Re: Countdown to Release | SPOILER THREAD

[Ally]

One of the most important scenes in the entire book IMO, those giants IMO. Hope they spend a long time with them!

[Pettytyrant101]

OO dont worry Ally, I am sure Pj will.....

[Pettytyrant101]

Jackson showed 12 minutes of footage that included a chillingly comic exchange between Bilbo and Gollum; a tender moment between McKellen's Gandalf and Cate Blanchett, reprising her role as elf queen Galadriel; and the pivotal moment when Bilbo discovers the ring.- seattlepi

[David H]

You don't like stone giants, petty? I've always loved the thought of them and have hoped they didn't get cut like Tom Bombadil. They're the sorts of creatures and details that, for me, make ME feel bigger than just the story line. Who knows what will make PJ's final cut, but if the stone giants make it through to DVD I'm hoping you'll leave at least some of them in the purist edit.

[Pettytyrant101]

A little over 12 minutes of footage was shown to the rabid fans in Hall H. The first scene was where Gandalf, Thorin and the dwarves are visiting Bilbo's home to offer him the contract to serve as their burglar in breaking into Smaug's mountain stronghold. We also saw Gandalf chased through the passageways of a mountain by a monster, as well as part of the scene between Bilbo and Gollum where the former agrees to play a game of riddles with the latter. Should Bilbo win, Gollum must show him the way out of the mountain. If he doesn't then Gollum will eat Bilbo.

We also see Bilbo discovering the One Ring in Gollum's cavern and then coyly omitting to Gandalf what it was that he discovered. There was also a scene between Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and Gandfalf where the latter expresses his fears and speaks about why Bilbo was chosen for their mission. There were also plenty of shots of Legolas (Orlando Bloom) back in action as well as of Radagast the Brown.
The panel actually started with an EPK-style/production video showing behind the scenes footage and the filming of sequences such as the Battle of Laketown and getting to see Stephen Fry's Mayor of Laketown and Luke Evans' Bard the Bowman. Fans also got their first look at a character created just for the movies, the red-haired elf Tauriel played by Lost's Evangeline Lilly.- IGN

No problem with the storm giants David- them being turned from frightening background into an action sequence I do have a problem with.

[Pettytyrant101]

Philippa talking about bringing back Cate Blanchett for Galadriel, since we saw a brief bit of her scene in the footage. "She immediately brings a very powerful female energy to the film." "We did feel the weight of it being a boys own story," so they created Tauriel the Elf, played by Evangeline Lilly. "We believe it's completely in the spirits of Tolkien."


Theres that phrase again.


"We write the script as we're shooting."- PJ

Yeah and it shows.

[Tinuviel]

A ginger elf huh? The Doctor will be pleased

[Eldorion]

A third film: Warner Bros says no, but Peter Jackson says to TORn "maybe?"


Have fun Eldo. Love the Imperial March envy you getting to hear it live.

Thanks Petty. Chilling during intermisssion but at least we borrowed some bug spray. The first half had music from James Bond, Batman (Danny Elfman version), The Bridge on the River Kwai, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Harry Potter, among others. The second half is all Star Wars, and will be punctuated by fireworks since its now almost completely dark.

[Eldorion]

Philippa talking about bringing back Cate Blanchett for Galadriel, since we saw a brief bit of her scene in the footage. "She immediately brings a very powerful female energy to the film." "We did feel the weight of it being a boys own story," so they created Tauriel the Elf, played by Evangeline Lilly. "We believe it's completely in the spirits of Tolkien."


Theres that phrase again.

So it's hard because the characters in the book are all male ... but adding "a very powerful female energy" is in the spirit of Tolkien? COMPLETELY in the spirit of Tolkien, apparently. Do these people even listen to their own bullshit anymore? Even if you like the idea of adding female characters, their justification is just aggressively stupid.

"We write the script as we're shooting."- PJ

Yeah and it shows.

I thought that maybe the neverending development hell would have given them the chance to actually finish writing the films. Do they LIKE not giving their actors the chance to read the script?

[Tinuviel]

Here's a video that Andy Serkis posted of cast introdcutions

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=468244643186794

[Pettytyrant101]

The opening clip was the longest of the bunch, as we saw Gandalf, Bilbo and the dwarves all together at Bag End arguing over how to go about reclaiming what is theirs from the dragon Smaug. There was a great deal of humor sprinkled throughout, with Freeman getting the biggest laughs for his reluctance to join the dwarves on their journey.
The footage then went to a short montage that featured Rivendell, Christopher Lee as Saruman, and Fry as Master of Laketown.
We then saw a great scene that showed Gandalf getting into the action with his sword/staff combo, followed later by a lower energy—but no less exciting—scene between Gandalf and Galadriel (played by Cate Blanchette). It’s a sweet and touching scene between the two, with Galadriel acting as a reassuring presence for Gandalf.
Next was a wonderful scene between Bilbo and Gollum. Though it’s only been 9 years since The Return of the King, the amazing advances in visual effects are evident with this newly rendered Gollum. He looks gorgeous and even more lifelike than before. It also appears that they’ve done some subtle work to make him look younger than he does in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which is a nice touch. Bilbo and Gollum participated in the “Game of Riddles,” and laughs were abundant.
We then saw a scene between Gandalf and Bilbo with the former telling Bilbo that he’s changed and isn’t the same person that left The Shire. Bilbo handles The Ring in his pocket while trying to decide if he should tell Gandalf about it, before simply saying that he “found courage.”
The last sequence was a montage of great-looking action scenes (likely from the second film) that showed the trolls, a quick look at Evangeline Lilly’s character, and a fantastic shot of Orlando Bloom as Legolas drawing an arrow and aiming at the group of dwarves. Cue crowd going wild.-collider.com

The montage included footage from both Unexpected Journey and There and Back Again — pointing to the fact that both halves are really one singular film. The clip begins with a voiceover from Gandalf over familiar shots of Hobbiton. "Far to the east, over ridges and rivers, young woodlands and wastelands. lies a single solitary peak." Inside of Bilbo Baggins' home, we see the ensemble of Dwarves around the table arguing. Rumors have spread that a dragon may potentially attack the humans. The dwarves want to do something about it — but they have no way of getting in. Thankfully, that's where Gandalf comes in. He has a key! And he wants Bilbo to be the dainty burglar to sneak into Smaug's chamber.
There's a great playfulness in the scene, a level of comedy we didn't see much of in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy. Makes sense considering Hobbit is often cited as a more kid friendly adventure, but the casting of Martin Freeman plays a huge part in the film's levity. His British humor stylings are on full display here, from awkward juggling of words to slapstick comedy (when Bilbo learns he's going on the Dwarven quest, he takes a breath before collapsing on the floor).
The montage launches into an edit of quick clips teasing new and familiar faces. We see Gandalf meeting Saruman (Christopher Lee). Shots of the dwarves running through the forest. Gandalf in Rivendell. A shot of a boat going through a canal in Laketown. Lots of larger-than-life settings and actions that are even more colorful and fantastical than LOTR. Almost closer to Neverending Story than the original trilogy.
To prove The Hobbit is more than just grand shots of Middle Earth, we saw a scene between Bilbo and Gollum in Goblin Caves. The two compete in "a game of riddles," with Gollum having his own back-and-forth with himself. The new-and-improved Gollum looks slick and Andy Serkis returns with the same manic performance that won him praise back in LOTR. Freeman shows off more of his amazing comic timing — if only there was more Gollum in the movie!
Back in Rivendell, Galadriel asks Gandalf why he chose the halfling to accompany him on his journey. Proving Ian McKellen hasn't lost any of his ability to wax poetically like a wise old grandfather, the delivers a monologue on friendship and courage that's blissfully heartwarming. "Small things that keeps the darkness at bay." It wins over Galadriel, who tells the wizard, "If you should ever need my help, I will come."
The final full scene is an exchange between Gandalf and Bilbo that hints at events down the road. "You've changed since we've left the Shire." Bilbo struggles to tell him about The Ring, its power already begin to mesmerize him. He holds back, and it's a fascinating piece of drama on Freeman's end. He's tempted and a little bit evil. Where will he be when we leave him in movie number two?
The footage rounded out with an epic montage of scenes. A rock creature throws a boulder at the gang. Ogres and goblins galore. Legolas shows up for a cameo, thrusting his bow and arrow in the faces of the dwarves. A new character, Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) defends with doubles swords against a band of baddies.- hollywood

[Tinuviel]

TEMPTED BY THE RING????????????????????? NO!! NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!! PJ what are you thinking?

[Tinuviel]

Here's a very descriptive account of the footage

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2012/07/14/59080-the-hobbitcon-hall-h-presentation-torn-round-up-part-one/#more-59080

[Eldorion]

Those are some good write-ups Petty (EDIT: and Tin), thanks for finding and posting them. It's nice that they ended up at the top of the new page too, very convenient. I'll read through them in detail and add my own commentary later.

In the meantime, it seems that the biggest news today is the renewed possibility of a third movie, perhaps a 'bridge' to LOTR. However, breaking The Hobbit into two films is already a stretch, and making the same number of films as LOTR out of a book that's only a third of the length seems absurd even by PJ's standards. Even including material from the Appendices they still have to make up a lot to stretch it into two films. My initial thought/wish was that PJ was just teasing the fans, but I'm not actually sure what his exact words were. However, I came across this article discussing his comments which I thought was interesting.

http://collider.com/peter-jackson-the-hobbit-3-movies/180491/

Peter Jackson went on record at Comic-Con that he wants to shoot more footage for The Hobbit. According to our partners at Omelete, Jackson said this could turn into two things:

1. There could be an extended version.
   
2. Jackson may add a third chapter to The Hobbit.

This comment was apparently made before the panel. A few hours later, during the panel, TORn reported this in their live blog:

PJ says he's not very good at making movies shorter. He's sure there will be extended cuts of the Hobbit movies

Keeping in mind that Warner Bros. has already denied that there will be a third movie, I think that this is a fairly convincing set of cumulative evidence that there will be Extended Editions of The Hobbit (which everyone pretty much assumed already) instead of a third movie. I feel fairly confident in the idea that PJ was just teasing the fans. Thinking on it further, I'm not aware of any film project ever that made an entirely new film out of the bits left on the cutting room floor. The decision to split books in two is made before the cameras start to roll.

I don't want to underestimate PJ but I have a hard time believing the three-part Hobbit theory.

[Mrs Figg]

the only positive thing I have heard is that Tauriel is red haired, as for the rest. meh! That live TORn cam thing just goes to show how far up PJs A hole they are, there was far too much sycophantic false laughter and toadying going on for my liking. It all sounds a bit OTT with lots of empty made up stuff too. Bring on Game of Thrones, its way better.

[Mrs Figg]

this from Den Of Geek, july 15th 2012

Is The Hobbit set to be a trilogy of films? Peter Jackson hints that part two may be split up after all...

Here’s a story that seemed to have been ruled out in the run-up to this year’s Comic-Con, yet has reappeared. Basically, the rumour had been that the second of Peter Jackson’s two movies of The Hobbit, There And Back Again, would be split into two films. That’d basically make The Hobbit a trilogy, all from one book.

Peter Jackson told Hitfix that “that’s a discussion we’re having, yeah. We have certainly been talking to the studio about some of the material we can't film, and we've been asking them so we can do a bit more filming next year. Which, I don't know what would come of that, whether it'd be extended editions or whatnot. But those discussions are ongoing”.

Jackson’s extra material would come from the appendices, he revealed, which is the stuff “we haven’t been able to squeeze into these movies”.

We’ll find out in due course whether The Hobbit becomes three films, or follows the extended edition path of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy (we'd figured extended cuts would arrive on DVD and Blu-ray anyway, though).

Appreciating that Jackson’s track record more than gives him the right to do what he thinks is correct for the material, the thought of splitting the book into three films is still a mildly troubling one. This follows the announcement last week that the final The Hunger Games book, Mockingjay, was being split into two by Lionsgate. Before that, of course, Harry Potter and Twilight had trodden the same path
However, as we pointed out in this feature last week, The Hobbit is just one book. That’s one three-act story to split into potentially a trio of three-act stories. Just splitting it into two was already likely to be presenting big challenges. It’ll be interesting to see just how they do that, should they choose to press ahead.

We remain extremely excited by The Hobbit, though, and the first film, An Unexpected Journey, will be arriving this December

[Mrs Figg]

The Hobbit showreel: dont read if you dont want... SPOILERS

It opens with a sweeping shot of the green hills of the Shire, with a voiceover from Gandalf intoning “Far to the east lies…” Setting the scene of where they are going -– which is Bag End and the dwarves gathered around Bilbo’s table talking about the quest.

An imposing and grim Thorin Oakenshield heads the table: “Rumors have begun to spread,” he says, “The dragon Smaug has not been seen in many years… Perhaps the vast wealth of our people lies unprotected … perhaps it is time to take back Erebor!”

Gandalf produces the key “It was given to me by your father for safekeeping, it is yours now.”

Fili: “if there’s a key there must be a door!”

This leads in to a discussion of the map and what must be done to go after the long-lost treasure. Gandalf looks to Bilbo… “That is why we need a burglar.”

Martin Freeman is wonderful in this scene, playing a hobbit who is as yet oblivious of what is being designed for him. Even as Gandalf professes the need for a burglar, he agrees but doesn’t quite realize that what Gandalf means is HIM.

“He’s hardly burglar material” the dwarves observe as they regard him skeptically. Which Bilbo happily agrees with. Gandalf then rises to full height and in a deep voice, (much like in Fellowship of the Ring when he says commandingly: “I’m not trying to hurt you, I’m trying to help you”) he warns the dwarves that a burglar he isn’t, but a burglar he will be.

Because, he says, Smaug is well aware of the scent of dwarf. A Hobbit will be wholly unknown to him. Bilbo looks appropriately horrified.

Thorin and the others are extremely skeptical: “Very well, we’ll do it your way.”

As we saw in the trailer last fall, Thorin says: “I cannot guarantee his safety, nor will I be responsible for his fate.”

“Agreed,” replies Gandalf.

The reading of the contract is hilarious, as Bilbo goes over the terms and the various dwarves jump to reassure him that it will be painless once he’s turned ash. James Nesbitt, as Bofur, is superbly funny.

Then Bilbo faints. Thunk.

A series of quick shots of Radagast follow

Radagast is full-bearded, rough-looking, with a big hat… which we later see conceals a number of birds. He’s cuddling his bunnies a hedgehog, and later on we see him racing through the forest on the infamous “bunnysled”.

There’s a quick look at Laketown, which looks amazing. Large boats, almost like pontoons, navigating their way through a warren of canals. We also see the Master of Laketown, played by Stephen Fry.

A brief moment of Gandalf speaking to Radagast: “Turn around and do not come back.”

Radagast does come across as very gentle, as we heard out of Cinema-Con reports.

We follow Gandalf into what could only be Dol Guldur. Looking terrified, he races through narrow passages, as we see glimpses of something ominous racing around either away or following him. Very tight quarters, then suddenly a person we assume to be Thrain leaps out and attacks him.

The riddle game…

Cut away to Bilbo and Gollum meeting in the goblin caves. Bilbo is clumsily waving Sting at Gollum, trying to get him to go away.

“I need to get un-lost a soon as possible.” Bilbo tells Gollum. “I don’t know what your game is.”

“GAMES, WE LOVES GAMES, DON’T WE PRECIOUS!?” Says Gollum, who is quickly slipping between Smeagol and his alter ego.

Bilbo, frightened but up for a small shot at escape, “ Let’s play a game. If I win you show me the way out of here.”

It then segues into the riddle game and after into an expanded look at the scene which caused much speculation when the first trailer was released.

Gandalf and Galadriel come together, with Galadriel saying: “Mithrandir, why the halfling?”

Gandalf responds: “Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? That’s because I am afraid and it gives me courage.”

Chills. Seriously.

Gandalf and Galadriel are holding hands but not in a way that is romantic, but more in the sense of a lifetime of friendship and shared experiences. There is longing, but there is sadness. I cannot say that it is “love” in the way most people think of it.

“Do not be afraid, Mithrandir, you are not alone,” then in Elvish, with English subtitles. “If you ever need aid, I will come.” And after a long look, she draws away from him, leaving him standing alone, and… slightly lost.
Cut to Bilbo picking up the ring

Then we hear Gandalf say, “You’ve changed, Bilbo Baggins…”

Bilbo replies “I found something in the cave”

Gandalf raises his eyebrow and asks, “What did you find?”

Bilbo hesitates and fingers his vest pocket and then drops his hand and says: “My courage”.

Gandalf replies, “Your courage? Good, you’ll need it”.

It’s the first instance of Bilbo’s reluctance to tell the truth about the Ring.

The action shot sequence

And heeeeerrrre we go — a wild ride of action shots.

BOOM. TROLLS GIANTS. Ugly, mean, wild and vicious trolls stone giants.

Have you seen the pics from Comic-Con? Absolutely nothing like seeing them in action. Not the bumbling stupid trolls one kind of expects after reading the Hobbit.

Radagast, racing through Radagast, racing through the forest on his bunnysled. Yes, a bunnysled. A sled, pulled by surprisingly strong bunnies.

Tauriel, barely shown in these clips, although Philippa speaks highly of her in the Q&A which follows. What we do see is a female, dressed in-brown version of Legolas (description courtesy of Quickbeam), in combat with goblins. Legolas springs out of… leaves? …and joins in the fighting.

Legolas races from the action and comes face-to-face with the party of dwarves, who come to a shocked standstill. “I won’t hesitate to kill you, dwarf,” says everyone’s favorite elf. Warning: We are slightly guessing on the exact quote, due to excessive audience screaming.

More trolls… and then Gandalf is seen standing on a hillside, stabbing his staff into the ground with a blast of morning sunlight.

THE END

[Mrs Figg]

nice little vid of Gandalf getting wild applause, natch.

[David H]

Radagast is full-bearded, rough-looking, with a big hat… which we later see conceals a number of birds. He’s cuddling his bunnies a hedgehog, and later on we see him racing through the forest on the infamous “bunnysled”.

They just HAD to go there, didn't they?


But while there's plenty for a purist to cringe at, it's mostly the same old stuff we knew or had guessed at, so that's some small comfort...

It looks like it's going to pass my first two hurdles (setting the bar as low as possible) which are not to bomb (unlike Bakshi's LotR) and to be generally recognizable (unlike Rankin Bass RotK).

I wish I could see the Riddles in the Dark scene clips to get an idea of the tone. For me a lot of Pt. 1 will stand or fall on that scene. From the descriptions it sounds hopeful.

I'm more worried now about Thranduil/Legolas/Tauriel and the elf/dwarf conflicts. I don't see how the little clues we're getting come into line with the book at all, and I'm beginning to suspect there's a reason why so little of that part seems to have been included.

[Mrs Figg]

the tone I am slowly getting is one of spectacle heaped on spectacle, kind of psychedelic bombastic Bomburastic slapstick.

[Mrs Figg]

[David H]

Yeah, but that's to be expected for a highlight reel that's been edited specifically to drive a mob of comic fans to a frenzied climax. If they couldn't find a dozen minutes of spectacle in a 2 hour adventure movie there'd be a real problem!

For me the only problem with spectacle is if it gets in the way of the story and the characters, and for that I think we can only hope, pray, and wait.......................................

[Mrs Figg]

from EW Inside Movies, 12th july 2012



Scene 3: Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) asks Gandalf why he brought “the halfling” on this most unexpected journey, prompting one of Gandalf’s soul-stirring speeches about how it’s “the small deeds by ordinary folk” that best hold evil at bay. It ends with what I perceived as quite a tender moment between Galadriel and Gandalf, hinting at an unspoken ache in Gandalf’s heart for the attentions of this celestial being standing before him.

Scene 4: We see Bilbo pick up the fateful One Ring, and then cut to a later scene where Bilbo almost confesses to Gandalf about the new item he’s picked up on his way. “I found something in the goblin tunnels,” says Bilbo.

“What did you find?” says Gandalf, clearly concerned.

“My courage.”

Snap Judgment: You know how when you finally return to a once familiar place that brought you great comfort and happiness after a long time away and you’re nervous that it may not quite be the same? Well, don’t worry. The Hobbit looks and feels very much like The Lord of the Rings, and even if the stakes don’t feel nearly as dire, Middle Earth still felt very much at home.

Freeman’s scene with Gollum was by far the most intriguing, since the audience is much more familiar with (and fond of) Gollum than they are with Freeman’s performance as Bilbo. There’s a younger edge to Freeman’s Bilbo; it will interesting to see how the performance develops over the two films.


er Gandalf luvs Gladders????? I dont think so!

[Mrs Figg]

from i09.com july 14th 2012

Martin Freeman OWNS the role of Bilbo in the first Hobbit clips!
Dwarven Contract

"The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage," says Gandalf. "But if you're careful and clever, I believe it can be done."

Everyone agrees they need a burglar — and Bilbo says it needs to be an expert. Suddenly, the dwarves all think Bilbo said that he's an expert — but he protests that he's never stolen anything in his life. The dwarves all agree with him that he's not really burglar material — the wild is no place for gentle folk who can't fight or fend for themselves.

Then Gandalf does the Thunder Voice and turns incredibly dark: "If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is." Everybody is startled and looks as though they've just been mind-controlled. Gandalf continues in a normal voice, saying that Hobbits are light on their feet, and the dragon Smaug is familiar with the scent of dwarves, but not so much the scent of Hobbits. "There is a lot more to him than appearances suggest," says Gandalf — and Bilbo has a lot more in him than anybody realizes, including Bilbo himself. "You must trust me on this."
So the dwarves agree, and give Bilbo the standard dwarf contract for going on an adventure — full of clauses in which Bilbo agrees to the terms of the adventure, including how long it'll take. And funeral arrangements. And we glimpse Bilbo's huge Hobbit feet for the first time! While Bilbo is reading the gruesome contract, the dwarves are muttering to Gandalf that they can't guarantee Bilbo's safety — and Gandalf agrees.
The dwarf contract gets more ridiculous — until Bilbo is indemnifying the dwarves for any laceration, evisceration or incineration he suffers from the dragon. "Oh aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye," says one dwarf. A dragon is a "furnace with wings. Flash of light, searing pain, then you're nothing more than a pile of ash."

Bilbo seems fine for a second, then he faints.

Glimpses of Other Stuff
We saw a quick succession of snippets: Gandalf on his horse. Then Gandalf holding a great sword, which lights up the darkness. The whole company climbs an ornate staircase against a beautiful vista. Somebody is handling a strange-looking rodent. And then there's a quick shot of Christopher Lee as the wizard Saruman!

There's Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, looking amazingly shiny. Bilbo is holding a sword and looking at it. And there's a trapdoor which is opened by a bearded figure who stamps his foot, causing the floor to open up and reveal treasure. Bilbo and the dwarves are riding on a boat through the river. A dwarf has birds landing in his hair, and then he puts his hat on over the birds.

Then there's a sequence where Gandalf is walking into a misty landscape. "Wait," says one dwarf, "What if it's a trap?"
"Turn around and do not come back," says Gandalf. "It's undoubtedly a trap." He walks forward, sword in one hand and staff in the other. Then he's inside a maze of dark passages, with a monster hunting him. The monster scuttles around, and Gandalf runs . Gandalf gets his arm scraped, and clutches at it. And then the monster jumps out at him and pounces on him, and they stuggle together



much later...
Then there are glimpses of sword-fighting against giants! Gandalf fighting a giant with his sword, and the giants with their massive rocky scary faces, throwing shit at everybody. Giants scowl at the camera. There's a massive battle. And we see Galadriel looking lovely and ethereal.

And later, Legolas is aiming his bow and arrow at a dwarf, saying, "Do you think I won't kill you, dwarf?"

Then more shots of giants laying waste to everything in sight, smashing and destroying. And then Gandalf puts his sword down in the ground, and light comes out of it!

much later...
Behind the Scenes
We also saw some amazing shots of the filming in Laketown, with the houses on the water — and a bit where the buildings are on fire, and someone breaks down the door of a house, and a huge fireball comes flying out and throws him into the water. We also glimpsed the Master of Laketown — Stephen Fry! — who seemed very jolly and joked about checking out the Dwarves' behinds. "I saw you shaking that ass," says Fry in his plummy voice.

And we saw a few snippets of Bilbo in a room piled high with gold coins and jewelry. ("Oh, no, I've lost my wedding ring in there," a crew member jokes.") Jackson says that the dragon will be added, about a year and a half from now. And we see Freeman standing there, saying that dwarves are hard to catch, and so are burglars — and then he puts on a ring!

Audience questions
The audience Q&A was especially powerful, because of all the passion that came across. Everybody had stories about their relationship with this book. One woman came up and said that when she was little, she was sad that there were no female characters in The Hobbit, so her father changed Gandalf, Smaug and some other characters into girls as he read it to her. So will the movie include more female characters? She asked.

Yes, the filmmakers say. "Gladriel is the most powerful character in Middle Earth," says Philippa Boyens. And a big part of the new movie is building that up and telling more of her story. "We did feel the weight of it being a bit of a boy's own story." So they created a new character, Tauriel, played by Lost's Evangeline Lilly. "We believe it's completely within the spirt of Tolkien."

And Freeman talked a lot about how comfortable he felt stepping into the role of Bilbo — because everybody was so welcoming and had so much faith in him.

For the first few days with the Hobbit feet, "it's a bit like a fledgeling duck, finding your flippers," said Freeman. After that, it gets much easier.


THUNDER VOICE?? STRANGE RODENT?? GALADRIEL MOST POWERFUL IN ME??? AAAAarrrrrrrggggggggg!!!!!!!

[Pettytyrant101]

I am currently ill and receiving emergency crabbit maintance- when enough buckie has been consumed to compensate I will return to vent my opinion on all this .......burn the witch!