Cremorne Orpheum Theatre, Sydney Australia – Wednesday 1st May, 2013
Introduced by: Chris Murray (Creative Director Popcorn Taxi)
Hosted by: Oscar Hillerstrom from Popcorn Taxi
by: Deleece Cook on behalf of theOneRing.net

The cheering began as soon as Popcorn Taxi’s Chris Murray walked out on stage to open the event. There wasn’t a spare seat to be had at The Orpheum Theatre at Cremorne for the exclusive screening of The Hobbit and the live on Stage Q&A appearance with Richard Armitage.

700 smiling excited Thorin Fans were in the audience – and they had come from all over Australia for the event – this is what they had been waiting for hours to see. And it didn’t disappoint. It was a wonderful night of entertainment and surprises – Richard was a talkative guest; relaxed, smiling and laughing through the interview and he tried as best as he could to answer every question put to him from the fans, and from the host Oscar Hillerstrom.

Here’s how the night went – plenty of laughter and cheering and just a great vibe all round!…

Chris Murray: “Good Evening! Do I need to ask how you’re doing? Um, I’ve never been to an underwear sale at David Jones but I suppose this is the closest thing. Ladies and Gentlemen my name is Chris Murray and I am the Creative Director of Popcorn Taxi. It gives me no greater pleasure and enormous privilege to have you here tonight to see on the big screen The Hobbit. But not only that I know why you’re here… Richard Armitage on that seat ladies and Gentlemen”

Mad applause.

Chris Murray:  “Yes, you get the chance to ask him questions – I get the chance to curl into a small ball and rock backwards and forwards in the corner.”

More laughter… Then Chris laid down some house rules regarding soft toys and portraits not coming anywhere near the stage, but he mentioned nicely that questions were welcomed from the audience.
Then the first surprise of the night was announced…

Chris Murray: We are celebrating a fantastic film, and that film is out on Blu-ray and DVD today (mad applause)… “Yes! You should buy it! Warner Bros will love me! But, what’s not on that Blu-ray and what’s not on that DVD is what I’m about to play for you now. We have 12 minutes of a little behind the scenes that you will not see anywhere else. (lots of gasps) After that, you’ll get to meet Mr Richard Armitage.

Mad cheering!

Chris Murray: So enjoy the 12 minutes and relax – get the wetness out of the seats – whatever works for you – and I’ll be back! Please enjoy this event.

The sound of the cheering audience was amazing! Then silence. The lights lowered and the huge screen lit up… and then there was Peter…

Peter Jackson: “You want the Hobbit to be a visual experience that goes several steps beyond Lord of The Rings”

And that familiar drone of singing Dwarves speaking of “Pines and Mountains cold” echoed through the theatre – every eye was glued to the screen… it was more than 12 minutes of magic!

The film covered races and character that we see in the An Unexpected Journey – with snippets of comments from the actors and crew members. It shortly gave a brief explanation of the storyline and highlighted some of the production values and costuming as well.

In no particular order – Here are just some of the presenters on the clip, and what they had to say…
____
Peter Jackson: “When we made Lord of the Rings I was absolutely sure that was going to be a once in a lifetime experience. I never realized that ten years later I’d be doing it all over again – and we actually shot the 266 days on The Hobbit which was exactly the same number of days we shot on Lord of The Rings, so I’ve sort of done the once in a lifetime experience twice now (laughs) not a third time – there won’t be a third time”

Peter Jackson: “10 years ago it was Ian playing the character of Gandalf and no one had seen any of the movies, and now that’s an iconic figure. That’s Gandalf.”

Peter Jackson: “The same creative talent. 20 or 30 of the most senior people were Lord of The Rings veterans”

Peter Jackson: “The thing that’s so incredible about Martin is that he’s always exploring, he’s experimenting, he’s always trying to figure out where Bilbo’s truth is”

Peter Jackson: “One of the scary things about adapting The Hobbit is the fact that there’s 13 dwarves – and differentiating those characters was important.”

Philippa Boyens: “I remember the day when I knew we were back in Middle-Earth. I walked over to the costume room and there was Gandalf. And I suddenly thought… We’re Back.”

Philippa Boyens: (about Dwarves): “In the end Pete fell in love with each and every one of those characters. And as much as there is a little bit of Dwarf in Peter I think there’s a little bit of Peter in all those Dwarves.”

John Howe: “I imagine that Peter will do for Dwarves what he did for Elves because he is going to give them much more density, much more history.”

Martin Freeman: (talking about his character Bilbo) “… We join Bilbo as the book of The Hobbit does, as a home faring solitary Hobbit. …certain things struck me about him suggested a certain timidity and a lot of life…”

Elijah Wood: “You’ll get taken on an amazing ride”

Elijah Wood: “To have a chance to return, pop a wig on and feet it kind of feels like I’ve stepped into a time machine. And I get to meet all of these other actors who are coming along for the real long journey and sort of seeing in them a little bit of what we felt like when we started”

Elijah Wood: “A seed is being planted for what eventually comes the time period that we meet in Lord of The Rings”.

Christopher Lee: “Middle Earth seems to be just beginning to rumble and tumble”

Christopher Lee: “The White Council – they represent enormous power. There’s suspicion amongst all of them that there’s this building power of evil – getting stronger and stronger!”

Cate Blanchett: (on Gandalf in the film): “What makes Gandalf the most wonderful hero is the courage against popular opinion. He gets to move on into the darkness that no one else is prepared to go into.”

Hugo Weaving: “Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman, they play a role in eliminating those [forces?] from the political landscape.”

Ian McKellen: (on his character Gandalf regarding the appendices) “ Gandalf in The Hobbit; he is off and away doing other business and quite what that is, is not revealed in the novel. In the films we get to see what Gandalf was up to.”

Ian McKellen: “It’s magic. It’s pure magic. And you’ll believe it.”

The sound of the Dwarves was heard and the film ended with the audience cheering and clapping once more.

Then it was time for Richard Armitage to grace the Stage…

This week on Main the current Middle-earth Conspiracy Theory is asking us, “So why did Tom Bombadil keep himself apart from the wider world anyway?” Share your views here.

On Hobbit Movie board, Roheryn leads us in a look back at our early reactions to the announcement of the cast of The Hobbit. Some funny, some insightful and some just downright weird, join us as we look back here.

Over on Off Topic we remembered the second anniversary of the devastating Christchurch earthquake with our ChCh TORnsibs, “River of Flowers 22 February”.

We’ll share more topics next week and we hope you will come and join in the conversations!  Don’t forget, TheOneRing.net’s message boards have over 9,400 registered Tolkien fans, just like you.  Let your voice be heard!

Peter Jackson tells Nöjesbladet: We’ll bring him in [for] more scenes

On 12 December, “The Hobbit” premieres in Sweden. But Mikael Persbrandt’s character Beorn won’t appear till next year.

“You’ll have to wait for film two to see him”, says Peter Jackson. “I look forward to it in the second film.”

Already the director, Peter Jackson, is looking forward to the sequel — and working more with Mikael Persbrandt. “He has created an extremely strong character,” he says.

For those who read “The Hobbit” it’s no surprise. Bilbo, Gandalf and 13 dwarves embark on a journey where they encounter many adventures in different places. About halfway into the book, they come to Beorn and his house. There are a few important scenes before the party moves on. At the end of the story, Beorn has a large and very important role.

As long as it was two movies, the meeting with Beorn was in the first. Now it’s moving to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

What can we expect?

“The story definitely has a lot of Beorn in the second and third movie. Mikael is a fantastic actor, absolutely wonderful. We will bring him back here for us to record more scenes for the third film next year. He is so good. Beorn’s the kind of character you want to write more material for”, says Peter Jackson.

The actors talk about Mikael Persbrandt:

Martin Freeman (Bilbo): “He is very good. I wish I had more scenes with him. He was popular among us actors. He is very funny. It would have been fun to play more against him. We hung out a lot. He went back and forth a lot to New Zealand.”

Ian McKellen (Gandalf): “God bless him! Micke was fantastic. I enjoyed being with him. Because his heart is in the theater, like mine, we had a lot to talk about. I hope to see him again soon. I admire him as an actor working in a language other than their mother tongue. Not easy. But Micke speaks English very well. It must be hard to travel back and forth as much as he had do.”

Andy Serkis (Gollum): “He is amazing. The scenes I directed him in, he was extremely bold. He is a very brave actor. He jumped right into it. Technically very interesting things, that he can shift between humans and bears.”

When Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth approximately a decade after Lord of the Rings, our very own Mikael Persbrandt is onboard to play Beorn. Recently, the two movies became three and several of the actors are being called back for re-shoots. Persbrandt is among them.

The character Beorn, portraied by Mikael Persbrandt in Peter Jackson’s trilogy about The Hobbit, is a man who can turn himself into a bear. He’s on the good side, and on the first official picture of Beorn you can see him next to Ian McKellen’s Gandalf.

Introducing and differentiating thirteen different dwarves to a wider audience most likely unfamiliar with the Hobbit and its ultra-beardy cast was critical for Peter Jackson. So Jackson used an entire trailer for the task.

But, because that trailer was so light on plot, we’ve been wondering ever since what degree of fidelity the story will possess and exactly how it might unfold.

The EW storybook addresses this at a single stroke. EW isn’t calling it a storybook, but that’s what Jackson has created. A gorgeously illustrated storybook that guides us through the key points of The Hobbit.

Read on for a spoiler-filled scene-by-scene review of The Hobbit — storytime with Peter Jackson!

Using a storybook at this point is a master-stroke. It’s just perfect.

What better way to convey the core story of the adaptation of a favourite fairytale than through something that in itself resembles a children’s storybook? The only thing it doesn’t do is pop-up.

The good: in the broad-brush it’s full of reassurance for readers who love The Hobbit! The not-so-good: occasional inconsistencies over details and puzzling questions about the Dol Guldur sub-plot.

It makes me think that, as much as the trailer was for people who don’t know The Hobbit, this storybook is for the people who DO.

And it makes me think of a quote from EW’s magazine article, though perhaps I am slightly misusing the context here.

“It will all make sense,” director Peter Jackson promises Tolkien purists.

That’s still a bit optimistic right now, but what are the elements that give us cause to feel reassured that there will be significant fidelity in the adaptation?

For starters, the EW storybook progresses very fluidly from beginning to end, almost exclusively following the events of Tolkien’s The Hobbit up until the end of chapter 9, Barrels out of Bond.

As we break-down each scene you might also like to grab this mega-large, 8,800-pixel-long version for your desktop (warning: 2.5mb file) from Cinescopia.

Scene 1. Bag End.

Bilbo’s grand adventure, of course, begins at Bag End when Gandalf shows up one afternoon and scribes a mark on Bilbo’s “beautiful, green door”. The pipe is a nod to the smoke rings that Tolkien uses as a prop for the opening scenes.

Some details are askew: Gandalf stops for a pipe; the door has a G-rune carved on it; and that’s almost certainly Glamdring that his right hand is resting upon. But the stormclouds and Gandalf’s frown are like a metaphorical marker that Bilbo’s world is about to be turned upside-down.

Scene 2. The Unexpected Party.

Pies, cakes and pastries galore and huge mugs of ale. And in the middle, Bilbo looking like a proud homeowner at being able to serve up such a feast at a moment’s notice.

I’m minded of a line from Gandalf to Thorin from Unfinished Tales: “Food is perhaps at present [Bilbo's] main interest. He keeps a very good larder, I am told, and maybe more than one. At least you will be well entertained.”

Scene 3. Roast Mutton.

Thorin and Bilbo are the last ones standing when the company tries to procure a bite to eat from a trio of trolls. Note some of the dwarves trussed up around a giant steaming cauldron. In the background, three trolls ready an ambush. Gandalf is nowhere to be seen.

Detail: Thorin is armed with his “dwarven” weapon, not Orcrist. It’s a good hint that he’ll claim the famed sword of Gondolin from the troll-hoard. I wonder if he’ll still grab a burning branch to defend against the trolls in the end, though.

Wacky bonus theory with no support whatsoever: the Morgul blade that becomes a key driver of the Necromancer sub-plot could be found in the troll-hoard.

Scene 4. Over Hill and Under Hill.

Here, things become a little bit of a puzzle. For although the trollshaws of Rhudaur are hilly, they’re hardly important to the plot. So I conclude that this is the company starting the long climb into the Misty Mountains.

Detail: no ponies. What gives? We saw them start out with shaggy ponies in an early production video. Have the elves eaten them? Also, whether we may see giants hurling around boulders is still an unknown.

Scene 5. Rivendell and the White Council.

Elrond is holding the map of Thror, examining it under bright (moon?)light. A crescent moon would be consistent with Tolkien, but recall the full moon of the previous frame. In front, on the table is that Morgul blade. So here we have the two key items that drive each sub-plot forward. Why this frame is placed after the climb into the mountains is something that doesn’t entirely gel with my storybook concept.

Detail: Behind Elrond is another angle of the Gandalf and Galadriel scene we saw in the trailer. Is Galadriel about to send Gandalf (again, because he already had to go once to get the map, right?) to Dol Guldur to find out for certain what’s going on there? Many unanswerable questions here.

Scene 6. Riddles in the Dark.

Back on firmer ground, Bilbo is using the dim orc-glow of Sting to find his way through the underground caverns of the Misty Mountains. In the foreground, Gollum is drawn toward the unexpected light. Riddling will ensue, and a lot of angst for Gollum.

Detail: Is Gollum fishing?

Scene 7. Out of the Frying-pan, into the Fire.

Bilbo climbs for his life to escape a pack of howling, angry wargs. The hyena-like wargs of Lord of the Rings looked very poor, a rare visual mis-step from WETA. These ones are much more lupine. It’s way better. In the air, the eagles of Gwaihir the Windlord circle, drawn by the forest fire Gandalf has inadvertently begun.

Detail: Tolkien writes that Thorin orders Dori to give Bilbo a boost into the fir tree. Presumably the dwarves and Gandalf have already climbed out of picture.

Scene 8. Queer Lodgings.

Beorn the skinchanger! Well, knock me down with a feather! That’s something I didn’t expect to see this side of the film’s release. Apart from his physical bulk, his fierceness is impressive.

Puts me in mind of this bit from the book: “A goblin’s head was stuck outside the gate, and a warg skin nailed to a tree just beyond. Beorn was a fierce enemy.”

Detail: Is that the famed Carrock that Gandalf and Beorn are standing on? Tolkien writes that Gandalf follows bear tracks as far as the Carrock in the night.

Scene 9. Flies and Spiders.

In the dimness of Mirkwood, Bilbo has only his own resources to draw upon.

“Somehow, the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark, without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach…”

Detail: Sting glows in the presence of spiders? Hmmmm, well Gondolin of old was close to Nan Dungortheb, the Valley of Dreadful Death, and home to the descendents of the arch-spider Ungoliant. So it’s not an impossible stretch that Sting could have been imbued with powers to shine in the presence of giant spiders.

Scene 10. Barrels out of Bond.

There are two parts to this scene.

The first: the company crossing the bridge across the Forest River into the Halls of Thranduil. All 13 dwarves. Thorin is bringing up the rear, I think. And, seemingly, they’re alone.

The second: the company floating down the forest river to freedom. On the extreme right, Bilbo is the barrel-rider!

Detail: Notice how weathered the bridge is. It’s stood there for long, long ages. Notice also, the complete absence of Sindarin and Silvan elves. Have they been removed from the bridge to strengthen the photo’s impact? Finally, in the far distance, could that just be the Lonely Mountain beckoning?

I’m just as thrilled about the flow of this storybook as I am puzzled and intrigued about the little details, changes and omissions.

The absence of the elves here is a particular puzzler. But here’s a thought: the Cinema-con mess was a bit of a setback for the marketing campaign. Maybe, to avoid spooking any more horses, the role of the elves at the pointy end of An Unexpected Journey is being minimised for the nonce.

Or maybe they’re still keen to focus on the key characters.

Either way, it’s food for thought.

Anton S.

Here’s the translation of the relevant bits that Anton sent along.

MovieZine: Are you finished filming the Hobbit?
Mikael P.: No, absolutely not. I’m going back there in February.

MovieZine: Do you have a part in both films?
Mikael P.: Yes I have. The role is more or less what it is in the book. I’m not going to talk much more about it because they’ll get angry at me, but read the book and you see… and then maybe there is a little more.

MovieZine: How is your character Beorn created? Make-up or some kind of motion-capture?
Mikael P.: As I said before I intended to survive the night. Otherwise I guess I’ll get a missile after me. It’s exciting to be a part of it. You’ll see later, its barley a year left until the premier in December.

The New Zealand Herald has written this nice piece on ‘The Hobbit’ actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Mikael Persbrandt

They might be leading men in their respective countries but it’s not their famous faces which have got them heading to New Zealand to join the cast of The Hobbit.

English actor Benedict Cumberbatch – best known as the latest television incarnation of Sherlock Holmes – will be motion captured as dragon Smaug as well as delivering the voice of Necromancer (later known as Sauron in The Lord of the Rings trilogy). The other, Swedish star Mikael Persbrandt, is already in the South Island playing Beorn, a shapeshifting mountain man who is sometimes a bear. While The Lord of the Rings trilogy was a career launchpad for many actors, both Cumberbatch and Persbrandt come to The Hobbit with established profiles. Read More…

-“I try to act as him as if it all is a small drama; especially given the suit I’m going to wear.” Persbrandt replied on the question on how he’s going to act as Beorn, and he also apparently laughed after saying the thing about the suit.

-“But it’s all incredibly fun to do and I have some really nice scenes of dialogues with Ian McKellen and the others that I’m really looking forward to. I’m soon off (and please keep in mind here that this interview isn’t completely fresh) to some days of filming with Peter Jackson and it will be several off these back and fourth, both next year and in 2013.”

In the interview it is also revealed that even Persbrandt (like so many others involved) has a very personal relation to Tolkien’s original books and states that he has read both The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy several times in his youth.

Here is a link to the interview in its entirety: http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/film-tv/persbrandt-redo-for-bjornkostymen

”When I, during the first day, is hoisted up to the ceiling in the west King Kong Studio in Wellington I know what to do, even if it is a bit awkward and difficult to begin with a difficult torture scene. I knew and could even suggest things.”

I guess that this could possibly be a hint that Peter Jackson might intend to include the part, where Beorn sort of interrogate a wolf and goblin in order to verify the story told to him by Gandalf, in the film. Anyway back to the rest of the interview…

Later in the interview Persbrandt says that he prepared for the role of Beorn by just not to thinking of it as that complicated. “How am I as a shapeshifter, who lives with horses and animals in the forest? You have to look into yourself and try. I act in the Hobbit about the same I would in a love drama.” He says.

Persbrandt also says that he, during his stay in New Zeeland, bought a mountain bike and often biked in the mountains.

Other things he says include that he wasn’t feeling insecure when filming The Hobbit because, with experience, his confidence as an actor has improved and also that he is trying to improve on his skills in English since he, because most of his roles has been in Sweden and before he didn’t get so many international offers, haven’t really taken any advanced classes in the language. This has, according to him, caused some resistance, but that he tries to be a good student and improve.

Here is a link to the interview in question: http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/film/article13557018.ab

On this episode of Hobbit in 5, we talk about Peter Jackson’s latest production diary videos, show off the new trailer for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, introduce pictures for The Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard, look for crew accommodations in Piopio, NZ, and find out what Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis think about Mikael Persbrandt. We’ll also cover Thrain in our character study!

Thanks to our executive producers: Henry Tobin and Danielle Logan

Visit our new website – Rebekah has her own Facebook page now! Go check it out and “like” her! – Go like theOneRing.net on Facebook as well! – Peter Jackson’s Facebook Page – LOTR: War in the North – LOTRO: Rise of Isengard – Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis Swedish Interview

The Swedish Hobbit Blogger

Mikael Persbrandt is playing Beorn in both films.