In an interview with the New Zealand website Stuff, director Peter Jackson said that in the process of pitching his Lord of the Rings series in the late 1990s, Harvey Weinstein told him to not work with Mira Sorvino or Ashley Judd, two women we now know were sexually harassed by the producer.
In 1953, Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme met in Christchurch, New Zealand. The two girls grew so attached it frightened their parents. The Hulmes made plans to remove Juliet to South Africa, indefinitely separating her from Pauline. But Juliet, 15 at the time, and Pauline, 16, were determined not to be parted.…
There was plenty to be annoyed with in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. That makes sense because, at 169 minutes, there's plenty of The Hobbit, which plays more like a filmed bestiary of Middle-earth creatures than a movie with any kind of narrative thrust. We get to see trolls, wizards dolloped with bird shit,…
You might remember from this morning that the set of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been deemed a "death trap" for animals by four wranglers working on the project—and the outrage has subsequently been picked up by PETA. Today, Peter Jackson and the film's producers released a statement in which they roundly…
So, this is the worst! Up to 27 animals died in their farm facility during the making of The Hobbit trilogy, which the wranglers involved in the production claim was "a death trap." Although the American Humane Association says no animals were harmed during the actual filming, they acknowledge that the wranglers'…
If you're wondering why every nerd you know is bleary-eyed and unfocused today, it's probably they were up late analyzing the new trailer for the first installment of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. In the clip, we learn that Martin Freeman looks great as Bilbo, Ian McKellen and Cate Blanchett are back, and the…
A British woman of Pakistani heritage was told "we're looking for light-skinned people" at an extras casting for The Hobbit, and now, according to reports, "the crew member in question has been dismissed."
Naz Humphreys stood in a line for three hours in Hamilton, New Zealand, hoping to be in the new Hobbit movie. When she finally got to the casting director, he basically told her that her skin was the wrong color.
Critics were horrified by The Lovely Bones, and not because it deals with the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl. In Peter Jackson's hands, the complex themes of Alice Sebold's award-winning book are reduced to a sentimental CGI whodunit.
Peter Jackson is still working on the script for The Hobbit with Guillermo del Toro, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh — the latter being his wife. Sorry, my precioussssss: Production will start a few months later than expected. [Variety]
Director Peter Jackson: "I found [The Lovely Bones] to be curiously optimistic...I felt inspired by Susie's struggle to come to terms with her own death. In the face of overwhelming grief, she finds hope." [USAToday]
