Blu-Ray Deal: 63% off The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy

Know what hits theaters in just two days? The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, that's what. The conclusion to Peter Jackson's second (and supposedly final) trilogy is set to be one of the biggest films of the holiday season. And what better way to celebrate one of the great franchises of all time than by catching up on what came before. You can get The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy on Blu-Ray right now for only $44.99, a whopping 63% off the regular price. The 15-disc set includes extended editions of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and Return of the King plus 26 hours of amazing special features.

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Blu-Ray Deal of the Week: 59% off 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy Extended Edition

Your quest is over, folks. For this week only, you can get a whopping 59% off Peter Jackson's epic Lord of the Rings trilogy. For only $48.99 you'll get the Extended Editions of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King with 26 hours(!!!) of bonus material. Time is running out, so take advantage of this fantastic deal simply by clicking here!

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1st look at Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit

I love how Peter Jackson is really making the production of The Hobbit an interactive experience, especially the way he communicates with fans through the Facebook page. We've been granted plenty of images and on set footage already from the New Zealand set, and now we've also been granted our first look how Martin Freeman will appear as a young Bilbo Baggins. In a word: Perfect.

EW has three images, one with Bilbo, one featuring Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and another of Jackson and Freeman on set. I've included the two character pieces because frankly the other one is boring.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens on December 14th 2012. The Hobbit: There and Back Again on December 13th 2013.

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Production officially begins on The Hobbit; set photos released

Well here we go! MGM, New Line, and Warner Brothers issued a press release announcing the beginning of production on The Hobbit, taking place in New Zealand.  A Facebook page for the film has also been launched by director Peter Jackson, with a couple of set photos(rather blah ones, if you ask me) already unveiled.  The key bit from the press release is a complete listing of the cast, with the promise of more names to come. Check that out below!


Martin Freeman takes the title role as Bilbo Baggins and Ian McKellen returns in the role of Gandalf the Grey. The Dwarves are played by Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Ken Stott (Balin), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), William Kircher (Bifur) James Nesbitt (Bofur), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Rob Kazinsky (Fili), Aidan Turner (Kili), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), John Callen (Oin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Mark Hadlow (Dori) and Adam Brown (Ori). Reprising their roles from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy are Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Andy Serkis as Gollum and Elijah Wood as Frodo. Jeffrey ThomasMike Mizrahi also join the cast as Dwarf Kings Thror and Thrain, respectively. Further casting announcements are expected.

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Have the titles for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit movies been revealed?

One thing I've learned is to never question the folks over at TheOneRing.net. The orc-loving dorks over at that site can sniff out a Lord of the Rings story like a Tolkien bloodhound.  Recently they discovered that New Line Cinema, one of the producers of The Hobbit, recently registered two new film titles...

The Hobbit: There and Back Again and The Hobbit: An/The Unexpected Journey.

Could these be the two titles for the upcoming movies?

While it's not nearly official,  'There and Back Again' is the actual title of Tolkein's novel. The Hobbit was always the shorthand title. So I expect these will ultimately be what Peter Jackson and Co. go with when principle photography begins in a few weeks.

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Peter Jackson to Direct The Hobbit!

All the denials in the world don't amount to a hill of beans once the cash starts getting tossed around. Deadline is reporting that Peter Jackson is in talks with MGM, New Line, and Warner Brothers to direct two films based on JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. The movies would be shot back-to-back in New Zealand. Jackson, who also co-wrote the film, will be taking over for Guillermo Del Toro who dropped out last month.

Jackson is apparently busy getting himself out of his other obligations, which has to include Tintin, the project he's been working on alongside Steven Spielberg.

I've stated before that I wanted to see these books from a fresh perspective, so the idea of Neil Blomkamp(District 9) or David Yates(Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) had the most appeal to me. However I can't deny that it's exciting to think we'll be getting two more LOTR films in Jackson's style.

More news on this is sure to follow, so stay tuned.

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Del Toro Steps Down from The Hobbit, Peter Jackson to Direct?

One thing that sucks about going away for the holiday is that you can count on the big news droppin' while you're away. The biggest news from over the weekend shouldn't come as any surprise to anybody who's been paying attention to MGM's financial hardships. Now it's gotten so bad that Guillermo Del Toro has stepped down from directing The Hobbit, the much anticipated prequel to the LOTR trilogy.

Del Toro, who is a notorious perfectionist, had been expressing his anger recently over the budget problems delaying production on the film. Rather than sitting around waiting, possibly missing out on other opportunites to direct other projects, he's decided to step aside.

He's still on board to co-write the script alongside Peter Jackson, Phillipa Boyens, and Fran Walsh. The question now becomes who will direct?

Obviously Peter Jackson is the prime contender. He's got the look down pat, having directed the LOTR films. But can he fit it into his schedule? And after the disaster that was The Lovely Bones should he even be given this monumental task?

First of all, Jackson's biggest weakness is the smaller films. He's much better handling the massive special effects laden projects. While I was a huge fan of Heavenly Creatures, I didn't dig his other stuff like The Frighteners or the aforementioned Bones.  King Kong ranks somewhere between great and lousy. It's an interesting debacle, I'd say.

Second, Jackson might not have the time to do it even if he wanted. He's contractually bound to complete the Tintin movies alongside Steven Spielberg. Most of Tintin is completed, but the second one is already set to begin shooting in 2011. Doesn't leave much time for anything else, does it?

We do know that Jackson would take on The Hobbit if he could. Speaking to The Dominion Post, he had this to say....

"If [directing the films is] what I have to do to protect Warner Bros’ investment, then obviously that’s one angle which I’ll explore…The other studios may not let me out of the contracts."

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