Filming is taking place at Stone Street Studios in Wellington, New Zealand, and around the country.

In January, director Peter Jackson had surgery for a perforated ulcer.

Warner Bros and New Line studios had previously considered taking the production away from New Zealand after acting unions threatened to boycott the films in protest over payments.

And filming had earlier been stalled by problems including rows over distribution rights and the exit of original director Guillermo del Toro.

The films star Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and the first is due out late next year.

Also starring Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey, Andy Serkis as Gollum, Elijah Wood as Frodo and Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, the films act as a prequel to Jackson’s trilogy of films based on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

Source: Sky.

The Hobbit movies could potentially be named There And Back Again and An Unexpected Journey.

According to Lord Of The Rings site The One Ring, backers New Line have registered the titles ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’ and ‘The Hobbit: An/The Unexpected Journey’, suggesting that the two J.R.R. Tolkien films will carry separate names.

The titles, which haven’t been confirmed by New Line or Warner Bros., would follow the tradition director Peter Jackson set with the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. The fantasy movies were released with the subtitles Fellowship Of The Ring, The Two Towers and Return Of The King.

The two-part Hobbit adaptation will begin production this month, with the movies due for release in December 2012 and December 2013. Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis are among the cast.

Source: Digital Spy.

Aidan Turner has revealed he is growing out his beard for his forthcoming role in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit.

The Irish actor is playing dwarf Kili in the Lord Of The Rings prequel, and is deciding what sort of look he should go for.

“I’m growing out the beard – we’re giving it a chance, [and] seeing what it looks like,” he told Entertainment Weekly.

He denied the facial hair was to “de-handsomify” him, saying: “No, not really. I mean, famously in the books, the dwarves have really long beards, so we’re just trying stuff out and seeing what it looks like.”

Aidan, who plays vampire Mitchell in the BBC Three series Being Human, is undergoing boot camp at the moment to prepare for the part.

“It’s dwarf boot camp, not really hobbit boot camp. It’s just all dwarves – training and stuff,” he continued.

“I can’t really give too much away, you know? But it’s pretty much everything. It’s physical training and everything you can imagine, really. I guess just working as an actor helps you for these things. It’s more physical than anything else, but there’s dialect coaching and all those kind of things.”

Martin Freeman will portray lead hobbit Bilbo Baggins in the two-part adaptation, with the first part scheduled for release in 2012.

Source: Google

Aidan attended “The Hobbit: Part 1″ Press Conference, and I have added an image thanks to modtang.

Home > Appearances & Events > 2011 > “The Hobbit: Part 1″ Press Conference

Today’s press conference opened with an apology from Peter Jackson, who said he couldn’t be there as he was “under a form of medical house arrest” since being hospitalised with a perforated ulcer last week.

“And to be honest, perhaps it’s just as well. These guys make me laugh so hard that I’d be in danger of popping a stitch or something,” Jackson continued in his statement.

Confirming the truth of that, the cast of 13 dwarves and one hobbit kept up a constant flow of quips and wisecracks throughout the whole press conference. We knew Martin Freeman was funny with a good script – well, he’s hilarious without one as well.

Many fans have been wondering whether 13 dwarves would become a generic mass in the film, or whether they would be fleshed out in the script to have individual personalities.

Dwarf actors William Kirchner and Peter Hambleton spoke on that: “We are thirteen distinct and strong personalities – but we are an ensemble as well”.

Speaking of ensemble, the dwarves confirmed they’d be doing their own singing. “It’s all staying very close to the book – yes, there WILL be singing.”

The dwarves apparently all look very different. Aidan Turner, or Fili, said that they were still experimenting with different amounts of facial hair to define their look. “Facial hair is under review – hence the different beards we’ve got today!” Jed Brophy, or Nori, (who played numerous highly- prostheticised characters in LOTR) said that yes, he [and we presume the others] would be recognisable. “I’m so happy to be me. And I hope to get through this film without dying. Horribly.”

READ MORE @ One Ring.

Aidan Turner has confirmed that he and other actors will be sent to “boot camp” to train for the upcoming adaptation of The Hobbit.

The Being Human star has been cast as Kili the Dwarf in Peter Jackson’s long-awaited return to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Turner told Metro: “We’re all off to Hobbit boot camp. I’m not sure what it entails but I think it lasts a few weeks and gets us all fit for filming.”

Asked about Jackson’s adaptation of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, he added: “I saw them at the cinema. It’s not my favourite genre but they are all masterpieces. I’m a huge fan.”

Regarding how starring in the movie might change his life and career, Turner said: “I don’t speculate too much about the future. That’s the thing about this job – it’s so fickle.

“You take the jobs, you read the scripts and, if something interests you and you like the people who are working on it, you go for it. If not, you take a break. I could be back in Ireland, Britain or America afterwards. It’s so variable but very exciting.”

Source: Digital Spy.

A profile of Kili from The Hobbit can be found at One Ring, for those who are not familiar with it, can be found here.

After something of a roller coaster year, with an endlessly sliding start date, the bailing of director Guillermo Del Toro, and nearly losing preferred lead Martin Freeman, “The Hobbit” is finally gearing up to shoot in the new year, with Freeman joined by new cast members like Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt and Aidan Turner, as well, possibly, as the rumored likes of David Tennant, Michael Fassbender and Saoirse Ronan.

As we get closer to production, more and more tidbits will start to leak out, and several broke over the weekend. Firstly, fansite The One Ring pointed out that actor Ian McKellen, who starred as benevolent wizard Gandalf in the original “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, has recently updated his website to seemingly confirm that he’ll be involved in the shoot over 2011, which the site says will kick off in February. While McKellen’s involvement was never really in doubt, and we still await an official announcement, it’s good to know that he’s looking locked-in: Michael Gambon can only take over playing so many famous wizards you know…

Read more @ Indiewire.

Northern Irish actor, James Nesbitt (Outcast, Cold Feet) and Dubliner Aidan Turner (Being Human, The Clinic) have joined the ensemble cast of upcoming epic films, The Hobbit.

James Nesbitt, a BAFTA and Golden Globe nominee and IFTA winning actor will play Bofur, a disarmingly forthright, funny and occasionally brave Dwarf in the two features; whilst Aidan Turner will play a young dwarf called Kili.

Aidan Turner’s role was finalised at the end of October and earlier this week producers announced Nesbitt’s role as Bofur. The films’ director, Peter Jackson (The Lovely Bones, The Lord of the Rings trilogy) commented on the decision to cast the Irish actor, saying: “James’s charm, warmth and wit are legendary as is his range as an actor in both comedic and dramatic roles. We feel very lucky to be able to welcome him as one of our cast.” Jackson said of Turner “Adian is a wonderfully gifted young actor who hails from Ireland. I’m sure he will bring enormous heart and humor to the role of Kili.”

Source: Fanbolt.

The location for the filming of The Hobbit may be decided later this week, according to New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key.

Key, who met with Warner Bros producers yesterday for talks, described New Zealand’s chances of hosting the production as “50/50″.

The Guardian reports that industrial relation problems in the country remain the issues surrounding the decision.

Key told reporters: “In the conversations I’ve had with Warner Bros so far, I’ve made it quite clear if it comes to a bidding war, then New Zealand’s out, because I don’t think that’s the right way to run this. We don’t want to be renegotiating with every single production company that comes to New Zealand.”

Thousands of New Zealanders have rallied in the hope of convincing producers to stay in the region.

Source: Digital Spy.