In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit…

Wellington, NZ, March 21, 2011—Production has commenced in Wellington, New Zealand, on “The Hobbit,” filmmaker Peter Jackson’s two film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s widely read masterpiece.

“The Hobbit” is set in Middle-earth 60 years before Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar-winning “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

The two films, with screenplays by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson, will be shot consecutively in digital 3D using the latest camera and stereo technology. Filming will take place at Stone Street Studios, Wellington, and on location around New Zealand.

“The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

Martin Freeman takes the title role as Bilbo Baggins and Ian McKellen returns in the role of Gandalf the Grey. The Dwarves are played by Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Ken Stott (Balin), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), William Kircher (Bifur) James Nesbitt (Bofur), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Rob Kazinsky (Fili), Aidan Turner (Kili), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), John Callen (Oin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Mark Hadlow (Dori) and Adam Brown (Ori). Reprising their roles from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy are Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Andy Serkis as Gollum and Elijah Wood as Frodo. Jeffrey Thomas and Mike Mizrahi also join the cast as Dwarf Kings Thror and Thrain, respectively. Further casting announcements are expected.

“The Hobbit” is produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, alongside Carolynne Cunningham. Executive producers are Ken Kamins and Zane Weiner, with Philippa Boyens as co-producer. The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, also from the production team of Jackson and Walsh, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office. In 2003, “The Return of the King” swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture – the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy’s production was also unprecedented at the time.

Among the creative behind-the-scenes team returning to Jackson’s crew are director of photography Andrew Lesnie, production designer Dan Hennah, conceptual designers Alan Lee and John Howe, composer Howard Shore and make-up and hair designer Peter King. Costumes are designed by Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor.

Taylor is also overseeing the design and production of weaponry, armour and prosthetics which are once again being made by the award winning Weta Workshop. Weta Digital take on the visual effects for both films, led by the film’s visual effects supervisor, Joe Letteri. Post production will take place at Park Road Post Production in Wellington.

“The Hobbit” films are co-produced by New Line Cinema and MGM, with New Line managing production. Warner Bros Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television licensing being handled by MGM. The two films are planned for release in late 2012 and 2013, respectively.

ABOUT NEW LINE CINEMA:

New Line Cinema continues to be one of the most successful independent film companies. For more than 40 years, its mission has been to produce innovative, popular, profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line produced the Oscar®-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which is a landmark in the history of film franchises. New Line Cinema is a division of Warner Bros.

ABOUT PETER JACKSON/WINGNUT FILMS:

Peter Jackson is one of the world’s most successful filmmakers. His monumental achievement co-writing, co-producing and directing The Lord of the Rings trilogy (with fellow Academy Award winners and frequent collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens) earned a total of 30 Academy Award nominations and 17 Academy Awards. Jackson and Walsh received their first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for their acclaimed film Heavenly Creatures. Jackson, through his New Zealand-based Wingnut Films banner, also was responsible for the globally successful 2005 remake of King Kong which earned over $500 million worldwide and 3 Academy Awards. Jackson most recently directed the Academy Award nominated The Lovely Bones; an adaptation of the acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, which to date has earned nearly $100 million worldwide; and produced the global sensation, District 9, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. He is also developing a trilogy of films with Steven Spielberg based on Tintin, the world renowned comic book series by Herge. In 2010 he received a Knighthood for his services to film.

ABOUT METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. is actively engaged in the worldwide production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home video, interactive media, music, and licensed merchandise. The company owns the world’s largest library of modern films, comprising around 4,100 titles. Operating units include Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc., United Artists Films Inc., MGM Television Entertainment Inc., MGM Networks Inc., MGM Distribution Co., MGM International Television Distribution Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC, MGM ON STAGE, MGM Music, MGM Consumer Products and MGM Interactive. In addition, MGM has ownership interests in domestic and international TV channels reaching over 130 countries. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.

NEW YORK, March 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- New York-based Erik Eino Ochsner will conduct performances of The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring: Live to Projection at Tampere Hall in Finland. The performances feature Howard Shore's Academy Award(R)-winning score performed live, synchronized to film.

Conductor Erik E. Ochsner, known for his clear, powerful conducting presence and attention to detail, is one of today's promising and gifted conductors. He is the music director/founder of SONOS Chamber Orchestra, winner of the 2003 American Scandinavian Society's Cultural Advocacy Award. Ochsner led the ensemble in six U.S. premieres, including Karl Jenkins' Requiem, and two world premieres. This season, Ochsner will conduct SONOS in the U.S. premiere of Fredrik Sixten's Requiem.

Ochsner has been involved with the worldwide tour of The Lord of the Rings film projects since 2004. He was assistant conductor/chorus master for the Shanghai workshop of Tan Dun's The First Emperor (Metropolitan Opera World Premiere Commission), and the World premiere of Dun's The Map with Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Ochsner studied with Marin Alsop, Charles Bruck, Erich Kunzel, Helmut Rilling, and Robert Spano.

"Since I grew up in a half-Finnish house, to be invited to conduct in Finland will be an honor and a personal and emotional experience for me and my family," said Ochsner.

The full title of this book is The Music of The Lord of The Rings Films: A Comprehensive Account of Howard Shore’s Scores With CD. It’s the subtitle that tells the real story - a comprehensive account of Howard Shore’s Scores. For film composers and students of film composition, there hasn’t been a book of this caliber and depth since Henry Mancini’s Case Study of a Film Score: The Thorn Birds. I would place the work done by Doug Adams on Howard Shore’s work, the film music equivalent of what Donald Francis Tovey did for Beethoven. The book is that rich.

[...]

Don’t be fooled by the coffee table look and feel of the book. This is a serious work. And the story line/compositional analysis of each theme is more than you’d ever get in a film scoring class. 

“One of the things that I was interested in in film is that it allowed me so many opportunities to work with great orchestras, to work with great artists and soloists and allowed me a lot of experimentation in using the recording studio,” Shore says. “Music has always been my love and I’m just constantly searching and looking for new ways to really express my ideas in music. And I think that’s why I’m writing, and the family, it’s pretty much everything I do.”

He cites Toru Takemitsu’s work as one of the composers that inspires him. “In the history of film, which now goes back 100 years, there’s just a whole long tradition of music — going back to silent films, which were never silent. There has always been a strong connection and you feel part of the history of it,” he adds.

[...]

The LOTR symphony is now stands alone and is regularly performed around the world, as opposed to being experienced within the context of the movies, sometimes alongside of work of Strauss, Wagner, Sibelius. It’s become as well-known a theme as Orf’s Carmina Burana or John Williams’ Star Wars score.

“It’s gone out into the world. It’s exciting!” Shore enthuses. “Because I feel that they’re always community projects, they’re always played by the local orchestra and the local chorus, quite often a community chorus, there’s a children’s chorus. You have 300, 400 people in these chorales, learning Tolkien’s several languages. It really becomes a part of the community for a couple of weeks or a month.”

Will his score for The Hobbit be a companion piece to the LOTR masterpiece, a musical continuity? “Well you know,” he demurs, “we’re in Middle-earth – a story that Tolkien wrote in the 1930s before he wrote Lord of the Rings, well before it was published.”

“It has a lot of connections,” he’ll admit. “It takes place before, but there’s a lot of referencing to the Ring. But it is a different story, it’s a lighter story, it’s about a different group of Middle-earth inhabitants, residents, so…”

Even just dipping a toe in the online and in-print appreciation of the Lord of the Rings films is, frankly, daunting. Particularly when Doug Adams has written the definitive, in-depth analysis of Lord of the Rings music and process; it’s possibly the most important study of a film score ever published. Let alone the three gleaming golden Oscars that perch in Shore’s studio. “It’s an honour to be awarded that coveted award,” he says, “but my day to day life is still the same,” Shore says. “I always look forward, not back.”

TORONTO, March 3 /CNW/ - Yvon Deschamps, Margie Gillis, William Shatner, Howard Shore, Leslee Silverman and Paul Thompson have been named the 2011 laureates of the prestigious Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, the ultimate recognition in Canada's performing arts.These individuals are being recognized for their outstanding body of work and enduring contribution to the performing arts in Canada. Presented annually since 1992, these Awards are bestowed by Canadians to Canadians whose accomplishments have inspired and enriched the cultural life of our country.

The Lifetime Artistic Achievement Awards are accompanied by two special awards which recognize individuals taking the performing arts in inspiring new directions.The Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts is given this year to Jean-André Élie, and Denis Villeneuve will receive the National Arts Centre (NAC) Award.

"The Canadian performers being recognized today have been blessed with a unique gift that has left a permanent mark on our Canadian artistic landscape," said His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada. "It is important that we nurture Canada's vibrant performing arts community so that they may continue to capture our spirits and to inspire our minds for years to come. My wife, Sharon, and I wish to express our sincere bravo to the winners of this year's Governor General's Performing Arts Awards."

The six laureates of the 2011 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards for Lifetime Artistic Achievement are:

Yvon Deschamps (Monologuist): Yvon Deschamps is one of Quebec's greatest and most influential humorists. Best known for his satirical monologues, he held up a mirror to Quebec society during the Quiet Revolution and beyond. His subversive yet thoughtful monologues have tackled such diverse topics as money, happiness, racism, the media, Christian mythology, feminism, mental illness, and isolation. His sharply original humour launched a new tradition of francophone comedy that continues to this day. In 1968, with Robert Charlebois and Louise Forestier, he produced L'Osstidcho, an irreverent musical revue that revolutionized Quebec's entertainment scene. Following this huge success, his career skyrocketed with a series of engagements in prestigious venues, notably Montreal's Place des Arts, where he performed more than 500 times during his career. 

Margie Gillis (Dance artist, choreographer and teacher): Margie Gillis is one of Canada's most prolific and acclaimed dance artists, choreographers and teachers. A courageous and free-spirited pioneer of modern dance, she has earned rave reviews and a loyal following throughout the world, and her unique naturalistic style has influenced an entire generation of dancers. In a brilliant career spanning nearly 40 years, she has choreographed and performed over 100 original dance works and collaborated with some of the greatest dancers and choreographers of her time. She has also been a guest artist with many companies such as The National Ballet of Canada, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and has created works for organizations such as Alberta Ballet and Cirque du Soleil. 

William Shatner (Actor, director, producer, writer, spokesman and philanthropist): In a wide-ranging career spanning six decades, William Shatner has recreated himself many times over, each time revealing a new alter ego who seems to completely define him for the moment. Famous for his roles as Captain James Kirk in the original Star Trek TV series and attorney Denny Crane on The Practice and Boston Legal, he has starred in five TV series (Star Trek, T.J. Hooker, The Practice, Boston Legal, and Third Rock from the Sun) and more than 30 films, including Judgment at Nuremberg, seven Star Trek movies, Airplane II: The Sequel, and Miss Congeniality. He is an award-winning actor, accomplished director, best-selling author, and dedicated philanthropist and environmentalist whose compassion, creativity, and irrepressible sense of humour are integral to his life and work. 

Howard Shore (Composer and musician): Howard Shore is among today's most respected, honoured, and active composers and music conductors. His composition for J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy stands as his most towering achievement to date, earning him three Academy Awards. He has also received four Grammy and three Golden Globe awards. One of the original creators of Saturday Night Live, he served as the music director on the show from 1975 to 1980. At the same time, he began collaborating with David Cronenberg and has scored 13 of the director's films including Videodrome, Crash, and Naked Lunch. His original scores for Dead Ringers and Eastern Promises were each honoured with a Genie Award. Mr. Shore has worked with such notable directors as Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton, and Jonathan Demme, distinguishing himself with a wide range of projects. Recent concert works include a fanfare for organ and brass, the opera The Fly, and the piano concerto Ruin and Memory. 

Leslee Silverman (Artistic director): Leslee Silverman is recognized internationally as a leader in theatre for young audiences. As Artistic Director of Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) since 1982, she has significantly raised the profile and standard of young people's theatre in Canada and established MTYP as one of this country's most respected professional theatre companies. An outstanding theatre artist, advocate for young people, and mentor for emerging artists, she has directed over 85 productions for MTYP and was instrumental in establishing Winnipeg's CanWest Global Performing Arts Centre, the only purpose-built young people's theatre facility in English Canada. Ms. Silverman has redefined young people's theatre in new artistic directions that embrace social awareness, leading-edge subject matter, and innovative approaches to traditional material. 

Paul Thompson (Theatre creator, animateur and ideal audience): Paul Thompson is one of the undisputed founders of English-language theatre in Canada. Writer, director, producer and maverick, co-founder and former Artistic Director of Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille and former Director General of the National Theatre School of Canada, he was a pioneer of "collective creation," in which plays are developed by the actors themselves from their own experiences and improvisations. He has directed across the country and around the world, brought over 200 original productions to the stage, mentored several generations of Canadian theatre artists, and helped establish such influential theatre companies as Newfoundland's CODCO, Saskatoon's 25th Street Theatre, and Toronto's Nightwood Theatre. 

Each laureate will receive a cash award of $25,000 contributed by the Canada Council for the Arts www.canadacouncil.ca and a commemorative medallion struck by the Royal Canadian Mint.

Jean-André Élie is this year's recipient of the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts. A passionate supporter of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) for nearly 50 years, Jean-André Élie is numbered among the master builders of this internationally acclaimed ensemble. As a Board and committee member he has spearheaded numerous transformative projects, including notably the OSM Standard Life Competition for young Canadian musicians, and major fundraising initiatives. He has helped forge strong links between the OSM and its community, rallied Quebec's business sector in support of the organization, and made a significant contribution to Montreal's cultural profile. Mr. Élie will receive a specially commissioned work by Canadian glass artist Naoko Takenouchi of Vancouver, British Columbia, and a commemorative medallion struck by the Royal Canadian Mint.

Quebec film director and writer Denis Villeneuve is this year's recipient of the National Arts Centre Award, presented for exceptional achievement over the past performance year. Mr. Villeneuve is one of the hottest filmmakers on the international scene today. His latest feature, Incendies (2010), based on the play by acclaimed Canadian writer and director Wajdi Mouawad, has blazed a dazzling trail: it premiered at La Mostra in Venice, screened to rave reviews at the Toronto, Telluride and Sundance Film Festivals, won the Toronto and Vancouver Film Critics Awards for Best Canadian Film, was named one of the Top Five Foreign Films of 2010 by New York's National Board of Review, and was nominated for 10 Genies and an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In addition to a commemorative medallion struck by the Royal Canadian Mint and a cash award of $25,000 contributed by the NAC, Mr. Villeneuve will receive an original work created by Canadian ceramic artist Paula Murray of Chelsea, Quebec.

In addition to honouring the 2011 laureates, the Awards feature a unique Mentorship Program, a partnership inaugurated in 2008 between the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation (GGPAAF) and Canada's National Arts Centre. Designed to unite past Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award recipients and talented mid-career artists, the program serves as a creative catalyst and as an investment in future Canadian artistic achievement. World-renowned ballerina Evelyn Hart, who received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award in 2001, has chosen to mentor Heather Ogden, an extraordinarily talented young artist and principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. The program is a unique opportunity for the potential laureates of tomorrow to benefit from the creativity and experience of icons who have blazed the trail before them.

The 2011 laureates will be honoured at various events in Ottawa from May 12 to May 14. On May 12, the recipients will be introduced in the House of Commons, and will then attend a Parliamentary reception. On May 13, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will present the Awards at a special ceremony and reception at Rideau Hall. On May 14, the National Arts Centre will host a sparkling Gala to celebrate the 2011 recipients, a star-studded celebration featuring superb performances, evocative film portraits, and personal tributes by guest stars.

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB), an important creative concept partner of the Gala since 2008, will once again produce eight unforgettable short films to celebrate the lives of the 2011 recipients, which will be screened at the May 14 Gala. The NFB brings together some of Canada's most talented documentary filmmakers for this project to create signature films that capture the essence of each Award laureate. These films will also be available online, free of charge, at NFB.ca and through the NFB's iPhone and iPad apps, starting May 14 at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.

The Awards continue to benefit from the significant partnership established in 2007 with the National Arts Centre. Dedicated to achieving the highest presence for the Awards, the NAC is responsible for the production of the annual Gala performance as well as the event's fundraising and marketing activities. The NAC's in-house expertise and experience in these key aspects of the annual celebrations significantly enhance the profile of the Awards and their distinguished recipients.

Created in 1992 under the auspices of the Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn, the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) are Canada's highest honour in the performing arts. They are administered by the GGPAA Foundation, a private, not-for-profit charitable organization. Nominations for the awards are solicited from the public and the performing arts community. Peer selection committees from the various performing arts disciplines and regions of Canada review the nominations and submit a short list of nominees to the GGPAA Foundation Board of Directors, which makes the final selection of recipients for Lifetime Artistic Achievement Awards and the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award. Nominations for 2012 are now being accepted at www.ggpaa.ca. The recipient of the National Arts Centre Award is selected by a committee of senior NAC artistic programmers.

The National Arts Centre is proud to produce the 2011 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Gala in partnership with the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation and the National Film Board of Canada. The Awards are presented with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts. The GGPAAF gratefully acknowledges Enbridge as Presenting Sponsor of the GGPAA Gala, as well as National Partners McDonald's Restaurants of Canada, Pratt & Whitney Canada Corporation and Weber Shandwick Worldwide and Print Sponsor The Printing House. The GGPAAF also acknowledges the significant contributions of Regional Partners Cisco Canada, Corus Entertainment, Desjardins Group and Groupe Aeroplan. Impresario Partners include The Banff Centre, the Council for Canadian American Relations, Joe Fresh and Trinity Development Group. In-kind support for the Awards is also received from Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, technology partner IBM, Llama Communications, media partner The Ottawa Citizen, and The Royal Canadian Mint. Grateful thanks also go to the GGPAA's National Committee of volunteers, led by Honorary Chair The Hon. Hilary M. Weston, CM, OOnt; Co-Chairs M. Ann McCaig, CM, AOE, LLD, and James S. Kinnear; Vice-Chair Susan Glass, CM; and all the individuals and families whose philanthropic support helps make these Awards possible.