Official The Hobbit thread

[Man in the Suit]

http://www.collider.com/2010/11/28/peter-jackson-the-hobbit-3d-red-epic-cameras/

 

[redhawk23]

well as long as PJ is happy with the cameras then i trust his judgement, but preferably I wish these films were not in 3-d and then could therefore be shot on film.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

RED is better than film for so many different reasons. There's only two benefits to film - you have a physical source which can't be corrupted or deleted, and the other is the contrast ratio of the colours and brightness.

 

[ghostrider92]

peter Jackson is the greatest filmmaker ever The Hobbit parts 1 and 2 will be amazing .

 

[dark_b]

i dont care if its sonyRED,....

as long as they use the Vince Pace 3D rig.

 

[redhawk23]

RED is better than film for so many different reasons. There's only two benefits to film - you have a physical source which can't be corrupted or deleted, and the other is the contrast ratio of the colours and brightness.

the thing is, digital cameras are always judged on how they compare to film, so why not film with film? The digital mediums is coming into its own but it must be used carefully otherwise you just end up with what looks like a very high quality home video on what looks like a film set (Public Enemies)

 

[dark_b]

Mann is the only big known director that doesnt know how to use a digital camera.

sad very sad

 

[Doctor Jones]

Fine with me. I trust Jackson. Plus he can probably used a digital camera... *coughMichaelMancough*

 

[Boom]

Hobbit casting agent fired over racism row

A casting agent for Wellington producer Sir Peter Jackson's planned film adaptations of The Hobbit has been dismissed after placing newspaper advertisements seeking extras with "light skin tones".

A spokesman for Wingnut Films, Sir Peter's production company, told Agence France-Presse the unnamed agent was not directed by the company to make such restrictions.

"No such instructions were given," the spokesman said.

"The crew member in question took it upon themselves to do that and it's not something we instructed or condoned".

It was reported yesterday that actor Naz Humphreys, a Briton of Pakistani heritage who attended a casting meeting in New Zealand, was told she was not white enough.

"The casting manager basically said they weren't having anybody who wasn't pale-skinned, " she told the Waikato Times.

"It's 2010 and I still can't believe I'm being discriminated against because I have brown skin."

The agent also advertised in the Bay of Plenty Times listing essential requirements for potential hobbits, including age, 16-80, and height - below 170cm (5 foot 7 inches) for men and 158cm (5ft 2in) for women.

The additional demand for light skin tones applied only to women.

In the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien described three races of Hobbits inhabiting the Middle Earth fantasy world which is the setting for the movies, including harfoots, who "were browner of skin" than the others.

- NZPA

SOURCE: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10691068

 

[Secret Fawful]

What next?

 

[regwec]

It's a complex situation, really. It's fairly evident that most extras playing humans or elves in LOTR were white, or made to look white. The casting agents inevitably need to end up with white extras. The advert actually tries to be vaguely sensitive by calling for "light skin tones" rather than white skin. But it sounds really bad, and I suppose the worry was that the whole enterprise of the movie might be portrayed as racist by the media.

I actually feel some sympathy for the person who got fired. It's like an unwinnable situation. Would it have been better if a they simply failed to hire any of the minority actors who turned up?

 

[LOBO3315a]

Races are what they are. In Middle Earth, the mixing of races was a very rare thing. Hence, unless they were looking for people specifically to play Harfoot Hobbits, her skin tone, without a lot of makeup, disqualified her.

Look, we wouldn't have a Caucasion cast nowdays to play a African-American character. The opposite should be true as well.

Having just read that Sam was 100% Harfoot, could you imagine the uproar a small, dark-skinned Hobbit, calling himself Mr Frodo's gardener, and becoming his sidekick would have produced?

Further reading indicates that most of the Hobbits in the Shire were of Harfoot stock, so maybe this casting director needed a lesson in Hobbits?

 

[terry78]

Races are what they are. In Middle Earth, the mixing of races was a very rare thing. Hence, unless they were looking for people specifically to play Harfoot Hobbits, her skin tone, without a lot of makeup, disqualified her.

Look, we wouldn't have a Caucasion cast nowdays to play a African-American character. The opposite should be true as well.

Having just read that Sam was 100% Harfoot, could you imagine the uproar a small, dark-skinned Hobbit, calling himself Mr Frodo's gardener, and becoming his sidekick would have produced?

Further reading indicates that most of the Hobbits in the Shire were of Harfoot stock, so maybe this casting director needed a lesson in Hobbits?

Well.....

 

[LOBO3315a]

Probably one of the reasons I didn't see that film.....

 

[Boom]

Having just read that Sam was 100% Harfoot, could you imagine the uproar a small, dark-skinned Hobbit, calling himself Mr Frodo's gardener, and becoming his sidekick would have produced

 

[Doctor Jones]

It's a complex situation, really. It's fairly evident that most extras playing humans or elves in LOTR were white, or made to look white. The casting agents inevitably need to end up with white extras. The advert actually tries to be vaguely sensitive by calling for "light skin tones" rather than white skin. But it sounds really bad, and I suppose the worry was that the whole enterprise of the movie might be portrayed as racist by the media.

I actually feel some sympathy for the person who got fired. It's like an unwinnable situation. Would it have been better if a they simply failed to hire any of the minority actors who turned up?

Pretty much. They were quick to fire the person because they didn't want the bad press and bad attention this would have gotten and it owuld have made them look bad, but in all honesty, I don't think it was racist. I mean is a darker skinned person playing a Hobbit accurate?

 

[LOBO3315a]

Harfoot Hobbits are supposed to be darker skinned, and most of the Hobbits in the Shire come from that line.

I'm sure there were a fair mixture of skin colors, and having a few darker-skinned people wouldn't have seemed out of line. At least not as far as the appendices and expanded tales are concerned.

 

[regwec]

You're right that Hobbits were in general darker than, say Elves, and some Hobbits were darker than others. But I maintain the view that Tolkien intended them to be, broadly speaking, a white-ish sort of a race. Their culture, language and habits are all squarely based on the English countryside, after all.

 

[Boom]

Hobbit hopeful surprised by media storm

The British-Pakistani woman who was turned back at an audition for The Hobbit because she was not white enough says she is surprised her story has caused a storm.

Naz Humphreys, in a statement today, said she posted her story on Facebook as a private prank to share with friends.

"A journalist came across the group and then called me. During our conversation I made clear that I did not want this to be a published story, but this was ignored," she said.

"It has been quite an eye-opener to read some of the comments regarding this relatively trivial story that stray into attacks on racial, ethnic and gender equality in the wider workplace."

Ms Humphreys said she went to the audition for fun and was merely annoyed at being notified of the casting requirements in the published advertisement.

"I understand that the film and theatre industries have legitimate reasons to hire performers whose appearance matches their role and I support their right to do so."

Ms Humphreys had told the Waikato Times the casting manager explained "they weren't having anybody who wasn't pale-skinned".

"It's 2010 and I still can't believe I'm being discriminated against because I have brown skin," she said.

A Hobbit casting agent who placed a newspaper advertisements seeking extras with "light skin tones" has since been dismissed.

A spokesman for Wingnut Films, Sir Peter's production company, told Agence France-Presse the unnamed agent was not directed by the company to make such restrictions.

"The crew member in question took it upon themselves to do that and it's not something we instructed or condoned."

The agent also advertised in the Bay of Plenty Times listing essential requirements for potential Hobbits, including age, 16-80, and height -- below 170cm (5 foot 7 inches) for men and 158cm (5ft 2in) for women.

The additional demand for light skin tones applied only to women.

In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien described three races of Hobbits inhabiting the Middle Earth fantasy world which is the setting for the movies, including Harfoots, who "were browner of skin" than the others.

- NZPA

SOURCE: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10691117

These are the kind of stories I am forced to post, because of the lack of real news. More casting announcements please .

 

[Doctor Jones]

Harfoot Hobbits are supposed to be darker skinned, and most of the Hobbits in the Shire come from that line.

I'm sure there were a fair mixture of skin colors, and having a few darker-skinned people wouldn't have seemed out of line. At least not as far as the appendices and expanded tales are concerned.

Yeah, but Pakistani, or hell, even real kiwis are too dark for a hobbit. Did we ever see a person with darker skin in the LOTR films as a hobbit?

She didn't get it because she was too dark for a role that requires lighter skin, and it's racism...

 

[Bat-Mite]

Tolkien intended for his books to be a mythology for England, and of course, dark skinned people aren't native to that area but have immigrated there or were brought from other countries during the slave trade. I'd be extremely surprised if he ever envisioned there being black skinned Hobbits in his stories, and he certainly never depicted such in his own illustrations or descriptions. As awful as it sounds, a black or dark skinned person playing a Hobbit would stick out like a sore thumb, especially after their exclusively white skinned portrayal in the LOTR movies.

It's a bit of a dilemma for the film makers, since I'm sure they want to be as inclusive as they possibly can, but also want to be faithful to the source material. They did have Maori actors playing Orcs in the LOTR films, and I think maybe Haradrim as well; but that in itself could be seen as controversial, since all of the minorities were playing bad guys. I don't think that was meant to be any sort of racial commentary, though, but just a way to include them without deviating from the source material.

 

[steintym]

Unbelievable ...
Ends up kind of being a no win situation for the film makers.

 

[redhawk23]

Whats next, allegations of Spielburg being racist because he didn't offer the role of Abe Lincoln to Morgan Freeman?

 

[regwec]

Tolkien intended for his books to be a mythology for England, and of course, dark skinned people aren't native to that area but have immigrated there or were brought from other countries during the slave trade.

Just for clarity: slavery has been illegal on English soil since the Middle Ages. Most ethnic minorities living in Britain today are descended from people who came here from the Commonwealth after WWII.

 

[Stringer]

Whats next, allegations of Spielburg being racist because he didn't offer the role of Abe Lincoln to Morgan Freeman?

That hyperbole doesn't really have much of a point for a number of reasons.