Production is underway on The Hobbit…again.  Director Peter Jackson announced today that filming has resumed on the trilogy in New Zealand, as there’s still a bit of footage yet to be captured in order to fill the J.R.R. Tolkein adaptation out to three films.  While originally envisioned as a two-film adaptation, Jackson and fellow screenwriters/producers Philipa Boyens and Fran Walsh convinced Warner Bros. to greenlight a third film last summer, after they had already wrapped what we presumed to be the bulk of principal photography.  Hit the jump for more on the additional filming, including what material it covers.

Last week, folks who bought a home copy of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey were given a code where they could participate in a live-event promoting The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  During the event, Peter Jackson showed some clips, behind-the-scenes footage, concept art, and took some questions.  We showed you some images from the event, but Warner Bros. quickly had us take them down, so I hope you got a chance to see the them.  I know I’ll never look at life the same way again.  As minor consolation to those who didn’t see the event, Jackson has posted a six-minute excerpt where he reveals some behind-the-scenes footage, talks about handling a middle chapter, explains the geography of the journey compared to The Lord of the Rings, and takes issue with Stephen Colbert‘s mugs.

Hit the jump to check out the video.  The film stars Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Stephen Fry, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, and Richard Armitage.  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opens in 3D on December 13th.

If you bought a copy of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, last night you were treated to a special live presentation of Peter Jackson talking about the upcoming sequel, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  In addition, Jackson was joined by stars Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, and Lee Pace as well as The Lord of the Rings cast members Orlando Bloom (who also appears in Smaug), Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan as well as special surprise appearance by Tolkien super-fan Stephen Colbert, who has a cameo in The Hobbit trilogy.  In the presentation, Jackson showed off new concept art, behind-the-scenes video, and a scene from the film.

Hit the jump for more including when we’ll see the first trailer.  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opens in 3D on December 13th.

Update: WB has asked us to take down the images. 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey exemplifies the difference between “disappointing” and “bad.” Director Peter Jackson created a modern classic with his Lord of the Rings trilogy, and fans had every right to expect the same genius from the prequel. Sadly, it was not to be: The Hobbit is too long, too bloated and too unsure of its ultimate purpose to rank alongside its fellows. That said, it still captures the essence of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imaginary world, as well as providing reliable entertainment in its own right. Hit the jump for my full review.

Plans for the sequel to Steven Spielberg’s first foray into animated features, The Adventures of Tintin, appear to be moving right along.  Last we heard, Peter Jackson—who will direct the follow-up—said he hoped to film the performance-capture portion of the movie sometime this year for a planned 2015 release.  Now Steven Spielberg—who will produce the film—has confirmed as much, saying that he still hopes the sequel will be in theaters by Christmas 2015.  Hit the jump for more, including news concerning a new film from Spielberg that takes place in India.

Welcome to 2013, folks. If you’re reading this it means that you survived the Mayan Apocalypse, the first Dick Clark-less New Year’s Rockin’ Eve celebration in like four decades, likely some sort of mandatory holiday time with your extended family, and incessant political jabber about some sort of “fiscal cliff”, all in a matter of about two weeks. Congratulations on a job well done. In spite of all these accomplishments, though, odds are you still haven’t spent any part of 2013 hanging out with Arnold Schwarzenegger and his tank. So, to this point, our Dave Trumbore still wins 2013.

All tank envy aside, let’s keep our heads up and focus on the first Top 5 installment of the new year. This week’s recap includes Brendan’s editorial plea for giving 48fps the old college try, Justice League rumors, Matt’s Warm Bodies set visit and ensuing zombie transformation, news of Jay-Z being brought on to score Baz Luhrmann‘s The Great Gatsby, and the results of our first ever readers poll that asked for your top movies of 2012. Brief recaps and links to all of the above are dying for your attention after the jump.

If you are at Collider, you probably watch a lot of movies.  Based on our demographics, most of you have seen The Hobbit.  A significant portion of you will see The Hobbit in 48 frames per second.  Virtually all of you who do will think the higher frame rate looks strange, at least at first.  And yet, Hobbit director Peter Jackson proclaims 48fps is the future of filmmaking.  Critics are far from convinced, calling the new look “a gaudy high-definition tourist attraction” and “washed out and flat, yet unforgiving in its hyper-realism.”

Jackson’s push for 48fps (also known as High Frame Rate or HFR) has sparked a surprisingly heated debate over what seems like a relatively simple technological innovation.  Although my first viewing of The Hobbit was a peculiar experience, I am a believer in 48fps.  So after the jump, I examine the arguments for and against 48fps, the neuroscience behind the negative response, and what it will take for HFR to find widespread acceptance.

Though it’s only been in theaters for less than two weeks, director Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has already crossed the $500 million mark worldwide at the box office.  It’s current $523.7 million total is definitely an impressive achievement—especially since Return of the King made $1.1 billion worldwide in total—but the fact remains that the film’s domestic box office is a tad soft.  The film dropped 56% from its opening weekend total of $84 million to $36.9 million in its second weekend, and that’s with higher 3D ticket prices.  Hit the jump for more.

Say what you will about the merits of high frame rate, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has provided some amazing visual and sound effects achievements. Now, two new featurettes have been released that take you behind the scenes of Peter Jackson’s epic adventure film and show you how much effort went in to those creations. Whether it’s the practical costumes and make-up of the Hobbit, Dwarf, Elf or Wizard characters, or the purely digital creations of Trolls, Orcs and Gobilns, the visual effects continue to exist on the leading edge of technology. And while Adam Chitwood, Matt Goldberg and I disagreed on the effectiveness of some of the visuals in The Hobbit, each of us was on board with the score, musical cues and sound effects in the film. Hit the jump to check out two featurettes that delve into these arts (presuming you’ve seen the film already). 

The Lord of the Rings trilogy stands as a singular achievement in the history of cinema.  Peter Jackson would have to be crazy to return to this world in the shadow of the enormous financial and artistic success of the Rings series.  Thankfully Jackson is crazy, and just kicked off another Tolkien-based trilogy with the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. To explore the legacy of The Lord of the Rings and how The Hobbit matches up, I tried to capture how the series has evolved over the last decade with Middle-earth by the Numbers.  The feature provides a numbers-based snapshot of each movie and its place in the filmography by looking at the box office, critical reception, and miscellaneous facts.

Hit the jump for a comprehensive review of Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, Return of the King, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

I offered a similar sentiment following the tragedy at Aurora, CO back in July and I’ll do the same today: the event that unfolded yesterday in Newtown, CT is inexcusable and genuinely heartbreaking, even from a distance. The optimist in me wants to believe that any negative situation can be used to educate and improve the world we live in going forward. In this case, I’m hopeful but unsure that’s possible. On behalf of everyone here at Collider, I want to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of those who were lost yesterday.

As petty as it may seem, I feel fortunate to be able to offer a bit of diversion to your day with this week’s Top 5. Included in a trailer-heavy rotation this week is a new cut from Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel, The Hobbit interviews with Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis and more, the first trailer for Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim, Andre’s coverage from his Gangster Squad set visit, and the first look at Will Smith and Jaden Smith gallivanting across the human unfriendly Mother Earth found in M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth. A brief recap and link to each will greet you after the jump.

I love seeing movies in IMAX.  It’s absolutely my favorite way to see a movie as there is nothing like the huge IMAX screen and booming surround sound.  In addition, whenever I ask a director about IMAX, their face lights up and they always say it’s their preferred format for audiences to see their movie.

And Peter Jackson feels the same way about The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, especially in 48fps (high frame rate).  In the clip you can see after the jump, Jackson says you should see The Hobbit in this new format “because it will give you a immersive sense of reality like taking the screen away and you’re looking into a window into the real world.  48fps in IMAX is the ultimate way to see this film.”  Hit the jump for more.

The new Middle Earth trilogy from director Peter Jackson kicked off today with the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and to commemorate the occasion Jackson has released the final video blog from the film.  The director has been more than gracious by giving fans an in-depth look into the production and release of An Unexpected Journey by way of 9 previous video blogs, and this one focuses on the film’s premiere and completion.  With two more films to go and 8 more weeks of additional filming set to commence next year (sure to be followed by more filming in 2014), I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the video blogs in total, but this does mark the end for An Unexpected Journey.

Hit the jump to watch the production diary.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson returns to Middle-Earth in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the exciting and visually stunning first installment of a three-part trilogy adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece, The Hobbit. Jackson will expand the originally slender children’s story into a larger prequel and companion piece to his earlier The Lord of the Rings, while also drawing on the Appendices from The Return of the King.

At the New York press day, Jackson revealed how he plans to weave it all together into an exciting cinematic experience that fans can one day watch back to back with his Lord of the Rings trilogy.  He talked about why he decided to direct after Guillermo del Toro withdrew, the creative way he accommodated Martin Freeman’s commitment to the Sherlock series so he could play the critical role of Bilbo Baggins, how recent technological advancements altered his approach to the film, which parts of the story he enjoyed expanding, why shooting 48 frames per second created a greater sense of reality and immersion in 3D, and how he feels about post-converting the original trilogy into 3D.

Technology will march forward.  That march usually involves something getting trampled along the way.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is underfoot of  horrible 48fps 3D, also known as HFR 3D (High Frame Rate 3D).  Billed as a technology to sharpen 3D and reduce the headaches it can cause, HFR 3D has crippled Peter Jackson‘s return to Middle-earth.  Without the atrocious visuals, Jackson’s film is still slightly repetitive and bloated, but the magic mostly remains intact.  But under HFR 3D, the journey looks like a cheap soap opera on fast forward with crappy digital effects.