Fans of the Action/RPG genre are eagerly awaiting the release of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, a new role-playing title from Snowblind Studios. WitN will feature an expansive three-player cooperative campaign allowing players to form their own fellowship, as well as a series of in-game challenges which will test players abilities to work together.

To emphasize the importance of co-op gameplay, the developers have released a behind-the-scenes / gameplay trailer focusing on “The Power of Three,” and highlighting the different abilities and tactical advantages offered by each character class.
From Premier PR:

“Each hero in this tale – Andriel the Elf, Eradan the Human, Farin the Dwarf – contributes a vital talent further uniting the Fellowship.  Hear from the creators themselves as they delve into the inner workings of the game’s heroes.  Utilising teamwork and communication, players can join together to fight the War in the North. ”

Watch the video below, and keep an eye out for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North when it releases for PS3, PC, and XBox 360 on November 1st, 2011  in the U.S., and the 25th in the UK.

Continue Reading →

The music from the Lord of the Rings films might very well be the best ever written for a film. Howard Shore often considered the entire project as his opera, structured in a sweeping and broad style that worked hand in hand with the epic story. So it is a natural that 10 years later the music is still exciting fans around the globe.

The music has been revisited again, this time being constructed as a symphony in six movements. The full twelve hours of music from the original films has been pared down into the six movements, each reflecting one of the six books of the original Lord of the Rings novel.

“Maestro Ludwig Wicki personally selected the musicians who comprise The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and who perform on this recording,” said Shore. “Over the past four years he has perfected this music in Lucerne, Switzerland. His precision and supreme musicianship is evident throughout the recording. I congratulate him on his success and thank him for his masterful approach in bringing this score to life.”

Continue Reading →

Up yours, Snow White! Fans of dwarves and fantasy alike will be pleased to see the latest photo from Peter Jackson The Hobbit, featuring all 13 dwarves doin’ their dwarf thing.

From the left, they’re Jed Brophy as “Nori,” Dean O’Gorman as “Fili,” Mark Hadlow as “Dori,” James Nesbitt as “Bofur,” Peter Hambleton as “Gloin,” Graham McTavish as “Dwalin,” Richard Armitage as “Thorin Oakenshield,” Ken Stott as “Balin,” John Callen as “Oin,” Stephen Hunter as “Bombur,” William Kircher as “Bifur,” Adam Brown as “Ori,” and Aidan Turner as “Kili.” [Not pictured: Wilford Brimley as “Groin,” Brian Cox as “Drunky,” and Rip Torn as “Farty.”]

Reprising their roles from the Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy are Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, and Orlando Bloom. Martin Freeman (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) will star as Bilbo Baggins.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is scheduled for release December 14^th, 2012; The Hobbit: There and Back Again December 13^th, 2013.

Click through for a larger version of the pic.

Continue Reading →

Sean Bean is an incredible talent. Not just because the man has been working for over 25 years in nearly 100 projects, but because he knows a good thing when he’s hit it. In the past decade, since his role as Boromir in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Bean has managed to make a name for himself in the fantasy realm.

From Red Riding: In the Year of our Lord to Black Death and most recently Game of Thrones, the man knows he looks good wearing armor and weilding a sword, so why fix something that isn’t broken? It turns out he’s keeping with that motto as he’ll be portraying the king in Relativity Media’s upcoming Snow White film.

From Variety:

Bean will soon close a deal to play Snow White’s father, whose kingdom is destroyed by Roberts’ evil Queen.

Lily Collins stars as Snow White, while Julia Roberts and Armie Hammer co-star as her wicked stepmother and princely love interest, respectively.

Continue Reading →

As promised, Peter Jackson is delivering on some great goodies and sneak peeks on his upcoming return to the world of J.R.R. Tolkein with The Hobbit. First we got a great look at the dwarves Nori, Ori, and Dori, and now we’re getting a few more great dwarves revealed, as the first image of Kili and Fili surfaces.

Played by Dean O’Gorman (Fili) and Aidan Turner (Kili), these two dwarves will aid Bilbo in his upcoming journey across the globe. Here’s the official description.

Two of the youngest Dwarves, Fili and Kili have been born into the royal line of Durin and raised under the stern guardianship of their uncle, Thorin Oakensheild. Neither has ever travelled far, nor ever seen the fabled Dwarf City of Erebor. For both, the journey to the Lonely Mountain represents adventure and excitement. Skilled fighters, both brothers set off on their adventure armed with the invincible courage of youth, neither being able to imagine the fate which lies before them.

A bit familiar, these characters all look like they belong in the world Jackson helped create on film a decade ago with The Lord of the Rings. That’s more than something another famed trilogy director could pull off (looking at you, Lucas!).

Take a look at the full image after the jump and keep your ears and eyes open for more glimpse at The Hobbit in the coming months leading up to the film’s release.

Continue Reading →

As we inch closer and closer to the release of Peter Jackson’s next trilogy in the world of Lord of the Rings, we’re getting more and more gifts and treats to get us excited for the upcoming films. The first image we saw showed us that this world looks an awful lot like the last one we all visited, and now we’re getting treated to a brand new image showing off some of the film’s cast.

Taken from their official Facebook page, we’ve got the very first image of the three brother Dwarves from the film, Nori (played by Jed Brophy), Ori (Adam Brown) and Ori (Mark Hadlow). Here’s the official description that followed the image.

DORI, NORI & ORI
These three brothers, all sons of the same mother, could not be more different from each other. Dori, the oldest, spends much of his time watching out for Ori, the youngest; making sure he’s not caught a chill or got himself killed by Wargs or Goblins. Nobody quite knows what Nori gets up to most of the time, except that it’s guaranteed to be dodgy and quite probably, illegal. Dori, Nori and Ori are intensely loyal to each other – and whilst they are perfectly happy fighting amongst themselves, woe-betide anyone who means harm to one of these brothers.

Check out the full-sized image after the jump and get ready as Jackson’s Hobbit hits theaters in parts next year.

Continue Reading →

This summer may have 90% of fantasy audiences salivating at a brand new theatrical blockbuster every weekend, but there is one epic story that we can’t wait to happen, and it’s on HBO. We’re talking, of course, about this April’s upcoming serialized adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s A Son of Fire and Ice fantasy novels, now simply called Game of Thrones.

The adaptation looks to borrow some visuals from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, while bringing new lift to Martin’s world of magic and Medieval politics. David Benioff, who helped bring the books to the screen, jokingly referred the adaptation to “The Sopranos in Middle-Earth.”

Needless to say, it’s already drawing some pretty big attention.

The series begins on April 17th, only a few weeks away, but HBO has graciously brought us the first 15 minutes of the pilot, in which we get fully inundated in Martin and Benioff’s world of kings and magic. Take a look at the sneak preview after the jump.

Continue Reading →

Now that the dust has settled, and we’ve adjusted to the fact that Guillermo Del Toro is not taking the director’s chair, as Middle Earth native Peter Jackson is taking the reins back, it’s time to look to the film as, well…a film. That means finally casting some of the characters we’ve treasured since first reading the book decades ago.

Last week, news came forward that Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy star Martin Freeman will fill the very big feet of Bilbo Baggins, and now Jackson has decided to let us in on the rest of the cast, and who exactly they’ll be playing. Here’s the full list from Deadline.

Jackson has cast several other significant Dwarf characters. Richard Armitage (MI-5 and Captain America: The First Avenger) will play Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the Company of Dwarves which sets off to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from a thieving dragon. Aidan Turner (Being Human) and Rob Kazinsky (EastEnders) will play Kili and Fili, members of the Company of Dwarves. Graham McTavish (Secretariat) will play Dwalin, John Callen (Power Rangers Jungle Fury) will play Oin; Stephen Hunter (All Saints) will play Bombur, and Mark Hadlow (King Kong) plays Dori, while Peter Hambleton (The Strip) will play Gloin.

As if these names weren’t enough, there are rumors that David Tennant (Doctor Who) and James Nesbitt (Jekyll) will make an appearance, and also possible speculation that Andy Serkis and Sir Ian McKellan will reprise their roles.

Continue Reading →

Well folks, it looks like it’s pretty much a done deal that Peter Jackson will, much to the delight of fans everywhere, take on directing duties of both Hobbit films. After the departure of Guillermo del Toro recently speculation ran rampant that Jackson, who’s Lord of the Rings films are the definitive cinematic incarnation of the beloved trilogy, would take over for del Toro.

However, Jackson’s camp denied the speculation citing his commitments elsewhere. However, that seems not to be the case now as Jackson is in active negotiations to take on both films that will bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit to the big screen. According to reports, another of the stumbling blocks was money and the current financial state of MGM.

However, it seems the case is being made to MGM’s owners that two Jackson-directed Hobbit films would almost guarantee box office success. So, it remains to be seen if this very hopeful development will prove to be accurate. Let’s hope so for fans of The Hobbit everywhere.

Jackson is an immensely talented filmmaker and his Rings trilogy are examples of some of the best literary adaptations ever made. So, his version of The Hobbit should also be extraordinary. Let’s hope for every fan’s sake he really does end up as the director. More on this story as it comes to us.

Until then, how do you guys feel? Is Jackson the best choice for The Hobbit?

Kudos to HBO for jumping into the big budget fantasy genre with Game of Thrones, an upcoming series based on George R. R. Martin’s bestselling A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Deadline has posted the show’s first teaser trailer, which features the tagline “Winter Is Coming” and gives us a few quick glimpses at what we can expect from the show.

This trailer doesn’t really give away a whole lot about the story and in truth, its more of a teaser than a trailer. Still, it’s good to see HBO seems to be on the ball in capturing the essence of the novels. Plus, the show looks great. With Treme’, True Blood, Boarwalk Empire and now Game of Thrones, HBO seems to be the place for quality and diverse entertainment these days.

Game of Thrones is set in a world where magic exists and the empire is on its last legs. It follows the machinations of various kings, lords and soldiers as they fight for control of the throne. The show stars Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey and Jason Momoa.

Check out the new trailer after the jump. Game of Thrones comes to HBO in 2011. Are you ready for winter?

Continue Reading →

Here’s a list of things that made a blip on The Flickcast’s radar this week from around the Internets, Twitter and beyond. Let us know if we missed anything cool so we can include it in the next installment of On the Radar.

• Planning a LOST finale party? Well, no party is complete without LOST BINGO!

• Morgan Spurlock, Harry Knowles, Stan Lee and Joss Whedon teaming up to fight crime. . . er make a documentary about San Diego Comic-Con.

• Apparently, nobody in the US gives a crap about Manga. We could have told you that.

• James Cameron’s Avatar has sold a metric butt load of DVDs and Blu-rays. Color us blue for surprised.

• Larry David and friends head to NYC to do the last season of Curb. That show is still on?

• Are you a fan of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? How about Lord of The Rings? Well, what if Gandalf sang the opening theme? Mind = Blown!

• Did you get a chance to check out Maggie Q in the new show Nikita? If not, what are you waiting for?

Continue Reading →

Since 2007, studios and fans alike have been contemplating, worrying, speculating, and spewing rumors about the upcoming prequel to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit. The news that we do know is that Jackson is teaming up with Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro, the story will be split into two films over two years, and now we have a release date for the two films. From Heat Vision:

Warner Bros. is scheduling Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro’s two-part adaptation of “The Hobbit” for December 2012 and December 2013.