So is Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” ready to go in front of the cameras? Basically yes, we’ve been hearing about auditions for some time, actors who admit they’ve read for the part (meaning they didn’t get the role) and now Gandalf the Grey, aka Ian Mckellen has given us a date this summer via his personal website (via /Film via Movieweb).
“THE HOBBIT’s, two films, start shooting in New Zealand in June,” he wrote. “Filming will take over a year. Casting in Los Angeles, New York City and London has started. The script too proceeds. The first draft is crammed with old and new friends, again on a quest in Middle Earth. The director Guillermo del Toro is now living in Wellington, close to the Jacksons’ and the studio in Miramar.”
Gee that sounds practically press-release-y. So soulless Ian? There’s been mild talk of 3D naturally, but it remains to be seen if they’ll actually author the film with 3D cameras (that’ll be hella expensive, for a project that’s already hella expensive, so our guess is it won’t).
From what we’ve all heard so far, the two-part “The Hobbit” films will probably hit in late fall 2012 rather than late fall 2011 as once planned. If the June date does hold (there’s been a few delays and it was once expect to shoot in March of this year), expect to hear some casting in the next few months.
