McKenzie’s known as The Lord of the Ring’s Figwit, an elf extra in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. As was “every available man in New Zealand at the time” the actor recalls. But not every extra was spotted by a devoted fan and dubbed Figwit (Frodo is great, who is that?).

Perhaps one of the most significant indications of his increased fame is the bump-up to a named character that Jackson gave McKenzie in the upcoming The Hobbit.

“I think the nomination just trumps being a speaking elf,” McKenzie quips. “But it’s close, a close call.”

Worlds collided on the set of The Hobbit when McKenzie broke out his guitar and began a freestyle jam, Shire style. “It was Gandalf’s song,” McKenzie recalls laughing. “He was singing ‘it’s a beautiful day in Rivendell, do da do do do.’” Now if that is not a perfect fit for Oscar night 2014, I’m not sure what is. “It would be fun, and Ian Mckellen is a really funny guy so I think he’d be well up for it,” McKenzie says. Keep those fingers crossed, Conchords and Figwit fans.

Source: sfluxe.com

Bret McKenzie, it’s a beautiful day in Rivendell is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

We’re running a competition for the most creative Hobbit Movie themed Facebook Timeline profile cover (A cover is the larger photo at the top of your timeline, right above your profile picture.).

The winner will be announced on March 14th and will win a Gollum Gold One Ring Necklace kindly provided by Badali Jewelry! Your entry will also be published on the-hobbit-movie.com to be seen by hundreds of thousands of Tolkien fans and all entries will be listed in the competition album on our Facebook Fan Page!

To enter the competition, please provide the following:

1. Photo must be 850px wide by 315px high
2. Photo must be a JPG or PNG file (.jpg or .png)
3. Photo should have “the-hobbit-movie.com” logo (you can use ours or design your own) on it somewhere
4. You must provide your name and any other information you’d like us to post with your entry.

Please submit all entires via email to webmaster@the-hobbit-movie.com

Good luck!

Hobbit Movie Facebook Cover Competition is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Peter Jackson is making his hobbits and dwarves march double-time in his “The Lord of the Rings” prequel, which he’s shooting in a faster film speed than the Hollywood standard.

Jackson hopes the 48-frames-a-second rate — twice the 24 frames that has been the custom since the 1920s — will help bring about a gradual transition to faster speeds that can bring more life-like images and action to the screen.

Digital cameras allow for shooting at 48 frames or faster, reducing the blurry effect known as strobing that can come with 24-frame filming.

Jackson said he hopes there will be a fair number of theaters equipped with digital projectors that can handle the faster film speeds by December, when Warner Bros. will release “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first chapter in his two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy classic.

“You shoot at 48, project at 48 and you get an illusion of life that’s remarkable. You don’t realize just how strobing and how flickery 24 frames is,” Jackson said at the Sundance Film Festival, where he presented the documentary “West of Memphis,” produced by him and his wife, “Hobbit” co-writer Fran Walsh. “You look at something at 48 frames, and it looks gorgeous. It looks like real life. It’s amazing.”

Other digital pioneers are making the same push for higher film speeds. “Avatar” creator James Cameron has said he will shoot the sequel to his science-fiction blockbuster at 48 or 60 frames a second.

At the CinemaCon convention for theater owners in Las Vegas last March, Cameron showed footage he shot at 24, 48 and 60 frames a second. The faster speeds noticeably reduced or eliminated blurriness in action sequences or when the camera panned and dollied down the length of a crowded banquet table.

As Hollywood moved into the digital age, movie makers generally have stuck with the 24-frame speed at which celluloid film moves through cameras and projectors. “The Hobbit” will show that it’s an outdated way to shoot films, Jackson said.

“I’m hoping it’ll be just the first gentle step into changing film rates because we can change them, especially with all the digital technology now,” Jackson said. “Twenty-four is irrelevant. It doesn’t mean anything anymore. It’s just a traditional thing. It’s far from the best visual way to present a film.”

“The Hobbit” has had a hard road to the screen after Jackson’s blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” trilogy,” whose 2003 finale, “The Return of the King,” swept the Academy Awards with 11 trophies, including best picture and director.

Jackson planned only to co-write and co-produce “The Hobbit,” but he stepped in to direct after Guillermo del Toro dropped out because of delays caused by the bankruptcy of MGM, which owned half of the project.

“It’s actually been a reasonably joyous thing to do,” said Walsh, who returned as a co-writer and co-producer. “I’m surprised to say that because I thought it would be very hard. Certainly, it was a difficult birth of this film. It was protracted and fought. … But it’s surprisingly pleasant, if I can use that word. Pleasant. So far. So I hope I haven’t jinxed it.”

The two films are being shot simultaneously in 3-D, with the second one, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” due in theaters in December 2013.

British actor Martin Freeman stars as Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit who acquires the evil ring that sets the action of “The Lord of the Rings” in motion. Cast members returning from that trilogy include Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving and Andy Serkis.

Jackson joked that the snowy mountains surrounding Sundance’s home in the ski resort of Park City remind him of the heavy workload still ahead on “The Hobbit.”

“We have a hundred days of shooting to go, which still feels like we’re at the bottom of a mountain. I kind of don’t like being in Park City because I look up the mountain, and I kind of think, well, ‘The Hobbit’s’ at the top of that mountain. I’ve got to kind of climb this. It looks pretty daunting,” Jackson said.

Yet Jackson said he’s having a great time revisiting Tolkien’s Middle-earth.

“If I show up at work every day happy to be there and excited about what we’re shooting, to me, that’s always a good sign,” he said. “So I think we’re making a couple of pretty entertaining movies.”

Source: telegram.com

Peter Jackson doubles ‘Hobbit’ film speed is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Rachel Buchanan finds her big chance for film stardom is hobbled from the very start.

THE advert was boxed, single column, easy to miss: ”The Hobbit Official Extras Casting Call 2012”, the heading said. Then: ”The journey continues for 2012 and we are once again seeking EXTRAS.”

Readers were referred to the entertainment section for more details. The requirements were very specific. I was too tall to be a Hobbit (women had to be under five feet) and too solid to be an Elf (”slim, athletic” and between five feet five inches and six feet four inches).

I had one option left. The filmmakers also wanted ”WOMEN – with character faces”.

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The word character was obviously a code for something. I guessed it meant a little bit weird-looking, maybe even slightly ugly. Or maybe it meant plain but with one knockout facial feature such as a big nose, a warty chin or luminous cauliflower ears. I have a big nose. When the light is right, I also have a cleft chin. I’d do.

”Mum’s going to be a troll,” one of my daughters said.

Across town, my brother Ben had also noticed the ad. Ben was going for ”BIG MEN – with character faces – five nine and over.” Ben is six foot and has a bigger nose than me. The casting call was on the Saturday at Belmont Hall, next to the Belmont Primary School on the Western Hutt Road. Neither of us had heard of Belmont before.

I arranged to borrow our parents’ car. I said I’d take Ben, too. In the days before the audition, I speed read The Hobbit. This was easy because The Hobbit is a book full of action like something on Xbox. The wizard, Gandalf, bullies Bilbo Baggins (the hobbit) into joining 13 dwarfs on a mission to reclaim the dwarf treasure stolen by Smaug the Magnificent, an evil dragon. Along the way, Bilbo bamboozles Gollum with riddles then finds the magic ring, helps the dwarfs escape from goblins, he saves the dwarfs from flesh-eating spiders, Mirkwood elves and suspicious Lake men, he opens the hidden door into the dragon’s lair, etc etc.

The best character is Beorn, a man who becomes a black bear at night. The second best character is Bard, the Lake man who shoots a black arrow into the soft spot on Smaug’s dragon belly and so saves the people of Esgaroth. Ben wanted to be Bard. I wanted to be Beorn. There are no named women characters in the book. In fact, I can’t recall the word woman being used at all by Tolkien.

Saturday arrived. I picked Ben up at 12.15. I already knew that Prime Minister John Key had changed industrial relations law so local actors and crew could be paid less for working on the movie but my brother also told me The Hobbit was going to be the most expensive film ever made. Actually, it was going to be two films. He had a friend working in wardrobe. ”She is ageing leather with mink oil,” he said.

Twenty minutes down the motorway, we noticed a line of cars, then lines of people. I veered across three lanes. Belmont Hall was there, just below the blackberry bushes and gorse. A small hollow was thronged with blond teenagers and a few rotund middle-aged men with beards and black T-shirts. They held slips of white paper. Of course, they had camped out or arrived early. I went down a shingle road by the Hutt River. Some cars faced forwards, some faced back. It was gridlock. I told Ben to get out and save me a spot in the queue.

We prospective EXTRAS worked together to unblock the narrow road. I got out onto the motorway again and parked, three kilometres south, down by the river. I began to trot back towards the hall, hopeful and excited. My phone beeped. It was my brother. ”Hey Rachel where you. I’m done!” his message said.

I was a bit surprised that he’d got in so fast. Then beep, another message: ”I’m by the roundabout.”

Half an hour later I got back to the hall. There were thousands of people, and the little hollow was now packed tight as a mosh-pit. Still, my brother stood out, smoking happily by the roundabout.

”Let’s go,” he said to me. ”But I want my turn,” I said. He looked at me with hard Hollywood eyes. ”You’re really going to wait in this queue?” he said.

He hadn’t waited. All it took was a couple of ciggies and a bit of charm and he was in, right down the front.

I would not be a ”WOMAN – with character face” in the most expensive movie ever made, but as my brother and I started the long walk back to the car, I realised I had already been cast as an extra. I was ”CHAUFFEUR – with sunburnt face”.

Source: Rachel Buchanan, theage.com.au

Hobbit role turns out to be fantasy is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Can you imagine building Minas Tirith, Helm’s Deep, or even Hobbiton? Well, now there is no need to keep that imagination concealed. Starting this June, LEGO® will be launching their construction sets based on THE LORD OF THE RINGS™ trilogy. THE HOBBIT™ construction sets will be expected to be in stores closer to The Hobbit movies’ debut.

According to Karen McTier, executive vice president, domestic licensing and worldwide marketing, of Warner Bros. Consumer Products, “Only LEGO, with their expertise in the construction category, is capable of doing justice to the incredibly imaginative environments depicted in the world of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and the two films based on THE HOBBIT.”

Jill Wilfert, vice president of licensing and entertainment for The LEGO Group, said, “Our collaboration with Warner Bros. Consumer Products has delivered numerous worldwide successes in the construction toy aisle….introducing us to loyal audiences who love great stories, strong characters, and the toys that they inspire.” She also states that “it’s particularly exciting to now be able to create sets based on the fantasy worlds and characters from THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and the two films based on THE HOBBIT, not only because we know they will foster collectability and creative play, but also because these are two properties that our fans have been asking us to create for years.”

Middle-Earth in a box.  What could be better? Start planning for the brick-by-brick rendition of Tolkien’s world. Your imagination has only just begun!

Source: collider

Lego and Middle-Earth Collide! is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Peter Jackson, native of New Zealand, turned his homeland into the magical world of Middle-Earth for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This created a destination for tourists who are arriving in large-masses like never-before. The Hobbit is already creating a stir in New Zealand, prompting tourists to visit Hobbiton, the movie studio, and Aratiatia Rapids.

Hobbiton village, which is actually the Alexander family farm, is located at Haere Mai, on the North Island of New Zealand. The village was only intended to be temporary for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but Jackson decided to build permanent structures for The Hobbit. These structures include bridges, man-made streams, and the doors of the Hobbit homes; all of which will be displayed forever.

Stone Street Studios, located in Wellington, is the location of the Hobbit green-screen. This is where the cast and crew filmed the movie before they went on a journey of their own, filming the location set within The Hobbit Movie. During this time, the cast and crew moved mountains of equipment and supplies; enough to make even the strongest Uruk-hai cringe.

Aratiatia Rapids is located in the North Island, near Lake Taupo, and is where the crew tossed barrels down the rapids for a special scene in The Hobbit.

Source: metronews

Hobbit brings increased tourism to New Zealand is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

The Hobbit team have been praised for their positive impacts upon New Zealand communities during production of the movie. The high numbers of guest beds taken up by sleepy crew has helped to boost the Nelson Tasman area, which sits on the Western tip of New Zealand’s South island, in a time of record flooding and landslips.

Nelson Tasman Tourism Chief Executive Lynda Keene expressed her gratitude to the crew and said: “This is a good result in a month where we had the highest rainfall in the region in 50 years and floods impacted on the region’s trading over what would normally be a busy two-week period (Dec 14 to Dec 28). The filming of The Hobbit in December has probably helped the result and is indicative of the importance film tourism can have to a region.”

Source: stuff.co.nz

Hobbit Helps to Fight Floods is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Scottish comedian Billy Connolly will play a pugnacious dwarf in Peter Jackson’s upcoming The Hobbit movies, the New Zealand director said.

Mr Jackson said the recruitment of Mr Connolly, known as the “Big Yin”, completed casting for his latest Tolkien epic, a two-film adaptation of The Hobbit currently being shot in Mr Jackson’s homeland.

“We could not think of a more fitting actor to play Dain Ironfoot, the staunchest and toughest of dwarves, than Billy Connolly, the Big Yin himself,” Mr Jackson said in a statement. “With Billy stepping into this role, the cast of The Hobbit is now complete. We can’t wait to see him on the battlefield.”

Source: timesofmalta.com

Billy Connolly cast in upcoming Hobbit movies is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

THE HOBBIT, Production Video #5 is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

The Hobbit Trailer Online! is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

THE HOBBIT, Production Video #4 is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

British actor, Andy Serkis, who plays Gollum spoke of his dismay that the Oscars do not recognise motion-capture acting. Andy not only plays Gollum, but also the ape Caesar in the upcoming Rise of Planet of the Apes. He said that he would not want to see a special category introduced at the Oscars for motion-capture acting, insisting that success using the technique can be rewarded with current accolades.

“I am a bit evangelical, I know, but performance-capture is still misunderstood. Ten years down the line, people say, ‘Oh, so you did the voice of Gollum?’ Or people go, ‘You did the movements for [King]Kong?’ It’s frustrating, because I play Gollum and I play Kong. It is acting.

The emotional content of these performances live and die by what the actors bring to the roles on set. I never approach a live-action role any differently to a performance-captured role. The process of acting is absolutely identical.

It should be recognised that there are two parts to the process. The first part is capturing the performance. Only later down the line do you start seeing the characters being painted over frame by frame using pixels.

Performance-capture technology is really the only way that we could bring these characters to life. It’s the way that Gollum was brought to life, and King Kong, and the Na’vi in Avatar and so on and it’s really another way of capturing an actor’s performance. That’s all it is, digital make-up.”

Source: guardian.co.uk

An Oscar for Gollum, please! is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Peter Jackson has been singing the praises of British Bilbo star Martin Freeman (of The Office and Hot Fuzz), saying,

He is fantastic and there is simply nobody else for the job. We couldn’t find anyone who was better than him. He is simply fantastic.
He’s Bilbo-esque. You might not always want to say that about you, right? But seriously he has the essential features of this little English gent, this country gent who is slightly old-fashioned and has to go around in the world and try to cope with it.

That’s not exactly who Martin is as a person, but as an actor he does that so well. The fish out of water with a sense of courage but also a wonderful sense of humor. The things that happen to him and the way he reacts to them — things he’s never seen in his life before as a stuffy little Hobbit — his response to it all is part of the charm. And he does have a great openness in his face.

Source: fansshare.com

Bilbo gets a gold star is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Looking mighty fierce.

All the dwarves!! is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

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

Swedish actor Mikael Persbrandt, known for his leading “tough-guy” roles, spoke recently about playing the reclusive and heroic Beorn.

In The Hobbit, Beorn is an immense brawny shapeshifter, who is vegetarian and lives in a wooden house between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood on his own after the Orcs killed the rest of his race. Beorn can transform at will into a bear. Mikael describes a scene, which could well be the part of the story where Beorn interrogates a wolf and a goblin to verify Gandalf’s story.

In an interview (translated from Swedish), Mikael spoke about what it was like to play Beorn.

“When, during the first days, I was hoisted up to the ceiling in the west King Kong studio in Wellington, I knew what to do. Even though it was embarrassing and a hassle to start with a severe torture scene, I knew I could even suggest things.”

Peter Jackson was impressed with your audition.

“I did not made it complicated. Just as one can imagine “how exactly would I react if I lose a child ?”…

[He bends down and knocks in the wooden floor.]

” … no more than I can imagine “what am I like as a Shapeshifter”?, living with horses and animals in the forest. One must look into oneself and try. I act pretty much in the same way in “The Hobbit” as I would in a love drama.”

There has been much anticipation of “The Hobbit”.

“I bought a mountain bike in New Zealand and was often up biking in the mountains while I was waiting.”

It is the in the Hamilton-movies that you trained your body?

“Yes, but it comes in damn handy in New Zealand. It is for Hamilton that I was with the Navy Seals and the Swedish equivalent. I’ve been at this gym.” [He points to the shirt with "Nacka martial arts center."]

“I drive all the time. Including this morning. Two miles uphill and then weights. It has become like a poison to me. Six days a week.”

You practice your English?

“Yes, I do that with Peter Jackson’s film. In Hamilton I talk in both Russian and English. I try to be a good student. I have had some resistance. It was useless to go for English lessons at home when you did not have concrete offers abroad.”

Source: Nojes Bladent

Beorn talks about being a bear 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

Leaving Flynn, their baby son, tucked up at home, Orlando Bloom and wife, Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr, braved the New Zealand chill to view a four-bedroom open plan waterfront home featuring a gym, home cinema, spa, swimming pool, home cinema, wine cellar and spectacular views across Karaka Bay.

Orlando, playing Legolas, has already been in New Zealand for two weeks. He was joined by Miranda and Flynn a week ago, after the Victoria’s Secret model had returned to the catwalk for the first time since giving birth, for the David Jones department store in Sydney, Australia.

Source: Mail Online

Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr hunt for Hobbit hole is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Lost star Evangeline Lilly is the latest celebrity to join the cast of The Hobbit. The 31-year-old actress, who played Kate Austen in Lost, was in New Zealand to play Woodland Elf, Tauriel, as Peter Jackson announced on his Facebook page. He said, “Her name means ‘daughter of Mirkwood’ and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing!”. Sadly there will be no romantic connection to Legolas. Read his full letter below:

Yikes! I can finally get back to some postings! We’ve finished our first block of shooting and moved straight into location scouting. More on that soon… But today, I’m thrilled to announce two new cast members who will be joining us for our second block of shooting.

Evangeline Lilly will be playing a new character‚the Woodland Elf, Tauriel. Her name means ‘daughter of Mirkwood’ and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.) What is not a secret is how talented and compelling an actress Evangeline is; we are thrilled and excited she will be the one to bring our first true Sylvan Elf to life.

I’m also highly excited that Barry Humphries will be portraying the Goblin King, in much the way Andy Serkis created Gollum. Barry is perhaps best known for his business and social connections as the long-time manager of Dame Edna Everage. He has also been an ardent supporter of the rather misunderstood and unfairly maligned Australian politician, Sir Les Patterson. However, in his spare time, Barry is also a fine actor, and we’re looking forward to seeing him invest the Goblin King with the delicate sensitivity and emotional depth this character deserves.

Evangeline and Barry, along with Welsh actor Luke Evans as Bard and Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug, just about rounds out the major casting. I cannot wait to get stuck into these new scenes!

More soon, including a flurry of answers to your questions. Sorry for the delay!

Cheers, Peter J.

 Source: Peter Jackson's Facebook Page

Star of Lost joins The Hobbit Cast is a post from: The Hobbit Movie