MTV Movies Blog › peter jackson

From the sound of her new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Evangeline Lilly didn't leave badass roles for good after wrapping "Lost." She will be joining the ranks of the elves of Mirkwood in the both of Peter Jackson's upcoming films, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" and "The Hobbit: There and Back Again."

Freckles spoke at length to EW about her character, Tauriel, and give some of the first details about one of the newest additions to Middle-earth.

"Yes, she is a warrior. She’s actually the head of the Elven guard. She’s the big shot in the army," Lilly told EW.

Read more of about Lilly's character in "The Hobbit" after the jump.

Read more...

Tags Evangeline Lilly, peter jackson, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: There And Back Again, the-hobbit

As someone whose college moviegoing experiences are defined by "Lord of the Rings," watching Peter Jackson in action at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this morning was a bit of a thrill. The man has traded Middle-earth for Park City this week to support "West of Memphis," the powerful documentary he produced about the conviction, imprisonment and eventual release of the West Memphis Three — and, of course, to kick off our annual Sundance celebrity photo booth series!

Jackson (alongside "Memphis" director Amy Berg) swung by MTV News' headquarters at the Puma Social Club to discuss the documentary and the impact he hopes it will have after its Sundance premiere this evening. Bonus points for a nice "Hobbit" update, too! Stay tuned for all of that and more very soon.

Tags Amy Berg, peter jackson, Sundance 2012, West of Memphis

With the kickoff of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, almost as many A-listers are heading to Park City, Utah as industry newcomers. The fest has always been a place for established actors and filmmakers to branch out and go indie for a movie or two.

We've looked over the scheduled screenings and rounded up a list of some of the celebrity attendees and the projects they're representing at Sundance this year.

Read more...

Tags bradley cooper, john krasinski, kirsten dunst, peter jackson, robert deniro, spike lee, Sundance, Sundance 2012, zac efron

Benedict Cumberbatch's name can be seen almost everywhere these days ever since J.J. Abrams cast him as the main villain in "Star Trek 2," but that isn't the only big franchise where you'll see the British actor in the next few years.

A few months ago, Peter Jackson chose Cumberbatch for the iconic role of Smaug in "The Hobbit," for which he'll provide the motion performance for the famous dragon. The announcement for Cumberbatch's casting, however, offered an unexpected piece of additional news. Some spoilers ahead...

Read more...

Tags Benedict Cumberbatch, jj abrams, peter jackson, Star Trek 2, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: There And Back Again, the-hobbit

The first thing you notice during this new production diary for "The Hobbit"? The dwarves.

The dwarves are kayaking through the river in a big raft. They're on location, riding horses and brandishing swords and running against green screens. There's a lot to see; twelve minutes of it, to be exact, taking you through the trailers and the production studios and the computer labs where all of the work gets done.

There's honestly too much to summarize, so you'll have to check it out for yourself. That said, the Shire shows up, as do Elijah Wood (reprising Frodo) and Ian McKellan (reprising Gandalf). Hobbiton's been recreated for the new film, and Wood gives his thoughts on returning to the Tolkien-verse after 11 years away. Andy Serkis (Gollum) also shows up -- as a 2nd Unit Director, if you didn't know about his expanded role.

Read more...

Tags elijah wood, ian mckellan, lord of the rings, peter jackson, the-hobbit

It's been 10 years since the first "Lord of the Rings" film first hit theaters, and in that decade the movie series has become one of the most treasured accomplishments to ever grace the big screen. The franchise went on to win a total of 17 Oscars, including Best Director for Peter Jackson and Best Picture for "Return of the King," and has also grossed more than $1 billion domestically. Needless to say, it's a series that a lot of people care about.

That's why it was so heart-warming to see the trailer for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" grace our computer screens for the first time this week. We already listed off the five best reveals in the trailer, but what really got to us was how nostalgic it made us feel. Jackson knows how much this audience has missed their time spent in Middle Earth and the studio is playing it up as much as they can. Appropriately, we as fans are loving every second of it.

After the jump, we list off our five most nostalgic moments in the trailer.

Read more...

Tags Martin Freeman, peter jackson, the-hobbit

At long last, "The Hobbit" trailer has finally been unveiled.

Ultimately, we've been waiting a decade -- aka since the first "Lord of the Rings" film first hit theaters -- for this movie's trailer to be released finally. Though it's a prequel to the previous movies, "The Hobbit" is a project that has been in development longer than its predecessors. Director Peter Jackson originally wanted to start his adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's saga with "The Hobbit", but because of technical issues they had to start with the latter installments of the series.

We aren't complaining, but there are a lot of things in this trailer that we have been waiting a good long while to see revealed. After the jump, we list off the five most exciting debuts in "The Hobbit's" first official trailer.

Read more...

Tags Martin Freeman, peter jackson, the-hobbit

It's been so, so long since we last saw Middle Earth, almost a decade ago if you can believe it. The world returns in 2012's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," another Tolkien adaptation courtesy of Peter Jackson and a sure bet to make all kinds of money.

Besides casting news and the general plot details, we haven't seen too much from the film. All of that changes tonight when the first trailer drops promptly at 7 P.M. PST. For now, you can get a tease by looking at this production still of Bilbo Baggins alongside his dwarf companions. Martin Freeman's Bilbo looks quite dapper in his rumbled clothing and knapsack, while the dwarves look like dwarves.

Read more...

Tags Martin Freeman, peter jackson, the-hobbit

If you're a "Lord of the Rings" fan, today and tomorrow are two big days for the film franchise's legacy. First up, today marks the 10-year anniversary of "The Fellowship of the Ring's" big debut on the big screen (you're welcome for making us all feel incredibly old). Fittingly, Warner Bros has decided to release the first trailer for "The Hobbit," the prequel movie follow-up to "The Lord of the Rings," online tomorrow at 7 p.m. PST.

It's been confirmed that the trailer will debut before screenings of "The Adventures of Tintin" on Wednesday, so if you want to see Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey towering over you -- potentially even in 3D?! -- then that's the place to do it. But if you, like us, have been waiting for this movie to come out since 10 years ago today, then you'll probably be refreshing your browser repeatedly to see the trailer as soon as you can. Here are five things we're hoping to see in the trailer.

Read more...

Tags lord of the rings, peter jackson, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: There And Back Again, the-hobbit

It's been a breakout year in the U.S. for Benedict Cumberbatch. Having made a name for himself in the UK with "Sherlock," a modern retelling of Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective, Cumberbatch appears in two of this year's biggest holiday releases, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and "War Horse." While both films have garnered Oscar talk, the project he will begin working on in January may be his biggest yet.

That's when Cumberbatch will head to New Zealand to work on Peter Jackson's two-part "Lord of the Rings" prequel, "The Hobbit." Facing him is a challenge that could intimidate any actor, portraying, both in voice and motion capture, the legendary dragon under the mountain, Smaug.

"I can't wait. I hope it does fans justice," said Cumberbatch, who is currently wrapping on another project before heading to Middle Earth.

Read more...

Tags Benedict Cumberbatch, peter jackson, the-hobbit, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy