Christopher Lee 2011 Christmas Message

When I was watchin those two videos, which are kindly recorded by Christopher Lee, I smiled the whole time. He is a wonderful man, very talented actor and a kind person, whom I'd like to meet. In the next year he will celebrate his 90th (!) birthday, and I'm glad he still makes appearances in many films.

"When he asked me to do this [Hugo], I said, well it's about time. Isn't it?" - Christopher Lee about Scorsese

He talks about his upcoming films: "The Wicker Tree", "Hugo" and how much he enjoyed working with Martin Scorsese, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", "The Hobbit: There and Back Again", "Dark Shadows". I'm so exited to see all of the above, especially Peter Jackson's duology, where his Saruman will be the good wizard.

"I emphasize again, I don't play long parts. They must be short parts, but they've got to be parts that mean something, that matter. The people will notice when I'm on the screen and will remember the character after they've seen the film."

In the second video, he talks about an honor being a Fellow of BAFTA. He also discusses his second heavy metal album "Charlemagne: The Omens of Death", which will be out on his birthday.

I wish him to have a Happy New Year, strong health and remain being the Great. I hope he knows how much we love him and his work.

Part 1 of the message



Part 2 of the message

"John Carter" (2012) - First trailer, stills and thoughts

"You are ugly, but you are beautiful. You will fight for us."

There are some rumours that "John Carter" is going to be one of the next year's blockbusters. Let's see why (or why not).

Main character, John Carter, was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and he is almost 100 years old, because appears in different stories since 1912. John comes to Mars and discovers there a whole new civilization. Wait a minute... Don't those aliens look familiar? I bet they do for everyone, who has ever seen George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace", because they are very much like the inhabitants of Tatooine, where Anakin Skywalker (aka Darth Vader) was raised.

Pixar's guy Andrew Stanton is a director of this film. He is famous for some great feature films, like "Finding Nemo", "Toy Story" series, "Monsters, Inc." and "WALL-E". But I'm not sure that it's a great idea for him to make an action story of such a kind.

Taylor Kitsch plays the main part and he looks like Jake Gyllenhaal in "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time". And isn't his costume borrowed from Jason Momoa, who starred in "Conan the Barbarian"?

Tons of special effects are used to create huge armies of funny and dangerous looking creatures. Landscapes sometimes look beautiful here, but after I saw "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" trailer, it's hard to impress me. And there will be 3D. I start liking this film less and less.

The only thing I surely like is the song from the trailer below. It's "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin.

First trailer




Future hero?

Meet the aliens

No story without a beautiful girl

Oh, Mark Strong is also here

The City and that beautiful view of Mars

Did they borrow something from "Cowboys & Aliens"?

Are you exited about "John Carter" or not interested in it?

"The Hobbit": Fifth Video Blog from the Set

"The main reason for going on location for the project is to capture the scenic beauty of New Zealand."

Peter Jackson presents another video from the set of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". As he promised in the previous one, he takes us on locations, where they are filming some interesting scenes. You can see the crew traveled a lot (and probably will travel more). I'm again impressed how many people are working on this story - they say there are over a five hundred workers and dozens of trucks were used to take all stuff out of the studio. Looks like everything has been packed (WC cabins; coffee makers; costumes; cameras; actors; fake hair for beards, feet and wigs; giant plants and trees; cows, pigs, ducks etc).

Elijah Wood said such touching words about coming back after 11 years. It must be a great feeling to film there again.

Even Prime Minister of New Zealand came to visit "The Hobbit" team. They say Hobbiton was built for real this time and it will be left untouched for those, who would like to visit this place. I'm first in that row. 

Now this video is my favourite among others, because I'd gave many things to have a chance to work on such a wonderful project and to film on those locations. New Zealand is very picturesque. And I'd like to retire in Hobbiton too, especially if Peter Jackson will settle there. What a neighbour he could be!

Next video from the set will be released early in the next year.

Watch previous videos from the set of upcoming duology "The Hobbit":
1st video,
2nd video,
3rd video,
4th video.

More about "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012)! (all pictures, stories, news, set videos, Peter Jackson's statements etc.)



And a few interesting pictures from the set (click on the image to enlarge it):

Peter The Great

Peter The Funny 

Floating dwarves

If some unreleased pictures will leak, guess whose fault it will be...

Andy Serkis is busy gathering flowers

Map of New Zealand magically turns into a map of the Middle-Earth 

Occupying the space of a football field

Sentimental Elijah Wood

Peaceful Hobbiton

Next movie star

Peter and his team are wishing us a "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" - First trailer, poster and many stills

"Bilbo Baggins, I'm looking for someone to share an adventure."

I can't tell you how exited I am that the first trailer has arrived! New and old characters of the Middle-earth promise us something huge, dangerous and breathtaking. Shire looks peaceful, but we know that all adventures begin there. I can go on, but you better watch it with your own eyes.

Directed by Peter Jackson.

See the list of all characters and actors below the trailer.

Release date - December 14, 2012.

Poster (click to enlarge) - iTunes movie trailers








Trailer #1



Let me introduce all main characters (click on the picture to enlarge it):

Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman)

Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen)

Fili (Dean O'Gorman)

Kili (Aidan Turner)

Oin (John Callen)

Gloin (Peter Hambleton)

Dwalin (Graham McTavish)

Balin (Ken Stott)

Bifur (William Kircher)

Bofur (James Nesbitt)

Bombur (Stephen Hunter)

Dori (Mark Hadlow)

Nori (Jed Brophy)

Ori (Adam Brown)

Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage)

Galadriel (Cate Blanchett)

Gollum (Andy Serkis) (try to find him)

"The Hobbit" (2012) - New Bilbo and dwarves still

Warner Bros. Pictures released a new still for Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". It has been a long time since we saw hobbits and dwarves, but they still look great in costumes and with a very complicated make-up. On this picture you can see Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins who is ready for a big adventure; James Nesbitt as Bofur, Stephen Hunter as Bombur, Graham McTavish as Dwalin, William Kircher as Bifur and Jed Brophy as Nori. I hope I'll learn how to tell them apart till I see this film.

More about "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012)!

Are you waiting for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"?

"The Fellowship of the Ring" - Magical soundtrack

I hope everyone's having a great day, but if not, it's perfect time for listening to some wonderful music. I accidentally found this video and it reminded me how strongly I love any music written by Howard Shore. Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is epic, so it is Shore's music. Without this composer it would have been different, that's why I am very glad that he is in charge of the soundtrack for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" and "The Hobbit: There and Back Again", which are being filmed somewhere in New Zealand right now.

This track is called "Concerning Hobbits" and makes me smile, when I hear its very first notes. I see young Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd before they have started their long and difficult journey. This music is perfect for green, happy, serene Shire. It feels like home and everything is fine.

"The Hobbit": Fourth Video Blog from the Set

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit..."

After some weeks of silence, Peter Jackson surprises us with this new video about making films based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. He shows how action scenes are being made and some rare pictures from the set of the great trilogy "Lord of the Rings". An interesting 'behind the scenes' part is about cameras and other technologies they use to create a realistic 3D.

You can see there Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, actors who play dwarfs and very talented staff, whose names are not very known. It's left a year before we can finally watch "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", but I can surely say it is going to be not less epic than "Lord of the Rings".

Next video will be set on locations, where they are going to film some scenes for a few months.

Watch other videos from the set of upcoming duology "The Hobbit":
First video,
Second video,
Third video.

More about "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012)! (all pictures, stories, news, set videos, Peter Jackson's statements etc.)

Video Blog #4

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012) - All dwarves together

We've seen how the Middle-earth dwarves will look like and now we got the whole picture.

More about "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012)! (all pictures, stories, news, set videos, Peter Jackson's statements etc.)

Banner with all 13 dwarves 
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 (center), 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.

Banner - TheOneRing.net

"The Hobbit": Third Video Blog from the Set

Peter Jackson returns with a new video from the set of "The Hobbit". He continues speaking with Andy Serkis, whom we can see playing his Gollum. The decorations are really great, especially the Gollum's cave, where thay're shooting scenes with Martin Freeman (young Bilbo). It turns out, Ian McKellen is the only one from the cast, who can name all dwarves. We can see all of them wearing different beards and dressed in different costumes - creators are doing all possible to make every one unique. There are lots of comments from actors, who actually play these dwarves. And John Rhys-Davies (Gimli in "The Lord of the Rings") visited the set and talked to dwarves.

More about "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (pictures, videos, Peter Jackson's statements and other news)

"The Hobbit" - Thorin Oakenshield, Balin and Dwalin

Two more pictures with three dwarves has been released. Finally, we know how legendary Thorin Oakenshield, Balin and Dwalin will look like.

More about "The Hobbit". (news, pictures, videos)

Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield
As a young Dwarf prince, Thorin witnessed the destruction and terror wrought when a great fire-breathing Dragon attacked the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. After slaughtering many of Thorin’s kin, the great serpent, Smaug, entered The Lonely Mountain and took possession of its vast store of gold and jewels. No-one came to the aid of the surviving Dwarves, and thus, a once proud and noble race was forced into exile. Through long years of hardship, Thorin grew to be a strong and fearless fighter and revered leader. In his heart a fierce desire grew; a desire to reclaim his homeland and destroy the beast that had brought such misery upon his people. So when fate offers him an unusual ally, he seizes the chance for revenge.

Будучи младшим принцем, Торин Дубощит был свидетелем разрушений, которые принес огнедышащий дракон в царство гномов Эребор. После убийства многих родственников Торина, великий змей Смог отправился на Одинокую гору и присвоил себе все золото и драгоценности, хранившиеся там. Никто не пришел на помощь выжившим гномам, чей некогда гордый и великий народ был обречен на изгнание. Преодолев все трудности, Торин вырос сильным и бесстрашным воином, уважаемым лидером. На протяжении долгих лет в его сердце множилось желание отвоевать свою родину и уничтожить зверя, который сделал его народ несчастным. Поэтому когда судьба предлагает ему союзников, он не может упустить этот шанс. 

Ken Stott as Balin and Graham McTavish as Dwalin
Dwarf Lords in their own right, Balin and Dwalin are close relatives of Thorin. Beyond this, these brothers are two of his most loyal and trusted friends. An old warrior, Balin has lived through hard times and fought many battles, yet he harbors doubts about the wisdom of the Quest to retake the Lonely Mountain. Dwalin has no such forebodings – his belief in Thorin’s leadership is unshakeable. A powerful and bruising fighter, with a natural tendency to distrust anyone who is not a Dwarf, particularly anyone who might be an Elf, Dwalin is not someone to cross lightly.

Цари гномов Балин и Двалин являются близкими родственниками Торина. Кроме того эти братья всегда были ему верными друзьями. Старый воин Балин пережил тяжелые времена и многие битвы, но теперь он сомневается в мудрости этого похода к Одинокой горе. У Двалина же нет подобных сомнений – его вера в лидерство Торина непоколебима. Могучий воин со склонностью сомневаться в каждом, кто не является гномом – то есть в каждом, кто является эльфом, Двалин не тот, кому стоит переходить дорогу.

Source - TheOneRing.net, TIME NewsFeed

"The Hobbit" - More dwarves from Middle-earth

We've already seen the first photos of the dwarves and now Peter Jackson is exited to give us more. Two new promo pictures were released this week along with short stories about these characters.

More about "The Hobbit". (news, pictures, videos)

Stephen Hunter (Bombur), James Nesbitt (Bofur) and William Kircher (Bifur)
While most of the Company of Thorin Oakensheild is related to the royal and noble line of Durin, Bofur, his brother Bombur and their cousin Bifur most definitely are … not. Born and bred in the West, descendants of coal miners and iron workers, they have joined the Quest for the Lonely Mountain partly to seek their fortune and partly because they were told the beer was free.

В то время как большинство гномов из компании Торина Дубощита являются родственниками по королевской и благородной линии Дарина, Бофур, его брат Бомбур и их кузен Бифур к таковым... не относятся. Они родились и выросли на Востоке, а будучи потомками рудокопов и кузнецов, согласились принять участие в походе частично из-за того, что бы попытать счастья и частично из-за того, что им пообещали бесплатное пиво.

Dean O'Gorman (Fili) and Aidan Turner (Kili)
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.

Два самых младших гнома, которых зовут Фили и Кили, являются потомками Дарина и выросли по строгой опекой своего дяди Торина. Никто из них не путешествовал далеко и даже не видел известного города гномов Эребор. Для этих двоих путешествие означает лишь захватывающее приключение. Опытные воины, оба брата выступают в поход, вооружившись отвагой, совершенно не подозревая, что их ждет впереди. 

Source - IGN movies

"The Hobbit" - Dwarves ready for the unexpected journey

And one more "The Hobbit" update - now we know how the dwarves look in Peter Jackson's imagination.

More about "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"! (news, pictures, Peter Jackson's statements)

Nori (ex-Orc Jed Brophy), Ori (Adam Brown) and Dori (Mark Hadlow) (picture source - Empire magazine)
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 hes 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 its 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. (Yahoo! movies)

Эти три брата, сыновья одной матери, не смогли бы быть более непохожими друг на друга. Старший Дори большинство времени присматривает за младшим Ори, проверяя не подхватил ли он простуду или не убили ли его гоблины или варги. Никто точно не знает что же делает Нори в свое свободное время, только его занятие является рискованным и наверняка нелегальным. Дори, Нори и Ори хорошо ладят между собой и очень рады побороться друг с другом, но горе тому, кто захочет обидеть одного из этих братьев.

Oin (John Callen) and Gloin (Peter Hambleton) (picture source - Yahoo! movies)
Distant cousins of Thorin Oakenshield, these two doughty Northern Dwarves join the Company out of a sense of loyalty to their kin, and also because they have a substantial sum of money invested in the venture. Along with Bombur, Gloin is the only other married Dwarf in the Company (there being a shortage of female dwarves in general). His wife is an acclaimed beauty with a particularly fine beard. Gloin is the proud father of a young son, Gimli, who will go on to become part of the famous Fellowship of the Ring. (Yahoo! movies)

Дальние родственники Торина Дубощита, эти два отважных северных гнома присоединяются к компании из уважения к своей родне, ну и потому что они инвестировали в это рискованное предприятие кругленькую сумму денег. После Бомбура, Глоин - второй и последний женатый гном в компании (ведь женщин-гномов осталось не так уж и много). Его жена является настоящей красавицей с превосходной бородой. Глоин также приходится гордым отцом своему младшему сыну Гимли, который в будущем станет одним из знаменитого Братства кольца.

"The Hobbit": Second Video Blog from the Set

We've got one more video from the set of the upcoming  movie, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". Peter Jackson and his wonderful team finished the first blog shooting and everybody, of course, except the director, is having a break, because Peter is concerned about discovering proper places for epic battles shooting. Actors tell what they are going to do and how they will enjoy this pause. Also we can see in this video Peter and Andy Serkis talking about upcoming second block of hard work. Personally, I was glad to see sir Ian McKellen, who plays Gandalf the Grey.

More about "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"! (news, pictures, Peter Jackson's statements)

"The Hobbit": Peter Jackson's First Video Blog from the Set

So as Peter has promised he began his video blog about what is happening on the set of "Hobbit" (2012). This video shows us the crew, behind the scene moments, decorations (some are kept from "The Lord of The Rings" and some new as copy of Elrond's palace) - they did a great work, but it's just a one step to the movie making. Also here we can see there some actors (Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman).

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit..."

Waiting for the next video.