TWO DIFFERENT TITLES FOR THE HOBBIT?

The upcoming The Hobbit two-parter may not be called The Hobbit: Part 1 and The Hobbit: Part 2, as had been expected. Instead, according to the Lord of the Rings fansite TheOneRing.com, the films may be titled The Hobbit: There and Back Again and The Hobbit: An (or The) Unexpected Journey. Those titles, the website […]

NEW WARNERS CHIEF CUTS NEW LINE OUTPUT — AGAIN

Questions arose again on Tuesday over why Time Warner continues to operate two film companies, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, after Deadline.com reported that New Line releases will be cut in half — from eight to four — annually. Deadline indicated that the decision was made by Warner Bros.’ new chief Jeff Robinov, who […]

BOX OFFICE LIKELY TO GO TO THE DEVIL

There are probably enough moviegoers eager to watch Anthony Hopkins exorcising demons and succumbing to them to drive New Line’s The Rite to the top of the box office this weekend with about $15-20 million. The horror film is expected to beat out CBS Films’ action flick The Mechanic, starring Jason Statham, which is likely […]

WARNER BROS. TO LAUNCH PREMIUM VOD SOON

Time Warner’s Warner Bros. and New Line studios are planning to launch premium video-on-demand early next year, CEO Jeff Bewkes said Monday. Speaking at the 38th annual UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, Bewkes said he anticipated that movies would become available for one-time rental on cable and online about 30 to […]

RALLIES BRING OUT THOUSANDS OF NEW ZEALAND FILM WORKERS

Thousands of workers in New Zealand’s film industry staged rallies throughout the country today (Monday) as Warner Bros. executives arrived to consider moving the production of the two The Hobbit movies to a different country. Actor Mark Harrison, who organized the rallies, told The Australian newspaper, “With Warner Bros. coming here to have crisis talks […]

WILL THE HOBBIT LEAVE THE SHIRE?

Warner Bros. and New Line indicated on Thursday that they would not participate in talks between New Zealand’s Actors’ Equity Union and the Screen Production & Development Association, which represents New Zealand film producers. Earlier this week the union said that it would call off its boycott against Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit as a precondition […]

JACKSON SAYS HOBBIT MOVIES WON’T FILM IN NEW ZEALAND

UPDATE: Late today, the New Zealand actors union said that it will not boycott The Hobbit production. SAG and AFTRA immediately issued advisories to its members saying that they were now free to work on it. However, Daily Variety reported that Warner Bros., New Line and MGM have not yet decided whether to keep the […]

HOBBIT GREENLIT

Despite reports that Warner Bros./New Line has “officially” given the green light to start production on the two-part Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, no date was mentioned in the studio’s announcement. Published reports said on Friday that MGM and Warner’s have reached an agreement on financing the movie, and the film’s producer/director, Peter […]

JACKSON — ER, DEREK — SAYS NOTHING’S DECIDED ABOUT “HOBBIT”

Despite trade reports on Monday claiming that Peter Jackson is in talks with Warner Bros./New Line and MGM to direct the Hobbit prequels, Jackson is insisting that “nothing has really changed.” In an interview with Harry Knowles, who runs the AintItCoolNews.com website, Jackson said, “I’ve always said that me directing was one option, and so […]

THE LADIES HAVE IT (THE BOX OFFICE, THAT IS)

You could operate an entire multiplex off the methane gas given off by the reviews for Sex and the City 2 (Rex Reed in the New York Observer, for example, commented that it “is to movies what fried dough is to nutrition.”), but that didn’t deter fans of the TV series and the movie franchise […]

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