THE HOBBIT (2012/2013): News, Rumors, Pics Till Release

[Saul]

Flying Spaghetti Monster wrote:

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Of course, I know about the change in directors. It's largely irrelevant. Nothing I said is unfair. Let's not forget that he was going to produce this thing even when Del Toro was gonna direct it.

And Steven Spielberg was producer on Transformers. Did he have any effect on how those films turned out?

It's been well over a decade since Jackson has made a film based on an original idea.

You could say the same for Spielberg since he made films that were sequels, based on true stories or on novels. But original can be what the Director puts into it himself.

Films go through changes in development, and what matters is what we end up with.

Which will probably be a very good film.

That might not be his thing, but it really shows his limitations when he goes back to LOTR because it worked the first time. Yes, he's like Lucas in his refusal to challenge himself now.

As I originally said, he stepped in to Direct as things were going tits up on the project and he didn't want to see that happen. I don't see that as a refusal to challenge himself.

By the way, I'll bet you Del Toro would have stuck to the simplicity of the story and kept it to one, maybe two films.

It was going to be two.

Jackson has a huge ego

What??

and an inability to check his fat ego at the door.

You really dislike this guy....

If he had, his King Kong wouldn't have been as bloated as it was.

Im guessing you'd probably find another reason to say he had a fat ego no matter what he did.

Well I see him as a film maker with a genuine interest and love for the films he makes. That doesn't make him a perfect film maker but at least he wants to make a film for reasons other than making as much cash as possible and not giving a shit about source material.

[Klaus]

I plan to enjoy the movies.. PJ's career arc is his problem, not mine.

[Samuel Walters]

Klaus wrote:

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I plan to enjoy the movies.. PJ's career arc is his problem, not mine.

Agreed.

I really enjoyed the trailer - the depiction of Middle Earth, the characters, Martin Freeman's performance ... the music! My only concern (and it's not a huge, hand-wringing one) is the juxtaposition of the more whimsical Hobbit elements (the slapstick comedy, for example) with the more serious LOTR-inspired tone. As much fun as it was, those two elements aren't exactly in harmony in the trailer. Hopefully, with more room to breathe, they'll work better in a full-length setting.

[davejames]

Looks a little too much like LOTR for my taste, but should still be good.

[JD]

Looks great, I can't wait.

[Emh]

Galadriel calling Gandalf "Mithrandir!" Elrond! Sylvester McCoy as Radagast! Tom, Bert, and Bill! Wargs done properly! And so much more!

I can't wait!

[StarMan]

Looks pretty good for a Kiwi film.

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Saul wrote:

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And Steven Spielberg was producer on Transformers. Did he have any effect on how those films turned out?

You could say the same for Spielberg since he made films that were sequels, based on true stories or on novels. But original can be what the Director puts into it himself.


Which will probably be a very good film.



As I originally said, he stepped in to Direct as things were going tits up on the project and he didn't want to see that happen. I don't see that as a refusal to challenge himself.


It was going to be two.


What??

You really dislike this guy....

Im guessing you'd probably find another reason to say he had a fat ego no matter what he did.

Well I see him as a film maker with a genuine interest and love for the films he makes. That doesn't make him a perfect film maker but at least he wants to make a film for reasons other than making as much cash as possible and not giving a shit about source material.

You know what? It probably will be a pretty good movie. That remains to be seen. Even if it is, it changes nothing about the truth of what I said. He's a decent talent in an industry that's desperate for talent and instead of going boldly forward, he's going backwards.. and the 48 fps 3-D crap is all gimmicks and can't replace originality in film-making. t


My mom eventually saw the LOTR films on DVD and she liked them. But her memories are with the Hobbit,, a short simple story that allowed her to to enter another world when taking breaks from caring for her kids. She'd been looking forward to the film, but I'm not sure if she would be up for sticking it out for three films. Interesting, how the cash cow idea that they had to string this along might backfire for some of their target audience.

[Candlelight]

StarMan wrote:

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Looks pretty good for a Kiwi film.

They should screen this and Bad Taste back to back.

[Alidar Jarok]

That was fucking awesome. Looks like it'll be fun.

BTW, did they call it Erebor in the Hobbit or just the Appendices of the Lord of the Rings?

[Set Harth]

I assumed they called it Erebor in The Hobbit, but I just looked and I can't find it anywhere.

[mswood]

Flying Spaghetti Monster wrote:

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I don't know. I always said that Jackson is kind of ripping off himself. The man can't do anything new. By doing this film he's catering to his own limitations as a film-maker. It's a very safe move for him.

First two major issues with your point here and in your next point of:

Films go through changes in development, and what matters is what we end up with. It's been well over a decade since Jackson has made a film based on an original idea

First the vast majority of directors never produce something original, they almost always are working from some one else's vision. That's because they aren't the one who generally writes films.

Even Jackson who works with a writing team is generally considered the least active as a writer.

So the idea that for most directors be it published work that's the basis of your film or work that is a new screenplay by whomever, its still not original.

Just because Joe Blow public may not have access to it first, doesn't mean its is original creation. It absolutely isn't.

Let alone even with original screenplays and even if the director is the primary writer and is credited with the story idea as well, it will still have the impact of many, many others in being brought to the screen.

Look at how much a Ralph McQuire shaped the Star Wars Universe.

In fact you can have a piece of work that was written by someone else that you get as much directorial cues from as a story you craft yourself, or from production designers, or storyboard artists, or from many other sources that don't spring from your own mind.

ANd to state that "The man can't do anything new. By doing this film he's catering to his own limitations as a film-maker" is an utter falsehood. There is no basis what so ever factual in such a statement. Period.

Now he might not improve his craft, that's always mathematically possible, but it is also statistically unlikely.

For example as a singer, I can sing the same work throughout the years. That doesn't mean I don't improve my craft, or improve my interpretation of the material as I grow older. In fact, its general the opposite of what occurs.

Choosing to do something that you love is limiting yourself, often it actually is rewarding yourself.

And please, please, please remember this, the first Tolkien project Jackson brought to US studios to do was in fact the Hobbit. He was told there was no way he would ever be able to work on that project. That then lead him to LoTR, an unoriginal piece of work that is considered by many to be his crowning achievement.

[Alidar Jarok]

Set Harth wrote:

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I assumed they called it Erebor in The Hobbit, but I just looked and I can't find it anywhere.

Well, it sounds very much like a LOTR type thing. It's far more formalistic and meant to evoke an old language as opposed to being playful like the Hobbit is.

It will fit the tone of the movie, which seems to straddle the line (more playful than LOTR, but willing too evoke it as a bridge between the films).

[Set Harth]

JarodRussell wrote:

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Problem of that film wasn't the execution so much as the story and characters. Execution here looks great and the story is known.

And no five-syllable words to upset people.

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

He rewarded himself with King Kong, a mere vanity project... now he has a huge vanity project that will take up three films. Sadly, it could be an awesome movie... uh, movies, but -let's not forget, it's strictly a vanity project every bit as much as Kong was, or every bit as much as Superman Returns was for Bryan Singer. Vanity projects almost never age well, and often stand out as odd eggs on otherwise decent director resumes.