The Hobbit

[Don]

Shooting of the long-awaited film version of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit is set to begin in New Zealand in July.

Actor Sir Ian McKellen, who reprises his Lord of the Rings role as Gandalf the Grey, revealed casting is taking place in LA, London and New York.

Mexican-born film-maker Guillermo del Toro will direct the film and its proposed sequel.

The films will be prequels to the Lord of the Rings trilogy directed by Oscar winner Peter Jackson.

Jackson - together with his wife Fran Walsh - will produce the films, to be made back-to-back in New Zealand.

Writing on his official website, Sir Ian reports that shooting of the two films is expected to take more than a year, with Del Toro "now living in Wellington, close to the Jacksons' and the studio in Miramar".

McKellen added that the script was still being worked on, saying "the first draft is crammed with old and new friends, again on a quest in Middle-earth".

Del Toro, best known for the Hellboy movies, has called the directing role "an absolute dream come true".

His acclaimed Spanish-language fantasy Pan's Labyrinth won three Oscars and three Baftas in 2007.

According to studio New Line, the first film will be an adaptation of The Hobbit, the novel Tolkien published before his Lord of the Rings cycle.

The second will be an original story focusing on the 60 years between the book and the beginning of the Rings trilogy.

[Ehwmatt]

Didn't this get delayed for some time? I remember reading about this years ago and thinking it was going to come out while I was still relatively early on in college.

[Don]

Didn't this get delayed for some time? I remember reading about this years ago and thinking it was going to come out while I was still relatively early on in college.

Yes it did. There was a problem because New Line had gone bankrupt and Warner Bros didn't want to pay out the 80 million dollars owed to the Tolkien Trust Fund so Christopher Tolkien took them to court. I'm assuming everything is good to go now.

[Carla777]

cool, i can't wait for see this, hope it get soon here, Del Toro? niceee

[artist4perry]

Geez why can't I get in on the ground floor to design characters for a flick like this? Sigh. I love JR Tolken, and Alice in wonderland, and great tales like that. I would adore creating backdrops, scenes, and creatures. Maybe some day. I love going to see flicks like this. I come out so inspired, and ready to work.

Sorry....... I don't mean to bore you guys with this, I just truly have a passion for this kind of thing. I love how the media is so creative with CGI and other animated effects.

[Carla777]

Geez why can't I get in on the ground floor to design characters for a flick like this? Sigh. I love JR Tolken, and Alice in wonderland, and great tales like that. I would adore creating backdrops, scenes, and creatures. Maybe some day. I love going to see flicks like this. I come out so inspired, and ready to work.

Sorry....... I don't mean to bore you guys with this, I just truly have a passion for this kind of thing. I love how the media is so creative with CGI and other animated effects.

I can total imagine you designing your wonderful creatures for this movies,would be so beautiful!
You are not alone Ginger,i truly love this kind of movies aswell

[artist4perry]

Geez why can't I get in on the ground floor to design characters for a flick like this? Sigh. I love JR Tolken, and Alice in wonderland, and great tales like that. I would adore creating backdrops, scenes, and creatures. Maybe some day. I love going to see flicks like this. I come out so inspired, and ready to work.

Sorry....... I don't mean to bore you guys with this, I just truly have a passion for this kind of thing. I love how the media is so creative with CGI and other animated effects.

I can total imagine you designing your wonderful creatures for this movies,would be so beautiful!
You are not alone Ginger,i truly love this kind of movies aswell

Thank you Carla. I love Jim Henson's tag on the whole thing: The most sophisticated people I know - inside they are all children.
Jim Henson

[Babyblue]

Geez why can't I get in on the ground floor to design characters for a flick like this? Sigh. I love JR Tolken, and Alice in wonderland, and great tales like that. I would adore creating backdrops, scenes, and creatures. Maybe some day. I love going to see flicks like this. I come out so inspired, and ready to work.

Sorry....... I don't mean to bore you guys with this, I just truly have a passion for this kind of thing. I love how the media is so creative with CGI and other animated effects.

You never bore me at all.I know you would come up with so many wonderful goodies for us all.Never give up Ginger

[conversationpc]

Good to hear!