewed on radio NZ last Thursday (before unions lifted the blacklist on ‘The Hobbit’). Both ladies are clearly frustrated at the situation and are not afraid to show it. With WB execs flying in next week it is clear that Walsh, Boyens and Jackson are the only 3 people that can possibly save The Hobbit from leaving NZ. If they manage to prove NZ is a good choice as a location to make the films all can be saved. Now we wait…
These clips were previously available as MP3’s, however to add them to YouTube we’ve added a few photos of Fran, Philippa and Peter through the years. Take a listen.
The media in New Zealand has been careful to give both sides of the dispute regarding the Australian and New Zealand actors’ unions and the possibilities that the two-part “Hobbit” production might leave the nation’s shores. Union spokespersons have claimed in several interviews (look down our page for video) that movie studios knew of the lifting of the “do not work” ban days ago and delayed the announcement, something Peter Jackson and Philipa Boyens have denied in the same interviews. Now New Line Cinema has released an official statement regarding the entire dispute.
Recent reports that the boycott of The Hobbit was lifted by unions a number of days ago and that Warner Bros asked to delay this announcement are false. It was not until last night that we received confirmation of the retractions from SAG, NZ Equity and Continue reading “New Line issues statement about ‘Hobbit’ boycott”