As we previously reported, Lee’s been featured in the August issue of Empire (on newsstands now). The 13 pages long article takes us to New Zealand, which is currently full of dwarfs, elves and hobbits. The cast is slowly wrapping though. Peter Jackson yesterday shared on his facebook: “A day after saying goodbye to Gandalf and Tauriel, it was time to farewell Legolas. What a great day it was, with Orlando battling a serious Orc for all 12 hours of shooting – part of the Battle of the 5 Armies for the third Hobbit movie.”
The article also features the first The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug promotional image of Lee Pace as Thranduil, posing with a sword that has been made from a single piece of metal, with the handle carved into it.

Jackson tells Empire that “Thranduil has a contempt of his own for what is going on out there.”
“The delightful Lee Pace welcomes Empire into his trailer with a warm smile, high praise for the magazine’s ongoing coverage of The Hobbit and the offer of herbal tea,” Empire shares. Lee told them he sees Legolas’ father as “the same way that a tiger in a jungle is a dangerous thing” and admitted he has taken overnight hikes into the New Zealand wildness to get into an elven headspace. “In his realm, you are at his mercy,” he muses. “There is a simplicity to that. That corrupted forest (Mirkwood) is very much a reflection of who he is.” Talking about his inspirations, has called upon Oberon and The Fisher King.
“We should mention he is 3,000 years old,” Empire reminds us, “something of a mind-bogging concept for Pace.” The actor who plays the Elvenking comments: “He’s incredibly old but incredibly sensitive. It’s like he’s taken too many naps.”
“And yet he has a reputation of being the greatest fighter in the Middle Earth. His threat, thinks Pace, imposes interesting things on this movie. “He doesn’t readily choose to use his force.” The question arises of what will stir him out of his splendid, dragon-like isolation,” the journalist nicely concludes.

As Orlando Bloom says: “The elves always steal the show. In the best way.”

Gallery Link:
Magazine Scans > Empire (August 2013)

“You are going to get some serious disrespect of the elves at Rivendell,” Peter Jackson warns Hobbit fans. The extended version of the first Hobbit movie, An Unexpected Journey, is due for release on Blu-ray and DVD just a month before the sequel comes out. The director tells Empire he is now editing and leaving some scenes out of the theatrical cut, since people don’t need to worry about them, but they will be shown in the detailed version. “We are putting things in the extended cut that are going to play straight into the second film,” Jackson explains, “like this character Girion, who is defending [the city of] Dale using black arrows against Smaug. And the black arrows play a part in the ongoing story, for they are the one thing that can pierce the dragon’s hide.” This will now be seen in the extended prologue, with Girion’s badly aimed black arrows bouncing off Smaug’s scales rather than puncturing his underbelly. “The are also issues with Thranduil [played by Lee Pace],” adds Jackson. “We get some of the reasons why he and the dwarfs had a falling out – to do with these white gems…” We will learn from the elves’ perspective, why they didn’t come to the dwarves’ aid.
“It’s unique,” concludes the director on having his story operate on two levels. “Not many other movies have this facility.”

The August issue of Empire hits shops on Thursday June 27. You can find the first scans of it in our gallery.

Lee Pace and his The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug co-stars Evangeline Lilly and Orlando Bloom cover the August issue of Empire magazine. The article offers more insights into the trilogy’s key second instalment, filming process and more.

The second cover is the collector’s edition and will only be available for subscribers.

The August issue of Empire hits shops on Thursday June 27.

GALLERY LINKS:
– Magazine Scans > Empire (August 2013)

Kili and Fili of TheOneRing.net recorded themselves watching the Desolation of Smaug trailer for the first time. Few days ago, Peter Jackson asked three of the cast members to watch the fan reactions, and recorded their reaction.

We can now confirm that Lee Pace joined the cast in New Zealand, where they are currently filming pick ups for the final two Hobbit films, Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again.

Desolation of Smaug opens in theaters December 13.

The first official poster for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has been released. The movie is coming to theaters December 13, 2013.