The literary legacy that members of the Tolkien Estate want to protect

By:  Brian Tither

Introduction

I think that the reason why some members of the Tolkien Estate have sued Saul Zaentz and its subsidiaries over JRR Tolkien’s literary legacy is because of their overriding concern for protecting that legacy above all else. In particular I think that this is the intention of Christopher and Priscilla Tolkien, the surviving children of Tolkien. And as a former student of Tolkien’s academic speciality in Old and Middle English and Old Icelandic in New Zealand I personally support this intention after being frustrated at The Hobbit production being only valued for the other Hollywood productions and tourist dollars that it may bring into New Zealand. I am also frustrated at the way a lot of the people involved in the production seem to only value it for its enhancement of their individual film projects.

The literary legacy of JRR Tolkien

Tolkien was the Professor of Anglo Saxon at Oxford University in the years that Christopher and Priscilla and their deceased brothers John and Michael were children and Tolkien would come home and tell them stories based on the literature that he was teaching at Oxford. This came from Old Icelandic texts like Voluspa, which describes the rise and fall of Midgard, the Old Icelandic Middle-earth, where Tolkien got his names for his Dwarves, and The Saga of the Volsungs, where Tolkien got his ideas for Bilbo’s encounters with Gollum and Smaug from the God Loki taking off Andvari the Dwarf a ring which causes problems for its bearers and Sigurd’s slaying of Fafnir the dragon, which are supplemented by similar things in the Old English poem Beowulf. This was also supplemented by Tolkien getting his ideas for Beorn, which translates as ‘warrior’ from Old English and as ‘bear’ from Old Icelandic, and Bilbo Baggins, which translates as ‘dweller in a dwelling in a bag’ from Middle English and ‘dweller with a sword from ones in a bag’ from Old English, from characters such as Bodvar Bjarki, which translates as ‘the bear warrior’, and Hott Hjalti, which translates as ‘the small sword hilt’, from The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, where Hott’s parents are described as living in what appears to be a house built in a hole in the ground.

Given that the name Hott and the Old English word holbytla for ‘hole-builder’ conflate together as hobbit, which means ‘small hole-builder’, and given the oral tradition that developed between Tolkien and his children, it is easy to see how Tolkien took it a step further with his children and got them to help him with creating a story from him one day writing down the words: ‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit’. And from there the story developed as an oral tradition between them until Tolkien decided to write it down in a manuscript and this was published as The Hobbit some years later after he happened to show it to someone who recommended that he got it published. Then he wrote The Lord of the Rings, in which he referred to the mythology, later published as The Silmarillion, that he had been creating since before his children were born, while incorporating a character that he and his children devised from a doll that they owned, which they named Tom Bombadil.

The legacy of the Tolkien Estate

But the story of his children’s involvement did not stop there because Tolkien consulted Christopher on virtually every turn of The Lord of the Rings as he wrote it, while Christopher went on to become a university lecturer in Old and Middle English and Old Icelandic as well. Then when Tolkien passed away he had Christopher appointed as his literary executor and charged him to complete The Silmarillion, which Christopher did. And he also appointed him with John, Michael and Priscilla to take care of other estate matters as well.

This included taking care of matters regarding his selling off the film rights to the books to Saul Zaentz, which Tolkien did to cover the high inheritance taxes that the books accrued upon his death, all which grew out of his experiences with being swamped by the royalty taxes that he had to pay due to the sale of the books from the popularity that he did not anticipate for them. And this included the estate ensuring that Saul Zaentz and its subsidiaries did not step out of parameters that were set by Tolkien to protect the literary legacy of his works, which by implication stretched into his academic speciality to the original texts where he got his ideas from that have no copyright on them. And this experience grew out of seeing what Walt Disney did to the works of the Grimm’s Brothers the latter who Tolkien had a particular affinity for because the Grimm’s brothers also created philological principles, which Tolkien applied in his academia and works. Hence Tolkien did not want to see tangible things like this in his works being turned into intangible things like theme parks, which by implication extends into things like video games and gambling outlets such as slot machines.

And there is a need to protect this literary legacy if this literature is not to become something only valued by the money that people might make out of it at the expense of accessing that literature to many. And one of the things that I have been perturbed about as a student of Old and Middle English and Old Icelandic is experiencing both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit productions consulting linguistic and Old and Middle English and Old Icelandic experts for the purpose of developing the movies without considering how such expertise comes from the collective intellectual property of teachers and students in these specialities, even though such intellectual property was strangely fused with Hollywood action movie conventions in the films. And possibly this is why The Hobbit movies have so far not had such experts promoting them like The Lord of the Rings movies had, which probably made it expedient for the first trilogy of movies to be nominated for Oscars in categories like Best Director and Best Film, which they won on the third movie, while the second trilogy so far has not received any such nominations.

The valuation of the legacy in New Zealand

Meanwhile, as I said above, The Hobbit movies have been only valued as a means to bring more Hollywood productions and tourist dollars into New Zealand and it has been seen by people involved in the production as only a means to develop their individual film projects. The latter was made clear to me in October 2010 when allegedly there was industrial action going on which was allegedly having Warner Brothers considering moving the production elsewhere. The impression I got then from such individuals was that if the production went offshore it would severely jeopardise their projects, which was enhanced to me by someone who spoke at The Hobbit rally, which occurred a few days before Warner Brothers decided to keep the production in New Zealand. This person referred to how The Lord of the Rings production created a community of filmmakers, which has left me the impression that this community has been dependent on both that and The Hobbit production for its existence.

Consequently I have decided that I will only support the film projects of individuals involved in these productions if they demonstrate to me sufficient appreciation for the intellectual property that was drawn on for these productions. And for me the benchmark that has been set for that is that shown to me by a prominent New Zealand Maori writer, some of whose works have been turned into films, who supported the teaching of Old and Middle English and Old Icelandic at the New Zealand university that he used to work for. He also left me with the impression that the term ‘Middle-earth’ should not be used as a means for cultural groups to promote their culture to gain tourist dollars without acknowledging the culture that Middle-earth comes from as Tolkien acknowledged and intended it, who said Middle-earth was a use of the Middle English middel-erde, which derived from the Old English Middangeard and is thus related to the Old Icelandic Midgard.

Meanwhile, universities have had to cut their Old and Middle English and Old Icelandic courses even when they have had a reasonable number of students doing them due to a reallocation of university funding from a government who has used The Hobbit production so far for political gain. And I think that this is abysmal given the free promotion that The Lord of the Rings movies got from the New Zealand experts in these specialities through public lectures that they delivered like other experts in the specialities in other places in the world on the release of each movie, which if it had of been picked up on by The Hobbit production might have meant that the media surrounding the movies would have been less focussed on the apparent lack of material in the first Hobbit movie and the technology used, which not all the movie viewers were happy with.

The actual legacy in New Zealand

Also, for the New Zealand world premiere of the first Hobbit movie such experts could have highlighted how it was part of New Zealand’s culture and heritage that our education system produced Kenneth Sisam, a graduate of both Auckland and Oxford Universities, who was Tolkien’s New Zealand born tutor when Tolkien first started learning these specialities. Sisam introduced texts to Tolkien that Tolkien said that he had previously never heard of before, which included the Old English poem Crist, which had words in it translated as: ‘Hail Earendil, brightest of angels/ above the middle-earth sent unto men’. This led to the first draft of the poem of Earendil the mariner that Bilbo sings in Rivendell the night before the Council of Elrond in The Lord of the Rings, which, in turn, Tolkien wrote after his first year of having Sisam as his first tutor, which was the beginning point of his legendarium.

In addition, these New Zealand specialists could have also highlighted how Tolkien alluded in his valedictory address, when retiring from being Professor of English language and literature, to the contribution that New Zealanders (and Australians) made to the Oxford School of English and the close contest which he had with Sisam for Professor of Anglo Saxon. The latter was also referred to in an interview just before the first Lord of the Rings movie’s release with an English born former lecturer in the speciality at a New Zealand university who was at Oxford when Tolkien was Professor there at the time the book was published who said that most undergraduates thought that Sisam should have been Professor.

Conclusion

This lecturer also told my classmates and me that the undergraduates at Oxford formed the basis for the Hobbits in Tolkien’s legendarium, them being derived from the undergraduates living in study groups with a tutor and a servant called a scout who looked after their personal needs assigned to each group. That is, Frodo Baggins and his cousins were based on the undergraduates, Bilbo Baggins on the tutor and Samwise Gamgee on the scout. And hence, whereas The Hobbit was something derived by Tolkien from his telling of stories to his children based on his academia, The Lord of the Rings was derived from his actual teaching of that academia. And I experienced an evolved version of that at university from a former PhD graduate of Oxford who got some of her Bilbos to teach Sams like me our letters like Bilbo does for Sam in the book. And according to one of those Bilbos my classmates and I are the envy of many who learn these letters around the world for having had this lecturer as a teacher, which is a sure foot in the door for any of her Frodos into universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. And it is such legacies that Christopher and Priscilla Tolkien are concerned with protecting knowing full well that without it their father’s legendarium would not even exist.

Brian lives in Wellington New Zealand on the main drag to both Victoria University where he was he was taught Old and Middle English and Old Icelandic at undergraduate level by an Oxford University PhD graduate and the Embassy Theatre where the red carpet rolled out for all New Zealand premieres for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. He goes under the pen name of Brian Boru, which refers to his family descent from a famous Gaelic warrior-king of a millenium ago called Brian Boroimhe who is part of a Gaelic literary canon that he also wants to study.

NO two Tolkien fans are the same. Yes, we harbor a deep and abiding love for all things Middle-earth, but (I like to believe) our tastes differ, even if only in the minutia. Some may enjoy the philological phantasmagoria that permeates Tolkien’s works, while others draw inspiration from the detailed locations and their histories. Personally, I have a thing for maps. However with the recent addition of Tauriel to the Middle-earth mythos, my thoughts have been drawn to the characters that inhabit our collective imagination and, more specifically, those of the female gender.

Tolkien, unlike many other fantasy writers of the twentieth century, was entirely willing to create strong, vividly imagined female characters. One that immediately comes to mind is Lúthien Tinúviel, who was so prominent in Tolkien’s world that she is not only mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but is also a major character in The Silmarillion and even features in the epic poem The Lay of Leithian.

The latter work, which Tolkien never completed, chronicles the love between Beren and Lúthien. Another well-known character from the Legendarium is Elwing the White*, mother of Elrond and Elros. How prominent was she? After several unsuccessful attempts by Eärendil the Mariner to try and sail to Valinor, Middle-earth’s most-renowned seaman was only successful after Elwing joined him on Vingilot.

The two most well-known heroines, thanks in no part to the films, are of course Arwen and Éowyn. Yes, Arwen’s romance with Aragorn did seem a tad campy on the big screen (in a beautiful, melancholic fashion that truly added to the story), but let’s not forget: this is the same elf who faced down the Nine (even if it didn’t happen in the books) and single-handedly saved Frodo from certain death. And Éowyn’s fantastic line, “I am no man!” when taunted by the Witch-king? It still raises the hairs on the back of my neck. So good. Also, I would be remiss to neglect Galadriel, of Lothlórien. Not only is she a Ring-bearer of immense power, but she also sits upon the predominantly male (even if the Mair aren’t technically Men) White Council.

So, where does this leave us? Ah, yes: Tauriel. As a Tolkien fan, I’m ecstatic to see a fresh addition to the lore. As someone who considers himself to be rather versed in the ways of the entertainment industry, I see it as a shameless attempt to attract the ever-elusive demographic of young women (insert Orlando Bloom joke here) and adolescent males (insert scantily clad bikini picture here). Honestly? If she’s anything more than a Disney princess in elf ears, I’ll be satisfied.

What I’m trying to say, in a less cynical fashion, is that I trust Peter and Fran, I really do. But I’m also aware of the climate in which they have to operate. Big money means a big emphasis on making a big profit, and a necessary part of show business is trying to target as many demographics as possible. Time and time again, we see corporations put pressure on directors and writers to change their movies in ways that reach a larger audience, but harm the overarching narrative.

Will Evangeline Lilly be fantastic? I’m sure she will. Will her and Orlando’s on-screen chemistry, and indeed their very presence, contribute to the overall narrative of the trilogy? I’m sure they’ll make it work. Is it necessary? I remain to be convinced, largely because I’ve seen how sterile and bureaucratic the industry can be.

In the best of all possible worlds, I see Tauriel as the embodiment of the inner strength and outward beauty of all the aforementioned characters. Why Tauriel? Because The Lord of Rings trilogy had its strong female protagonists, as did the Silmarillion and the Legendarium before it. Therefore, in the spirit of a more diverse, modern telling of The Hobbit, I see it as only natural that Jackson and company would want to introduce a fresh female character. In truth, the only part of me that is uneasy is the fervently cynical, text-obsessed fanboy who’s shaking the bars of his cage and muttering, “but she’s not in the book!”

Until more elements of the plot are revealed, Tauriel remains a positive yet potentially unnecessary addition to Peter Jackson’s cinematic vision. In the end it all boils down to the spirit in which these changes are made to the source material. Who knows? I could be completely off the mark. When it comes to the Hobbit films I’ve yet to be disappointed.

In Jackson we trust.

* Bootnote. Most would automatically think of Aredhel with the appellation “the White”. However, there is one single reference that seems to indicate that the label also applied to Elwing. It’s from The Fellowship of the Ring where Aragorn is speaking to the four hobbits of Beren and Lúthien. As it’s direct speech, it does seem to be part of an oral tradition of either the Dunedain, or of the Noldor (or both). The quote in full: “For of Beren and Lúthien was born Dior Thingol’s heir; and of him Elwing the White whom Eärendil wedded, he that sailed his ship out of the mists of the world into the seas of heaven with the Silmaril upon his brow. And of Eärendil came the Kings of Númenor, that is Westernesse.” A Knife in the Dark, The Fellowship of the Ring.

Noah Smith is a freelance writer operating out of the woods of Pennsylvania, though he leaves often and for great lengths of time. The proud owner of more pet projects than any sane person deserves, he peddles his craft in various portions of the internet and local collegiate magazines, writing poetry, commentary, speculative fiction and erroneous remarks in the comment sections of videos. He writes on a blog called Utumbria and can also be found on Twitter. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of TheOneRing.net or its staff.

Some you might have already read, some may be an eye opener.

New production video coming soon!

Peter Jackson’s daughter Katie Jackson indicated on her Twitter account on June 9 that “the next Hobbit production vlog will be up within the next 2 weeks”. So it seems we’ll have more to chew over by June 23 at the latest.

Update on the Wellington Premiere kerfuffle

A lot of people were disappointed that Wellington would not be getting the premiere for Desolation of Smaug.

Speaking with TVNZ, Wingnut Films spokesperson Matthew Dravitzki said was never an intention to hold all three world premieres for The Hobbit in New Zealand.

He said: “with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the first film was premiered in London, the second film was premiered in New York, and the third film was premiered in Wellington.” A location for the premiere has not yet been confirmed.

Hobbit cast and crew react to Happy Hobbit

Our own Happy Hobbit video bloggers recorded a live reaction video to the Desolation of Smaug trailer. Peter Jackson apparently stumbled upon it and posted it up on his own faceborg page. But then he went one better and pulled together Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, and Lee Pace (in costume!) and filmed their reaction to to our own Kili and Fili’s reaction.

We think it’s pretty funny — check out the video evidence at the bottom.

Also, TORn staffer Rasputin the Evil Balrog notes that you’ll see Lee Pace is wearing a completely different crown than the one he’s been wearing in every other scene we’ve seen him in. She writes:

‘Obviously the tall “Evening Wear” version is not convenient for battle, so the “Day Wear” circlet comes out along with his full-on armor. He must’ve been in the middle of shooting some Battle of Five Armies goodness with his dirty face and all. Interesting that Orlando and Evangeline are not wearing armor.’

The studios behind the film (Warner Bros., New Line, MGM) issued a press release to make the announcement.

Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution said in the release, “We could not be more proud to have reached this amazing benchmark. Together with our partners at MGM and New Line, everyone at Warner Bros. congratulates Peter Jackson and his entire cast and crew on the extraordinary success of this film.”

Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures said, “From Berlin to Beijing, it is so gratifying to see how the release of ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ has been such an event with audiences around the world. We know that moviegoers everywhere are already excited about the next film, as are we.”

The 14th film to do so pass the $1 billion mark was 2012′s “Skyfall,” a James Bond film. Ironically, the two films were the highest profile casualties of studio MGM’s debt crisis. The financial trouble of the studio, which has distribution rights to the Hobbit films and is home of the James Bond franchise, pushed both movies back. “The Dark Knight Rises,” and “Marvel’s The Avengers,” were also released in 2012 and are in the select box office club as well. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” is another one of the films.

TheOneRing.net wrote on January 4 that the reports of the film’s financial disappointment were premature and wrong.

Next to the U.S., the top markets are Germany with $90 million, the U.K. with $84.3 million, France at $44.9 million, Australia’s $44.3 million and Russia’s $43.8 million. China with $37.3 million in 10 day has a chance to move past several of those films.

The next film in the series, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” is scheduled for release Dec. 13 and “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” has recently been moved to Dec. 17, 2014. TheOneRing will have grass roots line party events for both films around the globe and hopefully Oscar night parties in Los Angeles for both as well.

Earlier this month the Ombudsman ordered the Government to release documents about the deal it struck for the movies. Warner Bros’ New Line unit warned that the ruling jeopardised future film-making in New Zealand.

In a statement Jackson today said he welcomed the release of the documents, which he hoped would end “unfounded conspiracy theories” that a Hollywood studio had been dictating terms to a sovereign government.

[Read More] | [View the documents]

The New Zealand Ombudsman has ordered the Government to release documents about the deal it struck to ensure the Hobbit movies were made in the country.

The Government secured the three movies by changing employment laws and beefing up the tax rebate sweetener for the productions, resulting in an additional $25 million in incentives for Warner Bros.

Unions fought the law changes and the Labour Party accused the government of chequebook legislation.

Read More

Burbank, CA, February 5, 2013

The screenplay for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Jackson also produced the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh. The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood, with Boyens and Eileen Moran serving as co-producers.

New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Present a WingNut Films Production, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” All three films in “The Hobbit” Trilogy, also including “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” and the final film, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” are productions of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), with New Line managing production. Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” was released on December 14, 2012, with the second film, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” releasing December 13, 2013, and the third film, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” slated for July 18, 2014.

BLU-RAY AND DVD ELEMENTS

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack and DVD Special Edition contain the following special features:

• Start of Production
• Location Scouting
• Filming in 3D
• Post-production Overview
• Wellington World Premiere

BASICS

PRODUCT                                                                             SRP

Blu-ray Combo Pack                                                                $35.99
Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack                                                          $44.95
2-Disc Amaray Special Edition (WS)                                        $28.98

EST Release Date:  March 12^th, 2013

Standard Street Date: March 19^th, 2013

DVD Languages: English, Latin Spanish, Parisian French

BD Languages: English, Latin Spanish,

DVD Subtitles: English SDH, Latin Spanish, Parisian French

BD Subtitles: English SDH, Latin Spanish

Running Time: 169 minutes

Rating: Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence, and frightening images

DLBY/SURR   DLBY/DGTL   [CC]

About Warner Home Video

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is a leading entertainment company focused on the production and distribution of film and television content globally.  The company owns one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television content.  In addition, MGM has investments in domestic and international television channels, including MGM-branded channels. For more information, visit www.mgm.com

A fake DVD cover for Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey?

A cover for the DVD and Blu-ray version of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” has been making the rounds on the internet. The design, as you can see, features Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins as the most prominent figure with Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield close behind. The other dwarves sneak into the image but not prominently.

It is possible this image was leaked from the studios involved but it seems unlikely and this image isn’t a powerful “buy me” image from the movie. No word from any official channels has surfaced to say this is or isn’t fake so we advise not accepting it as the gospel truth at this point.

If any excellent photoshopping readers out there want to produce some imagined blu-ray covers it would be fun to run a collection of them here, so if you have a submission send them over to Spymaster@TheOneRing.net.

Dates for the initial offering are reported as March 19 with an Extended Edition in October but nothing official has been announced. The film will still be available in some theaters at that point. Date posted by retailers like Amazon are not reliable and have included books that haven’t been written yet previously. When official dates are released, you will find them reported here.

I will be dismissed as a website-contributing fanboy of course. I couldn’t possibly have a love for fantasy literature and Tolkien and an appreciation for the fantastic in cinema and still be objective. So decide for yourself if my viewpoint is skewed, but I think I am being objective, I am certainly not the only writer around who has his bare bias showing. It seems clear that some writers were rooting for and proclaiming failure prematurely.

None of this would matter except that bad buzz around a film does affect the film’s earnings. Bad reviews (more on that later) and then bad performance likely convinces casual viewers to stay away. These aren’t presented as opinions but as news with expert analysis.

Don’t believe me about the doom and gloom? I have some samples below:

Weekend Report: ‘Hobbit’ Plummets, Holds Off Slew of Newcomers
“Even though it did hold on to the top spot, though, The Hobbit’s performance was underwhelming. The Peter Jackson-directed Lord of the Rings prequel plummeted 57 percent to an estimated $36.7 million for a new total of $149.9 million.”

From: The Numbers.com
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey didn’t hold on as well as predicted falling 56% according to studio estimates to $36.94 million over the weekend for a total of $150.10 million after two. It should get to $250 million in the end, which is a solid number given the film’s production budget. However, it’s not a monster number, and many thought it would be a monster hit. Explaining why this happened will take some time, but the weaker than expected reviews is a good place to start. Another possible reason is just too much hype.”

Another possible explanation is that you, Mr. Writer, were wrong.

The story sounds pretty reasonable, right? Except it isn’t and the sites where they originated, should know better. Folks on message boards were following his lead though, dubbing the film “The Flobbit” or “The Floppit” due to its perceived and inaccurate failures.

Remember those midnight screenings in mid-December that gave The Hobbit the largest ever December opening? That was never going to be duplicated the following weekend. But numbers are numbers right? Well yes, but numbers in perspective are even better numbers.

So Hobbit dropped 56% on the weekend. A plummet? Not when compared to the other top movies of the year. The Avengers dropped 50% and became the biggest blockbuster ever, The Dark Knight Rises dropped 61% (amidst a horrible shooting) The Hunger Games 61%, Skyfall 53% and the last Twilight film 69%. Those are currently the biggest films of 2012 financially. While “plummet” might be dictionary accurate, it is just exactly what could have been expected, especially in the busiest shopping weekend of the year. And for the record, to fully disclose, I liked all of those films save one, so I am not rooting against films financially. So yes, all the box office websites and film news reports should know better but mostly reported that it was disaster for The Hobbit. False.

There is another factor, just as important at work here. It was pre-Christmas weekend and movies perform much differently during that season. Films that open on the holiday work differently than films that open on traditional Fridays. Movie-business wisdom suggests, with a term called “multiples” that a film might make two or three times its opening weekend for the life of the movie. Christmas movies are “guaranteed” to make four times their opening and can hope for five or six times that number. The weekend before a Christmas-Eve Monday was way down at the box office for obvious reasons: People were busy getting ready for the holiday. Grocery stores and malls were packed, megaplexes suffered. Again, box office tracking websites should know better.

Here are some other samples including the first one from the guy who gets on CNN and lots of other places to be the “box office expert” talking head and advertises that widely. Again, I expect experts to know better and he was defending its numbers, call the box office “tough” a little prematurely.

‘The Hobbit’ and Its Tough Box Office Journey
“Despite a record-breaking opening, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey experienced a significant 57% drop off in its second week, bringing in an estimated $36.7 million, with an $8,952 per screen average. This brings The Hobbit’s ten-day gross to $149.9 million, tracking about 8% behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’s ten-day gross.”

Box office update: ‘The Hobbit’ plummets to $10.2M on Friday
“Sure, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey set a December record last weekend when it opened with $84.5 million, but after eight days in theaters, it’s now clear that the Lord of the Rings prequel is running well behind the final LOTR film, The Return of the King, which earned $377.8 in 2003 — without 3D and IMAX surcharges.

“The Hobbit dropped by a huge 73 percent from its first Friday to $10.2 million yesterday, which puts it on pace for a $33 million weekend . . . but The Hobbit is falling much faster, and it will need to hold up remarkably well over the holiday to have a shot at $300 million domestically.”

After 21 days in release the film will sit at $250+ million domestically with two thirds of its audience being from non-U.S. outlets with $514 million, bringing the total to comfortably over $760 million in three weeks.

Disaster averted, $300 million in sight.

After the second weekend and its reports of plummeting, the film finished in third place on Christmas to two movies with Christmas openings: Les Miserables and Django Unchained. More disaster reported. The Hobbit was again “fading fast” and destined to not only wind up a disappointment, but would it force the studios to force Jackson to make shorter films?

Ho-hum. By the weekend, The Hobbit was back on top winning its third weekend in a row while those two films came down off their debut highs. In full disclosure, I liked both of those films a lot too which brings us to another problem.

The reporting of box office totals comes full of Movie X vs. Movie Y drama but is rather ridiculous. Skyfall just passed the $1 billion mark, the 14th film ever to do so worldwide, but it didn’t “win” a chain of incredible weekends. It was an entertaining film with beautiful cinematography that people (including Hobbit viewers) liked and told friends about. I know the competition aspect of movie vs. movie is just too hard to pass up, but it doesn’t work and isn’t fair but it is effective at creating false drama and gets considerable clicks. I don’t attend one movie and see it as a victory over another film I didn’t see. Make all good movies, we will see them all.

While I am complaining, writers also should stop calling The Hobbit part of the LOTR series because it isn’t, and as the Tough Hobbit Journey story above wisely pointed out, it should be thought of as its own series. The Hobbit is also not a prequel, invented after-the-fact, to make more story or explain anything. It stands on its own and did so before there was a LOTR and was written first. Preaching to the choir here, I know.

Here are some examples:
“However, The Hobbit did suffer the biggest second weekend drop (57%) of any movie based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth series.” - IGN

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey once again dominated the overseas box office this weekend, though its noticeable drop suggests it doesn’t have any chance of it matching Return of the King in the long run.

“The Hobbit’s overseas total reached $288.5 million, and worldwide is now at $438.6 million. While it will hold well through the end of the year, it does now seem certain that the movie will fall well short of $1 billion worldwide.”  - BoxOfficeMojo

So really? It isn’t Return of the King? Rather than report The Hobbit is making serious bank, despite your dire predictions,  and it performed well though the holidays, the story is its failure to make $1 billion? And, if that were the point, with “only” $250 million to go to reach that number, when is it no longer “well short” and are we sure that will not happen? It is destined to have much less staying power than, say, Skyfall? Whatever the right and wrong of it all, I think the $600 million invested by movie studios in a product that has a three-year-yield window, would be pretty happy with a $750+ million earned in 21 days.

Next week we will be treated to tales and headlines of how the latest Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie “slays the competition” at the box office, unless it doesn’t finish first and then we can read how it was slain by other films, perhaps including The Hobbit.

The third film will be a test of Thorin’s Oakenshield’s character.

None of this really matters for those who simply like the movie. Once the film is on safe financial footing, and the studio is happy to let Jackson do his thing twice more, who cares? Well I do for one. Accuracy is always important. Not shorthanded, easy reporting, but actual accuracy. That comes from my background as a journalist and as a film aficionado. From the same place comes my belief that word choices, like “plummeted” do matter. If you use that in a headline (and writers of stories often do not write headlines) make sure it really means that and it is accurate and isn’t just there to grab extra clicks.

TheOneRing.net and I don’t make any extra money from The Hobbit since we make none at all to begin with. I really hope all good films always find an audience and empower filmmakers to tell stories. (Speaking of movie goers, another topic for another day is my belief that critics are completely, wildly out of touch with film audiences but nobody needs to hear that rant – or let me know if you do.) But permit me one final point, that is directed very squarely at Warner Bros., MGM and New Line and the production company behind The Hobbit.

Dear studios and Team Jackson:
Please do the following if you want to make more money and at the same time  want to throw fans a bone:
Send, to be added to digital copies of your digital movie, a teaser trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. People want to watch your movie again and again but reward them for repeat viewings with some idea of what is in store next December. Tack it on after the credits so folks can enjoy the film, sit through the credits and then thrill with the promise of things to come. You managed it almost a decade ago with the LOTR films, so no excuses. If you have a will, you can do it again and it would win a lot of hearts and minds.

TORn Editor’s note: Box Office Mojo is reporting that worldwide gross has passed $700 million. I’m not sure the numbers really matter at this point except to accountants, but that’s a lot chocolate chip cookies.

The film had the biggest opening of any of the Lord of the Rings movies with an $84 million weekend and it is well on its way to matching the grosses of the first three films which earned an average $900 million each globally.

That could eventually help The Lord Of The Rings become the second highest grossing franchise of all time behind Harry Potter.

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To date, the blockbuster has earned an estimated $179.7 million in the USA. In addition, on the heels of its record-breaking release in Australia — the biggest Boxing Day opening of all time — the film has grossed an estimated $344 million internationally. The global total is $523.7 million, and steadily climbing.

Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. President of Domestic Distribution, said: “We are extremely gratified by the response of moviegoers who love the film and, in many cases, are taking this terrifically entertaining ‘Journey’ to Middle-earth more than once. We anticipate that positive word of mouth and repeat viewings will continue to result in strong returns well into the New Year.”

Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures. said: “These fantastic box office numbers demonstrate that the film’s playability has no borders. Peter Jackson has created a truly global event with a film that thrills audiences in any language. Warner Bros. joins our partners at MGM and New Line in congratulating him, his cast and crew, and everyone involved in this film on this milestone.”

All three films in The Hobbit trilogy, including The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and the final film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, are productions of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), with New Line managing production. Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM.

The unexpected journey begins this December.

“All is on time and the release has NEVER been at risk of delay.”

There you have it: from the horse’s mouth.