Peter Jackson and "The Hobbit"!

[Steel Tiger]

The sequel is supposed to cover the time between The Hobbit and LOTR. Not sure what was going on in the interim. Maybe start of with the fight with the necromancer in the tower (which is mentioned in The Hobbit) and go on to handle Suaron returning to Morder and the actions of the Rangers to protect parts of Middle Earth, including the Shire.

I mean, there are references in LOTR to some events that would've happened off the main plot in The Hobbit and before LOTR, but I'm not sure how much Tolkien fleshed them out (I haven't read Unfinished Tales and some of the other writings)

The sixty year period between the end of The Hobbit and the beginning of LOTR is something of a Gandalf and Aragorn tour de force as they search for Gollum and investigate the return of Sauron and the Nine to Mordor. And then there is the whole situation with Balin reoccupying Moria. Lots of fights between dwarves and orcs.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

The sixty year period between the end of The Hobbit and the beginning of LOTR is something of a Gandalf and Aragorn tour de force as they search for Gollum and investigate the return of Sauron and the Nine to Mordor. And then there is the whole situation with Balin reoccupying Moria. Lots of fights between dwarves and orcs.

Hey that is awesome and it would definately be exciting and round out everything.

 

[Sukerkin]

I quite agree.

The mythic struggle to take, hold and eventually lose Moria would be as much an emotional roller-coaster as any other part of this splendid history-that-should've-been.

 

[Steel Tiger]

I quite agree.

The mythic struggle to take, hold and eventually lose Moria would be as much an emotional roller-coaster as any other part of this splendid history-that-should've-been.

The stuff is all pretty well described in the various History of Middle-earth books.

The thing is, elves sell, but I'm not sure dwarves will so much.

 

[Sukerkin]

It's an opportunity to undo all the anti-Dwarven propoganda and piss-taking that has gone on for far too long.

When I first read LOTR I was struck by the taciturn dignity of the stone-tough Dwarves - then Warhammer seems to have turned them into pseudo-Scottish laughing-stocks and Jackson perpetuated that to a huge audience.

 

[tellner]

According to this Andy Serkis and Ian McKellan are in. And del Toro is getting ready to move to NZ for the next four years.

 

[Steel Tiger]

It's an opportunity to undo all the anti-Dwarven propoganda and piss-taking that has gone on for far too long.

When I first read LOTR I was struck by the taciturn dignity of the stone-tough Dwarves - then Warhammer seems to have turned them into pseudo-Scottish laughing-stocks and Jackson perpetuated that to a huge audience.

Its true, the story of Durin's Folk has a restrained, disciplined dignity to it. I guess that is why those episodes where their greed comes to the surface are so stark.

If Andy Serkis and Ian McKellan are in then we will probably see something of the search for Gollum and maybe some of the activities of the White Council.

I would very much like to see something about the Necromancer but the assault on Dol Guldur occurs at the same time as the events in The Hobbit. But then I would like to see something about the wars against Angmar and the destruction of the Northern Kingdom. Its very unlikely though.

 

[Cryozombie]

del Toro is an excellent director, I think this movie will be well done with him at the chair.

 

[FearlessFreep]

Interview with del Toro at TheOneRing.net

excerpt...

Fans are all abuzz about ‘The Second Film’, can you tell some of your plans for it?

GDT: You know, I traveled to New Zealand just a little while ago, and one of the main reasons for going was to sit down and talk about the second film. ‘The Hobbit’, the book, is really one self-contained film, so for the second movie we sat down and worked it out. When we did this we got really excited because this second film is not a ‘tag on’, it’s not ‘filler’, it’s an integral part of telling the story of those 50 years of history lost in the narrative. There will be certain things that we will see from the first movie but from a different point of view, but it will feel like a volume, in the 5 volumes of the entire story. It will not feel like a bridge, I’ve been hearing it called ‘a bridge film’, it’s not, it’s an integral chapter of the story, and I think we’re all on the same page.

 

[Sukerkin]

Mmmm ... {sniffs the future with anticipation} :tup:.

 

[Steel Tiger]

Well we shall see won't we? It is about 60 years of activity, and given the way they messed about with the timeline of LOTR... But 50 year old hobbit adventurers don't really appeal to the younger audience do they?

Whatever happens we should get a very different look at some of the lesser races of Middle earth. Bilbo did go off to the Lonely Mountain with a Dwarven jazz combo, and the elves of Mirkwood are rather nasty, and there's Beorn, and giant spiders and, oh, a Dragon!

And once these are done they can settle down are prepare for the nine (or maybe twelve) movie Silmarillion series.

 

[stickarts]

Now I have heard that they are taking about doing just The Hobbit and not the gap between the Hobbit and LOTR. The Hobbit may be split into two movies.

 

[zDom]

And once these are done they can settle down are prepare for the nine (or maybe twelve) movie Silmarillion series.

As the Silmarillion is a collection of stories, it would be easy enough to break it down into many movies.

• Creation/Fall of the House of Feanor

• The Beleriand Wars

• Turin

•*Beren and Luthien

etc.

Of course, there are some pretty touchy subjects woven in there — incest, for example ...

 

[stickarts]

As the Silmarillion is a collection of stories, it would be easy enough to break it down into many movies.

• Creation/Fall of the House of Feanor

• The Beleriand Wars

• Turin

•*Beren and Luthien

etc.

Of course, there are some pretty touchy subjects woven in there — incest, for example ...

Beren and Luthien could make a good movie. If The Hobbit makes Money (and you know it will), you know some kind of movie will follow.

 

[MA-Caver]

Well we shall see won't we? It is about 60 years of activity, and given the way they messed about with the timeline of LOTR... But 50 year old hobbit adventurers don't really appeal to the younger audience do they?

Whatever happens we should get a very different look at some of the lesser races of Middle earth. Bilbo did go off to the Lonely Mountain with a Dwarven jazz combo, and the elves of Mirkwood are rather nasty, and there's Beorn, and giant spiders and, oh, a Dragon!

That's the thing I'm worried about. The proper treatment of the lesser races (???) of Middle Earth (and just WHO are the higher ones??). Throughout LOTR Gimli the Dwarf was given a lot of one liners and pratfalls (couldn't stay on a horse to save his life) almost like comic relief. At times Reyes Davies did play him serious but also bungling. I don't recall any of that in the books (having just re-read them less than a month ago)... so I wonder if the dozen dwarves in the Hobbit are going to be a bunch of keystone cops or the dwarves in Time Bandits? True they kept finding themselves in one predicament after another but it was the stuff along their journey. Dunno, maybe I'm reading it wrong?
Will the Mirkwood Elves be a bunch of nasties? For LOTR it seemed they could do no wrong. But then I guess I could live for more than 1000 years and learn how NOT to do things the wrong way.
Beorn was an important character for the Hobbit and I hope he is given proper treatment.
Smaug will be very interesting indeed, also hoping that his portrayal won't be "over the top" in either nastiness or cunning or whatever.

Bilbo used the ring several times throughout the Hobbit. Whereas since it was used a few times to "not-bad-effect" in LOTR, seems to me that they'll need to have a way where it's easier (for the audience) to see the invisibility of Bilbo as he moves about since he wears it for prolonged periods, longer than Frodo did, sort of shimmering outline effect so we can better track his movements... particularly moving about Smaug's treasure trove and the Dwarves encampment.

Hopefully it'll all be done with the same amount of care and attention and love applied to LOTR's. The time span for the aforementioned film was indeed greatly compressed. For example Frodo and Sam wandered around Mordor for nearly a month trying to reach Mt. Doom, having been waylaid by the Orcs on their long march to the Black Gate. This was compressed down to about 5 minutes or less. Another example where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were in "3 days and nights pursuit" of the Orcs carrying Merry and Pippin, likewise compressed to about 5-10 minutes of film altogether til they reached the edges of Fangorn.

Not easy to do for sure but still well done and I heartily applaud the entire cast/crew for going back and re-shooting and extending scenes to make the expanded editions of each film. An obvious lesson learned by Jackson since the Hobbit will be broken down into two 2+ hour long features. Likewise one would expect the DVD versions to have their own expansions.

 

[zDom]

... so I wonder if the dozen dwarves in the Hobbit are going to be a bunch of keystone cops

That's kind of how they were written for the Hobbit, though (excepting the Thorin's end which was a somber hero's death — finally noble after being pompous for pretty much the entire book).

The Hobbit was a much different kind of book than LotR.

And in the Silmarillion, while they are definately more seriously written, they aren't really shown in a very favorable light most of the time, either ...

 

[Tez3]

That's the thing I'm worried about. The proper treatment of the lesser races (???) of Middle Earth (and just WHO are the higher ones??). Throughout LOTR Gimli the Dwarf was given a lot of one liners and pratfalls (couldn't stay on a horse to save his life) almost like comic relief. At times Reyes Davies did play him serious but also bungling. I don't recall any of that in the books (having just re-read them less than a month ago)... so I wonder if the dozen dwarves in the Hobbit are going to be a bunch of keystone cops or the dwarves in Time Bandits? True they kept finding themselves in one predicament after another but it was the stuff along their journey. Dunno, maybe I'm reading it wrong?
Will the Mirkwood Elves be a bunch of nasties? For LOTR it seemed they could do no wrong. But then I guess I could live for more than 1000 years and learn how NOT to do things the wrong way.
Beorn was an important character for the Hobbit and I hope he is given proper treatment.
Smaug will be very interesting indeed, also hoping that his portrayal won't be "over the top" in either nastiness or cunning or whatever.

Bilbo used the ring several times throughout the Hobbit. Whereas since it was used a few times to "not-bad-effect" in LOTR, seems to me that they'll need to have a way where it's easier (for the audience) to see the invisibility of Bilbo as he moves about since he wears it for prolonged periods, longer than Frodo did, sort of shimmering outline effect so we can better track his movements... particularly moving about Smaug's treasure trove and the Dwarves encampment.

Hopefully it'll all be done with the same amount of care and attention and love applied to LOTR's. The time span for the aforementioned film was indeed greatly compressed. For example Frodo and Sam wandered around Mordor for nearly a month trying to reach Mt. Doom, having been waylaid by the Orcs on their long march to the Black Gate. This was compressed down to about 5 minutes or less. Another example where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were in "3 days and nights pursuit" of the Orcs carrying Merry and Pippin, likewise compressed to about 5-10 minutes of film altogether til they reached the edges of Fangorn.

Not easy to do for sure but still well done and I heartily applaud the entire cast/crew for going back and re-shooting and extending scenes to make the expanded editions of each film. An obvious lesson learned by Jackson since the Hobbit will be broken down into two 2+ hour long features. Likewise one would expect the DVD versions to have their own expansions.

You are going to break a Welshmans heart! It's John Rhys-Davies who played Gimli!

 

[MA-Caver]

You are going to break a Welshmans heart! It's John Rhys-Davies who played Gimli!

*pouts* I got the last part o' th name spelt right. *pouts*

 

[Tez3]

*pouts* I got the last part o' th name spelt right. *pouts*

Lol! the Welsh are very fiery people more so than dwarves!

 

[Brian Jones]

Cymru Am Byth!