Third Age 3019: Elrond and the escort of Arwen leave Lórien and journey south to Minas Tirith.
‘Hobbit’ filming coming to an end
Publicist for The Hobbit, Ceris Price, recently announced that the second filming unit headed by Andy Serkis is on schedule to complete filming by the end of May.
“This is approximately four weeks prior to the completion of principal photography on The Hobbit films,” Price said.
Price also confirmed that the ‘Battle of the Five Armies’ is included in the film. The ‘Battle of the Five Armies’ is the climax in the story of The Hobbit and something fans are most eager to see. The battle will appear in the second of the two-part Hobbit films.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released in the U.S. December 14th, with the second half The Hobbit: There and Back Again released next year.
Gandalf vs Darth Vader winner determined!
The folks over at Bat In The Sun have tallied the votes in the Gandalf vs Darth Vader (or Darth Vader vs Gandalf, if you prefer) match up, part of their Super Power Beat Down, and have presented the winner in a short clip.
The qualities of both characters are discussed before a filmed battle sequence is shown and the winner announced. So who won? Sit back, watch and find out!
Peter Jackson responds to ‘Hobbit’ preview criticism
Last week Peter Jackson and Warner Bros. showed a 10-minute preview of the upcoming film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at the higher film rate of 48 fps to cinema owners at CinemaCon. The preview received mixed reviews ranging from excitement over seeing various characters, old and new, to concern over the almost “too-real” quality of the footage, even though viewers were told before hand that the preview footage was not the finished product.
Most who criticized the Hobbit footage compared it to Jackson’s other work, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, saying that The Hobbit wasn’t “cinematic” enough like Rings was.
Negative criticism aside, Peter Jackson is not in the least bit worried.
“At first it’s unusual because you’ve never seen a movie like this before. It’s literally a new experience, but you know, that doesn’t last the entire experience of the film—not by any stretch, [just] 10 minutes or so. That’s a different experience than if you see a fast-cutting montage at a technical presentation.”
Jackson also pointed out that the preview showed at CinemaCon was lacking the “extensive digital grading” that was done in post-production on The Lord of the Rings.
“We’ll do the same with The Hobbit, to make it consistent and give it the feeling of otherworldliness—to get the mood, the tone, the feel of the different scenes.”
In other words, everyone just chill.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released in theaters in the U.S. on December 14, 2012.
CinemaCon ‘The Hobbit’ footage receives mixed reviews
Bilbo and the Dwarves at Bag End from 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'
Peter Jackson and Warner Bros. recently showed cinema owners ten minutes of the film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Reactions to the higher quality film rate were mixed, with some loving the more detailed footage to some stating that it’s a bit too detailed and has a florescent look to it.
According to Peter Jackson, the faster frame rate of 48 fps takes the eyes some time to get used to, and it was noted that the preview was not finished quality. “It’s not really showing you a sense of what those shots will look like in the finished film, but it’s allowing you to judge the projection quality.”
The clip gave a general idea of how the The Hobbit story will go. The footage started off with an aged Bilbo telling Frodo that he did not tell him the complete story of his adventure, from which viewers were taken along on his adventure and saw a younger Bilbo and Gandalf, meeting the Dwarves, Trolls, the White Council, Bilbo and Gollum in the cave, the brown wizard Radagast, talks of the Witch King of Angmar and the Ringwraiths, plus footage of various scenery.
To read a more detailed description of the preview, visit Entertainment Weekly.
