The Hobbit Trilogy Discussion Thread

[TheWildWhelk]

Okay, this is absolutely remarkable news, but before i make my opinion, i need to kind of work out the logistics of what it is that Jackson is looking at doing. Firstly, Jackson seems to think that he can create a whole third film with the footage he has shot and an additional 2 months shooting next year. That immediately suggests to me that one of the films is already running over time due to narrative reasons. It may well be that Jackson wants to take

[Show spoiler]The Seige Of Dol Guldur and it's fallout

and turn it into it's own film, with the first 2 Hobbit films probably coming in at a fairly tight 2 hours.

Also, is anyone else intruiged with the mention that the sets for the town of Dale are amongst the biggest that Weta have built? Bear in mind that in the book that

[Show spoiler]the town is in ruins after Smaug raised it to the ground, yet the sets look unspoiled.

Seems Dale is going to factor in the first film quite heavily. Having said that, i thought the events surrounding it took place about 30 years before the book begins, as Thorin recalls it from decades ago.

Absolutely fascinated to see how this all pans out. Still think it is going to be Book Adaptation Plus Bridging Film.

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by kjacobs03

I'm glad to see they kept the giant rock monsters playing catch in the Misty Mountains.

Same here. It was a real thrill to see a Stone Giant (I think) in that shot. i always assumed they'd be cut out as they're superfluous and might have been seen as a bit silly compared to the tone set in Lord of the Rings. That they're in there makes me all the more confident that Jackson has managed to balance the whimsey of The Hobbit with the epic nature of the rest of Middle-Earth (as if the trailer didn't already do that).

[Buddy Ackerman]

I wouldn't trust anything that just lists a vague 'source' saying that vague talks are happening. And I'm not sure how two months more filming would make another film, even with the stuff they've already shot. They spent months structuring the adaptation into two films, I find it very difficult to believe they could pull another film out of their arses so quickly.

I completely trust Jackson and, if a third film appears, I'll be as excited about it as anyone. But I think this is just a story that's gotten out of hand due to Jackson not ruling one out (and this story has just reignitied the original rumours knowing how much press they got) and I'd be incredibly shocked if it happens.

But I believe we'll just end up with some super-duper Extended Editions out of these and, possibly, extra material filmed for new edits of The Lord of the Rings that intergrate more elements from The Hobbit into its tale. That could be very exciting indeed.

Bear in mind that The Two Towers and Return of the King each had a few weeks of reshoots to tighten things up and add in extra material that they came up with after they finished shooting. Most of that ended up in the Extended Editions.

[Lnds500]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

Source

Whoa...

I'm sooo IN!!!!

[irockmysocks]

Holy shitttttttttttt

[Josh]

The fact that discussions are happening so fast (allegedy) alludes to the fact that PJ has too much movie at the moment and would have to do some considerable cutting to get it down something managable. The script must already be written (or compiled from scenes already cut) and stars already on board to keep filming.

I say if PJ thinks he has three films, let him have them. Recall that LOTR was initially two films until New Line got a hold of it and told PJ it was three.

[Mahatma]

Originally Posted by Buddy Ackerman

I wouldn't trust anything that just lists a vague 'source' saying that vague talks are happening. And I'm not sure how two months more filming would make another film, even with the stuff they've already shot. They spent months structuring the adaptation into two films, I find it very difficult to believe they could pull another film out of their arses so quickly.

I completely trust Jackson and, if a third film appears, I'll be as excited about it as anyone. But I think this is just a story that's gotten out of hand due to Jackson not ruling one out (and this story has just reignitied the original rumours knowing how much press they got) and I'd be incredibly shocked if it happens.

But I believe we'll just end up with some super-duper Extended Editions out of these and, possibly, extra material filmed for new edits of The Lord of the Rings that intergrate more elements from The Hobbit into its tale. That could be very exciting indeed.

Bear in mind that The Two Towers and Return of the King each had a few weeks of reshoots to tighten things up and add in extra material that they came up with after they finished shooting. Most of that ended up in the Extended Editions.

This.And if they were to make it into a trilogy,wouldn't that mean they would have to lenghten the first two planned movies also?Sounds like hookey to me,but maybe they'll bridge the gap to LotR by filming Gollums adventures and missadventures into mordor

[radagast]

Originally Posted by Josh

The fact that discussions are happening so fast (allegedy) alludes to the fact that PJ has too much movie at the moment and would have to do some considerable cutting to get it down something managable. The script must already be written (or compiled from scenes already cut) and stars already on board to keep filming.

I say if PJ thinks he has three films, let him have them. Recall that LOTR was initially two films until New Line got a hold of it and told PJ it was three.

I would think that, by now, the movie industry can estimate how long a movie is by the how long the script is.

[Duffy12]

Originally Posted by TheWildWhelk

Okay, this is absolutely remarkable news, but before i make my opinion, i need to kind of work out the logistics of what it is that Jackson is looking at doing. Firstly, Jackson seems to think that he can create a whole third film with the footage he has shot and an additional 2 months shooting next year. That immediately suggests to me that one of the films is already running over time due to narrative reasons. It may well be that Jackson wants to take

[Show spoiler]The Seige Of Dol Guldur and it's fallout

and turn it into it's own film, with the first 2 Hobbit films probably coming in at a fairly tight 2 hours.

Also, is anyone else intruiged with the mention that the sets for the town of Dale are amongst the biggest that Weta have built? Bear in mind that in the book that

[Show spoiler]the town is in ruins after Smaug raised it to the ground, yet the sets look unspoiled.

Seems Dale is going to factor in the first film quite heavily. Having said that, i thought the events surrounding it took place about 30 years before the book begins, as Thorin recalls it from decades ago.

Absolutely fascinated to see how this all pans out. Still think it is going to be Book Adaptation Plus Bridging Film.

I am really hoping they include Balin's

[Show spoiler]re-populating of Moria

. He will need some good battle scenes for the third movie and that would work like a charm.

.

[Blu-Benny]

Bring it on!!!!!

[toddly6666]

It makes sense to stretch out this movie as much as possible. The Lord of the Rings Extended version is all pure gold and could have been released as 6 movies! So why not do three movies out of the Hobbit!

But it's such a short book. Has there ever been a movie trilogy created from a really short book?

[Talyn]

I'm alright with this since he's taking things from Tolkien's notes, appendices, etc... It's not like he's making this sh*t up.

[lupinskitten]

Not sure how I feel about this.

On one hand, I'm always up for more Middle-earth.

On the other, what does this mean for the staging of the films? Is this going to relegate Part II to a slightly less awesome film because PJ will keep some of the best stuff for Part III? Having not read the appendixes, how much extra stuff are we talking about? Will it fit in?

I'm guessing at the end of the day, PJ saw how much footage he had, how long the end result would be, and thought, "3 movies." Maybe he'd rather shoot an aditional hour or two of film in 2 months than cut what I presume is going to be a 6 or 8 hour film into two 2 & 1/2 hour movies.

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Josh

I say if PJ thinks he has three films, let him have them.

Ditto. I assume that he is weighing including more events from "The Tale of Years". I'm all for additional subject matter, providing it makes sense.

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Duffy12

I am really hoping they include Balin's

[Show spoiler]re-populating of Moria

. He will need some good battle scenes for the third movie and that would work like a charm.

.

I am fairly certain that we will see

[Show spoiler] the Battle of Azanulbizar, since Azog is mentioned by name in the book, Thrain was wounded, and Thorin received his name "Oakenshield" in that battle. If that is the case, we will also get to see Mirrormere, which was only briefly shown in the Fellowship of the Ring movie.

Also, as far as the gigantic sets being shown constructed, I wonder if the scenes are not of Dale, but Laketown, since it is has much greater involvement in the story?

.

[TheWildWhelk]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

I am fairly certain that we will see

[Show spoiler] the Battle of Azanulbizar, since Azog is mentioned by name in the book, Thrain was wounded, and Thorin received his name "Oakenshield" in that battle. If that is the case, we will also get to see Mirrormere, which was only briefly shown in the Fellowship of the Ring movie.

Also, as far as the gigantic sets being shown constructed, I wonder if the scenes are not of Dale, but Laketown, since it is has much greater involvement in the story?

.

Bob, i'm pretty sure that Jackson said that the sets they had built were for Dale rather than Laketown, but i will go back and check. Regardless, we aren't going to see the majority of Laketown action kick off (obviously!) until the second film.

Still recon that film 3 will be the

[Show spoiler]Seige of Dol Guldur post-Battle Of The 5 Armies.

[Agent Bond]

I love The Hobbit, but not sure I could deal with three films unless some of The Silmarillion was incorporated.

Its like Jackson wants to compete with himself by making another trilogy!

[Velmeran]

Originally Posted by Agent Bond

I love The Hobbit, but not sure I could deal with three films unless some of The Silmarillion was incorporated.

Its like Jackson wants to compete with himself by making another trilogy!

Don't get your hopes up.

PJ is going to be limited to the events depicted in the Hobbit and the Appendices of LotR (not sure how much legal leeway they'll have for things touched briefly upon in the Appendices, but flushed out in greater detail in The Silmarillion or the unfinished tales.)

[Duffy12]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

I am fairly certain that we will see

[Show spoiler] the Battle of Azanulbizar, since Azog is mentioned by name in the book, Thrain was wounded, and Thorin received his name "Oakenshield" in that battle. If that is the case, we will also get to see Mirrormere, which was only briefly shown in the Fellowship of the Ring movie.

Also, as far as the gigantic sets being shown constructed, I wonder if the scenes are not of Dale, but Laketown, since it is has much greater involvement in the story?

.

[Show spoiler]I do not remember seeing any of Mirrormere in FotR. Are you sure that it was in there?

Regarding the Dale set. From the video the streets were not all smooth. But a bit hilly...so to speak. So that could not have been Laketown unless Jackson decides to put it on dry land.

And back to the pre-history of Moria. Though I am very much looking forward to the goblin/dwarf wars, I feel that by showing them it could detract from the fellowships passage through it. The first time reading the story we are not sure if they will eventually find any surviving dwarfs. It was a nice mystery wondering if any are left, and this kind of spoils that.

But I guess we all know what happened anyway by now, but what about first time viewers watching these in historical order?

.

[Member-115369]

I'm all for expanding it with appendix material.

As I said way back, I was only mildly interested in the Hobbit films as I don't like that book nearly as much as LOTR.

But if they're fleshing it out a ton more and making it a more full tie in to the LOTR movies I'm all for that and now a lot more interested in how these turn out. Especially the inevitable extended versions on blu.