Newsbites: The fantasy edition!

Last updated on: April 18, 2009 at 1:02 pm by Peter T. Chattaway

Newsbites: The fantasy edition! 2009-04-18T13:02:00-07:00 Peter T. Chattaway

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

1. It has been public knowledge for years now that the studios behind the film version of The Hobbit want to make it a two-movie series that will connect in some way to Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) — but there has been much speculation as to what sort of two-movie series it will be. Will one movie be devoted to The Hobbit proper, followed by another movie that “bridges” the gap between the two stories? Or will The Hobbit itself be spread out over the two films? Jackson and Hobbit director Guillermo Del Toro have now announced their decision, and the answer is: the second option. Says Del Toro: “We’ve decided to have The Hobbit span the two movies, including the White Council and the comings and goings of Gandalf to Dol Guldur.” Adds Jackson: “We decided it would be a mistake to try to cram everything into one movie . . . The essential brief was to do The Hobbit, and it allows us to make The Hobbit in a little more style, if you like, of the trilogy.” — Empire

2. Speaking of The Lord of the Rings, each film in that series was released to DVD three times: once in its shorter theatrical version, once in its longer “extended” version, and once in a format that included both versions. Now it is time for the trilogy to come out on Blu-Ray — and apparently the series will go back to square one, with a shorter-version-only edition; the “extended” versions will not come out on Blu-Ray until closer to the Hobbit release date. — High-Def Digest, Digital Bits

3. 20th Century Fox has revealed that it will release three films in 3D in 2010. They have not yet said which films they have in mind, but one of their biggest movies that year will be The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, so some of the online speculation has pointed in that direction. — CinemaBlend.com, NarniaWeb

4. Rhys Ifans has joined the cast of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Meanwhile, producer David Heyman has confirmed that some of the actors who began this series as prepubescent children will look more grown up than they have ever looked before in the final film. (Let the reader understand.) — ComingSoon.net, MTV Movies Blog

5. Emma Thompson may have skipped the last Harry Potter movie in order to make a sequel to Nanny McPhee (2005), but she’s bringing some of her fellow Potter alumni — such as Ifans, Maggie Smith and Ralph Fiennes — along for the ride. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Asa Butterfield have also joined the cast of Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, which will take place during World War II, several decades after the previous film. — Variety, ComingSoon.net

6. Michael Sheen, who is perhaps best-known for playing Tony Blair in The Deal (2003) and The Queen (2006), has been cast as a vampire in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which recently began shooting in Vancouver. Prior to this, Sheen had played a werewolf in the Underworld series (2003-2009). There is no word yet on who will direct Eclipse, the next film in the Twilight franchise, but Drew Barrymore recently stated that she is no longer in the running for that job. — Variety, ComingSoon.net, Entertainment Weekly, MTV Movies Blog (x2)

7. Catherine Keener has joined the cast of Percy Jackson; she will play the title character’s mother. His father, the Greek god Poseidon, is being played by Kevin McKidd. — Hollywood Reporter

8. Watchmen co-writer Alex Tse is working on an adaptation of the graphic novel Battling Boy, which concerns “the son of a god who comes down from the top of a mountain at his father’s urging to rid the giant, continent-sized city of Monstropolis of a plague of beasts.” — Hollywood Reporter

9. The sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) will be based on a spec script that is, in turn, “based on the fantasy conceit that the literary tales ‘Gulliver’s Travels,’ ‘Treasure Island’ and [Jules] Verne’s own ‘Mysterious Island’ all occurred on the same island.” — Variety, Hollywood Reporter

10. Twenty-five years ago, Brian Grazer produced Splash (1984), the story of a mermaid who falls in love with a human being. (It was also the first Tom Hanks movie to be directed by Ron Howard; they have since done Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons together as well.) Now, Grazer has picked up a script called Merman, which “follows a merman who comes to land so he can win back his mermaid fiancee, who has left him for a real man.” And no, it’s not a sequel. — Variety

11. Catherine Hardwicke, whose last film was the original Twilight (2008), now has at least two more fantasies on her plate: Maximum Ride, based on the James Patterson series about “six teens, known as the Flock, who are genetically altered so that they are part human and part bird”; and If I Stay, based on Gayle Forman’s novel about “a gifted classical musician and her indie rockstar boyfriend who’s forced to choose between life and death when she’s in a car accident with her family.” — Hollywood Reporter, Variety

Uncategorized

Previous Post

April 18, 2009

Michael J. Fox and The 700 Club.

Next Post

April 20, 2009 Canadian box-office stats -- April 19

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anglican Planet Articles BC Christian News BC Report Bible Movies Bible Review Blog Books & Culture Campus Times CBC Radio Christianity Today ChristianWeek Essays Faith Today Festival Cinemas Guide Film Journals Georgia Straight Interviews MB Herald National Catholic Register Salvationist Today's Christian Two Chairs Ubyssey Uncategorized Vancouver Courier Vancouver Sun

Select a Month August 2025 April 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 May 2024 February 2024 December 2023 May 2023 March 2023 November 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 April 2012 January 2012 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 November 2003 October 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 March 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 January 2000 October 1999 August 1999 May 1999 April 1999 February 1999 January 1999 December 1998 November 1998 October 1998 August 1998 July 1998 June 1998 April 1998 March 1998 January 1998 November 1997 September 1997 July 1997 June 1997 April 1997 March 1997 February 1997 January 1997 December 1996 October 1996 September 1996 June 1996 March 1996 February 1996 January 1996 April 1995 November 1994 September 1994 September 1991

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Jordan" (as in Jordan River) mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

To open To heal To descend To anoint