The Hobbit may have Martin Freeman within the head position

A lead actor has been cast for the newest movie version of “The Hobbit” after years of delays. Freeman has been cast as Baggins, and other main roles are getting cast as well. Freeman is well known for his role in “The Office,” the sitcom that had been remade in the United States of America, and became a smash success. Studio difficulties and a labor dispute in New Zealand have kept up production for a while.

Freeman provided the character of Bilbo Baggins

Bilbo Baggins in “The Hobbit” could be played by Freeman according to Peter Jackson. He didn’t have the position in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Ian Holm played that. The “Lord of the Rings” series came after “The Hobbit”. The cast is starting to come together. BBC, accounts that they have already thrown most of the main roles. It is likely that some actors from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy can be resuming their roles, including Hugo Weaving as Elrond and Ian McKellan as Gandalf. Gollum will nevertheless be played by Andy Serkis too. There will be two different parts to the movie. They could be released within a year of one another.

Motion picture plagued with troubles

The process has taken longer due to a labor dispute. The dispute, accounts ABC, was between the studio and the New Zealand actor’s union. Scouting for locations has started in Britain, where a soundstage in a previous Rolls Royce factory, used for the Harry Potter films, is available. New Zealand will lose lots of money if the filming ends up someplace else. In fact, $1.5 billion will be lost for the country. New Zealand needs the movie industry for making up more than 1 percent of gross domestic product.

It could happen at last

”The Hobbit” was in “development hell.” Everyone thought it had been lost. The director of the film was supposed to be Guillermo Del Toro. He left it earlier this year though. Next year, “The Hobbit” is expected to start filming. This would allow for a December 2012 and 2013 release date for both halves of the movie.

Information from

BBC

bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11604193

ABC News

abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wirestory?id=11943149 and page=1