Bilbo Bankings

It looks like New Zealand is taking advantage of all of the money that the Lord of the Rings and upcoming Hobbit movies are bringing into the country and planning to distribute official currency for everyone to enjoy...

The coins (ranging from $1 NZ to $10 NZ in value), will be accepted as legal tender because currency really needs to stop taking itself so seriously. Of course, each one of these little gems will be worth way more than its face value — the most expensive coins, made from an ounce of pure gold, retail for 3,020 American dolla-dolla bills.



When asked for his sentiments about having his warlocked image appear on money, the academy-award winning actor Sir Ian McKellan said something hilarious: "To put Gandalf on these splendiferous coins is a wizard idea."



Splendiferous, indeed!

I may need to take another trip to Hobbiton again soon.

The journey begins...again

Peter Jackson started filming the new Hobbit movies a couple weeks ago and, as part of his journey, has decided to shoot video blogs along the way to document the process of making the new two-part movie. He posted his first one, documenting the first day of shooting, on his Facebook page yesterday and, if you enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies, you're gonna love this!



You get to see some very detailed shots/tours of the sets, costumes, props, new actors rehearsing (Ian McKellan, Gandalf, is also there), and much more. All of the actors above are returning (well, Orlando Bloom hasn't been "officially" announced, but the rumor-mill has all but confirmed it) as well as Hugo Weaving as the leader of the Elves. So there should be a lot of really cool stuff to see as things progress over the next couple of years.

I highly recommend enlarging the video to full screen when watching.



This is crazy exciting!

Diesel fueled

Looks like we'll be getting another "Riddick" movie in the near future...

Vin Diesel is going back to the future to topline and produce a third chapter in the "Chronicles of Riddick" franchise, called "Riddick".

Plot details are being kept under wraps. But insiders say the third outing will hew closer in tone to the cult hit "Pitch Black" and will focus on the character of Riddick as opposed to the universe he inhabits, which was the case with the critically panned "Chronicles of Riddick." Still, "Chronicles of Riddick" earned $116 million worldwide and spawned a successful vidgame series.



I really liked "Pitch Black" and, although the sequel wasn't as good as the first, it did look great and featured Dame Judi Dench...so there's that.



"Starring Vin Diesel and Judi Dench" is not the kind of star-power promo that happens twice in one lifetime.

However, I do enjoy Vin and all his Dieselness...so, of course, I'll be there opening weekend.



Who knows which Sir (Patrick Stewart) or Dame (Ian McKellan) might show up in this sequel?

I can't wait to find out...

Lt. Dwarf

The second The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey movie trailer was released today and it looks REALLY good!

Make sure you embiggen the video to go full screen



Must...not...explode...from...excitement...