Sci-Fi Heaven.net » Hobbit

June Date for Hobbit Filming

Chris McQuillan — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:46:45 +0000

Guillermo del Toro is set to begin shooting his two-part Hobbit movie in New Zealand in June, according to reports.

Filming will last for fourteen months, and as of yet the cast is being kept under wraps.

No word on a release date yet, but Christmas 2011 is being thrown about as the most likely timeframe.

Confirmed: Hobbit to be filmed in New Zealand

Chris McQuillan — Sun, 25 May 2008 20:42:14 +0000

It won’t come as a surprise to many fans, but the New Zealand Herald has brought us confirmation that Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro intend to film the two upcoming Hobbit movies in New Zealand, where the original Lord of the Rings movies were shot.

Peter Jackson and Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro say they will rely on New Zealand scenery for the setting of two movies based on the JRR Tolkien book The Hobbit.

Jackson said they hoped to rebuild Hobbiton “bigger and even better than it was for Lord of the Rings” and with the Matamata landowners permission, use the same location.

“It is unlikely we will need any locations outside of New Zealand which has always been the perfect Middle Earth,” Jackson said. “There is nothing yet that Tolkien has described that we haven’t managed to find in this amazing little country and I expect the Hobbit to be no different.”

Trio in Hobbit Contract Talks

Chris McQuillan — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:10:02 +0000

It was announced this week that Guillermo del Toro, the new director of The Hobbit movies, direct prequels to Peter Jackson‘s Lord of the Rings, will enter pre-production after Hellboy II: The Golden Army is released this July.

But the more exciting news, arguably, was that three of the original actors from LotR have been approached by Warner Bros. for “preliminary contract talks“ according to Variety. They are:

Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn)
Ian McKellen (Gandalf)
Andy Serkis (Gollum)

Obviously, we reported earlier that Ian McKellen had been in talks, as he announced last month:

“Yes, it’s true. I spoke to Guillermo in the very room that Peter Jackson offered me the part, and he confirmed that I would be reprising the role. Obviously, it’s not a part that you turn down; I loved playing Gandalf.”

And while the return of Andy Serkis was largely expected, word on Viggo Mortensen is a welcome relief to many fans, provided he takes the role once more.