Sci-Fi Storm

Peter Jackson made a couple of announcements today: first, Wellington, New Zealand will host the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in late November 2012, and also that the Hobbiton set will remain standing and become a permanent tourist attraction once filming has been completed.

Trying to find the funds for the trip now…

Peter Jackson presents the latest from the set of The Hobbit…he also said yesterday that he would not be making a presentation at SDCC this weekend, simply because “it was too early.” So that’s two of us not in San Diego right now…

It’s been almost three months since Peter Jackson posted a video from the set of The Hobbit, but here is the second video from the set, featuring Andy Serkis, Ian McKellan, and some of the dwarves, other cast and crew and what they are going to do while they take a short break, plus some location scouting…and just 200 shooting days left!

Yesterday marked the release of the [sfs=1121]Lord of the Rings Extended Edition on Blu-ray[/sfs], and to celebrate Warner Bros. held a “Midnight Madness” event. If you weren’t able to be there in person in Los Angeles Tuesday night, check out the recap video and images below!

The grand-prize winner of the costume contest, judged remotely by WETA’s Daniel Falconer and Richard Taylor and given a special VIP tour of “Middle-earth”, was an interesting interpretation of a Balrog.
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Peter Jackson revealed on Facebook a couple more castings for The Hobbit: Evangeline Lilly (Lost will play Tauriel, a Sylvan elf created for the movie, and Barry Humphries (best known for one of his alter egos, Dame Edna) will play the Goblin King.

About Tauriel and Lilly, Jackson said, “Her name means ‘daughter of Mirkwood’ and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.) What is not a secret is how talented and compelling an actress Evangeline is; we are thrilled and excited she will be the one to bring our first true Sylvan Elf to life.

“I’m also highly excited that Barry Humphries will be portraying the Goblin King, in much the way Andy Serkis created Gollum. Barry is perhaps best known for his business and social connections as the long-time manager of Dame Edna Everage. He has also been an ardent supporter of the rather misunderstood and unfairly maligned Australian politician, Sir Les Patterson. However, in his spare time, Barry is also a fine actor, and we’re looking forward to seeing him invest the Goblin King with the delicate sensitivity and emotional depth this character deserves.”

In anticipation of the the release of the Blu-ray [sfs=1121]Lord Of The Rings Trilogy Extended Edition[/sfs] on June 28th, Warner Home Video is having a “Middle-earth Midnight Madness” event starting at noon on June 27th at Best Buy’s West Los Angeles location, 11301 W. Pico Boulevard, which will include a costume contest, cast members, and more…and the winner of the costume contest can win an awesome prize, a VIP “Tour of Middle-earth” – an all-expense-paid trip to New Zealand (Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown), courtesy of Air New Zealand and Weta Workshop. Read below for the full press release.

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Deadline is reporting that Benedict Cumberbatch, who stars as the title character in Steven Moffat’s BAFTA-winning retelling of Sherlock and is already lending his voice to the character of the Necromancer (a.k.a. Sauron) in The Hobbit, will play a second role in the films with a tad more physical presence – he will also portray the dragon Smaug via motion capture. Cumberbatch has been very busy as of late, with supporting roles in the upcoming Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and War Horse films, and an expected second series of Sherlock also on the horizon.

Also announced today is the casting of the role of Bard, which has gone to Luke Evans, who previously played Apollo in the recent Clash of the Titans and will play Aramis in the upcoming The Three Musketeers and Zeus in The Immortals.

Back in March two possible titles for the two upcoming The Hobbit films had possibly been learned: An Unexpected Journey and There and Back Again (the last being the book’s subtitle). We now know these titles are official, and in that order. We also now know the release dates: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will debut on December 14th, 2012, with The Hobbit: There and Back Again following on December 13th, 2013.

At last, it will make them easier to talk about…

Interesting news from Peter Jackson a short time ago – Actor/Comedian Stephen Fry (Kingdom) has joined the cast of The Hobbit, playing the Master of Laketown (Esgaroth).

Also joining are Ryan Gage (Hamlet) as Alfrid, the Master’s civil cervant, apparently an invented role for the movie, and Conan Stevens (True Legend) as the Orc Azog.

Well, the long simmering rumors that David Tennant will join the cast of The hobbit have taken a hit again, with Peter Jackson announcing on Facebook that Lee Pace (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn) will take the role of King Thranduil. Simultaneously he announced that Kiwi actor Dean O’Gorman (Young Hercules) will take over the role of Fili after Rob Kazinsky dropped out of the role.

Mind you, they still haven’t said Tennant hasn’t been given a different role, so I’m sure rumors will still run…