The Hobbit Inspired Airplane Safety Video

New Zealand Air has posted their latest airplane safety video inspired by The Hobbit. The video features various Middle-Earth creatures as the Elves go over the safety procedure. It features brief cameo from Peter Jackson and Gollum. As part of the release, go here to "Find and Unlock the Elvish Code for your chance to win one of six double passes to the World Premiere Screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in New Zealand on the 28th of November 2012."

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey TV Spot #2

WB has released another TV Spot for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. TV Spot 1 is here.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Set Visit Reports and Factoids

It seems the press moratorium has been lifted on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as several media websites have posted reports on their visit to the set of the movie this past June, along with interviews with Sir Peter Jackson, Sir Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, and Richard Armitage. Based on similiar information popping up in both sites, I think the interviews were done in a conferencing type environment and not one-on-one. Below are links to the reports found so far with a few noteworthy highlights.

Dark Horizons: Set Visit | Peter Jackson | Ian McKellen | Martin Freeman | Richard Armitage
Collider: Set Visit | Peter Jackson | Ian McKellen | Martin Freeman | Richard Armitage | Richard Taylor (VFX)

Highlights:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Standee

From The One Ring, here is a look at The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Standee that will probably be popping up in your local theater soon.

Gollum Fishing at Wellington Airport

Preparation begins in Wellington, New Zealand for the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey that will be held in the city on November 28th. As part of that a 13 meter Gollum catching fish has been installed at Wellington Airport's main terminal building. The cration was designed by Richard Taylor and Rob Gillies, who both lead the visual effects team at Weta. Click here for details about the design along with a gallery of images. Below is a video showing it being installed.

Denny's Middle-Earth Partnership

Today at a press conference at Denny's headquarters in South Carolina, the company announced a partnership with Warner Bros Pictures for a tie-in contest and themed menu for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The menu will have 11 Hobbit themed items including "Hobbit Hole Breakfast", "Hobbit Slam", "Shire Sausage", "Seed Cake French Toast" and more.  Items from the menu come with a collectible trading card pack with unknown number of cards and Denny's coupons. Twelve cards total are part of the set. Placemats will also be updated with QR codes so can watch online videos, games and behind the scenes for Denny's TV spot (not yet available) that was made by Hobbit fans. The new menu kicks off on November 6th and available through early January. Images of the menu items can be found here.

Ian McKellen Expands on Almost Turning Down Gandalf

On his official blog, Sir Ian McKellen expands on what were the pros and cons he considered when he was offered to reprise the role of Gandalf for The Hobbit Trilogy. In a recent article it was revealed that he had given serious consideration to saying no but changed his mind once he realized what a disappointment it would be to the fans.

FAQ: "Is it true you nearly didn't play Gandalf again?"
Now I've returned to Gandalf, I can't quite believe that there was ever any doubt in my mind – but there was! There always is, with any job offer.

In making up my mind, I usually write down the pros and the cons and see which list is the longer or weightier. Thus:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Running Time

In the latest issue of Empire Magazine (5 covers to left) that is now out on newstands, Peter Jackson revealed the running time of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as about 2 hours 40 minutes. It might change by a few minutes once visual effects and credit scroll is completed.

“It’s looking like it’s going to be about ten minutes shorter than Fellowship was,” explains Jackson. “So it’s going to be officially our shortest Middle-earth yet. I mean, Fellowship was just under three hours and this is about 2 hours 40 minutes at the moment.” The “at the moment” refers to the fact that the credits hadn’t yet been added and not all effects shots finalised when we spoke to Jackson, but it’s going to be close.

Lego Lord of the Rings Halloween Humor, Demo Video

Brotherhood Workshop has released a Halloween themed video based on Lego Lord of the Rings Video Game. In addition, a new 15 minute video demonstrates the game play. It was scheduled for release on October 30th but has been pushed back to November 13th. The demo below has The Hobbits on Weathertop dealing with crows as they drop deadly bird crap on them (nope not kidding). The action sort of picks up with the attack of the Ringwraiths. Too early to pass judgement but this early footage makes me wonder if the game is actually any fun.

The Hobbit Mixed for Dolby Atmos Sound Technology

Dolby and Peter Jackson have issued a press release (below) announcing that select theaters will have the sound of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey mixed in Dolby Atmos technology. The official list has not been released. As for why it matters, beats me as I am not an audiophile but I assume the latest in sound tech can't be a bad thing, assuming your local theater supports it (most don't yet). Press release:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Soundtrack Release Date

Amazon has posted the pre-order pages for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Soundtrack. The release date is set as December 11th, 2012. Howard Shore, who composed the music for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, returns to do what will likely be beautiful music. The soundtrack has a regular edition and "Special Edition" but no details on what those differences are. Usually most special or deluxe edition albums have additional music but too soon to know if that is the case here. If plan to order, use the links below so this site gets the credit. The Hobbit Regular Edition CD | The Hobbit Special Edition CD

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey TV Spot #1

Warner Bros has released the first TV spot for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  Ticks go on sale November 7th, premieres on December 14th.

French Tolkien website Tolkiendrim has posted the first image of Bolg, one of the bad guys in The Hobbit Trilogy. In the novel the character appears leading the Goblin/Orc army in the climatic Battle of Five Armies. In the movie, it is possible that Peter Jackson came up with a way to introduce him much earlier into the story. In what way remains unknown but going by the picture he is going to leave an impression. If interested in more images of the characters, The One Ring has posted images from a deck of The Hobbit playing cards here.

Stephen Colbert in The Hobbit? (Updated)

Could huge The Lord of the Rings fan Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report be doing a cameo in the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? Empire Magazine seems to think so anyway. The comedian often makes Lord of the Rings references on his show, is a self professed lover of Tolkien's work and was also spotted on The Hobbit set by THR. One snippet that caught our eye, though, concerns another movie. Colbert explains how, as an outsized Tolkien fan, he was invited onto the set of The Hobbit last year by Peter Jackson. "I flew out and watched them shoot some scenes and went to some locations," he explains of the trip. "I saw a 25-minute cut, and it was amazing. Jackson knows I’m a big fan of the films." As any good journalist would, the interviewer wonders whether there isn't more to this than meets the eye. Could, for instance, Colbert be cameoing in the movie? "Could be," replies the comedian enigmatically.What is the point of being rich and famous if can't use it to indulge in your passion like being in a movie based on a favorite book by a favorite author? I am sure Colbert has plenty of Hobbit specific stuff planned for his December shows and I would not be surprised if he managed to talk his way into a cameo. Update: "Stephen Colbert will make a cameo in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, a knowledgeable source confirms to The Hollywood Reporter." No details on what that cameo role will be.

Inside $1 Billion Dollar The Hobbit Trilogy Gamble

The Hollywood Reporter has posted the cover story for their October 26th issue of the magazine as the recount why Warner Bros. and MGM are willing to gamble $1 billion on The Hobbit Trilogy. Below is the highlights and you can find the full article here and photo gallery here.

Highlights
- The cost of the first two movies are estimated around $315 million each to make (most big budget movies land in the $150 to $200 million range) but others are saying its inflated and New Zealand tax rebates will drop cost to $200 million each.
- Cost of the third film is unknown since a lot of it was already filmed as additional footage for first two
- To get the budget he wanted, Peter Jackson deferred his fee (but I assume he has back end points or something to make up the difference)

McKellen Considered Not Doing The Hobbit

In an article from The Hollywood Reporter, they recount an interview they had with Sir Ian McKellen on the set of The Hobbit as he talked about how he almost didn't return to the role of Gandalf.

"It was a little like going back to something that wasn’t necessarily going to be particularly challenging. Gandalf is still inside me, as it were, so the business of getting to know a new character -- I was sort of going to be robbed of that. You felt, how many millions of people are waiting for it? They wouldn’t understand if you weren’t as keen as they were."

"Peter Jackson and I much prefer Gandalf the Grey, who was a man who did manage to enjoy himself,” McKellen says. In fact, McKellen seems to be the impish one on the set, clowning and mugging between takes. But he knows it’s important to take the quest seriously. “I was joking around and one of the other actors said, `Stop it, Ian,’ " McKellen says. "And he was quite right."

The Hobbit: AEJ International TV Spot, New Images

Brazilian website CineMarcado has posted new images (below) from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey that includes a look at the return of Elijah Woods to the role of Frodo (left). The exact nature of the role has not been revealed but it is assumed he is used as a bridge to start the story, likely reading Bilbo's story "There and Back Again" that was shown in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. In addition below is a look at a international TV spot for movie that is essentially a shortened version of the recently released trailer.

Weaving Comments on The Hobbit Trilogy

While promoting his next film Cloud Atlas, Hugo Weaving (Elrond) spoke with Collider about various other projects including The Hobbit Trilogy. He commented that the Battle of Five Armies has not yet completely filmed and that he knows about as much how Peter Jackson will create the three films as we do. He is mostly out of the loop because he had finished filming his part in the 4-5 weeks he was on set.

Collider: When did you find out that The Hobbit movies would be a trilogy, and what were your thoughts about that?
HUGO WEAVING: I found out The Hobbit was going to be a trilogy quite recently, when everyone else found out about it. Originally, when I said goodbye to Pete [Jackson] in L.A., I said, “I’ll see you on The Hobbit,” and he said, “Well, I’m not doing The Hobbit.” And then, it was, “We are doing The Hobbit, but I’m not going to direct it.” And then, it was, “Well, I am directing it now.” And then, it was, “Actually, we’re doing The Hobbit in two films.” So, when I went to shoot it out there, there were two scripts and two films. Now, I’ve just found out, not that long ago, when it was announced. He said, “Well, we’ve got all this fabulous material and these wonderful people.” They hadn’t filmed the final battle sequence yet, which would have been at the end of 2. For a number of reasons, they decided that there are three films in there. I hope there are. I don’t know. I was truly there for four or five weeks and enjoyed myself, and went home again. My knowledge of the workings of Middle Earth, at the moment, are very minimal.

Mark Hadlow on Being Dori

In two seperate interviews Mark Hadlow discussed his role as the dwarf Dori in The Hobbit trilogy. While nothing spoilerish was discussed about the movies, he did talk about what it was like to film the movie, wearing the costumes and working with other actors.  Both interviews are in audio format, click the links to listen.
Interview 1 | Interview 2

"All these dwarves are specialists in hammers and swords and spears and slingshots. We were running in the middle of the south island, in scene 88, it's become known as the running scene and we're running with 40kg of costume, armor, backpacks, we were knackered. It was fantastic."

Singer Chosen for The Hobbit End Credits

According to the NeilFinn.news website, it seems that Peter Jackson has chosen the singer to the end credits sound for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  Neil Finn is a New Zealand singer who was part of the band "Crowded House".  It seems he has done well in New Zealand and UK but an unknown in the United States.  YouTube has some videos if interested in sampling his music. The Lord of the Rings trilogy end credits were "May It Be" by Enya (Fellowship of the Ring), "Gollum's Song" by Emiliana Torrini (Two Towers), and "Into the West by Annie Lennox (Return of the King). While this news has not been officially confirmed, it does fit Peter Jackson's tendency to want to showcase New Zealand talent and locations whenever possible.

Lord of the Rings Online: The Sound of Rohan

A new behind the scenes trailer was released today for the Riders of Rohan expansion for The Lord of the Rings Online video game. The video below is with game composer Chance Thomas as he gives us his thought process on designing the music for the expansion that will be release on October 15th.

Lego Lord of the Rings Dev Diary #3

Traveler's Tales has posted "Journeying Forward", their Dev Diary #3 video (Part 1 | Part 2) for Lego Lord of the Rings that is coming out on October 30th. This one focuses on how use co-op modes and other game mechanics to move the player forward within the story.

Next Wave of Lego The Hobbit Sets Reveal Movie Spoiler

A new Lego poster has revealed the next Lego sets that will be released for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  Most of the sets do not seem to reveal any particular story point that isn't already known to anyone that has read the novel.  One of them however seems to indicate a major revision to the original story.

Spoiler Warning

Four New The Hobbit Banners

The posters keep coming for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey with four new banners. Click images for larger view.

NZ Post Releases The Hobbit Stamps, Coins

Today The New Zealand Post has posted the pre-order of their collection of commemorative stamps and coins based on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The price range goes as cheap as $11.40 for stamps to as high as $10,995 for a set of three gold proof coins. They do ship outside of New Zealand, just be aware that international shipping charges will apply. The actual items will be available starting mid-November 2012. Press release below, the store is here.

The Hobbit: Riddles in the Dark App

Warner Bros has launched a new app for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey called "Riddles in the Dark". The app and title is based on a chapter in The Hobbit were Bilbo and Gollum have a riddle contest. At stake is dinner for Gollum (eating Bilbo) and not being eaten and shown the exit from the mountain caverns. At stake for you is nothing but the pleasure of trying to guess a riddle. Click here to play.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition Confirmed (Updated)

Warner Bros has confirmed that the Extended Edition tradition will continue for The Hobbit trilogy as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will get the treatment when it comes out on Blu-ray and DVD. According to Warner Bros, the edition will be out in time for Christmas 2013 so safe to assume the regular theatrical version will be out by summer.  Considering that Peter Jackson and the cast are getting together next summer to film additional scenes for the now trilogy, makes you wonder if he is planning to add some extended goodies then or if he just has not much extra footage left over.

Updated: WB issued a statement saying The Hobbit Extended Edition was an error, "In the recently distributed calendar included in the Warner Bros. 90th Anniversary press kit, there was an erroneous mention of an Extended Edition release for The Hobbit film. This product has not been confirmed yet and we apologize for any confusion." So while no longer confirmed (at least for 2013), it still would be surprising if an edition wasn't released. At least its the rare case of double dipping fans don't mind since something of value is actually added to make the purchasing of the same movie twice worthwhile (unlike most double dip editions).

The White Council Poster

Another retail poster has emerged joining yesterday's character poster. This poster, from Film Cells Ltd., focuses on The White Council. The Council is made up of Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond, and Saurmon who have joined together to investigate and fight the coming of Sauron. In The Hobbit novel, they were a side reference but in The Hobbit trilogy they will have a greater part in story events, specifically when it comes to battling the Necromancer (Sauron's pre-Lord of the Rings form). (via TOR)

Another New Hobbit Poster

A new The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey poster has appeared on Amazon UK. I assume the poster is official as it provides are real first good look at the movie version of the goblin Bolg (previously seen via toys). The character did not appear until the end of the novel with the Battle of Five Armies so his appearance on any poster (or toy) related to An Unexpected Journey is curious.  Since the Battle of Five Armies is being expanded on by Peter Jackson, I would not be surprised if Bolg and other characters from the fight appear much earlier in the story to lay the groundwork with audiences so for the climatic battle. (via The One Ring)

Lego The Hobbit Board Game

Lego has released a board game to go with their The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey line. The memory game has you build the board (including the dice) and comes with microfig characters of Gandalf, Dwalin, Kili, or Fili. The game is available now for $34.95 at Amazon, Lego.com (with more details) or your local toy store.

Product Description

From the LEGO Games collection that can be built, played, and changed to create a unique gaming experience every time comes The Hobbit Game from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey move hitting theaters Dec. 14th. Bilbo Baggins lives in the quaint village of Hobbiton, but today his comfort has been shattered by the arrival of 13 Dwarves. They have convinced Bilbo to embark on a most unexpected journey. But first Gandalf, along with the Dwarves Dwalin, Kili and Fili, must find the other ten Dwarves who are lost in the Hobbit holes of Hobbiton. Features buildable dice, microfigure characters: Gandalf, Dwalin, Kili or Fili, and LEGO building instructions

·         Ages 7+

·         2-4 players

·         SRP: $34.99 

New Weta The Hobbit Products Released

Weta has announced the release of their line of products based on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  The items (list below) include new statues, prop replicas, and more over a range of prices. To check out the full line up with pictures, click here.

1/6 Scale Figures
Gandalf the Grey ($249)
Bilbo Baggins ($199)
Thorin Oakenshield ($249)

Prop Replicas
Dwalin's Axes ($399)
Balin's Mace ($249)
Fili's Knife ($125)
Nori's Knives ($125)
Key to Erebor ($29)
Bilbo's Contract ($449)
Thorin's Map ($199)

Map Prints
Thorin's Map ($29.99)
Shire ($34.99)
Bag End Floor Plan ($29.99)
East Farthing ($24.99)
Wilderland ($34.99)

Misc
The Hobbit: AUJ - Chronicles: Art and Design book ($39.99)
Art Prints ($49.99)
The One Ring without Runes ($99)
Key to Erebor Pendant ($125)

Lego Lord of the Rings Dev Diary #2

Traveler's Tales has released their second developer diary for Lego Lord of the Rings that is coming out on October 30th. The last one focused on re-creating Middle Earth. This one focuses on the characters and events.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Posters

Here are all the posters, banners and scrolls released to promote The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.