News Archive

Actor Andy Serkis has publicly thanked James Franco for championing him as a Best Actor Oscar nominee, branding his support “extraordinarily bold”. See the article, from Contactmusic.com, here.

in 1961, C. S. Lewis nominated J. R. R. Tolkien for the Nobel prize in literature, a prize that ended up being awarded to Yugoslavian writer Ivo Andric.
The workings of the Nobel Committee have been kept secret for 50 years but now, according to this article in the Guardian and this article in The Daily Mash, we learn that The Professor was turned down over both his questionable prose, and for his choice of subject material.

In 1966, an animated, almost 12 minute long, version of The Hobbit was screened. For more information, and to watch the film, click this link to iO9.com.

According to this article at Empire Online, Benedict Cumberbatch may have hinted at some changes being made in the plot of ‘The Hobbit’ movies.

Click here for Peter Jackson’s Q&A session, in which the director discusses both TinTin and The Hobbit movies, with reporter Neala Johnson of News Limited.

Former Olympian sword fighter Bob Anderson, who worked on countless movies as a fight teacher and choreographer including Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, died at 89 .

Director Peter Jackson left a message on his Facebook page, saying It is a rare, even within the film industry, that you get to work with a legend which was why I was thrilled when Bob Anderson agreed to come on board The Lord of the Rings as our sword-master. In fact, it took a while for it to sink in that I was going to get to work with the same man who had helped create some of cinema’s greatest fight sequences – from Star Wars to The Princess Bride. Bob was a brilliant swordsman and a gifted teacher; I will remember him as a wonderfully patient man, possessed of a terrific sense of humour. It was a privilege to have known him.

Today is the 120th anniversary of J.R.R. Tolkien’s birth and by tradition lovers of his literature will toast the author at 9:00 pm with the phrase: “The professor”.

So today, let’s all raise a glass to celebrate the birth of the man who is the reason for us all to meet here; to ‘The professor’.

In this article Quint discusses many of the background details behind the Hobbit Movies location work at two spots near Ohakune, on New Zealand’s North Island. For more information, click this link to the full article at Ain’t it Cool News.