"The Hobbit" Films are Back on Track

On January, 26th Peter Jackson was admitted to the hospital with a perforated ulcer, a very serious ailment.  It seemed that another wrench was thrown into the production of the long awaited "Hobbit" films. However, it was recently announced that Peter Jackson has been released and medically cleared to continue work on the motion pictures. 


The following statement from Jackson has been recently released. You can see the full article here.


"We take casting very seriously on every film we make, and we couldn't be more delighted with the group of wonderful actors we have gathered here," he wrote. "Those of you who are familiar with 'The Hobbit' will know the importance of the comradeship between Bilbo and each of his 13 dwarf adventurers. I couldn't be more excited about working with these actors, and the others soon to join us. I'm feeling these movies are going to be something very special." 


This is great news to the thousands of movie-goers who are looking forward to being taken back to Middle-Earth. Ever since the success of the "Lord of the Rings" franchise, fans have been crying out for the production of "The Hobbit". Much of the cast has already signed on to do the film, however financial and creative direction have derailed its production. At first there was the disagreement between New Line and Peter Jackson. When the "Lord of the Rings" films were being made no one believed they would be as successful as they ended up being. New Line had a contract with Peter Jackson over the money from the DVD distribution of the films. Jackson felt he was entitled to much more of the profit from the films than he received and filed suit against the production company. It was shortly announced that Peter Jackson was banned from working with New Line.


The project was soon bought by Warner Bros. Peter Jackson said he would write the script and executive produce the project, but didn't want to tackle directing the picture. It was announced that Guillermo Del Torro ("Pan's Labyrinth", "Hellboy") would direct the picture, but due to the excessive amounts of delays and creative issues, Del Torro also backed out. I personally thought that if Jackson wasn't going to direct, than Del Torro was a perfect substitute. They are two of the most creative directors in Hollywood today and I was excited that they were getting the opportunity to collaborate. 


Finally after 5 years of speculation, delays, and lawsuits, Peter Jackson announced that he would direct the picture. The story is to be broken up into two parts but filmed simultaneously, the first of wich will be released in December 2012 and the second December 2013. As a film-buff I am cannot wait for the release of "The Hobbit". From a team-management perspective, it will be interesting to see if the production of the film can be pulled off in such a short time. They are scheduled to begin filming in just over a month and the first picture is to be released in less than two-years. It took almost more than 3 years to film the "Lord of the Rings" pictures and with considerably less problems going into production. 


Below is a recently released picture of the cast:

http://www.shockya.com/news/2011/02/11/the-hobbit-part-1-press-conference-coverage/


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/


http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=20631

Coachella Festival Sells Out in Less Than a Week

For the first time since its creation in 1999, The Coachella Music Festival has sold out of tickets in less than one week. The over the top music festival has been growing in popularity over the years and appears to be the current generations "Woodstock."


The first concert held at Coachella was held in 1993, where Pearl Jam played in front over over 25,000 fans. Over the years it has developed into the biggest music festival in America, topping Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza.


According to Rolling Stone: "this year's festival sold at a much faster pace than the previous year. Whereas 51,000 tickets to this year's event had been sold by Monday, only 11,000 tickets were sold in the same timeframe in 2010." 

For the full Rolling Stone article click here.


I believe that there are two main reasons for the success of this years Coachella Festival. One is the current economy. Many fans aren't willing to pay high ticket prices to see their favorite bands play over the course of the year. Instead, they are waiting until summer festivals where they can see many acts for a single ticket price. The other reason for this years amazing ticket sales is the remarkable line-up. The headliners are a "who's-who" of todays modern music industry. This years line0-up includes The Kings of Leon, Jay-Z, Kanye West, The Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, The Black Keys, and a reunion of Duran Duran. For the full-lineup click here.


The three-day festival is set to take place April 15th-17th. They are expecting over 50,000 fans to be in attendance. Those fans will be camping overnight in temperatures that reach over 100 degrees during the day. From an project management prospective this is a huge endeavor. There is an immense amount of planning and preparation for an event as big as this to be successful. There needs to be on-sight facilities to deal with food, water, and sanitation. There is over 50 different bands flying in over the weekend to play over the three day period, and there must be adequate staff to deal with security and operations. The scope of the event is huge, it will be interesting to see how it is handled and how it will affect future music festivals.


http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/why-coachella-sold-out-in-less-than-a-week-20110127


http://www.coachella.com/


Here is a short film about last year's Coachella Festival. It shows some of the size and scope of the actual event.