the hobbit – Page 3

The Hobbit is back on. Again.

(Via The Other McCain) This has been one of the more contentious film projects of recent memory – $400 million dollar projects tend to be – but it looks like that they’re running out of excuses to not put The Hobbit up on the big screen:

“The Hobbit” is now greenlit and will begin principal photography in February 2011, MGM, Warner Brothers, and New Line, have confirmed.

As TheWrap reported exclusively earlier Friday (below), Peter Jackson will direct the two-part film.

But don’t worry! The unions are whining. So there’s still a chance that the golden goose will still get killed.

Moe Lane

PS: As I understand it, The Lord of the Rings trilogy generated 6 billion in revenue. That’s why this project has been so contentious: because the odds that The Hobbit series won’t make its money back on the first movie alone are, to rip off David Brin, somewhere between ‘fat’ and ‘slim.’

Book of the Week: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

I picked up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls as part of the Birthday Bounty; and it’s… pretty good, actually. Quirk Classics seems to have gotten a line on what is actually not a bad sub-genre, here: this particular prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies doesn’t work with Austen’s original books directly, but it manages to have fun with them while also taking them seriously. If Quirk keeps finding authors who can do that, they will have themselves a nice little print run.

And so, farewell to The Hobbit:.

Moe Lane

Book of the Week: The Hobbit.

Mostly because I wasn’t aware that The Hobbit was 70 years old this year. How this is more significant than, say, 54 or 87 years old is left as an exercise for the interested student; suffice it to say I look forward to my kids being old enough for me to read them this book.

And so, farewell to The Trade of Queens: Book Six of the Merchant Princes.

Some VERY IMPORTANT news: The Hobbit casting call.

As reported here and here and here. Be prepared to live in New Zealand for a while if they take you.

Also, they’re splitting the party book into two parts. I’m… not entirely certain that’s a good idea, but I am entirely certain that Peter Jackson wouldn’t be able to hear me over all that money and all those Academy Awards.

Peter Jackson’s WETA Workshop makes a mermaid.

(Via Fark) Apparently, it takes a little bit more than the usual make-work projects to keep the people of WETA on their game, so they decided to go and make a functional prosthetic mermaid’s tail for a double amputee.

Just to keep their hand in, you understand. After all, it’s going to be two years before The Hobbit comes out.

Moe Lane

PS: Second half of the video here, but language warning. They picked a fairly inappropriate song to use for it, in my opinion.