INDEPENDENT
JESS DENHAM Author Biography
Thursday 10 April 2014
Richard Armitage has spoken out about female representation and praised The Hobbit's Peter Jackson for creating Evangeline Lilly’s “battle-hardened” elf, Tauriel.
Controversy over the addition of a new character was fierce, with Tolkien purists offended by the change to the original storyline.
“A lot of people didn’t like the idea of them inventing a character, but I think they’ve completely proved the critics wrong by creating a strong, compelling, battle-hardened, female elf warrior,” said Armitage, who plays dwarf leader Thorin in the franchise.
The British actor, 42, told The Independent that he believes The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is “better for it”, despite criticism over the move.
Director Peter Jackson has some good and some bad news. The good news is that there’s a production video for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug that shows plenty of behind-the-scenes footage, including up-close looks at the Lake Town sets, brief interviews with Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly and Luke Evans, and … Dwarf aerobics.
But now the bad news: The Hobbit won’t be coming to Comic-Con International later this month.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opens Dec. 13. The Hobbit: There and Back Again arrives Dec. 17, 2014.
The first part in "The Hobbit" trilogy hits screens in under 2 months and features an epic sized cast that includes; Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Evangeline Lilly, Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, John Bell, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Barry Humphries, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, Mike Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O'Gorman, Lee Pace, Billy Connolly, Mikael Persbrandt, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott and Jeffrey Thomas.
For years Chris Pine sat alone as the only cast member attached to the upcoming Jack Ryan reboot. While the actor has been attached to the project since October 2009, it has undergone so many delays that it has never been able to pick up any other stars. That is finally starting to change, however. Last month it was revealed that not only will Kenneth Branagh be directing the movie, but he will be playing the central villain as well, and now there are reports that the search for the film's female lead has been narrowed down to three actresses.
Deadline says that Keira Knightley, Felicity Jones and Evangeline Lilly are all being considered to play a lead in the upcoming action film. Of the group, Knightley is considered the frontrunner, though the other two are very much in the mix.
The One Ring has uncovered some interesting details related to Peter Jackson’s two-part movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit.’ The information itself comes courtesy of Total Film’s “Summer 2012 Future 100″ list, which features six ‘Hobbit‘ actors in Aidan Turner (Kili), Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel), Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins), Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Luke Evans (Bard the Bowman) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Smaug the Dragon/Necromancer). The new information is in regards to Turner’s Kili character, with Turner revealing the following: (SPOILER WARNING) “Kili’s part has been expanded from the novel; as well as chasing treasure, he’s also pursuing female elf Tauriel. But is he setting his sights too high? ‘I guess he knows nothing can ever happen,’ he explains. ‘She’s about 20ft tall and he’s only two!’” The scan of the quote can be found below. The two Hobbit films are set in Middle-earth 60 years before ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ which Jackson and his film-making team brought to the big screen in the fantastic blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar-winning ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.’ ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ is set for a December 14th, 2012 release date. ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’ will arrive in cinemas December 13th, 2013. Reprising their roles from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies are Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Ian Holm as the elder Bilbo, Christopher Lee as Saruman, Hugo Weaving as Elrond, and Andy Serkis as Gollum. The ensemble cast includes the likes of Martin Freeman, who’s taking on the central role of Bilbo Baggins, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, Mike Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O’Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott, Jeffrey Thomas, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Billy Connolly, and Aidan Turner. Check out the synopsis for ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ below.
Elijah Wood says the two-part "Hobbit" film, the prequel to "The Lord of The Rings," will be "fantastic," thanks to the innovative 3D animation techniques director Peter Jackson is using.James Cameron wowed moviegoers with the use of such technology in the 2009 film "Avatar," the most successful movie of all time. Since then, more 3D versions of films have been released but have not showcased the same level of visual effects.
Wood reprises his role as Frodo in the "Hobbit" films, the first of which is set to be released in December 2012.
"They're shooting digitally in 3D," Wood told OnTheRedCarpet.com. "Peter is sitting on set, his monitor is a 3D monitor, and he can watch the 3D on set. There's actually been some really incredible technological advancements that have occurred that have made things a little more complicated, but the result will be fantastic."
The 30-year-old actor made his comments in an interview to promote the new 3D animated film "Happy Feet Two," which features him as a penguin. The movie hit theaters on Friday, November 18.
Jackson explained his 3D shooting techniques in a video posted on his Facebook page earlier this month (watch it below)
"Shooting 'The Hobbit' in 3D is a dream come true," he said. "If I had the ability to shoot 'The Lord of the Rings' in 3D, I certainly would have done it. What I actually did on 'The Lord of the Rings' is I had a 3D camera taking 3D photographs. Hopefully, one day, maybe even on 3D Blu-ray, we might be able to actually show you some of the 3D photos from 10 or 12 years ago."
He then showed off some of the 3D cameras he used, which he gave nicknames such as "Walter," named after his grandfather, and "Stan," named after one of his dogs.
Jackson said that nowadays, "it's not that difficult to shoot in 3D," he said, adding that the technique helps "immerse you in the film."
His words echoed those made by Wood regarding "Happy Feet Two," who told OnTheRedCarpet.com: "What I like about the 3D in the film is that it doesn't feel gimmicky, it just feels immersive. It feels like that wall that separates you and your seat and the screen has been removed and you're just in that world. I think that's what is kind of nice - you almost forget you're watching a 3D film, and I love that."
"It was an incredible gift to go back," Wood said. "It felt like a family reunion, it felt like revisiting another time. The movies are going to be incredible - I've only read one of the two scripts, and it's very exciting."
Frodo was the main character in "Lord of the Rings" movies and is the nephew of Bilbo Baggins, who also appeared in the films and whose character is the protagonist in "The Hobbit" novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. The book tells of Bilbo's quest to find a treasure guarded by a dragon and also explains how he obtained the magic ring that drives the plot of "Lord of the Rings."
Cate Blanchett reprises her role of the elf Galadiel. Among the newcomers are Evangeline Lilly of "LOST" fame, who will play a new character, the Woodland Elf, Tauriel, Jackson had said on his Facebook page in June, adding: "Her name means 'daughter of Mirkwood' and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas)."
Additional reporting by Cari Skillman of KABC Television, which produces the entertainment show "On The Red Carpet" (check for local TV listings).
Check out Peter Jackson's Facebook video about his 3D filming methods below.
The 'Real Steel' actress shares that she has done some painful training sessions in preparation to play Tauriel in the much awaited movie, 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'.
Photo credit: /WENN
Evangeline Lilly recently shared about playing newly created character, Woodland Elf Tauriel, in her upcoming movie "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". The Canadian actress, who has just given birth to her first child Norman Kali last May, gushed that she has done various painful training sessions for the role, like practicing "Elf fighting".
Talking to MTV at the premiere of "Real Steel" in L.A. on Sunday, October 2, Lilly revealed, "Elf fighting, let me just say something, recovering from labor is like recovering from a full-body injury, and I didn't realize to what extent that was true until I started training for elf fighting." She added, "My hips don't move like they used to move, my back doesn't move like it used to move, my shoulders are sore every day. But it's fun."
The former "Lost" star also gushed about how she feels for playing in the film which cast ensemble is dominated by males. "It's kind of, like, my M.O.," she said before adding, " 'Lost' was a boys club, 'The Hurt Locker' was a boys club, ['Real Steel'] was a boys club, and now 'The Hobbit' is a boys club. So I'm used to it... It's really chilled out and relaxed, and everyone is really down to earth and supportive."
Talking about the other female stars in "The Hobbit", Cate Blanchett and Liv Tyler, Lilly said, "I would love to talk to those women, and they're two women who I deeply admire. CateBlanchett is in this film, and I missed her; we didn't cross paths. She was filming before I got there and was gone by the time I arrived." She added, "But the good thing is, I tried not to copy their performances. I really wanted to have something original, so I intentionally didn't go back and watch 'Rings' for that reason. I just want to create something new."
In another interview with Access Hollywood, Lilly admitted that she has learned Elvish dialect to play Tauriel. When she was asked about plot details of the much awaited movie, she replied, "My Elvish could tell you what the story is. I can't tell you what the story is [in English]."
Currently filming in New Zealand, "The Hobbit" centers on Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield, along with the twelve dwarves, who embark on an epic adventure to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim a lost treasure that was stolen by the dragon Smaug.
