Peter Jackson news stories on Newser

Hobbit Trailer Has Arrived

Rob Quinn — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:00:00 CST

An early Christmas gift for Lord of the Rings fans: The first official trailer for the first part of Peter Jackson's two-part adaptation of The Hobbit has been released, reports Wired . An Unexpected Journey , one of 2012's most hotly anticipated releases, stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and will be...

First Hobbit Movie Hits Theaters Dec. 2012

Tue, 31 May 2011 13:27:34 CDT

Peter Jackson's two-film adaptation of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit has release dates. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released Dec. 14, 2012; its sequel, The Hobbit: There and Back Again , is to be released Dec. 13, 2013. The films have suffered repeated delays over studio funding problems, a threatened...

Wanna-Be Film Extra Told She's Too Dark to Be Hobbit

Rob Quinn — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 04:09:33 CST

A woman who wanted to be an extra in The Hobbit was told by the casting crew on the New Zealand production that while she was short enough to play a hobbit, she wasn't white enough. "The casting manager basically said they weren't having anybody who wasn't pale-skinned," the woman,...

New Zealand Will Keep The Hobbit

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 08:16:59 CDT

The protests full of people who wanted to keep The Hobbit in New Zealand apparently worked: The country’s government worked out a deal with Warner Bros. to ensure the Peter Jackson-directed endeavor will film there. A labor dispute threatened to kill filming two months ago, and Jackson threatened to move...

Labor Row Could Kill Hobbit Films

Rob Quinn — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 01:42:52 CDT

Producer Peter Jackson has warned that a labor dispute could force him to shut down production of his two-movie Hobbit project or shift filming from New Zealand to eastern Europe. The Screen Actors Guild and six other unions have urged actors not to work on the films, saying that the...

Peter Jackson to Direct The Hobbit

Nick McMaster — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:32:00 CDT

Lord of the Rings fans, rejoice: The Hobbit will be directed by Peter Jackson himself, Deadline reports. Jackson is negotiating a deal with Warner Bros, New Line, and MGM, and the studios are reportedly willing to spend big on a two-part Hobbit picture from J.R.R. Tolkien's most accomplished...

11 Possible Hobbit Directors

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:48:27 CDT

Now that Guillermo del Toro has quit The Hobbit , who will take over as director? Considering the movie is in jeopardy, since doomed MGM holds the rights, del Toro's replacement "has to be somebody who doesn't have much to lose in taking on a project with a 50% probability of...

Director Del Toro Quits The Hobbit

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 31 May 2010 08:15:00 CDT

The highly anticipated Hobbit movies have found themselves without a director. Guillermo del Toro quit “in light of ongoing delays,” he announced, calling it “the hardest decision of my life.” Del Toro will still assist with writing the screenplays for the two prequels, the Dominion Post reports. He blamed the...

Top Conservative Flicks of the '00s

Harry Kimball — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 05:31:30 CST

"Hollywood may well be a bastion of liberalism, but it does continue to occasionally produce major films that advance conservative principles," Nile Gardiner writes in the Telegraph . His best of the aughts: Master and Commander , 2003: The Peter Weir flick starring Russell Crowe is "an epic tale of heroism and...