[Part 1 in a series from The Frodo Franchise Author Kristin Thompson]
Me and My Book
I’m a film historian by trade. I got my Ph.D. in film studies in 1977 and have written several textbooks and academic books on various topics in the field. In 2007, my book The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood, by Kristin Thompson, came out from the University of California press. As we all wait for the release of the first part of The Hobbit, I thought some of you might be interested in some of my experiences while researching the book. I had a lot of access to the filmmakers for interviews and was given facilities tours during the last part of the post-production on The Return of the King.
I first conceived the book in 2002, when it became obvious to me that Peter Jackson’s film (I call the three parts one film, as he does) was going to be very, very important historically for a wide variety of reasons. The technology (the techniques developed to animate Gollum, the selective digital color grading) would be revolutionary. The internet campaign was pioneering, as was the filmmaking team’s approach to cooperating with the video-game designers. It was a big franchise film—and a fantasy at that—and yet it won the respect of critics and Academy-Award voters as no such film ever had. (The Fellowship of the Ring had won “only” four Oscars, but I knew even then that The Return of the King would be awarded lots.) Somebody should write a book about it, I thought. But probably nobody would, not the way it should be done, with interviews with the people involved. Not while the film was still in production. I concluded that it was up to me. Was it possible, though, to get the kind of access I would need? I set out to find out.
In January of 2003, through a mutual friend, I was put in touch with producer Barrie Osborne. Fortunately, he was interested in having such a book written. Without him, my project would have been dead in the water. Continue reading “Researching THE FRODO FRANCHISE: Part 1, Off to Wellington without a Handkerchief”
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When it comes to LOTR & the Hobbit, the online gushing is usually non-stop.
Not today, though. The unconfirmed news that Peter Jackson may turn “The Hobbit” into a trilogy has been blowing up on social media, and it’s not all happy. A common response has been “not sure how I feel about this,” but there’s been quite a bit of negativity mixed in with the happiness and mixed-emotions.
We combed through the last 12 hours of tweets and pulled together a selection of what Twitter users have to say. You’ll find Yays, Naes and a whole bunch of head-scratching. Read on:
Continue reading “Three Movies? Twitter’s A-Buzz”
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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]
Continue reading “TheOneRing.net Exclusive first look at EMPIRE’s ‘Hobbit Edition’”
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As well as busily staffing the TORn booths at Comic-con, a handful of our staff were mad devoted enough to queue all night in order to catch the Hobbit showreel that Peter Jackson screened in Hall H for Rings fans.
After, while our lucky, lucky staff were still slightly delirious as a result of sleep-deprivation, we subjected them to a barrage of questions to get their impressions of the footage.
So without further ado, here a spoilerific summary what our staff thought of the showreel! Continue reading “Our staff react to the Comic-Con Hobbit showreel”
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The LA Times writes more on the speculation that Warner Bros. and Peter Jackson are looking to convert the planned two Hobbit films into a trilogy: (New info bolded below)
The Burbank film studio originally planned to release two “Hobbit” movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary prelude to “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and principal photography on those two pictures finished in New Zealand this month. The first is set to come out in December, followed by the second in December 2013. The two films combined cost about $500 million.
But Jackson has concluded that there is enough material from the book, as well as the extensive appendixes to “The Lord of the Rings,” to make a third film, according to three people who were not authorized to speak publicly. New Line Cinema, the Warner Bros. unit overseeing production of the movies, is eager to see it happen, and talks are underway with actors and others who would need to sign off on the plan.
We focus on this story because it is brand new and seems to imply that the LA Times has acquired additional information from what was previously reported during Comic-Con. What say you? [Read Article]
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Tom Cardy from stuff.co.nz writes:
Today at age of 50,Peter Jackson has just wrapped up principal shooting on the two-part The Hobbit in Wellington, he has done what was considered the impossible.
How things have changed for Wellington, after the release of The Lord Of The Rings, the subsequent release of King Kong and The Lovely Bones has not only made him the best known New Zealander in the world – it had a direct impact on the city he lives in.
[Read More]
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