New 'Hobbit' Photo: Martin Freeman's Finest Adventure Is Approaching Next

It's been so, this type of very long time since we last saw Middle Earth, almost about 10 years ago if you are in a position to accept it. The earth returns in 2012's "The Hobbit: An Unforeseen Journey," another Tolkien adaptation because of Healing For Healing For Peter Jackson together with a sure wager to produce a numerous money. Besides casting news as well as the general plot particulars, we have not seen a lot of within the film. Everything changes tonight when the first trailer drops rapidly at 7 P.M. PST. For the moment, you are able to obtain a tease by searching as of this production still of Bilbo Baggins alongside his dwarf pals. Martin Freeman's Bilbo looks quite dapper within the rumbled clothing and knapsack, because the dwarves appear like dwarves. It isn't so surprising, though, that Jackson's team still recalls making Middle Earth's denizens appear like themselves -- they've probably only become better inside the layoff since "Master in the Rings: Return in the King." As "The Hobbit" will probably be broken into two films, there will be referred to as a great deal to determine as Bilbo and also the merry band venture across Middle-Earth searching for the treacherous Smaug. If you would like any type of fantasy, you're probably much like pumped after we are. In the event you haven't taken track of "Hobbit" news, improve round the rumored plot particulars, additionally to the wants what tonight's trailer will disclose. Otherwise, have a look here and on the internet at 7 P.M. PST sharp to start getting excited for next year's holidays. Reveal everything you consider the newest "Hobbit" photo inside the comments section and also on Twitter!

Chatter splatter

Our senior film critics opine about blown embargoes, dodgy ethics and how journos and studios want it both waysJustin Chang: One of the unfortunate truisms of our job as trade critics is that we often spend less time thinking and arguing about the movies than we do thinking and arguing about when the studios will let us see and review their movies. I'm aware of the self-entitlement inherit in such a complaint, and I hasten to add that we appreciate every courtesy -- and advance press screenings are just that, a professional courtesy -- that enables us to do our job in a timely fashion. But it's the very issue of timeliness that seems to cause most of our logistical headaches nowadays.Peter Debruge: As trade critics, we are in the very privileged -- and precarious -- position of writing the first reviews out of the gate on most films, often days or weeks before movies open. That's a tradition that goes back decades (owing to Variety's role in helping exhibitors decide which films to program), back before our reviews were quoted and disseminated by blogs and aggregator sites like Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, the consumer press is expected to hold opinions until opening day. But that seems to be changing lately for all sorts of reasons, nearly all of them tracing back to studios' attempts to lead with reviews they expect to be positive, and that's where the headaches you allude to begin.JC: It seemed to reach a fevered pitch this month, when media watchers were treated to the curious spectacle of NYer film critic David Denby facing the collective wrath of Scott Rudin and Sony's publicity department in response to Denby's Dec. 5 review of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," breaking an agreed-upon Dec. 13 embargo.PD: Judging by a private email exchange between Rudin and Denby that appeared on the Playlist blog, the producer was upset that the NYer review's publication would trigger all other critics to follow suit -- a very real concern in a consumer marketplace where the thrill of the scoop seems to trump the traditional service of running reviews when they are of most use to the reader.JC: It's worth noting that Denby saw the film at a special Nov. 28 screening scheduled to accommodate members of the NY Film Critics Circle on account of the group's decision to move up its awards-voting date. The incident hints at the sheer number of competing priorities critics and studios are juggling at this time of year. And so, a studio will happily accept praise in the form of awards, embargo-free, but an early review, even a positive one, is a no-no.PD: Which brings me to the most troubling aspect of the "Dragon Tattoo" situation, which is Denby's argument that because the review was positive, his decision to jump the gun was justified.JC: I love Rudin's response: "The fact that the review is good is immaterial." Exactly.PD: Deadline's Nikke Finke came to Denby's defense, arguing that "embargoes are dumbass" and "doing what the studios want is a slippery slope," but what could be more compromised than defending an embargo break by insisting that it contains nothing the studio might object to? Though Variety does not offer "feedback" to publicists on what our reviews will say, many other outlets do, and these days, it's not uncommon for studios to give permission to critics itching to publish a rave permission to run their review first -- essentially rewarding those willing to be shills for their product with a scoop. And it's not just the wild, wild Web that's doing it either. In recent years, we've seen this practice happen among such estimable outlets as Time magazine ("Munich" comes to mind) and Rolling Stone (where the ever-obliging Peter Travers is routinely treated to long-lead access).JC: How Finke can argue that observing an embargo constitutes some sort of ethical lapse is beyond me. One of the reasons we comply with embargoes to begin with is that Variety has a strict policy of not letting publicists know the content of its reviews before they run. It's an eminently reasonable agreement between two sides that have to function civilly in order to do their respective jobs -- writing an honest review, in our case, and protecting the film's interest, in theirs.PD: And lately, protecting their interests has amounted to bending the rules to favor positive reactions. Back when the Internet was young, studios might fly Harry Knowles to the NY premiere of a film like "Godzilla" and receive a juicy rave in response. Or they flatter writers who are known champions of a given filmmaker by inviting them to the very first screenings, the way Robert Altman did to Pauline Kael with "Nashville" back in the day (which still happens with Clint Eastwood and other directors now). The latest wrinkle has been the rise of special treatment for Oscar bloggers -- an embargo-bending practice that Rudin himself instigated last year, when he showed both "The Social Network" and "True Grit" to awards-season pundits first, inviting them to run their (predictably positive) reactions before showing the films to print critics. The practice continues this year, with awards columnists given express permission to gush about "Young Adult," "Hugo," and "The Iron Lady" before critics are allowed to weigh in.JC: If the studios and the Oscar bloggers have decided it's to their mutual benefit to drum up breathless awards speculation and call it criticism, there's little you or I -- or, for that matter, anyone else who sees movies as more than trophy bins -- can really do about it. I'll end by saying I find it altogether sad that "War Horse," to single out one example, has not yet opened or been officially reviewed in the U.S., and yet it's already had its awards prospects dissected to death by bloggers and their commenters. Their conclusions have been startling: It's either a surefire contender or an also-ran. As for the more interesting questions -- is it any good? Is it a sentimental tearjerker, or a work of art? What are its politics? -- well, I'd love to get into it, but sorry, I can't. The embargo still holds. For now.Justin Chang and Peter Debruge are Variety's senior film critics.EYE ON THE OSCARS: CRIX PICKS Chatter splatter | Regional critics flex muscles in Oscar race | Reviews migrate from TV to Web Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Sandra Bullock Unveils Holiday Present Plans For Baby Louis Does She Want More Children?

First Launched: December 11, 2011 8:08 PM EST Credit: Getty Premium La, Calif. -- Caption Sandra Bullock steps in this year's amfAR Inspiration Gala La locked in the Chateau Marmont in La on October 27, 2011Sandra Bullock may be a preliminary-time mother, nevertheless the Academy Award-winning actress states shes ready for your holidays along with her nearly-1-year-old boy, Louis. He'll get nothing. Not just a factor, she amusingly told Access Hollywood within the junket on her behalf latest movie, Very Noisy and very Close to the coast NY City on Sunday, when asked for what presents spend give Louis. The less you permit, the less theyll expect. Which way essentially supply him with nothing, he wont remember it which he wont expect it next season which is cheaper! she added, laughing. Always the jokester, the stunning 47-year-old recognized she expects to spoil Louis, but revealed she's ulterior motives. Its likely to be somewhat absurd, she told Access of doling the infants gifts. I'd like the photo procedures being excellent because hes unlikely to consider it, but hell remember it with the photos then when hes 16 and states, Personally, i can't stand you youre a dreadful mother, Ill go, Can you look at this Christmas? Can you realize that I obtained you that existence-size lion? Shut up! Enter your living area and do your research. I used to be an excellent mother then. And thats what Im prone to use. Thats my ammunition, she added. While Sandra is loving existence as Louis mother, she may be open to growing their family members. I've no clue, she told Access, when asked for if shed like more children afterwards. Im so fortunate in what I have. Around the more serious note, the celebs latest film notifies the story from the youthful boy whose father died on September 11 inside the attacks all over the world Trade Center an urgent situation which hits close to home for Sandra. I used to be here tomorrow with my sister and brother-in-law. I had been inside a place which when i first first got it because it had viewing twin towers for my cousin-in-laws and regulations and rules birthday, that's September 11, so, we'd the second plane hit, we'd individuals, we'd everything, she told Access, of her personal mention of the the terrible event. It absolutely was among people days that you just saw NYers being the astounding people who they are and everyone helping and hooking up together. Its so desperately to go over, she added, tearing up. I didn't lose someone directly, however was there to determine other artists loss It is not only any kind of accident [or] a thing that happens, it absolutely was an intended action and thats confusing. Catch Sandra, along with Tom Hanks and Thomas Horn, in Very Noisy and very Close when the film hits theaters on December 25 in choose urban centers and everywhere around the month of the month of january 20. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

'Saturday Night Live': Katy Perry Hosts, Alec Baldwin Gets Last Laugh on American Airlines (Video)

Director Steven Spielberg had a hand in Oscar winner Christian Bale's starring role in Zhang Yimou's The Flowers of War, which premiered Sunday afternoon in Beijing.our editor recommendsZhang Yimou To Be Honored at Asia Pacific Screen AwardsChina Chooses Zhang Yimou's Christian Bale starrer 'Flowers of War' for Oscar Foreign Language Submission "I asked Steven Spielberg, who is a friend, to read the English script and recommend actors," Zhang said at a press conference following the premiere. One of those suggestions was Bale, who had starred as a child actor in Spielberg's own turn directing in China, 1987's Empire of the Sun,also based on a novel set during Japan's World War II occupation of eastern China. STORY: The Flowers of War: Film Review Spielberg then encouraged Bale to work with Zhang. "He passed [Zhang] Yimou a letter to give to me, and it said, 'do it.'" With a budget of $100 million, the film is the most expensive ever made in China, as much as last year's top domestic box office performer, Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock, grossed. Despite that, Zhang brushed off any suggestion that it put greater commercial pressure on him for the film to perform. "Directors shouldn't think about these things. It prevents you from making a good movie," Zhang said. STORY: An Auteur + This Actor = Game Changer The two-time Oscar-nominated director similarly dodged a question about whether "Flowers" was an attempt to finally win that trophy. "Winning an Oscar was not the goal. We only wanted to create good art and make a good film," he said. "I don't really understand the Oscar process much, so it's up to luck." Zhang, who also directed the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games, is representing China again with Flowers as the country's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film award. Bale plays John Miller, an American drifter who finds himself in the then-Chinese capital in 1937, just as the Nanjing Massacre -- which saw invading Japanese troops rape and murder thousands of Chinese civilians -- is getting underway. A group of young prostitutes take refuge in a church near the brothel where they work, and Miller, donning clerical robes, offers them protection from the invaders. Flowers' female lead, newcomer Ni Ni, put herself out on a limb when asked if she felt a steamy scene between her character and Bale's was necessary, as in Ang Lee's Lust, Caution -- which had its sex scenes removed and earned a two-year industry ban for actress Tang Wei. "I really like Tang Wei and I think she's a wonderful actress, very beautiful, and I have learned a lot from her," Ni said. The film is set to open wide in China on Dec. 16, followed by a limited U.S. release on Dec. 23. Related Topics International Asia Christian Bale Zhang Yimou

Fashion Slam: Stylish Clutch Job

First Launched: December 8, 2011 12:54 PM EST Credit: Access Hollywood La, Calif. -- Caption Fashion Jams Ryan Patterson showcases her new Etsy bagCheck out my new bag! Great, right? When i first seen it in Lucky Magazine and understood I desired to have it! The bag originates from on Etsy, an outlet featuring hands-dyed leather clutches created in NY City. Theyre produced by Alexandra Perron, a means News Contributor at Lucky Magazine. Creating is a factor really new personally, Alexandra notifies me. I'd dyed a few clutches personally too for pals for entertainment beginning last spring. Lucky was hunting for a vibrant colored clutch for just about any shoot and asked for whenever they can use among my bags. Getting my clutch in Lucky was the jumping off point will be able to start selling them! I made a decision to produce a clutch because its a great fundamental. I desired to behave that labored for everyone which can be easily be personalized. Im getting a pleasurable experience experimentation with colors to determine how different dyes make use of the leather. For fall, jewel tones and metallics were huge, so Ive been coping with an emerald eco-friendly, azure and pewter dye. Neon remains a massive trend for add-ons and my neon bags are actually the most used throughout my store. Thats a few things i elected for one block style featuring grey and neon pink. (seen in photo) Each clutch is dyed-to-order. All of the bags are dyed following a order is situated, Alexandra states. It takes a few several hours to dye, because you will discover multiple jackets plus they need to dry in-between. Everything dries overnight which it's my job to do another coat in the morning. Following a few e-mails along with a couple of days, my bag was ready! I like the bag, that came to $125, is hands crafted not some mass-produced item. Its and not everyone will have the identical one. Gorgeous, huh? To learn more, have a look at clutchny.etsy.com. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

New 'The Lorax' Trailer: More Fuel For Fox Business

.publish-content img The state trailer for 'The Lorax' has showed up, also it will not be soothing the fears from the folks at Fox Business. 'The Lorax,' in line with the popular Dr. Seuss book, informs the storyline from the evil Once-ler (Erectile dysfunction Helms), who decreases all of the Truffula Trees within the town to earn money. The only real factor in the strategy is the Lorax, an orange creature who talks for that trees. The Lorax is voiced by Danny Devito, who also narrates a clip. The final time Devito read a movie, it had been 2003's 'Duplex.' Hopefully 'The Lorax' is a good deal much better than that mess. 'The Lorax' hits theaters March 2, 2012. [via ComingSoon and Yahoo!] [Photo: Universal] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook