Official The Hobbit thread

[BloodyWolverine]

Do remember Bilbo should look 50 whom ever playes him for he was 50 in hobbit years so he was middle aged character wise.

 

[rdh007]

Do remember Bilbo should look 50 whom ever playes him for he was 50 in hobbit years so he was middle aged character wise.

As a practical matter, it seems that he's got to be cast younger. Audiences will simply expect him to look younger than Ian Holm did in LOTR. How much really depends upon who fits the role the best. If there's a forty something actor, perfect.

 

[regwec]

Bilbo was middle aged by our standards, but younger by Hobbit standards, by which an 111th birthday is a likelihood rather than a luxury.

I think it is best to view Bilbo in The Hobbit as the character is written: a confirmed bachelor, settled down, but young enough for Gandalf to deign to change all of that by shaking up his life.

I'll say it again: Martin Freeman for Bilbo!

 

[Threshold]

Seth Rogen 4 Bilbo!

 

[WeaponXProject]

Tobey as Bilbo is the strangest suggestion I've ever heard...

Doesn't seem that strange to me when it comes to his physical profile.
I always thought of Bilbo as a little guy, soft voiced, a little older than Frodo and harmless looking. I don't think he is a great actor at all but he is a bigger name and I don't know many other actors that have that Hobbit look. Perhaps someone shorter but he was the first person I envisioned.

It's funny people bring up James MacEvoy because I wanted him as a replacement for Tobey in Spidey if Tobey left. (Whispers to self) Frankly I still would rather have James MacEvoy.


Are their any other actors who fit the physical build of the character?

 

[Jackasscoley15]

...Martin Freeman.

 

[WeaponXProject]

...Martin Freeman.

Never seen him before but he definitely has the look.

 

[regwec]

He's a great comic actor, as well, which suits the tone of The Hobbit, and probably makes some of Bilbo's initial "preciousness" more tolerable.

Martin Freeman for Bilbo!

Brian Blessed for Thorin Oakenshield!

Hugh Fraser for Saruman!

Jeremy Irons for the voice of Smaug!

 

[Venomfan]

Christopher Lee is a massive LOTR fan, so unless he absolutely cannot do it he'l be back. i think he reads the books once a year

 

[Gilpesh]

Christopher Lee is a massive LOTR fan, so unless he absolutely cannot do it he'l be back. i think he reads the books once a year

Since they came out!

 

[FaT_tONle]

Agree with that, more or less. It's a real shame that Ian Richardson died recently, as I think he would have made a brilliant successor to Lee's Saruman.



I don't agree with that at all. A young handsome actor made up as an old man would have only comedic value. I suppose you are making some sort of analogy with Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor's portrayals of Obi Wan Kenobi. The crucial difference is that Gandalf The Grey in 'The Hobbit' is no younger than Gandalf The Grey in 'The Lord of the Rings'. He has always been in the same physical guise for as long as he has been on Middle Earth.

He does become younger, physically, when reborn as Gandalf The White, however. It is worth remembering, therefore, that Sir Ian McKellen was acting much older than he was when he played Gandalf in "The Fellowship of The Ring". So, he will have grown into the role rather than out of it by now.

I'm just saying... I don't like that you recast one guy but not the other... I get that they kept the dude that played the Emperor for the prequels... but the makeup can cover that up. But I think these two movies should be viewed separate from the trilogy... sort of like the Star Wars prequels... I wouldn't bring anybody back except maybe some Elf characters or stuff like that. But it wouldn't look right recasting Chris but keeping Ian. Just my personal taste.

 

[green]

Christopher Lee is a massive LOTR fan, so unless he absolutely cannot do it he'l be back. i think he reads the books once a year

http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/13/christopher-lee-wont-return-to-middle-earth/

Christopher Lee attended the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival this week, and our friends from RushBlogg, Karsten and Eirik, were on hand to talk to him. Of all the attendees, Meinich was the only one who asked Lee about his involvement in The Hobbit. Lee's answer came as quite a surprise -- first, he's adamant that he won't be appearing in The Hobbit, because as we all know, Saruman isn't in the book. This comes as no surprise -- Lee is a Tolkien purist (thank goodness!) and he won't allow himself to be shoehorned in, even if Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro were interested in doing so.

But what about the much discussed second film, which would likely deal with the Council of Wizards? That's a location problem. Lee isn't interested in filming in New Zealand again because it is simply too far away, for too long of a time. You can hear the tiredness in his voice -- and perhaps a bit of regret too.

That doesn't mean Lee isn't interested in being in The Hobbit at all, however! He'll appear in the film as long as he can stay in London, and there's a character he's quite keen to play. Or rather, voice. Someone very large, with a penchant for gold...

Head on over to RushBlogg and watch their video of Lee. It's a fantastic clip, and listening to him talk about Saruman, Return of the King, the Council of Wizards, and much more. It's like story-time. I could listen to him talk about Middle Earth for hours.

 

[Venomfan]

i couldn't remember Saruman being in the Hobbit at all, but all this talk made me think my mind was going foggy

 

[rdh007]

http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/13/christopher-lee-wont-return-to-middle-earth/

I can see where he'd do a good job as that character. Evil sounds the same sort of thing.

I still believe he'll be in the tweener movie. I need to.

 

[BloodyWolverine]

I think Hugo weaving could do Elrond and do a Voice for Smaug but i am willing to imagine Andy Serkis will be given a crack at the voice for he was good multi voice person for the rings movies

 

[boog_spin]

Seth Rogen 4 Bilbo!

oh god no

 

[regwec]

No, but nor do you need them. They were just images from Jackson's LOTR films interspersed with illustrations from The Hobbit.

 

[WeaponXProject]

So I haven't heard anymore casting suggestions for Bilbo...I'm kinda stumped on this...

 

[Nirvana]

I just finished watching the LotR trilogy and was just about to bump this thread. Has there been any casting announcements or have they even started filming? 2011 will roll on really quick if they're not moving.

 

[Rac]

I think they're still scripting. Pre-production is underway of course.

I haven't got the March 2009 issue of Empire. It was a Hobbit special. There might'v been new info. Anyone got scans?

 

[Threshold]

I want to play Bilbo. I've decided this.

 

[RoboAmish]

Yes, please i want scans too!

It really isn't worth it, believe me...

 

[Pyrox]

Well late January he said that he was already working and begining the design process with Weta and "two, three months we're going to full-on have more designers come on"
Which would be now/next month.

And he didn't he basically say they had narrowed it down to 4 picks for Bilbo?

 

[Rage]

Would love to see what kind of designs they are doing for Bilbo. When I think of Bilbo, I always see that 1970s animated version.

 

[Infinity9999x]

One thing I'm wondering is how they're going to deal with the inconsistencies in the Hobbit to LOTR. For example:

In LOTR Gandalf beat down a friggin Balrog, but in the Hobbit, he's in a tree surrounded by wolves and he's just like "Oh Sh**T!, WOLVES!"

It had me going