In a 13 page feature on ex-Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro, The New Yorker magazine offers some tasty morsels concerning Guillermo’s vision for Smaug, directly from the director’s own notebook.
But, fans please do remember, del Toro left the production after this interview was granted and things have likely changed. He is repeatedly on the record as supporting whatever decisions Peter Jackson and crew make after his departure and he is one of the two-film production’s biggest fans. Just remember to read the story in that context.
*Possible Spoiler Alert!*
I paused at what looked like an image of a double-bitted medieval hatchet. “That’s Smaug,” del Toro said. It was an overhead view: “See, he’s like a flying axe.” Del Toro thinks that monsters should appear transformed when viewed from a fresh angle, lest the audience lose a sense of awe. Defining silhouettes is the first step in good monster design, he said. “Then you start playing with movement. The next element of design is color. And then finally—finally—comes detail. A lot of people go the other way, and just pile up a lot of detail.”
The article is a marvelous read, so we aren’t going to just copy and paste the good stuff. That just wouldn’t be right! Jump over to The New Yorker’s website for the complete article and more juicy details, including Del Toro’s vision of Thorin. [Full Article]
From GameSpot.com (thanks to QuackingTroll for the link!) We speak to Ruth Tomandl at Snowblind to see how Tolkien’s world comes together in this upcoming action role-playing game.
In our last couple of visits to Middle-earth, we were struck by how much more brutal the action has been recently. It is interesting that this is the first time Warner Bros. has been able to use the rights to Tolkien’s books in conjunction with Peter Jackson’s movie trilogy. Another feature to point out is that this action role-playing game features a strong cooperative element as you delve into Middle-earth’s violent conflict. We spoke to Ruth Tomandl about Lord of the Rings: War in the North to find out more about the story, the added features, and what the game has in store for fans of the lore. More..
One Ringer sends this in: There’s going to be a trilogy screening in Toronto, Ontario on February 5th at the Scotiabank Theatre. It begins at 12:00 noon. [FOTR] [TTT] [ROTK]
In a nutshell: no. In the early stages of their collaboration, PJ and GDT planned to film the events in the book The Hobbit as a stand-alone movie, with a second movie, or ‘bridge move’ as it became known, used to address events outside of the primary storyline of The Hobbit, continuing to where the Lord of the Rings movies pick up the story again. Fairly early on, however, they confirmed that it made much more sense to film the storyline of The Hobbit over the span of two films, addressing events outside the story at the same time. ill span both films. PJ: “We just decided it would be a mistake to cram everything into one movie.”
The latest episode of Hobbit in 5 is online! Take a look! Lord of the Rings and Hobbit contests announced. Hobbit casting and character studies all available in this week’s episode of Hobbit in 5. Hobbit in 5 features the week’s top Hobbit production news courtesy of the TheOneRing.net…all within five minutes time.
In a 13 page feature on ex-Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro, The New Yorker magazine offers some tasty morsels concerning Guillermo’s vision for Smaug, directly from the director’s own notebook.
