Titles and Release Dates Announced

The hobbit blog releases titles and dates!

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.

Barry Humphries is set to join the cast of The Hobbit

The Age reports Barry joins cast!


Australian actor, comedian and satirist Barry Humphries is set to join the cast of The Hobbit, which is filming in New Zealand. Director Peter Jackson announced on Facebook that Humphries will play the role of the Goblin King.


‘‘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,’’ Jackson said referring to Humphries’ alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife and Sir Les Patterson, a politically incorrect cultural attache.

‘‘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,’’ Jackson wrote. Also joining the cast of The Hobbit is Evangeline Lilly who will be playing the new character, the Woodland Elf, Tauriel. Another recent signing is British comedian Stephen Fry who will play The Master of Laketown.


Jackson, who directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, adds: ‘‘Evangeline and Barry, along with Welsh actor Luke Evans as Bard and Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug, just about rounds out the major casting. I cannot wait to get stuck into these new scenes!’’


With the first round of shooting over, The Hobbit has started scouting locations for the second block of shooting for which Humphries and Lilly will be joining the cast. The $US500 million ($A474 million) Hobbit movies, a two-part prequel to blockbuster The Lord of the Rings trilogy, began filming in New Zealand in March.


Australian actress Cate Blanchett will return as Galadriel, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Christopher Lee as Saruman, Elijah Wood as Frodo and Andy Serkis as Gollum.

Orlando Bloom returns to Middle Earth for The Hobbit

The Age reports Orlando is back!

Orlando Bloom will reprise his role as elf Legolas in the new Hobbit film.Director Peter Jackson announced the casting decision via Facebook late last week. He also revealed that Stephen Fry would be joining the cast as The Master of Laketown, a character he described as a "conniving civil servant".
"I'm thrilled to be working with Orlando again," Jackson wrote.

British actor Bloom, who is married to Australian model Miranda Kerr, shot to stardom on the back of his performance in the Lord of the Rings trilogy."Funny thing is, I look older—and he doesn't! I guess that's why he makes such a wonderful elf."His return to Middle Earth has excited fans with almost 14,000 people opting to 'like' the announcement on Facebook."Eeek that's so great! And it doesn't matter that he wasn't in the book, the fact that his father is in it you can assume Legolas would be right with him," wrote one fan.He is not the only cast member from the highly successful films to be reprising their roles. Cate Blanchett will return as Galadriel, Sir Ian McKellan as Gandalf, Andy Serkis as Gollum, Elijah Wood as Frodo and Hugo Weaving as Elrond.The lead role of Bilbo Baggins will be played by Martin Freeman.Jackson has been using his Facebook wall to update fans on the progress of the highly anticipated film version of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel. It is set 60 years before The Lord of the Rings, and follows Baggins and a group of 13 dwarves on a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.The project has been in the works for more than a decade, delayed by legal issues and a union dispute. Filming commenced in Wellington, New Zealand, in March.  The Hobbit will be shot in digital 3D and told in two films. The first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will be released on December 14, 2012. The second film is expected to be released in December the following year.Another of Jackson's films, an adaptation of the Tintin books, is almost completed. For the past five years he has been working on the project with Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy.