The ongoing actor’s dispute regarding The Hobbit has yet to be settled and a meeting planned for today has been cancelled. The dispute is over pay and conditions and Actor’s Equity is asking members to boycott the movies. You can read the full story here.
Entertainment Weekly is doing a special reunion edition featuring the casts of many blockbusters from the past. Screencrave has released some video of the LotR cast reunion that took place for the Entertainment Weekly photo shoot and interviews.
IGN.com is reporting that Martin Freeman may have been cast as Bilbo, and has a few other rumors (any guesses on what role David Tennant might play?). People.co.uk is also reporting that James Nesbitt may have signed on for a major role.
As always, these are just rumors — if we hear anything concrete, we’ll definitely let you know!
The Hobbit film has gotten the greenlight from MGM and Warner-Brothers, with PJ as the director. Filming is to begin in February. You can read more about it here, here, and here.
It is important to note that the union difficulties mentioned in earlier news are still an issue, but hopefully this will be resolved quickly, and won’t delay production.
The New Zealand Herald report that there has been a “useful and productive discussion” between various groups in New Zealand about employment issues. However, the final decision as to where The Hobbit will be filmed will be decided by Warner Brothers. A decision is expected within the next two weeks.
The Hobbit could become the world’s most expensive film ever made, with estimates of its cost at $500 million (£315 million), twice the cost of the LotR trilogy. The budget has increased due to delays including those caused by various legal disputes. You can read more at The Telegraph.
Empire Online report that Martin Freeman is hopeful that he might still be in line for the part of Bilbo in The Hobbit. Martin has revealed that in the past scheduling problems meant that he had to turn the offer of the role down.
Reports are coming in from Los Angeles of an imminent deal to rescue the financially troubled MGM studios, clearing the way for production to begin on The Hobbit.
News from New Zealand are less promising, as attempts by the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) to settle a dispute between Hobbit producers and actors’ unions have failed, according to industry sources, as the apparent stalemate continues over the union’s bid for a collective contract for Hobbit actors.
Read more about it here.
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