Azog and Bolg

Fresh off the press via TORn: unofficial reports indicate that John Rawls (not the political philosopher) has been cast as Azog in The Hobbit. However, last May PJ himself reported that Conan Stevens would portray Azog in the films. Adding a bit more confusion to the situation; two days ago, TORn reported (and JW Braun, a regular contributor, confirmed in the comments) that Stevens would portray Bolg instead. According to Mr Braun, the report that Conan Stevens would play Azog was "misinformation". I could easily believe that had it not been reported on PJ's official Facebook page, but what do I know? I'm not part of the all-knowing, well-connected team at TORn. It'd be nice if they'd say where they got their information from, though.

In case anyone has forgotten the difference between the two characters: Azog is the orc-chieftain who killed Thror and was later killed by Dain in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. Bolg is his son, who rallied the orcs to fight against the dwarves in the aftermath of Smaug's death and was killed by Beorn at the Battle of the Five Armies. Azog's casting was announced almost a year ago, but there was no word on Bolg until very recently. Azog does not appear in the book.

Given the seeming mess being made of Tolkiens world and dating in other news I dont think it is possible to speculate much on what PJ is doing with Bolg and Azog. Anytng is now possible including it seems them arriving on a sled pulled by were-bunnies!
I have not been so horrified at the prospect of film so far before its release before! Right now I wish the whole thing would get canned before PJ completely destroys whats left of Tolkien.

PJ has probably got to the stage that he does not need to worry about genuine Tolkien fans at all, as by now he has well and truly generated enough interest and can let go of Tolkien's coat tails completely.

Stevens was indeed cast as Azog a fair old while ago but now, it would seem if the rumours are true, he is no longer to play the part. The thing is, Stevens's CV, and Jackson's affection for him, would suggest (to me at least) that the original announcement wasn't "misinformation" and that he hasn't been sacked; he's simply been moved on to a larger role. These sorts of reshuffles happen all the time on big productions and, after all, didn't Jackson & Co. do exactly that with Ryan Gage recently, moving him form the (minor) role of Alfrid to the (not so minor?) role of Drogo?

The thing is, I can't see The Mountain that is Stevens playing a human, so what's the other, obvious (and potentially more significant) role for him to fill? Bolg. I think TORn may be right.

But, hey. Speculation? What speculation?

PS Still, even if this is right, none of this quite confirms what's going to be on screen will match the LotR Apps. What concerns me is the continued absence of a Nain...

That makes a lot of sense when you explain it like that, Kendalf. I certainly hope that Bolg is given a more prominent role than Azog. I think there's a good chance they'll show the War of the Dwarves and Orcs in flashback (has there been any mention of this in interviews?). If so, Azog would need to show, but he'd only have one or two scenes. That could explain why they (re)cast the role so late; they don't need the new guy for very long.

As you said, speculation.

their just making it up as the go. Like PJ with his scripts changes from day to day with whatever he feels like or whatever the press wants to hear that day, kind of mentality I guess. Misinformation yeah right.. I'm not buying it. I was born at night but it wasn't last night.

I just think they mixed them together.. like I mix all the dwarves together

btw, hellu Sinister, long time no see

Pettytyrant101 wrote:
I have not been so horrified at the prospect of film so far before its release before! Right now I wish the whole thing would get canned before PJ completely destroys whats left of Tolkien.

None of us would be posting here if that were the case, and despite my gripes/disappointment/outright hatred of many parts of the Trilogy (even now it still sounds dumb to call it a trilogy) overall I think it was a price worth paying for the wider fandom, the films have made alot of people very happy and introduced many people to the books, at the very least it's been interesting discussing/moaning about them here, and elsewhere for the past few years. Thanks primarily to Jackson the books are now a cinematic Gold Mine, soon enough someone will attempt a new spin on things, I'd certainly be intrigued to see a remake, but I'd agree it is perhaps best for the books to speak for themselves for a few years.

But on a personal level, I can't say I'd be completely dissapointed if the films didn't happen, looking back on my misplaced crazy excitement when the first trailer was released just makes me sad, there are a quite few elements of the films I Like (The first hour of AUJ Smaug, Freeman, Nesbitt, Stott, Pace, much of the set and costume design, and Howard Shore's Dwarven Motif) but very little I love...and overall I simply can't say these are the films I wanted, nor the Duology I had expected.

Amen to that
I remember saying to my daughter after we came out of the cinema after watching ROTK..."wouldnt it be great to see the hobbit done ?" ...... & now they have & all the enthusiasm I felt has vanished. Watching this very last film feels more like a necessary duty to perform just after someones died, not looking forward to it but, it has to be done. I feel saddened in a way and, certainly, let down. The books will, Im sure, be a big hit & continue ever more. Everything has its ups & downs, literature, Cinema, fashion etc. one day loved by all, the next, slated. For me the films will always be a downer, but as long as I can walk over to my book shelf, pick up a book & read it I will be forever happy. You cant touch that peejers !!

azriel wrote:Amen to that
I remember saying to my daughter after we came out of the cinema after watching ROTK..."wouldnt it be great to see the hobbit done ?" ...... & now they have & all the enthusiasm I felt has vanished. Watching this very last film feels more like a necessary duty to perform just after someones died, not looking forward to it but, it has to be done. I feel saddened in a way and, certainly, let down. The books will, Im sure, be a big hit & continue ever more. Everything has its ups & downs, literature, Cinema, fashion etc. one day loved by all, the next, slated. For me the films will always be a downer, but as long as I can walk over to my book shelf, pick up a book & read it I will be forever happy. You cant touch that  peejers !!

At the end of the day it's just a film and one Man's interpretation of the book, very different to my own, I can't fault Jackson for having the vision (or madness) to convince the studios to shell out for two trilogies that have entertained so many, and I certainly appreciate, even enjoy many parts of the endeavor, but I take many issues with the execution of it.

Jackson has at the very least opened the road to many potential successors, and it was his LOTR trilogy that introduced me to the book, so in many ways I will always be thankful for the films...though much more grudgingly for the Hobbit trilogy.

So, uh, whatever happened to John Rawls? I was looking forward to hearing Azog and/or Bolg read passages from A Theory of Just Killing Dwarves onscreen.

Fake edit: Wikipedia says he ended up playing Yazneg instead. Who the hell is Yazneg, you ask? I had the same question. Apparently he's this guy:


"Each orc is to have an equal right to the most extensive number of dwarves to kill compatible with a similar number of dwarvish victims available to other orcs."

He got thrown to the wargs in AUJ didnt he? Thats what happens when your not cgi enough

Yep, he's the one who Azog killed on Weathertop for being ambushed by sneaky Elvses.

Jeez Eldo, get some sleep!

You talk to me about sleep more often than anyone else I know except my mother.