Sci-Fi Storm

Whether you are surprised or it confirmed your belief all along, word has come down that production of The Hobbit will remain in New Zealand. The NZ government has reached an agreement with Warner Bros. on broadening the goverment’s incentive program, which could net WB an extra US$15 million in rebates, as well as begin the legislative process to better define the position of actors and other workers (which could mean the end to the unionization process, to the chagrin of the existing unions), and a long-term marketing partnership.

Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy, while speaking at Armageddon Expo down in Auckland, NZ, confirmed that he has been offered the role of Radagast the Brown (one of the Istari – wizards – like Gandalf and Saruman) in The Hobbit – all that remains is signing the contract. Rumors also continue to swirl around Tenth Doctor David Tennant getting a role as well…

Steven Spielberg has confirmed he will direct Robopocalypse as his next film. [asin=0385533853]Robopocalypse[/asin] is a novel by Daniel H. Wilson that will be published next year about humans attempting to survive a robot uprising. Drew Goddard (Lost, Cloverfield) adapted the screenplay.

Warner Bros. has given a press release regarding the cast of The Hobbit. As recently rumored, Martin Freeman (The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) will play Bilbo Baggins, and Richard Armitage (the Robin Hood BBC series, MI-5) will play Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the dwarves. Alsoseven of the twelve dwarves that accompany Thorin and Bilbo were named: Aidan Turner (Being Human) as Kili; Rob Kazinsky (EastEnders) as Fili; Graham McTavish (Secretariat) as Dwalin; John Callen (Power Rangers Jungle Fury) as Oin; Stephen Hunter (All Saints) as Bombur; Mark Hadlow (King Kong) as Dori; and Peter Hambleton (The Strip) as Gloin. No confirmation on Ian McKellan as Gandalf yet.

Never mind Bilbo’s adventure out of the Shire…it looks like Warner Bros. is picking up the Shire and going home…or at least somewhere else. Due to the unsettled union issues surrounding production in New Zealand, Warner Bros. is planning to move the production to possibly the studio used for Harry Potter in the U.K., and is getting offers from other countries for breaks to move the production to their locations. “Next week Warners are coming down to New Zealand to make arrangements to move the production offshore. It appears we cannot make films in our own country even when substantial financing is available,” according to Sir Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. Although the matter could still be settled, it is not an uphill battle for New Zealand to keep the production.

Update: It appears that the acting union has now dropped their plans for a boycott…which should allow other unions’ actors to join the cast, but the bridge may have been burned already…

Always looking to see what David Tennant is up to, I’m now hearing from multiple sources that he may be up for an unnamed role in The Hobbit, and that Jekyll‘s James Nesbitt may have already been offered another role, and Michael Fassbender (Magneto in X-Men: First Class) is also up for a role. Martin Freeman (Sherlock) is still the expected frontrunner for Bilbo, so none of these others are likely up for that part. No casting announcements have been made (although Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis are fully expected), so these could just be random rumors, but here’s hoping…

Disney’s first major benefit of acquiring Marvel may be in the distribution rights to the upcoming Marvel films The Avengers and Iron Man 3, with Paramount assigning the rights to Disney for a guaranteed minimum up front of $115 million against the distribution fees. Paramount will retain the rights on Thor and Captain America.

Reports are hitting the streets that The Hobbit has finally gotten the go ahead for formal production – TheWrap reports that the production has been given the green light, with Peter Jackson agreeing to direct in addition to his producing and writing duties, although The Hollywood Reporter says that the acting union issue is still a key hurdle to be overcome to make the hoped for February filming date, and that the MGM debt/funding issue is not necessarily settled, but shouldn’t be a stopper.

Update: – It’s official now, as New Line president Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros. President Alan Horn, and MGM co-CEO Steve Cooper jointly announced it, with principle photography to begin in February.

The lead actress list for Gravity is still growing. Sandra Bullock is now reportedly in negotiations, after it was reported a month ago that Natalie Portman was the likely candidate, and previous to that Angelina Jolie was expected to be the lead. Gravity, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, is about a woman trapped alone aboard a space station after an accident kills the rest of the crew.

If you were hoping to see a complete 3D Harry Potter film – you’re going to wait longer. Warner Bros. announced today that when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 is released on November 19th, it will only be in 2D – because the 3D conversion will not be completed in time and still meet the “highest standards of quality”. No word about a later release, or what will happen with Part 2.