凱特布蘭切特加盟大片《霍比特人》

來自《霍比特人》片方的消息，又一批明星演員宣佈加盟了這部彼特-傑克遜的魔幻史詩大片，這其中包括了凱特-布蘭切特，肯-斯科特，西爾維斯特-麥考伊以及米克爾-佩斯勃蘭特。其中女星布蘭切特將“重拾老本行”，繼續扮演已經在《指環王》中出現過的Lady of Lothlorien——凱蘭崔爾，斯科特將扮演矮人主巴林，麥考伊角色將是Radagast的男巫布朗，而來自瑞典的演員佩斯勃蘭特會出演移型比翁。
　　導演傑克遜對於凱特再度迴歸“中土”表示了歡迎，他說：“布蘭切特是和我合作最愉快的演員之一，此次由她再度將出演這個美麗空靈角色，我感到十分的興奮。”自十月十五日，《霍比特》化解演員工會危機期，這一電影的前期製作準備便一路順風順水，而華納兄弟與新院線影業從起初便高調宣佈了卡司選角的具體情況，旨在爲這部衆所期待的大片預熱。而彼得-傑克遜透露，這次再度將J.R.R.托爾金的小說搬上銀幕，會有更加動人心魄的視覺特效。劇組將於明年2月開機，電影上下兩部分預計將分別於2012和2013年的12月以3D的形式呈現在觀衆眼前。

Cate Blanchett, Ken Stott, Sylvester McCoy and Mikael Persbrandt have joined the cast of Peter Jackson's highly anticipated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic The Hobbit. Also joining them are Ryan Gage, Jed Brophy and William Kircher. The films, which are scheduled to commence principal photography in February 2011, mark Jackson's return to Middle-earth following his Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy. The announcement was made jointly today by Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema, Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros. and Steve Cooper, co-Chief Executive Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

Jackson, who directed all three Lord of the Rings films, will helm the two films back-to-back, telling the story of The Hobbit in two parts from a screenplay by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and GuillerMo del Toro.

Cate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) will reprise her role from Lord of the Rings trilogy as Galadriel, the Lady of Lothlorien. Ken Stott (Charlie Wilson's War, TV's Rebus) will play the Dwarf Lord Balin, Sylvester McCoy (TV's Doctor Who) will play the wizard Radagast the Brown and well-known Swedish actor, Mikael Persbrandt (Everlasting Moments) will play the shape-shifter Beorn. British actor Ryan Gage (Outlaw, TV's Doctors) will play Drogo Baggins, with New Zealand actors Jed Brophy (Lord of the Rings trilogy, District 9) playing the role of the dwarf Nori, and William Kircher (Out of the Blue; TV's Legend of the Seeker) rounding out the company of Thorin Oakensheild in role of the dwarf Bifur.

Peter Jackson welcomed the news of Cate Blanchett's return to Middle-earth "Cate is one of my favorite actors to work with and I couldn't be more thrilled to have her reprise the role she so beautifully brought to life in the earlier films." On the casting of Scottish actor Ken Stott, Jackson commented "Fran and I have long been fans of Ken's work and are excited he will be joining us on this journey." Jackson also welcomed the addition to the cast of Swedish actor, Mikael Persbrandt, saying, "The role of Beorn is an iconic one and Mikael was our first choice for the part. Since seeing him read for the role we can't imagine anyone else playing this character."

The actors join the previously announced cast including Martin Freeman (TV's Sherlock, Breaking and Entering) as Bilbo Baggins, Richard Armitage (upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger), Aidan Turner (TV's Being Human), Robert Kazinsky (TVs EastEnders), Graham McTavish (Secretariat), John Callen (TV's Power Rangers Jungle Fury), Stephen Hunter (TV's All Saints), Mark Hadlow (King Kong) and Peter Hambleton (TV's The Strip). Additional cast announcements include James Nesbitt (Millions and TV's Cold Feet) and newcomer Adam Brown.

Since The Hobbit films received a green light on October 15, pre-production has been in full swing with release dates targeted for December, 2012 and December, 2013. Jackson will utilize groundbreaking visual effects and his incomparable storytelling to bring J.R.R. Tolkien's novel to the big screen. Both Hobbit movies will be filmed in Digital 3-D, using the latest camera and stereo technology to create a high quality, comfortable viewing experience.

The two films are being co-produced by New Line Cinema and MGM, with New Line managing production, Warner Bros Pictures handling domestic distribution and MGM distributing internationally.

Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham are producing the films, with co-writer Philippa Boyens serving as co-producer and Ken Kamins and Zane Weiner as executive producers. The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy, also from the production team of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office.. In 2003, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of The King swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture - the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy's production was also unprecedented at the time.

The Hobbit comes to theaters November 2012 and stars Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett, Ron Perlman, Hugo Weaving, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Doug Jones, Ken Stott.