Nine fantastic behind-the-scenes videos for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug!

These short 1-2 minute videos original appeared on YouKu, though they have since been uploaded to YouTube. They feature all the different aspects of film-making: directing, screenplay, art direction, costume design, makeup hairstyling, cinematography, vfx, sound editing, and much more!

The highlights and things I didn't have time to post from this past week!

Following the tradition started at the end of November, here are the latest interviews, videos, news bits, and everything else from the world of Tolkien fandom!

So... A lot of stuff has happened this week

Most importantly the world-wide opening of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug! (A review is coming soon, so don't worry.) But that is certainly not all. Go beyond the break to check out the latest reviews, interviews, spoilers, and much, much more! 

New production photos of Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis, and, of course, Peter Jackson

Check out these awesome new behind-the-scenes images! Some of them are unsourced, and very well could be from a new production video coming out in a few months? What do think? Leave a comment!

UPDATE: The photos of Benedict Cumberbatch doing motion capture for Smaug comes from this video, apparently from the bonus material from the Extended Edition of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. 

Warner Bros. has finally given free reign to interviews, set visits, and plot spoilers!

This news is a few days old, I know, but life is busy. Anyways, if you have not heard, seen, or read any of the following, here is a list of interviews and set tours that contain many, many spoilers, yet, believe me, they are worth seeing.

Here are a few short videos that introduce the newest trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. 

Martin Freeman and Stephen Fry both make an appearance, and, if you missed it, here is clip from NBC's Today Show featuring Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom as guests. 

Slowly yet surely the filming of the Hobbit movies comes to a close,

as one by one the actors say they farewells after a job well done. Now it is time for Martin Freeman to say goodbye to Bilbo. Peter Jackson recently posted this photo on his Facebook page, and noted that

"Tonight Martin Freeman finished his last shot as Bilbo Baggins. The end of an incredible two and a half years. I cannot imagine anyone else in this role – a character that Martin has nurtured and crafted with love and great skill.

We have said goodbye to our elves, humans, wizards and now the hobbit. We now enter our final 2 weeks of pick-ups, and it’s wall to wall dwarves. These pick-ups have been gruelling and intense, but I’m so happy with what we’ve been shooting. These next two movies are going to be pretty great!"

Luke Evans and Graham McTavish have also completed their roles as Bard the Bowman and Dwalin. 

Best SciFi/Fantasy and Best Actor!

Last night, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey pulled in two awards at the Jameson Empire Awards! The Hobbit won Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Film, and Martin Freeman won Best Actor. These awards were decided by a public vote - thank you for voting for The Hobbit!

CraveOnlineVideo interviews Martin Freeman!
CraveOnline, an Australian DVD and Blu-ray retailer, and Martin Freeman, the star of The Hobbit, Sherlock, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, discuss Freeman's personal history with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien  how the ending of the first movie changed after the third film was announced, Benedict Cumberbatch and his role as Smaug, and Andy Serkis as 2nd Unit Director, all in five minutes. 

Martin Freeman has told Hollywood.com that he will be back in New Zealand for more shooting during June and July for the Hobbit movies. This is what he said:

“I suppose the thing is, this is not finished. We literally have to go and finish it. It’s not a new adventure like on a television show. It’s the same story. It’s the same gig I started in January 2011. I think it’ll be really fun because the crew is quite close and the cast are close and we like working on it. I’m anticipating it.”

He has no idea what is going to be filmed, but he does not think there will be many new demands. It is a complete mystery what Peter Jackson has planned, but we can all agree with Martin Freeman in that we are anticipating it!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has received five nominations for the 2013 Empire Awards. They are:

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Best Film
Best Director – Peter Jackson
The Art of 3D
Best Actor – Martin Freeman

The awards will be announced Sunday March 24, 2013. However, these awards are not determined by any committee or a privileged few - they are determined by you! So be sure to vote, and possibly even win a pair of tickets to the ceremony as an added bonus!
Vote in the Empire Awards »

As movies go, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has received a larger-than-usual number of nominations for various awards. I am pretty sure the last time I checked, that number was seventeen. I am writing this post to tell you that this number has been bumped up nine notches, bringing the total up to twenty-six nominations for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. These nine new nominations are for The Saturn Awards, which will be presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films on June 13. The nominations are as follows:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for Best Fantasy Film,
Martin Freeman for Best Actor,
Sir Ian McKellen for Best Supporting Actor,
Peter Jackson for Best Director,
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for Best Production Design,
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for Best Music,
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for Best Costume Design,
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for Best Makeup, and
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for Best Special Effects.

Here are loads of great interviews of The Hobbit cast and crew. Among those interviewed are Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Peter Jackson, and Philippa Boyens. Because so many were interviewed, the videos will not be posted directly, but they can be viewed via the links below:


Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and Andy Serkis

Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis & Richard Armitage #2

Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett & Elijah Wood

Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett & Elijah Wood #2

Sir Peter Jackson & Philippa Boyens

Sir Peter Jackson & Phillpa Boyens #2

Comicbookmovie.com scanned a few behind the scenes photos of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey from Brian Sibley's tie-in book The Official Movie Guide. They include Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, a group of goblins, Nori and Bofur, Andy Serkis in his motion-capture attire, Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, and a group photo of all the dwarves draped in spider-webs, obviously from their entanglement in Mirkwood. I fully acknowledge that these are scans of a book that were on another website, but I will post them nonetheless, but beware, they contain spoilers.

The San Diego Comic Con stars today, and will continue for the next four days. Peter Jackson (director), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins), and Andy Serkis (Gollum and 2nd Unit Director) are all going to be present at the international event, which expects 125,000 attendees.