Well, this is some rather cool news as everyone’s favourite Scottish Comedic legend has been announced to be joining Peter Jackson in New Zealand in The Hobbit! Connolly will play the role of Dain Ironfoot, a great dwarf warrior and cousin of Thorin Oakenshield.

According to Deadline:

Billy Connolly is to join the cast in the role of Dain Ironfoot, a great dwarf warrior and cousin of Thorin Oakenshield. “We could not think of a more fitting actor to play Dain Ironfoot, the stanchest and toughest of Dwarves, than Billy Connolly, the Big Yin himself.

They go on to say that with Connolly now cast in this role, casting is now complete and after the amazing first trailer for the first part of the 2-part saga, I cannot wait to see it!

Source: Deadline

At this week’s second UK premiere* for A Dangerous Method, we spoke to Viggo Mortenson about the attraction of working with David Cronenberg.He explained,
“He makes what can sometimes be a very trying or difficult job, or emotionally demanding, he makes easy and fun. He never loses sight of the fact that, after all it’s play, it’s make believe. It should be fun, there’s no reason for it not to be, and he helps you feel that way too. There’s a lot of directors – I would say, more often than not, directors forget that. They feel the pressure, or they take themselves or what they’re doing too seriously.”

When asked whether he was referring to directors he has worked with he continued,

“I don’t think there’s many directors like him, who are so secure as people. That have such technical knowledge, and actually like actors – a lot of directors don’t. Don’t understand them, don’t want to understand them, feel threatened by them and the suggestions that they have. He’s not.”

Now file this under speculation, but I’m guessing Peter Jackson doesn’t count as one of the ‘secure’ people, at least not in Mortensen’s eyes. The actor hasn’t been brought back for a cameo in the Hobbit, in spite of seeming quite keen to do so. Perhaps this could be why.

During the evening we also caught up with Kiera Knightly, who explained that the film was very nearly much more tame,

“I was in doubt about doing it because of two specific scenes in the film that are of a sadomasochistic nature, and I actually phoned up David and I said, ‘look, I love you, I love your work, I love the script but I don’t know if I want to do this. It’s the age of the internet, we know what the British press are like’, and he said, ‘OK, we’ll take them out’.”

Fortunately she managed to talk Cronenberg round,

“I actually thought, the reason I’d phoned him up to turn it down is because I thought it was really important that they were in there. I didn’t think it was gratuitous to have them in there. I thought it was incredibly important, if you were going to make a film about Freud and Yung, and about this woman who was torn apart by her sexual desires, in that medium you can’t not see what you’re talking about. So anyway, we talked about it and talked about it and kind of got into what it was in her that meant that she needed to do that, and exactly how he was going to shoot it. And the fact that he didn’t want to make it sexy or voyeuristic, but kind of brutal and strangely clinical, I went, ‘OK, let’s do it’.”

*You read that right. It originally premiered at the London Film Festival in October, but apparently that doesn’t count, so we got another one.

We’re now less than eleven months away from Peter Jackson’s return to Middle-earth with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first of his two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s original novel, followed by The Hobbit: There And Back Again next December.

We’ve seen and heard some fantastic things from the new film already, most recently including Evangeline Lilly updating us on her character, Tauriel, created especially for the film. She spoke to Yahoo Movies about her preparations for the role, with thanks to ComicBookMovie for the heads up, and in the same report, Yahoo have put out a great new picture of Martin Freeman as Bilbo, almost lost amongst the dwarves.

“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, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.”

We recently saw a much darker image of Freeman this month with his faithful sword, Sting, and this new image looks similar to the first images we saw from the film, still in The Shire. Alongside Freeman, we can look forward to seeing many new and familiar faces, including Andy Serkis, Stephen Fry, Hugo Weaving, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, and Christopher Lee.

The Hobbit will be released in 3D with An Unexpected Journey kicking things off on 14^th December this year, followed by There and Back Again on 13^th December next year. Until then, here’s the new image, which you can click to enlarge. And in case you missed it at the end of last year, you can watch the wonderful first trailer right here, as well as everything else The Hobbit-related here. If you’d like to read more about Lilly’s preparations for the role, click through over here. Enjoy.

*Advanced Plot Spoiler Warning: As you can probably guess from the title, things are going to get a little spoiler-y in a few lines, so if you’re wanting to fly fairly blind with The Hobbit, then look away now!*

We first got word way back in June last year that Evangeline Lilly had been cast in Peter Jackson’s return to Middle-earth in The Hobbit. When the announcement came, Jackson told us that Lilly would be playing a character created especially for the film, which is expected to develop the novel in its adaptation, spanning over two parts:

“Evangeline Lilly will be playing a new character—the Woodland Elf, Tauriel. Her name means ‘daughter of Mirkwood’ and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.)”

Whilst doing an interview with EW for the release of Real Steel on DVD/Blu-Ray this week in the States (we’ll be getting it on 20th February here), Lilly spoke more about her character, revealing some really interesting details:

“EW: Speaking of small and little, I’d be remiss not to bring up The Hobbit. You’re playing a new character named Tauriel, who’s a Mirkwood elf, and that would lead me to believe that she is a warrior of some kind. Did you have to learn archery and swordplay?

Lilly: Yes, she is a warrior. She’s actually the head of the Elven guard. She’s the big shot in the army. So she knows how to wield any weapon, but the primary weapons that she uses are a bow and arrow and two daggers. And she’s lethal and deadly. You definitely wouldn’t want to be caught in a dark alley next to Tauriel.

EW: So then Tauriel must be involved with the dwarves being captured…

Lilly: I think basically what you’re asking is if she’s in the film very much. She’s not in the first film very much. She comes into the first film near the end, and has a very small part to play. Her role in the second film is much more involved. Although, I have to say, when I first read the scripts and took the job, she had a lot less going on in the second film. I think the role is becoming a bit more demanding than I had expected it to be. There’s a lot more for me to do now, which is a lot of fun, but it’s a little more pressure.”

Definitely interesting, especially the fact that she’ll be really involved in the second film in particular. Best known for her work on TV’s Lost, Real Steel last year, and that little-known Oscar winner, The Hurt Locker, Lilly is a fantastic actress, and I’m really looking forward to seeing her in this role, not least because it’s been entirely created for the film.

Time for a bit of 100% good old-fashioned guess-work: It’s looking as though she’ll be playing the female lead in the second film, which makes me wonder if her role will also be a romantic interest. Jackson clearly stated that she’s not a romantic connection to Legolas, but I’d quietly place a small wager (which I would adamantly deny if proven wrong when the films are released) on her being involved somehow with Luke Evans’ character, Bard the Grim, also known as Bard the Bowman.

His character is being likened to that of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, and when the announcement of his involvement came (at the same time as Lilly’s), it was said that he’d be playing a larger role in the second film. So, I could be adding two and two to make five, but it sounds as though there could be a similar relationship to Aragon and Arwen in Tauriel and Bard. Either way, we’ll have to wait until at least December this year, if not December next year with the second part, to find out if I’m right.

Along with Lilly and Evans, the fantastic cast includes both new and familiar faces in the forms of Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis, Stephen Fry, Hugo Weaving, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, and Christopher Lee.

The first part, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will be with us on 14th December this year, followed by the second, The Hobbit: There And Back Again, on 13th December next year. If you’ve missed any of our coverage of the films so far, you can catch up on it all right here. I’d particularly recommend the rather brilliant first trailer that Jackson treated us to for Christmas last month.

Yes, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy was ten years ago but when a company brings out a poster as cool as this, it has to go up! Have you ever wondered what Aragorn might look like if he were a Lego man, no, neither have I for that matter but for anyone that has, here’s the answer! The world famous and quite frankly awesome Danish toy company has the contract to make the official Lord of the Rings sets and also sets for the upcoming movies The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey which hits in December 2012, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again which we’ll get December 2013.

The new Lego set(s) are scheduled for release in the summer and thanks to Collider and Lego, we get to see a promo pack image for the set and this new poster which shows Aragorn (played by Viggo Mortensen in the Peter Jackson movie) equipped with his standard sword. In the packshot, we also get to see Frodo (played by Elijah Wood in the movie) with his Lego ring.

You can see all our coverage of The Hobbit here including images and the amazing trailer.

Below the posters is the press release from Lego. I now want this sets please!!

BURBANK, Calif., Dec. 16, 2011 — Warner Bros. Consumer Products and The LEGO Group announced today a partnership that awards the world’s leading construction toy brand exclusive rights to develop build-and-play construction sets based on THE LORD OF THE RINGS™ trilogy and the two films based on THE HOBBIT™.  The multi-year licensing agreement grants access to the library of characters, settings, and stories for THE LORD OF THE RINGS property, as well as films The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again.  LEGO® THE LORD OF THE RINGS construction sets are slated for a rolling global launch beginning in June 2012 in the United States, with LEGO THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY scheduled for later in the year.

“Only LEGO, with their expertise in the construction category, is capable of doing justice to the incredibly imaginative environments depicted in the world of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and the two films based on THE HOBBIT,” said Karen McTier, executive vice president, domestic licensing and worldwide marketing, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “These films give life to amazing worlds and characters and we are thrilled to bring fans these products that deliver an imaginative play experience befitting of these beloved properties.”

The LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS collection will translate into LEGO form the epic locations, scenes and characters of Middle-earth as depicted in all three films, including The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

In late 2012, LEGO THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY will give fans of all ages a chance to build and play out the fantastical story and new characters of the legendary Middle-earth adventures depicted in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey from Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson, slated to premiere December 14, 2012.

“Our collaboration with Warner Bros. Consumer Products has delivered numerous worldwide successes in the construction toy aisle with lines like LEGO HARRY POTTER and LEGO BATMAN, introducing us to loyal audiences who love great stories, strong characters and the toys that they inspire,” said Jill Wilfert, vice president, licensing and entertainment for The LEGO Group. “It’s particularly exciting to now be able to create sets based on the fantasy worlds and characters from THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and the two films based on THE HOBBIT, not only because we know they will foster collectability and creative play, but also because these are two properties that our fans have been asking us to create for years.”

Information about the sets and collectible minifigures from both collections will be unveiled at a later date at TheLordoftheRings.LEGO.com.

About The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again
From Academy Award^®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first of two films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit.  The second film will be The Hobbit: There and Back Again.  Both films are set in Middle-earth 60 years before 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 Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released beginning December 14, 2012.  The second film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, is slated for release the following year, beginning December 13, 2013.

Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, the character he played in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Martin Freeman in the central role of Bilbo Baggins.  Also reprising their roles from “The Lord of the Rings” movies are: Cate Blanchett as Galadriel; Ian Holm as the elder Bilbo; Christopher Lee as Saruman; Hugo Weaving as Elrond; Elijah Wood as Frodo; Orlando Bloom as Legolas; and Andy Serkis as Gollum.  The ensemble cast also includes (in alphabetical order) Richard Armitage, John Bell, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Barry Humphries,Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Evangeline Lilly, 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 both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again are by Fran Walsh,Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson.  Jackson is also producing the films, together with Fran Walsh andCarolynne Cunningham.  The executive producers are Alan Horn, Ken Kamins, Toby Emmerich and Zane Weiner, with Boyens serving as co-producer.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again are being co-produced by New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. with New Line managing production.

Warner Bros Pictures will be handling theatrical distribution for most of the world and MGM will handle all international television licensing and theatrical distribution for certain international territories for the films.

All courtesy of Collider

The clever chaps at UK PR Company Way to Blue (WTB) have done it again and delivered some fabulous graphs detailing the impact of trailers released just before the Christmas holidays when we saw he Hobbit (Peter Jackson), The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan) and Prometheus (Ridley Scott) all released. All three of these movies are going to be massive but the hype for each has beaten any that I’ve ever seen before. WTB released an infographic a while back for the trailer release of Snow White and the Huntsman and Mirror Mirror and this time have created various graphics / graphics showing the social media impact of the three movies stated above.

Again, I’m a little surprised at the results. I know The Hobbit is hugely anticipated but from the stats we collected from the three different trailers, The Dark Knight Rises was by far the most popular. This does of course not mean a huge amount as it can depend on the time of day, how long after it hits we post hit and various other factors. They also have graphs detailing which director had the most buzz and various other bits and bobs, all of which are awesome.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s the graphs but before you scroll down, let us know which movie you’re looking forward to seeing most our of the three detailed here:

Click these images to make them GROW!

Last night we went image crazy as USA Today released a nice new batch of images from multiple movies including Ridley Scott’s Prometheus as well as first look images from Skyfall, The Bourne Legacy and loads more. Here’s one for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey which shows us another view of Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins. If you missed the trailer for the movie, you can watch it here.

Synopsis: 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, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey , Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins​ not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey stars Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Christopher Lee, Mikael Persbrandt, James Nesbitt, Brian Blessed, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Fry, Elijah Wood, Benedict Cumberbatch and Evangeline Lilly.

Source: USA Today

Indeed our cup runneth over with Hobbit goodness this week.

Following the first look at the film with the highly anticipated trailer and poster appearing online Peter Jackson has given us another of his pre-DVD extras in the form of Production Video #5.

As usual there’s much to enjoy here from Jackson and the team in New Zealand though it does have the unfortunate side effect of reminding us that it’s an entire year until the film is out…

The film’s Facebook page debuted the video which comes to us below from The Film Stage. Enjoy!

(And there’s a fair chance that this will be the last post on HeyUuys before Christmas let me wish you an enormously happy Christmas.)

Here’s the video,

So we’ve had the first amazing trailer and now we get the first poster for Peter Jackson’s new movie, The Hobbit. I decided to put the teaser trailer artwork in a separate post as Apple did such a terrible job getting the trailer out, it’s been an age since that went up so I thought it deserved it’s own one. In the poster, we get to see Bilbo (Martin Freeman) wandering out of his house at Bag End.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey stars Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood​, Hugo Weaving,  Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee​, Andy Serkis​, Ian Holm,Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt​, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Like Jon said in the previous post, it’s going to be a long year until December 14th when it’s released.

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, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins​ not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

Source: Apple

After many years of rumours, financial hardship and a long quest to find a director we are once again walking in Middle Earth with Peter Jackson.

The first trailer for The Hobbit has arrived and the long wait has been worth it, Several familiar faces return to Hobbiton and beyond with Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood​, Hugo Weaving,  Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee​, Andy Serkis​ and Ian Holm being joined by newcomers Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Here’s a handy synopsis,

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, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

It’s going to be a long year… Let us know your thoughts in the comments on this first look trailer!

Update: We’ve just added the first teaser trailer artworkfor your viewing pleasure here.

Source: Apple

We’ve had conflicting reports on time but news is that the first trailer for director Peter Jackson’s new movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be hitting the interwebs this evening. Everyone is completely buzzing about this new movie which will be released 14th December 2012 and then to be followed by Part 2, The Hobbit: There and Back Again on 13th December 2013. These dates are crazy especially as they are almost exactly one and two years away from now but we have no doubt that the buzz for these films stand the test of time.

Warner Bros. have their slate nailed at the moment with The Dark Knight Rises trailer being released last night meaning both their summer and winter will be sorted for box office tickets in 2012 and let’s hope both franchises live up to their expectations. Today we have some new low-res images for you courtesy of scans from Total Film magazine in their ‘Coming in 2012′ section via CBM. In the images, we get to see Bilbo Baggins played by Martin Freeman with his trademark massive Hobbit feet. There’s also some images of the other Hobbits which now look a far cry away from the comedy production videos that we’ve seen previously. These look dark and depressing and very Lord of the Rings esk which is exactly what we want!

Scroll down to view the images. We’ve already seen the Martin Freeman close up image but this one is higher res from the Facebook page.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey stars Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Christopher Lee, Mikael Persbrandt, James Nesbitt, Brian Blessed, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Fry, Elijah Wood, Benedict Cumberbatch and Evangeline Lilly.

Earlier this evening I put up the news that Warner Bros. had officially announced that the first trailer for The Hobbit will sit in front of Tintin in the US and no sooner had I put up the news than CBM have placed a nice new image of Martin Freeman aka Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey which is released 14th December 2012.

This new images comes from the January issue of Empire Magazine and is a lovely way to end the week.  As well as Freeman, The Hobbit stars Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Lee Pace, Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, James Nesbitt, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch and is directed by Peter Jackson. I cannot wait to see it. Now all we need a is a trailer please!

Synopsis: 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, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey , Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

Warner Bros. have just announced on via their Twitter account that The Hobbit Trailer for An Unexpected Journey will sit in front of Tintin when it hits the US on the 21st December which is all well and good but the question I have is when will we be seeing it in the UK? Most likely, it’ll hit the interwebs before that date but selfishly (and just like everyone else!), I want to see it! We’ll keep you informed if we get any further info but for now, we know it’s coming and I cannot wait to see it!!! (did I say that already?!)

The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey will be with us in the UK 13th December 2012 which, I’m pleased to report is a week before the US! YAY!

Synopsis: 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, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey , Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

On the off chance you’ve not been at a computer for several months, you might have missed out on the fact that the beloved Peter Jackson is returning to Middle-earth to bring Tolkien’s The Hobbit to life. And if you have, then you can catch up on all things Hobbit-related here. Most recently we’ve had the fourth instalment of the production video diaries he’s so nicely been giving us.

The latest news from Middle-earth is pretty exciting, with IGN reporting, via The Playlist, that Andy Serkis – who is reprising his role as Gollum, and taking on that of the Second Unit Director – has said that the teaser trailer for the first part, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, should be surfacing by Christmas.

“There will be a trailer fairly soon, actually. Around Christmas time, I believe.”

IGN suggest that this means that the film will be attached to either Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows or The Adventures of Tintin, with their vote falling with the latter given Jackson has produced the film. Since we’ve already seen Tintin’s release here in the UK, I’m personally rooting for the former!

If it does get put ahead of Tintin, though, let’s all keep our fingers and toes crossed here in the UK and elsewhere that’s already seen Tintin released that the trailer will also go online, and in stunning HD quality too. Because you just know that any visuals they give us are going to be immense.

An Unexpected Journey is due out on 14th December, 2012, with There And Back Again coming a year later on 13th December, 2013. With their respective December releases, it seems somewhat apt to give us our first trailer come Christmas this year.

We got the third video diary for Peter Jackson’s return to Middle-earth back in July, and now he’s given us the fourth instalment through his Facebook page, because he’s pretty awesome like that.

In case you’ve missed them, you can catch up on all the earlier video diaries from The Hobbit and everything else surrounding the project right here.

This latest production video predominantly looks at the 3D filming aspect of the project, and it’s really interesting, with Jackson and the filming crew giving us a very insightful view of how they’re making this film.

According to the video, they’ve got 48 Red Epic cameras, each with its own individual name, which is pretty ridiculously awesome. Each of those cameras has a price tag of no less than $10,000, so if they were all retail price (naturally, they’re not going to be), that’s half a million dollars just on those cameras right there! And they visually show us how much their cameras just utterly out-do our 1080 TV screens and monitors, just to make us feel good about ourselves.

Ain’t It Cool News have also been visiting the set of the film, and have got some great photos of Bilbo and Jackson in Bag End, and if you want to read their report of the set visit, then you can go ahead and click over here.

As I’m sure you’re already aware, the two-parter has a pretty fantastic cast, including Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis, Stephen Fry, Hugo Weaving, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, and Christopher Lee.

At the end of the video, Jackson tells us that they’re about to move on to shooting on location, and that the next video he brings us will be from wherever they’re shooting in a few months’ time – so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for that, because it will undoubtedly be filled with amazing landscapes.

The Hobbit will be coming to us in two parts. The first, An Unexpected Journey, will be hitting cinemas at the end of next year on 14th December; and the second, There And Back Again, will be back a year later on 13th December, 2013. As you can imagine, it’s going to be awesome. Without further ado, here’s the brilliant new production video diary, followed by a few photos from the set, which you can click to enlarge. And if you want to see the video in glorious HD, then you can head over to Jackson’s Facebook page here.

]]> http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2011/11/04/must-watch-elijah-wood-martin-freeman-fighting-dwarves-and-3d-in-the-hobbit-production-video-diary-%e2%80%93-part-4/feed/ 0 http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2011/10/03/heavenly-creatures-blu-ray-review/ http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2011/10/03/heavenly-creatures-blu-ray-review/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:00:25 +0000 Jon Lyus http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/?p=108674

Peter Jackson made quite an impression long before Frodo and Sam set out to set fire to a piece of jewellery, with some expertly crafted and inventive low budget horrors with Braindead (renamed Dead Alive in the States) a choice landmark on my own particular cinematic horizon.

Stepping from the gore soaked ruins of the early Jackson pantheon we find ourselves at a very different place in 1994, a place in which the director set his sights on a story rooted in the controlled hysteria of adolescence and marked Jackson’s maturation as a masterful storyteller. It would prove Jackson’s ‘breakthrough’ film whatever such terms mean to people, and it showed that beyond the wit, invention and playful nature of Bad Taste and Braindead this was a director capable of powerful dramatic cinema and though it remains something of a curio in the filmography Heavenly Creatures retains its power and its charm to this day.

The film tells the terrible true story of the 1954 Parker-Hulme case (which I won’t go into here if you’ve not seen the film, something I hope I can convince you to do) but Heavenly Creatures is Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh at their most confident and the love song between the two teenage girls (Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey in their respective screen debuts) is beautifully sung with heartfelt empathy of the overwhelming emotional ties which cross and tighten as their last days of childhood approach.

As Winslet’s prim and fiercely confident Juliet crashes into the sullen world of Pauline Parker each finds in the other an outlet for their shared isolation and teenage angst. Pressure from their parents, who initially encourage the new found friendship, intensifies and begins to consume the girls who want nothing more than to spend time in each other’s company. To this end, and by way of an escape, they create their own world in which they walk with the heroes of their lives, where they are cut off from their parents and their school’s concern for the health of their relationship (health, in all contexts, plays a huge part in the film) and this is the point at which their world changes.

The fledgling WETA workshop made the girls’ fantasy come alive with visual flourishes that are breathtaking even today as the clay figures they make come to life as the fantastic world of Borovnia opens up before them and, just as the real world starts to close in on them, provides the perfect idyll, their vibrant secret garden to escape into. It is the all consuming nature of this world which gives rise to the story’s final act in which their desperation at the threat of a permanent parting results in the girls hatching a plan in their safe, controlled (and unreal) state which is then carried out as a shocking act in the real world.

We are spellbound by the two and their doomed relationship. It remains the most honest of Jackson’s films. Seemingly free from the exuberant visceral gorefests of the early years and before fantastical ghosthunts and monster movies took over we have the clearest example fof the director finding his feet in our world and the film is my favourite of his. His adaptation of The Lovely Bones covered some of the same ground but had none of the passion or the emotional punch and went way over the top with its CGI afterlife (the ‘other’ world to match the girl’s Borovnia).

The path we are led down here is a rich and complex one, with obsession and desire creating an altered reality which we follow Jackson into and we can all recognise the flights of fancy or sudden overwhelming passions of our younger selves. Jackson and Walsh tap into this shared experience with precision and Lynskey and Winslet are perfectly cast here. With this new Blu-ray I was able to revisit the film knowing that the promise he showed with this film gave way to some outstanding productions but which still haven’t matched the emotion and passion shown here.

****~ (4/5)

Extras

The review disc I received had none of the extras you’ll find on the retail disc and while I can leave the trailer and the picture gallery it would have been nice to have seen the retrospective documentary, not least because the film appears to have been forgotten by many and to hear Kim Newman, Rosie Fletcher and Alan Jones talk it up would be something. The doc apparently runs for almost half an hour so if you’re looking for another reason to bag this blu then, while it’s not swimming in extras (and there’s still no commentary), this is as good a reason as any.

Here’s a lovely new batch of images from the brand new Tintin movie, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn which hits UK cinemas 26th October. It comes from a couple of filmmakers that you may have heard of before called Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg and has an all star motion-capture cast which includes Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Mackenzie Crook, Daniel Mays and Toby Jones. The script comes from another group of well-known names including Joe Cornish, Steven Moffat, Hergé abnd the legendary Edgar Wright.

We spent the weekend just gone in Brussels learning everything there is to know about Tintin so keep your eyes peeled for Ben’s report.

These new images from from Falcon (via our pals at BleedingCool)  which you can click to enlarge.

Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures Present “The Adventures of Tintin” directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish. Starring Jamie Bell (“Billy Elliot,” “Defiance”) as Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, and Daniel Craig (“Quantum of Solace,” “Defiance”) as the nefarious Red Rackham.

Last week, I got to speak to a man who has been in some of the most well known films of all time and who I’ve admired watching on the big screen for over 30 years. That man is John Rhys Davies who has starred in Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and who can forget Solomon’s Mines!

John has a new movie coming out next week called War of Resistance, which details the story of a group of Dutch resistance fighters in the second World War. I spoke to him about his new role as Eusi, a priest trying his best to hide from the Nazis in a safe house during the war.  I couldn’t resist asking him about working with the likes of Steven Spielberg & Peter Jackson, and I certainly couldn’t help but inquire as to whether or not he’d be appearing in either of The Hobbit movies. Read on to find out more! I think you might like what you find!

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HeyUGuys: What was it about War of Resistance that attracted you to it?

John Rhys Davies (JRD): As usual, someone approached my manager, and what appealed to me was the fact that it’s based on real heroism. I like heroes, and would like to be a hero myself. I suppose we all want that. When you think about it, imagine having the chance to help people that weren’t normally the people that you wanted to associate with, or had associated with, but didn’t share the same values you have.  Imagine that if you do so, you run the risk of losing your life, that of your husband’s, your wife’s or your child’s.  I wonder if we wouldn’t just keep our heads down in these circumstances. There are some people who feel morally impelled to protect the vulnerable. The heroism of the Christian community in Holland at this particular period is one of the golden moments of Western civilization.

In the film world, we can all be heroes. In the real world where heroism can cost you your life or the life of the ones you love, people aren’t so willing to make those sacrifices.  When they do, they are set apart from the rest of us. It’s that wonderful line of Yates’:

“I’ve changed, I’ve changed utterly”.

The second World War is one of those very clear instances of us being in the right war at the right time with the right enemy, and achieving complete success. Nazism as a force in Europe was defeated definitively. You get the odd freak episodes like that which happened in Norway the other day, and these are the results of derangements. There is no articulate and rational political philosophy there. There may be some manifesto to draw people’s attention, but as a force, Nazism was destroyed, and that is one of the greatest achievements that our nation can be proud of.

HeyUGuys: In the War of Resistance, there is a a scene where you’re hiding in a room with numerous other people, were you actually in that cramped space or was there a set designed for it?

JRD: We were in a place where they had actually done that. You don’t have to be that imaginative to feel that terror and empathize with the people who were in that position. Many years ago I did something called War and Remembrance, which was a mini series in which I played an inmate of Auschwitz and we actually shot it in Auschwitz itself. It was one of the more depressing periods of my life. I would get up in the morning and would have my breakfast. Afterwards, I would get into my silk underwear and I would put my costume on in the hotel and would then drive through the gates of Auschwitz in my chauffeur driven car only to play one of those people who passed through those gates. You had the sense of two million people looking at you, two million ghosts and feeling their utter contempt and bewilderment for what you were representing and trying to be; how inauthentic you were.

It’s impossible to imagine evil on that scale. We see evil (like this little boy in Norway manifesting itself on that small scale and we can pardon it because of it’s clearly psychotic origins. But when you come to 3 millions Jews, 2 million Poles, 2 million Czechs, 2 million Russian soldiers etc. etc. etc., the scale of it beggars belief. And of course you have murders by Stalin and Pol Pot, which were perhaps greater in number.  I mean some of these people have such an inexhaustible capacity for murder that their lack of empathy, their lack of humanity, creates a vision of bleakness in their empty souls which is possible more terrifying than the torture and the extermination camps themselves.

I’m still capable of being surprised and shocked by human nature.

HeyUGuys: Where was the movie shot and what was it like working with the new young cast?

JRD: They shot a lot of it in America, but my scenes were shot in Amsterdam in Holland. They’re all very young, very new, but so good! They represent that school of young American actors who take their craft very seriously, sometimes too seriously, but then that’s the way to be at the beginning of your career. They inhabit the characters wholly. It was a joy just to meet them.

HeyUGuys: So you’re currently in Holland and I’ve been reliably informed you’re off to New Zealand, is that for some Hobbit related purpose?!

JRD: It’s for marital purposes as I have a wife and child there!

HeyUGuys: Ahh, I didn’t know that! We saw you on set in the latest Peter Jackson Production diary. What was it like going back and is there any chance you might cameo in it?

JRD: I would love to! I’ve had a great sort of 180 degree turn. After I did The Lord of the Rings, I didn’t want to get near prosthetic masks ever again, I still don’t really, and I didn’t want to play a dwarf to be honest with you. Why be one of thirteen when you can be one of one. As time comes between you and the horrors of that make-up, slowly you begin to see things through rather rosy spectacles. I did go down and see him (Jackson) and I did come as close to grovelling as you can get (Laughs!). I’m sure that Peter knows that I grovelled!

HeyUGuys: So you haven’t had confirmation that you’re in it yet?

JRD: I haven’t had confirmation that I’m not, but realistically I’m not. It sure would be sweet if one could. Let me tell you about it…..

I believe Peter Jackson has everything that a Director needs. His organizational ability alone is completely remarkable. I think it will change the way films are made. I think he’s upping the game for every other film-maker in the world. Projecting in 48 frames alone is going to give a level of clarity that we’ve never had in film before, and I think he’s housebreaking 3d. He is such a grounded level man with all the characteristics that a great Director must have. Added to which, he built a film industry from scratch to an international level. Marvellous intelligence and a marvellous modest nature, Peter has got it all!

HeyUGuys: How did it feel to be back on set?

JRD: Very much like going back to your old school where you’d been ‘cock of the walk’ and suddenly realizing that there was a whole new generation of new cocks walking around and you were just politely being treated as one of the quite distinguished old boys of the school, but not really today’s news. It did have a very nostalgic feeling and that’s how it should be. Time has moved on. Lord of the Rings was state of the art, but now it’s long live The Hobbit, which is now state of the art!

HeyUGuys: I know you must get asked this all the time but I have to ask you about Indiana Jones. You weren’t in Indy 4, did they ask you to be in it and is there any chance we may see you in Indy 5 if there is one?

JRD: (Laughs) If I’m asked, I will consider! They did ask me to do a little cameo on Indy 4 actually.  It was going to be shot a green screen studio. I was going to sit down and then it would cut it into the wedding or something like Indy getting an award or something like that. I thought the character of Sallah is worth more to the audience than that.

HeyUGuys: I completely agree. Every scene we see you in are some of my favourite scenes. Scenes like the one with you punching a Nazi through the newspaper while rushing Martin Brody off into the van and watching him drive off with the Nazi logo on the back are priceless moments!

JRD: Yes they are and he’s a great character, but times have changed you see. The Egyptian with the golden heart, warm and generous and outgoing; the image of the Arab world and ‘The Arab’ has changed in America since 911. Perhaps it’s not possible to have a Sallah again.

Watching Steven grow and change as an artist has been fascinating. There is an innocence and a light-heartedness that is born basically of lack of understanding of history that continues up to Raiders of the Lost Ark. But when you get to other deeper things like Shoah, and Schindlers List, his deep experience of Nazism, the nature of evil, and his own understanding and knowledge deepens.  As a result, his ability to laugh at the Nazis fades.  Nazi’s can’t be comic for him anymore, he knows too much now; he has lost his innocence.

HeyUGuys: How would you compare working between Jackson and Spielberg? Is working for them quite similar or is working for them completely different?

JRD: Both are geniuses. Both have that extraordinary pallet that an artist needs to make great work. Different styles yes, but both masters. I’ve worked with extraordinary masters – Blake Edwards, Franklin Schaffner, Spielberg is one of the giants. If dialogue were not permitted in film, Steven Spielberg would be the greatest filmmakers of all time. He can tell a story in pictures better than anyone I know.

PJ, well, I love PJ! You can’t really compare the two, as they’re both giants. Very good at casting, and very good at getting great performances from their actors. I suppose Jackson has a greater literary awareness ability, and that is a real advantage as a director. Steven though knows bad dialogue when he hears it, but I’m not sure that he can initiate great good dialogue. I admire them both very much!

HeyUGuys: Other than The Hobbit (which I’m sure you’ll get in!!), what else do you have coming up this year?

Well, it’s remotely possible. I don’t deserve to, having turned it down, but it sure would be fun. All I can say is if every film I’ve been offered gets made this year, I’ll be very busy indeed. At the moment we’re living in such extraordinary financial times, I’m not sure anyone can look 3 weeks down the road to know what’s going to happen.

———————–

Thanks so much to John for his time. War of Resistance is released on DVD the 22nd August.

It’s interesting that I’m writing this panel up for HeyUGuys as it seems that the story of Tintin is much better known in Europe.  North America is pretty much in the dark when it comes to these tales.  However, it helps the cause when you have a movie being made by the likes of Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson.  While I still don’t think the film is a household name just yet, I think the story the film conveys will turn some heads.  Oh yeah, the gorgeous performance capture visual effects might help as well.

That said, even I was going into the Comic Con panel pretty much blind.  I knew what the film would look like and who was behind it. That’s all I needed.

The panel opened with a standing ovation from over 5,00 people in attendance as Steven Spielberg took to the stage at Comic Con for the very first time.  He was presented with the Inkpot award for his contribution to the world of film and pop culture.  When the panel started Moderator [  ] asked him about the decision to shoot the film in Performance Capture, as that tool would be a first for Spielberg in the director chair.  He mentioned that early on they had toyed with the idea of shooting it live action but creating a digital *dog* to play alongside human characters, similar to Gollum or even Aslan from the “narnia” films.  We were actually treated to what was told to us was the original test footage of Captain Haddock and Snowy.  The clip actually saw Peter Jackson (Producer) playing the role with Snowy bouncing around in the back.  My first impressions is actually that the marriage between the two looked really damn good and I think keeping it live action would have worked just fine.  However, they made the conscience decision to shoot performance capture.  After the clip finished and the lights went up, Peter Jackson stood next to Spielberg on-stage and the panel was off and running.

They both spent time talking about their brother like collaboration on the film and how they both feel like if your not pushing forward your going to end up getting bored.  So many times at Comic-Con and especially in Hall H, the audience question are usually lousy and actually pretty ignorant.  With such huge names onstage I was worried that people would just want to ask to meet them or tell them how amazing they are.  Don’t get me wrong, that happened, but the questions that spilled out of people’s mouths seemed better than usual.

One of the most interesting questions of the morning was directed to both filmmakers but really only applied to Spielberg.  The question was “What film have you produced that you wish you had directed?”

A great question for a guy who seems to produce 10 films a year.  He started by saying that if he wants to direct, he’s going to direct.  Spielberg mentioned that he hires directors because he feels they are truly the best-suited people for the job.  However, he went on to finish the answer with a revelation that he wish he had directed “American Beauty”, a film that actually won Sam Mendes the Oscar that year.

Overall, the discussion between Jackson and Spielberg was exactly what you think it would be. Incredible.

We were treated to a good amount of footage from “The Adventures of Tintin” that really impressed me.  It looks like a perfect blend of action and drama that is just thinly veiled with CGI skin.  It felt like an Indiana Jones film as I was watching it. It was quite nice to hear then, after the footage rolled, that Spielberg found a lot of Indy in Tintin. You can draw a direct line from the Tintin books, which have been around since the early 1900′s, to the Indiana Jones series. Both characters are ordinary guys getting way too involved in what they are researching.

To say I’m excited about seeing this movie in theaters in all it’s 3D glory would be an understatement.

Wait, there’s more…

HeyUGuys was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the press conference held immediately after the Hall H panel.  Let me just geek out for a second, bear with me.  Earlier, when Spielberg walked on stage to accept his Inkpot award, I tweeted that I am officially in the same room as Steven Spielberg aka the greatest filmmaker in history.  An hour later I would be whisked into a room a bit smaller, to have a chance to talk further about the film to Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson.  So you can imagine how I was feeling at this point.  Sadly though, I had the mic in my hand with a question ready when they ended the conference.  Bummer.  However, the question that proceeded are worth discussing.

Below are some of the highlights from our intimate Q&A with these legendary directors about their new adventure.

Performance Capture is still very much in its infancy.  Spielberg said the following about drumming up support for the tool.

He was very adamant about the idea that the medium is not the message, the story is.  He claimed that audiences would forget if a film was 3D or widescreen or smell-o-vision if the story was great.  He finished his remarks by saying “If a movie works, the way it’s made won’t matter.”

Someone asked how actors prepare for a role in performance capture vs. a film where there’s an actual set/costumes.

Spielberg basically said that it all comes down to actors looking each other in the eye.  He made a point to bring up Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis being extravagant in “Some Like it Hot” (my favorite comedy film of all time), but that you believed they were friends because they worked together, whether they were in big costumes or not. He summed it all by saying actors always need to bring their imaginations no matter what set they are on.

As pioneers in their respective mediums and heavy users of CGI, they were both asked if CGI makes filmmaking easier then large set-pieces. Peter Jackson summed it up perfectly and piggybacked Spielberg’s earlier thoughts. “Story is still very analog.”

Spielberg also mentioned that he likes to direct from the audience chair, and that that’s how all movies should be made

When asked about their current collaboration together in regards to past ones, they stated that there was no ego or competition involved.

They are both such huge fans of the property that Spielberg said it was like they were code breakers working on the enigma code trying to figure out how to make a film from a technical standpoint.

Also of note is that while Spielberg directs this first film, the plan for the second one is to let Peter into the director’s chair to have a go at the story.

Overall, those two hours spent chatting with Peter and Steven were the highlight of my second day of Comic-Con, maybe the highlight of my film year thus far.  More tomorrow folks!!

It’s an unusal beauty parade but the latest image to wing its way from Bag End is the perfect way to complement the many seperate images we’ve seen of the dwarves from Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit films.

With the third of Jackson’s video blogs from the set pushing all the right buttons the momentum for this film is building slowly and while The Hobbit won’t have a presence over in San Diego this weekend there should be a teaser trailer not too far in our future.

Rope of Silicon had this image and list the cast as follows:

JED BROPHY as Nori, DEAN O’GORMAN as Fili, MARK HADLOW as Dori, JAMES NESBITT as Bofur, PETER HAMBLETON as Gloin, GRAHAM McTAVISH as Dwalin, RICHARD ARMITAGE as Thorin Oakenshield (center), KEN STOTT as Balin, JOHN CALLEN as Oin, STEPHEN HUNTER as Bombur, WILLIAM KIRCHER as Bifur, ADAM BROWN as Ori and AIDAN TURNER as Kili.

Here’s the image, get clicking to have it get all big.