Official 'The Hobbit' Thread - Part 9

[mclay18]

http://aidanmoher.com/blog/2012/07/asides/christopher-tolkien-on-the-lord-of-the-rings-film-trilogy/

Those comments in that article make me sad. 75% of them are hardcore Tolkien purists who just can't grasp the fact that the LOTR and Hobbit films are adaptations, not a book-to-film transition. Not to mention Christopher Tolkien is clearly deluded and so set in his ways, he actually grew estranged from his own son because they differed in opinions about the LOTR films.

Maybe C. Tolkien should have a sit-down with someone like J.K. Rowling, an author who knew (and encouraged) the movie adaptations of her book series rather than forcing them to be faithful to them. Perhaps she could talk some sense into him.

 

[A Necessary Evil]

He wouldn't listen. They all seem unreasonable, except for Simon.

 

[ravn0s]

Doesn't that stuff with him getting interrogated in Mordor happen during the time period in Fellowship anyway? But I agree, the "Riddles in the Dark" scene was a great showcase for Gollum and they should leave the character at that.

nope it happens beforehand. gollum follows the fellowship during FOTR.

 

[Brother Jack]

nope it happens beforehand. gollum follows the fellowship during FOTR.

Ah. I forgot that was a flashback in Fellowship.

 

[Drizzle]

Speaking of Gollum's torture, he screams out "Shire! Baggins!" Did Bilbo ever tell Gollum that he was from the Shire?

 

[Bruce Malone]

How far into the actual hobbit book did the film get to when it ended?

 

[CGHulk]

Speaking of Gollum's torture, he screams out "Shire! Baggins!" Did Bilbo ever tell Gollum that he was from the Shire?

Yes he tells him.

Here's a clip.
http://www.fxguide.com/download/?force_file=/2012/12/gollum.mp4
Source: http://www.fxguide.com/featured/the-hobbit-weta/

How far into the actual hobbit book did the film get to when it ended?

It ends on page 113 just two pages into Chapter 7. There are 303 pages and 19 Chapters in the book.

 

[jmc]

I genuinely don't understand Tolkien's beef with the movies. He makes out like Jackson butchered the story, if anything I don't think Jackson went far enough with the changes he made, in fact I'll go so far to say that the movies could have benefited with less reliance on the book. Jackson not only did the book justice, he went far and beyond what he needed too do to appease the fan base. I like LOTR the books but they do have their own problems from a story telling perspective and frankly aren't easy to translate in any other medium. The fact that Jackson produced something that more or less follows the same story as the books is actually quite remarkable given the complexities. So to Chris Tolkien, lighten up mate, your old man's story isn't the sacred piece of scripture you think it is, Peter Jackson has done as well as anyone could have hoped for.

 

[CGHulk]

Pictures into the Hobbit Pub In Hobbiton, New Zealand
http://nerdbastards.com/2012/12/12/actual-hobbit-pub-opens-in-hobbiton-new-zealand/

Time to get my butt on a plane!


Everyone gets a Lego.
http://imgur.com/a/OApDV

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I genuinely don't understand Tolkien's beef with the movies. He makes out like Jackson butchered the story, if anything I don't think Jackson went far enough with the changes he made, in fact I'll go so far to say that the movies could have benefited with less reliance on the book. Jackson not only did the book justice, he went far and beyond what he needed too do to appease the fan base. I like LOTR the books but they do have their own problems from a story telling perspective and frankly aren't easy to translate in any other medium. The fact that Jackson produced something that more or less follows the same story as the books is actually quite remarkable given the complexities. So to Chris Tolkien, lighten up mate, your old man's story isn't the sacred piece of scripture you think it is, Peter Jackson has done as well as anyone could have hoped for.

What I love is people judging other's opinion on the work in such a manner. They clearly care about the material on a level most others couldn't really do so. It is a part of their family, their life. Whether or not you agree with them on the films, the way people "judge" them about their feelings is ridiculous.

 

[Slushy]

Liked:

- The city of Erebor. As a huge fan of Dragon Age, I had fond memories of Orzammar coming back to me.

- Things

Spoiler

Bilbo's birthday party planned with Frodo, Galadriel, Saruman, the Witch King

being tied into FOTR as a taste of things to come!

-

Spoiler

The "Bilbo Baggins Hates" song!!!

As a fan of the animated movie, I was shocked and happy to see it used again!

- Loved hearing the Dwarves theme song again!

- Riddles In The Dark was my favorite part. (although I don't recall the fish or darkness riddles being used though?)


Disliked:

- The rock giants. While it was a visual wonder, the scene was over the top. Even for a fantasy film.

- Not enough "Down, Down To Goblin Town"

- How Bilbo found The One Ring was changed. They should've just tried to match the prologue scene in FOTR since it was more book accurate.

- I hated

Spoiler

seeing The Eagles! It happened in the book, but I wish Jackson hadn't put them onscreen since they come back to help out again during The Battle of Five Armies. Its redundant!

I mean COME ON!

Side note: While Cate, Elijah, and Hugo looked exactly the same in the past decade, both Ians aged noticeably.

 

[RetrogradeOrbit]

Martin freeman was brilliant. `Nuff said!

 

[Godzilla2000]

Well, I was thinking of this just a few moments ago but it struck me all of a sudden. It looks to me like Radagast the Brown is basically taking over Tom Bombadil's role from the books.

P.S. It's just nice for me to see the 7th Doctor again, though I kept wishing he would clean off the bird droppings on the right side of his face.

 

[Iceman]

What was The Hobbit's budget?

 

[Slushy]

About $200 mil I think

 

[DaveMoral]

Well, I was thinking of this just a few moments ago but it struck me all of a sudden. It looks to me like Radagast the Brown is basically taking over Tom Bombadil's role from the books.

P.S. It's just nice for me to see the 7th Doctor again, though I kept wishing he would clean off the bird droppings on the right side of his face.

Radagast was Radagast through and through. What little is in FOTR, he's pretty much described as exactly how he is portrayed in The Hobbit... but with even less motivation to help oppose Sauron.

 

[ThePhantasm]

A lot of division in the family over this. A child was disowned because of it.

J R R Tolkien's grandson 'cut off from literary inheritance'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...andson-cut-off-from-literary-inheritance.html

I thought you were joking about this at first.

Seems like some of Tolkien's family members are giving him what I call an Alan Moore complex.

That snooty, pretentious ********, acting like their grandfather's work was too good to be made into a movie.

Yeah, I feel bad for Simon, but seriously, imo, the Tolkien's don't seem like nice people.

Guys, this is not only a bit unfair, but rather old news. First of all, Simon and his father have reconciled, as reported here. Their feud was not about a disagreement over the release of the films, but over Simon dealing with the burden of being overshadowed as an author by his famous grandfather (as he describes in the article plainly). Second of all, what family is perfect, or doesn't have squabbles from time to time? You guys are jumping to conclusions about Christopher Tolkien and the rest of the family based on what you think is going on, when you really don't know. Come on.

Without Christopher Tolkien's dedicated hard work, a lot of Tolkien's material never would have been published, inconsistencies in the works would never have been ironed out, and a lot of the Tolkien mythos as it stands today would be unavailable to the public. And let me say, when you look at these published works and the effort CT put into them, it is obvious it was no small feat - JRR was very unorganized and Middle Earth was a confusing mess of old documents and scribblings and contradictory maps and accounts. I've read all these books, and I'm appreciative to Christopher Tolkien for his contribution.

I don't want to assume who is in the right or wrong in this family feud. So CT doesn't like the films... okay? I don't understand why fans take it personally. It isn't as if CT is out in public campaigning against the films all the time or releasing statements. Most of the info on his views are indirect hearsay - only occasionally has he voiced criticisms, calling them "action films" etc. So its his opinion. If anyone is entitled to an opinion on it, he is. He has put a lot of work into Middle Earth. Doesn't mean you have to agree with him, but jumping to accusations about his character based on these critiques seems ridiculous.

My two cents.

 

[Godzilla2000]

I'm just wondering how Thranduil is going to be portrayed in this movie. From the prologue in this first movie it doesn't show the debauched, wine drinking Thranduil in the books. He has a more regal composure. I just wonder if he'll be portrayed in the next film as the wino that he is in the Hobbit. I'm thinking that maybe Legolas will be more of a presence in helping Bilbo and the Dwarves escape in the wine barrels. I know from a still that Legolas will be closely connected with the men in Laketown. He'll probably be instrumental in getting his father to help both men and dwarves defeat Sauron's/Witch King's army out of Dol Guldur in the climax of the third film.

 

[ThePhantasm]

I know from a still that Legolas will be closely connected with the men in Laketown.

That still doesn't reveal that. That could simply be a scene from the point in the story in which the woodelves arrive demanding a share of the gold. No previous close connection is necessarily implied.

 

[Godzilla2000]

What I do know though is that Thranduil and the Elves do come to the aid of the Dwarves and men at the end of the book to fight back Sauron and his forces in Dol Guldur. It'll be nice to actually see the Wizard Order, hopefully still including Saruman the White, beating back Sauron and causing him to flee to Mordor from Mirkwood.

 

[Super Kal]

he is also the same man, Phantasm, who owns the Tolkien Estate... it's because of him that you wont see the book The Silmarillion, a book that i've been reading and wholeheartedly enjoy, become a movie

 

[ThePhantasm]

he is also the same man, Phantasm, who owns the Tolkien Estate... it's because of him that you wont see the book The Silmarillion, a book that i've been reading and wholeheartedly enjoy, become a movie

I love the Silmarillion and have read it a number of times, but I'm not all that interested in seeing it interpreted on film. It would be incredibly difficult to adapt, and then you have to deal with the fact that the general audience has no idea what it is.

The Silmarillion is full of stories that appeal to Tolkien fans like us more than the GA. Is the GA really going to want to watch a film of the Children of Hurin, in which the main hero is pursued by tragic dark doom throughout his life from birth to death? Not very uplifting or Hollywoodish, and there's no hobbits.

 

[elsewhere]

Is the GA really going to want to watch a film of the Children of Hurin, in which the main hero is pursued by tragic dark doom throughout his life from birth to death?

Yes.

Not very uplifting or Hollywoodish

Neither was The Road, but it made bank. Don't under-estimate the general audience.

 

[Super Kal]

I love the Silmarillion and have read it a number of times, but I'm not all that interested in seeing it interpreted on film. It would be incredibly difficult to adapt, and then you have to deal with the fact that the general audience has no idea what it is.

The Silmarillion is full of stories that appeal to Tolkien fans like us more than the GA. Is the GA really going to want to watch a film of the Children of Hurin, in which the main hero is pursued by tragic dark doom throughout his life from birth to death? Not very uplifting or Hollywoodish, and there's no hobbits.

personally, i dont want it to become like LOTR, even though i love those movies... i would rather see The Slimarillion more like a science fiction/historical/autobiography/biography/documentary movie than anything... it does read more like a history book than anything else

and even though i would rather see it as above, i still would love to see it turned into a full-out movie

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Yes.



Neither was The Road, but it made bank. Don't under-estimate the general audience.

Uh, are you talking about Cormac McCarthy's The Road? Because it only made 27mil on a 25mil budget. In other words it bombed, hard. Did you even check before making that statement?

he is also the same man, Phantasm, who owns the Tolkien Estate... it's because of him that you wont see the book The Silmarillion, a book that i've been reading and wholeheartedly enjoy, become a movie

That is his business. He and his family can do what they want. Why try to vilify him?