UPDATE from Wood’s PR rep: “Wood is confirmed to star in Peter Jackson’s “THE HOBBIT” to be shot in New Zealand. In addition, he has signed on to play “Ben Gunn” in Stewart Harcourt’s adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s TREASURE ISLAND along side Eddie Izzard. The 2 part/ 4 hour miniseries will be airing on SKY TV in the UK. Alan Moloney is producing with Steve Barron directing.
Wood will next be seen this summer in FX’s new series “Wilfred”, as well as lending his voice to Warner Bros. “Happy Feet 2” set for release November 18th as well as Disney XD’s “Tron: Uprising” (2012), In addition, he is starring in the Sundance short “Fight for your Right Revisited” directed by Adam Yauch and starring John C. Reilly and Seth Rogen.“
January 6, 2011: After several forevers, the MGM situation was ultimately resolved so that Peter Jackson could finally begin his trip there and back again. And now Warner Bros. is paying for the two HOBBIT movies anyway, which makes that delay seem that much more vexing and senseless…
According to Deadline, WB will “pay the entire cost of the two installments of THE HOBBIT, a price-tag that is expected to exceed $500 million.” It was initially thought that MGM would be a partner on the production (despite their little bankruptcy problem), but obviously Warners is dipping into their pockets and considering it a worthy investment. But that seems like a safe bet, since they will “handle international theatrical and video distribution responsibilities on MGM’s behalf,” and the original LORD OF THE RINGS movies returned over $3 billion at the box office.
Speaking of the LOTR trilogy, Deadline also makes this curious statement about another Baggins: “Now, the question will be which cast members from The Lord of the Rings come back for encores. I’ve heard talk of conversations with Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis and possibly Elijah Wood. I’d heard Orlando Bloom was also in talks before the holidays. Returning actors will need to be locked in shortly.”
We’ve already heard about Bloom, McKellan and Serkis (plus Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving), and we know the majority of main casting, but Elijah Wood is new to that equation as far as the discussion of returning actors.
From the studio press release: “Jackson, who directed all three LORD OF THE RINGS films, will helm the two films back-to-back, telling the story of THE HOBBIT from screenplays written by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro.
The two HOBBIT films are set to begin production in February 2011, with release dates targeted for December 2012 and December 2013. Jackson will utilize groundbreaking visual effects and his incomparable storytelling to bring Tolkien’s novel to the big screen. Both HOBBIT movies will be filmed in Digital 3-D, using the latest camera and stereo technology to create a high quality, comfortable viewing experience.”
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