News from the set [2]

So about Hugo, reading behind the lines, a) it was chaos, b) I cant shout at the boss, c) I wanted to scream in frustration, d) 3D is gimmicky, e) Ian and Kate told me to chill as its pointless shouting.

very interesting reading Eldo, good work, I enjoyed reading it.

Yup, that's pretty much how I read it Mrs Figg.
Weaving strikes me as a 'real' actor (as does Viggo)- in that he prefers lower budget, more thoughtful artistic films but has to do the blockbusters to get the money in first- there are several actors do this I know of- fund independent films (or perform for low pay) with money they get from doing occasional blockbusters which they don't really rate much.

Like cumberbatch?

yes Norc

yes I agree Petty, Hugo is not your typical Hollywood type, unlike Depp who I think tries a wee bit too hard to seem like a bit of a rebel, and then does Pirates and The Tourist.

Thanks guys, I'm glad you enjoyed the read. They were a lot of fun to write! My old debates with GB on this forum provided some of the fodder for the essays.

15? Jeez, that makes me feel bad about myself!

Don't feel bad Ally- not like Eldo for all his youthful talents can claim to be the designated Forumshire Channelers Apprentice. Now thats a position of respect.

Bain, son of Bard.


Scottish actor John Bell may be the youngest member of the cast of The Hobbit, but this year alone he’s been in two blockbuster movies, Wrath of the Titans and Battleship. John is currently filming in the UK so we were delighted when he took a break from his busy schedule to answer some questions for Middle-earth News.

Thank you for being interviewed, John.
We’d like to know a little bit about you and how you got into acting? What was it like to be in Dr Who?
Being on Dr Who was a dream come true for me. I was only 8 and already a huge Dr Who fan so to be able to not only visit but work on the set was unreal. I loved every minute of it, especially meeting David Tennant, Freema Agyeman and John Barrowman.

Can you tell us a little about the character you play in The Hobbit?
I play Bain, son of Bard the Bowman a young boy ready to do battle when needs be and to protect his father.

How did you get the part of Bain? Had you read the book before you got the part? Are you a fan of Middle-Earth?
I got the part the old fashioned way going in for an audition and then getting call back to meet Peter, Fran and Philippa. I was incredibly nervous going into that audition as I realized how massive this was and I wanted to do my best. I hadn’t read The Hobbit before but I read it straight after I’d got it! My Dad is a huge fan of Tolkien and the LOTR movies so he was able to teach me a number of things.

Do you ever feel daunted by the thought working with famous actors like Liam Neeson (Wrath of the Titans and Battleship) and Sir Ian McKellen? You have worked with fellow Hobbit actor Aidan Turner in the past. Does it help to have a familiar face on set when you first join a production?
I never really get star struck, they are just people after all, but I have to admit meeting Sir Ian McKellen for the first time was a little bit scary! It is always nice to have a familiar face when you come on to set for the first time especially someone as cool as Aidan. I mean how cool is it to have a vampire as a friend.

How does working on films abroad affect your family life? What did you do in your free time in New Zealand?
Whenever possible my Mum and Dad both come out with me but I miss my family when I’m away. It’s always sad to have to say goodbye to my Granny and Papa and my Granny “I” and my dog Angus but we video call them all the time. It is tough though, but well worth it.
In my free time I love to eat! There are so many great places in Wellington from Mexican to Vietnamese, I’m a bit of a foodie just now! New Zealand is all about outdoors so I also spent a lot of time walking and seeing the fabulous landscapes made famous by the LOTR movies.
Were there any light-hearted moments behind the scenes of The Hobbit that you can tell us about?
My Mum, Dad and I organized a karaoke one night at a Korean restaurant and that was a blast! My driver Yvette, all the scale doubles, my double Venetia, the one ring’s Larry and the dialect coaches Leith and Sarah were all singing away into the wee hours of the morning to Britney Spears and Tina Turner. Quite often at lunch the crew organize live bands and when Billy Connolly came on set, the first thing he did, before he even said hello to my Mum, was to take her hand and dance round the catering tent with her.

What would be your worst nightmare on set?
Turning up to a really long scene with lots of dialogue with the wrong lines and holding everyone up. “Touch wood” that will never happen.

You’ve been in The Wrath of the Titans and Battleship as well as The Hobbit. Apart from acting, what aspect of filming fascinates you most?
Meeting all the crazy and wonderful people that make a movie as well as travelling, but what I love to do is stunts! I’m a typical boy when it comes to that and I won’t shy away from a fight sequence, and I’m happy to slip into a harness whenever it’s needed so I can hang off a cliff or swing across a perilous ravine.

What do you think you will take away from the experience of working on The Hobbit?
A lot of great friends who I will keep forever all over the world and fond memories that will make me smile whenever I think about them, the atmosphere on The Hobbit is unique you are not just part of a film crew but part of a family.

Do you have any momentos from your films? What would you most love as a keep-sake from The Hobbit?
I have my very own sword which I got as a crew gift when I wrapped plus my dagger I use in the movie. I also have a cast of my face which was taken at Weta Workshop, one of the coolest places on the planet ever! It may look a little bit weird though! My own face up on a wall.

Comic con preview

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Today Jackson is staging one of The Hobbit's many complex battle sequences, with a group of elf warriors joining the dwarves to fight off an arachnid attack in Mirkwood Forest.

My first thought is that this is this just an actioned-up version of the original spider scene in the book, but the more I think about it, the more this sounds disturbingly like the spiders come back for an attack after the dwarves initial escape, forcing the dwarves and the elves to band together. Undoubtedly this will provide an opportunity for Kili and Tauriel to grow ever closer.

Beaten by Petty.

NB The full story was quite interesting to read; thanks for the find, Chris!

I'm inclined to agree with your anaysis Eldo- the only other I can think of is in the book the elves are having a party and every time the dwarves approach they disappear (something I think in the dark of Mirkwood cold be great cinema)- but I think PJ will drop or pervert it, perhaps combining this encounter with the elves with the dwarves escaping the spiders- then the spiders, in close pursuit of the dwarves, attack both forcing them to fight together- only for the elves to them take the dwarves captive.
I expect the elves to led by Legolas with Tauriel as his Captain. Perhaps even teaching him knowing PJ.

Gimli in the Hobbit ?

Lately, rumors have sparked again thanks to a Reddit user who met Rhys-Davies at a convention and asked him straight out whether he would be involved in the films, even in a minor role. According to the user:

So I just spoke with John at a convention. I asked him point blank about a possible cameo in the Hobbit. At first he denied it, but after a little pressing he smiled really big, laughed, winked, and said that maybe it was possible. His smile... his laugh... I'm taking this as a pretty big indicator that he will be involved in some small way. Can't wait to see it!

Whether this might refer to an actual resuming of the Gimli role, or voicing of a CG character or otherwise, it seems likelier that Rhys-Davies will be part of the Hobbit experience after all.

What the hell why not?! Heck, make him and Legolas the two cellar guards and they can have a drinking game! Gimli can belch and fall over, again.

I take it your not happy with the idea ?

Past caring. I'm expecting Oliphuants to get a cameo now at the BoFA along with Nazgul and Smeagol.

Funny you should say that Petty

Why Jackson? Why?

At every turn he does this. Why can't Bilbo just slay the spiders and name the sword. It's crucial for character development. Jackson did the same thing to Frodo at the Fords and now he's doing it again to Bilbo.

Is having a "strong" female character worth it, if it means depriving the protagonist of key bits of character development? With Tauriel it's even worse because ALL of her actions must be stolen from someone. It adds insult to injury for her actions to be stolen from Bilbo because his character development is arguably the most important aspect of the story.

If he's credited with even one speaking line, he'll draw a residual payment off the movie for the rest of his life. I'm guessing this is PJ "taking care of friends".
(Hey, maybe he can do a dwarf-tossing gag in the battle of 5 armies for old times' sake. )

Thats my biggest fear RA about this news- it takes away from Bilbo- this is his big moment- he has a go at the trolls and it leads to disaster- he's dropped baggage in the mountains who then gets lost- the spiders is his big moment- the moment he steps up to the plate, rescues his friends and uses Sting to kill for the very first time- nothing should take away from that moment - and a host of elves will.

If Gimli is in TH Dave I will be amazed if there isn't either a dwarf-tossing joke, a drinking joke, a belching joke or a prat-fall or I willl eat Radagasts shitty hat- as that was all the use PJ ever made of Gimli anyway.

Come on guys, we already knew there was going to be plenty of that with well over a dozen dwarves in this film. Bombur alone will account for many of them (who wants to bet that someone will try to toss him over the Enchanted River? ) but there's also Dain the hog-riding mohawk dwarf and many others. PJ has plenty of fodder for dwarf jokes this time around.

oh no there is going to be Bards 'cute' son taking up valuable screen time with a useless sob story and cloying family drama, how banal.
I agree with you guys about the spiders, this is Bilbos moment to shine, I dont want Elves saving the day no matter how great they are to look at with Legolas being His Blondness to the rescue.

maybe he'll fight them off but they will come back .. I mean, when they are captured by the elves..

But then Norc we would have the bit with the dwarves getting captured, the bit with them escaping and fighting spiders, then they get captured, then yet another fight with the spiders. By this point we will have had a fight with trolls, a fight or two with goblins, not be suprised if there is a figth betwen Bilbo and Gollum or dwarves and storm giants too, or dwarves and elves at Rivendell!
And somehwere there will be a WC fight going on with the Necro and thats not including any flashback fights to Dwarf/goblin wars.
Its in danger of just being spectacular fight sequence after spectacular fight sequence.