Cool News
A Fantastic Article About The State Of THE HOBBIT At EW.Com!
Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
A lot of this information is not new, but what this week’s ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY cover story actually does well is lay out everything in sequence to show just what’s gone wrong and why.
I definitely have an opinion about what’s going on between Peter Jackson and New Line, but I don’t think that opinion matters. My understanding has always been that until the legal issues are resolved, there won’t be a HOBBIT by Jackson. And there’s no guarantee that New Line will do it with him at all.
But if you want to really understand what’s happened so far, this is the best piece I’ve seen, and I think it’s encouraging when you take it all in at once. In a perfect world, I’d love to see what PJ and company would do with THE HOBBIT, but if it doesn’t happen, I’ll understand. I just think it’s impressive that anyone would take as public a stand on this as Peter did, since this is standard Hollywood practice, this sort of arrogant bullshit accounting where alleged profit partners are treated like garbage. PJ just got really vocal about it, and I think it surprised the hell out of New Line. Looking at how he’s already lined up to do THE LOVELY BONES and TINTIN, I don’t think it’s hurt PJ at all. And honestly, I’d rather see those, see him moving forward.
I have a feeling there’s a lot more of this story left to unfold...
Here’s the story.
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
Here’s the story.
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
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Yipee
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Peter Jackson used to be fat. I wonder if he's fat again like me.
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What is wrong with New Line. You would think they would like to make a few hundred million! If Peter can't do the Hobbit, I don't care if it gets done.
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Oct 05, 2007 3:30:24 AM CDT
Glad this finally pushed the Sex and the City story off
by buttfuckzydeco
the front page. I just cannot help going back and harping on that.
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Unless it's Jackson working on the Hobbit they won't be getting a single penny from me!
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This will be like the Phantom Menace all over again.
I hope it stays in talks indefinitely. -
I'll settle for Jackson producing, though I hope he directs!
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...is a great story. First book I ever read and I still own that copy. Read it about 6 times. BUT...it's not going to be anywhere near as good as LOtR was. Expectations need to be lowered across the board for this one. Being honest, it should be aimed more squarley at kids as an introduction to LOtR as the books were.
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it's just the truth.
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Seriously,I say 2012-17 at the earliest.Plus I highly doubt Ian Holm will play bilbo again,he's way too old unless they do it now.
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the whole attitude of "we gave him a quarter of a billion dollars, where does he get off suing us for missing money". A deal is a deal and the law is the law. If you owe someone money, you owe someone money regardless of how much you have already paid them. This guy was definately a scam artist at school, lending money and then charging kids an extra 50 cents.
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would only hurt if they brought in a hack. If they gave it to Cuaron, everyone would forget about Jackson as soon as the first great looking trailer hit.
Great trailers make a big difference. Each time they came out for the next one in this series, I quickly forgot how fucking boring the previous ones had been -
Anyway, I hope Jackson makes 'The Hobbit,' if he really wants to.
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He´s good with medieval stuff
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the hobbit is a childrens book. there is no real dramatic tension. it is a very poor foundation for a film, unless it is aimed at pre-teen childen. we dont really need it - and if we get it, i garantee you will be disappointed.
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...as it was tonally written. There is no point, unless the desired effect was something worse than the Ewok Adventure.
As a book, The Hobbit is absolutely a children's story. However, in the context of LotR, the events that take place are just as serious as any of the million or so tales in the Middle Earth mythology.
Don't be morons. -
I've been hearing this for days. Where can i read about it?
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don't dare mess this one up any more, new line
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Seriously, The Hobbit is a book written for children. Tolkien himself wrote that. I'm tired of crappy children friendly fantasy movies. I don't want another Narnia, i just want a mature movie, like Pan's Labyrinth (of course a movie doesn't have to be violent in order to be mature). I desperately want to see a Temeraire movie, surely more than The Hobbit or that stupid Tintin (oh c'mon! Tintin? Really?)...
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Call out the national guard!!
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Anyone expecting another LOTR will be SEVERELY disappointed, no matter how much tangential crap PJ (or anyone else) crams into it.
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PJ better finish up sueing their asses and get to work.
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We can live without The Hobbit
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Yes, I think we all should move on from the LOTR universe. I've seen enough of Frodo and Sam sleeping together and I'm not anxious to see Bilbo giving facials to nine dwarves.
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Althought the film might do less than the LOTR movies, but having a cheaper (but talented) director will equalise the profit. And we don't need no stupid hacks in the story.
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From his few comments on the subject, he seemed to understand that The Hobbit is essentially a kid's story and that there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Jackson would turn it into another dark epic, which is a terrible approach to the story.
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I know I'm only repeating what Wooksie already posted, but they would make this every bit as serious as LOTR. Trolls trying to eat hobbits, Gandalf killing goblins, the eagle rescue from the goblins and wargs, the spider attack, Smaug attacking Lake Town, and ending with the fucking battle of five armies? Gee, sounds just like another Bridge to Tarabathia . . .
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Unless you want Bilbo busting a manic Disco Dance move after being tempted by the Ring.....
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Obviously the story of The Hobbit isnt nearly what Lord of the Rings is, BUT...when all is said and done...it will be made to make money like MOST movies are, will give fans another trip into middle earth, and nicely bundle up the film adaptations of the complete series...as The Hobbit is a prelude to Middle Earth and some of the characters. So WHO CARES IF THE STORY ISNT QUITE LOTR QUALITY!
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Perhaps this time it will be an adaptation for a change, rather than a filmed version of Alan Lee's painting with disgusting revisionist changes thrown in for "good" measure. "If you want him, come and claim him"!
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...if it's actually *Tolkein's* story.But then again I'm kinda still waiting to see *Tolkien's* LOTR...y'know...the one with NO dwarf tossing...the one where Aragorn actually carries the Sword that was Broken as his birthright and he doesn't fall off a cliff...the one where Wormtongue slits Saruman's throat...in the Shire...at the end of the story...
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would be like making another Indiana Jones without Spielberg. It's just wrong!
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It'd be great seeing PJ direct The Hobbit, but considering they don't even have a finished fucking script ready yet, the harsh reality is, even if PJ did settle with New Line (and it's doubtful he will), he's occupied for the next 18 months and has also become too expensive, as he'd understandably want 20 % of the back end to do it, which neither Mr. Zaentz, New Line, or MGM will be thrilled about sharing (since New Line and MGM have to go halves on the cinema and DVD profits). New Line were incredibly stupid not to have PJ (before making the LOTR trilogy) sign on for and be contractually obligated to write and direct The Hobbit at a set price. To the dude who mentioned Temeraire, PJ's company have the film rights and are going to make it.
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Jackson really screwed with the logic of LOTR. And it was 80 years, not 60 years, between the Hobbit and The fellowship of the ring. Frodo was 50, like Bilbo, when he left the shire. And I hated the 'hatching' of the Orochi (sp?) Orcs.
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...And The Lovely Bones is a great way to start moving away from the sci-fi (though not necessarily horror) genre. Of course i would have loved for him to have filmed The Hobbit but why the hell didn't they make the four movies back to back in the first place (before McKellen gets too old for starters)...?
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Tonally if not in terms of content. You could ask Tolkien if he wasn't dead.
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Are you a movie studio executive with a genre or high concept project that's saddled in pre-production due to an uppidy prima donna director? Call Brett Ratner. Brett Ratner won't give you lip for your obviously flawed, less than stellar screenplay. Brett Ratner will meet your unreasonably short production time table before your studio loses the movie rights. Brett Ratner will sufficiently imitate the production design style of other, more talented movie directors than him, and can do so at half the price. Call Brett Ratner now, and get your movie made and finished by tomorrow!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYXwJ5Onz7g
What's this all about, is it legit? -
Raimi can have Bilbo go all dark and shit and start dancing through the streets of Hobbiton to crappy disco music. Oh! Oh! And have Bruce Campbell cameo as Smaug.
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Rings without Jackson is like Star Wars without George Lucas...wait, no, that might be a good thing.
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I'm arguing w/ people saying they don't want it adapted to film (liars) because it's a children's book. I repeat, a Hobbit movie would be made just as "adult" as the LOTR movies. All the blood, fighting, and grown men crying and hugging and whatnot. You could dig me up and ask me to repeat myself again if I wasn't alive.
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kill yourself. if you saw homoerotic undertones then you are a sad little cunt.
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Am I the only one of the opinion that the Hobbit should be done by someone other than PJ? We already know what his version of Tolkien's world looks like, I wanna see another take on it. His vision is not the be all and end all, after all, it is a fantasy.
Though, I didn't really like that book on subsequent readings mostly because it's a child's book. But how about the main character being unconscious and missing the entire climax? That would have to be changed or somehow worked around in H-wood. Can't have the final battle without the main character right? -
Oct 05, 2007 10:15:14 AM CDT
Quick, hop on the hip "Hobbit/PJ sucks" bandwagon
by guy who got a headache and accidentally
You pretentious, elitist...whats the word kids use nowadays? Douchebag? Yeah thats it. It's cool to like the lord of the rings movies to lets be hip and hate that shit, while were at, lets hate Hobbit since it's going to make millions of dollars and be loved by all.
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In fact The Hobbit is slightly different in tone and wouldn't hurt for someone else to give it a stab as long as it's not someone who's too set in their ways like Tim Burton.Someone who can handle the fantastic with respect like Nolan, Alfonski or even someone like Ridley Scot who did a very nice job at least on the look of Legend.The only thing that would take a bit of getting used to would be a different Gandalf unless McKellan could be lured back by someone else, who knows. I'm well glad Jackson stood his ground and never buckled that is to be admired, but he's a busy guy and maybee even hen can't be arsed returning to middle Earth as he's been there and back again enough for one man to be sure!
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precioussss!
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Jackson back? Ok i guess. He got most things right, important things, but jeez he makes some nasty blunders. Its like he's three parts gifted visionary director and one part serious hack. The Hobbit needs to be done right, without any unnecessary tasteless add-ons, and I'd rather have someone with the quality and consistency of a Cuaron to handle it.
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If, when the book series is complete, Jackson could get HBO to foot the bill for something like a 10-part miniseries, we'd be set. (I say HBO because the special effects would cost more than something like ABC/CBS/NBC would EVER invest.) Jackson's name on top of a Napoleonic-Fantasy epic could be a crossover draw and a big hit. An alternative would be to only film the first book, which is a great self-contained story - if they only get 2-3 hours to tell a story, they should just focus on the first book and forget everything else. Anyway, I, too, would love to see Jackson handle "Temeraire," at the very least as a producer.
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I've got tired head, wake me up when this gets a green light.
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As a lifelong fan of this stuff, can't see how making the Hobbit at this point is anti-climactic at best.
The whole thing turns out to be BORING at worst...the Hobbit is ALL SETUP; they would have to do too many alterations to make it "fit" the movies that already exist. No reason to make the Hobbit. Take 10 years and 1 billion dollars and make the SILMARILLION instead. Then they get a NEW trilogy. -
Theyve got to get this sorted. I wonder if theyd let Ian Holm play Bilbo with special face-youngering techniques like X3.
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I love it when people do these kinds of posts when it's obvious they didn't read the dozens of posts above theirs saying the exact same thing. Yes, you are a unique internet snowflake.
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This will get made. Jackson will be the director. You wait and see. Just hope he doesn't make it long and boring like he did King Kong. God that movie sucked!
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I don't expect this to be as good as the trilogy, but I'd rather companies spend money to give us something that hasn't already been adapted to film than give us another remake.
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First of all, if you're interested in knowing why they did not make the Hobbit before the Lord of the Rings, do a little searching on the topic online and you'll find out about the rights issues and Jackson's interest in making Lord of the Rings. Secondly, The Hobbit is a wonderful story that truly does stand on its on and did for quite some time before Professor Tolkien completed and published LOTR. You have a wonderful opinion of your own, but I'm glad your not a film executive refusing to greenlight this project for your lack of vision.
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I just don't think that the Hobbit is
interesting enough to warrant all the fuss. -
Every movie ever made or that ever will be made sucks! 24 frames per second, my ass! Bring back the stereoscope!
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...that no other director can. People will be expecting similarity with the existing LoTR movie...naturally. Everyone bashing the two movie concept should just relax. Jackson said he would do a "faithful" Hobbit and the second movie would be like a prequel to Fellowship. I'm all for that approach and it would allow him to do a more faithful adaptation of the Hobbit without having to invent (see: take from the appendices like the Arwen/Aragorn romance) things...things that would detract from a faithful adaptation. Please PJ, no buffoonish Dwarves (tossed or nowt!) this time. That's not to say another director isn't capable of doing a great Hobbit but everyone will expect continuity. Personally, I'd love to see Gandalf disguised as an orc and nosing around Dol Guldur to find out just WHO that pesky Necromancer really is. Hey pipergates, did your other handle get banned?
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haven't even read it.
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The only one i can watch anymore is FOTR. No more butt-stabbing, poo-punching, lords of the brown rings subtext.
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Na, seriously. I fully agree with the posters that had a problem with Jackson's revisionist changes. Although from a pure technical standpoint Jackson's films are really impressive, the films did nada for me emotional-wise.
I'm a huge fan of the Tolkien books, but Jackpumpkinhead hit the nail on the head declaring Jackson filmed Alan Lee's paintings instead. Indeed. The films tonally were way too different from the books and they also could have been so much better had they chosen not to work with some of those all too familiar looking/well known actors. Well, if Jackson is not gonna do The Hobbitt, I vote for Guillermo Del Toro as director.
Cuaron would probably be a great choice as well, but you could be 100% sure Guillermo would make a terrific movie from the book, no doubt about that. -
PJ produces. Fuck everything else.
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But for heaven's sake, mr.McKellen, please be alive and healthy til this movie's done (and long after that as well, I certainly hope!!). Oh, and I think words are really unnecessary on the matter of how this should never be done without precioouuussss Serkis.
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Let's see, wonderful adaptation of a book most thought unfilmable, check. Appealed to long time fans of the books (me) and never-before-readers including Joe Bob Nascar Deer Hunters, check. Every person I ever asked about the movie who hadn't read the books completely got the story. How is it Jackson gets punched-out for sticking too close to the books (I've heard that criticism before. Waahhh, Sauron should fight Aragorn at the end of RoTK!!) from some and from others, disgusting revisionist changes? Seems about just right then. Can't wait for him to get started on The Hobbit. May Dawn smile upon Peter and Bob. O the Hoot!
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Watch the prologue in the Fellowship - as soon as I saw that scene with Bilbo finding the ring, I couldn't wait to see The Hobbit. They can bring the same seriousness and coolness as the LOTR, they don't have to do it like a kid's movie.
And for the purists up above, a movie is not a book, changes have to be made to work as a movie and if you can't accept that, then don't see it. -
when I read this.
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...nailed it. The rest of you bitchers shut the fuck up.
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I know this has been referred to (good post Wash), but what the fuck does he mean by that?
If he's proud that they gave Jackson the budget, then maybe the fuckwit should remember PJ made them for 80something each, when they would have cost double generally.
If the disingenuous prick is saying that's what Jackson earned himself, maybe he should remember that the theatrical release ALONE earned 3 BILLION. And God only knows what New Line have made from the video releases and extended editions. Then there's the fucking merchandise for Christ's sake. And Shaye thinks Jackson is greedy because he wants him to keep his fucking word?! Way to fulfil the Hollywood suit cliché and muddy the goodwill you earned taking such a colossal chance (we already knew Harvey was a greedy sleaze and is probably proud of his 'money for nothing' role in LOTR).
45c royalty cheques for the actors? Be a man Shaye and do what you initially said you would. I hope this haunts you the rest of your days, you fucking dog-in-the-manger (that's if you regain some compunction to begin with). -
eat shit
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nothing compared to the avage TBer slag-off I guess. I would add though that if Shaye really does offer the olive branch as they say, then I can at least respect him for learning from his massive fuckup. And having the guts to fix his mistake when he knows most people will still hate him regardless.
Takes some stuff to admit you were wrong (even if he doesn't literally say it). Most people can't do it. -
sitting in the theater at midnight three years in a row with my friends just as excited as hell, buzzing and waiting, having just the day before watched the extended cut again, and Holy Shit its on! and it was exactly the feeling I was hoping for from Star Wars Ep 1. And The Hobbit needs to happen with PJ because of that. Not once, but three times! I mean Fellowship was SO GOOD, but when TT opened and Gandalf followed the Balrog down the pit! Are there other directors that could make The Hobbit? Sure. But Peter Jackson is owed this.
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Tolkien's story? You mean the one with the fox in the forest given internal dialogue, Sackville-Baggins, Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, Gorbag and Shagrat, and all of the singing? There is silly stuff there, too. Content-wise, Tolkien's writing style, lack of women and sexuality, and the squeamish summaries of huge battles qualify LOTR as a children's story, as well.
Now, Fafhrd and Grey Mouser, that is an "adult" sword and sorcery. -
was fairly dark and scary, but was shown to kids in elementary school throughout the 80's. No reason why live-action version should be bowdlerized and 4kids-ed.
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he made a movie that not only followed the look of the previous Potter films but improved on them, making that world much more interesting. I'm sure he could do better than JacksonHackson and not introduce overblown sillines....morGoth, i didn't get banned, haven't been rude enough i guess, i just streamlined a bit for spelling-ease purposes.
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Reading The Hobbit and The Ring books back to back as an 18 year old for me was a very powerful, almost religious experience.
Then,some 20 years later the movies started to come out...I really don't understand how people who think the Tolkien books are masterpieces can truly love the Jackson films. The problem with the movies not only lie so much in the story changes he made, but Jackson,in my opinion miserably failed to translate the incredible cerebralness and depth from Tolkien's story to the big screen. Another huge failure is that from watching the movies you'd get the idea that the whole movie, from the moment Sam and Frodo leave the village until the ring gets destroyed at Mount Doom, plays within four or five days,a week maybe,instead of the year and a half or something like that in the books. They completely re-arranged the timelines from the books, took stories out, and came up with some bad and completely unnecesary new ones.
The best thing about the movie for me were the human characters. No complaints there, I believed in them. But the hobbits, elves, wizards and dwarfs were all too bad and hokey for word, I didn't buy into any of 'em believing they were anything else but some too well known human actors wearing fake moustaches and funny hats. Don't get me started on Gollem. In the books that guy is quite a character, he's smelly, rotten,an amazing character, nothing like the funny Disney character from Jackson's films. Yeah, the mo-cap was good, but I'd rather have seen a herky-jerky stop-motion Harryhausen-esque Gollem that resembled the Tolkien character, instead of Jackson's cross-breed character of Kermit and Krusty the Clown. Again, there are about as many good things to say as there are bad about the Jackson films. And that's exactly the problem. Yes I guess Jackson and his ladies tried hard to do the books justice, and some of the sets do look impressive (some of suck too) but tonally it was just an extremely flat movie, not even Howard Shore could save it. To the assholes screaming to everybody else with a different opinion as theirs about the films to shut up, please get a grip on yourself. Christ, it's not important at all. I'm glad for anyone who thinks these films are the greatest in the world, Jezus. -
And to Dingbatty. Just because there isn't vivid sex and gore in Lord of The Rings, doesn't make them trivial--unless of course you're a teenage wank off. Tolien's women are actually mostly badass, especially in the Simirillian. That, in itself was pretty forward for Tolkien's generation. Remember he started writing the backstories during World War I.
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Eric from Entourage. The man looks like a hobbit.
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Now, about that Silmarilion mini series....
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I dunno, I tend to agree that the 'Rings' world is Jackson's to play in, since he established the definitive modern film version of Tolkien's masterpiece... give it another 20-25 years, then someone else will attempt to remake it.
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gets my vote for many reasons, least of which was for being clever enough to hire Dave McKean as a concept artist.
But if Rings fans don't think he'd alter the book as much as Jackson did to make it more suitable for the film medium, they're kidding themselves.
Nice post Tom. Refreshing to see there are actually TBers on AICN that can see merit in more than one thing at a time. As in all those posts above. "I love this, therefore I hate that". Fuck me, AICN TBs are so much worse than when they started... -
see anymore bloated Peter Jackson Hobbit films. (however,..if it ever was made, and it will, i guess im there.) stoned again.
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Tolkien had hobbits age slower than humans until a certain age, and he very much described Frodo as looking like a young man, and -- unusually for a hobbit -- somewhat elvish.
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I think I would die laughing if they had some group like Smashmouth redo this masterpiece of a song. Then everyone on talkback would be screaming bloody murder that they did this remake without ANY input from Leonard Nimoy.
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