Ken Stott: 'The Hobbit' interview, 'Uncle Vanya' closing early

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Interview - Ken Stott

Source: Trailer Addict

The L A Times' Hero Complex blog has 60 photos from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Read more here


Uncle Vanya to close early in the West End 
The West End production of Uncle Vanya, starring Ken Stott, Anna Friel and Samuel West, is due to close three weeks earlier than planned.
It will now run until January 26, 2013, instead of February 16, at the Vaudeville Theatre.
The show, which opened this October, is directed by Lindsay Posner and has been adapted from Chekhov’s play by Christopher Hampton.
Christopher Oram is the designer and Kim Poster has produced the show for Stanhope Productions with Nica Burns, Robert Bartner and Max Weitzenhoffer.
Source: The Stage

The Hobbit: new artwork and poster

New banner artwork and White Council poster for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 

There's just over two months to go until Peter Jackson takes us back to Middle-earth for the first of his three-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit, and now the official Facebook page has released four new banners for the hotly-anticipated first installment, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which you can check out right here

Meanwhile, earlier this week a new promo poster also arrived online via Filmcells, which gives us a look at White Council members Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and Saruman (Christopher Lee) meeting in Rivendell.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey stars Martin Freeman in the lead role as Bilbo Baggins, along with a huge ensemble cast that includes Richard Armitage, John Bell, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Billy Connolly, Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Barry Humphries, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Evangeline Lilly, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, Mike Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O’Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott, Jeffrey Thomas, and Aidan Turner. Also reprising their roles from The Lord of the Rings trilogy are Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Ian Holm as the elder Bilbo Baggins, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins and Andy Serkis as Gollum.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is released on December 14th, while The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opens on December 13th, 2013 and The Hobbit: There and Back Again concludes the saga on July 18th, 2014.

Source (with poster and artwork): Flickering Myth

 

Scottish quote of the week: Billy Boyd on Hobbits and Scots 

Scottish actor Billy Boyd was born in 1968 in Glasgow and is best known for playing hobbit Peregrin “Pippin” Tookin in the film adaptations of J.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings series. 

Boyd worked as a bookbinder for several years before embarking on his acting career, and one of the books he bound was The Lord of the Rings.

The films were shot in director Peter Jackson’s native New Zealand, a country whose landscape is often compared to that of Scotland, and many of whose people are descended from Scots, lending an extra dimension to Boyd’s comparison of Scottish people and hobbits:

“Hobbits are a lot like Scots. It’s all about nature and enjoying their land, which is a very Scottish thing” – Billy Boyd

Source: The Scotsman

 

The Hobbit - new poster

Dwarves, dwarves, dwarves... Eat your heart out Snow White, you've got nothing on Peter Jackson & the new Hobbit poster

Forget Snow White and her seven dwarfs - Peter Jackson has 13 for us, all crammed into a new poster for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first instalment in his Tolkien movie trilogy.
There are no Sleepys, Dopeys or Docs here either. Led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage, centre), the dwarves are (in no particular order) Fili (Dean O'Gorman), Kili (Adian 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) and Ori (Adam Brown).
Arriving unannounced at Bilbo Baggins's cottage, they whisk the Hobbit off on a quest to claim back their home The Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).

The Hobbit: An unexpected Journey is released in the UK on 14 Decemeber 2012.

Source: Radio Times

'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' trailer and cast portraits

Ken Stott as Balin 

Graham McTavish as Dwalin 

See more cast photos at Hit Fix's extensive galleries here and here

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" hits theaters on December 14. 
 
Source: Hit Fix

Also reported by LA Times and We Are Movie Geeks

Stunning Panoramic Poster For Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’

Warner Bros has unveiled, via Entertainment Weekly (check it out in its full “scrolling banner” format here), an excellent panoramic banner for the first-part in Peter Jackson’s two-part movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit,’ ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.’

The banner showcases a number of new looks at many the stories major players in Martin Freeman’s Bilbo Baggins, Ian McKellen’s Gandalf the Grey, Richard Armitage’s Thorin Oakenshield, Jed Brophy’s Nori, Dean O’Gorman’s Fili, Mark Hadlow’s Dori, James Nesbitt’s Bofur, Peter Hambleton’s Gloin, Graham McTavish’s Dwalin, Ken Stott’s Balin, John Callen’s Oin, Stephen Hunter’s Bombur, William Kircher’s Bifur, Adam Brown’s Ori, Aidan Turner’s Kili, Mikael Persbrandt’s Beorn, Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel and Hugo Weaving’s Elrond.

The two Hobbit films are set in Middle-earth 60 years before ‘The Lord of the Rings’ which Peter 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 the four sections of the banner at Flicks And Bits