The Hobbit Trilogy Discussion Thread

[radagast]

Originally Posted by KubrickFan

Frankly, I didn't think it was a big deal. The writers explained why they made the changes, and they didn't just do it for the sake of it. No adaptation would come close to the novels. They're too richly detailed for that, and a lot of things simply wouldn't work on screen. Jackson did an admirable job making the books into the big budget fantasy movies they are. I'll take Jackson's way of adapting over the Harry Potter Cliff notes movie adaptations any day.

I didn't (and still don't) agree with many of their changes. They made changes to the story that Bakshi DIDN'T make to his version, which is why Bakshi's version had any charm at all. And to make things worse, when they made the EX version of RoTK (which was suppposed to be for lovers of the books) they made an egregious change to the story that I believe Tolkien would have hated. There were so many changes that Jackson's LoTR became like a Star Trekian alternate universe Middle Earth. I am afraid they are going to do the same to the Hobbit.

Tolkien's LoTR > Jackson's LoTR

[Josh]

Since each of Peter Jackson's LOTR films focuses heavily on a battle for each part, we can generally assume each of the two parts of The Hobbit will also heavily focus on a battle. Obviously, the Battle of the Five Armies will be the focus of one of the parts, but which one?

If we look at the Timeline of Arda, from the time when Bilbo is born until he passes the ring to Frodo (and thus, the beginning of LOTR) there is a lot of material, but only a few battles. I can see the Battle of the Five Armies concluding the first part, with the Battle at Umbar or Battle for Moria concluding the second part. If the Battle of the Five Armies concludes the second part, then possibly the battle of the White Council against Sauron.

What do some of the experts think?

[radagast]

Originally Posted by Josh

Since each of Peter Jackson's LOTR films focuses heavily on a battle for each part, we can generally assume each of the two parts of The Hobbit will also heavily focus on a battle. Obviously, the Battle of the Five Armies will be the focus of one of the parts, but which one?

If we look at the Timeline of Arda, from the time when Bilbo is born until he passes the ring to Frodo (and thus, the beginning of LOTR) there is a lot of material, but only a few battles. I can see the Battle of the Five Armies concluding the first part, with the Battle at Umbar or Battle for Moria concluding the second part. If the Battle of the Five Armies concludes the second part, then possibly the battle of the White Council against Sauron.

What do some of the experts think?

There can be other action-heavy scenes like the wolves and goblins chasing the group up a tree, Bilbo's battle against the spiders in Mirkwood, Gandalf's rescue of the group from the goblins/orcs. In the case of the spiders, Jackson could have a big battle against the spiders after Bilibo frees the dwarves.

[kdo]

Originally Posted by radagast

I didn't (and still don't) agree with many of their changes. They made changes to the story that Bakshi DIDN'T make to his version, which is why Bakshi's version had any charm at all. And to make things worse, when they made the EX version of RoTK (which was suppposed to be for lovers of the books) they made an agregious change to the story that I believe Tolkien would have hated. There were so many changes that Jackson's LoTR became like a Star Trekian alternate universe Middle Earth. I am afraid they are going to do the same to the Hobbit.

Tolkien's LoTR > Jackson's LoTR

Are you referring to when they killed off Saruman? If so, I disagree and I thought that was much better than in the book, when they had him and Grima go back to Hobbiton, where they staged that silly battle at the end of the book. In my opinion, Tolkien was out of steam almost halfway through "ROTK," and both times I read the saga, it felt like he dragged that final installment on a couple hundred pages too long...

Originally Posted by Josh

Since each of Peter Jackson's LOTR films focuses heavily on a battle for each part, we can generally assume each of the two parts of The Hobbit will also heavily focus on a battle. Obviously, the Battle of the Five Armies will be the focus of one of the parts, but which one?

If we look at the Timeline of Arda, from the time when Bilbo is born until he passes the ring to Frodo (and thus, the beginning of LOTR) there is a lot of material, but only a few battles. I can see the Battle of the Five Armies concluding the first part, with the Battle at Umbar or Battle for Moria concluding the second part. If the Battle of the Five Armies concludes the second part, then possibly the battle of the White Council against Sauron.

What do some of the experts think?

I'm not an expert (have only read "The Hobbit" and "LOTR" a couple of times each), but I always thought that timeline was a riot, especially how detailed it was for a fictitious universe . Still interesting though, but I've no idea what they'll do in regards to the upcoming films.

[radagast]

Originally Posted by kdo

Are you referring to when they killed off Saruman? If so, I disagree and I thought that was much better than in the book, when they had him and Grima go back to Hobbiton, where they staged that silly battle at the end of the book. In my opinion, Tolkien was out of steam almost halfway through "ROTK," and both times I read the saga, it felt like he dragged that final installment on a couple hundred pages too long...



I'm not an expert (have only read "The Hobbit" and "LOTR" a couple of times each), but I always thought that timeline was a riot, especially how detailed it was for a fictitious universe . Still interesting though, but I've no idea what they'll do in regards to the upcoming films.

No. I am referring to the Witch-King knocking Gandalf off his horse when he enters Minas Tirith. And don't tell me it was a good cinematic moment. It was a travesty considering who the two figures were.

I disagree about the end of the book. You don't understand the purpose behind Tolkien writing that. I am never ready for the book to be over. Whenever I get to the end, I wish it wasn't over. The joy in reading the books is the journey, not one endless action scene after the other. Jackson's movies ended up looking like one long commercial for the Lord of the Rings video games.

If you think the amount of detail is amusing, then you truly don't understand Tolkien. The detail is what makes it so real. Tolkien was truly a "subcreator".

BTW a big oops over spelling of "egregious".

[kdo]

Originally Posted by radagast

No. I am referring to the Witch-King knocking Gandalf off his horse when he enters Minas Tirith. And don't tell me it was a good cinematic moment. It was a travesty considering who the two figures were.

Ah, I see...certainly understandable.

Originally Posted by radagast

I disagree about the end of the book. You don't understand the purpose behind Tolkien writing that.

Yeah, I guess I don't understand the purpose... it was boring and pointless in my opinion, and didn't fit with the rest of the story.

Originally Posted by radagast

If you think the amount of detail is amusing, then you truly don't understand Tolkien. The detail is what makes it so real. Tolkien was truly a "subcreator".

But when all's said and done, it's just fiction...Not to sound arrogant or anything, but if you gave me a few years, I imagine I could come up with a fictitious fantasy world of my own, complete with timelines too!

I don't mean any offense, and while I do think Tolkien was an incredible writer, I'm not as absorbed with him as others are.

Originally Posted by radagast

BTW a big oops over spelling of "egregious".

No worries...

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Duffy12

A minor update from theonering.net.

Sorry, but no pics.


Latest Hobbiton Construction News

November 21st, 2010 by xoanon

"TORN Spy T writes: I was just at Matamata today. All hobbit-hole construction is completed, now the “greenery” is just being finalised. The bridge/Green Dragon is ostensibly finished with just a few external touches to be completed. I took heaps of pictures, but I had to sign a confidentiality agreement saying I wouldn’t post them on the internet. I wish you could see Bag End. It looks almost 100% perfect. The head gardener was on the premises for the entirety of our visit and was watching us to make sure we didn’t touch anything. The most dramatic part for me was the Bridge/Green Dragon. When I was there in March, it was just a grass-covered hillside. To see it almost as it was in the film was breath-taking. Oh, there are five BRAND NEW hobbit-holes that look very flash. One in particular which has to be a main character’s abode (as it is much more detailed and intricate than many of the others). Sam’s hole is back to how you see it at the end of RotK and the greenery around Bag End apparently was just finished within the last week or so."

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I can't imagine who the other detailed hobbit dwelling would belong to, as Bag End is the only residence of interest in the book, unless Jackson has decided to throw a young Gaffer Gamgee (Sam's dad) or something like that into the fray. Of course, Sam and Frodo were not alive at the time of the story. The Green Dragon is in Bywater, not Hobbiton, but I suppose we can forgive them for overlooking that detail.

[Bageara]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

I can't imagine who the other detailed hobbit dwelling would belong to, as Bag End is the only residence of interest in the book, unless Jackson has decided to throw a young Gaffer Gamgee (Sam's dad) or something like that into the fray. Of course, Sam and Frodo were not alive at the time of the story. The Green Dragon is in Bywater, not Hobbiton, but I suppose we can forgive them for overlooking that detail.

Mabye its just a more detailed Hobbiton and it will show more of the village as Gandalf and the dwarves arrive and pass through the village like when Gandalf arrives in the start of FotR

[radagast]

Originally Posted by kdo

But when all's said and done, it's just fiction...Not to sound arrogant or anything, but if you gave me a few years, I imagine I could come up with a fictitious fantasy world of my own, complete with timelines too!

I'm sure you could. Many others have tried as well. What they didn't do was also invent several languages and alphabets for those languages and a complete mythology surround the creation of the world. I could go on about several other aspects of his work, like the fact that he also wrote an amazing story that has been translated into several languages and loved by people all over the world. If you can do the same, please do! I'd love to read it.

[kdo]

Originally Posted by radagast

I'm sure you could. Many others have tried as well. What they didn't do was also invent several languages and alphabets for those languages and a complete mythology surround the creation of the world. I could go on about several other aspects of his work, like the fact that he also wrote an amazing story that has been translated into several languages and loved by people all over the world. If you can do the same, please do! I'd love to read it.

What I was trying to get at, is that for me, there's no point in doing it, it's a waste of time in my opinion. When I said I could do it, I didn't say I'd be as detailed or efficient as Tolkien was, but that's also because I have no motivation for undertaking a task of that nature (let alone the time, unless someone wants to pay me to write for the next 6 years). Not to take anything away from Tolkien's creativity or talent, because he was an exceptional author, but again, as I said before, I'm just not as impressed by his work as some others are.

[Duffy12]

Not much, but at least it's something.



totalfilm.com-

[TheWildWhelk]

Any news on Ian McKellan signing up for this? Filming starts in 3 months.

[Duffy12]

Originally Posted by SonOfTorah

Any news on Ian McKellan signing up for this? Filming starts in 3 months.

From theonering.net



Gandalf Watch – McKellen.com Update?


November 27th, 2010 by Calisuri | Source: McKellen.com

Thanks to Ringer Kookie for sending in this tip! On wednesday (or around there), Sir Ian McKellen’s official website (McKellen.com) made an update to its ’2010′s Film’ section. While we don’t have an official press release yet, the update to his website seems to imply he is coming back as Gandalf for ‘The Hobbit’ films:

THE HOBBIT’s, two films, start shooting in New Zealand in February 2011. Filming will take over a year. Casting in Los Angeles, New York City and London has started. The script too proceeds. The first draft is crammed with old and new friends, again on a quest in Middle Earth.

THE HOBBIT
Director: Peter Jackson
Role: Gandalf



Again, we do not have an official press release yet. Afterall, it is a US Holiday and I’m sure the PR team for the films are still recovering from a heaping portion of Turkey. (I know I am!) But light those beacons folks, “Hope is kindled.” [McKellen.com]





link



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There you go. Not official, but its something.

[Duffy12]

from onering.net-



Peter Jackson nabs THIRTY RED EPIC cameras


November 28th, 2010 by xoanon

From engadget.com: We’re still slightly bummed that Peter Jackson never made Halo, but this should patch things up a tad — the Lord of the Rings director will film The Hobbit in 3D entirely on thirty hand-machined RED EPIC cameras, starting early next year. That’s the news straight from RED founder Jim Jannard, but that’s not all, as a limited number of pre-production EPIC packages will be available to early adopters as well. $58,000 buys your deep-pocketed budding director a machined EPIC-M body, titanium PL mount, Bomb EVF and 5-inch touchscreen LCD, a REDmote, a four-pack of batteries, a charger and a solid state storage module with a four-pack of 128GB SSDs. Jannard expects to hand-assemble that first batch of 5K imagers in December or January, start the real assembly lines a month after that, and hopefully have widespread availability by NAB in April, though he’s not making any promises there. That’s how RED rolls. More..

Xoanon here, this is not the Peter’s first foray into Red cameras, Peter used one a few years back to shoot some plane footage at an air show. Meanwhile his post production house ‘Park Road Post’ has experience withe the Red series of cameras.








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And from Marketsaw-



Sunday, November 28, 2010

THE HOBBIT Will Be Shot With At Least 30 New RED EPICs At 5K Resolution!!


YES!! I am ecstatic! Peter Jackson has elected to shoot THE HOBBIT movies with RED EPIC cameras, at least 30 of them (via RedUser)! If you are unaware of the EPIC technology, no worries - it isn't even released yet, but it is from the same company that produces the industry leading RED ONE digital cameras. Jackson used Jim Jannard's RED cameras to shoot his short film CROSSING THE LINE so he is obviously very excited about the new cameras coming out.

Why should Jackson be excited? The RED ONE cameras shoot digitally at 4K resolution, while the new RED EPICS will capture 5K resolution at 120 frames+ / second!! Yes you read that correctly. The EPIC will have the highest dynamic range ever for a digital camera too.

Further, as THE HOBBIT(s) will be shot in native stereoscopic 3D, Jackson must be reveling in the smaller size and weight of the EPICS.

Jackson said: "I have always liked the look of Red footage. I'm not a scientist or mathematician, but the image Red produces has a much more filmic feel than most of the other digital formats. I find the picture quality appealing and attractive, and with the Epic, Jim and his team have gone even further. It is a fantastic tool, the Epic not only has cutting edge technology, incredible resolution and visual quality, but it is also a very practical tool for film makers. Many competing digital systems require the cameras to be tethered to large cumbersome VTR machines. The Epic gives us back the ability to be totally cable free, even when working in stereo."

Are you amped or what? I am. The man is using the PERFECT technology for these productions!! The only other valid choice would be the Cameron/Pace FUSION Cameras but obviously Jackson is going to need a lot of cameras and the FUSIONS may already be tied up on other projects.

If you love movies during the December holidays as much as I do then you should be darn excited for the next little while. Why? How about this line up... 2010 - TRON: LEGACY, 2011 - TINTIN, 2012 - THE HOBBIT PT1, 2013 - THE HOBBIT PT2, 2014 - AVATAR 2, 2015 - AVATAR 3!! Looks like we are set for the holidays aren't we?








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[radagast]

WELLINGTON (AFP) – Peter Jackson's troubled "The Hobbit" project was embroiled in a race row Monday over a casting agent sacked for telling a would-be extra she was too dark to play one of the pint-sized creatures.

The independent contractor who made the comments and placed an advertisement in a local newspaper specifying female hobbit extras "should have light skin tones" had been dismissed, a spokesman for Jackson's Wingnut Films said.

"No such instructions were given, the crew member in question took it upon themselves to do that and it's not something we instructed or condoned," he told AFP.

The row erupted after Briton Naz Humphreys, who has Pakistani heritage, attended a casting session in the New Zealand city of Hamilton last week, queuing for three hours only to be told her skin tone was not suitable.

"It's 2010 and I still can't believe I'm being discriminated against because I have brown skin," Humphreys told the Waikato Times newspaper.

"The casting manager basically said they weren't having anybody who wasn't pale-skinned."

Humphreys has started a Facebook group called "Hire hobbits of all colours! Say no to hobbit racism!"

The Waikato Times said video footage showed the casting agent telling people at the audition: "We are looking for light-skinned people. I'm not trying to be -- whatever. It's just the brief. You've got to look like a hobbit."

The agent also placed a classified advertisement in the Bay of Plenty Times listing essential requirements for potential hobbits, including age, 16-80, and height -- below 170 cm (5 foot 7 inches) for men and 158cm (5ft 2in) for women.

The additional demand for light skin tones applied only to women.

Humphreys said she was a huge fan of Jackson's Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and, at 1.5 metres, had hoped for a bit part in "The Hobbit", a two-part prequel to the original movies.

"I would love to be an extra," she said. "But it just seemed like a shame because obviously hobbits are not brown or black or any other colour.

"They all look kind of homogenised beige and all derived from the Caucasian gene pool."

In "The Lord of the Rings", Tolkien described three races of Hobbits inhabiting the Middle Earth fantasy world which is the setting for the movies, including harfoots, who "were browner of skin" than the others.

The Wingnut spokesman said anyone who met the height and age criteria was free to audition, regardless of skin colour.

"The crew member in question has been dismissed from the show," he said. "It's something we take very seriously." The spokesman did not say when the sacking occurred.

He said casting for the 500 million US dollar project, which has been dogged by problems, had been contracted out, adding "we obviously have a very large crew, it's a very large shoot".

A union dispute on the set of "The Hobbit" saw studios threaten to move it from New Zealand last month, until the government stepped in with generous tax breaks and changed industrial laws to prevent future unrest.

Previously, it had been stalled for years by wrangling over distribution rights, reported budget blowouts and financial woes at the MGM studio, prompting director Guillermo del Toro to quit earlier this year.

It is scheduled to begin filming in 3D next February with Jackson back in the director's chair and Martin Freeman from "The Office" starring in the lead role of Bilbo Baggins.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101129...ndhobbitracism

[Darkhawk9587]

I am glad to see Sir Ian to be reprising his role as Gandalf.

[Amnalehu]

maybe I missed it but since they are using the Red Cams, does that mean it will be shot in 3D?

[goresnet]

Originally Posted by Amnalehu

maybe I missed it but since they are using the Red Cams, does that mean it will be shot in 3D?

http://3dradar.techradar.com/3d-tech...ras-29-11-2010

The Hobbit to be filmed in 3D with 30 specialised cameras

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by goresnet

http://3dradar.techradar.com/3d-tech...ras-29-11-2010

The Hobbit to be filmed in 3D with 30 specialised cameras

This better come out in 2D in my area, not really a movie I want to be skipping due to my hatred of 3D!

[Agent Bond]

I've always enjoyed The Hobbit more than Lord of The Rings. I just wish it would've came out first so we wouldn't have to wait a decade.

With that said,

[Show spoiler]Smaug and The Battle of The Five Armies will be f'n amazing to see!!!!