Hobbit Watch

[HolyHandgernade]

While I'm sure some have had enough of the Shire Folk, I've always loved these stories. Read them as a kid, followed the buildup to the movies before they even started making casting calls. I know it may seem a tad bit early for some since the first movie isn't due until December 2011 (the second 2012), but they are getting closer to fleshing out the scripts and contemplating casting as the legal issues have all been resolved. For those who don't follow closely, this much we know:

Executive Producer: Peter Jackson
Lead Director: del Toro

Characters who are considered very likely to reprise their roles:


Sir Ian McKellan: Gandalf

Has already indicated he is on board even though they haven't officially announced casting calls, and is excited to be a part of it.

Viggo Mortenson : Aragorn

Liv Tyler : Arwen

Andy Serkis : Gollum

Hugo Weaving : Elrond

Cate Blanchett : Galadriel

Marton Csokas : Celeborn

Orlando Bloom : Legalos

Christopher Lee : Saruman

Providing his health holds out!

Bilbo will be played by another actor as Ian Holmes is too old to reprise the role. Gimli is not featured and it is well known John Rhys-Davies is allergic to the prosthetics and would probably not be keen to do a different dwarf. All the hobbits were not born, or at least were very young, during the span of these two movies. Even though Legalos was not in The Hobbit, it was his father's place that the dwarves escaped from and he could be worked into the movies rather easily.

What will the movies cover?

It was recently revealed that indeed two movies will be made. Most are already familiar with the Hobbit story, so the speculation began on what would be covered by the second movie. del Toro recently indicated that they will focus on the White Council and Dol Guldur.

The White Council was first convened in the Second Age, though little is known of it. It is reconvened in the Third Age under suspicion that the character known as "The Necromancer" is indeed Sauron, who is attempting to regain his power and find the One Ring. Members of the White Council include:

Saruman the White
Gandalf the Grey
Lady Galadriel of Lothlórien
Master Elrond of Rivendell
Círdan the Shipwright of the Grey Havens

Also, possibly:

Elf-lord Glorfindel
Elrond's chief counsellor Erestor
Thranduil, the King of Northern Mirkwood and father of Legolas
Celeborn, Galadriel's husband.

Dol Guldur is the stronghold first inhabited by Sauron, who later flees it but stations one of the Nazgul there later. When Gandalf leaves the company of Bilbo and the Dwarves, this is the business he is attending to. Here is a brief list of possible subjects that may be covered in the duo package of movies, either as flashbacks or realtime:

Year 2770 Erebor, Middle-Earth Smaug settles on the Lonely Mountain. At this time Dale was destroyed

Year 2850 Dol Guldur, Middle-Earth Gandalf the Grey discovers that the power in Dol Guldur is Sauron. While there he recovers the map and key from Thrain II

Year 2890, September 22 The Shire, Middle-Earth Bilbo Baggins is born

Year 2931, March 1 Arnor, Middle-Earth Aragorn II born

Year 2941 The Shire and Erebor, Middle-Earth Bilbo joins the Quest for Erebor. Fore more information, see his book, The Hobbit. The White Council agrees to attack Sauron

Year 2942 Erebor and the Shire, Middle-Earth Bilbo returns to the Shire

Year 2951 Mordor, Middle-Earth Sauron returns to Mordor and declares himself again

Year 2953 Middle-Earth Saruman begins to spy on Gandalf, and to lie to the White Council in its last meeting

Year 2968 The Shire, Middle-Earth Frodo Baggins is born

Year 2989 Erebor and Moria, Middle-Earth Balin leaves the Lonely Mountain to colonize Moria

Year 2994 Moria, Middle-Earth Balin is killed and the colony fails, with all the dwarves being killed

del Toro has said the focus will be on these aspects so the two movies can tie into the general theme established by the Lord of the Rings trilogy. How far the second movie goes into connecting to events of the trilogy is unknown. He has said he would like to work on the relationship of Aragorn and Arwen as well as the early friendship between Aragorn and Legalos. The major battle scene would be the attack on Dol Guldur, between the forces of Sauron and the Elves.

Also, Tolkien hinted that that the Dwarves foray into the Lonely Mountain, in part, was planned to keep Smaug occupied and unable to establish an alliance with Sauron in the region.

My only hope is that Lee is able to reprise his role as Saruman. At this point, he is seeking the One Ring for himself, discouraging the first planned attack on Dol Guldur because he believed Sauron would attempt to call for it, only later agreeing to an attack after realizing Sauron's power had grown faster than he realized. He thus wants him out of the area so he can search for it and gain the upper hand.

Any other Middle Earth fans out there psyched for these movies? What do you hope to see most? What do you hope is explored in the bulk of the second movie?

-HH

[htismaqe]

I'm worried that the Hobbit won't meet my expectations. It will be very hard to compare to the Rankin/Bass animated masterpiece.

[HolyHandgernade]

But really, who can compete with animation on any scale? We must learn to temper our expectations, no?

-HH

[J Diddy]

I'm sick of watching the ending before the beginning.

[Valiant]

Should be glorious.. hopefully it is..

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

I'm sick of watching the ending before the beginning.

In this case, I don't have much problem with it. I could see if it was a completely untold, new story. But these stories are so familiar already.

[Katipan]

Originally Posted by THISmaqe

I'm worried that the Hobbit won't meet my expectations. It will be very hard to compare to the Rankin/Bass animated masterpiece.

THISmage.

Only reason I can remember all the words of the Fifteen birds in 5 fir trees poem is because I can still remember the Goblins singing it from the cartoon.

[MoreLemonPledge]

I still haven't read the Hobbit. I'd like to, if I wasn't so lazy. Damn you, technology!

[hishighness]

I wish I could read.

[HolyHandgernade]

Part of a Christopher Lee interview:

IGN: Would you be willing to reprise the role?

Lee: In the spirit very much so. But I’ve reached an age now [86] where going to New Zealand again would be a very considerable effort. It would not be easy because it’s an exhausting journey. Even with a break I’m not sure I could do it.

IGN: If they could film your part in London, would you be interested?

Lee: Oh yes, of course. I’d be delighted.

[HolyHandgernade]

Viggo Mortensen talks The Hobbit

"It'll probably be as bewildering as the other three."

Lord Of The Rings star Viggo Mortensen has spoken to totalfilm.com about The Hobbit, addressing speculation as to whether he’ll reprise his role as Aragorn.

“I’d rather finish the job myself than have another actor do it,” says Mortensen. “I’m interested in principle, but I’d want to see it done in the right spirit of Tolkien.”

Viggo gave a nod of approval to new director Guillermo del Toro, saying, “He’s strongminded, intelligent and probably just as stubborn [as Jackson].

"I don’t know if it’ll be as big a circus [as the Trilogy] in terms of several people writing changes at the last minute.

“Maybe it’ll be more streamlined and efficient, but to some degree it’ll probably be as bewildering a set-up as the other three.”

Mortensen also claims the original trilogy became more led by effects as the series progressed.

“The Fellowship Of The Ring for me was the one most faithful to Tolkien. The one that had the most to do with any kind of subtlety in terms of performance and storytelling.

“Starting with the second one it became more of a blockbuster special effects thing. That’s not to say as that type of movie they weren’t the best.

"You can’t argue with the films’ success, but had it been me, I would have focused less on the effects and more on the characterisations.

“I’d have allowed the secondary characters to speak more and not be so focused on the heroes. There was more balance in the way that all the races of Middle-earth were presented in the first one. It was more about the relationships… That’s just my personal taste.”

See the new issue of Total Film Magazine for a full version of our Viggo Mortensen interview.

[HolyHandgernade]

Here's an update from del Toro:

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Katipan

THISmage.

Only reason I can remember all the words of the Fifteen birds in 5 fir trees poem is because I can still remember the Goblins singing it from the cartoon.

They actually produced a somewhat rambling, incomplete cartoon of the Trilogy. I can still remember "Frodo of the nine fingers, and the ring of doom"...

[HolyHandgernade]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment...e-in-two-parts

Hobbit: One tale in two parts


Peter Jackson has confirmed that The Hobbit, to be shot in Wellington next year, will be one continuous movie in two parts and not two self-contained films.

When the project was announced in late 2007, the plan was for two films to be shot back-to-back.

The first film would be based on The Hobbit in its entirety, or, some of the story would spill over into the second film which would also be based on author JRR Tolkien's other writings to create a direct link to The Lord of the Rings.

But Jackson, who is also an executive producer on the project, said The Hobbit would now take up all of both films. "We decided it would be a mistake to try to cram everything into one movie," he hold British film magazine Empire.

"The essential brief was to do The Hobbit, and it allows us to make The Hobbit in a little more style, if you like, of the [Lord of the Rings] trilogy."

Jackson's confirmation backs comments made late last year by The Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro that it was likely The Hobbit would be spread over two films rather than one.

Del Toro told Empire the two-part Hobbit movie would expand on two areas that were only alluded to in the book - wizard Gandalf's visits to arch-villain Sauron's stronghold in Mirkwood forest and the wizard's involvement in the White Council.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment...e-in-two-parts

Hobbit: One tale in two parts


Peter Jackson has confirmed that The Hobbit, to be shot in Wellington next year, will be one continuous movie in two parts and not two self-contained films.

When the project was announced in late 2007, the plan was for two films to be shot back-to-back.

The first film would be based on The Hobbit in its entirety, or, some of the story would spill over into the second film which would also be based on author JRR Tolkien's other writings to create a direct link to The Lord of the Rings.

But Jackson, who is also an executive producer on the project, said The Hobbit would now take up all of both films. "We decided it would be a mistake to try to cram everything into one movie," he hold British film magazine Empire.

"The essential brief was to do The Hobbit, and it allows us to make The Hobbit in a little more style, if you like, of the [Lord of the Rings] trilogy."

Jackson's confirmation backs comments made late last year by The Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro that it was likely The Hobbit would be spread over two films rather than one.

Del Toro told Empire the two-part Hobbit movie would expand on two areas that were only alluded to in the book - wizard Gandalf's visits to arch-villain Sauron's stronghold in Mirkwood forest and the wizard's involvement in the White Council.

Kinda cool. I was worried they might take too many liberties with the 2nd film in effort to connect it to LotR.