[Epic Movie] The Hobbit: Part 1 (coming December 2012)

I thought that was just a friendly greeting.

I'm really interested in the involvement of the consulting artists. Alan Lee seems to be the more well-known. They also had John Howe but he doesn't seem to be given as much credit. Anybody know why?

 

I hate Trumotion too. It completely pulls me out of whatever I'm watching. I think there's a line where too much detail is a bad thing.

 

I hate that look too. Fortunately on most new TVs you can turn that 'smoothing' feature off.

 

I hate the motion flow effect. It looks like a home video rather than a movie. It's pretty much a standard feature on any tv but it's definitely something you can turn off on all of them.

 

The fact that it's being filmed at 48fps is actually one of the things I'm looking forward to. It's going to be a new experience. I really think it will help the 3D look better. I really hate the judder of 24 fps especially on panning shots.

It will take some getting used to, but personally I'm looking forward to it.

 

Description of the 10minute preview. SPOILERS!!!

Click here for the full article, including 48fps review.

Some juicy stuff in here, and some major changes from the novel.

Spoiler

CHOCK FULL OF SURPRISES
**SPOILERS BEGIN HERE**

Aside from several seconds of familiar content seen in the teaser trailer from last winter, the clips quickly hit brand new territory:

The White Council featuring Saruman, Gandalf, Galadriel and Elrond.
This showed Sir Christopher Lee in front of greenscreen, looking at the table where Gandalf has just placed a Morgul blade. Urgent discussion ensues about the nature of the weapon, and a luminous Cate Blanchett gets the lion’s share of the expository dialogue. She explains how the Men of the North once battled against the Witch-King of Angmar, and succeeded in burying him in a spell-protected crypt, “so dark and deeply buried it would never see light again.” Gandalf raises his eyebrows as if to say, “It’s right here now, so never say never.” Hugo Weaving provides the deep-voiced “But that’s impossible!” incredulity of the scene while the faintest flicker of wickedness passes across Saruman’s face. I loved it! Intrigue and nervousness among the White Council… sounds great except it doesn’t exist in J.R.R. Tolkien like that. Nowhere in the books did the Dúnedain show the ability to imprison the Nazgûl. This is our first evidence of the filmmakers’ applying new narrative invention within material culled from the Appendices of LOTR. We evidently won’t see the Battle of Fornost or hear Glorfindel’s famous prophecy being uttered about the Witch-King’s ultimate fate, as his dark enemy flees into the distance. So be prepared to tell your non-Tolkien reading friends what really happened with the Nazgûl.

Cut to the prison-crypt, where Gandalf is investigating in the dark, using only his staff as a light source, and then BAM! there’s Radagast right behind him. Here is the wonderful Sylvester McCoy giving us a daftly adorable new wizard. Strange that Radagast is not shown as a member of the White Council, though. Setting that aside, I must admit McCoy’s portrayal, along with Martin Freeman’s wonderful Bilbo, are the two performances I most admire so far.

Radagast? Oh let me tell you, he’s just got so much going on! He is wearing a funnily-shaped hat with dominant brown and black hues, underneath which is revealed a bird’s nest with hatchlings making a mess all in his hair and beard! McCoy brings a disarming, childlike quality to the character. As Gandalf whips around to see who is sneaking up on him, he exhales rather irritated, “Oh, it’s you,” followed by Radagast’s frightened admission that the crypt they’re standing in “is not a nice place to meet.” He also has a glowing crystal piece in his staff, and leaning over the vertical shaft, they both look down over the edge, as Gandalf counts a total of nine tombs, all with their spells broken and bars ripped.

I’m not remembering these clips in the correct order they were shown, but we also see a brief shot of Radagast being pulled along the forest floor in a sled drawn by mighty grey jackrabbits! I kid you not, it was a ramshackle version of an Iditarod dogsled, made of twisted branches and bracken, pulled by six or seven oversized rabbits. I think it was Radagast, but he went by so fast — what other character could it be? And this point the filmmakers are making a complete departure from Tolkien but it honestly doesn’t bother me. I like the idea that the writers and WETA’s clever artists can come up with something wholly new. It seems quite silly on paper, but it’s also whimsical enough to fit in nicely with the tone of The Hobbit book. It’s definitely no sillier than a line-up of farm animals setting up a feast and doing catering service in Beorn’s house, is it?

I believe this Radagast will be a most memorable character that moviegoers love to love. I think he’s an innovation for this story. Can’t wait to see more of McCoy in this role.

Riddles in the Dark with Sméagol/Gollum and Bilbo
This is where Martin Freeman really has a few minutes to shine. But it’s insane to think anyone can outshine Andy Serkis in the perfection of his Gollum creation. Mr. Freeman holds his own and it’s a wonderful characterization of a new Hobbit we have never quite seen. This Bilbo Baggins doesn’t remind me of Merry or Pippin, even though he has a light comedic touch. He certainly isn’t like Sam or Frodo, and the Baggins’ sense of adventure is written in his eyes in subtle ways. Yes, I can see those kinds of details at 48 fps.

How does Gollum look ten years later? Have the digital animation master at WETA created something new? Well, in this writer’s opinion, Gollum looks really fantastic, but not like a reinvented wheel. He is the very familiar and pitiable Gollum we already know/love/hate. He and the other CGI creations fare very well with the enhanced clarity of this higher frame rate. These two most classic of Tolkien’s characters engage in a bizarre moment of competing desires to eat raw flesh versus the desire to escape alive, all handled with a funny light touch. Expect this Riddle Game to be a standout episode in the first installment.

The Trolls – Tom, Bert and Bill – all with dialogue!
The sequence with Bilbo trying to pickpocket a massive Stone Troll is another highlight that was given a more minutes of continuous screening time before cutting to other shots. We have seen the statues of the Trolls in THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, especially in the Extended Edition, and now they are finally alive and moving — and *speaking!* They have heavy Cockney accents and, as expected, are quite brutish and primarily motivated by hunger. Still don’t know the names of the voice actors providing the richly funny and Tolkien-true performances. The digital compositing of Bilbo against the larger-scale Trolls wasn’t exactly cleaned and finished, but it’s really impressive when the camera moves overhead to let the audience pretend they’re sitting on a branch watching the mayhem below. The birds-eye view helps the trick of scale, methinks. Here, however, the Dwarves do not run fleeing into the bushes as in the book, but come charging forward in a brave attempt to rescue their comrade. Kili makes the first decisive stroke against one of the Troll’s calf-muscles, and then we see Thorin chopping relentlessly at their feet, screaming “DROP HIM!” which they do. We do not see the Gandalf “BE STONE TO YOU” moment.

Gandalf in Dol Guldur with Thráin
This was just a little bit of this material, but it leads up to the stuff from the teaser trailer. Gandalf was skulking about in Dol Guldur’s dungeon level (this is the closest we will ever get to sounding like an exact description of a Dungeons & Dragons module) acting very much like he is being followed. Trying to elude the unseen pursuer in the dark passageways, the grey wizard twists about in every direction, still not seeing his foe. Then there’s a horror-movie JUMP! moment when Thráin pounces on Gandalf. No other dialogue or follow-up, it was over as fast as that. What I’d really like to see is the moment where the crazed-from-torture Thráin actually calms down enough to give Gandalf the key and map!

Legolas and Tauriel in an action sequence and a tense threat to Thorin!
I witnessed the whole Company of Dwarves struggling through Mirkwood forest, greenscreen everywhere, and most obviously covered with spiderwebs and goo. Their run through the forest is abruptly cut short with an arrow in Thorin’s face. It is rather reminiscent of the bit in FELLOWSHIP where Haldir and his team bring weapons to bear against Frodo. Too bad I didn’t see anything of the new Tauriel character played by Evangeline Lilly — except one swooping action shot where she slides cowboy-style across the ground with her bow drawn and ready to fire… Fans have asked only one question about this invented character: what does she look like? Well, brown is what she looks like. I mean, she is sporting the same outfit we’ve seen Legolas wear but not green. Her hair is not blonde, actually she seems to be the first chestnut brown-haired Elf we have yet seen in PJ’s adaptations. Orlando Bloom makes a triumphant return to the role of Legolas spitting out a venomous threat to Thorin: “I won’t hesitate to kill you, Dwarf.” I’ve never heard Legolas sound quite so pissed off. It’s really, really cool.

 

New production diary video out. Couldn't find it on youtube, but it's on Peter Jackson's Facebook page here!

 

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Wow. Some people just have great story reading voices. Awesome.

 

Have you seen Cumberbatch as Sherlock, in the BBC show? He's a great actor.

Cumberbatch and Morgan Freeman should have a narration-off. I'd pay to see that.

 

I heard about the show but haven't watched yet. Will have to. Are they on Netflix?

 

the first season is (first 3 films)

 

They are great. You should watch them. The best sherlock movies i have seen.

 

Some Comic-Con Videos.

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PJ doesn't look as awesome without the T-Shirt, big beard and nerd glasses.

 

GAWD I cannot wait for this. The LOTR Trilogy is close to perfect as you'll get

 

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Gives me chills. Can't wait. It's gonna be epic for sure.