The Hobbit Trilogy Discussion Thread

[kjacobs03]

Just remember how much prosthetics they wear. You can pretty much only see their eyes. As long as they can stand and talk they should be fit enough.

[tommyboy81]

Originally Posted by Bageara

I think its about 50-60 years

I saw McKellen on TV not very long ago promoting The Prisoner for the BBC and he looked fighting fit, Lee on the other hand does look very frail

I'm not saying he looked bad when he was here it's just that it's been so long and his age. But hollywood makeup works wonders.

[Duffy12]

I just watched the last half hour of a NATURE Episode: Wild Balkans on PBS.

And all through it the narrator kept referencing 'Middle Earth' characters and geography, along with Tolkien flavored maps on the area.

Anybody know what that was all about? Did it have something to due with the possibility of the Hobbit production having to leave New Zealand and go overseas to get filmed?

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Darkhawk9587

If he can't wait then Lee cannot either. Maybe they should be recast. I mean, The Hobbit takes place how long before LotR?

There are 80 years between the time that Bilbo returns to Bag End with the Ring and Frodo leaves Bag End on his quest. Although wizards are said to age very slowly (they are thousands of years old in their "human-like" form), I would imagine that prosthetics and FX would allow Christopher Lee to maintain a similar appearance to his role in LotR. Just as Ian McKellen IS Gandalf, Lee nailed the part of Saruman and it would create a huge discontinuity to not have him play the role. As I am sure Jackson is aware, the production team will have to act quickly.

[tommyboy81]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

There are 80 years between the time that Bilbo returns to Bag End with the Ring and Frodo leaves Bag End on his quest. Although wizards are said to age very slowly (they are thousands of years old in their "human-like" form), I would imagine that prosthetics and FX would allow Christopher Lee to maintain a similar appearance to his role in LotR. Just as Ian McKellen IS Gandalf, Lee nailed the part of Saruman and it would create a huge discontinuity to not have him play the role. As I am sure Jackson is aware, the production team will have to act quickly.

Basically doing Lee's parts first?

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Duffy12

I just watched the last half hour of a NATURE Episode: Wild Balkans on PBS.

And all through it the narrator kept referencing 'Middle Earth' characters and geography, along with Tolkien flavored maps on the area.

Anybody know what that was all about? Did it have something to due with the possibility of the Hobbit production having to leave New Zealand and go overseas to get filmed?

I don't see how the landscape of the Balkans relates to most of the events of the Hobbit, with perhaps the exception of part of the journey between the Shire and Rivendell (e.g. the area between the Hoarwell and Bruinen where they meet

[Show spoiler] the trolls

. Now that the production is scheduled to occur in NZ, the Balkans may no longer be relevant(?).

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

Basically doing Lee's parts first?

It would be prudent, and I (for one) would really like to see him in the films. Also, the fact that he was the only one in the LotR cast who actually met Tolkien adds additional interest to the production.

[Duffy12]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

I don't see how the landscape of the Balkans relates to most of the events of the Hobbit, with perhaps the exception of part of the journey between the Shire and Rivendell (e.g. the area between the Hoarwell and Bruinen where they meet

[Show spoiler] the trolls

. Now that the production is scheduled to occur in NZ, the Balkans may no longer be relevant(?).

Well, I went to the PBS.org website to see what it says about this episode-

Wild Balkans
Introduction

"The Balkan Peninsula is notorious for being one of the great battlegrounds of history. And yet, it possesses another side unknown to many, where ancient forests and vast wetlands harbor pristine wilderness, and sheer cliff walls and desolate plateaus preserve a seemingly unchanged past. Surveying these striking and stark landscapes, one might think they’ve ventured into the Middle-earth of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

Indeed the Balkan Peninsula is home to a variety of regions that border on mythical. In Croatia’s Kopacki Rit Wetlands, land mines keep people away, but enable native wildlife to thrive. Further south, Montenegro’s Tara River carves through Europe’s longest and deepest canyon, and neighboring forests provide refuge to rare animals such as the Balkan Lynx. To the east, millions of birds flock to the Danube Delta to feast on swarms of mosquitoes. And at the west of the Balkans is Skadar Lake, a remarkable landscape of peaks and water.

This is a journey to a world seemingly forgotten by time. This is the wild Balkans."


http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episo...oduction/5485/

.

This episode was a repeat that had originally shown last January, so it had NOTHING AT ALL to due with the upcoming movie. However I just find it strange that they would tie in the 'Middle Earth' theme into this nature show about a true live location.



Here is one reviewers take on it-


John says:
April 1, 2010 at 11:30 am

"Beautiful cinematography, but the constant correlating of the Balkans to The Lord of the Rings was initially obnoxious and eventually comical. It was so forced! “Some would say this is where the River Elves would live, if this was Middle Earth.” Huh? Who would say that? Please don’t take this approach with future episodes."



.

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Duffy12

"Beautiful cinematography, but the constant correlating of the Balkans to The Lord of the Rings was initially obnoxious and eventually comical. It was so forced! “Some would say this is where the River Elves would live, if this was Middle Earth.” Huh? Who would say that? Please don’t take this approach with future episodes."[/I]



.

God bless the mysterious "River Elves", and their close kin, the cookie-making Keebler Elves.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

Basically doing Lee's parts first?

That's what I was thinking.

Go over to wherever he is and shoot his stuff and then get underway with the big tough stuff in New Zealand once you have his stuff in the can.

[radagast]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

McKellen was here yesterday showing his movie Gods and Monsters at our film Festival. Trust me I don't know how long he can wait. He looks like he's aged 10 years.

Imagine that. He "looks like" he's aged 10 years from what he looked like 10 years ago.

[mjbethancourt]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

Tobin Bell and Ian McDiarmid both come to mind, as does Terence Stamp.

Good actors, but Lee is Saruman, and recasting is bound for trouble... especially with the huge height-difference between Lee and McDiarmid, for example.

If he can read the lines, that's all they really need him to do. If he has to, Jackson can scan him and make a "digital actor" out of him, like he did with the entire cast of 'King Kong'.

Lee is now 88. They used so much makeup to "age" those guys when they shot LotR, now it would just be easier: use less makeup.

[AintNoSin]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

If he can read the lines, that's all they really need him to do. If he has to, Jackson can scan him and make a "digital actor" out of him, like he did with the entire cast of 'King Kong'.

Thet could have another actor "play" him front of the camera and use footage from LOTR as a reference to create a virtual Christopher Lee mask to put on the actor. Then just have Lee record his lines in nice comfy studio in London.

[radagast]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

It would be prudent, and I (for one) would really like to see him in the films. Also, the fact that he was the only one in the LotR cast who actually met Tolkien adds additional interest to the production.

IIRC, C. Lee also sat in on lecture from C.S. Lewis.

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by radagast

IIRC, C. Lee also sat in on lecture from C.S. Lewis.

That makes it even more important to have Lee involved with the Hobbit, if it is possible. The presence of a man who met both Tolkien and Lewis (one of Tolkien's biggest "cheerleaders" while he was writing the Middle earth saga) adds a degree of authenticity to the production. Let's hope they act soon!

[Darkhawk9587]

Originally Posted by Diesel

That's what I was thinking.

Go over to wherever he is and shoot his stuff and then get underway with the big tough stuff in New Zealand once you have his stuff in the can.

Do anything to get him into the film, I'd say.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Darkhawk9587

Do anything to get him into the film, I'd say.

I wonder what Christopher Lee's rider to New Line/WB/Peter Jackson looks like.

[Monolithium]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

I wonder what Christopher Lee's rider to New Line/WB/Peter Jackson looks like.

Don't remove me from the theatrical cut and expect me to be happy with being "an extended cut exclusive".

[radagast]

Originally Posted by Monolithium

Don't remove me from the theatrical cut and expect me to be happy with being "an extended cut exclusive".

Quite.

[kjacobs03]

Looks like Howard Shore is going to be composing for The Hobbit. That's good to hear! Pun deffinitely intended
http://movies.ign.com/articles/113/1135469p1.html