The announcement of The Hobbit as trilogy has caused a lot of head-scratching about exactly how such a sequence might play out.
Here, guest writer Thomas Monteath goes into detail about how he feels the screenplay might work. These views are his own, and do not necessarily represent those of TheOneRing.net or its staff.
In defense of a Hobbit trilogy
A Greenbooks guest post by Thomas Monteath
Peter Jackson has just announced The Hobbit will become a trilogy, triggering trepidation and enthusiasm in equal measure across the internet.
We all listened to and read Peter Jackson’s words from Comic-Con about three possible “Hobbit,” movies carefully. But we didn’t listen to all the words and we missed a few things.
He told us. He told us — he did.
He said exactly what he meant, he said it plainly and the media and fans (and me) tried to figure out what he meant when he told us in plainness. Monday, Jackson dropped an atomic bomb of news and fandom reacted accordingly.
“The Hobbit,” adapted for the screen from the 300-page, 75-year-old book by J.R.R. Tolkien changed from from two movies to three in the blink of a Facebook post.
AMBITION
More on the words we ignored in a minute. We need to figure out when these films break, what it means for fans and websites and studios and cinema and the director, but lets not rush past the size and scope of this news. Lets not walk around Paris admiring all the cafes and churches without also pausing and noticing the big tower in the center of town.
We witnessed, the last few weeks since Comic-Con, something monumental, unprecedented, unparalleled and a little bit crazy. Jackson (and when we say “Jackson” we always mean the director and Walsh, Boyens and a team of others supporting their vision) is in unchartered territory here. Continue reading “The bold ‘Hobbit’ trilogy decision and what to expect”
Meredith Woerner of io9.com posted a video interview with Richard Armitage talking at Comic-Con 2012 about his role as Thorin Oakenshield. Asked if he had to update his character for modern audiences he said:
“I never really thought of updating it. I actually did the opposite. I thought of it as more kind of Greek tragedy. I looked at Shakespeare, a lot of my preparation I was looking at Henry V and bits of Richard III, just to find roots in British literature that were deeper. But I think making it feel contemporary the big themes of the story — loyalty and trust and camaraderie — I think those things are contemporary.”
For JRR Tolkien, languages evolved at least in part in reaction to the history of their speakers. Looking at recent photos and screenshots of the cities of Dale and Esgaroth, I was struck by the thought that for Peter Jackson’s design team, Middle-earth history could exert a similar effect on architecture.
Curious how the architectural set design choices for the Hobbit might reflect the history of these two cities, I asked Barliman’s chat regular and archaeologist Jenniearcheo to provide a few professional insights on some of the set images that have found their way onto the internet.
This brief essay is the result. We hope you enjoy it.
I admit, when I first heard talk of “a third ‘Hobbit’ movie” from the floor of Comic-Con, I was skeptical. Reporters Quickbeam and Justin brought back footage from a press conference (that you can watch right here) breaking the story that additional shooting was a possibility, directly from Peter Jackson’s mouth. I downplayed it because from a five-week set visit I knew the team was going to return to shooting right after Comic-Con. I thought the media was being its usual bombastic self by calling a little more shooting “a third “Hobbit” movie. They absolutely had it posted first, breaking the story so kudos to them, but I dismissed it. How quickly things change.
Now it seems inevitable that this will happen. Jackson clearly has the will or he wouldn’t have spoken about it so fully. The studio clearly has the will because they are talking about it instead of dismissing it. So what would this mean besides another year of happy blood sweat and tears at TheOneRing.net? Lets look at all the facts and see if we can’t come to some conclusions educated guesses.
ON THE RECORD, WHAT WAS SAID:
Jackson spoke about this, very likely not by accident, from the television press line meet-and-greet at Comic-Con that took place before the famous Hall H event for fans. (Watch the first two or three minutes of Jackson’s own production diary #8 for the best account of Hall H.) Continue reading “Third ‘Hobbit’ movie: How? What? When? Why?”
One of our very favorite magazines, EMPIRE Magazine, is publishing their ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ edition tomorrow, and they have exclusively shared a few excerpts with us here at TheOneRing.net. This special edition of the magazine will feature a detailing of their set visit in New Zealand, with a special focus on Gollum and Bilbo’s ‘Riddles in the Dark’ sequence.
The excerpt below features Martin Freeman (Bilbo) and Andy Serkis (Gollum) talking about bringing their characters and this memorable sequence from book to screen. For those of you who can’t pick up a copy of the magazine locally, check out the iPad edition. The US iPad edition of EMPIRE will be released tomorrow via the iTunes store, and it is a complete steal for only $20/yr, $1.99/mo or $4.99 an issue. EMPIRE is one of the best entertainment magazines out there and have always treated Tolkien fans to some amazing content. Make sure to pick up your copy! [iPad Editon] [iTunes] [EMPIRE Online]
The announcement of The Hobbit as trilogy has caused a lot of head-scratching about exactly how such a sequence might play out. 
For JRR Tolkien, languages evolved at least in part in reaction to the history of their speakers. Looking at recent photos and screenshots of the cities of Dale and Esgaroth, I was struck by the thought that for Peter Jackson’s design team, Middle-earth history could exert a similar effect on architecture.
