It seems to have started with gossip hunter Latauro who reports for Aintitcool.com

While the claim comes with a warning that sources aren’t sure if Cox is either already signed up or is simply wanted by GDT, Jackson and company, it would be a logical piece of casting.

In The Lord of the Rings Jackson had John Rhys-Davies play Gimli with the accent of a Scotsman so Cox certainly fits the part. He’s also IMHO a brilliant actor and would be perfect for the part of either Thorin or Balin.

With the script reportedly now finished, casting should be the next step so rumors will be flying around but we should soon be getting some official news over the next few months and I’m hoping this rumor proves to be true.

Meanwhile Sir Ian McKellen - who is fast becoming THE source for Hobbit movie news - told Sci-Fi Wire that he has seen the script and although very excited he cannot say anything as he is sworn to secrecy. Sounds like GDT is catching on fast and reeling him in a bit

“There are a lot of characters in The Hobbit including, crucially, Bilbo, and they don’t know who’s going to play Bilbo. So it’s extremely attractive that this part has been written for me. The other Gandalf [LOTR] was written for, well, just as Gandalf.”

[This contradicts his previous statement that he knew who had the bilbo Baggins role.]

“There’s lots for me to enjoy, in all sorts of ways. And I couldn’t be happier. But I’m sworn to secrecy. I’m not to say anything at all about the script.”

Viggo Mortensen meanwhile has expressed an interest in returning for the second Hobbit movie.

He told Movieweb that he had a lot of fun making The Lord of the Rings movies and would love to return to Middle Earth. He also told them that it is his understanding that they [GDT, Jackson and Co] were trying to incorporate actors from the trilogy, even some who’s character didn’t appear in The Hobbit.

John Rhys-Davies only last month said he had been approached but had said ‘no thanks’ to a return to Middle Earth as has Christopher Lee.

John Noble who played Denethor has already said no some time ago which could be a problem if they plan to show the story of Aragorn.

“I’ve already been asked and to be honest with you, I wouldn’t. I have already completely ruled it out. There’s a sentimental part of me that would love to be involved again. Really I am not sure my face can take that sort of punishment any more.”

“It was just a gentle “What would you feel about putting it on again?” But no. I’d be interested in trying to create a different type of persona within… the thing. That is challenging as an actor. I’d really prefer to play something quite different. Maybe an Elf. They’ve got a different set of problems with The Hobbit because you’ve got 13 dwarves, a whole band of them… You’re trying to represent a whole race… You’re trying to do for dwarves what The Lord of the Rings did for hobbits.”

While not being interested in the part of Gloin is no problem for The Hobbit movie, his rejection will cause problems for any attempt at the so called bridging movie which hopes to fill in the gap between the end of The Hobbit with the start of The Fellowship of the Ring.

Source: Empire Online

“Grey Gandalf is my favourite, Peter Jackson’s too, we always preferred Gandalf the Grey. Peter liked him because he got down and dirty. He slept in the hedgerows; he was closer to the earth and not quite so spiritual. He’s also funnier… he’s got more variety to him. We thought there was more scope in that Gandalf.”

Sir Ian is in Spain for the San Sebastian Film Festival where he picked up a special Donostia award recognising his achievements in acting.

He started the interview by discussing his worries about typecasting but quickly put to bed any worries about whether he may be having second thoughts.

“If you play a part that gets an awful lot of attention,” he explained, “forever after you’re being asked by directors to play the same part in their movie. But I played the best wizard, and I’m happy to revisit him, which I shall do in The Hobbit with Guillermo del Toro.”

“He appeals to really young people. Gandalf has 8 and 9 year old fans who’ve seen his films a great deal more than I have. Their faces when they meet the actor who plays Gandalf are wonderful to behold, so that’s been special.”

Source: Rotton Tomatoes

Gandalf - Who was he?

As well as Gandalf The grey and later ‘The White,’ Gandalf was also known as The Grey Wanderer, The Grey Pilgrim, Stormcrow, Greyhame and several other aliases.

He was one of the 5 Maiar (a lower angel) who first appeared in Middle Earth about 1000 years into the Third Age. The other 4 were Saruman, Radagast, Pallando and Alatar.

They came to Middle Earth in the form of old men and the color refers to their rank with white being the highest.

Gandalf took to wandering and was the only one to show an interest in Hobbits.

The lawsuit had been hanging over the head of The Hobbit as The Tolkien Trust asked the courts to rescind the rights to any further movies based on the works of Tolkien over monies still owed from The Lord of the Rings movies.

Tolkien’s heirs sued New Line Cinema in February 2008, claiming the studio owed it millions in profits from the movies released between 2001 and 2003. The movies earned an estimated $6 billion in sales of movie tickets, DVDs and merchandise.

The terms of the deal are being kept private.

Warner Bros. took over New Line in March 2008 and their entertainment chief operating officer, Alan Horn said:

“We deeply value the contributions of the Tolkien novels to the success of our films and are pleased to have put this litigation behind us.”

Christopher Tolkien, the authors Son and trustee of The Tolkien Trust based in the UK said that the lawsuit had been regrettable but that the trust is happy the dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow The Tolkien Trust to properly pursue its charitable objectives.

Bonnie Eskenazi, an attorney who handled the lawsuit for the Tolkien estate, said the settlement vindicated the heirs and will touch more than just movie audiences.

The Tolkien Trust claimed to have received an upfront payment of just $62,500 before work began on The Lord of the Rings trilogy with the promise of a further 7.5% of any and all future gross sales which was never paid.

Assuming he’s on the ball, it’s unlikely then that the part has gone to  an unknown.

The video below was taken by ErgoProxy and then posted to her YouTube channel.

Thanks go to Claymore for sharing her video which you can see below. Check out her video channel by clicking here.

First off Daniel Radcliffe says ‘no chance’ to Bilbo Baggins role, explaining that he won’t be doing anything with a Wizard in it for the forseable future. Can’t really blame the lad for that.

He was at pains to explain that he hadn’t been asked and would be surprised if The Hobbit team would have him shortlisted.

I’d have to say, ‘Thanks but no thanks,’ not that anyone has asked me,” he told the LA Times. “Honestly, I don’t think they would want me anyway, it’s just too close (to Harry Potter). Whatever I do next, I don’t think there will be any wizards in it!

That’s the fact sorted, now for the rumors.

MarketSaw is still claiming The Hobbit movies will be shot in 3D and claims to have insider info. The ‘mole’ claims Peter Jackson is ‘very keen’ to shoot both movies in 3D but Del Toro is holding back. I just don’t see it myself. The Hobbit is an absolute guaranteed banker so why would you bother?

Rumor 2 also comes from marketSaw’s insider who claims there will be a 3rd bridging Middle Earth movie directed by Peter Jackson.

While I can see the money men ringing their hands with the thought of another trilogy, the problem with this particular rumor is that Christopher Tolkien put The Silmarillion together and I don’t see him handing over the rights to the stories within.

He’s spent the last few years trying to prevent The Hobbit being turned into a movie and is currently suing on behalf of The Tolkien Trust who claim monies are still owed from the Lord of the Rings movies.

Having said that, this is Hollywood and anything is possible. Deals are done and differences can be settled if there is enough money involved.

Sources:

MarketSaw

The LA Times

In the interview (which you can watch in the video below) the new look slim line Jackson goes on to explain why they decided to split The Hobbit into two parts and his plans for Gandalf and the Necromancer.

The confusing thing for me about this interview is that PJ says ‘everyone assumes we are casting which we are not’ and he goes on to say they are a ‘couple of months’ away from starting the process.

Yet at the beginning of June we have GDT giving a video interview (here) saying they have narrowed the part of Bilbo Baggins down to 3 actors and an announcement was due ‘within weeks.’

Is it any wonder we are confused?

Source: IGN

Thanks go to Show for the news alert.

They’ve done a bit of digging and put 2 and 2 together. Whether they have their sums right, we’ll have to wait and see.

They’ve based their hunch on the fact that Peter Jackson is expected to be at the Comic-Con expo is San Diego next week so an announcement seems likely to be made. Del Toro recently said they expected to name Bilbo Baggins within ‘the next few weeks’

The logic follows that if they do make the announcement at the Comic-Con, the lucky actor would probably be there as well and it seems Tennant is indeed pencilled in to make his first visit.

Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times told The telegraph: “David Tennant just happens to be making his very first trip to the San Diego expo to promote “Doctor Who,” a television series that he will soon be leaving behind. “Peter Jackson, the producer of the two-film “Hobbit” series that begins its theatre run in 2011, is also slated to appear this year, and, well you can see the dot-connecting possibilities. …

Tennant is currently filming a St Trinians follow up and he makes his finale as the Time lord at Christmas so he’s free at the time filming is due to start on The Hobbit.

Now, if you could have your pick of virtually any actor in the world to play the part of bilbo baggins, would David Tennant be you choice?

Update: Empire have just spoken to Peter Jackson about this rumor and he tells them they are still working on the script so an announcement won’t be made at Comic-Con.

He tells them that any actor they approach would want to see a script before making a decision (really?) so they need to get the script finished first.

GDT though said earlier this month that he expected to tell us the Bilbo Baggins actor was close to being named.

Either GDT is jumping the gun or PJ is throwing a smoke screen. At least it’s all good publicity for the Comic-Con

The Director of The Hobbit also claimed that he’s not worried about having his Hobbit movies compared to the critical and commercial success reached by Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.

He told Simon: “Frankly no. If I live the experience like that I would go insane. I don’t know if there’s a compartment in my brain that just doesn’t register those things. I feel an enormous responsibility but not to the results, either by Oscars or box office.”

He also went on to add: “I have an enormous responsibility to a book I adore and to a legacy of a world. Creatively I feel very responsible and very daunted, but honoured, doing this.”

He did admit that so far he was finding The Hobbit very demanding saying that he gets in The Hobbit office at 9am and rarely leaves before 9pm. He is currently dividing his time between working on the screenplay and designing the creatures of Middle Earth at the WETA studios.

I’ve been very impressed with GDT in all his interviews so far and his answers over the last 12 months or so have exorcised any lingering worries I had as to whether he was the man for The Hobbit.

I’m pretty sure Bilbo Baggins and Co. are in safe hands.