Filmonic » Lord of The Rings

Tolkien Trust and New Line settle Lord of the Rings lawsuit

Liam — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:31:46 +0000

According to TheOneRing.net The Tolkien Trust, New Line Cinema, and HarperCollins Publishers have resolved the lawsuit relating to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The lawsuit was filled against New Line last year as The Tolkien Trust wanted their share of the profits. Everyone from director Peter Jackson to extras have sued New Line in the past. I guess that’s what happens when films make billions.

Commenting on the settlement, Christopher Tolkien said: “The Trustees regret that legal action was necessary, but are glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow the Tolkien Trust properly to pursue its charitable objectives. The Trustees acknowledge that New Line may now proceed with its proposed films of ‘The Hobbit.’”
Warner Bros.’ President & Chief Operating Officer Alan Horn said: “We deeply value the contributions of the Tolkien novels to the success of our films and are pleased to have put this litigation behind us. We all look forward to a mutually productive and beneficial relationship in the future.”

Now everything is sorted out The Hobbit can continue as normal. If the settlement dragged out or a deal wasn’t reached then it could have affected production on the upcoming Hobbit films. Thankfully filming can now start next March as originally planned.

The Lord of the Rings on Blu-ray

Liam — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:41:02 +0000

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is finally making it’s way onto Blu-ray. However, there is only one problem.

From The Digital Bits:

Sources close to director Peter Jackson have informed me that he’s saving the extended editions of the films for an “ultimate” box set release closer to the debut of the new Hobbit films – that’s why these BDs are set to be theatrical only…
…I’ve officially confirmed with the studio that this initial Blu-ray release is real and it’s coming before the end of this year, but I’m told it won’t be officially announced for another few months yet.

So we can either experience the epic trilogy in Blu-ray form this year, or we can wait another few years (2012) for the extended editions. Personally, i’ll probably play their damn game and buy both.

You can pre-order from Amazon below:

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Theatrical Editions) [Blu-ray]

Will We Be Getting The Hobbit In 3D?

Liam — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:12:41 +0000

With 3D all the rage lately and many upcoming movies either being filmed fully (Avatar) or partly (Iron Man 2) in 3D, it doesn’t seem an unreasonable question to ask whether we will be seeing a three dimensional Middle Earth. Well that very question was asked by MTV to director Guillermo Del Toro.

“IMAX is a fantastic medium. I am a shareholder. I love IMAX. I remember seeing ‘Polar Express,’ and then seeing ‘Polar Express’ in 3D and IMAX and having my life completely transformed,” he enthused, excitedly discussing the format’s immersive capabilities. “I think it would be a worthy discussion. But it hasn’t arrived.
“I think that we are experienced enough, I guess would be the term, to know that we should not daydream about [things like that] when we write the screenplay,” he said of whether or not he was even flirting with 3D or IMAX as possibilities. “Right now what we have is, you don’t have two filmmakers and two screenplay writers – you have four screenplay writers. We’ll be talking about 3D, on IMAX – but [not] right now.”

So maybe, maybe not…

There was talk a while back of Peter Jackson planning to convert the Lord of the Rings trilogy into 3D and re-release it, which would be amazing if true.

Star Wars…In 3D!

Liam — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:36:56 +0000

ComingSoon spoke to DreamWorks Animations CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg on Tuesday and learned that George Lucas is looking to turn the six Star Wars movies into 3D.

Katzenberg told us that Lucas is very excited about it and that he’s got the technical resources to pull it off. “He isn’t going to put a product out, I think, that isn’t anything other than first rate,” Katzenberg said.

There has been talk of other movies being converted into 3D such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Is this another ploy by George Lucas to milk the ‘cow’ that is Star Wars or is this what the fans want?

Update: Apparently he said the same thing in 2005.

Lucas said he hadn’t yet committed to a precise schedule but hoped to have the first film ready for the 30th anniversary of the original Star Wars movie in 2007 and that he would then rerelease one Star Wars film per year in 3-D.

I guess that he got a little ahead of himself back then, but now that we have a good amount of movies being released in 3D, and more 3D screens, it is more likely this will happen.

Edward Norton Likes Lord Of The Rings

Liam — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:59:09 +0000

Edward Norton has said that if it were not for The Lord of the Rings trilogy he may not have taken on the role of Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk.

He says, “I remember when I heard they were making The Lord Of The Rings, I was like, ‘God, if they cheese those out, I’m going to be so disappointed.’
“(But) those films were inspiring to me in terms of deciding to take The Incredible Hulk.”

Norton was known for taking on ‘good movies’ such as American History X and Fight Club, so a comic book adaptation was a bit of a risk for him, and we will soon see if it paid off.

In other Hulk news, director Louis Leterrier spoke to MTV about the possibility of the Hulk being the villain in The Avengers. Click here to read what he had to say!

Coolness: The Evolution Of Movie Credits

Liam — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:02:35 +0000

This image is showing how many people are involved in the movie making process nowadays compared to years ago. Take a look!

Christopher Lee Would Return As Saruman For The Hobbit

Liam — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:42:14 +0000

He may be 86 years old but he still has six movies on the way and could be adding another one (or two). Christopher Lee spoke to Empire about Saruman returning for The Hobbit prequels. Although Saruman doesnt appear in the book, there is the second film which Del Toro and Jackson will be writing to bridge the gap between The Hobbit and the first Lord of the Rings movie.

“I’ve read the books time and again,” said the 86-year-old. “Originally Saruman The White and the rest of the wizards, or the Istari as they call them, were immortal. There were five of them, two of them never appear, I know their names but they never appear, and the only three that are mentioned are Saruman The White, Gandalf The Grey and Radagast The Brown who you never see – so basically it’s two wizards.
“They lived for thousands of years and they were sent to the earth and they are virtually immortal. When it all started, Saruman was the noblest, the finest, the bravest, the most dependable and reliable of them all, he was number one. But somewhere, somehow, and it was never actually explained, he turns and it’s probably the Palantír (the wizard’s crystal ball thingy) that makes Saruman realise that if Sauron can do this, why can’t I do it and Saruman wants to become The Lord Of The Rings himself.”
“I’d be interested in seeing how that transition from good to evil occurred and, yes, of course I would return to the role if I was asked.”

You can tell Lee has read the trilogy every year for the past five decades can’t you?

I suppose it would be quite cool to see Saruman’s decent into darkness. What do you think?

Coolness: Ian McKellen On Extras

Liam — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:04:29 +0000

So Sir Ian McKellen will be putting on the robe yet again in The Hobbit. However, it has been more than 5 years since he last played the wizard. Will be be able to get back into the ‘Gandalf zone’?

Luckily, Ian McKellen gave some vital information on TV about how to prepare for the role. All he has to do is watch this back and he is sorted!

Sir Ian McKellen Confirms He Will Be Back As Gandalf!

Liam — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:57:54 +0000

Great news for Lord of The Rings fans! Although it was assumed Ian McKellen would be picking up his staff once again for The Hobbit, it has now been confirmed by the good man himself. The same mouth that bellowed the words ‘You shall not pass!’, spoke to Empire at the Speed Racer premiere in London. (Imagine that, Gandalf watching Speed Racer)

“Yes, it’s true,” he said. “I spoke to Guillermo in the very room that Peter Jackson offered me the part and he confirmed that I would be reprising the role. Obviously, it’s not a part that you turn down, I loved playing Gandalf.”
So he’s happy to be back in the robes again?
“We talk occasionally and he’s looking forward to coming out of retirement, yes,” he said. “Guillermo will be getting around to starting the script in about six weeks when he’s finished filming Hellboy 2.”
The major question on everybody’s lips is what are they going to do with the second film, which takes place directly after The Hobbit and before Fellowship of the Ring?
“Well I’ve read The Hobbit so I’ve got a good idea of what the story would be,” said McKellen. “But as to how it’s going to work over two films and what going to happen on screen, well Guillermo has not got down to working out the major details yet – I can tell you it’s going to be amazing though.”

McKellen also spoke about the Magneto movie which may be on the cards.

“They are making a Magneto spin-off but I don’t think it will involve me because it’s about the younger Magneto, it’s a back-story.”
But surely with the anti-aging special effects employed in the third X-Men film he could well reprise the role, at least for a cameo?
“Would I be willing to return to play a young Magneto? A cameo in my own movie? I don’t think so,” he said. “I don’t think I could get away with playing a 19-year-old.”

Confirmed: Guillermo Del Toro WILL Be Directing The Hobbit!

Liam — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:45:25 +0000

Its official! After 4+ months of talking and wasting precious time, it has been announced that Guillermo Del Toro will be directing The Hobbit. We heard last week at the New York Comic Con that we would hear something one way or another, and now we have the good news that he will be lending his creative imagination to Middle Earth.

According to Variety, del Toro will be moving to New Zealand for 4 years to work with Peter Jackson and company on filming the two Hobbit prequels back-to-back. It is expected that Ian McKellen and the rest of the required cast will return.

Things had been uncertain for the Hobbit films, with lawsuits over the rights and New Line Cinema folding and becoming part of Warner Bros. However, it seems things have been sorted out, or are in the process.

Peter Jackson was originally going to direct the first Tintin movie, however he gave that job to Steven Spielberg so that he could focus on The Hobbit. Jackson will now be directing the second movie in the Tintin trilogy.

No news on when filming will begin, however del toro has already said that he has spoke to WETA, along with designers and other crew members so pre-production in underway. He will be writing the script with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, who both wrote the Lord Of The Rings scripts.

This is officially the best news of the week! (in the movie world)