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

The release of The Lord of the Rings trilogy on Blu-ray seems to have been given the cold shoulder by the majority of Middle Earth fans.

Amazon.co.uk knocked the price down within a month of the release date from £74.99 to just £29.99 following 454 mostly negative reviews left by British fans.

At the time of writing the Amazon.com site has a staggering 3320 customer reviews, again the vast majority complaining that these are not the extended versions of the movies. It’s worth noting though that the price hasn’t been dropped.

2974 have given it just a 1 star rating and there seems to be some discussion as to whether Amazon tried removing written reviews where the reviewer left a 1 star just before release date.

One customer wrote:

“Very disturbing indeed. Amazon removed my 1 star lord of the Rings Blu ray review too. It was there for the last couple of weeks with a high helpful rating ratio and now its evaporated. As far as I recall there were well over 2600 total LOTR-TE BR reviews last time I looked. Now there are 2271. Is Amazon covering up for the studios’ ripoffs or is it even worse – Is Amazon.com neglecting the freedom of speech and constitutional rights of its customers?”

So when can we expect the extended versions to be released on Blu ray?

Well don’t hold your breath. It is widely expected that they would be out shortly before The Hobbit movie was due in the cinema to help build up a Middle Earth frenzy.

With The Hobbit continually being put back though you could be waiting for some time. latest rumors say The hobbit will be out for Christmas 2012 rather than the expected Christmas 2011.

Lord Of The Rings on Blu Ray Released With A Whimper is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Originally down for a release in November 2009 Warner Bros. have announced the date for the Lord of the Rings on Blu-ray is 6th April 2010.

Several Blu-ray specialist blogs have said the delay was because Warner Bros. didn’t want Lord of the Rings ‘lost in the crowd’ having already announced the release of several classics in the Blu-ray format in the run up to Christmas.

The delay may also have been caused by the ‘tentative’ court settlement between New Line Cinema and The Tolkien Estate back in September.

Included in the box set will be The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King together with more than seven hours of special features.

While this release will be the theatrical versions and we all know the extended versions will be on the shelves at some point, I will be watching mine on release day.

These are the 3 movies I went to the cinema to see, its these that won the Oscars and its these I fell in love with a decade ago.

Besides, Lord of the Rings Blu-ray extended edition will be held back until The Hobbit is ready for release. What better way to build up the public into a Hobbit frenzy than to release them a week or two before The Hobbit premiere?

With The Hobbit now looking at a Christmas 2012 release, 2 years is far too long to wait to see these movies in HD.

Amazon currently offer the best price with a guaranteed pre-order price of $65.49

You can pre-order from Amazon to ensure you get the low price and guarantee you get your copy delivered on the 6th April by clicking here.

Disclosure: Amazon will reward this site with around a $2 bounty for each customer who purchases Lord of the Rings on Blu-ray through the above link. Any bounty earned will go towards the running costs of your favorite Hobbit movie blog.

Lord of the Rings on Blu-ray is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

The Hunt For Gollum gets its world premiere at the London Sci-Fi Festival on May 3rd.

The Hunt for Gollum is another fan made unofficial Middle Earth movie that has received acclaim based on the 2 teaser trailers released so far.

The 45 minute movie follows the Heir of Isildur; the “greatest huntsman and traveler in Middle Earth” on his journey to find the creature Gollum. The creature has to be found to discover the truth about the Ring to protect the future Ringbearer. The script is adapted from elements of the appendices of The Lord of the Rings.

The Hunt for Gollum was made on handouts of just £3000 (about $4000) but was possible as all the actors, film crew etc. did it as a labor of love and weren’t paid for any of their work. Because of trademark/copyright laws, the movie was never made with the intention of making any kind of profit.

It will be available live on the evening of May 3rd (gmt) for free streaming of the full movie on the official The Hunt for Gollum website while simultaneously being premiered at the London Sci-fi festival.

Tickets for the premiere are free but limited but if you are in London and want to check it out you can get details at the Sci-Fi London website by clicking here.

Check out the 2 trailers and details about the making of The Hunt for Gollum at the official website by clicking here.

What did you think of the trailers? Considering their budget how does their Middle Earth stand up?

The Hunt For Gollum is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

If 3 years seems too long for The Hobbit movie and your next visit to Middle Earth, help is at hand in the form of an independent movie telling the story of the Dúnedain, the Rangers of the North, before the return of the King.

It features Arathorn and Gilraen, the parents of Aragorn and follows them from their first meeting through a turbulent time in their people’s history.

It was inspired by a couple of paragraphs written by Tolkien in the appendices of the Lord of the Rings and is to be called “Born of Hope.”

It hasn’t been granted copyright approval but is not being produced as a commercial venture, instead being released online free of charge.

Don’t let that fool you though, the folks behind it and in it are Tolkien fans and the movie has been a product of love.

Richard Taylor, the boss at Weta Workshop was suitably impressed when he saw a preview and said:

“Amazing stuff, It’s incredible to see what craftsmanship, sensitivity and attention to detail is being brought to bear on this ambitious project. Everything so far looks amazing and I can’t wait to see the finished film.”

Although Aragorn was raised by Elrond after his parents died the Director/Co-writer/Producer told Middle Earth fans:

“I do not wish to replace actors who have already created characters we’ve all seen, so unless Liv and Hugo happen to be in the UK in the next few months and are willing to work for free then I wouldn’t hold your breath guys. You will however see Elladan and Elrohir.”

Born Of Hope is out soon and I’m looking forward to it. You can check out their website at BornOfHope.Com

Can’t Wait For The Hobbit Movie? is a post from: The Hobbit Movie