A sequel to director Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin is still on track, according to Peter Jackson.  The initial plan was to have Jackson film the performance-capture portion of the Tintin sequel this past summer after he finished production on The Hobbit, but the decision to expand the J.R.R. Tolkein adaptation to a trilogy on top of prepping for the release of An Unexpected Journey understandably took up quite a bit of Jackson’s time.  Though he still plans on tackling 8 weeks or so of additional filming on The Hobbit early next year, it appears that he also hopes to get around to shooting the Tintin sequel in 2013 as well.  Hit the jump for more.

If you’re still hungry for more footage from Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and can’t wait until it opens this Friday, then you’ll enjoy this new clip featuring the company of Dwarves singing a melancholy tune. It’s lovely out of context, but becomes much more powerful once you’re in the thick of it and have seen the Dwarves’ backstory.

We’re exactly one month away from the debut of Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad and a new TV spot has been released to remind you of that fact. This piece shows off more footage from the crime drama that sets the villainous gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) against the combined handsomeness of Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling. Hit the jump to check out both videos. 

As lame as it may sound, I used this weekend’s Friday night to take in my second viewing of The Dark Knight Rises. Moreover, while the last thing a picture that made over $1 billion at the worldwide box office needs is a voice in its corner, I have to say that I enjoyed TDKR more the second-time around. While some aspects still bothered me (the final mix on Bane’s voice, why Jim Gordon would carry around in his coat pocket a confession written on giant-sized paper that he knows will have dire consequences, etc.), I found other elements to be better than I remembered (scenes between Bruce Wayne and Alfred, the brutality of Bane and Batman’s first fight, etc.). While it’s not without its problems, I stand by my belief that TDKR was the best superhero movie of the summer and a fitting end to a historic trilogy.

Random Batman thoughts aside, on tap this week is the first teaser trailer and poster for director J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness, a plethora of The Hobbit coverage including Dave’s review of An Unexpected Journey, a new poster for Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel, first reactions to Django Unchained, and what could very well be one of the final Top 5 entries for the oft and aforementioned The Dark Knight Rises. A brief recap and link to each awaits should you choose to pursue it after the jump.

Although Entertainment Weekly promised a look ahead at next year’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in their upcoming collector’s issues, they’re going even further ahead with this new image from 2014′s The Hobbit: There and Back Again. It features a good look at both Luke Evans (The Raven), who plays Bard the Bowman, and Orlando Bloom, who returns as the Elf, Legolas. Bard was mentioned in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit but Legolas didn’t turn up until The Lord of the Rings series, so what’s he doing here other than looking all immortal and pretty? Hit the jump to see the full image along with an explanation from the filmmakers.

[Update: A new image from An Unexpected Journey has been released that features Gandalf squaring off against the Goblin King, which is now included after the jump.]

Our return to Middle Earth is now just over a week away, but if you can’t wait that long a 13-minute preview/featurette for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has landed online to quench your thirst for all things Tolkein.  The preview boasts a great deal of new footage and interviews with the cast (including Elijah Wood) and director Peter Jackson.

Hit the jump to watch the featurette, and click here to read Dave’s review of the film.  The pic stars Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett and Andy Serkis, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in 3D December 14^th.

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. 

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. 

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.

Here’s where things get interesting.  Over that past few days we’ve been taking an early look at the 2013 Oscar race, running down the contenders in a number of categories including Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Best Actor and Best Actress, and Best Animated Feature, Screenplay, and technological category quick picks.  We’ve now come to our final installment, Best Picture and Best Director, and these two races are shaping up to be incredibly interesting. Hit the jump for the full rundown.

As we near the release of director Peter Jackson’s first installment in the new Middle Earth trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a new production blog has been unveiled.  The video focuses on the post-production aspect of the film, and Jackson introduces the blog by talking about the time crunch that the crew is currently facing.  Fans who have poured over the extras on the Lord of the Rings DVDs and Blu-rays may feel a bit of déjà vu, as we see plenty of folks working incredibly hard to get the film finished by its New Zealand premiere date.  The video gives a glimpse into everything from Jackson’s editing room, the sound department, visual effects, and a way-too-brief portion on Howard Shore conducting the recording of the film’s score.

Hit the jump to watch the video, which includes a great deal of new footage including a glimpse at the Goblin King.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in 3D on December 12th.

We’re continuing on with our weeklong preview of the upcoming 85th Academy Awards, and after running down both acting categories it’s time to take look at some of the other races.  Today we’ll be looking at the Best Animated Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Screenplay categories in depth, and I’ll also make some way-too-early quick picks in the technical categories.  The fun begins after the jump.

It happened before with The Amazing Spider-Man and it’s now happened again with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  A fan has once again highlighted the amount of footage revealed in marketing material by cobbling together 7 minutes from The Hobbit in chronological order, using the officially released TV spots and trailers for the film.  This is unlikely to change the practice of studios releasing a bounty of marketing material before a film’s official release, but it is fun to see the experiment used on Peter Jackson’ adaptation.  Warner Bros. hasn’t released near as much footage from The Hobbit as Sony did from Spider-Man (nearly half the video is stuff in Bag End), but we do see how a nice chunk of the film will iikely play out.

Hit the jump to watch the video.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in 3D on December 12th.

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.

Two new TV spots for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey have been released.  One spot is for the U.S. and another is for the U.K., but both remind fans that advanced tickets for the first entry in director Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy are on sale now.  We get a few bits of new footage in the shorter U.S. spot, but it doesn’t look like there’s anything new on display in the minute-long U.K. spot.  Nevertheless, Middle Earth!

Hit the jump to watch the TV spots, and if you missed Steve’s extensive 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.