Christopher Lee Will Return for ‘The Hobbit,’ plus More David Tennant Rumors

Hot on the heels of the news that Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, and Ian McKellen will reunite with director Peter Jackson for The Hobbit, we have some more casting information from Middle Earth.

According to Sir Christopher Lee’s official website, the 88-year-old actor will appear in The Hobbit to reprise his role as the wizard Saruman, as long as “he is in good health.” We haven’t heard that Lee is experiencing any particular health issues (and we certainly hope that continues to be the case) so this sounds like strong confirmation.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read The Hobbit, but I don’t recall Saruman being featured in the book. Nevertheless, when you have a thespian like Lee onboard, your movie is going to be markedly improved, so I’m all for it. After all, Jackson and company changed around many of the plot details for each Lord of the Rings film, and they are modern classics.

In addition to Christopher Lee’s likely return, there are also fresh rumors that former Doctor Who star David Tennant will join the cast of The Hobbit. In the past, Tennant was rumored to be up for a number of parts in The Hobbit, including the main role of Bilbo Baggins back in 2009, before Martin Freeman was cast in the film.

Now, according to an unsubstantiated rumor at MovieWeb, Tennant has allegedly joined the cast of The Hobbit as the Elf King Thranduil. Thranduil, for those not up on their Tolkien mythology, is also the father of Legolas (played by Orlando Bloom in Lord of the Rings). MovieWeb doesn’t say where it got the information about Tennant’s involvement in the film, but if Thranduil were in the film, it would make sense since Bloom was confirmed to be reprising his role as Legolas in December.

As The Hobbit continues to take shape, the project is beginning to sound more and more epic. I may just have to watch Lord of the Rings back-to-back-to-back to stave off my excitement.

The Hobbit: Part 1 hits theaters on December 19th, 2012. Part 2 comes out in December 2013.

Source: MovieWeb and Christopher Lee’s Website (via The One Ring)

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Christopher Nolan Explains Choice of No 3D in Batman 3

Jan 9, 2011 by Rob Keyes 

Christopher Nolan explains the reasoning behind not implementing 3D into ‘Inception’ and why he won’t introduce the format with the conclusion of his Batman trilogy, in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’

While comic book fans and movie buffs theorize on what characters, villains and stories Christopher Nolan is drawing from to conclude his Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises, we do have some important hard facts about the film. What may be the most interesting design choice about the movie – and certainly very pleasing to moviegoers – is that Nolan will not will shooting Batman 3 in 3D, nor converting it afterward as per the desire of Warner Bros.

Nolan’s interest in utilizing IMAX tech may lead to them shooting most, if not all, of The Dark Knight Rises in the higher resolution (and expensive) format instead. And if director of photography, Wally Pfister, has his way, he’d love to do the entire movie in IMAX as well. But with 3D offering and obvious method of bringing in more cash for the studio, why didn’t Nolan share his Inception in 3D and why will The Dark Knight Rises not be shot that way either?

Deadline interviewed the revered director about the experience and development of Inception, where they touched on the subject of the 3D phenomenon and Nolan’s choice to not make use of it (yet).

“We looked at shooting Inception in 3D and decided we’d be too restricted by the technology. We wouldn’t have been able to shoot on film the way we’d like to. We looked at post-converting it, actually did some tests, and they were very good. But we didn’t have time to do the conversion that we would have been satisfied with. Inception deals with subjectivity, quite intimate associations between the audience and the perceived state of reality of the characters.”

Warner Bros. has made it known that their next major ongoing film franchise to fill the void soon to be left from the conclusion of the Harry Potter series will make use of their vast library of DC Comics characters, and that all of these films along with their other big budget blockbusters, will be in 3D. Nolan’s Batman Begins and The Dark Knight didn’t make use of the third dimension, but why not jump in on the fad for The Dark Knight Rises?

Nolan continues:

“In the case of Batman, I view those as iconic, operatic movies, dealing with larger-than-life characters. The intimacy that the 3D parallax illusion imposes isn’t really compatible with that. We are finishing our story on the next Batman, and we want to be consistent to the look of the previous films. There was more of an argument for a film like Inception. Ive seen work in 3D like Avatar that’s exciting. But, for me, what was most exciting about Avatar was the creation of a world, the use of visual effects, motion capture, performance capture, these kinds of things. I don’t think Avatar can be reduced to its 3D component, it had so much more innovation going on that’s extremely exciting. 3D has always been an interesting technical format, a way of showing something to the audience. But you have to look at the story you’re telling: is it right?”

Yes, very. With his recent successes, Nolan has earned the right to make whatever movie he chooses in whatever method we wishes, and we can applaud him for not forcing 3D into Inception and sticking to his guns in ending his Batman trilogy in the same style he shot the first two installments. It’s much preferred over the post-converted route Green Lantern is taking.

For most live-action films to date, I would happily choose the 2D option over its overpriced counterpart. And if IMAX were the other alternative, if shot that way, I would always go with that, especially on a Nolan project.

3D or IMAX. Which would you prefer for your superhero movies?

The Dark Knight Rises begins production in May and is scheduled for theatrical release on July 20th, 2012.

Follow us on Twitter @rob_keyes and @screenrant.

Source: Deadline

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Christopher Nolan Meeting with Actresses for Dark Knight Rises

For weeks we’ve been hearing rumors about the The Dark Knight Rises casting – especially with regard to potential female leads.

While it’s still unclear exactly what lady characters will be portrayed in The Dark Knight Rises, a new report may have narrowed down the possible actresses moving to Gotham City, as well as lent credibility to the previous rumor of two female leads – one Bruce Wayne love interest and one Bat-villain.

Deadline claims that Nolan is schedule to meet with a group of eligible young actresses for one of two roles in The Dark Knight Rises. Similar to previous rumors, it sounds as if the film will feature two female headliners. The list of actresses up for the roles represent a terrific batch of young talent including Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Blake Lively, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, and Keira Knightley.

Of course, the identity of any potential characters is still tightly under-wraps; though, given the aforementioned list of potential leading ladies, any of the earlier possibilities, such as Catwoman or Talia al Ghul, could certainly still make an appearance.

That said, one interesting detail especially worth noting: the list (with the exception of Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz) skews younger than the prior casting of Katie Holmes and Maggie Gyllenhaal. While not a huge point, a younger group of actresses could lend credibility toward rumors of Talia al Ghul, or even Harley Quinn, appearing as a villain in the film – while narrowing the Bruce Wayne love-interest down to Watts or Weisz (who, in terms of age, stick out a bit in this group).

Instead of creating another non-canon love interest (ala Rachel Dawes), could Nolan be planning on slipping Watts or Weisz into a more iconic Batman love interest role – such as Vicki Vale (previously portrayed by Kim Basinger in the first Tim Burton Batman film) or Julie Madison (played by Elle Macpherson in Batman & Robin)?

Could Naomi Watts be playing Vicki Vale in the Dark Knight Rises?

Sure, Bruce Wayne is a playboy but watching 36 year-old Christian Bale running around with Blake Lively, who is only 23 in real-life, seems like a stretch – something that a careful filmmaker like Nolan wouldn’t do (imagine Ellen Page as Leonardo DiCaprio’s love interest in Inception). Instead, the report seems to hint at a more intentional casting call – for younger actresses who can step into the role of a twisted, but youthful, antagonist.

Prior reports claimed that Nolan planned to cast an actresses in her late twenties or early thirties for the role of Catwoman; though, looking at the batch of actresses on the list, only a few seem capable of pulling off the Selina Kyle/Catwoman combo. That said, who would have thought Scarlett Johansson would have been so perfect for Black Widow?

Given the lashing that Halle Berry gave the Catwoman franchise, should Nolan move forward with the character, DC has got to be pushing for a Heath Ledger-level performance – to win back interest in Catwoman. Despite a myriad of talent on the list, Anne Hathaway or Keira Knightly seem like the more likely choices. Portman would certainly be interesting in the role but, given her affiliation with Marvel’s Thor franchise, it’s hard to imagine the prolific actress jumping into another comic book franchise female lead for awhile.

Watts (or even Weisz) would actually be my top choice for Catwoman, out the names on the list, but a love triangle featuring an older Catwoman/younger bachelorette for Bruce Wayne might get pretty complicated – even for Christopher Nolan. Maybe the director will just save that particular storyline for The Dark Knight Returns.

What do you think about the potential Bat-actresses? Who’ll make the cut – and who will they play?

Follow us on Twitter @iambenkendrick and @screenrant and let us know what you think.

The Dark Knight Rises begins shooting this spring – aiming to hit theaters July 20th, 2012

Source: Deadline

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