As Peter Jackson‘s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Hobbit heads to theaters (and courtrooms), Air New Zealand has unveiled an airplane with an enormous Hobbit-inspired mural.

You can see the plane in action in the video embedded above. Here’s more from AgencySpy:

I’m not sure if you’re aware, but when you account for tourism dollars, the LOTR trilogy basically single-handedly boosted New Zealand’s entire economy. It is because nerds will do anything to live out their silly fantasies, and, yes, maybe New Zealand is kind of a pretty looking place. In any case, New Zealanders (or “Kiwis” as your annoying coworker calls them) see the new trilogy as another influx of tourism dollars for their scenic island nation. Therefore, Air New Zeland is has painted one of its jumbo jets with all the characters your weird friend will soon fall in love with and blow their life-savings trying to get a seat on. This painstakingly painted cash-cows follows a spot from Air New Zealand where flyers are briefed by hobbits under a similarly whimsically flute-heavy soundtrack.

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Despite the suit, Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson and his crew are putting the finishing touches on the first installment of The Hobbit film trilogy.

United States fans have to wait until December 14th for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to hit theaters. The world premiere will take place within the next 24 hours in New Zealand (November 28th).

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Tolkien’s son, Christopher Tolkien, edited the poem and wrote three essays about the literary world of King Arthur for this book. According to Examiner.com, this title will be published in May 2013.

The Guardian has more: “Running to more than 200 pages, Tolkien’s story was inspired by Geoffrey of Monmouth and Thomas Malory‘s tales of King Arthur, and is told in narrative verse. Set in the last days of Arthur’s reign, the poem sees Tolkien tackling the old king’s battle to save his country from Mordred the usurper, opening as Arthur and Gawain go to war.”

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Here’s more from the director:

We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life.  All of which gave rise to a simple question: do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved ‘yes.’  We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance.

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Warner Bros. Pictures has released the first trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. We’ve embedded the trailer in the video above–what do you think?

This J.R.R. Tolkien film adaptation is the first of a two-part series directed by Peter Jackson. So far, Jackson has posted four videos from the New Zealand set of The Hobbit on his Facebook page. More than 16,000 fans have hit “like” on Facebook upon the trailer’s release ten hours ago.

Here’s more from the video description: “[The film] follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.”

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Damien Echols

In the memoir, which is slated for publication from Penguin imprint Blue Rider Press in September 2012, Echols will talk about his experience.

The release explains more about the book: “The as-yet untitled book will be Echols’ account of the trial proceedings and eighteen years spent on death row, including his personal and public quest for exoneration, his prison diaries, and accounts of support from his wife and friends including Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, filmmakers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, Johnny Depp, Natalie Maines, Henry Rollins and others.”

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The teens were characterized as Satanists because they read Anne Rice and Stephen King books, and listened to heavy metal. The controversial case has been the subject of an array of films and books including a new documentary that is currently at the Toronto Film Festival and a new biopic of the case that director Atom Egoyan has just signed on to direct.

For those readers that want more background on the case, we’ve put together a list of books and documentary films that will tell you how this bizarre case attracted the likes of Peter Jackson, Eddie Vedder and Johnny Depp. continued…

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Release dates have been announced for the Peter Jackson‘s two Hobbit movies.

According to Variety, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will come out on December 14, 2012 and The Hobbit: There and Back Again will hit theaters on December 13, 2013. The video embedded above features a tour of The Hobbit‘s set.

Here’s more from the article: “Jackson began shooting the two films in New Zealand in 3D in mid-March with a cast including Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Ian McKellen and Cate Blanchett reprising their roles from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Bloom joined the cast Friday to portray the elf Legolas.”

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Deadline New York reported: “Wood is confirmed to star in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit to be shot in New Zealand. In addition, he has signed on to play ‘Ben Gunn’ in Stewart Harcourt’s adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island along side Eddie Izzard.”

Besides Wood (pictured, via), other castmates returning from Lord of the Rings include: Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and Andy Serkis as Gollum. At the moment, Orlando Bloom is rumored to be considering his return as Legolas.

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According to Deadline, director Peter Jackson had this comment: “Cate is one of my favorite actors to work with and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have her reprise the role she so beautifully brought to life in the earlier films.”

The article also suggested it is highly possible fans will see other returning cast members including Ian McKellan as Gandalf and Andy Serkis as Gollum. The cast already counts a few key members: Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, Ken Stott as Lord Balin, and Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown. As we previously noted, the film will be shot in New Zealand.

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The New York Times reports that Prime Minister John Key negotiated with several Hollywood executives to secure the location. The government agreed to provide special financing and introduce new labor legislation. They will provide $15 million for the two films’ production budget and an additional $10 million for marketing.

The article explained the labor complexities: “The legislation is expected to require workers to designate their status as an employee or a freelance worker when beginning a project, then stick with it, according to one person who was briefed on the talks but spoke anonymously because the agreement was not complete.”

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The Guardian reports that Warner Bros. executives will decide this week if the shoot will be in New Zealand.  Prime Minister John Keys will personally oversee the negotiations, hoping that producers will make a decision in his country’s favor.

The article adds: “A dispute over pay and conditions led producers to hint that they might move filming to another country. Carrying banners proclaiming ‘New Zealand is Middle Earth’ and ‘We Love Hobbits,’ a reported 2-3,000 people gathered in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, and other cities such as Auckland and Christchurch in advance of a visit by executives from the studio Warner Bros.”

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As we head home for the weekend, we wanted to make sure you had plenty of publishing headlines to keep you busy. Email GalleyCat to get all our publishing stories, book deal news, videos, podcasts, interviews, and writing advice in a daily email newsletter.

You can now RSVP for our eBook Summit Book Pitch Party on November 3rd. Sign up to enjoy the party or submit your book proposal for a chance to win a free ticket to the summit.

Peter Jackson started work on his adaptation of The Hobbit as casting rumors flew. While you wait, watch the English translation of a Finnish Hobbit miniseries embedded above.

In a smart local strategy, Harvard Book Store launched a bicycle delivery program.

Jay-Z scattered pages from his memoir around the world.

We showed you how to type in your own handwriting on your computer.

Salman Rushdie inked a deal for his unfinished memoir.

Judy Blume wrote a script for Tiger Eyes; her son will direct it.

We unveiled two petition to get authors on Dancing with the Stars.

Still want more? Check out our Weekend Reading archives.

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On Friday, news broke that Peter Jackson finally received the g0-ahead for his two-part adaptation of The Hobbit. Production could start as soon as February 2011.

Deadline Hollywood has the scoop: “Things must be getting close on The Hobbit, because casting buzz is getting strong in Hollywood. Word is Martin Freeman will soon be set to play Bilbo Baggins, that Jimmy Nesbitt has been offered a role and that Michael Fassbender is being pursued for another as is David Tennant. Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis are expected to reprise Gandalf and Gollum.”

As you wait for the production, we recommend watching the English translation of a Finnish miniseries (embedded above) that adapted J. R. R. Tolkien’s work way back in 1993.

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Here’s Del Toro’s statement at OneRing.net: “In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming The Hobbit, I am faced with the hardest decision of my life … After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures.”

Del Toro (pictured) directed the live-action adaptation Hellboy and the award winning Pan’s Labyrinth. He was also the co-author of the vampire novel, The Strain.

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