PJ On The Challenges of The Hobbit

In an interview with Total Film magazine, The Hobbit director Peter Jackson talked about the differences and challenges of directing The Hobbit compared with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The article isn't online but SpoilerTV has scans here and iO9 summarized the key parts (below).

"The Hobbit is very much a children's book and The Lord of the Rings is something else; it's not really aimed at children at all. I realized the characters of the dwarves are the difference. Their energy and disdain of anything politically correct brings a new kind of spirit to it. And that's why I thought, OK, this could be fun!"

"That was something I worried about. I imagined 13 guys with long hair and beards and I thought, 'How are we ever going to know which dwarf is which? It's an ensemble from hell really. I thought nine members of the Fellowship was a problem; but here, with Bilbo and Gandalf, we've got 15. It's working out fine though. The dwarves give it a kind of childish, comedic quality that gives us a very different tone from The Lord of the Rings."

"I want it to seem like we've gone back on location into Middle-earth; that these two movies feel like they belong at the beginning of the other three. We're the same filmmakers going into the same world."

When Bilbo and Gollum Meet

In an interview for Empire Magazine's current issue, Martin Freeman (Bilbo) and Andy Serkis (Gollum) talk about filming the first time Bilbo and Gollum meet in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and when Bilbo discovers a certain ring in the cave. The scene is essential the critical prequel moment for The Lord of the Rings trilogy as it explains how Bilbo gets the ring and why Gollum knows who the Baggins are.

Freeman: "In the normal run of things, there'd be quite a lot going on for me. I've got ears, the wig and the feet, which three more things than an actor normally has… But then I look over at the dwarves and see what they're lugging! They're absolute troopers."

Freeman: "It wasn’t in my orbit at all. I’m not sure it would have been very helpful if I’d always wanted to play Bilbo Baggins. I’d have come up against someone else’s vision. We’re taking the work seriously, but when we’re looking up at tennis balls that are meant to be trolls, it’s got to be fun."

Freeman: "The first thing I filmed was finding the ring in Gollum's cave. It's good to know, but not play, the importance of the Ring. I'm trying to put a bit more heaviness into it. It's not all comical."

Andy: "It was great for Martin to start off with that chamber piece. He could find Bilbo within the confines of a one-on-one scene. It was almost stranger for me: for the first couple of days it felt like I was doing an impersonation!"

(from ComicbookMovie via iO9)

The Hobbit Production Video #5

As promised by Peter Jackson, here is a Christmas gift for fans with The Hobbit Production Video #5 posted on his Facebook page. This edition explores the logistics of on location shooting as production moves all over New Zealand to film scenes. The is no minor task as for all intents this become a moving town as need to move all the cast and crew, make sure food and lodging is available, everything that is needed as far as props, costume, and makeup, and so much more. It is an immense undertaking but as the video shows as they arrive at Hobbiton, it is worth it.
Video #1 | Video #2 | Video #3 | Video #4

Peter Jackson Teases Christmas Treat

In his latest post on his official facebook page, Peter Jackson has teased a Christmas treat for Lord of the Rings fans.

Hi everyone! This year is the tenth anniversary of the release of The Fellowship of the Ring, and we wanted to give the fans a Christmas treat ahead of the release of the two Hobbit movies in Dec 2012 and 2013. Stay tuned for more. Cheers!

What do you think it could be?

AICN's The Hobbit Set Report Part 6

Quint has posted the latest in his occasional series of reports (links below) from the New Zealand sets of The Hobbit from his several months long visit. This addition continues his experience at NZ's North Island, specifically Ohakune where Mount Ruapelu is. The mountain was used as portions of Mount Doom but I suspect here it is being used for portions of Smaug's mountain stronghold. As a sign of respect to the Ngati Uenuku and Ngati Rangi tribes who hold the mountain sacred (and gave permission to film there), the cast and crew participated in a ceremony on their off day. A wooded area near the mountain, Ohakune Beech Paddock, was used for a horseback ride scene as the company of Bilbo, dwarves and Gandalf just outside of The Shire including a moment of Bilbo being deposited on his horse by two dwarves. To read the full details on the ceremony, more into how the scene was put together along with a look at crew member Jared Connon, the supervising location manager (aka hunter of awesome locations for the movie) click here.

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

The Hobbit Trailer Screenshots, Breakdown

Yesterday the first trailer for The Hobbit: An Expected Journey was released. Now here is the opportunity to pick it apart as another site did better then I would. The One Ring has posted 100 screenshots here. Meanwhile, Bleeding Cool has their gallery but with added commentary to put some of the images in context with what limited news has leaked from production. That can be found here. As a bonus, here is wallpaper (below), it was created by Adam (thanks!) using a moment from the trailer. Usually right clicking over the image will give you the option to either save it or set it as wallpaper.

Update: TheOneRing has now posted their own very detailed frame-by-frame breakdown of the trailer here.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Trailer #1 & Poster

The first teaser trailer and poster for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has officially been released. Trailer and poster below or click here to view. The official website has launched as well. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is expected to hit theaters worldwide on December 14, 2012.

First Lego Lord of the Rings Box Sets Revealed

Just a few days ago it was announced that Lego would be releasing officially licensed Lego sets based on the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies in Summer 2012. Thanks to Bricktuts.com we don't have to wait to long to get a taste. They have preview images of some of the upcoming sets and details on the mini-figs they will contain with more in the works. Based on these images it looks like Lego will duplicate their design patterns from the Harry Potter sets with attention to location and specific scenes instead of what they did with Star Wars which focuses on the vehicle designs. The box images can be found here.

• "9469 Gandalf Arrives” - Minifigures: Gandalf, Frodo
• “9470 Shelob Attacks” - Minifigures: Samwise, Frodo, Gollum
• “9471 Uruk-hai Army” - Minifigures: x4 Uruk-hai with a siege crossbow, x1 Rohirrim Soldier, x1 Rider Of Rohan with his horse
• “9472 Attack On Weathertop” - Minifigures: Samwise, Frodo, Aragon, x2 Nazgul
• “9473 Mines Of Moria” - Minifigures: Frogo, Gimli, Legolas, Boromir, x2 Goblins, x2 Skeletons, Cave Troll
• “9474 The Battle Of Helms Deep” - Minifigures: Aragon, Gimli, Legolas, Theoden, x5 Uruk-hai

Image removed at request of a representative of Lego

Freeman Feels No Pressure Playing Bilbo

In an interview for the current issue of Total Film Magazine, Martin Freeman comments on the lack of pressure he films playing the iconic role in the long awaited films.

"I honestly don’t feel that pressure, no. I really, really don’t. Of course, it is Bilbo’s journey, but I didn’t write it. I’m not directing it… It’s not my film. It’s Peter’s film. The hardest thing is staying ‘up’ and peppy when you’re covered in snot or mud, day after day… I’m sure there’s more to come. So far, what we’ve filmed has been more comic than heavy. I keep asking Pete [Jackson], ‘When are we going heavy?’ He assures me it’s coming!"

The first teaser trailer for the films is expected to hit online tomorrow at 10PM EST.

Stephen Fry Talks The Master of Laketown

While making the rounds to promote Sherlock Holmes, Stephen Fry talked a little bit about his role as the Master of Laketown for The Hobbit films in the video below from Digital Spy. In short the character is a cowardly bully and disgusting. He also briefly talks about Laketown which is set in the middle of the lake on stilts at the base of the mountain where Smaug the Dragon and his treasure resides (the goal destination of Bilbo and the Dwarves).

The Evolution of Gollum

In an interview with MovieWeb, Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Letteri spoke about the changes made to Gollum since The Lord of the Rings trilogy and his return for The Hobbit films. The main thing is where before the motion capture had to be done on a tightly controlled sound stage, now it can be done where ever the actor needs to be.

"Without getting into what he is going to look like on screen, and everything, because we are saving that...Technically, what has been good about this, is that we did Gollum the first time around, and it was the first time that we were doing performance capture in a film. But we couldn't record on the stage. Andy was performing with all of the other actors. But then he would have to come out, and do his performance again on a motion capture stage. We would fit the two together. He would mimic his first performance, and we would put it in with the other actors.

Hobbit Teaser Online Release Tuesday, Confirmed With TinTin

The official Warner Bros twitter account has confirmed that The Hobbit teaser trailer will be attached to the Adventures of TinTin when it is released on 12/21. They wrote "Get your 1st look at the return to Middle-earth on 12/21 when the trailer for #TheHobbit: An Unexpected Journey plays before @Tintin_Movie!" However, keep in mind that while WB can stress for theatres to air the trailer with the movie, it doesn't mean that theaters will so no guarantees you will see it with the movie.

Having said that, USA Today is reporting that, "A 15-minute satellite feed of the trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will stream at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the night of Dec. 20 and again the following day at 9 a.m. ET/PT." Not really sure what this means. The trailer is 2.5 minutes long, so not sure if 15 minute long stream will meam the trailer just loops for 15 minutes or possibly some kind of introduction interview or the like will occur. Guess we will find out next week. As for the image above, that comes from Empire Magazine's 2012 preview which will be on shelves soon.

Official Lego Lord of the Rings, Hobbit Products Coming Summer 2012

Lego has expanded its movie properties empire by snagging one of the biggest there is. It started with Star Wars, expanded to Harry Potter, Batman and more. Today Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Lego have announced that coming in the summer of 2012 will be play sets based on The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit movies. As the image shows, the mini-fig figures alone might make the sets worth it. No details on what the play sets will be based on but I imagine at some point they will cover all the major sets and locations from Middle Earth. If the fan creations are any indication, the sky is the limit. The official website for this new line of Lego is here. Press release after the break.

The Hobbit Teaser Trailer Description

Thanks to TheOneRing's Duff Man, below is the description of The Hobbit teaser trailer that is expected to be attached to Peter Jackson produced The Adventures of TinTin that hits US theatres on December 21st. I assume it will also be made available online a few days before.

Starts with Bilbo (Ian Holm!!) talking to Frodo (Elijah Wood) at Bag End about his “adventures” and how he didn’t tell him everything.

Shows Gandalf making his proposition to young Bilbo and introducing all 13 dwarves by name as it cuts to each.

Bilbo protests of course, because Bagginses belong at Bag End.

The “big” scene is the dwarves, led by Thorin, singing a long slow song. I didn’t catch all the words, but I have to assume it’s from the book. Very ominous tone.

Lots of images in a montage, of travelling and fighting. I think I saw some goblins, and maybe some troll legs, but it went by quickly. Some creepy ruins–looked almost like Moria, but without the majesty. I wasn’t sure if it was underground in the goblin stronghold or something else. Dol Guldur?

Exactly One Year to The Hobbit Brings Official Synopsis

In exactly one year from today, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released to theaters everywhere. As a small way to mark the occasion, MGM has issued a press release that provides a plot summary and mentions the various cast and crew returning from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Of interest is the emphasis put on the meeting between Bilbo Baggins and Gollum that leads to the discovery of the One Ring. In the book, the meeting and finding of the ring only covered about a chapter in the novel and was treated as just a step of the overall adventure. The ring itself was just a useful tool for Bilbo, with no mention or even hints of its greater purpose (likely because the Tolkien had not thought of it at the time). It seems the movie may give it greater weight and time.

Cumberbatch on Playing Smaugh and More

Benedict Cumberbatch is having a hell of a year. After the premiere of Sherlock at the beginning of the year, he suddenly became a much sought after actor. The result is he in critically acclaimed movie Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and soon Steven Spielberg's War Horse. Season 2 of Sherlock will premiere on New Year's Day and he will start the new year filming the role that will potentially take him to a new level of stardom with Smaug The Dragon for the two Hobbit films.

In the video from Collider, he talks about his recent roles and at the 3:45 point he talks about the Smaug role. He mentions how he is physicalizing the role (aka much like how Andy Serkis did Gollum) and how he is exercising to prep for the role. Spoiler wise not a whole lot of info but continues to make me intrigued on how a human is going to be "acting" the role of a dragon. In the past it was just facial expressions but apparently Peter Jackson plans on moving this to the next level.

A Hobbit House for a Tolkien Collection

A J.R.R. Tolkien fan took his collection to the next logical (if expensive) step by building his own Hobbit House to contain his huge J.R.R. Tolkien collection. In a report from CNN Money, the home owner Vince Donovan talks about his Tolkien collection along with the research and work done in building the home along with some of the touches that was included to create a beautiful home that any Hobbit fan would probably love to have. The full video report can be found below. (via Consumerist)