The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey TV Spot #9 & #10

Two new TV spots have been posted for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The 10th has a blink and you will miss it glimpse at the shadow of Smaug as he flies over the land.
Trailer #1 | Trailer #1.1 | Trailer #2
TV Spot #1 | TV Spot #2 | TV Spot #3 | TV Spot #4
TV Spot #5 | TV Spot #6 | TV Spot #7 | TV Spot #8

The Hobbit: AUJ Entire Score Separated In Tracks

A few weeks ago The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey soundtrack was posted as a preview for its December 11 release. However, the player would not allow you to pause or skip tracks. Now Rolling Stone has reposted the soundtrack in a new player that devices the music into its tracks and gives you pause functionality. If interested in replaying some of your favorite tracks, you can find the player here. You can pre-order the extended edition and regular edition at Amazon.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey TV Spot #8

Below is TV spot #8 to promote The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey that is coming out on December 14th.
Trailer #1 | Trailer #1.1 | Trailer #2
TV Spot #1 | TV Spot #2 | TV Spot #3 | TV Spot #4 | TV Spot #5 | TV Spot #6 | TV Spot #7

The Hobbit Week on The Colbert Report

Starting on Monday (December 3) to Thursday (Dec. 6), The Colbert Report will have The Hobbit week to help promote An Unexpected Journey. The news doesn't come as a surprise as Stephen Colbert is a huge fan of Tolkien (can speak elvish) and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, making frequent references (for TV anyway) to the movies on his show. Also he was spotted on The Hobbit set and rumored to have a cameo in the movie. Planned guests include Ian McKellan (Dec. 3), Martin Freeman (Dec. 4), Peter Jackson (Dec. 5), and Andy Serkis (Dec. 6). I am sure he has more then just guests planned for the week as this is his chance to just unabashedly geek out.

The Hobbit: UEJ on Oscar VFX Short List

Thursday The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was announced as 1 of 10 films that is on the shortlist of 10 films to potentially compete for the Best Visual Effects Oscar. The Oscar is the highest film award in Hollywood and considered a huge achievement to even be nominated.

The 10 films: The Amazing Spider-Man, Cloud Atlas, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, John Carter, Life of Pi, The Avengers, Prometheus, Skyfall and Snow White & the Huntsman

The visual effects branch of the Academy will have a "bake-off" on January 3rd where they can view a 10 minute reel for each film that highlights the movies visual effects. From that, the branch will vote on who the five finalists are which will be announced on January 10, 2013. At that point the entire Academy will be able to vote on who will win the Best Visual Effects Oscar which will be announced during the 85th ACademy Awards presentation on February 24, 2013.

Four The Hobbit IMAX Posters for Midnight Viewings

For those attending the midnight showings of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on December 14th, participating theaters will be giving away four character posters (below). One per person but I wouldn't not be surprised if enterprising folks can work out getting the full set if choose too.

Live from The World Premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Starting 6:50PM PST/9:50PM EST will be the live stream (watch below) from the red carpet in Wellington, New Zealand for the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Usually these streams involved watching cast members, local celebrities and whoever else from Hollywood that chose to make the trip as they walk down the red carpet looking glamorous and occasionally engaging in quick interviews about the movie. After this will be various country premieres over the next few weeks as much of the cast starts promoting the movies on local news and talk shows.

Until the live stream starts, it will loop the trailer.

The Hobbit: AUJ Bilbo, Galdalf and Sting Clip

Over the weekend the below clip from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey aired on the SyFy channel. In the clip Galdalf hands over Sting to Bilbo Baggins. Sting is the sword that glowed near orcs and goblins that Frodo carried in the Trilogy and given to him by Bilbo in Fellowship of the Ring.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey World Premiere Live Stream Planned

As you are reading this, Wellington, New Zealand is prepping for the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey set for November 28th...New Zealand time. Which is about 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time or 18 hours ahead of the United States east coast (and not accounting for daylight savings time). In other worlds, for Europe, the premiere is occuring before dawn and for the states it is in late afternoon or early evening. Why does this possibily matter since none of us are there? As part of the red carpet event, Hero Complex is promising a live stream from the red carpet that will start at 6:50 PST/9:50EST/2:50GMT. I have no idea if the stream will be limited to the States or not. Once I know the link for the stream I will post it on the blog.

Expected to appear on the red carpet and possibly answer questions from reporters are Peter Jackson, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Ian Holm, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Christopher Lee, Lee Pace, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood and more. Ian McKellen had to cancel for unknown reasons. Neil Finn will also be there to perform at the event including "Song of the Lovely Mountain" that is part of the end credits. Not sure what else is going on but red carpet world premieres are mostly a way to get a bunch of quit interviews into TV and magazines as the various stars that attend look their very best. Having watched a live stream before of a red carpet thing for Transformers 2, it is actually pretty boring unless you like to star watch. Hopefully though might seem some more Hobbit inspired touches like the Bag End baggage carousel and Gandalf knocking images in this post.

Jackson on Filming The Hobbit

In a new article from NZ Stuff, Peter Jackson discusses his approach to filming The Hobbit compared to the Lord of the Rings, his enjoyment and what he thinks of the criticism in regards to 48FPS.

‘‘The Lord of the Rings is about good and evil and the fate of the world. I mean, it's about the biggest possible issues you could imagine and that's huge armies and huge empires fighting against each other, as well as the story of Frodo getting to the mountain. So, it a much more [an] epic type of movie. The Hobbit is more of a character ensemble film and an adventure story.

‘‘I'm trying to shoot The Hobbit in the same style as The Lord of the Rings, but obviously the subject matter is different, in the sense, we're following Bilbo [the hobbit] and the dwarfs and we're taking them on this adventure – which is very different to any of what happens in The Lord of the Rings. It simply isn't about such intense kind of issues and intense themes as The Lord of the Rings.’’

The Hobbit Production Video #9 - Post Production

Peter Jackson has posted the next production diary for The Hobbit. This one covers the post-production for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey with a look at some filming, creating the visual effects, sound effects, editing, color correction and recording the soundtrack. No major spoilers but get glimpses at new scenes not in the various trailers and tv spots. Like the bit about "beard capture technology".
Video #1 | Video #2 | Video #3 | Video #4 | Video #5 | Video #6 | Video #7 | Video #8

Official The Hobbit 3D Glasses Now Available

The official The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 3D glasses are now on sale on Amazon for $10. As previewed a few months ago, the plastic glasses made by Look3D are for use when seeing the movie at 3D locations with a design inspired by the key of Erebor. To buy, click here.

Howard Shore Audio Interview

ClassicFM has posted a new interview with The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore. In the interview he discusses writing the music for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, working with Peter Jackson again, the influence the novels have on his writing and finishing the movie score. The 11 minute interview can be found here. The soundtrack will be out on December 11th in standard and extended edition. You can also preview it. (via TOR)

The Hobbit: AUJ Unofficial Supertrailer

Below is a fan made 7 and half minute "supertrailer" that is a combination of all the trailers and TV spots 1-7 that have been released. It essentially edits all of them together, dropping the repeat scenes. A good way to see all the footage available up to this point.
Trailer #1 | Trailer #1.1 | Trailer #2
TV Spot #1 | TV Spot #2 | TV Spot #3 | TV Spot #4 | TV Spot #5 | TV Spot #6 | TV Spot #7

Peter Jackson's Q&A on 48FPS

In a post on his official Facebook page, Peter Jackson answered a few questions about HFR 3D, aka high frame rate in 3D, aka 3D at 48 frames-per-second. Since 1927, all films have been shown at 24 frames per second, with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey being the first to show it at 48FPS in history. Because of the tech upgrade costs, it will be only shown on around 500 screens in North America (list here) so most will not be able to view it in the format that Jackson would prefer all see it in. Still if you in an area that will be showing The Hobbit in HFR 3D but on the fence about that extra 3D cost (the 48fps is a bonus), his Q&A may be useful in making a decision.

QUESTION: Why did you shoot The Hobbit Trilogy using the High Frame Rate (HFR) format?
PETER JACKSON: We live in a rapidly advancing digital age. Technology is being continually developed that can enhance and enrich the cinema-going experience. High Frame Rate shooting for a mainstream feature film has only become viable in the last year or two, and yet we live in an age of increasing home entertainment. I started shooting The Hobbit films in HFR because I wanted film audiences to experience just how remarkably immersive the theatrical cinema experience can be.

Peter Jackson Refutes Animal Abuse Accusations

According to animal wranglers who had worked with The Hobbit production, around 27 animals died during production. They allege (through PETA) that the farm the animals were kept on was dangerous with bluffs, sinkholes, fences and other "death traps." The farm was used to house around 150 animals used for the film. The deaths did not occurs during actual filming of the film but while being kept at the farm.

The production does admit that two horses died from events that could have been avoided and improvements were made to avoid those but no specific details were provided on the other 25 deaths, which the wranglers do admit some (but not how many) were caused by natural causes. Other deaths was one other horse, six goats, six sheep and a dozen chickens. Most of the deaths were caused by sinkholes that were caused by underground streams. Some by the animals going over bluffs and multiple chickens were killed by dogs. After two horses died, "hundreds of thousands" in upgrades were performed on the farm area but apparently it wasn't enough to prevent additional harm. The American Humane Association (AHA) was on set and verify no animals were harmed during filming of The Hobbit but they have no oversight on what happens off set.

Tolkien Estate Suing Warner Bros for $80 Million

In just a little over a week The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will have its world premiere in Wellington, New Zealand. The occasion has not slowed down the many problems that the Tolkien Estate has had with Warner Bros and movie rights holder Saul Zaentz Company. The two sides have been in legal hell on and off for over a decade now with each side winning and losing their share of battles. They once again enter into battle with yet another lawsuit.

The latest is over a breach of contract over how Warner Bros has chosen to take advantage of the Tolkien's world for the digital age. The source of the anger is due to the online gambling game "The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring: Online Slot Game" that apparently WB signed off with plans to produce regular LOTR slot machines for casinos. The Tolkien Estate is suing to prevent to take down the Slot Game, prevent the gambling machines from moving forward, and prevent WB from using their merchandising rights in areas the original 1969 contract did not cover such as hotels, restaurants, ringtones, online games, and more. The $80 million is to cover how the "infringing conduct has outraged Tolkien's devoted fan base, causing irreparable harm to Tolkien's legacy and reputation and the valuable goodwill generated by his works."

Hard to say how this will be handled but chances are this will be eventually settled with a hefty payout and alteration of the existing contract. Considering how much the Tolkien Estate and remaining family seems to genuinely hate the films (they prefer a literal book to film translation, which trust me would be an awful thing), don't take this to mean that somehow WB might get further rights to Tolkien's other Middle-Earth works.

Philippa Boyens Talks About Writing The Hobbit

In an article with New Zealand Stuff, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey co-writer Philippa Boyens discussed returning to Middle-Earth, handling various story elements and why they decided to invent a new character for the films.

On returning to Middle-Earth:
When asked, there's a long pause before she answers. "I loved the world. I loved [JRR] Tolkien's writing. [But] I think there was a quality about myself where I felt like 'I'd done it'," she says while in Wellington. "But that feeling didn't last very long because The Hobbit is a whole other fantasy really, a whole other work. Once we got into it and started writing it I felt really good about it and then I started loving it more and more. It was a natural process of falling back in love."

Why So Few Screens for the 48FPS Hobbit

Warner Bros recently explained its decision to limit its rollout of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at 48 frames-per-second to Deadline. The 3D at 48FPS tech, which WB calls "HFR" for High Frame Rate, is being rolled out slowly because there are glitches that need to be corrected and "This is a technology that is going to change the way people see movies…You have to do it right."

New tech has glitches, that is to be expected. Another issue is cost. It seems that the cost of turning a screen into HFR ready can cost $5000 per projector and as high as $20,000 for IMAX. If the projector was recently purchased, there is still a $1,500 cost for the software upgrade. This does not include the faster bulb burn out rate and the high cost of replacing them.

It seems the plan is basically to use The Hobbit as a proof of concept to encourage studios to start paying out for the upgrade. The more that upgrade, the more the tech can be perfected and the faster the cost will drop. This means that The Hobbit has to get it right the first time as unlikely to be any second chances if audiences do not like the experience.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey TV Spot #7

The countdown continues to December 14th with the 7th TV spot for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Trailer #1 | Trailer #1.1 | Trailer #2
TV Spot #1 | TV Spot #2 | TV Spot #3 | TV Spot #4 | TV Spot #5 | TV Spot #6

When Charles Meets Dori

Below is a short, cute video that has Prince Charles meeting Dori the Dwarf when royalty visited The Hobbit set over the summer. Make sure to pay attention to Peter Jackson who seems to be enjoying it more then anyone else. (via AICN)

The Hobbit IMAX 3D Getting a Star Trek Experience

When The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey debuts on December 14th nationwide in IMAX 3D, 500 screens will present the first 9 minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness to audiences.

“Our longtime partners J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk and the Bad Robot team have really hit it out of the park – the footage is absolutely incredible,” said Greg Foster, Chairman and President, IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “Their use of the IMAX Camera and canvas is sure to impress current and future Star Trek fans alike, and we’re thrilled to once again work with our friends at Paramount Pictures to offer this extended ‘first look’ at this highly anticipated summer blockbuster.”

The final list of theaters isn't know but a list of The Hobbit in IMAX 3D for North American can be found here. Chances are most, if not all those theaters will have the Star Trek preview.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey TV Spot #6

The sixth TV spot for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is out.
Trailer #1 | Trailer #1.1 | Trailer #2
TV Spot #1 | TV Spot #2 | TV Spot #3 | TV Spot #4 | TV Spot #5

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Full Soundtrack Preview

Empire Magazine has posted the full soundtrack to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey online. A previous post provided a minute preview of each track but this time its the entire thing. Sadly the widget does not allow you to skip around but still cool to hear if only to rev you up for the movie. If decide to pre-order the soundtrack use these links so the site gets credit - extended edition and regular edition. The soundtrack will be released on December 11th. If just curious about Neil Finn's credit song, you can find that below thanks to Rolling Stone.

Hobbit Japanese TV Spot with More Scenes

A Japanese TV spot for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey reveals a few more scenes over the previous spots released for the states including a great shot of Gollum creeping up on Bilbo. The movie will be out on December 14th. (via TOR)

Lego Lord of the Rings Out Now

Just a reminder that Lego Lord of the Rings has been released for all consoles and the PC. The game is based on the movie, using the voice work and music from the films to re-create the trilogy in the Lego (aka kid friendly) way. An interview with the developers is here and can order it from Amazon here.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey TV Spot #5

A new TV spot for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been released with a few new scenes not seen in the previous ones.
Trailer #1 | Trailer #1.1 | Trailer #2 | TV Spot #1 | TV Spot #2 | TV Spot #3 | TV Spot #4

The Hobbit 150 Behind the Scenes Images, Article and Martin Freeman Interview

New Zealand Stuff has posted two articles for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. One is a interview with Martin Freeman as he discusses getting cast as Bilbo, taking over the role from Ian Holm. In other is a behind the scenes look at the film. Links below. In addition ComicBookMovie has posted 150 behind the scene images that is really a catalog of all the ones previously released (including the 60 from yesterday) so if got behind its a useful way of catching up but otherwise nothing new to see. If don't want to click through each one, the thumbnail list is here.
Martin Freeman | Behind the Scenes

Fellowship of the Ring With Soundtrack Performed Live

Below are five videos posted by OxoArchiveAddict from a live performance of the soundtrack to The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings as the movie played. The concert occured on October 25th at the Paris Palais des Congrès. The five videos below are short (otherwise might get into copyright issues) but gives you a feel for what was probably an great experience for LOTR fans. A description of the event is here.

New The Hobbit Track, Preview Entire Score

A new track from the Howard Shore composed sountrack to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been released called "The Adventure Begins" which echos themes from The Lord of the Rings soundtrack. A previously released track, Radagast the Brown, can be found here. In addition below are three "videos" that give you about a minute preview of every track on the extended edition of the sountrack. There are two editions, the extended edition and regular edition with the main differences being longer versions of some tracks and a few additonal tracks. Full details on those editions are here.

60 Behind the Scene Photos from The Hobbit

Not sure how they got them but Tolkien Brazil has posted 60 images from behind the scenes of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The images show the crew at work with a focus on Peter Jackson and the cast of the film. To view the full gallery, click here.

Three More Banners for The Hobbit

The posters keep coming for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey that is out on December 14th. The other day four banners were released and today we have three more. As before the images are from The Hobbit Scroll from early summer.

New The Hobbit: UEJ Images

New images from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey have been posted online. The images provide a look at more of the characters and creatures in the movie including the Wargs, Goblins/Orcs, Trolls, The White Council meeting spot, Radagast the Brown, and more. The pictures can be found here or mirrored here.

Denny's An Unexpected Dinner Party Featurette

Denny's has started posting the promised behind the scenes videos for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The video shows some of the behind the scenes fun with the cast as they filmed the dinner party at Bags End that will likely be in the first 30 minutes or so of the movie. (via The One Ring)

Four New Banners for The Hobbit: AUJ

WB has released four new banners to promote the December 14th release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. If the images seem familiar it is because were used in The Hobbit scroll a few months back.

Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman on the Hobbit Set

ComicBookMovie has posted several images of Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman on The Hobbit set as he performed a stunt on Laketown set. Assuming he doesn't get an early introduction, the character will probably not show up until The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Three more images can be found here.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey TV Spot #4

WB has released TV Spot #4 and its extended edition for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Just a reminder that tickets are on sale now for the December 14th release.
Trailer #1 | Trailer #1.1 | Trailer #2 | TV Spot #1 | TV Spot #2 | TV Spot #3

Behind the Scenes of "An Unexpected Briefing"

Below is video from Air New Zealand that shows some of the behind the scenes for "An Unexpected Briefing" airplane safety video created with Peter Jackson for the company. (via Weta)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Theater Format List

The One Ring has compiled a pretty comprehensive list of the North American theaters that will have The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in formats other then regular 2D. In total there are about 4 different formats to the movie with 2 main sound options. It can get confusing pretty easily. Peter Jackson would prefer you see the movie in "HFR 3D" (in 3D at 48 frames-per-second with Atmos Sound). Only a tiny fraction of movie theaters have the equipment (either can't do 48FPS or no Atmos) to do this so if most of us will not be able to see it the Peter Jackson way. As a result the theater listing/cheat sheet will be very useful to figure out just how close you can get to the ideal in your area. Personally I think I would rather experience the movie the same way I did The Lord of the Rings trilogy so sticking with good old fashion 2D at 24 FPS. BTW tickets are on sale now.

The formats:
HDR 3D - in 3D at 48 frames-per-second (Peter Jackson preferred)
IMAX 3D - in 3D at 24 frames-per-second
IMAX - in 3D at 24 frames-per-second in huge scale
3D - in 3D at 24 frames-per-second
2D - how movies have been for last 90 years (Lord of the Rings trilogy format)

Click here to view the theater listing or here to download the PDF listing.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey TV Spot #3

The third TV spot has been released for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey that will be released on December 14th.
TV Spot #1 | TV Spot #2

"Radagast the Brown" Track from The Hobbit Soundtrack

A track from the upcoming soundtrack for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been released. Titled "Radagast the Brown" for the wizard that Sylvester McCoy is playing and whose role in the trilogy remains unknown. The music, composted by Howard Shore, proves that the music for The Hobbit trilogy will remain as fantastic as it was for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. There are two editions of the 2-disc soundtrack, a regular edition and special edition that will be released on December 11th.

The Hobbit, LOTR Marathon Tickets on Sale Wednesday

Starting at noon on Wednesday, November 7th, advance tickets for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will go on sale in the United States. In addition some theaters will have The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy marathon on Saturday, December 8th and Sunday, December 9th.

On the format front, things remain confusing but Regal Theaters provided some clarity by saying that their 48 frames per second will be in 3D only or what they label as "HFR 3D". Still this leaves 2D at 24fps, 3D at 24fps and 48fps, IMAX at unknown fps, IMAX 3D at unknown fps and that is before you Dolby Atmos to the equation.

To simplify, if you goal is to watch it the way Peter Jackson wants you too then you want 3D IMAX at 48fps in Dolby Atmos. If you want to remain consistent to the Lord of the Rings trilogy (my preference if only to avoid the format headaches) then stick with traditional 2D at 24fps that most theaters will have and how have been watching movies your entire life.

17 New The Hobbit Character Posters

Now posted online thanks to Empire, below are 17 new posters depicting each of the major characters in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Peter Jackson on Trilogy, Smaug Design

In an article from Hero Complex, The Hobbit trilogy director Peter Jackson commented on the move to the a trilogy, aspects of the story expanded from the novel, and about designing the look of Smaug.

Highlights:
- Announcement of change to a trilogy "was announced to us the day of the wrap party" according to Martin Freeman (Bilbo).
- The Lord of the Rings appendices used to provide more of Gandalf's history, how he joined Thorin's company of dwarves and provide more story for Gollum.
- After Guillermo Del Toro left the production, "I thought, if I’m going to do it I need to actually be comfortable, to do the thing that I want to do in my head. So I suddenly found myself scrambling. I was literally scrambling to get designs ready on time for the film that I wanted to make. And we were revising the script furiously. The delay didn’t help anybody. It didn’t help him. It didn’t help us. It didn’t help the film."
- On Smaug: "The trouble with redesigning dragons is that if you really get fruity with it, it suddenly starts to look like some sort of monster from another planet — you very quickly can go into science-fiction territory. ...So I’m not trying to step away from the dragon. I just want to present the most venal, scary, decrepit, nasty dragon that I possibly can."
- "I just like to tell stories," Jackson said. "I don’t set out to try to preach to people and put hidden meaning into things. I just think if you can entertain people and give people a good time at the movies you’re doing your job well. I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that."

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Soundtrack Cover, Tracks

Today the details for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Soundtrack composted by Howard Shore confirming previously leaked info including that Neil Finn performs the closing credits song called "Song of the Lonely Mountain". There are two editions of the 2-disc soundtrack, a regular edition and special edition. The special edition has four additional tracks and six extended versions of selected music. The sets will be released on December 11th, just a few days before the movie is release worldwide. Below is the track list but spoiler warning as the titles do hint at movie events. If plan on purchasing, use one of the edition links above so the site gets credit.

Press Release: