Weaver Debunks Casting Rumor

Hugo Weaving (Elrond) has said to Moviehole that he is not yet cast in The Hobbit films despite what Guillermo Del Toro indicated before.

“I knew that if and when it happened I’d get a call and we’d chat about it, but I haven’t spoken to anyone about it. Someone said to me ‘I hear you’re doing the Hobbit?’ I said ‘Well, um, probably’, they said “No, no. you’ve signed on’. I haven’t actually talked to anyone about it. Doesn’t mean I won’t be doing it, [I’m] just not onboard yet.”

Weaving hasn’t met the prequel’s director but says the he’s “really excited that [Del Toro] is directing. He’s a fantastic choice – an absolutely wonderful choice, just brilliant. It’d be good to get back together with Andy Serkis and Ian McKellan, and whoever else comes back – there’s not many other characters that could come back I guess. Bilbo is back, but you’ve got to have a much younger version of the character. Whereas Elves and Wizards it doesn’t matter – you might just have to age me back though”, he laughs.

This really isn't a surprise as the film is still in the scripting and pre-production phrase so it is unlikely that anyone is contractually bound to film. All Del Toro was saying is their characters are in the movie and the roles are theirs if they want them. The real problem, as it was with the trilogy after the first film did huge box office, will be the money as all the actors are now very experienced at that game and will likely be making very expensive demands in compensation.

Del Toro Reveals New Hobbit Details

In an interview with BBC Radio's Simon Mayo Show, The Hobbit Director Guillermo del Toro provided the first meaningful update about the production. Del Toro that a Andy Serkis (Gollum), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), and Hugo Weaving (Elrond) will all reprise their Lord of the Rings Trilogy roles. He also provided a few plot details.

the film will take some liberties with sub-plot material that is briefly discussed in the book. Most notably among this, is Gandalf's departure from Bilbo and the Dwarves to confer with The White Council in Dol Guldur on dealing with an entity called the Necromancer (which later turns out to be Sauron himself.) We've always suspected this based on some statements, but this time, the intention to document Gandalf's quest (which is not covered greatly in the book) was articulated clearly. This is an excellent move, and should make the "Hobbit to Lord of the Rings" transition seem all the more smooth. Hopefully, it will be done in such a way that even casual audiences will be able to make the connection.

Finally, regarding Smaug the Dragon, del Toro revealed that after eight whole months of design work, they have only just “cracked the basic engineering.” It is anticipated that another six or seven months of application will be needed before the great flying, fire-breathing, gold smuggler will be in any kind of presentable form. (Holy crap, he should look AMAZING!)

Guillermo Rules Out Bridge Film

Took over a month but finally some The Hobbit news. Well sort of since it’s just a repeat that the Hobbit films will not be a bridge film to the Lord of the Rings trilogy as originally planned. As told to MTV, del Toro has added additional story points to the films and is currently deciding on what the end point fill be for the first movie. Also below is a video of the interview broken up into five segments, the first two he talks about his novel "The Strain" and the next two after is about The Hobbit. Already over three hundred pieces of art has been generated as pre-production work continues on the films.

I’m doing only two movies because I felt that that was the best way to service the book,” the director said. “I’m not saying the other notion was not discussed. We discussed it a large degree. But I felt that for me, the two films were the way to go.”

Del Toro explained that the decision to split the book in half stemmed from the sprawling nature of Tolkien’s tome and, he said, the “White Council or the Dol Guldur additions.”

The director has also settled on where exactly the first film will end and the second will begin. “When you read the book, there is only one place to break it really,” he said. “And everybody knows it. It’s been discussed in forums and there’s a lot of people that are right. That’s where it’s going to break. So it’s very simple.

“What we’re doing is because we have the relationship between Bilbo and Thorin and all the dwarves, there is a logical place for that relationship,” del Toro continued. “There is a moment in the book where something is accomplished that allows us to say, ‘Okay, on to the next one after this.’”