So, things finally really seem to be coming together on this everlasting project, and I'm pretty excited. They've put out some photos of the Dwarves here: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Pictures, Photos & Images - IMDb They look pretty bad-ass I suppose, but where's Thorin's blue cloak and silver tassel, and the rest? lol I got a warm, fuzzy feeling to see Gandalf again McKellen is just outstanding in that role. Wonder how Freeman will do as Bilbo... I really, really, really, really hope they don't do something like having Elves show up at the Hornburg like in the Two Towers, or something equally ridiculous and non-canon. Yeah, I'm a huge nerd, but Tolkien wove some of the greatest tales ever told, and I really see no need to deviate in such ways to make a film out of them. Oh well, just gotta be prepared for some 'artistic liberties' to be taken. The cast looks solid; seems as though they're going to embellish the White Council quite a bit, I'm wondering how that will go. And I chuckled when I saw that Stephen Fry is playing the Master of Laketown, that should be a great role for him lol What do my fellow nerd-blades think?! Who else is pumped?
I am personally disappointed that they are breaking it into two parts to maximize profits. Peter Jackson did alright with the trilogy, but I hope he sticks closer to the book, and puts it into great perspective.
mmm..yeah...been waiting on this for yrs....Hopefully, he's learned what worked well in the others...I have enjoyed all those...embellished or no
kushjob, are you surprised? lol gotta love the movie business yeah? I really hope they don't go so far out of the way to write in stuff for the Elves like they did with Legolas in the trilogy. They've cast Evangeline Lilly as an Elf called 'Tauriel'...and I dunno wtf that's about, cause there's no such person in the book. Gonna be another Haldir, some Elf they just made up for no reason lol. Tolkien even said that Legolas accomplished the least in the books...all he did was sing snatches of songs or tell everyone else what he could see a good distance away. If there's anybody I could really see them doing a number on, it's Beorn. Much the way they diminished and cartoon-ified Gimli in the trilogy, Beorn might just end up being a big, bearded punch line. Hopefully not, he's one of the best characters in the book. Battle of Five Armies should be righteously epic
Well they diminished his significance a lot; in the books, he grew up/changed for the better as much as anyone but the hobbits. He joined the 9 walkers as a crusty, haughty Dwarf suspicious of Elves, and he of course bought into the long-standing rivalry between the Rohirrim and the Dwarves. He ended up developing a lasting friendship with Legolas and reverence for Galadriel; so much so that he alone of all Dwarves was allowed to sail west over the seas to Valinor. He befriended Eomer and the Rohirrim he fought alongside, and overcame many fears and prejudices overall. He learned great wisdom, compared to many of his brethren. Really, his character was a commentary on how prejudice and narrow-mindedness can be cured by an individual's experience with those different than them, and for the better. I think he was one of the best-written and most impactful characters in the book. In the movie, they really didn't care to emphasise any of those qualities, but just made him a gruff dude who would bring levity to tense situations, or comedy at unexpected moments. He was a caricature of what he was in the books, and that kinda disappointed me. They gave a lot of his importance to Legolas, because the dude who plays Legolas was the big star, and they knew that emphasising his character would play well with audiences lol Long-winded answer, but Gimli was definitely one of my favourites in the books
i don't get it, you want them to keep it as close to the book as they can, but are disappointed they're splitting it into two movies, which will allow them to fit in more content from the book... es strange. that aside though I'm also psyched. Edit: @ tuor's last comment. I actually thought that legolas was the shallowest character in the movies. He didn't say anything particularly meaningful and didn't grow as a character at all either. I thought both he and gimli were portrayed as "hey, theyre aragorns friends/comrades in battle, but thats about it"...esp. when compared to say, boromir and faramir who; while they could be considered as less important characters by some, showed much more emotion and character growth. maybe thats just me tho.
Definitely excited I loved the book so I hope the movie is just as good. I like and hate the idea of it being in two parts, it will be good to make the sweetness last a little bit longer but its gonna suck waiting for the 2nd part!
im so geeked, ive read all the books and love the movies, the hobbit has always been my favorite and i never understood y there was no movie....yes
Needless to say, I'm very stoked about these two movies. It's a shame that the original actor in the LOTR trilogy won't be playing Bilbo but, oh well. Overall, I think I'm most excited to see Christopher Lee as Saruman again. Huge fan of Lee, and he's 90 years old now, amazing. He was already in his late seventies in the original LOTR trilogy, wow.
QFT. I'm excited to see Peter Jackson at the helm of this, but at the same time I know in my heart there will be a lot re-written to appeal to "hollywood audiences."
He was a pretty lame character in the films as well I was speaking to how much the wrote in for him; stuff like at the Pelennor when they spent 5 minutes showing him ski over and down the Mumakil to take down 30 Haradrim...really, did we need that? lol But you're right in that they didn't go out of their way to increase his true significance, they just made a ton of extra shots/scenes to make him look bad-ass...lameness I totally agree about Faramir - he, much like Gimli, was horribly diminished in the films. They made it so that he was going to do just like Boromir, take the Ring and give it to Denethor, and only after a huge epiphany did he do the right thing. Did they even fucking read the middle chapters of the Two Towers???? gah! Faramir knew there was something special about the hobbits and their quest from their very first meeting, and helped Frodo and Sam all he could. Faramir showed great wisdom, beyond that of almost all other Men in the books, and held himself truly as a lord in whom the blood of Numenor ran true. Sam even said that Faramir reminded him of Gandalf for his wisdom and kindness...but they took a chain-saw to his character in the film. That definitely grated on me arse! But...that's just another hard-core nerd rant, and I can't be so naive to think they won't fuck up a character like Beorn, or Balin, or Bard in the new films. Just gotta try and enjoy it despite EDIT: think I may have mis-read your original statement about Faramir's significance...so..yeah...fuckin wake-and-bakes...
oh don't get me wrong, i know that faramir's character was missing alot of what he was in the books, he was a favorite of mine and his role was diminished in the books yes, but I also think that what they did to gimli and legolas was even worse. I was saying at least faramir showed some emotional range and depth (if nothing near the book) whereas in the movie you only see gimli/legolas at their most basic core and theres really no growth in them throughout...they end up becoming; like you said, merely some comic relief from the darker parts of the movie. still loved em all though but I'm really nitpicky with movie adaptations of my favorite books...there are some other books that I would absolutely love to see on film on the one hand, but would be terrified of what i might end up seeing on the other lol.
I just know they're going to shorten and make simple the stand off between the dwarves, men, King Dain's men, and the goblins.
And likely overdo the Elves' role in the coming battle. I can just see it...Bilbo shows up with the Arkenstone, Bard isn't even there, but the 15 made-up Elf characters are sat there and spend a half hour talking about some bullshit....then Gandalf shows up as Bilbo goes to leave, tells him of his time away with the White Council, and we hurtle off to another half hour of Galadriel and Elrond fighting the Necromancer before finally getting to a 1-minute blurb of Dain's troops arriving before the Battle lol