Today MGM, New Line, and Warner Bros. announced the release dates and subtitles for both parts of The Hobbit. Variety reported the story, including a bit of news about a film that is currently scheduled to be released opposite the first Hobbit film:

Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” movies have been given official release dates and titles. The first will open Dec. 14, 2012, as “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” and the second will be released on Dec. 13, 2013, as “The Hobbit: There and Back Again.”

Both pics had been expected to see release during the holiday season. “An Unexpected Journey” will open against Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi” from Fox while “There and Back Again” is the first pic set for the 2013 holiday season.

It’s quite possible that the timing of the Ang Lee film will change; shuffling of release dates often happens as studios strive to avoid going head to head with probably blockbusters.

[Added June 2: As I suspected, The Hollywood Reporter says that the release date of Life of Pi has been moved back to December 21 to avoid getting swamped by the Hobbit tidal wave of December 14.

To be precise, Peter answered two questions on his Facebook page but only counted them as one. The first was “Will you have time to sift through 4,000 questions just to answer twenty of them?” Peter answered that one but didn’t count it as one of the twenty, since it was a “little dull.” Actually, I thought it was quite an interesting answer, giving some sense of what Peter’s life is like at this point in the filming process:

I’ve been very busy recently, not just with shooting, but with location scouting and prep work during our days off, so I’ve found it hard to get to the questions. However, today I have enjoyed sitting down and reading through them all. I’ll get started and continue to answer what seem to be the most popular questions during the next few weeks (as well as some one-off, quirky ones!).

The “real” first question was whether the White Council’s attack on Dol Guldur will be shown. The answer:

I’m not going to say just what and when, but I will confirm that both the White Council and Dol Guldur will feature in the movies. And not just in one scene either. Just how to visualise it has been a challenge, but fortunately Alan Lee and John Howe went crazy with ideas, and it should look pretty cool.

I think we pretty much could assume that those two items would figure prominently in the films, but it’s nice to get confirmation. Apparently we won’t have to wait very long for more answers to appear!

Asylum has put up a video and poll on the subject of which wizard tale is better, LOTR or Harry Potter. A roughly three-minute video shows fans giving opinions and sometimes arguing with each other, usually in a civilized way, about the topic. Judging by the video, one would get the impression that the two series run neck-and-neck. The poll, however, tells a different tale, with 73.5% of the votes going to LOTR. That’s only 185 votes, though, so things could change. The contest seems intended to be between Rowling’s and Tolkien’s books, though clearly some fans are thinking of the films when they respond.

The New York Times has weighed in on the controversy over the Wellington airport’s plan to erect a sign reading “Wellywood” on a ridge near the runway. Quotes from representatives of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (which claims to own rights to the sign) and the airport are given. The role of Peter Jackson’s films is noted:

Since the blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” trilogy was shot in New Zealand, that country’s film industry has proved a boon to tourism, with foreigners eager to climb the peaks that served as Mount Doom.

Last year, New Zealand officials agreed to contribute special financing to ensure that the two movies based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Hobbit” would be shot there, and the Wellywood sign was supposed to boost “Middle-earth” affection further.

Peter Jackson has just posted this on his Facebook page:

Ten years ago, Orlando Bloom created an iconic character with his portrayal of Legolas. I’m excited to announce today that we’ll be revisiting Middle Earth with him once more. I’m thrilled to be working with Orlando again. Funny thing is, I look older—and he doesn’t! I guess that’s why he makes such a wonderful elf.

I notice he doesn’t say that Orlando will be playing Legolas again. Possibly he’ll be cast as Thranduil, given that a family resemblance would be pretty plausible. Or maybe he will be Legolas. After all, Legolas was already very old by the time the action of LOTR started (in the book, anyway).

Stuff.co.nz reports that there is considerable opposition to the proposed “Wellywood” sign being voiced, particularly online. There’s now a “Wellingtonians against the Wellywood Sign” on Facebook; so far its members outnumber the “Support Wellywood” page, but the latter does have a substantial number of boosters. Representatives for the airport, which plans to put the sign on a ridge where it will be visible from planes landing and taking off to the north, say the project will go forward.

Today Sherlock, the TV series in which Martin Freeman plays Watson, was given a BAFTA “Best Drama” prize. Backstage, Freeman reportedly remarked that his co-star Benedict Cumberbatch (who plays Sherlock Holmes) has been cast in The Hobbit.

According to Digital Spy:

Cumberbatch added afterwards that his casting was supposed to have been kept secret and refused to disclose details about his character.

Freeman later went on to comment: “I knew I was a big mouth, I didn’t know how much of a big mouth, and I’ve ruined everything. And now I might not have a job to go back to!”

The Knutsford Guardian quoted Cumberbatch directly:

Asked what character he was playing, a red-faced Benedict said: “I can’t say at the moment.”

I guess this news goes beyond being a casting rumor, though it has not yet been officially confirmed by the filmmaking team.

Cumberbatch is an intriguing actor, at least judging by his eccentric performance as Holmes in the TV series, which is the only thing of his that I’ve seen. I’m looking forward to the second series of the show.

[Thanks to Paulo Pereira for alerting me to this event!]

A telethon for charity, “Rise up Christchurch,” is happening in New Zealand. Ian McKellen is/was scheduled to appear at Te Papa museum during this. He’ll present a copy of Tolkien’s The Hobbit, autographed by cast members, to be auctioned off. As most readers will recall, Christchurch was struck by a devastating and deadly earthquake earlier this year.

It’s not the first time that Peter Jackson’s Tolkien adaptations have pitched in after a catastrophic event. The Fellowship of the Ring was due to start its American run in December, 2001. After the attack on the World Trade Center in September, fundraising screenings of the film were held.

[Thanks to Paulo Pereira for the link!]

[Added May 23: There’s now a ten-minute TV clip with Ian McKellen and a group of the dwarf-actors doing a gag bit “revealing” their costumes and makeup for the film. The only news here seems to be that Cate Blanchett is at work in Wellington, so the White Council scenes must be underway.]

[Added May 26: If you’re interested in bidding on the autographed copy of The Hobbit, go here.]

The Guardian has posted a long story on Guillermo del Toro’s current activities. It’s mainly about the horror film he has produced but not directed, Julia’s Eyes. It also mentions that his new directorial project, Pacific Rim, may start shooting in the fall. Here’s what GdT has to say in passing about The Hobbit:

A nine-month delay to the start of production on the two Hobbit pictures which del Toro had co-written forced him to vacate the director’s chair last year; Peter Jackson has now begun production. “I write back and forth with Peter, and I’m following eagerly the development of the movies,” del Toro says diplomatically. He received arguably an even greater knock-back two months ago, when Universal declined to finance his adaptation of HP Lovecraft’s monster extravaganza At The Mountains Of Madness. Even the presence of del Toro’s friend James Cameron as producer couldn’t assuage the studio’s fears about lavishing such a colossal budget on a disturbing, R-rated movie.

I would imagine Guillermo would keep up on the production, given that he’s co-writer on the scripts and would presumably be consulted about changes. (We know that Peter and his writing team make frequent revisions during filming.)

Back in March of last year, I reported that the Wellington airport was planning to put up a “Hollywood”-style sign on the side of a green-zone ridge on the western side of the Miramar peninsula proclaiming “Wellywood.” At the time there were some legal rumblings from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Apparently those have come to nothing, and the airport is going ahead with the plan (according to Stuff.co.nz). Back in 2010, 44% of local residents surveyed by Stuff.co.nz approved of the idea, and there was a mixed response in general. Now the overall attitude seems to be that the sign is crass and unnecessary. Positively Wellington Tourism’s spokesman is among the few approving: “One of the things for Wellington is that the world talks about us, and the sign is a mechanism for that.”

The idea is that planes landing at the airport will give those on the left side a view of the sign as they arrive in the city. On days when the wind dictates an approach from the south (over the water), the sign would not be visible.

I personally think the sign would be a good idea. My own memory of that ridge is going through the gap in it by taxi numerous times and being greeted by signs warning dog owners that poison had been put down to reduce the local possum population. “Wellywood” would be a considerable improvement on that!