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[The Hobbit] Rough cut is in the wild!

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Posts

  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    Some fun casting news today.

    The role of "Master of Laketown," a fairly small role in the book, is to be played by none other than Stephen Fry. No word yet on if the role will be expanded in the film.

    Well, there's that long-standing "Stephen Fry is involved in some fashion" rumor taken care of.

    You know, I really wouldn't mind if Jackson deviates from the book quite a bit. The Lord of the Rings books showed that he definitely stayed true to the spirit of the books while making them rollicking movies. I can't really think of a major change that wasn't either innocuous or an improvement (when it came to adapting the flick to the screen, at least), other than maybe the elves showing up for Helm's Deep.

    I think having the elves at Helm's Deep was a decent answer to the question of, "Hey, why the fuck aren't you helping us, you elfin jerkwads?" that would have existed otherwise.

    Without at least a modicum of military support and sacrifice, the elves kinda come off as holier-than-thou douchebags who just run away right when Middle Earth needs them most.

    well ....

    Xaquin on
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    How much would it suck to be in Haldir's legion, eh?

    "My fellow elvin brothers, tomorrow we leave for the eternal peace of the Grey Havens and remove ourselves from this realm of war and suffering for all time."

    "Hooray!"

    "Except for you guys over there. You gotta go to Helm's Deep and get murdered in a muddy pit."

    " . . . . aw."

    Atomika on
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Orlando Bloom is now officially set to return as Legolas in The Hobbit. Let the speculation on where the fuck he's actually going to show up (and in which film) begin!

    As well, Martin Freeman (young Bilbo) is back on set after finishing up his run on Sherlock, the modernized telling of Sherlock Holmes on British television, and he's brought company. Specifically, series star and the titular Holmes himself, Benedict Cumberbatch. Other than holding obviously the most English name ever, little else is known about Cumberbatch's duties on set. Early rumors pegged him at playing the voice of Smaug, but were quickly shot down as "stupid," since no one would need to fly to New Zealand for voice-over work this early in the production, if at all. Speculation now is that he'll be playing the role of Bard the Bowman.


    Seems that David Tennant will be not joining the cast, given the casting of Lee Pace as the Elvinking. Ah, well. We still have one Dr. Who on board.

    Atomika on
  • MetroidZoidMetroidZoid Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Damn. That would've been cool to see Tennant as the Elvinking. Still, not knocking down Pace. Either would've been a good choice.

    MetroidZoid on
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  • Unco-ordinatedUnco-ordinated NZRegistered User regular
    edited May 2011
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    Some fun casting news today.

    The role of "Master of Laketown," a fairly small role in the book, is to be played by none other than Stephen Fry. No word yet on if the role will be expanded in the film.

    Well, there's that long-standing "Stephen Fry is involved in some fashion" rumor taken care of.

    You know, I really wouldn't mind if Jackson deviates from the book quite a bit. The Lord of the Rings books showed that he definitely stayed true to the spirit of the books while making them rollicking movies. I can't really think of a major change that wasn't either innocuous or an improvement (when it came to adapting the flick to the screen, at least), other than maybe the elves showing up for Helm's Deep.

    I think having the elves at Helm's Deep was a decent answer to the question of, "Hey, why the fuck aren't you helping us, you elfin jerkwads?" that would have existed otherwise.

    Without at least a modicum of military support and sacrifice, the elves kinda come off as holier-than-thou douchebags who just run away right when Middle Earth needs them most.

    I always thought it was added because they had no time to show/mention that in the books the elves were fighting the armies of Dol Guldur at the time.

    I haven't watched the movies in a while (should get around to that) but as far as I remember, most of the changes Sir PJ made were for the better. Boromir's death and the complete removal of Tom Bombadil stand out to me, though I'm sure there were quite a few others I can't remember at the moment. Really glad they scrapped the idea of Arwen going to Helms Deep though, that would've been stupid.

    Unco-ordinated on
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  • KalkinoKalkino Buttons Londres Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    I don't recall understanding or liking all the changes, but it has been a while, so I guess I should review.


    Anyway, the real question is, when will we get a Tom Bombadil film?

    Kalkino on
    Freedom for the Northern Isles!
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Official New Line/Warners release statement for the release dates and titles of Volumes 1 & 2.
    New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures and MGM have announced the titles and release dates for filmmaker Peter Jackson’s two-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s enduringly popular masterpiece “The Hobbit.” The first film, titled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will be released on December 14, 2012. The second film, titled The Hobbit: There and Back Again, is slated for release the following year, on December 13, 2013.

    Both films are set in Middle-earth 60 years before Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The adventure of “The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug.

    Under Jackson’s direction, both movies are being shot consecutively in digital 3D using the latest camera and stereo technology. Filming is taking place at Stone Street Studios, Wellington, and on location around New Zealand.

    Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, the character he played in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Martin Freeman, who just won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the BBC series “Sherlock,” takes on the central role of Bilbo Baggins. Also reprising their roles from “The Lord of the Rings” movies are: Cate Blanchett as Galadriel; Orlando Bloom as Legolas; Ian Holm as the elder Bilbo; Christopher Lee as Saruman; Hugo Weaving as Elrond; Elijah Wood as Frodo; and Andy Serkis as Gollum. The ensemble cast also includes (in alphabetical order) Richard Armitage, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, Mike Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O’Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott, Jeffrey Thomas and Aidan Turner.

    The screenplays for “The Hobbit” films are by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson. Jackson is also producing the films, together with Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham. The executive producers are Ken Kamins and Zane Weiner, with Philippa Boyens serving as co-producer.

    “The Hobbit” films are productions of New Line Cinema and MGM, with New Line managing production. Warner Bros Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television licensing being handled by MGM.

    TL;DR: An Unexpected Journey, December 14, 2012; There and Back Again, December 13, 2013. Also, official confirmations for Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, and Stephen Fry.


    Also, Peter Jackson has obtusely answered some questions about the peripheral stories taking place in the film.
    We will see the White Council and their dealings with Dol Guldur prominently in one or both films.

    Atomika on
  • SliderSlider Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Bogart wrote: »
    Christopher Lee looked quite frail at the BAFTA awards at which he was given a Fellowship this year. I hope his health allows him to be involved.

    I have to think any potential work he does on The Hobbit will strictly be done sitting down, or (like in ROTS and AOTC) mostly done by digital double.

    It wouldn't surprise me if he went to Wellington for little more than some costume fittings, vocal recordings, and body scanning. Lee was already significantly physically limited during the LOTR production, and that wa 10 years ago.

    But if they can get him for Saruman again, that would be pretty great on several levels.

    He just had his 89th birthday a few days ago.

    Slider on
  • RikushixRikushix VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Yay Christopher Lee!

    Rikushix on
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  • VeeveeVeevee WisconsinRegistered User regular
    edited May 2011
    This has to be the best press release I've ever read. I'm having a nerdgasm here

    Veevee on
  • SliderSlider Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Wait, what? Stephen Fry?

    Slider on
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Slider wrote: »
    Wait, what? Stephen Fry?

    Have you not been paying attention?

    That means you probably didn't hear about Benedict Cumberbatch, or Nick Frost, or Simon Pegg joining the cast, either.


    So good news! Now you know!

    Atomika on
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    It seems that the cast is, more or less, officially complete and locked in.

    While many others have been linked to the role, the part of Bard the Bowman has been landed by up-and-coming Welsh thespian, Luke Evans. He was briefly seen before in Clash of the Titans as Apollo, and will be playing Aramis in this summer's The Three Musketeers as well as returning to the pantheon as Zeus in Tarsem Singh's The Immortals with new Superman Henry Cavill.

    Which still leaves us with Benedict Cumberbatch, whom Martin Freeman and Peter Jackson assured us was now part of the production, and generally rumored for the part Luke Evans won. Well, Cumberbatch is officially the voice of Smaug the Dragon. A bit of mixed news, really, as while Cumberbatch's aristocratic nasal whine likely suits the character of Smaug, I think we were all hoping Bill Nighy would land the part as heavily rumored.

    Interesting, it seems that Cumberbatch was offered the role of Smaug after Jackson was impressed with his readings for the bit-part of The Necromancer. Could Cumberbatch be pulling a Rhys-Davies and playing two characters? Maybe.


    That should be it, folks! Casting wrapped.

    Atomika on
  • CenoCeno pizza time Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Ain't it Cool was reporting today that Evangeline Lilly is playing an elf. Guess if they're not using Merry, they may as well use his girlfriend.

    Man, Dominic Monaghan made out like a bandit. I'll be in these ridiculously fantastic Oscar-winning movies, then go be in one of the most popular tv shows of all time. Oh and the incredibly sexy lady from that show? Yeah, got her too.

    Ceno on
  • cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    So did Peter Jackson find space for John Rhys-Davies after he finally decided he'd be interested? Or did he tell him to bugger off?

    cloudeagle on
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  • CenoCeno pizza time Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    So did Peter Jackson find space for John Rhys-Davies after he finally decided he'd be interested? Or did he tell him to bugger off?

    No idea. It would be nice. There are always pickups. Think about how much changed due to pickups for the LOTR trilogy. Aragorn originally fought Sauron for cryin' out loud. It was the makeup allergy that was causing his reticence to return, right? I kinda don't blame him for that.

    God, I'm already excited. Getting the extended blu-ray set next week. Maybe that will keep me sane until these come out.

    Ceno on
  • cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Ceno wrote: »
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    So did Peter Jackson find space for John Rhys-Davies after he finally decided he'd be interested? Or did he tell him to bugger off?

    No idea. It would be nice. There are always pickups. Think about how much changed due to pickups for the LOTR trilogy. Aragorn originally fought Sauron for cryin' out loud. It was the makeup allergy that was causing his reticence to return, right? I kinda don't blame him for that.

    More or less. I remember on the commentaries they were talking about special stuff they did for each actor on their last day of shooting. For John Rhys-Davies they gave him a disembodied cast of his makeup he could hurl into a fire.

    There's that, plus the fact that John Rhys-Davies is a curmudgeonly bastard.

    cloudeagle on
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  • ShawnaseeShawnasee Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Is there any way we could fit Mos Def in here somewhere?

    Shawnasee on
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Shawnasee wrote: »
    Is there any way we could fit Mos Def in here somewhere?

    Jackson (and to a lesser extent, Tolkien) firmly established in LOTR that your potential for good is determined by your skin color, starting with white wizards and blonde elves, and descending on down.


    So unless the mighty Mos wants to play "Evil Pirate #2" or something, . . . .

    Atomika on
  • Captain CarrotCaptain Carrot Alexandria, VARegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    But note that the bleached Elves didn't do a whole lot, whereas the more tanned/swarthy Men, Dwarves, and Halflings saved the day. And what color are the Eagles, huh? How about the Ents?

    Captain Carrot on
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    But note that the bleached Elves didn't do a whole lot, whereas the more tanned/swarthy Men, Dwarves, and Halflings saved the day. And what color are the Eagles, huh? How about the Ents?

    The eagles were clearly a diversity hire.

    Atomika on
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    PROOF! The Hobbit is actually happening!

    Pics, here.

    Atomika on
  • CenoCeno pizza time Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    My blu-ray set of the extended editions of the Lord of the Rings films arrived today, thanks to release-day shipping from Amazon. Everything about this package is extraordinarily beautiful. From the case that holds all three of the films, to the individual films' packaging, to the picture quality. My god, the picture quality.

    I held out for these editions of the films before I got the blu-rays, as I consider (as should everyone) these films to be the definitive editions. They are so much substantially better than the theatrical versions.

    Ceno on
  • JihadJesusJihadJesus Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Wait, are you saying there's a BluRay special edition of the extended version of the trilogy? Because if so, it's time to hit the Olive Garden to scrape up the cash for a PS3 and those discs.

    JihadJesus on
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Glad to hear, Ceno. I hear the transfers are astounding. If anyone has seen the so-called HD versions of the films on TNT, be aware that the EE BRDs are actually a wholly new 1080p/DTS 6.1 master, not an upscaled 720p patchwork.

    My biggest gripes, and maybe my only gripes, are that the films are still split across 2 discs each, and that none of the original extras are remastered in HD.

    Atomika on
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    JihadJesus wrote: »
    Wait, are you saying there's a BluRay special edition of the extended version of the trilogy? Because if so, it's time to hit the Olive Garden to scrape up the cash for a PS3 and those discs.

    Wal-Mart has the best B&M price, matching Amazon's $70. MSRP is a whoppin' $140.

    Also, it's 4 discs longer than the original EE cuts. So sixteen discs in all.

    Atomika on
  • CenoCeno pizza time Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Some pictures, just for funsies.

    The outer cover:

    img0411d.jpg

    The inner cover:

    img0412mv.jpg

    The film cases:

    img0413k.jpg

    Ceno on
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Wow, Arwen made the cover of all three versions.

    Atomika on
  • CenoCeno pizza time Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Man, I love the fight between Gandalf and Saruman in Fellowship. It's just two old guys beating the shit out of each other with magic.

    Edit: I'm don't know what the transfer of the theatrical version looked like on blu-ray, but Fellowship looks astounding.

    Ceno on
  • iguanacusiguanacus Desert PlanetRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Best-buy also has this priced at $70, and they also have a version with some pewter figurines for $100

    iguanacus on
  • RikushixRikushix VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I was downtown on Sunday and there were massive signs for the set hanging in front of Future Shop, but all they said was "Lord of the Rings: Extended Edition, releases June 28th". More Aragon than Blu-Ray or relevant details. I was a little confused at first.

    Rikushix on
    StKbT.jpg
  • Captain CarrotCaptain Carrot Alexandria, VARegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Interesting, how the arrangement on the cover of TT is made by rotating the front trio in Fellowship once clockwise, and RotK comes from Gandalf moved to the back and Aragorn and Arwen moving up. One simple transformation for each.

    Captain Carrot on
  • cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    My biggest gripes, and maybe my only gripes, are that the films are still split across 2 discs each, and that none of the original extras are remastered in HD.

    It's a minor bummer, but considering the extra material wasn't filmed in HD we're not missing all that much.

    cloudeagle on
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  • SandorSandor Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Bogart wrote: »
    Christopher Lee looked quite frail at the BAFTA awards at which he was given a Fellowship this year. I hope his health allows him to be involved.

    I have to think any potential work he does on The Hobbit will strictly be done sitting down, or (like in ROTS and AOTC) mostly done by digital double.

    It wouldn't surprise me if he went to Wellington for little more than some costume fittings, vocal recordings, and body scanning. Lee was already significantly physically limited during the LOTR production, and that wa 10 years ago.

    But if they can get him for Saruman again, that would be pretty great on several levels.

    Lee said like a year ago that flying to New Zealand is too much for him at this point in his life. "It's too far", he said.

    But he was announced on the press release, so I guess maybe they got him a private plane to make it a smoother flight.

    Sandor on
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Sandor wrote: »
    Bogart wrote: »
    Christopher Lee looked quite frail at the BAFTA awards at which he was given a Fellowship this year. I hope his health allows him to be involved.

    I have to think any potential work he does on The Hobbit will strictly be done sitting down, or (like in ROTS and AOTC) mostly done by digital double.

    It wouldn't surprise me if he went to Wellington for little more than some costume fittings, vocal recordings, and body scanning. Lee was already significantly physically limited during the LOTR production, and that wa 10 years ago.

    But if they can get him for Saruman again, that would be pretty great on several levels.

    Lee said like a year ago that flying to New Zealand is too much for him at this point in his life. "It's too far", he said.

    But he was announced on the press release, so I guess maybe they got him a private plane to make it a smoother flight.

    If Jackson can do anything remotely like what Lucas pulled off in AOTC and ROTS, Lee only needs to do a quick full-dress video scan, record some dialogue, and drop the mic.

    Atomika on
  • AtomikaAtomika Live fast and get fucked or whatever Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    My biggest gripes, and maybe my only gripes, are that the films are still split across 2 discs each, and that none of the original extras are remastered in HD.

    It's a minor bummer, but considering the extra material wasn't filmed in HD we're not missing all that much.

    I think you're missing what I'm saying.

    The actual media with just the film and associated commentaries plays over 2 discs for each film, so six discs for just the three movies. Considering there are three or four commentaries, plus the DTS track, plus the 1-3 SAP tracks taking up a lot of the space on the disc, I'd gladly sacrifice several of those (to me) superfluous audio tracks to get just the films and the 6.1 track on one disc each.

    However, considering that fucking no one is using dual-layer BRDs for some reason unknown to me, I don't think there's any possible way to get all of ROTK on just one disc; the 1080p transfer on its own almost takes up all the space on a single-layer BRD, never mind the audio.

    Atomika on
  • SandorSandor Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Wow, Arwen made the cover of all three versions.

    She has a bigger picture than Gandalf on the ROTK cover. That's some bullshit.

    Sandor on
  • cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    My biggest gripes, and maybe my only gripes, are that the films are still split across 2 discs each, and that none of the original extras are remastered in HD.

    It's a minor bummer, but considering the extra material wasn't filmed in HD we're not missing all that much.

    I think you're missing what I'm saying.

    The actual media with just the film and associated commentaries plays over 2 discs for each film, so six discs for just the three movies. Considering there are three or four commentaries, plus the DTS track, plus the 1-3 SAP tracks taking up a lot of the space on the disc, I'd gladly sacrifice several of those (to me) superfluous audio tracks to get just the films and the 6.1 track on one disc each.

    However, considering that fucking no one is using dual-layer BRDs for some reason unknown to me, I don't think there's any possible way to get all of ROTK on just one disc; the 1080p transfer on its own almost takes up all the space on a single-layer BRD, never mind the audio.

    If I remember right there's FOUR commentary tracks per movie. Sure, some of those commentary tracks may be superfluous (if I remember right there's a Peter Jackson track, an actors track, a design team track and a production crew track), but considering this is supposed to be the 100% definitive Blu-ray version fans would scream bloody murder if even one of them was taken out.

    cloudeagle on
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  • CenoCeno pizza time Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=79486

    Dori, Nori, and Ori first look. Won't let me embed on my phone. They look great.

    Ceno on
  • FallingmanFallingman Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    They seem to be having success in making the different dwarf characters distict from one onother. I was wondering how they would do that, as most Dwarf looks are all stocky, bearded and armoured (like Gimli).

    With so many, they ran the risk of them all being a litle "samey".

    I'm excited.

    Fallingman on
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