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

[DarthPipes]

Is Bilbo supposed to be the star of this movie? Judging by the trailer and especially by a TV spot I saw last night (a lot of Legolas in a cliched love story surrounded by really fake looking CGI), it doesn't appear that way. Proving that Jackson was full of shit when he said that he made The Hobbit a trilogy so that the "full story of Bilbo Baggins" could be told.

I really want to be excited about this film but because of the garbage that was the last film, I can't. Middle-Earth looks so completely fake now with the nonstop and really awful CGI. Peter Jackson has become the thing that fanboys hate the most...George Lucas.

Then you have Thorin Oakenshield. I thought he might be a breakout character when I saw the first trailer but he's a brooding fucking bore with no charisma whatsoever and this trailer just reaffirmed that. Another three-plus hours of watching him brood his way through another film with a grumpy look on his face the entire time. Borin Oakenshield is a better name for this absolute bore of a character.

So we'll be treated to another bad CGI snoozefest with The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug, all so Peter Jackson can celebrate his now-awful flimmaking ability and make another three hour plus movie. This film will basically be three hours of Peter Jackson masturbating onscreen.

 

[Set Harth]

Don't be coy. Tell us how you really feel.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Well, I understand that it was made a trilogy so the Dol Guldur story could be told, not Bilbo's story (which is difficult to pull off in one film, but probably could be done in two). Legolas seems to have a couple scenes in the trailers, but, unless the TV spots are different, it's not a significant part of the trailer. Bilbo's got his spider slaying scenes and his interaction with Smaug. I'm curious to see how they handle his character since the "becoming confident and respected" part got pushed ahead to the Out of the Frying Pan part.

 

[JarodRussell]

Is Bilbo supposed to be the star of this movie? Judging by the trailer and especially by a TV spot I saw last night (a lot of Legolas in a cliched love story surrounded by really fake looking CGI), it doesn't appear that way. Proving that Jackson was full of shit when he said that he made The Hobbit a trilogy so that the "full story of Bilbo Baggins" could be told.

I really want to be excited about this film but because of the garbage that was the last film, I can't. Middle-Earth looks so completely fake now with the nonstop and really awful CGI. Peter Jackson has become the thing that fanboys hate the most...George Lucas.

Then you have Thorin Oakenshield. I thought he might be a breakout character when I saw the first trailer but he's a brooding fucking bore with no charisma whatsoever and this trailer just reaffirmed that. Another three-plus hours of watching him brood his way through another film with a grumpy look on his face the entire time. Borin Oakenshield is a better name for this absolute bore of a character.

So we'll be treated to another bad CGI snoozefest with The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug, all so Peter Jackson can celebrate his now-awful flimmaking ability and make another three hour plus movie. This film will basically be three hours of Peter Jackson masturbating onscreen.

Last time I checked, the previous Lord of the Rings films were CGI fests as well, and most of the effects didn't look that good, or at least not realistic.

 

[DalekJim]

The CGI in Jackson's LOTR films was incredibly well done. It put the Star Wars prequels to complete shame, and was much better implemented than what we saw in The Hobbit.

 

[RoJoHen]

The funny thing about these movies is that the Necromancer side-story is now the one I am interested in. I honestly couldn't care less about Bilbo and the Dwarves.

 

[Booji]

The funny thing about these movies is that the Necromancer side-story is now the one I am interested in. I honestly couldn't care less about Bilbo and the Dwarves.

Agreed! This is the one reason I liked the fact that the book got split up into more than one movie. It allows the Necromancer story to be fully told.

 

[DalekJim]

I think it kinda kills the pace of the original Tolkien book, as it changes a picaresque children's adventure novel in to a lesser version of Lord of the Rings.

 

[RoJoHen]

I think it kinda kills the pace of the original Tolkien book, as it changes a picaresque children's adventure novel in to a lesser version of Lord of the Rings.

Well, for what it's worth, I have the same problem with the novel. I didn't like reading The Hobbit because it was too much of a children's book.

 

[DalekJim]

Well, I think it's perfect children's literature and not weighty enough to be padded out this much. I liked the first film, but had to look past a lot of lame stuff Jackson had added. On the other hand, I find his Fellowship of the Ring adaptation to be largely flawless.

 

[RoJoHen]

Perhaps, and you know, if The Hobbit film had been made first, before the LOTR movies, I bet it would have been kept more true to the source material. However, with the LOTR films being the success that they were, there is a certain incentive to make The Hobbit do a better job of tying itself in with those movies.

 

[DalekJim]

I think I'll still enjoy these movies OK enough, but it does feel like we've missed out on a proper adaptation of the story. I'd have loved a more whimsical one-movie version directed by Guillermo Del Toro.

The Tolkien devotee within me can overlook a lot. Jackson's LOTR films fuck up a load of storylines and characters (Faramir!!!), but they get the core spirit of the story very right. I dunno if I can say the same for The Hobbit. It sometimes feels more like a LOTR prequel than its own movie.

 

[RoJoHen]

It sometimes feels more like a LOTR prequel than its own movie.

And I'm sure that's intentional.

We've only seen a third of the story so far. I've enjoyed it enough so far. We'll have to wait and see how the other two films do.

 

[Skywalker]

Perhaps, and you know, if The Hobbit film had been made first, before the LOTR movies, I bet it would have been kept more true to the source material. However, with the LOTR films being the success that they were, there is a certain incentive to make The Hobbit do a better job of tying itself in with those movies.

I completely agree, but it is what it is. I think it makes perfect sense to make the film adaptations more of a prequel to LOTR in addition to telling the basic story of the book. Tolkien himself even endeavored to bring The Hobbit more in line with The Lord of the Rings by going back and altering some of the text (most especially "Riddles in the Dark," for obvious reasons). He also wrote "The Quest of Erebor," originally meant for the Appendices, which served to explain why Gandalf decided to support Thorin's quest and how he convinced Thorin to allow Bilbo to join.

Although "The Quest of Erebor" was published posthumously in Unfinished Tales, so I'm not sure if Peter Jackson and Warner Bros. actually have the rights to that story.

 

[JarodRussell]

Maybe Jackson actually will edit a condensed version focusing on just on what's in the novel, and release that to bluray when everything is done.

Someone just needs to suggest that to him, if he didn't already think about it himself.

 

[RoJoHen]

I don't think Jackson is really in the business of making things smaller.

 

[JarodRussell]

I think that's the wrong impression. Jackson does what he thinks is necessary to tell the story. He does not go "Oh, I need to fill 3 hours with random crap." He goes "Oh, I have so much random crap, I need more than 2 hours to tell all of it." He always said he wanted to include the backstory that isn't part of the Hobbit novel, but part of the Lord of the Rings universe/mythology. And that needs more time.

The story of the Hobbit itself could be told in 2-3 hours in one film.

 

[Dream]

Maybe Jackson actually will edit a condensed version focusing on just on what's in the novel, and release that to bluray when everything is done.

Someone just needs to suggest that to him, if he didn't already think about it himself.

Jackson has said he will be releasing extended editions for all three Hobbit movies.

 

[JarodRussell]

I know. But he could as well downsize it in yet another edition to JUST the contents of the book.

 

[Skywalker]

He certainly could do something like that (and I think it could make for a neat bonus feature), but I don't see it happening. The closest we'll probably get is the inevitable fan edit that trims as much of the LOTR-related stuff as possible. Though that might be pretty difficult if Legolas, Tauriel, Thranduil and the elves have as large a presence in The Desolation of Smaug as they appear to.