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Post by orwell on Aug 15, 2011 18:23:01 GMT -6
Yes, Tauriel is an original character. From what I've heard, she's an elf, though I can't recall if she's from Rivendell or Mirkwood. Jackson and his team want to remedy the lack of female characters in The Hobbit. The idea of new non-Tolkien material makes me nervous but at the same time, having no women in the cast wouldn't fly with today's audiences. What rubbish! By that thinking, no one would ever read The Hobbit in the first place.
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Post by Stormrider on Aug 17, 2011 6:25:03 GMT -6
Well, in the entire Tolkien world, there were females who had some roles to play. For example: Luthien, and wasn't there a female human leader somewhere, Melian, Arwen, Galadriel, Ungolient and Shelob, etc. etc. So Tolkien's world is not completely devoid of female roles--just not too many in The Hobbit or LOTR.
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Post by Andorinha on Aug 17, 2011 15:35:31 GMT -6
Re Orwell's "Rubbish!"
Not sure I'm following you here, Orwell. Do you have the time to expand?
I think, for "purists" the "all male revue" Hobbit works well enough, and the animated version did not leave me wondering "where are the gurls," but I do remember from other topic discussions on several fora that many readers/ viewers were struck by the lack of females in any role.
I think Freddie is right in being "nervous" regarding the alteration of The Hobbit, and he is also, probably correct in feeling that Jackson might want to bring the story more inline with modern sensibilities -- after all, I bet at least half the prospective audience will be female.
I always thought it a shame that JRRT never developed his Female Adventurers, "The Old Took's Three Remarkable Daughters." At least, Bilbo's mother favourably impressed Gandalf, and there are hints that she was quite active in "adventuring," and, probably, Bilbo derived his penchant for adventure entirely from her...
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Post by Fredeghar Wayfarer on Aug 17, 2011 17:43:08 GMT -6
No one's debating that the original novel has appeal. My point is that what works in one medium doesn't always in another. Sometimes changes are made in the adaptation process. Some changes work, some don't. It's all part of the translation of a work to another format.
LOTR was low on females but I think the lack of any female character at all in The Hobbit is something that would raise eyebrows for the non-fans. Telling them that that's how it was in the book or that the story was written in the 1930s wouldn't make much difference. You'd get complaints that Tolkien and/or the filmmakers are sexist.
I personally see no problem with adding a couple women to the cast, as long as their presence does not cause the story to stray too far. Tauriel will likely have only a minor supporting role as a Mirkwood warrior. And Galadriel's scenes will be based off material in the LOTR appendices so they will have basis in Tolkien's work.
I'm personally pretty excited to see the White Council take on the Necromancer, if that's where this is leading. Jackson did a nice job fleshing out the "behind-the-scenes" moments in LOTR, like Gandalf's imprisonment in Isengard. So while I'm slightly leery, I think I ultimately trust him with the new material for The Hobbit.
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Post by Stormrider on Aug 19, 2011 8:20:44 GMT -6
I'm personally pretty excited to see the White Council take on the Necromancer, if that's where this is leading. Jackson did a nice job fleshing out the "behind-the-scenes" moments in LOTR, like Gandalf's imprisonment in Isengard. So while I'm slightly leery, I think I ultimately trust him with the new material for The Hobbit. I agree! These hidden back stories of Gandalf's disappearances throughout The Hobbit will be interesting to see. Can't wait myself!
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Post by Stormrider on Sept 6, 2011 6:32:07 GMT -6
Speaking of the White Council and the other back history, I was reminded from reading The Quest for Erebor in Unfinished Tales, that Gandalf was on his way to The Shire in March of 2941 for a short rest. He hadn't been to The Shire in about 20 years. He was worried about two things:
1. Sauron ensconced in Dol Guldur and the possibility of an attack he might make on Lothlórien and/or Rivendell.
2. Smaug hovering in The Lonely Mountain and the possibility that Sauron could take control of the dragon and use him for his evil purposes.
Gandalf was lost in thought as he headed into The Shire and he chance upon Thorin Oakenshield on his way back to the Blue Mountains near The Shire. Thorin was haughty and wanted revenge on Smaug and asked if Gandalf could given him some help. A light bulb went off in Gandalf's head! He would use Thorin to help get rid of Smaug!
Gandalf helped Thorin plan his trip and suggested that he use Bilbo Baggin's since Smaug knew the smell of Dwarves but had never seen nor smelled Hobbit before and that Thorin needed stealth to sneak into Smaug's lair.
Gandalf had chosen Bilbo because 20 years ago, he remembered Bilbo's inquisitiveness about Dwarves and Elves and other Hobbits who had traveled. Bilbo also had the Took side in him and the steadfast Baggins side. So Gandalf suggested Bilbo as the one to sneak into Smaug's lair to Thorin. Thorin was rather disdainful toward Hobbits who he thought of as just farmers and not worth enough to go on an important trip to dispose of Smaug. But Gandalf managed to persuade Thorin into stopping at Bilbo's house to make a final decision.
That was all before The Hobbit story actually begins. Gandalf stopped at Bilbo's house after he already had things set up with Thorin.
So I just wonder where PJ is going to start his movie version of The Hobbit! Will the above story be the beginning of the movie or will it start like the book does and somehow work this back story into the discussions at Bilbo's house?
This would really be an interesting introduction, because you really get fuller knowledge of how much Thorin was set against using a Hobbit and the reasons Gandalf has chosen Bilbo in particular in the first place. But I guess PJ can work it into the normal story somehow as a flashback.
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Post by Stormrider on Nov 22, 2011 7:31:35 GMT -6
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Post by Vanye on Nov 22, 2011 19:39:29 GMT -6
Yeah! PJ seems to be putting back all the weight he had lost.
That scene w/the dwarves all wrapped up in spider silk was funny cuz somebody asked them "are you having fun, fellows?" 8^)
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Post by Stormrider on Nov 23, 2011 8:30:59 GMT -6
I liked learning how they actually film in 3D. Very interesting. All the things they have to change and think about to make it work. PJ sure has a lot of camera equipment! That was also true with the old Black and White movies. The actual colors of the clothing the actors wore (or the paint on the walls of a room) may have clashed, but to get the correct shades of black/grey/white for the film, it worked.
They showed Bilbo in the top of the tree! That is one of my favorite scenes. Dig that colorful patchwork robe Bilbo wore when he opened his front door. And the trees and foliage in Mirkwood was very psychedelic for filming the scenes although PJ said the colors will tone down when we actually see the movie.
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Post by Andorinha on Nov 26, 2011 21:55:44 GMT -6
Ooo, thanks for the movie update link, Stormrider, very interesting. So that's how they do 3-D, I guess that means we'll need glasses when the movie comes out, hope a video version comes out in 2D... Ah, got to see Bilbo in the tree tops, glad they are using that scene! Not sure if the cliff-face scene is meant to be the mountain pass... LOL, kept thinking the dwarves look like klingons... It was good seeing some of John Howe's new art work, hoping they release some of it after the movie is out.
Not a single glimpse of the dragon, sigh, guess we'll just have to wait on that.
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Post by Stormrider on Nov 27, 2011 7:12:53 GMT -6
I am sure anything to do with Smaug is under very tight security! I can't wait to see and hear him. He will probably be up for the digital animation award at the Oscars!
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Post by Fredeghar Wayfarer on Dec 21, 2011 1:14:13 GMT -6
The trailer is here!!!!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM--4UklaL4It looks freakin' awesome. I loved the Dwarves' song. Does the melody sound familiar to anyone else or is it just because Howard Shore wrote it? Loved all the character bits and the glimpse of the Trolls. I'm trying to identify the ruin that Gandalf is walking through. Dol Guldur? A fortress in the Lone-lands? Do we assume from this that the split between the two movies takes place at Gollum's cave and the finding of the Ring?
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Post by Stormrider on Dec 21, 2011 6:53:48 GMT -6
Ha! Freddie, You beat me to the punch of posting this trailer!
I was wondering what they would do about the instruments the Dwarves play in the book . . . simple solution . . . they don't carry them in the movie!
Bilbo's meeting with Gollum is a cliffhanger moment. It would be a good cut off point between movies.
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Post by Andorinha on Dec 21, 2011 9:34:32 GMT -6
Hmmm, the Dwarves' song starts out as a chant that sounds, initially, a good deal like Aragorn's chant of the Lay of Luthien. I think this was sung to the Hobbits just before Weathertop?
Interesting shot of Galadriel playing with Gandalf's beard/ hair... does Celeborn know?!
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Post by Stormrider on Dec 23, 2011 10:52:38 GMT -6
Interesting shot of Galadriel playing with Gandalf's beard/ hair... does Celeborn know?! I imagine we will have to wait until the movies come out to find that out! I was hoping they would actually play the instruments. *sigh* It does sound like Aragorn's chanting.
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