Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly Wrapped on The Hobbit

Joining Sir Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom has said goodbye to Legolas for the last time as he has completed his work on The Hobbit, as has Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel). Peter Jackson marked the occasion with a note and video (below). In the video Bloom "sings" his part in the 2007 viral video "They are Taking The Hobbits To Isengard". Both videos are below. Jackson also added a note.

A day after saying goodbye to Gandalf and Tauriel, it was time to farewell Legolas. What a great day it was, with Orlando battling a serious Orc for all 12 hours of shooting - part of the Battle of the 5 Armies for the third Hobbit movie. When we finally got the day done, we said goodbye to Orlando, had a couple of beers ... and couldn't resist doing this!

Its a Wrap for Sir Ian McKellen

Today Sir Ian McKellen says goodbye to Gandalf for the final time as he finished filming his scenes today on The Hobbit triology. Director Peter Jackson marked the end of McKellen's now iconic role with a picture and note on Facebook.

Seconds ago we finished our last shot with Gandalf. The end of an incredible adventure that began in 1999. I'm feeling very sad right now.

Jackson, Boyens Teases The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition Additions

In an interview with Empire Magazine, director Peter Jackson and his co-writer Phillippa Boyens teased some of the additional scenes that have been added to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition that is expected this holiday season. The August issue of Empire with more about The Desolation of Smaug hits newsstands on Thursday.

"You are going to get some serious Dwarvish disrespect of the elves at Rivendell," says Jackson, echoing what he previously said to us during our Unexpected Journey video interviews (see below).

"You are going to get more of Hobbiton," says producer / co-writer Philippa Boyens. "We always wanted to wend our way through Hobbiton, but in the end Bilbo has to run out of the door."

"You are going to get more Goblin Town, and the Great Goblin singing his song," adds Fran Walsh, Jackson's other half and fellow screenwriter. "It is a great song, but it was just another delay in terms of moving the story along."

"A number one hit from the Goblin King," laughs Jackson. "Barry Humphries is going to rise up the charts."

"We are putting things in the extended cut that are going to play straight into the second film," explains Jackson, "like this character Girion, who is defending [the city of] Dale using black arrows against Smaug. And the black arrows play a part in an ongoing story, for they are the one thing that can pierce the dragon's hide."

"There are also issues with [king of the elves] Thranduil (Lee Pace)," Jackson adds. "We get some of the reason why he and the dwarves had a falling out - to do with these white gems..."

New Empire Cover Features The Hobbit Elves

Here is the cover for the August 2013 issue of Empire Magazine features the three main elves of The Hobbit trilogy, Orlando Bloom (Legolas), gorgeous Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel) and Lee Lace (Thranduil). No details yet from the issue but that will change soon.

The Hobbit Production Video Coming Soon

Peter Jackson has taken to his Facebook page to update the status on the production videos (coming soon). He also posted the image of Jimmy Nesbitt (Bofur) wearing webs as the Dwarfs prep to film whatever is next. My guess is the scene is involves the Mirkwood Forest and its giant spiders that we will see in Desolation of Smaug this December.

Any day you can cover the wonderful Jimmy Nesbitt and his fellow dwarves in cobwebs is a good day! Work continues on pick ups here in Wellington, with a new video blog in the final stages of post and out very soon!

New Zealand - Home of Middle-Earth

As part of the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign to promote tourism in the country, Warner Bros has posted a great video below with the actors of The Hobbit trilogy discussing the beautiful land that helped Middle-Earth come to life. I especially enjoyed how in short portions they would show a camera sequence used in the movie with the same sequence as it was filmed highlighting that while the movie had a lot of special effects, the land itself didn't really require any.

Elf Actors Reacting To Fans Reacting To New Trailer

Peter Jackson posted an amusing video that shows The Hobbit Elves of Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Lee Pace (Thranduil) as they watch the video posted by Kellie and Alex (or Kili and Fili on The One Ring forums) reacting to the new The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug trailer. Now below in order are 1) Peter Jackson's Happy Elves video 2) the original video from the sisters and 3) the new teaser trailer.

Hit play on all three real quick one after the other. The idea is so can see the actors reacting to the girls as they react to the trailer, hopefully all on one screen if screen resolution is big enough. The result is both endearing and amusing. Update: So now have "Kili and Fili"'s response to the actors' response...well you get idea. You can find that here.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Teaser Trailer

Below is the first teaser trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug that will also be attached to The Man of Steel (but theaters don't always add it). The trailer also provides the first look at Smaug. In addition you can find stills that show off Tauriel, Legolas and others from the trailer here.

Official The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Poster, Trailer Coming Tuesday

The One Ring has revealed the official poster for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The poster depicts Bilbo standing before the entrance to Erebor which is currently occupied by Smaug the dragon (hince the fire and smoke at the entrance). In addition the site confirms that the trailer for the movie is being released online at 1pm EDT.

(Fake) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Poster (Updated)

From Bleeding Cool, here is the first look at the first poster for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. According to The Lebanese Cinema Movie Guide, the first trailer may appear online on Tuesday at 10am PDT/ 1pm EST. This has not been officially confirmed but I would be truly surprised if the trailer isn't attached to Man of Steel so an early release is also likely.

Update: The One Ring reports that the poster is fake and makes a pretty convincing argument about it here. Assuming the actual official poster isn't enough proof.

The Desolation of Smaug Trailer Coming Soon

The British Board of Film Classification has approved a trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug indicating one is coming very soon. Chances are it will be attached to The Man of Steel but that has not been verified. The trailer clocks in at 2 minutes, 1 second with a rating of 12 (or PG in the US). Since this is for the UK, its unknown if this is a worldwide trailer or an "international" trailer where a US version will also be released. Hopefully the trailer news will be verified soon (with say an online release) sometime in the next week or so.

First Official Look at Tauriel the Elf

Entertainment Weekly has posted the first official look at the lovely Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel who will appear in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaugh this December. The red-headed elf is a creation of Peter JAckson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens to basically add a female to a cast this almost wall to wall male. Evangeline describes the character to the magazine.

"She’s slightly reckless and totally ruthless and doesn’t hesitate to kill. Tauriel is the head of the Elven Guard. She’s a Sylvan Elf, which means she’s of a much lower order than the elves we all became acquainted with in The Lord of the Rings. She doesn’t hold the same kind of status that Arwen or Galadriel or Elrond or Legolas do — she’s much more lowly. She sort of goes against the social order of the elves a little bit. She will definitely have a love story. I can’t give away too much about it. It’s not a huge focus but it is there and it is important and it does drive Tauriel and her story and her actions.