'THE HOBBIT' Media Frenzy Begins: Casting, Monsters, Costumes & More Updates!

The One Ring stated in a post yesterday that its trusted inside source revealed a treasure of updates on Guillermo del Toro’s two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s children’s classic The Hobbit. Here's the Twitter version of the highlights.

The Script
The writing team is in the process of polishing the scripts but the "key" people have read them in first draft form.

Ian McKellan as Gandalf in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Pierre Vinet/New Line Productions 2002 -
© 2002 - New Line Productions - All Rights Reserved

Casting
Filming begins early in 2010. In addition to Bilbo and Gandalf (Ian McKellan), it seems likely that Thorin Oakenshield has also been cast.

Sets
Work is 50% complete on set and wardrobe design. Fabrics, color palettes and concepts are well underway with the conceptual art being translated to practical applications.

New Construction
Miniatures have started construction as well as the construction of a whole new stage to accommodate the scope of the film.

South Island
Location scouting in the South Island has started. Several locations have been identified as possibilities.

Script Finalizing
The production is actively story-boarding or pre-visualizing the movie before cameras roll.

Monsters
The team is already testing the animated models of several creatures and doing puppetry tests for others. Design work is almost 100% complete at Weta.

The Hobbit movies are moving forward and right on track for a March or April start date! Read the full story at TORN.

For the latest Hobbit news and updates join the Guillermo del Toro Facebook Group.

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Source: TheOneRing.net