Both Peter Jackson And Guillermo del Toro Want Martin Freeman As Their Bilbo!
…well they didn’t actually say his name, but its pretty obvious! (I think)
Guillermo del Toro spoke to Empire magazine recently and revealed that both him and Peter Jackson have mutually agreed on their choice for who should step into the shoes of Ian Holm and lead the film as Bilbo Baggins.
“I can tell you that it’s down to a few names that we all agree upon. And that our first choice…completely, magically, we said the same name. All of us!”
“We said this is the guy we would talk to, but until the pages are there you have to let the character tell you who he wants to be played by…”
The reasons I want and think Martin Freeman should play Bilbo are:
A) He looks like a Hobbit (no offence to him)
B) He looks like Ian Holm
C) He auditioned for the villain role in Jackson’s upcoming drama The Lovely Bones but ultimately lost out to Stanley Tucci, therefore Peter Jackson does know of his existence.
Everyone across the internet thinks that Martian Freeman would make a perfect Bilbo Baggins, so if Peter and Guillermo have someone else in mind then he must be even better than Freeman, which will be tough. Maybe there is someone we haven’t noticed yet. However, we wont find out who they have in mind as according to Guillermo:
“You can expect at least a year before we announce any casting.”
Peter Jackson Directing Hellboy 3?
During the live chat with Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro yesterday one question caught my eye.
manuthevif: Guillermo, Will Peter be directing Hellboy 3 at some point?
Guillermo del Toro: Offers have been made but he remains elusive- we will be in talks soon.
I suppose it could make some sense, seen as though Guillermo will be busy in New Zealand for the next four years. However, Jackson himself may be too busy with the Tintin trilogy, as he will be directing the second movie, and may end up co-directing the third with Steven Spielberg. Hellboy II: The Golden Army has arrived four years after the original Hellboy, so maybe we will see the third instalment in 2012? Time will tell.
Watchmen: Three Hour Theatrical Cut? 4 1/2 Hour Directors Cut DVD Planned
Zack Snyder is in post production on his big screen adaptation of Watchmen, and is currently sitting on a three-hour superhero movie.
“The main picture is nearing three hours long and I know I have a fight on my hands just with that,” Snyder told the New York Times.
And the eventual Ultimate Edition DVD version of the movie (think Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings extended editions on crack) will no doubt be over four and a half plus hours in length. More on that in a bit. Since a big screen adaptation of Watchmen was first announced, many fans of the original Alan Moore comic book mini-series wondered how Tales of the Black Freighter, the story-within-the-story, would be handled, if at all.
For those who don’t know, Black Freighter is a comic book within the Watchmen universe which chronicles “a castaway’s increasingly desperate attempts to return home to warn his family of the impending arrival of the Black Freighter, a phantom pirate ship which houses the souls of the damned.” In the comic book, Tales of the Black Freighter is read by a teenage boy while he sits beside a newsstand whose proprietor contemplates the latest headlines and discusses them with his customers (seen above, comic book to film comparison thanks to Maxim). According to Wikipedia, “This juxtaposition of text and images from the story within a story and its framing sequence uses the former to act as a parallel commentary to the latter—which is the plot of Watchmen itself.”
Back in February, Gerard Butler told Empire Magazine that he would be voicing the lead character in Black Freighter and that it will be animated in an anime style. I guess the original plan was to shoot the entire tie-in using a style similar to 300, employing green screens and computer generated locations. But the New York Times confirms that the budget was indeed too high (over $20 million), and that Warner Bros will be releasing a 100% animated Tale of the Black Freighter on DVD a mere five days after Watchmen hits theaters on March 6th 2008. How cool is that? Diane Nelson, president of Warner Premiere declined to say how much this animated feature would cost, but did reveal that it is budgeted for 30 percent to 50 percent higher than a typical direct-to-DVD effort. he DVD will also include a documentary-style film called “Under the Hood” that will delve into the characters’ backstories.
Since the film adaptation was first announced, I wondered if such an R-rated non-mainstream superhero movie could really make it’s money back at the box office. And while I’m not discounting the film’s eventual opening weekend just yet, its now becoming more clear that Warner Bros has a long tail plan. While it’s a cool idea to release Black Freighter alongside the theatrical release, truth is it’s Warner Bros plans to make you reach into your pocket four separate times. They expect fans will buy a ticket to opening night, buy the “Tales of the Black Freighter” direct-todvd animated movie days later, followed by a limited feature DVD of the movie, and eventually an “ultimate edition” DVD, which will include tons of special features and have the two films edited together into one megamovie, just as it appears in the graphic novel.
Also, AICN has just posted a 1940 photo of The Minutemen, a team of superheroes which formed in 1939 and disbanded a decade later. The photo below features the classic olden day versions of Silk Spectre, Nite Owl, Captain Metropolis, Mothman, Silhouette, Comedian, Dollar Bill, and Hooded Justice. Click the image below to see the full resolution version on AICN.
I have also scanned a couple frames from the comic book where the photo actually appears.
Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis in Talks for The Hobbit
Guillermo del Toro will enter pre-production on the two-film big screen adaptation of The Hobbit after Hellboy II: The Golden Army hits theaters in July. Variety reports that Warner Bros has already had “preliminary contact” with three actors from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy about reprising their roles for the upcoming prequels:
- Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn)
- Ian McKellen (Gandalf)
- Andy Serkis (Gollum).
Guillermo promises that he is doing everything in his power to bring all the original team back.
“We will all be involved in the script in some fashion but the exact definition is about a week away,” del Toro told the trades. “I am all for keeping the actors who originated the parts, as much as availability and their willingness will allow.”
Basically, del Toro knows he needs to please the fans, first and foremost. It should be noted that on May 24th, WETA will be hosting a one-hour live online chat with Jackson and del Toro to answer the 20 most asked fan questions/concerns. Smart move.
Previously
Serkis lists The Hobbit on his upcoming production calendar on his official website and last month McKellen confirmed to Empire Magazine that he will return.
“Yes, it’s true. 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.”
No word on Ian Holm who played an older Bilbo Baggins in Fellowship, will likely be recast as he is getting too old (76) to play the part.