The Hobbit is to be filmed in Nelson at the end of this year! And 400-500 crew and cast will be staying in the region. Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand.

The Hobbit publicist Melissa Booth said she was unable to confirm locations.

“We’re just looking forward and trying to get the film made. I think everyone is happy to be back at work.”

Pohara motelier Steve du Feu said the filming of The Hobbit was “good news” for businesses in Golden Bay. His motel, The Sandcastle, is one of a number in Golden Bay that have been booked out by 3 Foot 7 for 10 days in mid-November and a week in early December.

“The increased activity in the bay associated with this will be an awesome boost after what has been a pretty quiet winter. The crew will be made to feel very welcome,” he said.

Bob Haswell of Clifftops Retreat in Ruby Bay said he had friends working on the film in Wellington and “it looks like some of them might be coming to Nelson”.

Mr Haswell is connected to Tasman Helicopters, which was involved during the filming of parts of The Lord of the Rings trilogy in the Nelson region, but he said the company had not been approached about helping with The Hobbit.

Nelson Mayor Aldo Miccio said the likelihood that The Hobbit crew might be coming to Nelson was news to him, but he was not surprised. “It’s in line with what we have been hearing – that Nelson is going to be a destination for filming.”

He said the crew of Kiwi Flyer had told him that word was spreading that Nelson was “the place to come”.

“I think we’re going to see a lot more of this in the future.”

Source: stuff.co.nz

A Nelson-shaped part of Middle Earth is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Bilbo reads intently as his guests look on…

Source: Empire Magazine

Site photo with Bilbo! Wow! is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Orlando Bloom spoke recently about Wellington, the Hobbit Movie set and his up and coming roles.

He said of Wellington “Wellington is remarkably unchanged after 10 years… It hasn’t been hit by the onslaught of consumerism…” and admitted that he would like to spend more time there.

When asked about how the Hobbit Movie is going to compare with the success of the LoTR movies, Orlando spoke about his impression of the studios, which have grown massively since the last movies, saying they had “a remarkable setup”. He also praised director Peter Jackson.

The new movie is being shot in 3D, but this does not pose any additional challenges as an actor – it just takes a little longer to set up.

When quizzed about his apparent penchant for roles where he gets to dress up in “interesting outfits and long hair”, he laughed and said this was not a pre-requisite and that he just wanted to “have fun”.

Source: 3news.co.nz

Long hair and dressing up not a pre-requisite for Orlando is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Dwarf Lords in their own right, Balin and Dwalin are close relatives of Thorin. Beyond this, these brothers are two of his most loyal and trusted friends.

An old warrior, Balin has lived through hard times and fought many battles, yet he harbors doubts about the wisdom of the Quest to retake the Lonely Mountain.

Dwalin has no such forebodings – his belief in Thorin’s leadership is unshakeable. A powerful and bruising fighter, with a natural tendency to distrust anyone who is not a Dwarf, particularly anyone who might be an Elf, Dwalin is not someone to cross lightly

Source: TIME

First Look at Balin and Dwalin in The Hobbit is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

The Sun newspaper, a major tabloid here in the UK is today running a story that claims Tobey Maguire of Spiderman fame is to play the Bilbo Baggins role in The Hobbit.

The rumours have been doing the rounds for about a month but by and large were written off because of the upcoming fourth Spiderman movie which would have seen Maguire tied up and unavailable for The Hobbit.

The story says he has turned down the chance of playing the webbed wonder again and has already signed up for The Hobbit. He is said to have been unhappy in the direction the fourth movie was heading.

Without revealing their sources the paper claims both Producer Peter Jackson and Director Guillermo Del Toro have been chasing Maguire for months.

They quote their source as saying “Everyone is over the moon. Tobey is not only one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood, he is also one of the best actors.”

Tobey Maguire was recently asked about the rumor and claimed he had not been approached but also added the teaser “I love Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson and I certainly wouldn’t take myself out of the conversation.”

With the start of filming fast approaching an announcement (or at least a decision) should be imminent so perhaps this particular rumor should not be instantly dismissed. Having said that the paper has a history of sensationalism.

It was the Sun newspaper who broke the (unconfirmed) story that the UK’s X Factor twin act Jedward had been asked to audition for the roles of Fili  and Kili.

Update: A few hours ago AMC Entertainment blogger John Campea tweeted that someone very close to production has leaked the same news to him.

His tweet said, “I have been personally told by a source very close to Guillermo del Toro that it’s true… Tobey Maguire IS The Hobbit.”

Final Update: Aintitcool.com managed to get a reply to an email they sent Peter Jackson asking if there was anything in this latest rumor.

“No truth at all, although we’re all big fans of Toby. We are currently auditioning for Bilbo, and a month or two away from any announcements.”

So there you go, yet another rumor killed in its tracks although I suppose PJ is hardly going to reply that yes actually there is some truth in it but the deal isn’t finalized so we’d like to keep it hush hush if that’s ok.

Ah well, one of these days real soon…………

The Hobbit

Some other sites covering the Tobey Maguire rumor

• What’s Next For ‘Spider-Man’ Star Tobey Maguire?
• Tobey Maguire’s Lead Role in ‘The Hobbit’ (inquisitr.com)
• Is Tobey Maguire ‘The Hobbit’s Bilbo Baggins? (cinematical.com)
• Tobey Maguire Re-Rumored As Bilbo Baggins (cinemablend.com)

Tobey Maguire Swapping Spiderman For Bilbo? is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Kevin Wallace, the Director of the much troubled Lord of the Rings stage show hopes to follow up by bringing The Hobbit to the stage.  “The stage rights to The Hobbit are controlled by the [Saul] Zaentz company, my co-producers. I’d certainly like to raise the question. A first-class production of The Hobbit would be very interesting indeed.”

Before Mr. Wallace even thinks about trying to convince Mr. Zaentz though, he needs to recoup some of the £12 Million sterling his backers invested in his Lord of the Rings stage show.

Mr. Wallace hopes to take the show to Cologne, Germany and claims to have backers on the horizon.

“There is a fund interested in financing the production,” he told the UK newspaper The Independent. “The authorities are going to construct a semi-permanent building specifically to hold productions of the Lord of the Rings. We are trying to get them to write formally to confirm the site. We hope for such a confirmation by July, with the play opening in November or December 2009.”

The Lord of the Rings musical is the most expensive ever staged in the UK and reviews were wildly varying with some loving the production and other critics going after it like an Orc through a Shire. With money lost on The Lord of the Rings stage show its hard to see anything happening about a stage version of The Hobbit, at least until the 2 movies have been and gone and everything Middle Earth related is devoured as fast as it becomes available.

The Hobbit Musical? is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

GTC Roadshow AG announces the acquisition of the most expensive Tolkien book ever sold; a signed first edition of “The Lord of the Rings” dedicated to the “Queen of the Hobbits”, for 104.000 USD.

A further 5 lots were acquired in the same auction: the first translation of The Hobbit dedicated to E. Griffiths, a signed US first edition Lord of the Rings, P. Baynes’ original art, a signed map of Middle-earth and a book dedicated to Tolkien’s son Michael.

The pieces will add to the largest Tolkien collection ever compiled and will be offered to the public in a unique exhibition.

Tolkien collecting has evolved well beyond books into a wide variety of interpretations of Middle-earth, culminating in the Peter Jackson films and the upcoming Hobbit movies. The collection contains thousands of pieces, which represent a popular culture that has grown up around collecting Tolkien.

Mark Faith, of GTC said: “an exhibition of this caliber is been long in coming in the hearts of the Tolkien community and it is our mission that the general public sees the unique pieces, which normally are hoarded in private collections. This Tolkien exhibition is for the people and created by people who love Tolkien.” He also said that as part of the exhibition project GTC is forming the GTC Fellowship, a Tolkien collecting society.

The acquired “The Lord of the Rings” will be another highlight of the show after acquiring the signed first edition “The Hobbit” recently. Mark Faith said: “It was so expensive because it is a truly unique set. In volume one Tolkien has penned “Elainen tarin Periandion ar meldenya anyaran” (to Elaine, Queen of Hobbits and my very old friend).

It belonged to Elaine Griffiths, a student of Tolkien, who was instrumental in encouraging Tolkien to get the Hobbit published. It is a true rarity to find the trilogy all signed by Tolkien, even more so with his inscription in Elvish”.

The GTC Roadshow AG is also opening this opportunity to outside investors and sponsors, as it is a too important a project.

To view the “Most Expensive Tolkien Book in the World, a Signed 1st Edition Lord of the Rings” click here.

To view the “Tolkien Signature and Dedication to Elaine Griffiths, Queen of Hobbits” photo, please click here.

You can discuss the sale of this book and other Tolkien topics in the new Hobbit movie forum

Most Expensive Tolkien Book Of All Time is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Popo Peatfingers of Brockenborings happens to be my hobbit name. You can find out what your hobbit name is at http://www.chriswetherell.com/hobbit/

You just enter your name in the form and out it comes all hobbitized.

The site also has an elven version. Apparantely mine is Huor Elendil which I confess I prefer to my Hobbit name:-)

How do you like yours? Leave a comment and let us know (specially if its funny).

What’s in a Hobbit name? is a post from: The Hobbit Movie