I’m officially Much More Encouraged about The Hobbit now that I’ve seen the latest production video released today. You can view it here on Peter Jackson’s Facebook page.I’ve long believed that The Hobbit is (or was) a risker film to make than The Lord of the Rings. Not now of course—The Hobbit is all but a guaranteed hit, as most LOTR fans would lap up a Jackson-directed four hour Tom Bombadil Lifetime special. But I think it was a smart move to make The Lord of the Rings first. Even though Rings is five times the length of The Hobbit, features far costlier set pieces, and has a much more complex, sprawling narrative, The Hobbit has its own unique movie-making handicap: Namely, that it’s about a hobbit and 13 dwarves. Hunks like Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen and chicks like Cate Blanchett and Liv Tyler are nowhere to be found (though most of these guys are getting cameos, it seems. And Kili is the token heartthrob). A troupe of short, bearded, rotund men is a tougher sell for mass audiences used to handsome stars and starlets.
In perhaps the only serious moment of an otherwise fun, lighthearted clip, Jackson admits as much. “Thirteen dwarves is one of the reasons why I dreaded The Hobbit, and why I really didn’t think I was going to make it for such a long time. But the irony is, it turns out to be one of the joys.”
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I didn't doubt that it was going to be a good fantasy movie to begin with.. I kinda resigned myself a long time ago to them taking the basic characters and story from the hobbit.. and then placing it in the same middle earth they already had.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I hope they do, while working on this film. Is to film some shots that take place at the lonely mountain during Lord of the Rings.
Like Dain Ironfoot defending the body of King Brand. They are expanding the world of middle earth, and I think it would be a good way to show just how far Saurons Reach was.
But then I'm a sucker for extra scenes.. I was near mortally wounded when I found out that they hadn't actually filmed a bunch of scenes in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.. cause they were too cheap to spring for the extra sets.
One of the things I hope they do, while working on this film. Is to film some shots that take place at the lonely mountain during Lord of the Rings.
ReplyDeleteLike Dain Ironfoot defending the body of King Brand. They are expanding the world of middle earth, and I think it would be a good way to show just how far Saurons Reach was.
That would be cool... my only concern is that, even though I quite like the Lord of the Rings films, I find that the weakest parts are mostly areas in which Jackson deviated from the book. Even though there's a lot of history and events to draw from, putting it on film requires a lot of interpretation.
Thats true. However we must view this as Peter Jackson's interpretation of the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit. I think you are correct that the areas where he diverged from the book, are some of the weakest scenes in the whole film. On the other hand, most of those scenes carry all the hallmarks of Frallipa.
ReplyDeleteBut just as I've come to accept, compartmentalize and totally disregard the live action Transformers films as Michael Bay's Interpretation of the franchise.. And accepted Milius's and soon Nispel's versions of Conan.. I will have to do the same with Jackson's as well.
Luckily for us though he's a much better film maker than those other three.
Even Willow had Val Kilmer to help him.
ReplyDelete"In short--"; is that some sort of Dwarvish crack?
ReplyDeleteBut just as I've come to accept, compartmentalize and totally disregard the live action Transformers films as Michael Bay's Interpretation of the franchise.. And accepted Milius's and soon Nispel's versions of Conan.. I will have to do the same with Jackson's as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I can appreciate Conan the Barbarian and the LOTR films as fine works, albeit (particularly in the case of the former) different animals from the works on which they are based.
"In short--"; is that some sort of Dwarvish crack?
Yes, the pun was intended!
The mss of "O water hot is a wondrous thing" is behind Peter Jackson's head in the video.
ReplyDeleteDon't know what the red-stamped paper is. Maybe something borrowed from Michel Delving.