That’s just one of the insider tidbits revealed in the latest production video released by Peter Jackson from the set of The Hobbit: There and Back Again. The 12-minute spot, filmed last fall across New Zealand, is a geek’s fantasy come true of mystical creatures aplenty and stunning landscape porn. There’s also inside scoop from Bilbo Baggins himself (Martin Freeman), Andy “Gollum” Serkis (who pulled double duty as the film’s second unit assistant director), and a deliciously pink-shirted Sir Ian McKellen, to name a few. If that’s not tantalizing enough, you can even see a dwarf take his first-ever helicopter ride! Click through for the full video. READ FULL STORY »
Tag: Peter Jackson (41-50 of 69)
Mar 2
2012
10:59 AM ET
Dispatches from 'The Hobbit': How much meat does a Hobbit eat? -- VIDEO
- Comments +
- Add comment
Feb 29
2012
07:58 PM ET
'West of Memphis' picked up by Sony Pictures Classics
West of Memphis, director Amy Berg’s chronicle of the effort to exonerate the West Memphis Three, was acquired today by Sony Pictures Classics in a deal for the global distribution rights.
Produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, the film focuses a great deal on Lorri Davis, the wife of Damien Echols, who was sentenced to death for the 1993 murder of three young boys in Arkansas, and was released last year after 19 years in jail, along with Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. (who were serving life sentences for the crime). “We are excited and quite frankly overwhelmed at the chance to tell our own story,” Davis and Echols, who are also producers of West of Memphis, said in a statement about the acquisition. “Working with Fran, Peter and Amy has been the most powerful and fulfilling of experiences for us. We see this film as a source of inspiration, and it carries our heart and soul with it.”
The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival to strong reviews, including EW’s Owen Gleiberman, who said the film “casts a hypnotic dark spell.”
No release date has been set yet.
Read more:
Peter Jackson, Damien Echols, and Amy Berg on ‘West of Memphis’ — VIDEO
Sundance review: Even if you’ve seen all three ‘Paradise Lost’ films, ‘West of Memphis’ casts its own dark spell
Peter Jackson talks about his innocence project: ‘West of Memphis’
Feb 14
2012
09:06 PM ET
Peter Jackson going straight from directing 'The Hobbit' to 'Tintin 2'
Image Credit: WETA
Look alive, Tintin lovers! You won’t have too long(ish) of a wait for the The Adventures of Tintin 2. Peter Jackson’s Tintin co-producer Steven Spielberg tells Total Film that Jackson will not take a break between the two Hobbit films — which are being produced simultaneously — and the as-yet-untitled sequel. ”We made a deal,” said Spielberg. “I said, ‘I’ll direct the first one, you direct the second one.’ Peter, of course, is going to do it right after he finishes photography on The Hobbit. He’ll go right into the…performance capture.” READ FULL STORY »
Jan 21
2012
08:02 PM ET
Sundance: Peter Jackson, Damien Echols on 'West of Memphis,' and visiting 'The Hobbit' set -- VIDEO
One of the most high-profile debuts at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival has to be director Amy Berg and producer Peter Jackson’s documentary West of Memphis. Largely a chronicle of the effort, bankrolled by Jackson and his wife Fran Walsh, to exonerate the West Memphis Three — a.k.a. Jessie Misskelley Jr., Jason Baldwin, and Damien Echols – the doc is already winning critical praise and media attention for the new witnesses Berg only just interviewed on camera last week.
I talked with Jackson and Berg about that dramatic development when they stopped by EW’s Sundance studio with two of the film’s central subjects (and producers): Damien Echols and Lorri Davis. Echols was released from death row just last year after 18 years in prison, in large part thanks to the steadfast dedication of Davis, who met and married Echols after he was in prison. It was easy to see in our interview that the glamour of Sundance has been a bit of a shock for them, but I loved hearing about their two-month trip to New Zealand to visit Jackson and Walsh on the set of The Hobbit. Check out our interview below: READ FULL STORY »
Jan 16
2012
02:30 PM ET
Peter Jackson talks about his innocence project: 'West of Memphis'
Image Credit: Fotonoticias/WireImage.com
In 1993, three 8-year-old boys were murdered in West Memphis, Ark. It was a horrifying, sensational crime. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. — who’d become known as the West Memphis Three — were painted by prosecutors as devil-worshipping metalheads and convicted. Echols, then 18, was sentenced to death, while Baldwin, 16, and Misskelley, 17, got life sentences. The trial struck many as a sham, and an HBO documentary about the case, 1996’s Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, outraged and inspired celebrity supporters such as Eddie Vedder, Natalie Maines, Johnny Depp, and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and his partner, Fran Walsh. (Two more Paradise Lost films have since been made; the third just aired on HBO.) In 2004, Jackson and Walsh quietly began financing investigations to get the men released. Then, last August, after 18 years in prison, Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley were finally freed — but not exonerated. In exchange for their freedom, they agreed to an “Alford plea.” The upshot is that they can tell the world that they’re innocent, but the state can tell the world that they’re guilty — and never get sued for wrongful imprisonment.
Now Jackson and Walsh have produced West of Memphis, a new documentary directed by Amy Berg (Deliver Us From Evil) that will premiere at Sundance on Jan. 20. (The film does not yet have a distributor.) EW spoke with Jackson, Walsh, Berg, and Echols and his wife, Lorri Davis.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Damien, what did you think of West of Memphis?
Damien Echols: I loved it, which kind of amazed me. After you deal with anything long enough, it sort of — I don’t want to say it loses the edge — but you just reach a point where you have to let it go or it’s just going to eat you alive inside. READ FULL STORY »
Jan 13
2012
09:27 AM ET
'West of Memphis' trailer: Peter Jackson's doc about the West Memphis Three -- EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK
A freight train’s whistle sounds. Then a voice. “Nothing ever happens in West Memphis, Arkansas.” If only that were true.
For the past seven years, director Peter Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh have quietly financed investigations to help free Jason Baldwin, Jesse Misskelley Jr., and Damien Echols — a.k.a. the West Memphis Three — who were convicted in 1994 of murdering three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Ark. On Jan. 20, West of Memphis, the documentary Jackson and Walsh produced about their findings, will premiere at Sundance. Until then, Jackson has provided EW with an exclusive first look at the film’s trailer.
Back in August, Baldwin, Misskelley, and Echols were released after 18 years in prison, marking the culmination of a long campaign that began with the 1996 HBO doc Paradise Lost: The Child Killings at Robin Hood Hills. Now, Jackson and Walsh’s film (which was directed by Amy Berg and whose poster was exclusively revealed here yesterday) shows why they never should have been arrested in the first place. Says Echols, who is also a producer on the film, “When Peter and Fran came onto this case, that was the first time that I had the feeling of, ‘Okay, something is finally being done. Finally someone is looking out for me. Someone is trying to move this mountain.’” READ FULL STORY »
Jan 12
2012
09:00 AM ET
'West of Memphis' poster: Peter Jackson's doc about the West Memphis Three -- EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK
Since 2004, Peter Jackson and his wife Fran Walsh have quietly bankrolled DNA and forensic investigations to help free Jason Baldwin, Jesse Misskelley Jr., and Damien Echols — a.k.a. the West Memphis Three — who were convicted in 1994 of murdering three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Ark. At the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, they will premiere West of Memphis — directed by Amy Berg and produced by Jackson and Walsh, the film chronicles the findings of their seven-year investigation into the case of the West Memphis Three. And Jackson has provided EW with an exclusive first look at the film’s poster. (You can check out a full-size version of the poster below.) READ FULL STORY »
Dec 20
2011
10:22 PM ET
'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' trailer: Gandalf! Galadriel! Goosebumps!
Image Credit: James Fisher
For a brief, glorious stretch of years in the not too distant past, the holiday moviegoing season was synonymous with the harrowing tales of J.R.R. Tolkien’s hobbits, elves, dwarves, wizards, and men. And now, for the first time in eight years, we finally get to go back to Middle Earth — sure, it’s only for two-and-a-half minutes in the new trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, but we’ll gladly take it. The first of two films, which chronicles the life of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman…and Ian Holm) before the war-ravaged events of The Lord of the Rings, hits theaters Dec. 14, 2012. Check out the trailer below: READ FULL STORY »
Dec 4
2011
09:41 PM ET
Peter Jackson announces completion of West Memphis Three documentary
Image Credit: Lisa Waddell/The Commercial Appeal/Landov
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh have announced their production company, WingNut Films, have wrapped a new documentary about the notorious wrongful conviction case of the West Memphis Three.
West of Memphis tells the story of Damien Echolls, Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley Jr., three Arkansans who were arrested for a triple homicide in 1993 and spent over 18 years in prison before finally being released. Echolls and wife Lorri Davis are also serving as producers; documentarian Amy Berg, whose Deliver Us from Evil was nominated for an Oscar, is directing the film.
“This film represents the trial these men didn’t have,” says Berg in the announcement. READ FULL STORY »
Oct 28
2011
04:54 PM ET
Peter Jackson announces 'The Hobbit' will have its world premiere in -- where else? -- New Zealand
Image Credit: blog
During a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key (at Hobbiton, no less!), Peter Jackson announced that the world premiere for the first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey, will be held late next year in Wellington. Jackson said during the press conference, which you can watch here, “I think Warner Bros., in particular, were blown away by the Return of the King premiere. No one in the international industry could quite believe how the country got behind that moment. I think everyone involved was, quite honestly, keen to let New Zealand have the premiere of the first Hobbit movie based on the absolute reception that we had with the last Lord of the Rings film.”
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will open stateside in theaters on Dec. 14, 2012.
Read more:
Peter Jackson’s third ‘Hobbit’ production video: Gollum’s cave, dwarves galore, and Galadriel!
‘Hobbit’ First Look: 3 Pics!
‘The Hobbit’: Cast Photo Album!
- Prev
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- Next
Latest News
- 'Veronica Mars': Max Greenfield's in
- George Lucas: No 'Star Wars' chat with J.J.
- 'Voice': Danielle Bradbery wins season 4
- Blake Shelton on Danielle 'Voice' win
- Aubrey Plaza + Jake Johnson in music vid
- Slim Whitman, singer in TV ads, dies
- 'Man of Steel' guys talk THAT ending
- 'Big Brother': Two twists for new season
Find Movies and Showtimes
Choose Your Movie
All movies
