New Trailer: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The official trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is out and once again, director Peter Jackson doesn't disappoint.  Some people might think the decision to turn a novel into film series may be financial but when the subject is J.R.R. Tolkien and the director is Jackson, the end result is amazing to watch.  I think my jaw dropped when I saw the crowd scenes, with each film, the battles, the visuals, the world built by Jackson and his crew just gets better and better.  Everyone's favorite elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) is back again with new character Tauriel (Evangaline Lilly) and of course, let's not forget Smaug the Dragon (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) who makes his presence known.  But the glue that holds it all together? That would be Martin Freeman's Bilbo, the hobbit who found his courage again.  Is it December yet? 

Weekly News Update

• Sofia Coppola's Somewhere wins the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.  That it won the big prize is kind of surprising since all the attention and media buzz was previously on Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.  But, personally, I like Sofia's style of film making.  Somewhere is based on her own experiences following her own famous father, Francis Ford Coppola, around.  
• The Venice jury was lead by Quentin Tarantino and also awarded the Silver Lion to Alex de la Iglesia for his film, Balada triste de la trompeta (A Sad Trumpet Ballad).  Other notable winners were Vincent Gallo, Essential Killing for Best Actor and Ariane Labed, Attenberg for Best Actress. Black Swan didn't leave empty handed.  Mila Kunis won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor & Actress.
• Noomi Rapace, known as the original Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish versions of the Millenium trilogy, has landed her first big English film.  She has been cast as the female lead in Sherlock Holmes 2.  She joins Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law who are reprising their roles as Holmes and Watson.  No word on who will be cast as Holmes' nemesis, Moriarty. 
• Possible Hobbit casting news?  Martin Freeman (Love Actually, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) is rumored to be the top choice.  Apparently, there were some scheduling conflicts as he's also cast as Dr. Watson in the BBC series of Sherlock.  However, as Entertainment Weekly is reporting, the producers of The Hobbit are still keen on casting him and trying to work something out where he can be on both projects.