Thompson on Hollywood

Del Toro Will Co-Direct 'Pinocchio' After 'Pacific Rim'; Then What?

News

Guillermo Del Toro's "Pacific Rim" (now in post, and expected to be of epic robots vs. aliens proportions) will hit theaters in summer 2013, and while he has a slew of other projects in development as either writer, producer, exec producer and/or director, there are big question marks over which projects will actually see the light of day.

By Sophia Savage
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May 10, 2012 4:20 PM
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Video Watch: Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" Production Diary, Teaser

Video

Peter Jackson has been brilliantly nourishing our collective hobbit-mania with production diary videos from his latest shoot, and yesterday's newest installment doesn't disappoint. Jackson's Christmas Day present gives us a glimpse at one of the biggest stars in "The Hobbit:" New Zealand. The first teaser for the "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (the first of a two-film set) dropped earlier this week, so Middle Earth-fans have plenty to to be excited about heading into 2012. Check out the production diary below, as well as the trailer (if it somehow didn't take over your Facebook when it was released last Wednesday).

By Jacob Combs
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December 26, 2011 8:47 PM
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The Three Gifts of Andy Serkis: Hobbit Teaser, Caesar and Captain Haddock

News

Among the many things to be thankful for at this time of year, such as compelling art house films fighting for your box office dollar after a summer of mindless tent-poles ("Shame" beats "Green Lantern" any day), let us acknowledge Three Gifts from Andy Serkis for the year 2011. The first two may never get the credit they deserve, but "Hobbit" fans will be excited for the third:

By Sophia Savage
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November 15, 2011 4:45 PM
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Film in the Decade Since 9/11: From Superheroes to Westerns, What Came After

This week's “Now and Then” column started out comparing and contrasting two movies about assassins — Hanna (Joe Wright, 2011) and Léon: the Professional (Luc Besson, 1994)—and ended up ruminating on 9/11. Trailers below:Life and culture are too messy to be divided into easy categories like “Before” and “After,” but for all the continuities in the way films are made and viewed, a long view of the last decade reveals some important, if subtle, shifts. Watching the network news coverage of September 11 to prepare for this column, I was reminded of how much we didn’t know that day, how much our fear stemmed from no longer being able to control the course of events.

By Matt Brennan
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September 12, 2011 11:36 AM
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Andy Serkis Talks Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Tintin, Hobbit

The king of performance capture actors pretended to be a fan in Hall H at Comic-Con Friday, asking Steven Spielberg a question about Daniel Craig meeting Clint Eastwood on the set of The Adventures of Tintin wearing just a leotard. (Here's a full report on Spielberg and Jackson talking Tintin.) Bill Desowitz (Immersed in Movies) talked to Andy Serkis afterward:Few in Hall H recognized Serkis because film fans don't know what the Brit actor looks like--the man who performed not only The Lord of the Rings' Gollum, but King Kong. Serkis is pivotal in the evolution of performance capture.

By Bill Desowitz
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July 25, 2011 1:14 AM
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Comic-Con: Spielberg and Jackson Talk Tintin Collaboration, Jurassic Park 4, 3-D

Comic-Con welcomed Steven Spielberg, making his first visit to promote The Adventures of Tintin (December 23), with a standing ovation and the convention's Inkpot Life Achievement Award. Making a surprise visit during his The Hobbit hiatus was the film's producer Peter Jackson and Spielberg's favorite collaborator since George Lucas, said Spielberg. During a long conversation with the LAT's Geoff Boucher in Hall H, followed by a smaller press conference at the Hyatt, Spielberg and Jackson explained their love for Belgian Herge's comic books, how motion-capture as perfected by Weta during Avatar made it possible to bring these comics to life close to how they had been created, and when 3-D works and when it doesn't. Both men cited their connection to their inner child as the key to their creativity. When he grows up he'll stop making films, Spielberg said.

By Anne Thompson
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July 22, 2011 12:50 PM
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Gosling on Clooney Pranks, Peter Jackson’s Vlog, Scientology’s Mega-Properties

In an interview with Extra, Ryan Gosling exposes prankster George Clooney, who directed him in the political drama The Ides of March, which opens the Venice Fest: "He will come up to you and tell you something very serious ... and then he'll walk away and you realize your pants are wet. He's had like an Evian spray bottle. He's been spraying your crotch the whole time." Gosling's promo duties on his new film Crazy Stupid Love (July 29), with co-stars Steve Carrell and Emma Stone, kept him from attending the Drive panel at Comic-Con.

By Maggie Lange
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July 22, 2011 3:59 AM
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The Hobbit Production Video 2 Hits Facebook: Jackson Scouts New Zealand Locations

Having completed their second block of shooting, the cast and crew of The Hobbit are on a break until September 5. In their latest production video blog, filmmaker Peter Jackson and Co. share their vacation plans until they have to be back on set in New Zealand. Activities include getting drunk, visiting family, golf on Pebble Beach, and sleeping in. But first, for Jackson, there's location scouting around the glorious country. Check out some pictures from the video below and watch the video here.

By Sophia Savage
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July 11, 2011 4:30 AM
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The Hobbit Pics Get Official Titles and Release Dates

As is his wont, filmmaker Peter Jackson has posted news on The Hobbit's Facebook page of the two-parter's release dates --December 14, 2012 for Part One of the J.R.R. Tolkien classic prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and December 13, 2013 for Part Two.