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Critics, Hollywood insiders weigh in the possibility that the director may be removed from the upcoming superhero reboot.
By Eric Ditzian
Zack Snyder and Superman
Photo: AFP/ Alex Ross/ DC Comics
There was a time, after "Dawn of the Dead" and "300," when few might have argued against handing Superman's cape to director Zack Snyder and telling him, "Resurrect this franchise!" Then came his polarizing adaptation of "Watchmen" and a disappointing box-office performance in "Legend of the Guardians," neither of which prevented Warner Bros. from giving Snyder the "Superman" gig last October. Now, though, in the wake of the critical drubbing and weak opening weekend of "Sucker Punch," some industry insiders suspect that the studio and its corporate parent are starting to wonder if Snyder — a director with a keen visual eye but not always the deftest storytelling touch — is truly the right man for the job.
In fact, David Poland of Movie City News even speculated that the director might end up departing the production. "Next month would be the moment when Snyder 'decides to do a more personal project,' if he was being given the heave-ho," the critic told MTV News.
Not that Poland or anyone else is suggesting that Snyder has one foot out the door. Certainly helping matters is that "The Dark Knight Rises" director Christopher Nolan has taken on a much-vaunted "godfather" role on "Superman."
"With Nolan shepherding 'Superman,' Warner Bros. will likely have complete trust in their collective vision as they attempt to reboot one of Hollywood's golden franchises," said Jeff Bock, box-office analyst for entertainment-research firm Exhibitor Relations. "Yes, 'Sucker Punch' is a creative and financial disappointment, and probably the last time in quite a while that Snyder will be given free reign over a film, but he was never going to have that creative autonomy with 'Superman' regardless."
Yet Nolan's guidance is hardly enough to ensure "Superman" success on the level of "Batman Begins" or "The Dark Knight." James Cameron, for instance, took on an executive-producer role on "Sanctum" — one can clearly see his input both in the visuals and the storyline — but no one would argue that the film resides in the same creative universe as "Avatar." What's more, it remains unclear how engaged Nolan will be as he readies production on "The Dark Knight Rises."
"How involved will Nolan really be? His ['Batman'] casting is ahead of 'Superman''s," said Poland. "[Is] Nolan godfathering Snyder or just WB? Is he there to give script notes or to really assert an influence? It's an unknown."
Poland maintains that Snyder's hiring always seemed to be a move spearheaded by Warner Bros. Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov rather than Nolan, since the two directors possess vastly different stylistic vocabularies. In this sense, it may not be that WB is reassessing Snyder so much as that Robinov's higher-ups at Time Warner are.
"[I]t's more about the bosses second-guessing. Will the noise level turn [CEO] Jeff Bewkes' head?" noted Poland. "Could another 'Superman' flop — meaning just $400 million worldwide, hit numbers for most films — change how Jeff Robinov is seen inside the company? ... I do believe that [Snyder] is Robinov's guy and that Robinov's career is on the line here."
It's important to note, however, that Warner Bros. certainly knew what it had in "Sucker Punch" before hiring Snyder — its commercial and critical reception couldn't have come as an inordinate surprise. Nor was its box-office debut ($19 million) especially shocking, according to Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com. "The opening was only a tad bit below expectations," he said. "If a branded film like 'Watchmen' opened like this, then it would be a big deal. The visuals were impressive and that's a major factor when it comes to a superhero tentpole. Many directors with far less action experience were handed comic-book epics before."
But even action-savvy helmers have faltered with "Superman." Just ask Bryan Singer. The thing is, after Singer's "Superman Returns" failed to resonate with the public in 2006, Warner Bros. can hardly afford to stumble again. According to Bock, WB understands that "it's do or die time," and continues to have confidence that its pairing of Snyder and Nolan was the right choice.
"[T]hey needed Nolan in a godfather capacity, and Snyder to up the hip quotient," Bock said. "Snyder knows how to create a dynamic spectacle on the silver screen, as he has shown with '300' and 'Dawn of the Dead,' and with Nolan guiding the story process, 'Superman' may just be the next big thing — again."
For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.
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Apparently the images of the singer ? all taken between June and November last year ? include such racy scenes as her drinking and smoking a cigar with flowers in her hair, her with two naked men (presumably strippers), her "mimicking oral sex" on a sex toy and her dancing on a table.
Wow. Sounds like filthy stuff. Or maybe just a standard big night out for quite a lot of people, depending on the way you look at it?
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Starting Tuesday, fans can choose the nominees for Best Kiss, Best Line and more.
By Eric Ditzian
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Photo: Summit
The power of the Golden Popcorn is once again yours! Starting today, we're asking you to cast your votes and select the nominees for the 2011 MTV Movie Awards in 13 categories ranging from the familiar (Best Movie, Best Kiss) to the brand-new (Best Line from a Movie).
Can "Eclipse" reprise the success of "Twilight" (seven nods) and "New Moon" (five nods) before it? Will Biggest Badass star go to Robert Downey Jr.'s sardonic, super-suited hero in "Iron Man 2," to Angelina Jolie for her acrobatic brawling in "Salt," or someone else entirely? Which star's unforgettable line — Liam Neeson's plea to release the Kraken? Justin Timberlake's insistence that only a billion dollars is truly cool? — will be the first to take home this award? For a third-straight year, it's up to you!
Here's how it'll work: Starting Tuesday (March 22) and running through April 5, you can log onto MovieAwards.MTV.com to nominate your favorite movies, stars and crazy cinematic moments. Once the final nominees are announced, head back to the site to vote for the winners from May 3 through June 4. Voting for Best Movie, however, will remain open throughout the live ceremony on June 5 — meaning you'll have a chance to affect the night's biggest prize until the very last minute.
"MTV's viewers are die-hard film buffs, and we love to see how they wield that dedication when voting for the MTV Movie Awards," said Stephen Friedman, general manager of MTV. "This year's show will once again reward movie buffs with previews of the year's most anticipated movies and one-of-a-kind moments that become pop-culture history."
The 20th Annual MTV Movie Awards will air live on Sunday, June 5, at 9 p.m. ET from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California.
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
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The boy-band are scheduled to kick off their 16-date UK tour at the O2 Apollo tonight and when Max was recently asked if he was nervous at the prospect he said:
?It?s weird, I think Michelle is possibly more nervous than we are. She?s going to be there at both our Manchester dates and I can?t wait. I just hope everyone enjoys it as much as we will.?
And while we?re on the subject of Max and Michelle?s blossoming romance that reminds us of something else we heard him say the other day.
The 22-year-old popstar admitted that since dating the Corrie beauty he doesn?t feel the need to watch porn anymore. Seriously, he said that. Don?t believe us? Okay, his exact words were, ?I?ve watched my fair share of porn. But I don?t have a need for it any more? - Aw, and they say romance is dead.
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Oscar-nominated actress will play the 'smart, tough, funny' journalist, director Zack Snyder announces.
By Aly Semigran
Amy Adams
Photo: Jason Merritt/ Getty Images
Clark Kent, meet your Lois Lane.
After weeks of guessing who would play the Man of Steel's leading lady in the upcoming "Superman" reboot, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, along with director Zack Snyder announced on Sunday (March 27) that Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Adams will take on the iconic role.
Snyder, whose latest endeavor, "Sucker Punch," opened in second place at the box office this weekend, said in a statement, "Second only to Superman himself, the question of who will play Lois Lane is arguably what fans have been most curious about. So we are excited to announce the casting of Amy Adams, one of the most versatile and respected actresses in films today. Amy has the talent to capture all of the qualities we love about Lois: smart, tough, funny, warm, ambitious and, of course, beautiful."
Adams, 36, whose versatile résumé includes "Enchanted," "Talladega Nights," "Doubt" and, most recently, "The Fighter," which earned her an Oscar nod, will star opposite the new Superman, Henry Cavill, who is nine years her junior.
But age clearly didn't factor into Snyder's decision, as he told the Los Angeles Times, "There was a big, giant search for Lois. For us it was a big thing and obviously a really important role. We did a lot of auditioning but we had this meeting with Amy Adams and after that I just felt she was perfect for it."
Snyder, who reached out to Adams regarding the "Superman" news via phone while in Paris on Sunday, went on to explain why the Lois Lane role will be "a linchpin" for his vision for the tentatively titled "Man of Steel."
"It goes back to what I've said about Superman and making him really understandable for today. What's important to us is making him relevant and real and making him empathetic to today's audience so that we understand the decisions he makes," he said, "That applies to Lois as well. She has to be in the same universe as him [in tone and substance]."
Adams and Cavill will be joined by Diane Lane and Kevin Costner, who will play Clark Kent's adoptive parents.
What do you think of Amy Adams being cast as Lois Lane in the new "Superman" movie? Tell us in the comments!
For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.
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Zack Snyder also describes the difficulty of editing for a PG-13 rating.
By Kara Warner
Emily Browning in "Sucker Punch"
Photo: Warner Bros./ Legendary Pictures
In case you haven't already seen, heard or read enough about Zack Snyder's action-adventure-fantasy "Sucker Punch," MTV News has you covered. In addition to our catch-all guide to the film and secrets revealed, today we bring you more from Snyder regarding the highly technical aspects of the shoot, as well as what fans can expect on the DVD and Blu-ray.
"The train sequences were the hardest technically to shoot only because it's a sequence that's broken up into maybe 120 shots that look like one shot," Snyder revealed. "So you just kind of have to know where the camera's going and where it came from, and put these little camera moves in, and all these shifts that have to happen," he said.
Snyder went on to say that he and his filmmaking team had the same sort of problems with the Samurai fight sequence, but they approached them differently.
"It was a little easier to do, but the thing that challenged us there was, of course, the scale was crazy," he said. "Ryan, who's one of my stuntmen, he would stand on a big piece of scaffolding and he would fight Emily [Browning] with this long stick," he explained. "Because she had to have an eye line to him up there. So he had this kind of flexible stick that he would try to hit her with."
Will we see any of that behind-the-scenes footage on the DVD?
"Yeah, sure," he said. "I think there is coverage of that."
Regarding what else will appear on the home-video-viewing versions of the film, Snyder teased that there will be a lot of action.
"There is about 18 minutes in the Blu-ray that is mostly action, because the MPAA was not ... [there was] a little too much action," he said, adding that taking the film from an R-rating to PG-13 was also a challenge.
"I would say that the very things that they [the MPAA] didn't like were the very things that you needed to see in order for you to understand the content of the scene," he said. "To know how to feel about it, because otherwise you're sort of left in this weird middle ground," he said. "So it's difficult. It's tricky."
Check out everything we've got on "Sucker Punch."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
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We spotted the former PCD doll as she trotted around the Grand Prix grounds, in Melbourne, looking slightly worn out following her long journey. That?ll teach her for being a good girlfriend.
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Josh Hutcherson, Alex Pettyfer and Hunter Parrish appear to be the front-runners, but nothing is confirmed yet.
By Christina Garibaldi
Alex Pettyfer
Photo: Getty Images
Last week, MTV News exclusively revealed that Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence landed the highly coveted role of Katniss Everdeen in the film adaptation of "The Hunger Games." Experts and fans were mixed on the thought of the tall, blond 20-year-old taking on the role of the 16-year-old, dark-haired heroine, but it seems like Jennifer can rest easy for now, since the debate has shifted to who will play fellow Hunger Games competitor Peeta.
"It's definitely going to be someone close to her age," Down With the Capitol administrator Theresa Morgan told MTV News. "I think it will make it easier to cast someone for Peeta."
Many names have already been thrown into the mix, including "The Kids Are All Right" star Josh Hutcherson, who confessed he has met with director Gary Ross. "I love Peeta," Hutcherson told Entertainment Weekly. "The character is so much who I am — self-deprecating, a people person. And he'd be such a great character to play!"
Hutcherson seems to be a front-runner for the District 12 male tribute, but he will have some stiff competition from Alex Pettyfer and fan favorite Hunter Parrish.
"We love Josh Hutcherson," the Hob administrator Megan Scott said. "There's Alex, who I really like, but Hunter is a huge fan favorite. When I think of these guys with Jennifer, they all go well together."
"Our whole site thinks Hunter will be perfect," Morgan said. "He looks the role and acts the role. A lot of people are thinking he sounds like Peeta."
Ross might agree, since Parrish recently told E! Online he has met with the movie's producers. "I'd be grateful to get the opportunity," he said. "Like, really grateful. It would be amazing."
Not everyone's convinced that these leading contenders are right for the coveted "Hunger Games" role.
"My favorite for Peeta is Callan McAuliffe," Mockingjay.net administrator Kimmy West said about the "I Am Number Four" newcomer. "I think he has the acting chops, he's relatively unknown, and he has that warm quality that Peeta has."
Who do you think should get the role of Peeta in "The Hunger Games"? Tell us in the comments below!
Check out everything we've got on "Hunger Games."
For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.
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'... the ride Snyder takes you on is so vividly conceived, so deliriously bizarre and wonderful,' writes Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald.
By Eric Ditzian
Abbie Cornish in "Sucker Punch"
Photo: Warner Bros.
We'll say this about Zack Snyder: The guy knows how to stir up passion in moviegoers, whether those intense feelings skew toward the aggressively negative or the bow-down-before-a-cinematic-god positive. Just take a peek at reviews for the director's adaptation of "Watchmen" in 2009.
A similar disparity in critical assessments surrounds Snyder's latest offering, the fantastical battle royale called "Sucker Punch." Some reviewers are passionately defending the film and calling out the haters for simply failing to understand what the director was trying to accomplish. Many more, however, are accusing Snyder of being the one who failed to deliver.
Will you love it? Hate it? Have you somehow never even heard of it? Check out what the critics are saying and decide for yourself.
The Story
"The story centers on Babydoll (Emily Browning), an orphan falsely accused of murdering her little sister and imprisoned inside an asylum where she is scheduled for a lobotomy. Before the procedure can be completed, Babydoll disappears into an alternate reality that exists entirely in her mind. There, she and four fellow inmates (Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung) are performers in a bordello managed by the theatrical Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino) and run by the cruel pimp Blue (Miami's Oscar Isaac). In order to escape — the cathouse and the mental institution — the girls must first fight off winged dragons, zombies, giant ninja robots and android aliens and collect five talismans. No, Sucker Punch doesn't make any sense. But none of that matters, because the ride Snyder takes you on is so vividly conceived, so deliriously bizarre and wonderful." — Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
Storytelling Shortcomings
"The film abdicates so many basic responsibilities of coherent storytelling, even coherent stupid-action-movie storytelling, director/ co-writer/ co-producer Zack Snyder must have known in preproduction that his greasy collection of near-rape fantasies and violent revenge scenarios disguised as a female-empowerment fairy tale wasn't going to satisfy anyone but himself. Well, himself, plus ardent fans of Japanese-schoolgirl manga comics. ... You will be unprepared for a film packing this much confusing crud into a little less than two hours of solitary confinement, which feels more like dog hours, i.e., 14." — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
The Visuals
"Loaded with all kinds of visions of the fantastic and high-octane excitement, it's a visceral feast that utilizes Snyder's signature techniques with all the velocity of a fire-breathing dragon ... But 'Sucker Punch' is not just style over substance. That's an argument the film is sure to be met with, as well, but there is just as much bubbling up under 'Sucker Punch's' CG surface than there is in its sepia-toned skies. Filled with themes of empowerment, escapism, and changing the course of the typical narrative, the film rides high in its jet-propelled mech warrior, and it has much to tell us when it's done doing loopty loops around our brain." — Jeremy Kirk, FirstShowing.net
The Influences
"You could go to see 'Sucker Punch' this weekend — a lot of people probably will, and a few may even admit as much back at the office on Monday — or you could try to make it yourself, which might be more fun, though not necessarily cheaper. Here's what you will need: a bunch of video-game platforms; DVDs of 'Shutter Island,' 'Kill Bill,' 'Burlesque' and 'Shrek'; some back issues of Maxim; a large bag of crystal meth; and around $100 million. Your imagination will take care of the rest." — A.O. Scott, The New York Times
The Final Word
"Some will see the worst sort of objectification in its Victoria's Secret-esque femme front line that also includes the scantily clad corps of Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung. Others will argue that 'Sucker Punch's' sexy guerrillas represent female empowerment, to say nothing of the benefits of diet and exercise. I'd suggest the film is a wonderfully wild provocation — an imperfect, overlong, intemperate and utterly absorbing romp through the id that I wouldn't have missed for the world." — Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times
Check out everything we've got on "Sucker Punch."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
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Starting Tuesday, fans can choose the nominees for Best Kiss, Best Line and more.
By Eric Ditzian
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Photo: Summit
The power of the Golden Popcorn is once again yours! Starting today, we're asking you to cast your votes and select the nominees for the 2011 MTV Movie Awards in 13 categories ranging from the familiar (Best Movie, Best Kiss) to the brand-new (Best Line from a Movie).
Can "Eclipse" reprise the success of "Twilight" (seven nods) and "New Moon" (five nods) before it? Will Biggest Badass star go to Robert Downey Jr.'s sardonic, super-suited hero in "Iron Man 2," to Angelina Jolie for her acrobatic brawling in "Salt," or someone else entirely? Which star's unforgettable line — Liam Neeson's plea to release the Kraken? Justin Timberlake's insistence that only a billion dollars is truly cool? — will be the first to take home this award? For a third-straight year, it's up to you!
Here's how it'll work: Starting Tuesday (March 22) and running through April 5, you can log onto MovieAwards.MTV.com to nominate your favorite movies, stars and crazy cinematic moments. Once the final nominees are announced, head back to the site to vote for the winners from May 3 through June 4. Voting for Best Movie, however, will remain open throughout the live ceremony on June 5 — meaning you'll have a chance to affect the night's biggest prize until the very last minute.
"MTV's viewers are die-hard film buffs, and we love to see how they wield that dedication when voting for the MTV Movie Awards," said Stephen Friedman, general manager of MTV. "This year's show will once again reward movie buffs with previews of the year's most anticipated movies and one-of-a-kind moments that become pop-culture history."
The 20th Annual MTV Movie Awards will air live on Sunday, June 5, at 9 p.m. ET from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California.
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
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From 'Breaking Dawn' to leading lady Kristen Stewart, RPattz was an open book.
By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Josh Horowitz
Robert Pattinson
Photo: MTV News
Robert Pattinson likes his leading ladies "hot," thinks his "Breaking Dawn" love scene with Kristen Stewart is "funny" and looks back at his first "Twilight" red carpet and thinks, "I looked like an old alcoholic."
Yes, we ranged far and wide across the "Twilight" universe on Friday night during "MTV First: Robert Pattinson," a 30-minute live chat with the 24-year-old star. In fact, we hit so many topics of interest to fans of the vampire franchise that we've gathered them all on one page. Consider this a Twi-cheat sheet of everything Pattinson had to say about the series:
On Kristen Stewart
While Rob drew a line of comparison between his "Twilight" co-star and other leading ladies with whom he's shared the screen — "I like being in movies with lots of hot girls," he laughed — he also pointed out how different he is from Stewart.
"I like the kind of cerebral aspect of things, and she has kind of an immediate emotional response to stuff every single time," he said about making various acting choices. "She's like, 'Why can't you understand? It's obvious. You don't know. You shouldn't be an actor!' "
Unsurprisingly, the duo's upcoming "Breaking Dawn" love scene — which we got a peek at in a photo earlier this year — also cropped up during the conversation. "You've got to really know what you're doing. If it's just a sort of arbitrary love scene, it'd be quite difficult," he explained. "The one on 'Breaking Dawn' is pretty funny."
On "Breaking Dawn"
Of all the new talent joining the franchise, 10-year-old Mackenzie Foy, who plays Edward and Bella's daughter, is the one everyone has an eye on. "She's a great actress. She's really sweet," Pattinson told us. "She has to do a hard part as well, because she's doing — I don't want to get into special-effects stuff — but she's playing a baby in some scenes. Oh, man, some of the stuff is so strange. I mean, we've done very strange things on the 'Breaking Dawn' shoot."
Rob also dished a bit about the musical aspects of the upcoming films, shooting down a rumor that he'll sing a lullaby but revealing he will show off some of his musical abilities. "I did play some piano. I'm not sure if that's supposed to be secret," he said. "I was very impressed. I hadn't played piano in years, and I learned it in about 10 seconds."
On Revisiting the Past
While we had Rob live and in studio, we couldn't help but flash back to our first-ever "Twilight" interview back in the spring of 2008. Though much time has passed, Pattinson said that now, much like then, he still can't quite grasp the full breadth of Twi-mania. What has changed, he added, is how he acts during interviews.
"I never got that I was supposed to be talking about 'Twilight.' I thought I had to be funny all the time and that's it," he said.
But he doesn't regret trying to be the always-on funnyman. Looking back on the last few years, Pattinson told us he really has just one regret. "I wouldn't have worn the suit I wore for the first 'Twilight' premiere. It was too small," he said. "I was also a little bit nervous, so I had a couple of drinks beforehand. I look like an old alcoholic."
Check out everything we've got on "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1."
For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.
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Following years of delays and numerous changes, Peter Jackson's production is finally under way.
By Terri Schwartz
Peter Jackson
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
It's been a long, long time coming, but after spending more than 14 years gestating, Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" movie finally started filming on Monday (March 21).
Production is taking place at Stone Street Studios in New Zealand, the same studio where Jackson shot his three "Lord of the Rings" films. Shooting is expected to take around two years to complete, with the anticipated release date of the tentatively titled "There and Back Again" December 19, 2012 and "The Hobbit: An/The Unexpected Journey" sometime in December 2013.
It wasn't until last month that the cast of "The Hobbit" were brought together for the first time, during a press conference in New Zealand. Since then, castmember Ian McKellan has been keeping fans up-to-date on the pre-production process via his blog. Earlier this month, he announced that he had seen Martin Freeman dressed in character as leading man Bilbo Baggins and caught a glimpse of the footage in 3-D.
Production on "The Hobbit" has been rife with its share of problems since Jackson first presented the idea to adapt it back in 1997. From 2005-2007, Jackson and New Line Cinemas were involved in a legal battle that eventually relegated Jackson to executive producer while another director would helm the films. Then director Guillermo del Toro agreed to come onboard to helm the films in 2008, but in May 2010, he said that he couldn't continue his time commitment to the films. And even after Jackson was again confirmed as director on October 15, 2010, there were union disputes in New Zealand that almost forced "The Hobbit" to relocate to a different filming area.
Fortunately everything has been resolved since then. Jackson is directing the flicks, Freeman is starring as Bilbo and "Lord of the Rings" actors McKellan, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom will be returning for the new films. The movies will be shot in digital 3-D, and Howard Shore, who composed the score for the three "Lord of the Rings" films, will be working on these as well.
"We're all very optimistic about it," Freeman said during the New Zealand press conference according to the BBC. "We're ready to go — just as soon as 2015 comes around."
Lucky for us, the filming start date was a bit sooner than that.
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
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Josh Hutcherson, Alex Pettyfer and Hunter Parrish appear to be the front-runners, but nothing is confirmed yet.
By Christina Garibaldi
Alex Pettyfer
Photo: Getty Images
Last week, MTV News exclusively revealed that Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence landed the highly coveted role of Katniss Everdeen in the film adaptation of "The Hunger Games." Experts and fans were mixed on the thought of the tall, blond 20-year-old taking on the role of the 16-year-old, dark-haired heroine, but it seems like Jennifer can rest easy for now, since the debate has shifted to who will play fellow Hunger Games competitor Peeta.
"It's definitely going to be someone close to her age," Down With the Capitol administrator Theresa Morgan told MTV News. "I think it will make it easier to cast someone for Peeta."
Many names have already been thrown into the mix, including "The Kids Are All Right" star Josh Hutcherson, who confessed he has met with director Gary Ross. "I love Peeta," Hutcherson told Entertainment Weekly. "The character is so much who I am — self-deprecating, a people person. And he'd be such a great character to play!"
Hutcherson seems to be a front-runner for the District 12 male tribute, but he will have some stiff competition from Alex Pettyfer and fan favorite Hunter Parrish.
"We love Josh Hutcherson," the Hob administrator Megan Scott said. "There's Alex, who I really like, but Hunter is a huge fan favorite. When I think of these guys with Jennifer, they all go well together."
"Our whole site thinks Hunter will be perfect," Morgan said. "He looks the role and acts the role. A lot of people are thinking he sounds like Peeta."
Ross might agree, since Parrish recently told E! Online he has met with the movie's producers. "I'd be grateful to get the opportunity," he said. "Like, really grateful. It would be amazing."
Not everyone's convinced that these leading contenders are right for the coveted "Hunger Games" role.
"My favorite for Peeta is Callan McAuliffe," Mockingjay.net administrator Kimmy West said about the "I Am Number Four" newcomer. "I think he has the acting chops, he's relatively unknown, and he has that warm quality that Peeta has."
Who do you think should get the role of Peeta in "The Hunger Games"? Tell us in the comments below!
Check out everything we've got on "Hunger Games."
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In a statement she said:
"Lindsay is dropping the Lohan and just going by Lindsay. Plus, me and Ali will be officially changing our last names back to my maiden name, Sullivan."
Here?s an idea, why don?t they all just fade away from the limelight altogether so we don?t have to use their surnames again anyway. That would work right?
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Maybe she had to wear a stud in it at the beginning and she?s only just been able to swap it for a hoop? That would make sense.
So anyway, when we spotted Cher and the rest of the X Factor crew they were clambering onto a coach and heading to Newcastle where they?re scheduled to perform on Friday.
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And it looks like we were right about that; according to reports Kate and Jaime -who we spotted at King?s Cross yesterday following their holiday in Paris - want what sounds like a massive gig following their nuptials.
They?ll be asking a host of their fave bands to play at their wedding bash including, Led Zeppelin, The Clash The Rolling Stones, Kanye West and the Gossip?s Beth Ditto.
Sounds like a better line-up than most music festivals this year. We want an invite.
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