I remember my first video camera. It was kinda big and the quality wasn’t really that great but still, it was all mine. I used it to create what I thought were some pretty cool little movies using my friends and kids from the neighborhood. I’ll bet Peter Jackson must be feeling a bit like I did today considering he’s got some new video cameras as well.

That’s right tech and film buffs, Mr. Jackson has gone ahead and purchased 30 new Red Epic 3D cameras so he can use them to film The Hobbit. Of course, these 5K resolution cameras are a bit nicer than the one I used all those years ago. Each camera package sports a host of cutting edge features including the EPIC-M camera body itself, titanium mount, 5-inch touchscreen LCD, REDmote, four batteries, a four-pack of 128-GB SSD cards to capture video onto and a charger. Total cost per package? $58,000.

The folks at Red expect to being making the cameras by hand starting next month and have them to Jackson in time for him to start filming The Hobbit next February. If any of the rest of you want to get your hands on one of these babies, I guess you’ll just have to wait in line.

Of course, the other bit of news we can deduce from this purchase is that The Hobbit will be shot in 3D. Do we like that? Hard to say. I guess, as always, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

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.

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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?

This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt are joined by nobody and instead go it alone with a bunch of new topics. Some of these topics include Guillermo del Toro stepping down as director of The Hobbit, the upcoming films Splice and Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World,  Donald Glover as Spider-Man, J.J. Abrams potential reboot of Alias and who the real protagonist of the Star Wars saga is.

The boys also made some picks this week including Matt’s pick of  the talk show Shatner’s Raw Nerve and Chris’ pick of Rockstar Games’ hit Red Dead Redemption.

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 and MySpace or via email.

If you were one of many fans who thought that if Peter Jackson wasn’t going to direct The Hobbit a really great alternative was Guillermo del Toro, prepare to be disappointed. After spending the last two years developing the adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien classic as his next directing effort, Guillermo del Toro has announced he is now stepping down as director of the project.

The director was obviously disappointed about the decision but said: “In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming “The Hobbit,” I am faced with the hardest decision of my life,” Guillermo wrote in his announcement on “Lord of the Rings” fansite TheOneRing.net. “After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures.”

However, all is not completely lost as the director also indicted he would stay on the project co-writing the screenplays for parts one and two with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillippa Boyens. Of course, now that del toro has stepped down it would seem like a perfect choice would be for Jackson to step up and take over the film.

After all, he’s been intimately involved with the production and did a pretty good job with those Lord of the Rings movies. Sadly, with Jackson’s other commitments, he won’t be taking on the film either.

“New Line and Warner Bros. will sit down with us this week, to ensure a smooth and uneventful transition, as we secure a new director for ‘The Hobbit,’ said Jackson. “We do not anticipate any delay or disruption to ongoing pre-production work.”

Well, there you go. With del Toro out and Jackson out, who’s the best choice to take on The Hobbit now?

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.

MGM is one of those staple studios that has been around since the beginning. To this day, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is one of the oldest studios that is still producing films, but sadly it looks like that won’t be for very long. The studio has been hemorrhaging money for some time, and when put up for sale, it hasn’t gotten large enough bids from other studios to consider a deal.

At this point, MGM obtained to sole distribution rights to one major franchise in James Bond. They teamed up with Sony to produce and distribute Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, but that didn’t seem enough to keep the studio afloat long enough to produce the next film.

In a recent press release from EON Productions Ltd., a production company who has worked with the franchise since Dr. No back in 1962, they seem to think this is the end of production for Bond 23.

“Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on ‘Bond 23′ indefinitely,” the duo said. “We do not know when development will resume and do not have a date for the release.”

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This week On the Radar Michael Bay does his part to help take down the American car industry, MGM loses a bidder as it struggles to stay afloat, and in completely contradictory fashion James Cameron, of all people, advocates against 3D.

Maleficent finds a writer in Wonderland

Long before Alice in Wonderland stormed the box office there were rumblings about director Tim Burton tackling one of Disney‘s best baddies, Maleficent.  Well, the success of Alice has only bolstered this film’s development and Alice in Wonderland writer Linda Woolverton has been tapped to write t script.  While there were some Alice detractors out there, it’s hard to argue the success of the film.

For better or worse I think we’re witnessing the beginning of the fairy tale phase in cinema.  I’m sure the studios couldn’t be happier.  Most fairy tales, in their original iteration, are in the public domain which means the whopping cost of zero to use the stories.  Sorry, Disney, but you couldn’t be the sole exploiter of classic children’s tales forever.

Bryan Singer off X-Men: First Class?

When word came out about Bryan Singer returning to the X-Men franchise fanboys rejoiced.  Well, the excitement certainly didn’t last too long.  It seems Singer has to choose between X-Men: First Class and Jack the Giant Killer.  Unfortunately, he can’t do both:

“Before Singer can dive into casting, he has a rather large problem –  the fact that Warner Bros. has the filmmaker on the hook to direct ‘Jack the Giant Killer.’  Fox, flush with money from ‘Avatar,’ is eager to move forward with its mutant franchise in all of its permutations, so there are negotiations that need to be done.

With Singer contractually obligated to Warner Bros. it means Fox has begun searching for other directors to reignite the X-Men films.

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This was a big week for news, especially of the comic book movie variety. Surprisingly, even with all that coming out we still have even more items worth talking about on the radar. Batman beats Superman…again, a Star Wars character makes a bid for a mascot job, MGM is still looking for money, Brian De Palma may get paranormal and what cities will Michael Bay reign destruction upon next?

Batman trumps Superman on the auction block

Looks like Batman wasn’t content with beating Superman at the box office, he had to do it at an auction as well. The 1939 first appearance of The Dark Knight sold for a whopping $1,075,500. This beats Superman’s first appearance in comics which sold for 1 million. Sorry, Supes…but, hey, you did land an awesome writer for your upcoming reboot.

Blockbuster struggles to remain relevant in the digital age

Video rental store Blockbuster continues an uphill battle to compete against digital alternatives.  The brick-and-mortar business reported a “$435 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $360 million in red ink in the year-ago frame. Revenue dropped 18% to $1.1 billion.” As companies like Netflix and Redbox continue to steal market share some believe Blockbuster has some merit left:

“The drying up of retail competition from the ongoing closures of most Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores; major studios aren’t making their new releases immediately available to Redbox; and Warner Bros. will begin a 28-delay before giving Netflix access to new-release DVDs.”

Personally, I don’t see a rebound at this point and beyond the legit competition Blockbuster still has piracy to content with. Is this the end? We’ll see.

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Despite Tobey’s dropping that he knows who will be replacing Sam Raimi as director for the planned Spider-Man4 movie reboot, the bigger news surrounding the Golden Globe nominee has been a rumor fueled by the entire internet that he’s currently signed on to play Bilbo Baggins in Guillermo del Toro’s The Hobbit.

But word has come from the Headgeek over at Ain’t It Cool News, via email from del Toro and Peter Jackson who is stepping back to the role of Producer for the two films being made from J.R.R. Tolkien’s lead-in to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, that the rumors aren’t true and that the production is still about a month or two away from making any announcements. Peter Jackson, in his email response even said that they’re  ”currently auditioning for Bilbo.”

Will this mean that in a month or so we’ll be completely shocked at who gets the role? Or might Maguire actually have a shot at it and the filmmakers are just playing coy? Let us know what you think of this idea, or who you’d like to see as Bilbo, in the comments below.

Once Peter Jackson announced to the world that he would be writing and producing an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and that it would be two movies, there has been speculation as to just how the book will be split. Will it be cut in two and be a two-part adaptation like others are doing for the last Harry Potter and Twilight films or will the first movie be based on the book and the second serve as a bridge to Jackson’s Lord of the Rings?

Well, wonder no more because Jackson himself has cleared up the mystery, according to an interview he gave recently. The two movies will be based completely on the book.

“The second Hobbit script is still based on the Hobbit novel,” Jackson said in a group interview after a press conference for The Lovely Bones. “The Hobbit novel is in two parts.” Well, that sounds pretty definitive, doesn’t it?

In case you’re not familiar, The Hobbit tells the story of young Bilbo Baggins’ quest for a treasure guarded by the dragon Smaug. Written prior to The Lord of the Rings, it establishes some of the characters for that trilogy, including the wizard Gandalf and the evil Gollum, and the world of Middle Earth in which they live.

The first Hobbit movie is due in theaters in 2011, with part two following in 2012.

The Hobbit has been on everyone’s radar since the success of the Lord of the Rings films, but has been a long time coming. After New Line was sued by both director Peter Jackson and Tolkien’s heirs, Jackson is now reporting yet another delay to Variety.

Stating that writing on The Hobbit, which will be a two-part film, is slowing down production, Jackson said that he hopes that he along with Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens and director Guillermo del Toro will finish writing by the beginning of next year. Production would then start by the middle of next summer, a few months later than expected.

With Jackson as writer/producer and Del Toro at the helm, The Hobbit is sure to be worth the wait. However, fans of both the literature and the “Rings” trilogy are sure to be antsy to return to Middle Earth as soon as possible, so this latest delay won’t make them very happy.

The Hobbit films have reported release dates of December 2011 and December 2012, with no word as to whether the recent delays will push back these dates.