count down

[leelee]

I have heard rumors all over town
They say that you're planning to put me down
All I would like you to do
Is tell me that it isn't true

I am Harrison Ford

Harrison, you have NEVER looked better than you do now. And why on earth would anyone want to put you down? Maybe it is the moon?

[Norc]

found this on theonerings facebook.

It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made. Recently Fran, Phil and I did just this when we watched for the first time an early cut of the first movie - and a large chunk of the second. We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life. All of which gave rise to a simple question: do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved ‘yes.'

We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance. The richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, allows us to tell the full story of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the part he played in the sometimes dangerous, but at all times exciting, history of Middle-earth.

So, without further ado and on behalf of New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films, and the entire cast and crew of “The Hobbit” films, I’d like to announce that two films will become three.

It has been an unexpected journey indeed, and in the words of Professor Tolkien himself, "a tale that grew in the telling."

Cheers,

Peter J

source: https://www.facebook.com/notes/peter-jackson/an-unexpected-journey/10151114596546558

fuck this shit. I'll do like Mrs Figg, look forward to the elves, if there are elves, I'll be happy. And Benedict.

[Pettytyrant101]

[Norc]

this will suck big balls. seriously. If these movies are anything but extraordinary, magnificant, surprisingly awesome and superb, I will never ever forvige PJ for that.

[Ally]

Yay

[Lancebloke]

Hmmm.... I just bought Empire with a big thing abot the first film... wonder how much of that is rubbish now (as in will be changed... not what a few people will have thought)

[Eldorion]

I think it's safe to say that the bridge film idea has been canned.

Other than that ... I can't get excited for this. Part of that non-reaction is still being tired from Otakon but I just don't feel anything about this announcement. I can't say I'm surprised. I've been deliberately lowering my reactions but this is just ... meh. I've always been critical of some of PJ's decisions but not even I would have predicted this before the PJ brought it up at Comic-Con. But once he did this outcome was fairly predictable, even though I was in denial at first.

[Pettytyrant101]

This isnt even just milking the Tolkien cash cow anymore- they were already doing that with TH being two films full of added nonsense about ringwraith tombs and Necromancers and WC.
I have no idea anymore what we are getting here- but what we are not getting is the simple, much loved tale of Bilbo Baggins going off on a big adventure and having his horizons broadened by beauty and horror and coming home the wiser for it.
That story is more and more seeming like a side issue to PJ's shitty remake of the History of ME.

I wish he was here so I could kick him about a bit till he racants his folly and increasingly unbelievable ego! I wouldnt be suprised if he starts demanding Tolkiens name be taken off the book covers and be replaced with his own and the text rewritten to match his poor films.

[Eldorion]

Lance raises a good point. What exactly will comprise the third film? Presumably the finished scripts for the first two split the story more or less in half. Will they end the first film at an earlier point than previously planned, move some material to the second, and then split off the end of that film? Or will the first film stay the way it is with only the second film being split? Perhaps the White Council material will be mostly in the second and third films.

Lots of questions. The answers are undoubtedly dependent on the length of the movies. I think we heard 2h30m rumored as the length of Part 1, which is half an hour shorter than the shortest LOTR theatrical edition. I wonder if this means that there won't be Extended Editions (lol).

[Pettytyrant101]

I'm at a loss Eldo no know what he is thinking or planning- splitting the book in half was bad enough for me when it was just for PJ to put in all his own stuff- breaking it into 3 I can only imagine the horrors of PJ invention he is going to make us suffer.
I suspect all this means is like King Kong whole chunks of film will compromise nothing more than intermiablly long action sequences that make it look like a game trailer for hyepractive 14 year olds with ADS.

[Eldorion]

Well let's look at Jackson's official statement.

We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance. The richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, allows us to tell the full story of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the part he played in the sometimes dangerous, but at all times exciting, history of Middle-earth.

We already knew from Comic-Con that Dol Guldur would be a battle, although that had been hypothesized for years. I'm not sure what PJ means by "the rise of the Necromancer" since the Necromancer had been kicking around in Dol Guldur for thousands of years. I think he most likely means the Sauron's return to Mordor/unveiling of his full power. That would tie in more directly to LOTR. Perhaps Mordor itself will make a brief appearance at the end of the third film. Or a not so brief appearance; who knows.

On the other hand, since we're most likely getting flashbacks to Dwarven history prior to the time of The Hobbit, maybe we'll also get flashbacks to the Necromancer's backstory. I hope that this doesn't mean that the Necromancer is somehow directly involved in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs or something, but it would probably make more dramatic sense if they're throwing all these things in to tie them together.

[Pettytyrant101]

But nothing happens Eldo- he flees Dol GUldur and shortly afterwards Mt Doom burst back into flame and he openly declares himself- thats not much to make a whole extra film out of!

Your last suggestion, tying Sauron to the Dwarf/ Orc wars fills me with horror Eldo- so thats probably what PJ will do!

[Eldorion]

But nothing happens Eldo- he flees Dol GUldur and shortly afterwards Mt Doom burst back into flame and he openly declares himself- thats not much to make a whole extra film out of!

Your mistake is thinking that the events in the film will have anything but the barest resemblance to the events in the book.

[Norc]

I bet will see Mordor, more dwarven history, Gollum creeping out, the hunt for gollum (dear lord maybe aragorn joins in) the death of frodo's parents, tauriel and kili's wedding and the birth of Gimli. sure. all of that. Bring it on!

[Pettytyrant101]

Good point Eldo.

Norc your faith is touching- but this is PJ not Moffat we are talking about.

[Eldorion]

I already knew that Peter Jackson lacks self-control as a filmmaker because I watched King Kong, but this is a new low. I asked this before, but it's worth repeating. Is there any other example in the history of cinema where a film-maker was so bad at editing and telling a concise story that he split his film in two after he had finished not only writing the film/s but also shooting it/them? I'm not aware of any.

There's a lot of cool stuff in the backstory but there's no narrative framework to present it. If he actually does try to throw in all of the things that Norc mentioned (Drogo Baggins was already cast, for what it's worth) that would be the very definition of self-indulgence.

[Norc]

I am going to crawl up in bed and sulk for a few hours now, because my faith just hit rock bottom.

[Eldorion]

I sympathize with you, Norc, but I'm unconvinced that we've reached rock bottom yet. We still have a full two years to go before The Hobbit 3: Hobbit Harder hits theatres.

[Norc]

yeah, I wonder what the name will be...

the Hobbit: an unexpected journy
the Hobbit: there an back again
the Hobbit: an unexpected movie/ there an back again again/ a long expected party/ Gollums revenge/ Smaug 2/ the battle of Dale

[Ally]

The Hobbit 4: Trouble in the Shire
The Hobbit 5: Bilbo goes to Hollywood
The Hobbit 7: We Need to Talk About Bilbo

[Lancebloke]

Maybe they will rename all the films...

Maybe it will be:

The Hobbit: Episode 1 - The Phantom Darkness
The Hoobit: Episode 2 - Attack of the Elves
The Hobbit: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Maia

They can then repackage the LotRs trilogy for another re-re-re-release

Episode 4 - The New Hope of the Fellowship
Episode 5 - Isengard Strikes Back
Episode 6 - ................ Return of the King

[Eldorion]

Just so long as there are no CGI dinosaurs added to Fellowship.

...I was referring to the special edition of the first Star Wars movie, but I realized after typing it that it could be construed as a reference to King Kong. Dear Lord, the similarities between Lucas and PJ keep mounting! It's like stanzas, they rhyme. Like poetry.

Spoiler:

[Ally]

No I got it
really I did

[Eldorion]

I'm glad.

Spoiler:

[Ally]

But you may have to explain it to the others