Sci-Fi Storm

Andy Serkis, perhaps best known for his motion-capture and voice acting that turned Gollum from just CGI into an actual character in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, will add another role during production of The Hobbit films – but this one will be behind the scenes. THR is reporting that Serkis will be the second unit director – which means he will be directing production of secondary footage while Peter Jackson directs the primary shooting (primarily those with the main characters). This could include stunt and action sequences, as well as motion capture. Serkis has done a little directing already, primarily with video games, but plans to go on to live action directing after completing The Hobbit.

At last! Before anything else could go wrong, filming has finally started on The Hobbit. Most recently held up to Peter Jackson’s ulcer, which capped off a long and torturous history for the production. Hopefully production proceeds without issue.

As if to prove it, they release pictures of Jackson inside Bilbo’s house on Bag End…

TheOneRing revealed a couple weeks ago (but flew under my radar until now) what is likely (but not confirmed) as the full titles of the upcoming two films based on The Hobbit – which is good, as it is awkward writing articles with the words “the two The Hobbit films”…whereas The Lord Of The Rings films were fortunate to have had names already to draw from, The Hobbit did not. So one of the titles will take it’s name from the subtitle of the novel, There and Back Again, while the other will adopt An Expected Journey (or possibly The Unexpected Journey – I personally prefer “An”.)

Saoirse Ronan, the 16-year-old Academy Award-nominated actress (for 2007’s Atonement), has reportedly joined the cast of The Hobbit in an unknown role. IMDB lists here as rumored for the role of Itaril, which is as far as I know an invented role for the movie, but is likely one of the Silvan elves of the Mirkwood.

I’m not totally surprised he has an ulcer with all the drama about getting The Hobbit off the ground, but director/producer Peter Jackson’s perforated ulcer resulted in him being admitted to the hospital for surgery. Due to his recovery time, filming which was to begin next month will have a “slight delay”, but otherwise is not expected to have any other impact on production.

Figured I’d address the swirling rumors that have picked up again about David Tennant being cast in The Hobbit – although rumored for months, David Tennant has not yet been confirmed to appear in The Hobbit despite all the recent casting announcements, but more recently the rumors have been more specific – with Tennant taking the role of the king of the Silvan Elves, Thranduil. Tennant may have scheduling issues due to the recent announcement that he and his Doctor Who companion Catherine Tate would star together on stage in London in Much Ado About Nothing, plus his wedding plus rumors of being an expectant father…if you believe The Sun (I’ll wait for another source…)

Also still to be confirmed is Orlando Bloom, rumored to be reprising his role as Legolas. While not specifically appearing by name in the book, there is some logic to his appearance as Legolas was the son of Thranduil and lived among the Silvan elves of Mirkwood, who Bilbo encounters on his journey.

Ian McKellan updated his blog about what kept him from committing to The Hobbit. “All I had to decide was what to do with the time that is given me.” After setting his schedule to be in the area, delays just kept cropping up. Plus, “I kept wondering was Gandalf what I most wanted to do, more than a new play for instance or indeed a new part? Sequels aren’t necessarily as rewarding to act in as their originals. Could I let Gandalf go? Would anyone else care if I did? Elsewhere, does anyone care that Michael Gambon was not the first to play Dumbledore?” In the end, it wasn’t the money that was the deciding point, but dates. “Gandalf is needed on set over the next 18 months but with sizeable breaks when I can work on other projects. My worry that I could not easily escape from Middle Earth was lifted. I am happy to say I start filming in Wellington on February 21 2011.”

Well, that didn’t take long…now THR is reporting that Ian McKellan has signed on to return as Gandalf in The Hobbit films. Although long expected, no word had been received until just now, which left some scratching their heads…at this point, any other signings will be just bonus cameos…

It looks like another of the long-rumored Lord Of The Rings actors has closed the deal on reprising their role in The Hobbit. Deadline reports that Andy Serkis (Gollum) has closed his deal to appear in the films, although confirmation is still pending. I will point out, however that despite rampant reports, Ian McKellan has NOT been confirmed yet (Update: yes he has, finally), nor has Christopher Lee or Ian Holm – although all three are expected. There were recent rumblings of Orlando Bloom returning to play Legolas, but I haven’t heard more on that front.

Speaking of returning characters, TheOneRing.net reports that Frodo will be seen in the opening scenes, likely as part of a narrative where Frodo is reading Bilbo’s “There And Back Again” story, which is pretty much what most expected.

There were lots of articles that took speculation and reports that Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom were in talks to reprise their respective Lord Of The Rings role in The Hobbit as fact that they were returning, but I did apparently miss this report that Wood’s reps have confirmed the actor is confirmed “to star”:
(continue reading…)