James McAvoy not to be in “The Hobbit”

Scottish actor James McAvoy has denied rumors that he will play Bilbo Baggins in the movie adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s “The Hobbit“.Speaking at a press conference for new film Wanted, he said:

“It’s not true. It’s all internet rumouring and nothing else I’m afraid. Sorry.”

Guillermo del Toro was confirmed in April as director of “The Hobbit” and a second film, which takes place in the 60 years between “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings“.

Peter Jackson, who directed the hugely successful Rings trilogy, will be the executive producer of the two films. Sir Ian Holm played Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings.

Sir Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in the movie trilogy, is the only actor that has confirmed he would reprise his role in “The Hobbit” and the bridge film.

“The Hobbit” and its sequel will be shot back to back in New Zealand from next year and scheduled to be released in 2011 and 2012.

Guillermo Del Toro Is directing ‘The Hobbit’!

The news that everyone was betting their One Rings on has finally been confirmed yesterday after Variety have reported that Guillermo Del Toro will be directing ‘The Hobbit‘.

The announcement was made by the original master of Middle Earth, producer Peter Jackson, co-producer Fran Walsh, New Line President, Toby Emmerich and recently titled chief of MGM’s Worldwide Motion Picture Group, Mary Parent.

Del Toro will direct two films back to back with second instalment focusing on the 60 year space between ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring‘, a demanding job that will lead Del Toro to move over to New Zealand for four years – cripes!

After the post production of ‘Hellboy II‘ is polished off Del Toro will be on his merry way to crack on with ‘The Hobbit’ with a released date planned for 2011 and 2012.

Jim Caviezel’s ‘Outlander’ Poster

Today, we have a poster for the upcoming Jim Caviezel sci-fi film “Outlander,” featuring a very dark shot of a group of Vikings. The film is produced by Barrie Osborne, the man behind “Lord of the Rings.”

In the film, a man from another galaxy crashes to Earth some 1000 years ago. He accidentally brings with him an alien predator that he now must destroy with the help of a Viking tribe.

When the film will be completed exactly, is not yet known. According to the IMDb, sci-fi action film is in post-production.

Ian McKellen Talks Hobbits

Sir Ian McKellen remarked to the media last year that he would happily do a series of Lord of the Rings prequels provided that Peter Jackson returned to helm them. With Jackson now back as executive producer, McKellan has announced on his official website his intentions about returning as the wizard Gandalf, and had the following to say:

Q: So has it come to pass, good Sir McKellen? Shall the dreaming masses with their musty books and their blackened pipes at long last hear those immortal words issue from under that famous nose? “Yes, yes, my dear sir-and I know your name, Mr. Bilbo Baggins. And you do know my name, though you don’t remember that I belong to it. I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me! To think I should have lived to be good-morninged by Belladonna Took’s son, as if I was selling buttons at the door!” Looking about, I find I share the same hopes as millions of others, so I ask, a single query in a chorus… Will you again be our Gandalf in “The Hobbit” now that the deal is settled?

McKellen: Yes I will, if Peter Jackson and I have anything to do with it, he being the producer and me being, on the whole, a very lucky actor. I’ve just read your quote out loud – fabulous speech.

Q: Have you been approached yet by Peter Jackson or anyone else about reprising your wonderful role as Gandalf for the two upcoming “Hobbit” movies. I read that principal photography begins in 2009, and I can’t imagine those movies without you!

McKellen: Encouragingly, Peter and Fran Walsh have told me they couldn’t imagine The Hobbit without their original Gandalf. Their confidence hasn’t yet been confirmed by the director Guillermo del Toro but I am keeping my diary free for 2009!

The Hobbit: Parts 1 and II are tentatively set for release in theaters in 2010 and 2011.

Del Toro In Talks For ‘The Hobbit’?

The Hollywood Reporter is, well, reporting that Guillermo Del Toro is now officially in talks to direct both The Hobbit and its sequel. This. Is. Awesome.

Their story doesn’t really hold any concrete facts or give us any new information on the film, but it’s very encouraging to hear that Del Toro is at the very least on the shortlist of directors who might handle the prequels to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Del Toro already has a lot of films on his plate, so he’d have to clean house a little if he took this on. Principal photography is set to start in 2009. Del Toro is currently finishing off ‘Hellboy 2′ and then had plans to make a new version of Frankenstein, a long-planned adaptation of HP Lovecraft’s At The Mountain’s Of Madness and ghost story 3993.

He’d also expressed some interest in directing the final Harry Potter movie. But when we spoke to the series producer David Heyman recently he said that Del Toro was sadly not really in the running because “he’s rather busy”, despite Del Toro telling Heyman that he’d like to make the movie because “I want to kill your children”. We guess you can’t have everything. We gladly sacrifice all of those other projects to see Del Toro’s take on ‘The ‘Hobbit.

Elijah Wood Hopes For The Return Of Frodo

MTV Movies Blog recently spoke with Elijah Wood about the upcoming Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit.

Wood stated about his conversation with Peter Jackson, “I haven’t spoken to him directly about it [but] I’ve e-mailed him, and as far as I know the two films that they’re doing, one will be The Hobbit and another will take place between the 60 years that happened between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.”

Wood is excited at the possibility of coming back, “If I’m asked to go back and revisit that character and it makes sense, I would love to. I would absolutely love to. Nothing was really written with Frodo involved in it. That was sort of an ancillary tale outside of Lord of the Rings. I can’t imagine that they [Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens] would write great reams of information regarding my character. But if he [Frodo] should show up, it would actually be the perfect way to revisit because it could be small enough that I could go back and have a nice sort of reunion with the memories that I have of the experience.”

Wood is more excited about the film as a fan than a potential cast member, “It’s a great triumph [that Peter is involved.] I think that’s really important that the same team that worked on the [earlier] films [work on "The Hobbit"], the same effects team, that it be shot in New Zealand. I think that it’s important that Ian McKellen is cast as Gandalf, just so that there’s a synergy between the films. I think people want it to exist in the same world. So at least now we are assured that it will be done through that same lens, which is great. It’s exciting.”

The Hobbit will open in 2010.

Lord of the Rings: Almost everyone Suing New Line Now…

The Academy Award-winning producer behind the “Lord of the Rings” franchise has sued the films’ distributor, New Line Cinema, to force it to disclose its accounting for the multibillion-dollar epic.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in Los Angeles by octogenarian producer Saul Zaentz, was at least the second involving profits from the trilogy against New Line, which is accused in both suits of hiding profits.

A lawsuit brought by director Peter Jackson over profits from the first film caused a rupture that has New Line considering a new director for the fourth film, “The Hobbit.”

Zaentz acquired the rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” novels in 1976 and licensed them to Miramax Film Corp, which later assigned the license to New Line.

Zaentz contends the license specified that he would receive a share of the adjusted gross receipts from the films, which grossed more than $3 billion at worldwide box offices, as well as the right to audit New Line’s books.

The lawsuit said New Line breached its contract by refusing to cooperate with an audit by Zaentz’s company, and asks a judge to force New Line to cooperate with the audit and to pay damages.

A spokeswoman for New Line, a unit of Time Warner Inc, had no comment.