We’ve gotten more than our fair share of images from Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit prequels, but what I truly look forward to is his production video blogs. We got one back in April when the 254-day production was gearing up, and now the director has posted his second.
We learn that he has split the entire shoot into three blocks, and we get a look at the end of the first block as he talks to his second unit director Andy Serkis. In this break the team gets to edit some footage and look at visual effects. The break lasts until September 5th for the crew, so it is nice to see what everyone is doing on the substantial rest. We then get a peek at some of the location scouting, which will take up most of the second block. Check it out below from Peter Jackson’s official Facebook page in today’s Daily Distraction.
The cast includes Martin Freeman , Ian McKellan , Cate Blanchett , Orlando Bloom , Ian Holm , Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving , Elijah Wood , Andy Serkis , Richard Armitage, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Stephen Fry , Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, Mike Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O’Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott, Jeffrey Thomas, Aidan Turner, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, and Barry Humphries .
Synopsis:
“The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins , who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey , Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.
Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever… Gollum.
Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities… A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens on December 14th, 2012, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again will be released on December 13th, 2013.