Entertainment Weekly has posted the first official look at the lovely Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel who will appear in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaugh this December. The red-headed elf is a creation of Peter JAckson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens to basically add a female to a cast this almost wall to wall male. Evangeline describes the character to the magazine.
"She’s slightly reckless and totally ruthless and doesn’t hesitate to kill. Tauriel is the head of the Elven Guard. She’s a Sylvan Elf, which means she’s of a much lower order than the elves we all became acquainted with in The Lord of the Rings. She doesn’t hold the same kind of status that Arwen or Galadriel or Elrond or Legolas do — she’s much more lowly. She sort of goes against the social order of the elves a little bit. She will definitely have a love story. I can’t give away too much about it. It’s not a huge focus but it is there and it is important and it does drive Tauriel and her story and her actions.
"Tauriel’s relationship with Legolas is significant. They’ve known each other since they were children, and Legolas’ dad, [Elven king] Thranduil, has a soft spot for Tauriel and sees something very special in her. So if you grow up side by side, and your dad has a very special spot in his heart for this young woman who’s a fantastic warrior, I think it’s hard not to notice her. That’s probably as much as I can say."
"I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are going to be people who will totally hate Tauriel, think that she shouldn’t be in the movie, that it’s a betrayal of Tolkien, and no matter what I do it won’t be right. There will be everything between that and people who adore her and think it’s such a fun thing to have added to the film. I kind of got prepped for that being on Lost, because we had avid fans who were really extreme in their feelings about the show and its characters. But I think if anyone knows how to respect Tolkien, it’s Peter, Fran and Phil. And Tauriel fits perfectly in that world."
Entertainment Weekly has posted the first official look at the lovely Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel who will appear in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaugh this December. The red-headed elf is a creation of Peter JAckson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens to basically add a female to a cast this almost wall to wall male. Evangeline describes the character to the magazine.
From what I see in the teaser, Tauriel looks great. Though I can see why some people worry, Im starting to feel more positive the more I read and see of her. Even the fact that Legolas is there gets some criticism from some Tolkien "extremists", even though he definetly would have been there at the time. Of course he would be present and possibly involved, he's the kings son, and Tolkien would very probably have mentioned him, as well as other characters along the way if he'd had the full LOTR plot in mind.
ReplyDeleteTauriel looks like a true Tolkien-elf, I like her pose and energy, and she seems wise. Possibly her differing opinions and wisdom is an element that will enrich the story. In my opinion it is much more plausible to introduse Tauriel in "The Hobbit", than it was when they planned a lager and more active role for Arwen -LOTR originally has little room for that, and I am glad the warrior image was toned down -to me it seemed out of place and out of character, though Tolkien says nowhere that Arwen couldn't handle a sword if she had to. And in any case I don't think it's ever fair to take any frustrations out on the actor for the decisions of the director. The internet mobbing of Liv Tyler was disgraceful, and I hope we shall see nothing of the sort this time around no matter how Tauriel turns out. Being passionate does not (in my world) legetimize verbal abuse.
"The Hobbit" as a book is much less detailed than LOTR, but the scale of what's going on at the same time as Bilbo's great adventure is huge. As a 3x3 hr epic trilogy, Im sure Bilbo's screen time will be perfectly sufficient, even when spending some time on things that are not detailed in the original book. Surely it will not wreak such havoc to have a couple more characters than those named by the author. This is fantasy after all,and as long as it enriches the story and helps illuminate the backdrop, Im all in.
I don't think it's a bad idea to give Legolas a more detailed background, including an opportunity to get to know this rather under described character better - and why not though interactions with a friend as well as his father, seeing his home Mirkwood - details that we again can add to our experience when re-watching LOTR. The same way that it's fun to know that Gimli is the son of Gloin, one of the surviving dwarves of the company, and that when he scoffs at elves, we know he has his fathers account of their experiences in Mirkwood in mind! I like that!
So I have decided to like both Tauriel and her actor - until proven otherwise. And as I love Tolkien-elves; the more the merrier I say! :-D