This week on The Flickcast, Chris and Matt are back and better than ever. Or, they’re pretty much the same as ever.
But that’s not a bad thing. In fact, the “same” for these two talented dudes is pretty much awesome. So, sit back, relax and enjoy this episode where the boys discuss all manner of topics including the awesome Insane Office Escape video, some visual effects news, X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Hobbit, the first day of shooting on Godzilla, new Ant Man footage, Jean-Claude Van Damme in The Avengers and, the most important thing, a fundraiser for their friend Flitz who needs an operation and doesn’t have the money.
Chris and Matt also made picks this week incluidng Matt’s pick of Justice League Unlimited and Chris’ pick of the iOS app Feedly.
As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook or via email.
You know you have had a bad opening weekend when last year’s laughing-stock, John Carter, is looking at your totals and snickers.
Jack the Giant Slayer lead the way of a first week in March box office that came in like a limping lamb. The Bryan Singer directed film made a poor $28 Million over the weekend coming in over two million short of last year’s box office atom bomb.
If the top of the weekend releases was bad, the rest of the top ten was worse. Despite competition from two other new releases, the hit comedy Identity Thief still managed to hold onto second place with $9.7 million. That put the R-rated comedy over $100 million total and setting it on pace to be director Seth Gordon’s biggest hit yet, providing one of the few silver linings from this weekend.
It’s been nearly ten years since Middle Earth unfurled across the screen, and in that time, the Lord of the Rings films have cemented their place in cinematic history. The actors have aged, technology has evolved, and the influence of Peter Jackson’s trilogy is evidenced in all the three-plus-hour epics we’ve seen over the past decade.
Jackson slips back into this world seamlessly, elevating the grandeur but also reigning it in; instead of army battles and global chaos pitting kings against wizards and demons, this is a merrier tale of Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and a band of dwarves hunting a lost treasure guarded by the fierce dragon Smaug.
Smaug, we’re told (and cleverly not shown until the very end) attacked the thriving dwarf city of Erebor years ago, evicting dwarven kind from their homeland (writing that I’m starting to wonder if there’s a parable here, big noses and all…) and forcing them to have it out with every other race in Middle Earth, from the orcs at Moria (the chief of whom kills the leader dwarf, Thorin’s, grandfather and becomes the main antagonist) to the elves at, uh, Elvania (the elves chose not to help the dwarves in the battle against Smaug).
Agree or disagree with their politics, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are just plain funny, no matter the situation. Recently, both men appeared on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, which is being taped in Brooklyn this week.
Putting aside our cynicism for a moment (and our dislike for brash commercialism), we bring you this new airline safety video from the folks at Air New Zealand. Why is this one of interest to us, or anyone else?
Well, it’s inspired by, and features quite a few characters from, The Lord of the Rings and the upcoming Hobbit films. Because they are all produced in New Zealand, get it?
Confused? You won’t be if you just watch and enjoy.
Even though we’re still not quite sure why The Hobbit has to be three movies (unless you consider good, old fashioned greed), we’re still pretty excited about seeing it (or them). Yes, we may have mentioned our reservations before once or twice, so?
Anyway, after some other bits and pieces, the first TV sport for part one has hit the airwaves. Check it out below.
Even if a few of us might not quite understand why The Hobbit, which is only one book, needs to be three movies, that doesn’t mean we’re not interested in seeing them. Quite the opposite, in fact.
So, when new trailers arrive for the first installment, we’re not only interested, we’re pretty excited. That’s just what happened this morning with the release of a new one for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
This new one features more of your favorite dwarves, monsters and even more Gollum. Good times. Set in Middle-earth, 60 years before Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit trilogy starts with An Unexpected Journey on December 14, followed by The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug on Dec. 13, 2013 and then The Hobbit: There And Back Again on July 18, 2014.
The Hobbit is now a trilogy, we all know that now and most of us have made our peace with that very surprising news. Where there were two films now there are three, and one of the more important and simple things a film needs when it is announced is a title and a release date. Few films are brazen enough to release with out a title and a release date, and it seems the third Hobbit will not be as well.
The third film will now be known as The Hobbit: There and Back Again, sharp readers will no doubt recognize that title as the one for the second Hobbit film. Seeing as how that title has some sense of finality to it, they shipped it over to the third film which means the second film will now need a new moniker, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smuag.
This new title was expected, but it does seem to confirm how Peter Jackson and company are splitting the known portion of the narrative. The second film will likely climax with the confrontation with the dragon Smaug and the third film will be the epic Battle of the Five Armies. It was always considered tricky how they would do both justice in one film, so there is a small since relief knowing that both rather large events will have time to breathe on-screen.
As for the release date, the third and final(?) Hobbit film will buck all trends and reason and release July 18th 2014. This allows a Peter Jackson middle earth film to test the Summer blockbuster waters for the first time ever.
Stay tuned to The Flickcast for any more Hobbit based news bits as the first film gets closer and closer.
We told you before about the splitting of The Hobbit into three films instead of the previously announced two. We are still processing that bomb shell development, but Middle Earth news carries on.
Shortly after the announced extra split, Warner Brothers secured the domain names for two potential new Hobbit titles, The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies. Of course the new third film will need a subtitle, but what is interesting is the concept that they might rename the second film as well.
As of now it stands that the second film will be subtitled There And Back Again, but that title makes much less sense for a second film of a trilogy. Based on the natural climactic points in the story it could make sense to rename the second film The Desolation of Smaug and give the last film The Battle of the Five Armies. No official announcement has been made, but expect a decision sooner rather than later.
Also in The Hobbit news, Warner Brothers has decided to back off on the 48FPS presentations for An Unexpected Journey. That isn’t to say that 48FPS will not be an option for you in December, it just means that version of the film will be out in only a limited capacity. The studio wants to test the water on the format before committing thousands of screens to such a revolutionary new presentation.
Wow, leading up to comic-con this concept was inconceivable. Take the already stretched tale of The Hobbit and transform it into a trilogy, to paraphrase Bilbo, it seemed like an idea that make the story feel like butter spread over too much bread.
Then the avalanche started to roll when Jackson himself alluded to the potential of a third film. We talked about the potential expanding of the story in the wake of the first rumors. Now, thanks to a posting on Jackson’s Facebook fan page, we have confirmation:
So, without further ado and on behalf of New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films, and the entire cast and crew of “The Hobbit” films, I’d like to announce that two films will become three. It has been an unexpected journey indeed, and in the words of Professor Tolkien himself, ”a tale that grew in the telling.”
Go visit Jackson’s page for the whole note to the fans, it goes a little deeper into the why of this decision.
So there you have it, The Hobbit is officially a trilogy. This is an interesting turn of events for one of the most anticipated films of this and next year.
We need some processing time to decide of this is wonderful or treacherous news. Stay glued to The Flickcast for a more in-depth reaction and any new news regarding the new, third, Hobbit film.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the greater trilogies in film history. Famously there is a story about Jackson originally pitching the adaptation as two movies. The eventual producer of the films heard the pitch and asked if there were three books why not make three films.
Well that was one of the first sparks that lead to Middle Earth arriving on cinema screens in epic and beautiful detail. Now it seems like that original logic is being turned on its head as The Hollywood Reporter thinks rumor of a third Hobbit film is quite firm:
Warner Bros., Jackson, producer Fran Walsh and writer-producer Philippa Boyens began exploring the logistics of what it would take to make another movie. Those talks are said to have accelerated in recent days, with the studio on board if the right financial arrangements can be achieved. That includes securing new actor deals for the expansive cast as well as shoring up certain rights associated with the property.
Of course certain novels benefit from being told over nine hours instead of three or even six, but not necessarily The Hobbit. Tolkien’s first middle earth book is smaller and simpler in size and scope from each part of the Lord of the Rings series, so some serious padding needs to take place.
Stay glued to The Flickcast, as any ultimate decision that comes down about this will have to happen pretty soon.
One of the biggest presentations this year at Comic-Con was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey panel in Hall H. Peter Jackson and company showed off twelve minutes of new footage and a brand new production vlog.
While it is highly unlikely we will ever see the footage in its comic-con form, we have been graced with the production vlog. In fact it has even been enhanced to give us a peek at Peter Jackson’s experience at the convention itself.
Typically these vlogs do a wonderful job of making you feel apart of the larger whole that is The Hobbit production, but the additional Comic-Con aspects actually allow fans everywhere to feel, at least in a small way, like they partook in The Hobbit Comic-Con experience.
Aside from all the con goodness on the front end, the main vlog itself is also one of the better yet released. It detailed the final days of shooting, and gave us our first look at some key elements.
You can check out the full new vlog after the jump, and I am sure no one needs reminding that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theaters this December 14th.
Sure The Avengers was great and The Dark Knight Rises has a couple of people interested in checking it out, but the real big boy of the 2012 movie year is The Hobbit. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films have managed to become the most successful franchise ever in terms of Box Office, Critical Reception and Award Recognition.
So when the first of two prequel movies hits theaters this winter it will be a very big deal. Especially when you consider Peter Jackson using the exposure of the Hobbit films to push a new revolution in picture clarity, shooting both films in a staggering 48 frames per second.
So with that in mind take a gander at these beautiful stills from the upcoming first part of The Hobbit. These debuted over at Entertainment Weekly for their upcoming Comic-Con heavy issue. You can’t deny that Peter Jackson has the look of Tolkien’s world down.
These images should fill any Lord of the Rings fan with excitement, everything about these movies look like a return to form for Jackson and his New Zealand based crew. Expect The Hobbit to have a big presence at Comic-Con this year, so like always keep your eyes peeled to The Flickcast for any thing juicy out of San Diego.
After the jump you can take a look at all the new pictures.
It’s not a secret that The Hobbit is one of the most anticipated films coming out this year. While we wait for it to be relased Peter Jackson and company have been kind enough to share some making of and behind the scenes videos with us.
A new one has arrived and it’s pretty cool. This one is a tour of the New Zealand sets where the movie is being made and shows some of the actors at work.
This is another in a series of videos that helps people understand all that goes into the making of giant spectacles like Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Let’s hope it helps build the appreciation for all the work that goes into them and all the people, especially those not in the spotlight, who do that work.
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