Маг Гэндальф и сильно измененный кольцом всевластья Голлум являются персонажами книги Толкина «Хоббит», чего нельзя сказать о Фродо, которого снова будет играть Элайджа Вуд. Кроме того, как сообщает The Hollywood Reporter, продюсеры ведут переговоры с Орландо Блумом, вызывая его на роль эльфа Леголаса. Его наличие в дилогии также вызовет большой вопрос в стане поклонников Толкина.

Кроме вышеупомянутых ветеранов «Властелина колец» в «Хоббите» снимется и Кейт Бланшетт, игравшая в трилогии королеву эльфов Галадриэль.

За роль Гэндальфа Иэн МакКеллен номинировался на «Оскар». После окончания съемок у Джексона, английский актер в основном снимался на телевидении и занимался озвучкой. МакКеллен на своем сайте неоднократно писал о продвижении подготовительных работ «Хоббита», да и вообще долгое время был чуть ли не единственным источником информации о проекте.

Съемки «Хоббита» начнутся 14 февраля и пройдут в Новой Зеландии.
http://www.kinopoisk.ru/level/2/news/1450650/

Уже начинают говорить о проклятье, которое висит над этим фильмом. Фигня, конечно, но хочется, чтобы все получилось. За возможность вернуться в Средиземье я готова ждать сколько угодно!

The delay was forced after Sir Peter Jackson was rushed into hospital for emergency surgery on a perforated stomach ulcer. He was released from hospital on the 3rd of February and is currently recouperating at his home in New Zealand.

‘Despite some delays we are fully back on track and very excited to get started,’ director Sir Peter Jackson said in a statement.

A spokesman for 3Foot7 LTD went on to say:

‘This date has been chosen following practical considerations of the filming schedule requirements, actor availability and the New Zealand seasons.’

With just a few loose ends to be tied up on the casting and despite endless delays, court battles and countless other disruptions it looks like The Hobbit is finally going to get made.
http://the-hobbit-movie.com/2011....nounced

“I brought my family here, so it was a big move for them, and I think a difficult move,” he told a Press conference in Wellington.

“Kids at a certain age don’t necessarily want to be dragged to the other side of the world, but they’ve certainly been made to feel very welcome; they are loving the schools,” he added.

The father-of-two said he was delighted to be involved in the film and described it as an “adventure”.

“To be part of that is an adventure, not only professionally but for all of us personally as well,” he said. “We’ve been made to feel incredibly at home. We are very aware that we are part of something significant and, hopefully, very large.”
http://the-hobbit-movie.com/2011....truggle

The mountain was to be used for the filming of Bilbo’s journey through the Misty Mountains, however, it’s likely that Mount Taranaki and the Southern Alps will have to be used instead.
http://the-hobbit-movie.com/2011....untains

“I’m not [worried],” he said of the so-called curse. “There are some bits of bad luck to do with it, I guess, that are almost comical, I suppose. But we’re all very optimistic about it. We’re all ready to go, just as soon as 2015 rolls around. We will be there and ready.”

Freeman also admitted to taking inspiration from Sir Ian Holm, who played Bilbo in the Lord of the Rings trilogy:

Obviously I’ve been looking at what he was doing,” he said. “There’s a certain level, of course, at which I have to match what he was doing and then forget it as well. Without being either big-headed or falsely modest, I think I’m quite a good match for him. I mean, I’ve seen worse matches … we’ll find out.”
http://the-hobbit-movie.com/2011....t-curse

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You were sporting a pretty impressive beard at the Hobbitpress conference. Is that for Kili?
AIDAN TURNER: Yeah, it is. I’m growing out the beard. We’re giving it a chance, seeing what it looks like.

Is that how Peter Jackson plans to make you less handsome and more dwarf-like?
To de-handsomify me? [Laughs] No, not really. I mean, famously in the books, the dwarves have really long beards, so we’re just trying stuff out and seeing what it looks like.

Are you in “hobbit boot camp” now?
Yeah. Well, it’s dwarf boot camp, not really hobbit boot camp. It’s just all dwarves—training and stuff.

What are you training in?
I can’t really give too much away, you know? But it’s pretty much everything. It’s physical training and everything you can imagine, really. I guess just working as an actor helps you for these things. It’s more physical than anything else, but there’s dialect coaching and all those kind of things.

How did your Being Human cast react to you getting The Hobbit role?
They were all very happy—super happy. Everyone was thrilled.
http://the-hobbit-movie.com/2011....2%80%9D