The Hobbit officially (finally!) begins production

Our long international nightmare is over! After years of false starts, casting dramas, replaced directors, a studio bankruptcy, strikes, boycotts and even a perforated ulcer, production has officially begun on The Hobbit.

Warner Bros, New Line Cinema and MGM broke the good news in a joint press release (which is rather long, but you can read in full here).
Director Peter Jackson has also pledged to update his Facebook page with photos from the shoot.

As previously reported, the two-film project was scripted by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and former-director Guillermo del Toro. Based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit will star Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, and see Lord of the Rings regulars Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett and Andy Serkis reprise their roles from the original trilogy.

Discuss: We don’t want to jinx it, but now that production has finally begun, what could possibly go wrong?