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The Hobbit - Official Thread of Officially In Production

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P

PhoncipleBone

Banned
Strafer said:
This made me laugh.

dOG3w.jpg
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You do know that is a regular job on films right?

A gaffer in the motion picture industry and on a television crew is an electrician that can be head of the electrical department, responsible for the execution (and sometimes the design) of the lighting plan for a production. Gaffer, outside of the motion picture industry, is a traditional British English word for an older man or boss. It is essentially a variant on grandfather, used as a term of respect for a village elder, and applied to those in charge of workers since the 19th century. Gaffer within the motion picture industry originally related to the moving of overhead equipment to control lighting levels using a gaff. It has been used for the chief electrician in films since 1936.[1] His assistant is the best boy.[2]

Sometimes the gaffer is credited as Chief Lighting Technician (CLT).
Experienced gaffers can coordinate the entire job of lighting, given knowledge of the time of day and conditions to be portrayed, managing resources as broad as electrical generators, lights, cable, and manpower. Gaffers are responsible for knowing the appropriate color of gel (plastic sheeting) to put on the lights or windows to achieve a variety of effects, such as transforming midday into a beautiful sunset. They can re-create the flicker of lights in a subway car, the motion of light inside a turning airplane, or the passage of night into day.

Usually, the gaffer works for and reports to the Director of Photography (the DP or DOP) or, in television, the Lighting Director (LD). The DP/LD is responsible for the overall lighting design, but he or she may give a little or a lot of latitude to the gaffer on these matters, depending on their working relationship. The gaffer works with the key grip, who is in charge of some of the equipment related to the lighting. The gaffer will usually have an assistant called a best boy and, depending on the size of the job, crew members who are called "electricians", although not all of them are trained as electricians in the usual sense of the term. Colloquially they are known as 'sparks' or 'juicers'.
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E

Edmond Dantès

Dantès the White
Benedict reveals some juicy details about the Necromancer.
Cumberbatch said of his role," I’m playing Smaug through motion-capture and voicing the Necromancer, which is a character in the Five Legions War or something which I’m meant to understand. He’s not actually in the original Hobbit. It’s something [Peter Jackson]’s taken from Lord Of The Rings that he wants to put in there."
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Source

If he really means the Battle of the Five Armies, then I'm not sure I like the idea of the Necromancer
Sauron
showing up, it's massive departure from the narrative.

Or he may just be slightly confused with the info that's been given to him, either way it's looking more and more likely that the Necromancer will have a physical embodiment in the two films. I'm sure Peter is toying with the Annatar concept and Benedict has quite the face, so it's certainly a possibility.
 
E

Edmond Dantès

Dantès the White
Q&A with Peter Jackson
You've been editing the first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey over the Christmas break. You originally were not going to direct the films. When the job came back to you, did any part of you not want to take it because you thought you might be stuck in Lord of the Rings territory forever?

Not really. When Guillermo (Del Toro) was working on it I was producing it and working on the script - I was enjoying it, I wasn't disliking it.

I thought it would be interesting to have a different sensibility directing the movie so you'd have somebody else's version of a Middle Earth story. But by the time Guillermo left and we were wondering what to do, I just thought, ‘Well, I can imagine the version of The Hobbit that I'd like to see'.

It's not necessarily the film he was going to make, but being part of the production for so long, at that point I'd sort of admitted to myself into the film to such a degree that it was fine to take over, I was completely OK with it.

We've got largely the same crew and quite a few of the same cast, so it was a reunion of sorts, which was kind of fun.

It's become legend how much the actors bonded on The Lord of the Rings. Have you been able to recreate that vibe?

Yeah. Everybody's gotten to know each other very, very well and the spirit's great. I just believe when you're shooting a movie to have the atmosphere on set be friendly, and focused on the work, but have some fun.

It's a long time to be getting up early in the morning and working 'til late at night - and if you're not enjoying it, you're not going to make a good film. There has to be a spirit on set amongst the cast and the crew that will ultimately rub off on the screen. We're having fun.

There haven't been any days when you don't want to get out of bed?

Not yet, no. Even on the cold wet ones I've been perfectly fine (laughs).

Which there are plenty of in Wellington.

Oh, apparently so. Yes yes yes.

A lot of people would think you're very good at what you do, but even now making The Hobbit do you feel you're just 'muddling through'?

I tell you what I always try and do - I try to think of how I can do things better. I always show up on set in the morning and I'm constantly thinking, 'OK, this is what we need to do, let's set it up, let's look at the camera angle, let's rehearse... Now, how do I improve this?'

To me, there's never anything that's perfect. Anything you do or imagine can always be made better. So if an actor does a take and it looks good, before I move on to the next shot I'm going to think to myself, 'Is there anything I can think of how we could improve it and do one more take?'

Whether it's a camera move or a note I give to the actor or the way the lights are - anything at all. So I try to always keep that process in my head, saying, 'Don't settle for anything, always push, push, push'. Which makes for an interesting day. It makes for a tiring day, but it certainly keeps me on my toes.

Is that something you can't even think about for at least another year, though, while your head is in Hobbiton?

The plan with another Tintin film is... you'd have to spend at least a year or 18 months developing the film from the point that we are now, so a lot of that development of the script and action scenes and things I can do while I'm in post-production on The Hobbit.

So the plan at this stage is to be in pre-production on the Tintin film while The Hobbit's in post-production, and then once The Hobbit's done I can do the motion-capture part of it.

Is there any other project floating around, maybe one that has nothing to do with Tintin or Middle Earth?

The only project is really lying in bed with a good book... which I'm looking forward to doing in 2014 (laughs). No, no. You get to a point where you've got quite enough on your plate and psychologically I've gotta think there'll be a little break at some point. So the main project I'm gonna focus on at the moment is getting the movies done and making sure they're as good as they can possibly be, then taking a little bit of a break before... whatever happens.

Also, I find it's more interesting to go through the years not really having too much of a forward plan. Movies take a long time to make, it's probably a minimum of two years to make a regular film - obviously longer in the case of Tintin or The Hobbit. But you don’t wanna have the next 10 years mapped out.

I couldn't think of anything more boring than having a 10 year plan. Having to wake up every morning: ‘This is year seven of my 10 year plan'. I'd rather just get a film made and then see what comes along next.
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D

Dany

Banned
Galvanise_ said:
In the production videos it will look off. They have had to put fluorescent items/sprays in the sets too because of the shooting in 3D causing a few problems. Will look fine in the film.
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No, I'm talking about the trailer, the makeup looks weird and well, like they are wearing to much or something.
 
C

Curufinwe

Member
Edmond Dantès;34030551 said:
Benedict reveals some juicy details about the Necromancer.

Source

If he really means the Battle of the Five Armies, then I'm not sure I like the idea of the Necromancer
Sauron
showing up, it's massive departure from the narrative.
Click to expand...

I think it's unlikely that will happen.
 
S

Salazar

Member
Edmond Dantès;34120796 said:
IIRC, Peter's already been confirmed as the director and the film may be based on the 'The Calculus Affair'.
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I need The Seven Crystal Balls.

Rascar has a posse.
 
S

SCULLIBUNDO

Banned
Edmond Dantès;34120796 said:
IIRC, Peter's already been confirmed as the director and the film may be based on the 'The Calculus Affair'.
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The film has already been confirmed to be based on The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun. The script is already written (first draft anyway) and the film is pretty much guaranteed to happen.
 
W

watkinzez

Member
I'm interested to see how they'll introduce Calculus and then
have him kidnapped
in one film. Also the
eclipse
thing, which is one of the few times Herge got it wrong.
 
E

Edmond Dantès

Dantès the White
The Hobbit (1966) rediscovered.
THE HOBBIT! With the long-awaited Peter Jackson film coming out in 2012, I have to tell you the zaniest Bill Snyder story of all, and announce to the world that the very first film adaption of Tolkien’s THE HOBBIT was made by us, and actually played publically in New York in 1966! It was my “impossible” assignment. Here is the true story:

Snyder came up with some amazing projects for me. In 1964, before anyone but some obscure Brit kids ever heard of it, Bill handed me a faded little 1937 children’s book named, The Hobbit. He recognized it was a great story, and he obtained the film rights to it and the other works by a fusty old English philologist, named John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Snyder’s rights extended to June 30, 1966. Just enough time. He set me to the task of making The Hobbit into a feature-length animated movie.

After reading the book, I caught the fever, and intensively began working up a screenplay. My dear old friend Bill Bernal, the same man who led me to UPA, and who later joined me at The Jam Handy Organization, flew to Prague to collaborate. The great sweep of the adventure, the fabled landscapes, and the treasury of fantasy characters, made the story a natural for animation. Although the first book of the later trilogy, The Lord of The Rings, was published in 1954, we did yet not know of it. The Tolkien craze was still a few years in the future. Snyder had happened onto something of major value, and he had gotten the rights for peanuts!

We were well into the Hobbit screenplay when The Lord of The Rings came out in paperback editions. Having assumed there was only The Hobbit to contend with, and following Snyder’s wish, we had taken some liberties with the story that a few years later would be grounds for burning at the stake. For example, I had introduced a series of songs, changed some of the characters’ names, played loosely with the plot, and even created a girl character, a Princess no less, to go along on the quest, and to eventually overcome Bilbo Baggins’ bachelorhood! I could Hollywoodize as well as the next man…

When I did manage to get and read “THE LORD OF THE RINGS,” I realized I was dealing with something far more magnificent than what appeared in THE HOBBIT alone, and I then back-spaced elements from The Lord into my script so as to logically allow for a sequel. First Bill Bernal, and then I worked on the script for most of a year.

In January, 1966 Snyder asked Zdenka and me to come to America to do a presentation to 20th Century-Fox. It would be Zdenka’s first trip to America, and I wanted her to get the feel of the distance, so I decided we should go by ship. The six-day crossing would also give me time to do the last-minute rewrites. There were only typewriters in those days, but I did achieve a sort of high-tech breakthrough: The rocking of the ship gave me automatic carriage returns on almost every line!

Before the time of CGI, I had proposed a retro visual effect, combining cel-animated figures over elaborate 3D model backgrounds. I know that Max Fleisher had once tried something like it, but I intended to take the idea to greater heights and atmosphere. I even attached a special name to the technique: “ImagiMation!” I was thinking big!

By the time we arrived in New York, however, Snyder had already blown the deal by asking 20th for too much money. Tolkien’s name hadn’t yet reached them either. I had a fat script, but no other film companies were then interested. It was crushing. Even today, when I flip through my screenplay, and can almost see the fabulous scenes I had imagined, I feel a heavy regret.

But the worst was yet to come. Months later, when I was back in Prague working on some other filler projects, Snyder managed to get a phone call through to Zdenka’s office. (Phoning to Prague in those days was like trying to contact Uranus.) He had a preposterous order for me: Make a one-reel version of THE HOBBIT, and bring it to New York within 30 days! I thought he had been smoking something wilder than his contraband Cuban cigars. Not possible!

What had happened was that in the meantime, the Tolkien craze had exploded, and the value of the film rights reached outer space. Suddenly Bill had the possibility of getting a hefty profit without having to finance or produce anything!

Why invest money, plus a year-and-a-half of work, when you can make money without all that sweat? Not only had the Tolkien estate lawyers given Snyder the rights for peanuts, but in their ignorance of film terminology, they had left a million-dollar-loop-hole in the contract: It merely stated that in order to hold his option for THE LORD OF THE RINGS, Snyder had to “produce a full-color motion picture version” of THE HOBBIT by June 30th 1966. Please note: It did not say it had to be an animated movie, and it not say how long the film had to be!

The Tolkien estate had now been offered a fabulous sum for the rights, and Snyder’s rights would expire in one month. They were already rubbing their hands together. But Snyder played his ace: to fulfill just the letter of the contract – to deliver a “full-color film” of THE HOBBIT by June 30th. All he had to do was to order me to destroy my own screenplay – all my previous year’s work, and hoke up a super-condensed scenario on the order of a movie preview, (but still tell the entire basic story from beginning to end), and all within 12 minutes running time – one 35mm reel of film. Cheap. I had to get the artwork done, record voice and music, shoot it, edit it, and get it to a New York projection room on or before June 30th, 1966! I should have told him to shove it, but I was basically his slave at the time. It suddenly became an insane challenge.

I knew my screen story line by heart, so I just had to put it through a mind-shredder, and wrote a sort of synopsis, with a few key lines of dialog scattered throughout. I called on close friend, brilliant Czech illustrator, Adolf Born, well known even then, and now the premier book illustrator. We managed to work out a simple storyboard. Adolf came up with a paper cutout scheme, and I worked out some multiple-exposure visual effects and scene continuity. We worked directly under the camera to shoot it. I got an American friend here, Herb Lass, who worked as a broadcaster for the Czechoslovak Radio’s English language transmissions, to come up to our apartment and record the narration. I borrowed a tape of dramatic movie music from a composer friend, Václav Lidl, which I quickly extracted and cut together, also at home. It was no problem with music rights, as I could assure him that the film would never actually be distributed, but would be – sadly – a mere decoy.

I love to see my name as director on the screen credits of my films, but I modestly refrained this time. I did not want my name on such a chopped down version of my script, even though, thanks to Born, the film looked amazingly good.

We actually managed to get it shot and out of the lab in time, (without bribes, but with Zdenka’s usual brand of irresistable-object techniques), and I arranged for my New York air ticket. I arrived with the rough answer print on June 29th. Snyder had already booked a small projection room in midtown Manhattan. After a quick test screening – and Snyder was duly impressed – I ran downstairs and stopped people on the sidewalk, asking them if they would like to see a preview of a new animated film, for only 10¢ admission. I handed each willing customer a dime, which they handed back. After the screening, the few, puzzled audience members were asked to sign a paper stating that on this day of June 31, 1966, they had paid admission to see the full-color animated film, “THE HOBBIT!”

Thus Snyder’s film rights to the entire J.R.R. Tolkien library were legally extended, and he was immediately able to sell them back for nearly $100,000. (Remember, this was 1966). My share of this weazled boodle was – you guessed it – zip.

The final blow came some years later, when an animated feature version of THE HOBBIT appeared, starring the timid voice of Orson Bean. That film to my mind in no way approached the magnificence I had originally envisioned . I had obtained the greatest Czech artist, illustrator, painter, sculptor, and director of the most famous Czech puppet films of all time, Jiří Trnka, to be the designer of my projected version. Sadly, we never got beyond his model sketches. I will present them to you here, brilliant souvenirs of one of my more magnificent failures, in the upcoming Credit 43. My meager 12-minute film itself has just magically resurfaced thanks to Adam Snyder, who has for many years been extremely helpful to me. It’s a genuine miracle, because I had assumed that this little film had totally vanished. So now you can see it right here, in a rough copy, and judge it for yourself, in the light of what I have written about the time and place and reasons regarding its origin.…
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Source

Video

It's certainly a very interesting take on Tolkien's classic.


Love Slag the Dragon and Golluuuuuum.

AS2Ea.png
 
D

Divius

Member
So I just finished rereading the book and was going to try and pay attention to where the movie could be splitted best, but I just got sucked in and forgot.

Does anyone know where the first movie will end? Or does anyone have an educated guess?
 
G

GCX

Member
I've always found the old Finnish edition of The Hobbit illustrated by Tove Jansson (author of The Moomins) really charming:

POlSv.jpg
MXKwI.jpg
Y3EAv.jpg


I think the original edition is super rare but it got re-released a while back.
 
E

Evlar

Banned
Edmond Dantès;34030551 said:
Benedict reveals some juicy details about the Necromancer.

Source

If he really means the Battle of the Five Armies, then I'm not sure I like the idea of the Necromancer
Sauron
showing up, it's massive departure from the narrative.

Or he may just be slightly confused with the info that's been given to him, either way it's looking more and more likely that the Necromancer will have a physical embodiment in the two films. I'm sure Peter is toying with the Annatar concept and Benedict has quite the face, so it's certainly a possibility.
Click to expand...

I'm hoping that when he says the Necromancer is a character in the Battle of Five Armies he means that the character's story is involved with that battle, not necessarily there personally. After all,
Sauron does try to take Erebor in the War of the Ring
so it's not an unreasonable stretch to think he might have tried to take control in the chaos. His forces on the ground would obviously be represented by the goblins and worgs.

A second good reason the Necromancer would be involved: Tolkien hints that one of the reasons Gandalf was so keen to aid Thorin was the mutual aim of killing Smaug... and slaying Smaug was important to thwart
an eventual alliance between Sauron and the dragon.
&Divius said:
So I just finished rereading the book and was going to try and pay attention to where the movie could be splitted best, but I just got sucked in and forgot.

Does anyone know where the first movie will end? Or does anyone have an educated guess?
Click to expand...
I don't know, but my best guess would definitely be the capture of the dwarves by the forest elves.
 
E

Edmond Dantès

Dantès the White
&Divius said:
So I just finished rereading the book and was going to try and pay attention to where the movie could be splitted best, but I just got sucked in and forgot.

Does anyone know where the first movie will end? Or does anyone have an educated guess?
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During Bilbo's barrel ride as he looks up and sees an ominous looking Lonely Mountain looming in the distance. Cue Howard Shore's beautiful score, roll credits and finally the credit song from a female artist with an ethereal voice.
 
J

Johnlenham

Member
Edmond Dantès;34159736 said:
During Bilbo's barrel ride as he looks up and sees an ominous looking Lonely Mountain looming in the distance. Cue Howard Shore's beautiful score, roll credits and finally the credit song from a female artist with an ethereal voice.
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Unless im forgetting something that is like 8/10's of the way though the book by that point? I would guess and say after meeting Beorn and leaving there as my guess.
 
E

Edmond Dantès

Dantès the White
Johnlenham said:
Unless im forgetting something that is like 8/10's of the way though the book by that point? I would guess and say after meeting Beorn and leaving there as my guess.
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I'm thinking the arrival at Laketown, the events at Lonely Mountain, the attack of Laketown by Smaug, the siege at Lonely Mountain, the Battle of the Five Armies and the remaining part of the White Council sub-plot will be fleshed out quite a bit, meaning there's more than enough material for the second film. Not to mention the conclusion of Tauriel's love story sub-plot and the journey home for Bilbo.
 
B

Branduil

Member
Johnlenham said:
Unless im forgetting something that is like 8/10's of the way though the book by that point? I would guess and say after meeting Beorn and leaving there as my guess.
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It's nowhere near 8/10, really. And the Battle of Five Armies will end up taking a considerably longer amount of time in the film than it did in the book.
 
R

Retro

Member
&Divius said:
So I just finished rereading the book and was going to try and pay attention to where the movie could be splitted best, but I just got sucked in and forgot.

Does anyone know where the first movie will end? Or does anyone have an educated guess?
Click to expand...

My guess, from April of last year: Spoilers, obviously:

I think Part I will close with a crane shot of Bilbo and company heading into Mirkwood with the camera lifting up over the tree tops to show the endless forest sprawling out to the horizon with maybe a glimpse of the Lonely Mountain barely visible through the mists.

That way, you have a nice rhythm; Lull (Shire) > Danger (Trolls) > Lull (Rivendell) > Danger (Goblins) > Lull (The Riddle Game) > Danger (Goblins and Wolves) > Lull (Beorn) > End.

The second film picks up with Lull (Mirkwood) > Danger (Spiders) > Lull (Elves, escape, Laketown) > Danger (Smaug) > Lull (post-smaug banter and exploring) > Danger (Battle of the Five Armies) > Lull (Everyone goes home).

The group will have just said goodbye to Gandalf, which is fitting for an ending as well. You also don't get to see Smaug, so he's looming off on the horizon (not literally).

And bonus points: how they might integrate the "White Council" plot into the lulls of the Bilbo side of things;

- Introduced at Rivendell.
- That puts it firmly in place in the first movie.
- Introduces all the primary members of the White Council​
- Mentioned during the Beorn sequence.
- Just before the end of the first movie.
- Doesn't occur in the books, and I don't think Gandalf would outright ask.
​
- When Bilbo and the Dwarves are wandering in Mirkwood.
- Cut back for the Spiders and Elves sequence.
- Bilbo and Company are just walking in an endless forest anyways.​
- When Bilbo is sneaking around the Elven Kingdom.
- Cut back for the escape.
- Again, Bilbo spends something like a few weeks finding everyone and planning the escape.​
- In Laketown when Bilbo and company are recuperating.
- Cut back for the Lonely Mountain / Smaug scenes.
- Again, I think they spend something like a week in Laketown.
- They could also cut away from the Dwarves between Bilbo's two encounters with Smaug.​
- While Bilbo and Company are preparing to fight after Smaug is killed.
- Cut back and forth while both sides muster.​

- Both lines merge when Gandalf shows up for the Battle of the Five Armies.

- White Council stuff can be resolved while they're journeying home, and stop at Rivendell, ominously framing the LotR movies by saying "It really was Sauron, he fled to Mordor, we know he is a threat and knows we know he is still around, the real war is to come...etc."

- Bilbo gets home, the end.
 
bengraven

bengraven

Member
I disagree. Mirkwood is an incredibly tense (best chapter in the entire series I feel) sequence that would work fantastic as the ending with a quick cliffhanger.

Mirkwood is their Helm's Deep here.

Besides, they already mostly confirmed that the movie ends with the barrels going down the river.



Edit: not to dispute your work up there, because it was well done and obviously was effort.

Also, the way you frame the stuff makes me think they probably could have made 3 movies.
 
E

Edmond Dantès

Dantès the White
Richard Armitage intervew
We spoke with Armitage about traveling to Middle-earth, the difficulty of working under pounds of makeup and leading a band of treasure-seeking dwarves.

MTV: Congratulations on being named to MTV's Ones to Watch!

Richard Armitage: Thank you very much!

MTV: Where are you currently in the filming schedule?

Armitage: We just finished up our second block, so we start again at the end of January, and then we go — we think it's the end of July. Then there's a bit more in 2013, we reckon.

MTV: What's it like being on a single project for so long?

Armitage: It's really weird because when we started it was just this enormous mountain to climb, but actually, it's going so fast. I think we've gotten to the halfway point now. It's been really intense but so exciting. We literally just finished our location shoot that we've been out on the road seeing most of New Zealand. It's been the best thing I've ever worked on in my life, by far.

MTV: Is it easy to forget you're acting? Do you get lost in the world the production creates?

Armitage: The soundstages they made in Wellington, [New Zealand], most of the time it doesn't feel like we've been working on a set. Even when there's a green screen there, Peter's vision of it is so clear and his description of it is so clear. The pre-production CGI that they've already created really fires up your imagination. That was the shoot we started with. On location, it's just theirs to program these amazing images into your head, so we can now take them back into the studio.

MTV: Will it be hard to leave behind once you've wrapped?

Armitage: It don't think it will be possible to leave it behind me. I think this is one of those characters that always stay with you because you spend so much time with him and it's such a transformation. I'm in the character every day, and I've become so familiar with him. I sort of know how he thinks. I feel really close to the character, and he will continue beyond this job , [spoiler ahead] even though, he dies at the end of the movie. I think he is a fascinating character. I will probably wake up in six years' time and be inspired to think about him again. It's really exciting.

MTV: How did your previous knowledge of the story change how you approached Thorin?

Armitage: I read it quite a few times when I was young. I think going back to it as an adult is really interesting because it is a book that was, I think, was written for Tolkien's children, but when you're creating a piece on this scale, you have to really visualize it for a much broader audience. I think that's the beauty of Tolkien. He does create very well-rounded, quite dangerous characters to play his protagonists. He risks scaring kids. He's the original fantasy creator, and I think you have to invest those characters with the same gravity as if you were making a piece for adults. It was interesting coming back to it as an adult, re-reading it again, because it did have a simplicity to it, which I really like. I felt we could take those characters and really develop them beyond the book.

MTV: You ended up with middle ground in terms of the amount of makeup. Did you feel lucky?

Armitage: It did evolve. We all started with quite an extreme version of ourselves. I think because my character does spend a lot of time onscreen and you really have to understand what he's going through emotionally, it became clear that if we started make the prosthetic as close to my features as possible but still make him a dwarf, it would be much easier to read the character. He has to go on such a journey, it was really important to do that. I grew my own beard after the first block because I felt that it was restricting my face. The jaw is so connected to emotion that I wanted to have that free. It made such a huge difference.

It's really weird now because I can't play the character when I haven't gotten everything on. It's very hard to rehearse when you're not in costume, when you haven't gotten the prosthetics on, but I look in the mirror when it's all finished and I don't see it. I can't see where it starts and where it ends. I just see the character. I've never had that before. It's such a unique experience. It's a face that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to WETA workshop and the people that created it.

MTV: How was it on set with so many actors playing the dwarves?

Armitage: I love it. I absolutely love working as an ensemble member, and we really are an ensemble. There's great camaraderie among all the guys. There is such a diversity of culture and background. We're working with a lot of Kiwis, and there's real mixture of British actors who come from television and theater and film. It's exactly as the dwarves are. When Thorin assembles the quest, he pulls dwarves from all different places to go on this quest. That's mirrored in who we are as actors.
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S

sprsk

force push the doodoo rock
Johnlenham said:
Unless im forgetting something that is like 8/10's of the way though the book by that point? I would guess and say after meeting Beorn and leaving there as my guess.
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My guess the first movie ends with them parting with gandalf. Last shot shows them entering Mirkwood. Really seems like the best breaking point to me.
 
Ixion

Ixion

Member
sprsk said:
My guess the first movie ends with them parting with gandalf. Last shot shows them entering Mirkwood. Really seems like the best breaking point to me.
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Keep in mind that the barrel escape happens at the end of Chapter 9, and there are 19 chapters in the book. It's not as far into the story as many people remember, mostly because the first half is very fast-paced and includes more unique locations, whereas the second half just includes Dale and the Lonely Mountain. However, a lot of important happenings occur from then on.

Also, the key is to give each movie its own identity. I think these movies will be similar to both parts of Deathly Hallows, where Part 1 is the journey film and Part 2 is the war/climax film.

Therefore, I think Part 1 will end as the barrels approach Dale. Also keep in mind that Gandalf is missing up until the war occurs, so a Necromancer climax will likely be seen in the last film as well, which could take up a decent amount of time.
 
bengraven

bengraven

Member
Ixion said:
Keep in mind that the barrel escape happens at the end of Chapter 9, and there are 19 chapters in the book. It's not as far into the story as many people remember, mostly because the first half is very fast-paced and includes more unique locations, whereas the second half just includes Dale and the Lonely Mountain. However, a lot of important happenings occur from then on.

Also, the key is to give each movie its own identity. I think these movies will be similar to both parts of Deathly Hallows, where Part 1 is the journey film and Part 2 is the war/climax film.

Therefore, I think Part 1 will end as the barrels approach Dale. Also keep in mind that Gandalf is missing up until the war occurs, so a Necromancer climax will likely be seen in the last film as well, which could take up a decent amount of time.
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Yep, a lot of people forget that there's still a huge chunk of book after the business with the dragon is over. The buildup to the final battle, the double agent Bilbo stuff, the talks in Dale and I'm sure other places about coming to Erebor and laying claim, then the battle, then the fallout, then the ride home and Bilbo meeting up with Balin and Gandalf.
 
S

SCULLIBUNDO

Banned
Jvbhul.jpg


After a troubled development, Jackson says he’s been lucky with The Hobbit, though Hero Complex doubts his conviction:

“I think fate has actually been kind to us. Yes, I think fate was kind but I don’t know that we knew that along the way… This is the most enjoyable filmmaking experience of my career, by far, which is interesting since I came into it slightly reluctantly. It’s all unexpected.”

Boyens remarked on the differences between The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings:

“The story is very much a children’s story so deciding how to tell this was one of the first things we had to do. Who is the audience? It is very distinctly different, tonally, to Lord of the Rings until the very end and then you begin to see the world of Middle-earth opening up… but, having said that, we felt that it is the same audience [who will come to see the films] and then you start to worry because it is easy to repeat yourself. It is quite a similar journey, you’re going from the Shire to a large, dangerous mountain.”
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http://collider.com/the-hobbit-movie-image-peter-jackson-quotes/137887/
 
J

JB1981

Member
I was over the moon for the LOTR trilogy but for some reason I can't get excited for this. It's like I had a satisfying experience and moved on. I get the sense a lot of people in the public will feel this way and these movies will not be the box office draw the OT was.
 
L

Loxley

Member
JB1981 said:
I was over the moon for the LOTR trilogy but for some reason I can't get excited for this. It's like I had a satisfying experience and moved on. I get the sense a lot of people in the public will feel this way and these movies will not be the box office draw the OT was.
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Really? I don't think it's too big of a stretch to say that Tolkien's audience practically doubled in size as a result of the LotR films, I could guarantee both Hobbit films will print cash.
 
E

Edmond Dantès

Dantès the White
Serkis: Smaug the Magnificent still in the design process

Motion-capture wizard Andy Serkis took some time off from filming "The Hobbit" to hit the red carpet at the 2012 Golden Globes, but it seems like he left all of his precious Middle-earth secrets back in New Zealand.

When Serkis took some time to chat with MTV News' Josh Horowitz, he refused to give any clue what the legendary dragon Smaug might look like on the big screen. "I can't give any secrets away, none of those trade secrets," Serkis said. "I can't say that because actually it's still under wraps."

In "The Hobbit," Serkis reprises the role that made him a capture-performance all-star: Gollum. Additionally, he will step behind the camera as the director of the films' second unit.

An iconic character in J.R.R. Tolkien's mythological world, Smaug is the impetus for all of the action in Peter Jackson's upcoming "Lord of the Rings" prequel, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." Such a revered character is bound to come with a high level of security.

Serkis suggested that there might be more to his own secrecy than just avoiding spoilers. According to the actor, Weta Workshop is still working on the creature's look. "It's still a very secret character that is very closely safeguarded, and it's still in the design process," he said.

The little we do know about Smaug is more than enough to get us excited. Benedict Cumberbatch will voice Smaug in "The Hobbit" before going where no man has gone before as the villain in J.J. Abrams' next "Star Trek."

Serkis said that with Cumberbatch as Smaug, audiences certainly have something to look forward to. "With an actor like Benedict Cumberbatch playing him, it will be extraordinary," he said.
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Source

Seems like they're still working on the design of Smaug, they may have modified him substantially from Guillermo's original scale colour changing concept.
 
E

Edmond Dantès

Dantès the White
Extra casting call for The Hobbit.

Location: Wellington­, Wellington
Listed: Thu, 19 Jan
Type: Part time, Contract/T­emp
The journey continues for 2012 and we are once again seeking EXTRAS

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Currently live in Wellington area
• 17 years & over
• Able to work in NZ
• Have flexible availability


We are looking for MEN & WOMEN for a VARIETY of characters

• MEN – under 5’4” (163cm)
• WOMEN – under 5” (155cm)
• BIG MEN – with character faces – 5’9 and over (175cm+)
• MEN with LARGE biceps any height.
• WOMEN with character faces
• MEN & WOMEN – ELVES slim, athletic, 5’5” – 6’4” (165 – 203cm)

We will be holding the Casting Call
SATURDAY 28th JANUARY from 1pm – 4pm
THE BELMONT HALL – HUTT CITY(next to The Belmont Primary School, 709 Western Hutt Road)

Applicants for this position should have NZ residency or a valid NZ work permit.
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Source

Filling out the dwarven, elvish and goblin armies by the looks of it.
 
E

Edmond Dantès

Dantès the White
The Hobbit to be tonally and visually consistent with trilogy
PARK CITY, Utah — The first trailer for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" made it quite clear that Middle-earth hasn't changed much in the years since Peter Jackson concluded his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. That's not a complaint, mind you — fans have come to know and love Jackson's interpretation of the J. R. R. Tolkien fantasy epic with the same passion they have for the source material. When it comes to "The Hobbit," in other words, change is not necessarily welcome.

Speaking with MTV News at the Sundance Film Festival, Jackson explained that it was always his intention to keep "The Hobbit" tonally and visually consistent with the "Lord of the Rings" films.

"We wanted it to be a part of the five-film series," he explained. "Fortunately, Tolkien wrote a lot of extra material in the appendices of 'The Lord of the Rings,' where he himself kind of tied the two stories together, 20 or 30 years after the publication of 'The Hobbit.' So we've been able to use some of that material."

But even though Jackson's "Hobbit" isn't "as much of a children's story as the original book was," he's worked hard to make sure the films still "have some humor" to them. For example, Jackson promised that "some of the songs [from the novel] have made their way in there." Fans can get their first taste of those tunes in the "Hobbit" trailer, when the dwarves gather in Bilbo Baggins' humble abode to sing a somber song.

Finding that balance between staying true to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy while allowing the "Hobbit" films to stand on their own has been an enjoyable challenge for Jackson, who is more than thrilled to once again be dabbling in dwarves and dragons.

"I'm enjoying the movie [as much as the fans], which is the thing that I'm really excited about," he said. "I love going to work every day. I love shooting it. In February, we start another 100 days of shooting, so by about July, we're done. We will have shot both movies by that stage."
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Source
 
L

Loxley

Member
Not surprising at all since Del Toro said they'd be aiming for a hard PG-13 similar to the LotR trilogy a couple years back when they were still working on the screenplay.

Which reminds me, my god these movies were in pre-production for an absurd amount of time >< So glad that nightmare is over.
 
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