We all listened to and read Peter Jackson’s words from Comic-Con about three possible “Hobbit,” movies carefully. But we didn’t listen to all the words and we missed a few things.
He told us. He told us — he did.
He said exactly what he meant, he said it plainly and the media and fans (and me) tried to figure out what he meant when he told us in plainness. Monday, Jackson dropped an atomic bomb of news and fandom reacted accordingly.
“The Hobbit,” adapted for the screen from the 300-page, 75-year-old book by J.R.R. Tolkien changed from from two movies to three in the blink of a Facebook post.
AMBITION
More on the words we ignored in a minute. We need to figure out when these films break, what it means for fans and websites and studios and cinema and the director, but lets not rush past the size and scope of this news. Lets not walk around Paris admiring all the cafes and churches without also pausing and noticing the big tower in the center of town.
We witnessed, the last few weeks since Comic-Con, something monumental, unprecedented, unparalleled and a little bit crazy. Jackson (and when we say “Jackson” we always mean the director and Walsh, Boyens and a team of others supporting their vision) is in unchartered territory here. Continue reading “The bold ‘Hobbit’ trilogy decision and what to expect”
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I admit, when I first heard talk of “a third ‘Hobbit’ movie” from the floor of Comic-Con, I was skeptical. Reporters Quickbeam and Justin brought back footage from a press conference (that you can watch right here) breaking the story that additional shooting was a possibility, directly from Peter Jackson’s mouth. I downplayed it because from a five-week set visit I knew the team was going to return to shooting right after Comic-Con. I thought the media was being its usual bombastic self by calling a little more shooting “a third “Hobbit” movie. They absolutely had it posted first, breaking the story so kudos to them, but I dismissed it. How quickly things change.
Now it seems inevitable that this will happen. Jackson clearly has the will or he wouldn’t have spoken about it so fully. The studio clearly has the will because they are talking about it instead of dismissing it. So what would this mean besides another year of happy blood sweat and tears at TheOneRing.net? Lets look at all the facts and see if we can’t come to some conclusions educated guesses.
ON THE RECORD, WHAT WAS SAID:
Jackson spoke about this, very likely not by accident, from the television press line meet-and-greet at Comic-Con that took place before the famous Hall H event for fans. (Watch the first two or three minutes of Jackson’s own production diary #8 for the best account of Hall H.) Continue reading “Third ‘Hobbit’ movie: How? What? When? Why?”
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Hobbits are taking to the skies once again, but instead of riding giant eagles they are flying Air New Zealand.
The airline has cut a two-year deal with film studios New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to promote the two upcoming movies, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Passengers to and from the United Kingdom and North America will get to fly on two film-branded Boeing 777 aircraft and watch a special edition of the in-flight safety video, both made with the help of Weta workshop.
A Boeing 777-300 will be transformed into a flying billboard for the first movie and a Boeing 777-200 for the second movie.
[More]
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2012 will be a watermark year for the movie business but this week looks a lot like the 1990s and presented some problems for TheOneRing.net’s Film Friday. I didn’t want to watch “Titanic,” or “American Reunion,” which are likely this week’s biggest new releases. In each case, I feel like I have been there before.
I have been much more interested this week in a discussion with some Facebook friends about which films will rule the 2012 box office numbers. “The Hunger Games,” is proving to be a powerful financial force. Some of these friends are fans of “The Hobbit,” but don’t think the film can win the finally tally for the year’s biggest moneymaker. I disagree. (Oh and while we are talking about the film, any media member who writes that it is a prequel is lazy, inaccurate and deserves a gentle kick in the shins. The story stands alone, came first and is so much more than just a lead-up to LOTR.)
While studios care deeply about the financial returns, fans are a lot more interested in art and a thrill at the movies. Still, there is some fun in watching the box office derby and it seems like a dozen websites have sprung up devoted to doing just that.
Lets take a look at one man’s predictions of the final top 10 box office films released in 2012. Continue reading “Film Friday: Can ‘The Hobbit’ rule them all in 2012?”
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Netflix and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) this morning announced a multi-year licensing agreement that will make Netflix the exclusive subscription streaming service in the UK and Ireland for most first-run feature films from the movie studio.
Starting in early 2012, when Netflix is set to make its debut in the UK and Ireland, registered members will be able to watch available content instantly on their television sets, tablets, game consoles, computers and mobile phones. Pricing for the service in these regions has yet to be announced.
Appearing exclusively on Netflix within one year of their theatrical release will be such MGM films as “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” the prequels to the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Zookeeper”, and “21 Jump Street”.
A selection of MGM catalogue titles will also be available on Netflix in the UK and Ireland, including “Fargo,” “The Usual Suspects,” “West Side Story” and “The Amityville Horror”.
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Staffer Kristin Thompson has written from the road with a great giveaway item and a hot rumor. Expect this TORn exclusive to heat up the internet today but it seems the spy network has checked in. Kristin says:
“At MIPCOM, a television trade show held in Cannes on October 3 to 6, this great bag with an image of Bilbo was being given away. It’s trademarked by New Line Cinema and MGM. Rumor has it that a few minutes of footage from THE HOBBIT were also screened!” Continue reading “Exclusive: The first screening of ‘Hobbit’ footage?”
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