Benedict Cumberbatch tells MTV News working with Peter Jackson was ‘extraordinary.’ By Kara Warner Benedict Cumberbatch Photo: MTV News For those who have been keeping tabs on the comings and goings surrounding Peter Jackson’s return to Middle-earth in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” there is a unique level of excitement building around the film. The die-hard Jackson fans and “Lord of the Rings” loyalists are eager to see anything helmed by the Oscar-winner, particularly when it involves a faithful adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s beloved book, which has a different tone and fanbase from “LOTR.” This excitement level is not just for fans like us, but everyone involved with the production as well. When MTV News caught up with rising star Benedict Cumberbatch recently, who is playing not one but two roles in the film, he was full of praise for Jackson as well as his friend/co-star Martin Freeman. “I was very lucky [to work] with Pete,” Cumberbatch told us at Elton John’s Oscar-viewing party. “As far as the experience, what an extraordinary one it was because at the time I was in my work; I was in isolation with him and this incredible tag team. And at the very cool place with that technology doing mo-cap for two characters, Smaug the dragon and another character, which will remain nameless, and it was an awful lot of fun.” Cumberbatch went on to say that he hasn’t seen any finished shots from the film since he worked mainly by himself doing voice-over work and movements for the characters. “It’s a sort of wonderful ongoing process,” he said. “I spent a lot of time recording voice as well as doing movements. So, it was sort of freeing; it was fun. It was like playing a game. It’s going to be an amazing film; it’s going to be a real treat. I watched ‘The Lord of the Rings’ again before I started working, and the way those films grow in depth of craft on every level are extraordinary. Their mark is for that.” The “War Horse” actor admitted that the only trouble he had while on set was keeping a straight face when he saw his friend and “Sherlock” co-star Martin Freeman in costume as lovable Hobbit Bilbo Baggins. “It was great. I got to hang out with him, and I kept a straight face for a bit and then I started giggling because I know Martin, I don’t know Bilbo,” Cumberbatch said with a grin. “For Martin to be sitting there playing Bilbo is amazing. He’s going to be amazing, he’s going to be fantastic in this film.” What are you looking forward to most in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”? Leave your comment below! Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
‘It’s still a very secret character that is very closely safeguarded, and it’s still in the design process,’ Andy Serkis says at Golden Globes. By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Andy Serkis at the 2012 Golden Globes Photo: Getty Images Motion-capture wizard Andy Serkis took some time off from filming “The Hobbit” to hit the red carpet at the 2012 Golden Globes , but it seems like he left all of his precious Middle-earth secrets back in New Zealand. When Serkis took some time to chat with MTV News’ Josh Horowitz, he refused to give any clue what the legendary dragon Smaug might look like on the big screen. “I can’t give any secrets away, none of those trade secrets,” Serkis said. “I can’t say that because actually it’s still under wraps.” In “The Hobbit,” Serkis reprises the role that made him a capture-performance all-star: Gollum. Additionally, he will step behind the camera as the director of the films’ second unit. An iconic character in J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythological world, Smaug is the impetus for all of the action in Peter Jackson’s upcoming “Lord of the Rings” prequel, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” Such a revered character is bound to come with a high level of security. Serkis suggested that there might be more to his own secrecy than just avoiding spoilers. According to the actor, Weta Workshop is still working on the creature’s look. “It’s still a very secret character that is very closely safeguarded, and it’s still in the design process,” he said. The little we do know about Smaug is more than enough to get us excited. Benedict Cumberbatch will voice Smaug in “The Hobbit” before going where no man has gone before as the villain in J.J. Abrams’ next “Star Trek.” Serkis said that with Cumberbatch as Smaug, audiences certainly have something to look forward to. “With an actor like Benedict Cumberbatch playing him, it will be extraordinary,” he said. Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos On The Red Carpet At The Golden Globes
The U.K. actor is Middle-earth’s most badass dwarf and One to Watch in 2012. By Kevin P. Sullivan Richard Armitage in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Photo: New Line Productions This winter, director Peter Jackson will deliver the long-awaited return to Middle-earth. “The Hobbit,” which will unfold across two films, begins with “An Unexpected Journey,” as Bilbo Baggins leaves to win back gold stolen from his companions. But these are not just any friends. Bilbo is accompanied by 13 dwarves, each with a larger-than-life personality. The leader of these adventurers, Thorin, will be played by Richard Armitage , who made a brief appearance in “Captain America: The First Avenger,” but will get his biggest Stateside break in “The Hobbit.” The British actor played a key role in last month’s trailer and will soon join the illustrious ranks of Tolkien alumni, alongside Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean and Orlando Bloom. We spoke with Armitage about traveling to Middle-earth, the difficulty of working under pounds of makeup and leading a band of treasure-seeking dwarves. MTV : Congratulations on being named to MTV’s Ones to Watch! Richard Armitage : Thank you very much! MTV : Where are you currently in the filming schedule? Armitage : We just finished up our second block, so we start again at the end of January, and then we go — we think it’s the end of July. Then there’s a bit more in 2013, we reckon. MTV : What’s it like being on a single project for so long? Armitage : It’s really weird because when we started it was just this enormous mountain to climb, but actually, it’s going so fast. I think we’ve gotten to the halfway point now. It’s been really intense but so exciting. We literally just finished our location shoot that we’ve been out on the road seeing most of New Zealand. It’s been the best thing I’ve ever worked on in my life, by far. MTV : Is it easy to forget you’re acting? Do you get lost in the world the production creates? Armitage : The soundstages they made in Wellington, [New Zealand], most of the time it doesn’t feel like we’ve been working on a set. Even when there’s a green screen there, Peter’s vision of it is so clear and his description of it is so clear. The pre-production CGI that they’ve already created really fires up your imagination. That was the shoot we started with. On location, it’s just theirs to program these amazing images into your head, so we can now take them back into the studio. MTV : Will it be hard to leave behind once you’ve wrapped? Armitage : It don’t think it will be possible to leave it behind me. I think this is one of those characters that always stay with you because you spend so much time with him and it’s such a transformation. I’m in the character every day, and I’ve become so familiar with him. I sort of know how he thinks. I feel really close to the character, and he will continue beyond this job , [ spoiler ahead ] even though, he dies at the end of the movie. I think he is a fascinating character. I will probably wake up in six years’ time and be inspired to think about him again. It’s really exciting. MTV : How did your previous knowledge of the story change how you approached Thorin? Armitage : I read it quite a few times when I was young. I think going back to it as an adult is really interesting because it is a book that was, I think, was written for Tolkien’s children, but when you’re creating a piece on this scale, you have to really visualize it for a much broader audience. I think that’s the beauty of Tolkien. He does create very well-rounded, quite dangerous characters to play his protagonists. He risks scaring kids. He’s the original fantasy creator, and I think you have to invest those characters with the same gravity as if you were making a piece for adults. It was interesting coming back to it as an adult, re-reading it again, because it did have a simplicity to it, which I really like. I felt we could take those characters and really develop them beyond the book. MTV : You ended up with middle ground in terms of the amount of makeup. Did you feel lucky? Armitage : It did evolve. We all started with quite an extreme version of ourselves. I think because my character does spend a lot of time onscreen and you really have to understand what he’s going through emotionally, it became clear that if we started make the prosthetic as close to my features as possible but still make him a dwarf, it would be much easier to read the character. He has to go on such a journey, it was really important to do that. I grew my own beard after the first block because I felt that it was restricting my face. The jaw is so connected to emotion that I wanted to have that free. It made such a huge difference. It’s really weird now because I can’t play the character when I haven’t gotten everything on. It’s very hard to rehearse when you’re not in costume, when you haven’t gotten the prosthetics on, but I look in the mirror when it’s all finished and I don’t see it. I can’t see where it starts and where it ends. I just see the character. I’ve never had that before. It’s such a unique experience. It’s a face that doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to WETA workshop and the people that created it. MTV : How was it on set with so many actors playing the dwarves? Armitage : I love it. I absolutely love working as an ensemble member, and we really are an ensemble. There’s great camaraderie among all the guys. There is such a diversity of culture and background. We’re working with a lot of Kiwis, and there’s real mixture of British actors who come from television and theater and film. It’s exactly as the dwarves are. When Thorin assembles the quest, he pulls dwarves from all different places to go on this quest. That’s mirrored in who we are as actors. What are you waiting for? Your must-see movie needs your support. It’s time to show character, poise and heart. Vote for your picks now at MTV Movie Brawl 2012 ! Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Photos Meet The Cast Of ‘The Hobbit’
IT’S HERE! Ok, not quite. Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will only hit theatres on December 14, 2012, but the first trailer is out, and it looks epic. Lord of the Rings fans know that The Hobbit deals with the story of Bilbo Baggins (played by Martin Freeman in this film) and his Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : TheFABlife Discovery Date : 21/12/2011 03:44 Number of articles : 2
There’s not much one can really say about this first trailer for the much-anticipated The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. As with Peter Jackson‘s three previous Lord of the Rings films, the project looks gorgeous, meticulous, epic, stirring, just plain wonderful, and true to its classic J.R.R. Tolkien source material. So, yeah, I love it. With The Hobbit, we again return to Middle-earth and the Shire,… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Film School Rejects Discovery Date : 21/12/2011 04:08 Number of articles : 2
Couldn’t make last night’s Los Angeles premiere of the latest sprawling, holiday-themed Garry Marshall rom-com New Year’s Eve ? (I’m talking to you, Robert De Niro and Sarah Jessica Parker.) No need to worry — Movieline has photos from the red carpet event so that you can catch up on all of the unexpected canoodling and Ludacris photo ops that you missed on Monday.
Mayor Bloomberg’s animated Taiwanese doppelganger commands his troops. (Photo: YouTube) Mayor Bloomberg has a starring role in a new clip from Taiwanese meme factory Next Media Animation inspired by our post about a speech where he referred to the NYPD as “my own army.” The artistic geniuses at NMA created a 30 second clip that features a cartoon version of Mayor Bloomberg wearing a military helmet… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Capitol confidential Discovery Date : 01/12/2011 10:26 Number of articles : 2
Mayor Bloomberg’s animated Taiwanese doppelganger commands his troops. (Photo: YouTube) Mayor Bloomberg has a starring role in a new clip from Taiwanese meme factory Next Media Animation inspired by our post about a speech where he referred to the NYPD as “my own army.” The artistic geniuses at NMA created a 30 second clip that features a cartoon version of Mayor Bloomberg wearing a military helmet… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Capitol confidential Discovery Date : 01/12/2011 10:26 Number of articles : 2
As I mentioned previously, our overlord, Dustin, has sprouted some wings and is now writing for Warming Glow. Please visit him over there, he loves your patented brand of snarchasm. His introductory post is about that canker sore Piers Morgan…. Broadcasting platform : Vimeo Source : Pajiba Discovery Date : 01/12/2011 19:00 Number of articles : 2
As I mentioned previously, our overlord, Dustin, has sprouted some wings and is now writing for Warming Glow. Please visit him over there, he loves your patented brand of snarchasm. His introductory post is about that canker sore Piers Morgan…. Broadcasting platform : Vimeo Source : Pajiba Discovery Date : 01/12/2011 19:00 Number of articles : 2
