Although he has not been offered a cameo role in the forthcoming movies of The Hobbit, Billy Boyd has revealed he has plan to gate crash the set! Billy and fellow hobbits Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan hope to pay a nostalgic visit to New Zealand later this year. He comments; “while we’re there, there must be something for us. They must need a hobbit in the background somewhere. I can even put the big feet on myself!” You can read the fully story here.
Cast members of The Hobbit including Hobbits, Elves, Dwarfs, Wizards and Sir Peter Jackson all came out to celebrate the reopening of the 3D Roxy Theatre. Peter Jackson, dressed as the Rocketeer, took time out from the second week of filming to celebrate Miramar’s new $7m 3D theatre reopening. Details can be found here.
Ian McKellen has up-dated his official Hobbit blog where he talks about getting ready to return to the role of Gandalf. He reveals that; “It’s like old times. Gandy’s clothes are handing round my trailer”.
Two new pictures of Peter Jackson on the Bag End set can be viewed on his Facebook page here.
In the late 1960s Maurice Sendak, of ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ fame was asked to illustrate a 30th Anniversary Edition of ‘The Hobbit”. He drew two sample illustrations which were sent to Tolkien for approval, but, unfortunately, the publisher mistakenly labeled the Elves in one illustration as Hobbits, and as he thought that this indicated that Sendak had never even read the book, this upset Tolkien to the point that he refused permission for the Sendak illustrated edition. You can read the full story here.
For the month of April the CoE Store will be featuring the long awaited Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended Editions on blu-ray disc. This large set of 15 discs includes the extended trilogy on blu-ray and digital copy as well as 9 discs of bonus material on dvd. The release date for this box set is June 28th so, pre-order your copy now.
Stuff.co.nz report that the makers of The Hobbit films are about to lose their permission to film in Hobbiton. Their resource consent meant that filming was supposed to be completed by the end of April but filming of the movies has been delayed by a number of factors. The company will now have to reapply for new permission to film. Papers released show that so far $1.4 million has been spent building new hobbit holes, the Green Dragon Inn and a new fake tree.
To celebrate the beginning of filming of The Hobbit, White Tree Press is giving away five copies of our fan appreciation anthology, Lembas for the Soul: How The Lord of the Rings Enriches Everyday Life. It’s been an amazing five years since Lembas for the Soul was published. We’re anticipating more joy and wonder now that filming of The Hobbit finally is under way.
White Tree Press will send a free copy of Lembas for the Soul to five fans whose names will be drawn at random from the emails we receive at [email protected]. Entries must be received between now and April 16th, 2011 CST.
Matt Dravitzki, Peter Jackson’s assistant told the Sunday Star-Times:
“We are very excited to be starting production. We will be shooting right through this year and into 2012. We will be filming in our studios in Miramar, Wellington, and in locations throughout New Zealand, but I can’t reveal those at the moment.” You can read the full article here .
In the latest up-date on his official website Ian McKellen describes the first joint rehearsal for The Hobbit. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens invited comments from the cast on the script so far. Ian comments; “This is as close to bliss as an actor can get. Facing three Oscar-winning screenplay writers who genuinely want us actors to contribute”. You can read the complete entry here.