Official 'The Hobbit' Thread - Part 15

[regwec]

Those are better. I like the Galadriel/Gandalf one best: it's quite dramatic.

 

[green]

Photoshopped or not (honestly what movie poster isn't these days) I think the visuals of the marketing are stunning.

 

[green]

I know people like to imagine that there is no hype for this third installment but…

http://deadline.com/2014/10/the-hobbit-hunger-games-youtube-trailer-most-watched-852308/

The trailer for The Hobbit’s final sequel, The Battle Of The Five Armies, was YouTube’s most-watched entertainment-related video of the third quarter, the online giant said, pulling in nearly 17.3 million views, well ahead of trailers for the next Hunger Games installment and the first Fifty Shades Of Grey.

 

[regwec]

Isn't that because it was an annoying pop-up?

 

[Marvolo]

Besides there is more to hype than a lot of people viewing a trailer on youtube. Youtube recommends videos and places videos on your front page. We dont know how many of those 17 million actually searched for the video. And really just because I watch a trailer on youtube doesnt mean Im hyped for the movie. I might just be curious or bored and looking for something to watch.

And when I talk about hype I mean more than just people watching trailers. I mean execs excited, studio insiders buzzing about it, spoilers, behind the scenes stuff, just a general air of excitement and anticipation in hollywood and across the internet. Look at star wars 7, Interstellar, TDK, or even LOTR...those films had hype. The atmosphere around this film seems almost catatonic at times.

Personally tho I myself am becoming more and more hyped. I doubt it will reach a fever pitch for me, but Im looking forward to it. Now where is trailer 2 damnit?!

 

[green]

Eh disagree or not, 17 million views, most of any film coming out this quarter (including that lackluster hyped Interstellar) is hype.

 

[Vartha]

Loving those posters!

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Photoshopped or not (honestly what movie poster isn't these days) I think the visuals of the marketing are stunning.

There is good photoshop, and there is bad photoshop. The majority of these are bad.

Eh disagree or not, 17 million views, most of any film coming out this quarter (including that lackluster hyped Interstellar) is hype.

Youtube views do not correlate to hype.

 

[Marvolo]

So this guy got it early, and I thought these two bits were interesting:

There’s also a great fight scene that’s been added to the Extended Edition, which I won’t spoil, but it significantly alters one section of the film, in a way the new scenes rarely have before.

My main problem with Smaug, though, is Smaug. Not his look. Not Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance. Not the animation. But the fact he’s so bloody ineffectual. He’s a massive fire-breathing dragon and yet he can’t fry one little dwarf! The whole final action scene was, we learn from the Blu-Ray, one of the things that was added to the script when the The Hobbit was expanded from two films to three, so there’s a practical reason why none of the Dwarves could be reduced to cinders; certainly remaining faithful to the book wasn’t issue but the ending of Smaug had to retain continuity with footage already shot for Five Armies, so sudden, shocking deaths were impossible. But there’s a real lack of threat to the climactic scenes, which undermines Smaug’s declaration, “I am death!” Are you? Are you really?

https://davegolder2005.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/day-289-a-sneaker-peek-at-the-extended-desolation-of-smaug/

So y'all that despised Smaug chasing the dwarves around have another reason to hate the two films becoming three films. Oh and he posted this image:

Spoiler

 

[Vartha]

Still can't wait to get it.lol

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I fully expected an action scene between Smaug and the dwarves, so I dont get why its such a problem personally. Cant wait for the EE of DOS.

Finally got around to watching the EE of AUJ, and my feelings on it are mixed. Some additions were good, some were pointless and some were just AWFUL (I am looking at your song Goblin King), I think I like the TC better. But the extended Riddles in the Dark scene was superb, as was Elrond and Gandalf discussing Thorins past in Rivendell. Overall, I hope for better from the DOS EE.

 

[Marvolo]

I fully expected an action scene between Smaug and the dwarves, so I dont get why its such a problem personally. Cant wait for the EE of DOS.

Finally got around to watching the EE of AUJ, and my feelings on it are mixed. Some additions were good, some were pointless and some were just AWFUL (I am looking at your song Goblin King), I think I like the TC better. But the extended Riddles in the Dark scene was superb, as was Elrond and Gandalf discussing Thorins past in Rivendell. Overall, I hope for better from the DOS EE.

Some feel that it makes Smaug look dumb. It doesnt help that there is some truly awful cgi in the boiler room scene. The bit when smaug is thrashing around with the cables and carts wrapped around him looks subpar. Its fleeting tho so I wont harp on it.

Also, Riddles in the Dark wasnt extended on the AUJ EE.

http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=841103

There isnt any new material after the scene when the Dwarves meet the Goblin King.



Anyways, here are three sneak peaks at the DOS EE special features:

Sneak peak at the creation of the Barrel Chase
[YT]jsywLbNcsZc[/YT]

Sneak peak at the creation of Smaug
[Yt]Auv2vFlmB0U[/MEDIA]

Sneak peak at a deleted unfinished scene
[Yt]4BbOnteBj6Y[/MEDIA]

They were posted on:

https://m.youtube.com/user/MMGNAustralia/videos

 

[Victarion]

I don't see why trimming a few dwarves through dragonfire would hurt the film...I mean some purists might not be pleased, but the dwarves didn't really make all that big an impression on me, aside from Thorin and Balin.

 

[Marvolo]

I think it would have been good to combine and cut some of them from the outset. Fili and Kili could have been made into a single dwarf. Dori, Bombur and Bifur should have been cut outright. Ori and Nori or Dori could have been combined. Gloin being Gimli's father could have been given more characterization. Balin is the wise dwarf and keeps Thorin somewhat on the level. Dwalin is the muscle.

If Jackson would have went that route it would have simplified matters.

As for Smaug killing some of them. I assume Jackson wants to keep his options open for the big battle in BTFA. Plus,

Spoiler

Ori went with Balin to reclaim Moria after the quest. Its Ori's book and Ori's skeleton that Gandalf finds in the tomb in Moria. Balin dies in Moria obviously. So Smaug killing on of those two wouldnt have really worked. Tho in the case of Ori its never stated in FOTR that it is Ori that Gandalf finds, but book readers know and would have called the film and Jackson out for that plothole.

 

[vinsanity]

So apparently the end credits song will be played by Pippin himself, Billy Boyd titled: The Last Goodbye.

http://atolkienistperspective.wordpress.com/2014/10/19/the-last-goodbye-for-hobbit-3/

 

[Marvolo]

Not sure how I feel about Pippin singing the closing song to a story he didnt participate in or know much about. And while yes it is actually Billy I just find it odd. If they wanted an actor and character to sing the closing song it should have been the dwarves.

Not that its a huge deal. Just one of those odd decisions. Thankfully Billy has a surprisingly pretty singing voice so the vocals will likely be good. As for the lyrics...well we'll just have to wait and see. "The Last Goodbye" sounds very fitting considering this is the last Jackson Middle Earth film.

 

[sueb1863]

There would have been a Tolkien fan riot if Jackson had cut any of the dwarves. That was never an option.

The bummer is that he created great personalities for all of them, but the only way you'd know about them is if you read about them in the film companion books. Almost none of that information made it onto the screen and most of them ended up as being basically indistinguishable from each other. Heck, Bombur hasn't had one single line yet. PJ really dropped the ball there, and it looked so promising in the first video blog.

 

[Marvolo]

There would have been a Tolkien fan riot if Jackson had cut any of the dwarves. That was never an option.

The bummer is that he created great personalities for all of them, but the only way you'd know about them is if you read about them in the film companion books. Almost none of that information made it onto the screen and most of them ended up as being basically indistinguishable from each other. Heck, Bombur hasn't had one single line yet. PJ really dropped the ball there, and it looked so promising in the first video blog.

Sure it was. His film his way. He's done plenty of other things that fans consider blasphemous. If he can have Faramir be tempted by the ring and go off to Osgiliath with frodo and Sam and Gollum and have Frodo send Sam home along with countless other alterstions and omissions then Jackson could surely have combined and cut dwarves.

Besides, the dwarves in the Hobbit book arent character's so much as they are caricatures with a single defining trait. Cutting some wouldnt have done damage and combining one or two or three would have allowed for more characterization and development.

It wasnt done because Jackson didnt want to, but if he had wanted to then he would have surely done it regardless of any pissed off fans.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

The listlessness of the Dwarves in the book is a lot less noticeable because they are rarely addressed individually. Other than Thorin, Balin, Dwalin and the fat one, the rest are referred to as a group, for example, "they said this" or "they did that", helping us blend them into one.

In the visual medium of film they stick out like a sore thumb when they are given no character and yet are occupying space.

 

[Marvolo]

Bombur is undoubtedly the biggest offender no pun intended. He has one purpose - be fat. Bifur is the second. He's just there to say one or two lines in dwarvish.

And look at Oin. He is the healer. Its never established or used in any meaningful way until Kili gets sick then just before they head to Erebor Oin says "My place is with the sick." Like really? Now you are healer because Jackson needs you to be? It just seems so random and not genuine how that bit of character info is almost dribbled out. Its like Jackson just picked a random dwarf to be a healer when he got to that page in the script. There is nothing up until that point that tells you anything about him or that he has this skill and at that point we were almost five hours into the story. That is terrible. Had they combined some of them they could have given them some depth and set that thing up better. Cut Bombur and Bifer. Killi/Filli combined is the heir to the throne. Oin is the healer. Dwalin is the muscle. Balin is the wise dwarf. Dori/Nori/Ori combined is the scribe. Thorin is the leader. Thats a company of 6 and you lose nothing of import and gain room for depth.

Once again, its not a deal breaker its just less than stellar handling of the characters.

 

[DarkKnight88]

So, are we getting another trailer before release? The other two had them by September if I remember correctly.

 

[ThePhantasm]

As much as I hate to say this, I will not be seeing this one in theaters, guys. And yes, I'm a huge Tolkien fan, as many of your know. The second film was just so disappointing to me that I was baffled at what a misfire it was, and the trailers for the third promise more of the same.

I'll catch it on DVD at some point, probably.

 

[C. Lee]

Bombur is undoubtedly the biggest offender no pun intended. He has one purpose - be fat. Bifur is the second. He's just there to say one or two lines in dwarvish.

And look at Oin. He is the healer. Its never established or used in any meaningful way until Kili gets sick then just before they head to Erebor Oin says "My place is with the sick." Like really? Now you are healer because Jackson needs you to be? It just seems so random and not genuine how that bit of character info is almost dribbled out. Its like Jackson just picked a random dwarf to be a healer when he got to that page in the script. There is nothing up until that point that tells you anything about him or that he has this skill and at that point we were almost five hours into the story. That is terrible. Had they combined some of them they could have given them some depth and set that thing up better. Cut Bombur and Bifer. Killi/Filli combined is the heir to the throne. Oin is the healer. Dwalin is the muscle. Balin is the wise dwarf. Dori/Nori/Ori combined is the scribe. Thorin is the leader. Thats a company of 6 and you lose nothing of import and gain room for depth.

Once again, its not a deal breaker its just less than stellar handling of the characters.

Sounds like you want a Reader's Digest Condensed volume. While we're at it, lets do the Two Musketeers, 9,000 Leagues under the Sea, A Tale of One City, The 126 Spartans, Four Brides for Three Brothers.......

 

[ThePhantasm]

Well, I for one was a fan of using the appendices and Unfinished Tales to make the Hobbit into a trilogy. I defended that idea in this very forum, saying it would work. What I didn't know was that they would butcher the source material and then throw in tons upon tons of video game style filler... so yeah, count me in for the condensed version.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Sounds like you want a Reader's Digest Condensed volume. While we're at it, lets do the Two Musketeers, 9,000 Leagues under the Sea, A Tale of One City, The 126 Spartans, Four Brides for Three Brothers.......

Considering how much time is spent with irrelevant material, I don't think wanting the dwarves, who are relevant to the Hobbit, to actually be fleshed out is all that much to ask. There has been 5 hours of film already.