Tag Archives: the hobbit

Feliz Na’vi-dad! Cameron Plans To Begin Shooting Avatar Sequels By End Of 2013

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

James Cameron will return to Pandora next year.  The Avatar director, who attended the premiere of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey  in Wellington, New Zealand  on Wednesday, told the West Australian  (via Total Film ) that he hoped to have the scripts to Avatar 2 and 3  completed by February, and to begin shooting by the end of 2013.  Cameron, who owns a farm in New Zealand, said he was working on the scripts there, but complained that the beauty of his surroundings was “too damn distracting.” Nonetheless, the filmmaker said, “I want to get these scripts nailed down, I don’t want to be writing the movie in post-production.”  He added: “We kind of did that on the first picture, I ended up cutting out a lot of scenes and so on and I don’t want to do that again.” The blockbuster director behind Titanic, Terminator  and  Aliens has said that he’s writing Avatar 2 and 3 together and plans to shoot them back-to-back to complete one long story arc.  (He’s also suggested that an Avatar 4 could happen and the sequels could conceivably be populated with Chinese Na’vi . Cameron also predicted that Jackson’s decision to shoot  The Hobbit  at 48 frames per second — 24 is the standard — would do for high-definition filmmaking what Avatar did for 3D movies. “We charged out ahead on 3D with Avatar , now Peter’s doing it with The Hobbit . It takes that kind of bold move to make change.” [ West Australian , Total Film ]  Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter. 

Link:
Feliz Na’vi-dad! Cameron Plans To Begin Shooting Avatar Sequels By End Of 2013

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

‘Hobbit’ First Review: 48 FPS Is ‘Eye-Popping,’ But Watch Out For The Jar Jar Binks Of ‘LOTR’

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Peter Jackson ‘s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey had its New Zealand premiere Wednesday, and although local press are still under embargo, the New York Daily News has burst out of the gate with the first published review of the anticipated Lord of the Rings follow-up. What’s the early verdict on Jackson’s groundbreaking 48 fps presentation, which was so publicly panned in previews ? Ethan Sacks’ review is enthusiastic if not terrifically detailed, but let’s cut to the elephant in the room: Will audiences reject the super-resolution 48 fps look of The Hobbit ? “Critics who saw a trailer earlier this year were unimpressed, but after a minute or two of adjusting, the higher resolution is eye-popping, similar to discovering HD television for the first time,” Sacks writes. Phew. Well, grain of salt: This is the first and only review out there now, so we’ll see if other critics agree as The Hobbit begins screening stateside tomorrow. As for the film itself, expect a cameo-filled romp that should satisfy Tolkien fans: “Lighter and funnier than its Lord of the Rings predecessors, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey remains faithful to the fantasy world last seen in the 2003 Academy Award-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King .” There is just one little glaring notation; Sacks warns of one potentially grating character by dropping three of the most fearsome words in popular geekdom: Jar Jar Binks. “Like all unexpected journeys, there are a few pitfalls along the way, most notably the tangential subplot surrounding bumbling wizard Radagast the Brown (Sylvester McCoy), whose buffoonery at times descends into Jar Jar Binks territory.” [ New York Daily News ] The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theaters December 14. Read more: Wranglers Say ‘Hobbit’ Animals Suffered Gruesome Deaths On ‘Death Trap’-Ridden Farm The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and 48 FPS: More Tolkien In Store for Peter Jackson? The Hobbit 48 FPS Preview Divides Audiences at CinemaCon Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .

Follow this link:
‘Hobbit’ First Review: 48 FPS Is ‘Eye-Popping,’ But Watch Out For The Jar Jar Binks Of ‘LOTR’

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , ,

‘Hobbit’ First Review: 48 FPS Is ‘Eye-Popping,’ But Watch Out For The Jar Jar Binks Of ‘LOTR’

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Peter Jackson ‘s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey had its New Zealand premiere Wednesday, and although local press are still under embargo, the New York Daily News has burst out of the gate with the first published review of the anticipated Lord of the Rings follow-up. What’s the early verdict on Jackson’s groundbreaking 48 fps presentation, which was so publicly panned in previews ? Ethan Sacks’ review is enthusiastic if not terrifically detailed, but let’s cut to the elephant in the room: Will audiences reject the super-resolution 48 fps look of The Hobbit ? “Critics who saw a trailer earlier this year were unimpressed, but after a minute or two of adjusting, the higher resolution is eye-popping, similar to discovering HD television for the first time,” Sacks writes. Phew. Well, grain of salt: This is the first and only review out there now, so we’ll see if other critics agree as The Hobbit begins screening stateside tomorrow. As for the film itself, expect a cameo-filled romp that should satisfy Tolkien fans: “Lighter and funnier than its Lord of the Rings predecessors, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey remains faithful to the fantasy world last seen in the 2003 Academy Award-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King .” There is just one little glaring notation; Sacks warns of one potentially grating character by dropping three of the most fearsome words in popular geekdom: Jar Jar Binks. “Like all unexpected journeys, there are a few pitfalls along the way, most notably the tangential subplot surrounding bumbling wizard Radagast the Brown (Sylvester McCoy), whose buffoonery at times descends into Jar Jar Binks territory.” [ New York Daily News ] The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theaters December 14. Read more: Wranglers Say ‘Hobbit’ Animals Suffered Gruesome Deaths On ‘Death Trap’-Ridden Farm The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and 48 FPS: More Tolkien In Store for Peter Jackson? The Hobbit 48 FPS Preview Divides Audiences at CinemaCon Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .

View post:
‘Hobbit’ First Review: 48 FPS Is ‘Eye-Popping,’ But Watch Out For The Jar Jar Binks Of ‘LOTR’

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wranglers Say ‘Hobbit’ Animals Suffered Gruesome Deaths On ‘Death Trap’-Ridden Farm

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Let us weep for Rainbow the miniature Hobbit pony, whom animal wranglers on Peter Jackson ‘s Hobbit trilogy say was the first of 27 animals to die while being housed on a production farm filled with “death traps.” “When I arrived at work in the morning, the pony was still alive but his back was broken. He’d come off a bank at speed and crash-landed,” wrangler Chris Langridge told the AP. “He was in a bad state.” Langridge and fellow former and current Hobbit animal wranglers aim to blow the lid off of what they allege were unsafe housing conditions for their animal charges, up to 150 of which were kept at the same Wellington, NZ farm during Hobbit filming. The American Humane Association monitored animal safety on set and investigated the farm following the first few animal deaths, making safety recommendations that were subsequently employed by the production company. Still, it’s hard to ignore the gruesome details of how some of the Hobbit horses, goats, and chickens died. Pour out some mead for these poor creatures, who are grazing for eternity in the Middle Earth in the sky: – Rainbow the miniature, euthanized after suffering a broken back – Claire the horse, who was found with her “head submerged in a stream after it fell over a bluff.” – Zeppelin the horse, whose records say died from natural causes, but: “Smythe said the horse was bloated and its intestines were full of a yellow liquid; he believes it died of digestive problems caused by new feed.” – Six goats and six sheep who perished “after falling into sinkholes, contracting worms or getting new feed after the grass was eaten.” – Twelve chickens who were mauled to death by dogs. – Doofus the horse and Molly the horse, who actually survived after cutting themselves on fencing. Jackson’s camp, meanwhile, is downplaying the death toll. “We do know those deaths were avoidable and we took steps to make sure it didn’t happen again,” said Jackson’s rep. PETA is planning protests at the Hobbit premieres in New Zealand later this month and in the U.S. and the U.K. prior to the December release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey . [AP via EW ]

Visit link:
Wranglers Say ‘Hobbit’ Animals Suffered Gruesome Deaths On ‘Death Trap’-Ridden Farm

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Al Pacino As A Decadent Rocker; Avengers Tops Halloween Costumes: Biz Break

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Also in Wednesday morning’s new round-up: In the run-up to the election, a major cable company is offering its customers a free viewing of an anti-Obama doc; Details on Peter Jackson ‘s The Hobbit and a book deal for a Spider-Man creator. Avengers Halloween Costumes Top Moviegoers Survey Among 2012 releases, Avengers characters took the top four spots with males, with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor edging out the other characters from summer’s box office hit for the No. 1 spot. Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man came in second, followed by Chris Evans’ Captain America and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk , THR reports . Al Pacino Takes On Rocker Role Pacino will appear in Dan Fogelman’s Imagine , alongside Jeremy Renner – as the 40-year-old son with whom he tries to reconnect – and Julianne Moore, as the owner of the hotel he moves into on his quest for spiritual absolution. He is an aging rocker who turns over a new leaf after discovering an undelivered letter written by John Lennon to his 19-year-old self, The Guardian and Deadline report . Hobbit Running Time Revealed “It’s looking like it’s going to be about ten minutes shorter than Fellowship was,” explains Jackson. “So it’s going to be officially our shortest Middle-earth yet. I mean, Fellowship was just under three hours and this is about 2 hours 40 minutes at the moment.” Empire reports . Battleground Cabler Offering Anti-Obama Doc for Free “Armstrong Utilities is the nation’s 15th-largest cable provider and operates in 6 states including Ohio and Pennsylvania, two crucial battleground states in the 2012 election. In Ohio alone Armstrong is available in over 50 cities and towns in 10 Ohio counties. So it’s all the more controversial that the cabler is offering the anti-Obama documentary 2016: Obama’s America ’s as a “Free Movie Special” to all its subscribers on demand at no charge, Deadline reports . Spider-Man Musical Writer Gets Book Deal “The big-budget production – featuring music by U2’s Bono and The Edge – was plagued by problems including delays and a series of stunt accidents. Publishers say Berger’s book will give the ‘ultimate fly-on-the-wall account.’ Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History is due out next year, BBC reports .

See the article here:
Al Pacino As A Decadent Rocker; Avengers Tops Halloween Costumes: Biz Break

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Olympic Movies Take Pelham Picture House in Run-up to London 2012 Games. Yessss! Cool Runnings Makes The Cut!

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

An Olympics-themed film program sounds like the kind of project that would drive most cinema curators bonkers.  I mean, there’s   Jim Thorpe: All American , if you want to tell a really sad tale at a moment when we’re supposed to be stoking the thrill of American victory. And then there’s Cool Runnings , which I’ve long thought of as the ideal film for herbal triathletes: mighty-lunged consumers of pot, hash and Salvia. Lucky for Westchester residents,  The Pelham Picture House , a non–profit film organization operating out of a beautifully restored 1921 single-screen  movie house in Pelham, NY has risen to the challenge with Faster, Higher, Stronger: The Olympics on Film.   Through Thursday, the eve of the Games’ star-studded opening ceremony in London, the theater is showing a creatively curated selection of pictures that captures the highs, lows and entirely made-up madcap comedy that the Olympics have produced. On Wednesday, the schedule  includes Walk, Don’t Run , the 1966 film which starred Cary Grant in his last role. He plays a businessman who can’t find lodging during the 1964 Tokyo games. Grant ends up sharing an apartment with Samantha Eggar and fixing her up with an American athlete played by Jim Hutton. Hijinks ensue. Also on the schedule: Miracle , the 2004 picture that stars Kurt Russell as the coach of the 1980 Olympic hockey team who brought home gold after defeating the Soviet team against all odds. Yung Chang’s  China Heavyweight documentary, which follows former Chinese boxing star and state coach Qi Moxiang as recruits Olympic hopefuls from the impoverished villages of Sichuan province. Other films that have already played in the program include Laurens Grant’s documentary Jesse Owens,  the Oscar-winning  One Day in Munich , about the Palestinian organization Black September’s kidnapping of athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, and  Warrior Champions,  Craig and Brent Renaud’s documentary about disabled Iraq War vets pursuing the Olympic dream. Jim Thorpe: All American  did not make the cut, but  Cool Runnings,  a comedy inspired by the 1988 Jamaican Olympic bobsled team, gets multiple screenings on Wednesday and Thursday. Leave your blunts at home, though.  The late, great John Candy is in the movie, and just looking at him can produce uncontrollable fits  of laughter even when you’re totally straight. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter Follow Movieline on Twitter

See the original post here:
Olympic Movies Take Pelham Picture House in Run-up to London 2012 Games. Yessss! Cool Runnings Makes The Cut!

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

WATCH: Peter Jackson’s Hobbit Video Reveals Over Ten Minutes of Behind the Scenes Footage

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Hobbit director Peter Jackson is nothing if not a man of the people, so when he took to San Diego’s Comic-Con earlier this month to present footage to 6,000+ lucky fans shortly after wrapping, he recorded a video diary to share with the rest of the Lord of the Rings faithful. Watch as Jackson navigates the perils of press junkets and Hall H’s screaming fans, filming on his trusty iPhone along the way! Or, y’know… skip ahead a few minutes to fantastic 10+ minutes of behind-the-scenes peeks from the set of The Hobbit . The set footage is the real treat for fans hungry for Hobbit peeks, but you’ve got to also hand it to Jackson and his videography crew for interviewing just about everybody involved in production, down to the freaking key grip. And yet, my favorite part? Mark Hadlow in costume as the Dwarf Dori, quoting Anchorman . Runner-up line of the vid: “I’ve never worked on such a hairy movie.” The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey hits theaters December 14, with its conclusion, There and Back Again , following in 2013. [ Peter Jackson via Facebook ]

See the rest here:
WATCH: Peter Jackson’s Hobbit Video Reveals Over Ten Minutes of Behind the Scenes Footage

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Here’s Your First Look at Richard Armitage as Dwarf Leader Thorin Oakenshield

Posted on July 18, 2011 by | Leave a comment

It turns out Peter Jackson hasn’t run out of dwarves . Over the weekend, TheOneRing.net revealed a picture of the thirteenth Hobbit dwarf, Thorin Oakenshield. Thorin is important for multiple reasons: he’s the dwarf leader, he’s carrying something called “Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver,” and he’s played by moderately famous actor Richard Armitage. Bona fides! Click through for your first look.

Read this article:
Here’s Your First Look at Richard Armitage as Dwarf Leader Thorin Oakenshield

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

‘Isn’t it Awesome?’ Elijah Wood on The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings 10 Years Later

Posted on June 27, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Elijah Wood has a new hit on his hands in Wilfred , the offbeat FX comedy about a depressed young man’s relationship with the canine next door — whom he happens to visualize and converse with as a dude in a dog suit (played by the show’s co-creator, Jason Gann). Wilfred debuted last week to 2.6 million viewers, the network’s highest ratings ever for a comedy premiere. Not bad at all, but it has a ways to go before catching up with the other phenomenon in Wood’s life.

See the rest here:
‘Isn’t it Awesome?’ Elijah Wood on The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings 10 Years Later

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

And The Hobbit’s Bard is… Luke Evans

Posted on June 17, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Peter Jackson is wrapping up major casting on The Hobbit , and now Luke Evans, whose first movie was last year’s Clash of the Titans , is set to play the character of Bard. Deadline describes Bard as “a skilled archer, the heir of King Girion of Dale,” and “somewhat reminiscent of the action-hero exploits of Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn.” Evans missed out on the part of Tom Buchanan in the new Great Gatsby , so hopefully this softens the blow — or at least gives the trashy rich in the West Egg something to discuss. [ Deadline ]

See the rest here:
And The Hobbit’s Bard is… Luke Evans

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,