Monday was the first day of around two months of pick up shots for The Hobbit trilogy in New Zealand. To mark the day, Peter Jackson posted an image (left) and a note with a promise of a new production video soon.
Back on set for our last Hobbit pick ups. Our last ever Tolkien pick ups, in fact. It's going to be an intense few weeks, but we're looking forward to shooting some powerful scenes with our great cast. Our next blog is coming soon!
The One Ring is reporting that Peter Jackson. his motley crew and cast will resume filming for The Hobbit on May 20 in Wellington, New Zealand. Technically it is a "pick-up" as principle photography had already wrapped but that was before Jackson and Warner Bros decided to turn The Hobbit into a trilogy. As a result a whole more scenes are needed to fill out The Hobbit: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (out 12/13/13) and The Hobbit: There and Back Again (out 12/17/14). Based on rumors, extra listings in the country and actor references, it seems a lot of the filming will focus on the Battle of Five Armies which will basically be the final act of the last film. In the novel, Bilbo was knocked out early on and when the story picked back up it was over. Tolkien didn't really get into details on the battle as a whole but just certain key events. As a result Jackson will have an opportunity to let his imagination run wild.
Today Lego announced their version of The Tower of Orthanc from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. This is not the same as the fan masterpiece that was created over a year ago. The official version stands 2 feet tall, made of 2,359 pieces and will retail for $200 when it is released in June. The tower is made for play set fun as the front of it is the sheer black, creepy tower, while the back is open with multiple floor of play set items, trap door, glowing palantir and other play features. The set will come with a Great Eagle, buildable Ent figure and five mini figures. Below is the announcement video with press release and lot more images here.
While he missed out on joining the promotional swing of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Manu Bennett has not been forgotten by Empire Magazine. The actor, most famous for his role as Crixus in Spartacus and Slade Wilson in Arrow, is also the voice and body of Azog, the large white orc arch nemesis of Thorin. The actor himself does not appear but instead was the motion captured on stage and inserted into the film, after initial filming had wrapped. Jackson had decided the previous actor wasn't quite working and replaced him Bennett which required going on a green screen and re-creating the role. It seems Peter enjoyed the performance enough that Azog is going to get a lot more screen time in the next two films with Bennett expected to report to work when filming begins again this summer to get the extra footage needed to complete the trilogy. In the meantime, below are highlights of a great interview with the actor or you can read the whole thing at Empire.
Highlights
If truly love the story of The Hobbit by JJR Tolkien then you might be interested in the one page print of the novel by Spineless Classics. It takes the entire story and in tiny type puts its on a single poster that is 2.3 by 3.3ft (700 x 1000mm) at a price of around $69 (44.99 pounds) or $366 (240 pounds) for framed version. Its a UK company so might have to contact them to sort out if they provide international shipping. More details are here. (via Kotaku)
