A Hobbit Round-up

It seems as if there is some new Hobbit news as each day passes so here is a quick round-up in case you didn't already know

 Saoirse Ronan

First...the rumour(s)....Saoirse Ronan (Lovely Bones, Hana) is rumoured to be playing Itaril. I reckon there is some weight to this rumour. Saoirse has already proved to be a fine young actress with a brilliant performance in the Lovely Bones and you could tell from the making of diaries on the LB Blu Ray bonus disc that she has a good relationship with Peter Jackson.

Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies, The Fall has been cast as Thranduil. I love Lee Pace's work. Pushing Daisies was cancelled well before it's time and I don't think I have seen Lee in anything of any worth, since so this is good news.

Lee Pace

Rob Kazinsky was cast as Fili in the Hobbit but has been forced to leave due to health reasons. Rob is best known in the UK for his role as Sean in the soap EastEnders. The role of Fili has now been given to Kiwi actor  Dean O'Gorman.

Dean O'Gorman

Andy Serkis has been named as Second Unit Director alongside his role as Gollum. This is no surprise as Andy has been a long term collaborator with Peter Jackson since The Fellowship of the Ring and he was also Dramatic Director for the Video Game 'Heavenly Sword'. You only have to look at the behind the scenes extras on the LOTR extended edition DVD's and witness the amount of input Andy had for the character of Gollum to see why Peter Jackson has given Andy this role.

Andy Serkis

Peter Jackson has revealed that The Hobbit will be filmed @ 48 frames per second which is double that of normal productions. This basically means a much, much sharper image. Plus the movie is being shot in 3D so it should be one of the best looking movies ever released.

Lastly.....another rumour doing the rounds is that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Paul) might make a cameo in The Hobbit. There were on the Hobbiton set whilst film filming TinTin (another Peter Jackson project) so I think it's unlikely you will see them on screen but you never know........

It's all MARVEL-lous

As anyone reading this site may already know, Marvel (now owned by Disney) are planning something bigger that any other production company has ever planned before. Many characters from the Marvel Universe are coming together from previous films to unite in 'The Avengers', written and directed by Joss Whedon (Buffy). This is known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will resemble a lot from the comics but with some notable omissions.

So lets take it one step at a time, break it down, take a look at some the links and see where we are, shall we ?

WARNING - MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS

The film will feature the following in pivotal roles:

Iron Man - Robert Downney Jnr. plays Tony Stark/Iron Man. Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) makes an appearance after the end credits and lays down the foundations of what's to come.

The Incredible Hulk - the second Hulk film sees Ed Norton playing Bruce Banner/The Hulk. At the end of the film Tony Stark (Robert Downney Jnr.) approaches General Ross in a bar regarding S.H.I.E.L.D / Avengers initiative and a possible partnership together. Also worth pointing out that in an alternate opening found on the DVD/Blu Ray Captain America can be seen frozen in ice.

Iron Man 2 - Captain America's prototype shield makes a prominent appearance and is crucial in helping Tony Stark. Nick Fury is featured heavily discussing S.H.I.E.L.D with Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) ends up working for Stark Industries so her character is flawlessly introduced. At the end of the film Nick Fury is seen with Tony Stark in a safe-house. There are multiple monitors featuring, amongst other things, a news report from the college campus featured in the Incredible Hulk (which suggests Iron Man 2 takes place slightly before The Incredible Hulk) and another monitor shows a crater which links very nicely into Thor.

After the credits there is a great scene in which Agent Coulson find's Thor's hammer in a huge crater.

Thor - Chris Hemsworth plays Thor and the basic premise is that Thor is banished to earth with his mighty Hammer. This is found by SHIELD (agent Coulson) and Thor tries to retrieve it. At the time of writing this Thor has yet to be released in the UK but as soon as I have the pleasure of seeing it I will post a full review including easter eggs and clues.

Captain America - Still yet to be released, this is set n 1942 during the second world war Steve Rogers(Chris Evans) is classed as physically unfit to enlist so volunteers for a secret military operation called Project Rebirth. He is transformed into Super Hero Captain America and takes on Hitler's head of advanced weaponry Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). Tony Stark's father Howard is a major character in this film. Joss Whedon has also confirmed that Captain America will arrive in the 21st Century in this episode and not in the Avengers.

So thats what we have so far and it's all looking great isn't it ? All of the actors from the previous films will be getting repeat fees (Samuel L Jackson has signed a 9 picture deal to play Nick Fury) with the exception of Ed Norton playing the Hulk. Rumour has it that Marvel didn't feel he was a team player (which is just a polite way of saying he's a nightmare to work with I suppose) so his role will now be played by Mark Ruffalo. A great choice I think. Mark is a very natural performer in my opinion and will add a lot to the role.I also understand that he will be doing his own motion capture and facial capture so this could be the best looking Hulk yet. The Avengers is set for release in 2012 and I cannot wait !

Hobbit Video Diary

Peter Jackson has recently posted a video diary from the production of The Hobbit on his facebook page. I have to say this is very exciting indeed because we get to see a real glimpse of whats to come. With some really great HD views of Bag End and Rivendell and a traditional Maori Welcoming ceremony this 10 min vid has it all. I just hope Mr Jackson makes this a regular thing but I suspect most of the good stuff with be kept for the Blu Ray releases !

Click HERE for the direct link to Peter Jackson's facebook page or have a view of the video on youtube below

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - First Full Trailer

I am very excited by this trailer. The first glimpse of 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' from 20th Century Fox. This is a prequel to the original 1968 film starring Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall.

The prequel stars James Franco (127 Hours), Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), Tom Felton (Harry Potter) and Andy Serkis playing Ceasar in a motion capture role. Directed by Rupert Wyatt who previously directed the very underrated 'The Escapist' starring Brian Cox and Damian Lewis and special effects from Weta Digital (Lord of the Rings, King Kong and Avatar) this promises to be something special. It will also be the first Apes film to feature completely CGI apes and if Weta's King Kong is anything to go by, and with all the advances in CGI in recent years, then we should be in for a real treat.

Also involved in the production are Director of Photography Andrew Lesnie (Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Lovely Bones, The Hobbit), Composer Patrick Doyle (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Eragon) and Editor Conrad Buff (Titanic, Tears of the Sun, and Training Day) so some veteran professionals have been employed by the look of it.

Well done for 20th Century Fox for re-booting the Apes franchise. Most people though Tim Burton's "re-imagining" in 2001 put the nail in the coffin once and for all but I'm guessing enough time has passed now for Fox to try again. The biggest surprise for me is this is the first trailer for this film with an August release date. This could mean either there have been a lot of production problems and re-writes so there hasn't been much to show yet or the simple fact that Weta have only just completed some of the effects on the apes (which is probably more likely as is common for CGI heavy films.)

Role on August !

Double Vision for the Hobbit

Well the rumours are without a doubt true. Both of the Hobbit films will be filmed in 3D. Ian McKellen confirmed that Director of Photography Andrew Lesnie (long term collaborator of Peter Jackson and DOP for all three LOTR films) has been doing some lens tests during costume fittings with Martin Freeman.

I have to say this is exciting news. To see the wonders of Middle Earth in 3D will be something to behold and I am really glad it's being shot in 3D rather than a conversion. Andrew Lesnie is one of the best in the business and I am confident he will do a wonderful job in creating Hobbiton and all the other Hobbit locations in 3D. Just a note though Andrew.........in the dark scenes can you brighten it up just a little bit??? - Those glasses don't help much in the dark scenes.....something I am sure The Hobbit will have a lot of !

Bofur and Gandalf (James Nesbitt and Ian McKellen)

Photo courtesy of Ian McKellen

New Winnie the Pooh Clip on Youtube

Walt Disney Animation studios have recently posted a clip from the forthcoming Winnie The Pooh feature which opens April 15th 2011 in the UK whilst the US will have to wait until July (unusual for the UK to get a WD film first ??)

I think this is a brave move for Disney and I really hope it pays off. In a world of 3D CGI animation, going back to hand drawn for a second time after The Princess and the Frog is a gamble because although 'Princess' was a great film it suffered from being released at the same time as Avatar and we all know how well that did. Also Winnie the Pooh is nothing new and the techniques used are the same as the ones used on other Winnie the Pooh shorts but is this a bad thing ? Answer....No ! 

If is isn't broken, don't fix it. This promises to be classic Disney and I can't wait for it. I am most excited though about Bud Luckey voicing Eeyore. Bud Luckey is a legend in the world of animation. Working for Pixar for many years he was one of the main artists behind the creation of Toy Story's Woody and he also created and directed one of Pixar's best short films ever in the form of Boundin'.

Take a look at both the clip and the trailer (which features music from Keane to great effect) and I don't mind telling you I had a small tear forming in my eye at the end of it. Quite beautiful !

Plan B for "The Sweeney"

Some good news this week that Brit Musician Plan B (Ben Drew) has been cast alongside Ray Winstone in the Vertigo films remake of The Sweeney based on the classic 70's series of the same name. Even further good news is the fact that the film will be set in the present day. I was worried that the film might turn into a missed opportunity due to the fantastic 'Life On Mars' a few years ago and, although I am a huge fan of Ray Winstone, I feared no matter how good his Jack Reagan turn was, people would just compare it to Philip Glenister's excellent portrayal of Gene Hunt. With a screenplay from John Hodge (Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, The Beach and unfortunately 'Seeker: The Dark is Rising', but we can forget about that one can't we?) this will hopefully prove to be a great re-visit to London's Flying Squad. I hope this time it does happen though as a previous attempt by director Nick Love (The Firm) ran into financial difficulties last year.

I think Ben Drew is an excellent choice for the role of George Carter. Aside from his obvious talent in the music world, he has also proved his acting chops with roles in Adulthood, 4.3.2.1, and my personal favourite Harry Brown.

We will keep you updated with all the news from The Sweeney as we hear it at The Production Diaries.