If ever a country has fully embraced a film series, it’s New Zealand and The Lord of the Rings. Since the release of The Fellowship of the Ring over ten years ago, the country has used the Peter Jackson-directed films as both a point of national pride and major selling point for tourism. Our own David Chen even took in some of the Tolkien-inspired sights on a trip to the country a few years back.
With a whole new trilogy of films on the way (the first of which – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – opens next month) New Zealand has already began a full-on Hobbit overhaul. It starts on your plane ride into the country, as Peter Jackson and several recognizable characters cameo in the pre-flight safety video for Air New Zealand. Or Air Middle Earth, as it’s referred to in the video. Check it out below. Read More »
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Posted on Tuesday, October 30th, 2012 by Angie Han
Old people begin and end today’s Sequel Bits, which include updates on Red 2 and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2. After the jump:
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is getting sequelized (as The Second-Best Exotic Marigold Hotel?)
- Eli Roth is interested in The Man With the Iron Fists 2
- Producer Gregg Wilson chats about the status of Bond 24
- Ian McKellen details his decision to return for The Hobbit
- Look at two more photos from The Fast and the Furious 6
- See new pics from the London-as-Moscow set of Red 2
Read More »
Hollywood history was made earlier this week and not only did most of us miss it, it happened again Thursday night.
During the World Series, Warner Bros. premiered the second commercial for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Much like the debut commercial for Peter Jackson‘s first in a series of Hobbit films, the spot features new footage, an advance ticket on-sale date and Howard Shore’s gorgeous score. What many, us included, neglected to notice the first time around was that these commercials are a true milestone in Hollywood history. They are the first pieces of advertising noting that a film would screen in RealD 3D, IMAX 3D and, drumroll please, HFR 3D. “HFR” stands for “high frame rate.”
As has been well-documented in the past, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be the first film ever released in 48 frames per second. Most theaters will screen the film in the traditional 24 frames per second format, but select audiences will have the choice to go for the high frame rate. The question is, despite the fact that these commercials are advertising it, do general audiences know what HFR is? Check out the commercial below.
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Posted on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012 by Angie Han
A full-length trailer gets somewhere between two and two and a half minutes to make its case, but a typical TV spot only runs about thirty seconds. Best to just to cut to the chase, then.
The new TV ad for Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey barely gets to establish who Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is or why Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is encouraging him to venture out into the wide world before the poor fellow is thrown into the midst of an action-packed fantasy adventure. Naturally, the promo still finds time to play up the film’s connection to the Lord of the Rings trilogy along the way. Watch it after the jump.
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Posted on Wednesday, October 17th, 2012 by Angie Han
We’ve got some odds and ends from Sequel-Land after the jump:
- Warner Bros. is seeking writers for Contagion 2
- Will Black Dynamite 2 be like Blazing Saddles?
- Ian McKellan almost declined to do The Hobbit
- See new photos from Catching Fire‘s Georgia set
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Here’s a big reveal: in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Elijah Wood looks almost just like he did in the Lord of the Rings films, which he headlined as Frodo Baggins. The seemingly ageless Wood turned out to be the perfect choice to play Frodo, not only because of the qualities he broughtt to the screen in Peter Jackson‘s first three film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, but because a decade later he’s able to jump right back into the role of a slow-aging Hobbit.
A new batch of photos from Jackson’s first of three films adapting Tolkien’s early novel The Hobbit has hit, and one features the first good look at the return of Frodo. Check ‘em all out below. Read More »
2013 is the 90th anniversary of Warner Bros., and besides a strong slate of theatrical films, the company has some very surprising – and not so surprising – plans for the home market. The biggest news is they’re planning 3D conversion of the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz for Blu-ray, coupled with a likely, limited theatrical run. There will also be an Extended Edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and a Ultimate Collector’s Edition of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, both of which will upgrades from Blu-ray releases with less features. Read more about all of this after the jump. Read More »
Posted on Monday, October 1st, 2012 by Angie Han
Some of today’s tidbits involve actors claiming they probably won’t do a sequel. Imagine that. After the jump:
- 300: Rise of an Empire stars gather for a group photo
- Watch an explosive video from Fast and the Furious 6
- Liam Neeson does not think Taken 3 will ever happen
- Mike Tyson and Kendra Wilkinson join Scary Movie 5
- Benedict Cumberbatch talks about mo-cap in Hobbit
- Ethan Hawke says Before Midnight may be the end of his unexpectedly long-running series with Richard Linklater.
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