Bringing yet another JRR Tolkien adaptation to life, Peter Jackson is hard at work on his newest project THE HOBBIT. And the final addition to the team is no other than Billy Connolly, who has been cast in the role of Dain Ironfoot, a great dwarf warrior and cousin of Thorin Oakenshield. “We could not think of a more fitting actor to play Dain Ironfoot, the staunchest and toughest of Dwarves, than Billy Connolly, the Big Yin himself. With Billy stepping into this role, the cast of THE HOBBIT is now complete. We can’t wait to see him on the battlefield!”
Director Jackson and partner Fran Walsh, however, have also been busy on other accounts. Taking a short break from filming in New Zealand, they went to Sundance to introduce the film WEST OF MEMPHIS, a documentary about the West Memphis 3. The film was a big hit at the festival, mostly because some of the revelations in the film that came from DNA testing, investigative work and forensic testing, financed by Jackson and Walsh, made national headlines. As a result, it is now being shopped for distribution.
But Jackson isn’t taking any time off. He went back to New Zealand, cast Connolly as the last remaining piece of the puzzle and has started on the final 100 or so days of production that should be completed in July.
Released by Warner Bros for New Line and MGM, THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY reaches cinemas on 14th December 2012, while its second installment THE HOBBIT: THERE AND BACK AGAIN will be released a year later on 13th December 2013.
Source: Deadline
