Peter Jackson 'Hobbit' movies set to film next month

By Anthony Pearson Feb 7, 2011, 16:18 GMT

The adventure of “The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, the character he played in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Martin Freeman, who won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the BBC series ...more

The much delayed start of filming for Peter Jackson's two 'Hobbit' movies will finally spark into action next month, with a March 21st start date announced by the production company 4foot7.

In a statment they said;

"3Foot7 Ltd, is pleased to announce that the first day of principal photography for THE HOBBIT will be Monday 21 March, 2011.

This date has been chosen following practical considerations of the filming schedule requirements, actor availability and the NZ seasons. Shooting will take place at Stone Street Studios in Miramar and on location around New Zealand."

In the past week Peter Jackson was discharged from hospital following a health scare, but is now seemingly ready to crack on with the filming on these two movies stating that he is "very excited to get started".

The classic J.R.R Tolkien novel 'The Hobbit' will be split into two movies released a year apart in December 2012 and 2013 respectively.

Confirmed cast for movies so far include Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Saoirse Ronan, Graham McTavish, William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter, Rob Kazinsky, Aidan Turner, Peter Hambleton, John Callen, Jed Brophy, Mark Hadlow, Adam Brown, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis, Mikael Persbrant, Sylvester McCoy and Elijah Wood.