At this weekend's London junket for Paul W.S. Anderson's The Three Musketeers, I was able to speak with Orlando Bloom about playing the Duke of Buckingham. While I'll be posting the full interview next week, since I got an update on The Hobbit I figured you'd like to hear his comments immediately. As most of you know, Peter Jackson is currently directing the two prequels to the Lord of the Rings in New Zealand. Part one is titled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and it'll be released on December 14, 2012. Part two is titled The Hobbit: There and Back Again and it will hit theaters on December 13, 2013. Both films are set sixty years before the events of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and tell the story of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) who joins up with a band of dwarfs to retrieve a great treasure from the lair of a powerful dragon.While we already knew Bloom would be reprising his role as Legolas in The Hobbit, no one was sure how big of a part he'll play in one or both of the films. But according to Bloom, he's already done some filming and will be "on and off all next year." With that kind of schedule, his appearance is clearly more than just a cameo. Hit the jump for more.Besides telling me about his schedule, Bloom revealed that he'll be wearing a new costume. Well, he almost revealed it. When telling me that the wig and his old costume still fit, he said:
"It’s crazy, the wig fits. It still fits. It’s the same wig, and it still fits. And the costume, it fit. The same costume fit. I’m not actually wearing—well I’m not gonna talk about it, I can’t tell you anything else."
As you can see in the video below, he was just about to start telling me about his new costume when he remembered he probably shouldn't be talking about it. In addition, he talks about filming with the brand new RED Epic's, which are very small 3D cameras that allow for a lot of flexibility and movement. Here's what Bloom told me about The Hobbit. The transcript is below the video.
Collider: Some of my favorite films of all time are The Lords of the Rings movies. I know you're going back to be in The Hobbit…at least a little bit. Do you know when you're filming?
Bloom: I’ve just done a stint, I’m gonna go back. I’ve just been over there. I’m literally just on bit of a hiatus doing some press for [Three Musketeers] and then I’m going back there. I’ll be on and off all next year.
Are you in both of them?
Bloom: I can’t tell you anything.
It’s been ten years since Legolas has been onscreen. You’ve aged ten years, but you’re supposed to be playing Legolas younger. How’s that gonna work?
Bloom: Dude, magic. Good genes. I don’t know what to tell you, a bit of makeup. It’s crazy, the wig fits. It still fits. It’s the same wig, and it still fits. And the costume, it fit. The same costume fit. I’m not actually wearing—well I’m not gonna talk about it, I can’t tell you anything else.
You’re filming with the Red Epic’s on The Hobbit, which is 3D, and you filmed 3D on Three Musketeers. What’s your experience been like filming in 3D?
Bloom: [Musketeers] was shot in 3D as is [The Hobbit], as you said with the RED Epic’s. Those are small cameras, those RED Epic’s. I mean they’re doing steadicam, they’re doing over-the-shoulder, they’re doing everything with those cameras, and it’s 3D which is to me pretty phenomenal. My experience of it is that it’s the same, I mean it seems to be becoming the norm which is crazy in many regards, but I guess as time goes on things move on forward. The cameras are probably getting lighter and smaller, as they are with the RED Epic’s. But they’re doing remarkable things on The Hobbit with these cameras that I couldn’t have imagined, and [Musketeers] was shot with James Cameron’s cameras, the ARRI Alexa. There was a little bit more setup time and stuff I would say, but not massively so. The shoots are still the same sort of length and as an actor your experience is not any different, you’re still relating to other actors in the same way. I think as an audience member you get quality when it’s shot in 3D.
