As the release date for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey draws ever nearer, more and more content is being released to remind you of that fact. In addition to a new TV spot that shows off a bit of how Dwarf leader Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) got his name, Entertainment Weekly has also released four collector’s covers featuring the film’s major stars. The new issue, which will be available starting December 7th, also promises a look ahead at the next installment in the trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett andAndy Serkis, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in 3D December 14^th. Hit the jump to check out the new TV spot and magazine covers. 

With Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey set to open worldwide later this month, Warner Bros. has just opened the floodgates of Hobbit footage by releasing six clips and now they’ve provided us with twenty minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the film.  If you’re curious what it was like on set, the footage is loaded with some awesome stuff including Peter Jackson directing Andy Serkis as Gollum with Martin Freeman, all the dwarves with Bilbo in Bag End, Elijah Wood and Ian Holm in Bag End, Jackson directing Ian McKellen as Gandalf as well as Jackson directing Christopher Lee!  Trust me, if you’re a Lord of the Rings fan, you’re going to love this footage.

Obviously, if you’re trying to stay spoiler free, I advise you skipping this footage until you’ve seen The Hobbit.  Hit the jump to watch and here’s Dave’s review (he thought it was great).

Warner Bros. has released six new clips from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  I don’t know what’s in the clips because I’ve gone dark on the film and want to see as much of it as unspoiled as possible.  But that’s just me.

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  Click on the respective links for Dave’s review (my review will go up the day before the film opens), Steve’s set visit, and his interviews with Peter Jackson, Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, and Weta Workshop Head Richard Taylor.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in 3D on December 14th.

In our cinematic age of superhero and sci-fi films, director Peter Jackson is doing his part to shoulder the fantasy genre with a return to Middle Earth in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The first in a trilogy of films adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” An Unexpected Journey sets out to tell the tale of titular protagonist Bilbo Baggins and a company of Dwarves on a quest to reclaim their ancestral home from the grip of the fearsome dragon, Smaug. The film also serves to establish an origin point for the events leading up to and through Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a classic adventure quest in the making; packed with colorful characters, gorgeous settings and plenty of action, the only setbacks are technical ones.

Starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett and Andy Serkis, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in 3D December 14^th. Hit the jump for my review.

Just after The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’s director Peter Jackson talked about the creature design of the dragon Smaug in this interview, it looks as if we’ve got our first (brief and blurry) glimpse of the beast. Two new TV spots landed recently: one features a new bit of dialogue between Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and Gollum (Andy Serkis), the other features a bit of the destruction caused by the fire-breather. Smaug, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, is expected to appear briefly in the first film and should feature heavily in the second, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Also starring Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen and Hugo Weaving, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens December 14th. Hit the jump to check out the new TV spots. 

A new TV spot for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has gone online. It features Ian Holm reprising his role as an older Bilbo Baggins. Seen with Elijah Wood, this short spot gives us a glimpse at what is likely to be an opening scene from the picture. If you want more in depth information about The Hobbit trilogy, director Peter Jackson previously recorded a video interview in which he discusses creature designs for the orcs, goblins and a bit about the cameo of the dragon, Smaug, who will briefly appear in the first film. The discussion is well-timed, since The Hobbit was just announced at having earned a VFX Oscar nomination.

Starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage and Hugo Weaving, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens December 14th. Hit the jump to watch the new TV spot and to read up on what Jackson had to say. 

IMAX has taken to rewarding their die-hard midnight audiences with exclusive posters.  Their latest batch is for the IMAX 3D release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  The set of four posters features Bilbo (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), and Gollum (Andy Serkis).  The posters also have the film’s title written in dwarvish or elfish or some other language that author J.R.R. Tolkien made up.  You can also see that Gollum is clearly jealous that he doesn’t have a sword to hold up in front of his face.

Hit the jump to check out the posters, and click here for a list of participating theaters.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens December 14th.

The first clip and a large batch of high-resolution images from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey have been released.  The clip is quite nice, as it features Ian McKellan’s Gandalf entrusting Martin Freeman’s Bilbo with a very familiar-looking sword.  We’ve seen plenty of money shots in the film’s trailers and TV spots, but this clip highlights one of the softer moments of the film and brings to mind the earnestness that worked so well in The Lord of the Rings.  The new images are also a swell treat for fans, as we’re given a first look at Christopher Lee back as Saruman alongside the angelic Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, as well as The Goblin King and some seriously nasty-looking trolls.

Hit the jump to check out the clip and images.  The film also stars Richard Armitage, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, Peter Hambleton, John Callen, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, James Nesbitt, William Kircher, Aidan Turner, Dean O’Gorman, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown and Stephen Hunter.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens December 14th.

It appears that Sherlock fans will have to wait a bit longer to get some closure to that season two finale cliffhanger.  Season three of the excellent BBC series had been poised to start production this coming January for a Fall 2013 debut, but EW now reports that the start date has now been pushed back to March in order to accommodate the busy schedules of stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.  Cumberbatch is gearing up to shoot director Bill Condon’s untitled WikiLeaks project and Freeman is likely needed for some additional Hobbit filming now that Peter Jackson has expanded the adaptation to three films instead of two, so the move makes sense.

Nevertheless, the longer wait for more Sherlock isn’t exactly fun.  Series creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss previously teased three tantalizing key words for the upcoming season, so at least we know we’re in for a treat.  The BBC will air season three first, with PBS noting that the third season will run here in the U.S. in late 2013 or early 2014.

With nearly a month to go before the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, we’re not exactly lacking in promotional material.  We’ve seen production blogs, a handful of trailers and TV spots, and posters galore, but if you’re still itching for some new The Hobbit material, we’ve got just the cure.  150 behind-the-scenes images from director Peter Jackson’s adaptation have been rounded up and put together in one handy gallery, giving fans an inside look at how Jackson brought Middle Earth to life again.  Moreover, artist Neil Finn‘s fantastic end credits song for the film, “Song of the Lonely Mountain,” has been released online in full.

Hit the jump to browse through the images and listen to the song, and if you missed any of Steve’s set visit coverage be sure to check out 65 things to know and his interviews with Peter Jackson, Ian McKellan, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, and Weta Workshop’s Richard Taylor.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in 3D on December 14th.

If are looking for some Hobbit content, you came to the right place because I have something for all tastes:

• A featurette sponsored by Denny’s that understandably focuses on the boorish feast of the dwarfs.
• Four posters.
• An image of Bilbo (Martin Freeman), Fili (Dean O’Gorman), and Kili (Aidan Turner)
• Set photos that provide our first look at Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman.

Hit the jump for everything.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey kicks off the trilogy on December 14.

Tickets for both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and theatrical marathons for the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy go on sale this coming Wednesday, and a new TV spot for Peter Jackson’s upcoming adaptation of the former has now landed online.  The spot highlights the advanced tickets sale and boasts a bit of new footage, but more excitingly a preview of Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore’s score for The Hobbit has also been released.  We recently got a look at the full tracklisting, and now “Radagast the Brown” has landed online in its entirety.  It’s at once familiar and new, with some lighter/more playful bits reflecting the different tone of The Hobbit in relation to Lord of the Rings.

I’m eager to see Jackson’s three-part adaptation of The Hobbit on the big screen, but I’m almost just as excited to hear Howard Shore’s return to Middle Earth.  Hit the jump to check out the TV spot and to preview the soundtrack.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in 3D on December 14th. [Update: Warner Bros. has released 7 new high-resolution images which are now included after the jump.]

We have 17 awesome new character posters from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to share with you today.  They run the gamut of characters from Hobbits, to Dwarves, to Elves, to Humans, to…whatever the hell Gollum has become.  The design for each of the Dwarves is of particular interest because of the challenge of making each of them unique and memorable.  Be sure to check out Steve’s incredible set visit experience for more information on the upcoming epic film from director Peter Jackson.

Starring Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens on December 14th.  Hit the jump to check out the new posters. 

Two of my favorite shows are Sherlock and Doctor Who.  Both star amazing actors, feature brilliant writing, film in the United Kingdom, and share some of the same creative team (specifically Steven Moffat).  Since Doctor Who is currently filming part two of season 7 and Sherlock will be filming its third season starting in January, I thought now would be the perfect time to make my dream happen: I want to see the Doctor (Matt Smith) walking behind Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (Martin Freeman) in a scene, or vice versa. I think having the characters cameo on each other’s show would be a very cool nod to the fans.  Keep in mind, I’m not looking for a full scene.  I’m looking for a second or two.  I’d just like to see they are in the same universe.

Cut to a few days ago.

At London Comic-Con this past weekend, I got to participate in a small roundtable interview with Matt Smith where I asked his thoughts on making my dream happen.  He didn’t sound optimistic: “I think Mark (Gatiss) and Steven (Moffat) kind of hate the idea of Doctor Who and Sherlock ever meeting.”  But Smith did admit, “I’m not averse to it.  I’m kind of open.  I’m like yeah, because I just think they would find each other so remarkable.”  Hit the jump for more.

Tonight the wife and I are hosting an inaugural Halloween gathering for three primary reasons: 1) it’s an excuse to hang out with friends, 2) it’s an opportunity to watch horror classics with said friends and 3) our street name is Elm and we can’t pass on the chance to christen the get together with the least original Halloween party name of all time (I’ll let you do the math). All of this in mind, I was finding it difficult to strike a healthy balance of scary movie goodness that was equal parts frightening (for fans of the horror genre like myself) and fun/of the “Halloween spirit” (for those who don’t necessarily enjoy the genre but can appreciate the season). That was until I remembered that we owned Ernest Scared Stupid on Blu-ray. Now the biggest concern I have is making sure no one walks out of the house at the end of the night with that little gem in hand.

All Hallows Eve 2012 party plans aside, in this week’s Top 5 we’ve got a lineup that includes a visit to the New Zealand set of The Hobbit, the first trailer amongst other new assets from Iron Man 3, Cloud Atlas interviews with Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and more, the first red band trailer for director Fede Alvarez‘s Evil Dead remake, and a heartfelt plea for a Hollywood adaptation of The Legend of Zelda. A brief recap and link to each lives on after the jump.