THE HOBBIT Opens in International IMAX Theaters Today, 12/12

Related:

IMAX Corporation today announced that Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), the first of a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, will be digitally re-mastered into the immersive IMAX 3D format. The film will be released in IMAX internationally starting Dec. 12 and domestically beginning Dec. 14.

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the ideal story and visual spectacle to be experienced in IMAX 3D," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "Our mantra is to support the vision of trailblazers like Peter Jackson and we're pleased that select IMAX theatres will also be playing the film with our high frame rate system -- an exciting new way for moviegoers to experience this highly anticipated trilogy."

The IMAX release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX 3D Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

A select number of IMAX theatres will be presenting The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey using a higher frame rate (HFR).

You can learn more about The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey by visiting Warner Bros. Pictures official site at www.thehobbit.com.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released in all motion picture formats, including the brand new format High Frame Rate 3D (HFR 3D). With the support of select theatres, HFR 3D represents a technological advancement in the motion picture experience. This innovative format presents the picture in 48 frames per second (fps), which is closer to what the human eye actually sees. This is twice the rate of the standard 24 fps, which is the current format in cinemas worldwide. In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Jackson has pushed the boundaries of new filmmaking techniques by capturing the movie in HFR 3D, marking the first use of this method in a major motion picture release. A complete list of IMAX theatres that will be projecting the movie in HFR 3D can be found here: http://imax.ly/SumIdL

The film follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who -- along with the Wizard Gandalf and 13 Dwarves, led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield -- is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug. Along the path, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of a "precious" ring tied to the fate of all Middle-Earth in ways he cannot begin to know.

The screenplay for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was written by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo Del Toro. Jackson is also producing the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh. The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood, with Boyens and Eileen Moran serving as co-producers. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and the second and third films of the trilogy are productions of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), with New Line managing production. Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM.