Bilbo actor announced soon

[Elfchick7]

really? 'cause I watched an interview where Guillermo said he was planning on making the first film the hobbit and the second would be some sort of transition film between the hobbit and LOTR. As he said, "A fifth film to complete the symphony". *shrug* You never know though, these things do have a way of changing. =)

[Boromir88]

Elfchick, that was the early plans, but last I head GDT decided against the 2nd film as being the 'bridge' film. He wants the Hobbit split up into 2 parts, because he wants to add in scenes with the White Council and the Necromancer.

After GDT said this, there were rumors of hollywood wanting a 3rd film to bridge The Hobbit and LOTR, but all GDT said was he was signed to do 2 movies, and they would both be about The Hobbit.

[Brinniel]

Originally Posted by Laurinque

For personal reasons I think it would be hilarious I Tennant were cast is Bilbo - just imagine him short and wearing a waistcoat!

Tennant has denied any rumours about him playing Bilbo. Sorry to crush your dream of seeing the Doctor with furry feet.

IT WAS always rather unlikely that someone of David Tennant's height and build would end up playing the lead in Guillermo del Toro's two-part film of The Hobbit.

Rumours that the Doctor Who star was on a shortlist for the role surfaced earlier this month with talk that casting would be announced at San Diego Comic-Con.

But Peter Jackson, who is executive producing The Hobbit, said the production was several months way from hiring actors and made it clear there would be no casting news at the convention.

David Tennant has now denied any rumours that he will play Bilbo Baggins, telling MTV: "I'm a bit tall, aren't I? I know they do things with CGI now, but I'm 6'1". Hobbits are little. I do have quite hairy toes, though."

He added: "The internet is a curious place, isn't it? I think someone sits in their bedroom in Saskatchewan and comes up with an idea and they post it.

"And within minutes it's around the world and I'm getting phoned up by journalists and friends of mine saying, 'When are you off to shoot with Guillermo [del Toro]? It's not something I know anything about. No one's talked with me."

See the article here.

Originally Posted by Hakon

I think it will most likely be The Hobbit: Part One and The Hobbit: Part Two.

Yeah, that was just confirmed by PJ at ComicCon.

In an interview at Comic Con, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson spilled some interesting details about the status of the script for The Hobbit. He said the script for part one is about three weeks from completion. And everything — from casting to even getting a final green light from the studio — is still hanging on how that turns out.

He also explained in detail exactly why filmmakers decided that The Hobbit wouldn't all fit into a single movie:

We worked through the storyline, and we thought, "Well, obviously, we could squeeze The Hobbit into one movie," but even, like, a three-hour movie, you'd be amazed at how much of that story you'd have to lose. It's weird. I mean, the book ... is what the book is, and we just worked through a process of including all the events that we'd like to see in a film, and it was clear [that] it wasn't going to fit. Plus, the fact that we want to embellish a few things and put a little bit of extra ... narrative in for Gandalf and what he's doing in Dol Guldur and the Necromancer and various sort of side ... stories that are happening.

So, if all goes according to plan, we should get to see some pretty interesting scenes even beyond what was included in the book. A confrontation between Gandalf and the Necromancer before he has been exposed as Sauron could really turn out to be quite spectacular. There had been some speculation that the Gandalf/Necromancer storyline could be a key part of the plans for the (now abandoned) idea for a bridge film between the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. It's good to see that the concept itself has not been wholly abandoned.

Article can be found here.

So no more LotR prequel. I think separating The Hobbit into two parts will work better than the original idea.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Of course PJ has some explaining about a confrontation between
the Necromancer and Gandalf when in the LOTR films he's
just a giant eyeball.

[Azaelia of Willowbottom]

I like this idea of a two-part Hobbit...I think one *could* fit TH into one movie, but it will work better with two, even with new material added. I'm not even entirely opposed to the stuff with the White Council and the Necromancer, though it will be interesting to see how they reconcile the Eye and the Necromancer.

I'm pretty glad that Tennant is out of the running. I like him, and I think he's a good actor from what I've seen...but Bilbo? No way. His body shape's all wrong, and I think he doesn't carry himself quite right to play Bilbo, either.

I don't like the idea about Radcliffe. He's gotten much, much better, but he's still got a long way to go, and looks-wise, I don't think he really fits that well as a Hobbit, and certainly not Bilbo--he's at least 10 years too young.

I do, however, like James McAvoy, or at least, like him the best out of anyone whose name has been thrown around. He's a really talented, versatile actor. While I think there is something Hobbity about him, he doesn't look a thing like my picture of Bilbo (or, for continuity's sake, like a younger Ian Holm). I do think, though, that he'd be able to play the role well and not look too out-of-place.

What I'd really like to see is an unknown in the role, though I don't think that's likely at all, given Hollywood's obsession with money and the draw of big-name actors.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Sort of news involving Bilbo casting at SciFi Wire:

Ian McKellen teases with Hobbit casting news

Ian McKellen put in an appearance at London's BFI IMAX cinema Saturday night for a special marathon screening of the extended editions of all three Lord of the Rings films, and surprised the audience by unexpectedly revealing Hobbit news during his introductory remarks, /film reported.

Not only did he confirm that he'll be coming back as Gandalf, and is expecting to start work on set in March of next year, he also dropped a bit of a casting bombshell. According to McKellen, the starring role of Bilbo Baggins has been successfully cast already. Not only that, but he knows who has the role and he's sure that the fans will be very, very pleased.

McKellen also revealed that he is expecting his own personal copy of the script within the next two weeks.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Be afraid! Be very afraid!

(Well, maybe not very afraid since it's verrrrrrry unlikely).
But in the Sydney Morning Herald:

Cruise jets into NZ for Jackson meetingAugust 27, 2009 - 10:24AM .
Hollywood star Tom Cruise has flown into New Zealand to meet the country's Oscar-winning director, Peter Jackson.

The actor was met at Wellington airport early on Thursday morning, sources have told New Zealand radio station Newstalk ZB.

It is not known why he is in the country but it is understood he is meeting Jackson. The acclaimed filmmaker is working on a remake of the classic 1954 World War II epic, Dam Busters, the JRR Tolkien classic, The Hobbit, and a film about Belgian comic-strip hero Tintin.

Film critics say Cruise is "very unlikely" to be in line for a role in any of these movies.

But the star has heavy involvement in film studio United Artists so there is speculation that the New Zealand meet-up could be about a joint project.

[Light of Eärendil]

I pretty much see Tom Cruise as Bard. But I would like Hugh Jackman better for that role.