He dances around on his tippy toes and speaks only in rhyme. Sort of like me when I’m drinking.
He actually only appears in the Fellowship, but Jackson cut him out of the movie, so I feel Bombadil deserves a place in the Hobbit.
It doesn’t have the weight of the trilogy, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s inconsequential. The problem is that it’s a self-contained set-up for LOTR, introducing you to the concepts of Middle Earth and the Ring. But since readers and non-readers alike are now well-versed with both after nine hours of movies, a lot of the wonder and discovery is gone. Plus, the Ring is supposed to be the coolest accessory ever and is used several times throughout the book to pull Bilbo out of the fire. Of course, now everybody will be cringing any time he slips it on his finger.
From a non-reader standpoint, The Hobbit will undoubtedly be seen as a letdown IF their expectations are not properly adjusted. For fans like me, though, the trilogy seems incomplete without its prequel, even if it’s showing up at the wrong end.
If they did something from The Silmarillion (which they wouldn’t), I vote for Beren and Luthien
It’s a tender love story where Beren embarks on a quest to Angband to recover some stolen elvish jewels inserted in the Dark Lord Morgoth’s crown to win Luthien as a bride.
I mean Sauron, the Dark Lord in LOTR, gets his ass kicked by a freakin’ mutt!
As great and epic as the Lord of the Rings is, it has serious pacing issues. The Hobbit is a better straight up story, even if it’s less consequential.
That’s obviously an imposter-Smaug. He’s not red.
What you need to do is get in close and paint him scarlet. Then your false-Smaug might pass muster.
He dances around on his tippy toes and speaks only in rhyme. Sort of like me when I’m drinking.
No, THIS was a little too funny.
I can see Jackson pulling it off. I didn’t think he’d be able to make the trilogy remotely well, and he did it. There are a lot of scenes in The Hobbit that I think would translate nicely to film, and some that I think could kick ass (the battle of four armies) if done by Jackson’s hand. Plus, the story is a good one to put on the big screen. I’d like to see the explanation that it was the use of the ring in the Hobbit that awakened Sauron in the first place, and the riddles, and so forth. Plus, like I said, the spiders and Smaug (the real Smaug, not his little cousin up there in that picture from krayzkrok.)
With the exception of Thorin Oakenshield and The Fat Dwarf, they weren’t differentiated in the book. Why would they need to be differentiated in the movie?
It will probably piss some people off, but the most likely scenario is that it will be two movies and Jackson will incorporate a lot of additional material from the appendices and other sources to give it a larger scope and something more in line tonally with the LOTR.
The problem with doing anything at all from the Silmarillion is that, in the end, the fundamental lessons of the First Age are:
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Men and Elves can’t hope to defeat or even hold the line against evil without the help of the Valar, and even trying is self-defeating.
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Submission to the will of the Valar and Eru is the only way.
It echoes a certain current of thought in Christianity that is downright Islamic. I, at least, reject it with prejudice. The story of Turin, in particular, is supposed to be “here is what not to do”:
Turin’s actions, based on his philosophy, lead each and every time to disaster for those who aid him, and the reader is supposed to draw a moral from this.
In short: Turin is wrong, the only way is to lie low and not do anything and pray for deliverance, Turin says he’d rather stand on his own two feet and die fighting, and that’s supposed to be his fatal flaw. This is simply not an acceptable message to most Americans at the very least, and I think for many other people too.
Actually, I think just about any of the stories from the Silmarillion would translate great to film. The manner in which they are told would give the filmmakers room to fill in a lot of details and present the material in a manner of their choosing, without being unfaithful to the source material.
Still, more Glorfindel from BFMEII Please.
I think The Hobbit would make a brilliant film. Less lingering shots of Frodo trying to look tortured can only add to the overall enjoyability of the setting.
It can be a tight rip roaring adventure through Middle Earth with less forced drama.
Two key problems:
- Gollum had been using it for hundreds of years before Bilbo.
- Sauron, aka the Necromancer, was active well before Bilbo left the Shire. Gandalf goes to check him out while the Dwarves and Bilbo tromp through Mirkwood. Moreover, the map and key Gandalf gives Thorin – the whole impetus for the quest – were picked up by Gandalf in Sauron’s Mirkwood dungeon.
I hope Jackson doesn’t play up the ring, and keeps with the book in having absolutely no hint of Sauron’s connection to it at all. His handling of it in the LotR was way too ham handed IMHO, for a ring that Bilbo at first doesn’t even notice he’s put on.
His house was cursed by Morgoth, originally the most powerful among the Valar and the source of all evil, and Turin wielded an evil sword with a diabolical will of its own for starters. It’s a tragedy.
Was the love between Romeo and Juliet also wrong and “here is what not to do?”
Having just read Children of Hurin, which is basically the story of Turin, I’d argue that that’s not what the story is about, at all. It’s about the story of Men, who having escaped thraldom to Morgoth by fleeing west, still live under the growing strength of his shadow in Beleriand, and yet are still valiantly defiant.
Hurin stands up to Morgoth, sacrificing himself to save Turgon (which in the long run arguably saves everyone), and in so doing draws Morgoth to actively curse his entire family. Turin is doomed by Morgoth’s malevolence, and the ills that befall him are not due to his moral failing, but directly due to the trickery and manipulation of Morgoth, including the death of Finduilas, his slaying of his sister, and the slaying that causes him to flee Menegroth. Turin’s pride plays some role, but it is not the key element.
Moreover Tolkien does not paint the story with the moralistic overtones you describe, “Turin says he’d rather stand on his own two feet and die fighting, and that’s supposed to be his fatal flaw”. First off, Turin doesn’t die fighting. Furthermore, his slaying of Glaurung is a key victory for Elves and Men, despite the tragedy of Turin’s life. The irony of the quotes you provide is that the elf proves to be wrong, for hiding from Morgoth in the end avails Elves and Men naught, while despite the danger, pain, and tragedy involved, resisting Morgoth proves to be the best past. Hell, as I recall, even the major defeat that saw Hurin enthralled to Morgoth could have easily swung towards victory for the Noldor and Edain. That they lost doesn’t mean they should have instead hid, and while some bit characters might say so, Tolkien does not.
Also, in the final battle, as I recall the Valar need the Men and Elves of middle earth as much as they need the Valar. It’s been some time since I read the Simarillion though.
Anyway, this would make an excellent fantasy movie, although the sharp tragedy might put off many LotR (movie) fans.
I didn’t get this. Turin was cursed by Morgoth, originally the most powerful among the Valar and the source of all evil, for starters. He also wielded a sword with a diabolical will of its own forged by a dark elf. Turin wasn’t wrong, he was damned from day one. It’s a tragedy.
On that note was the love between Romeo and Juliet also wrong and “here is what not to do?”
How could that possibly fail to be completely awesome? ;-)
I think The Hobbit could make a fantastic feature film if done with Jackson’s attention to detail and the WETA magic from the trilogy. It’s a self-contained tale of adventure with dwarves, goblins, elves, a dragon and more giant eagles in the end. What more could a filmmaker need?
Actually, a film portrayal of Glorfindel defending Gondolin would be infinitely cooler.
Two key problems:
- Gollum had been using it for hundreds of years before Bilbo.
- Sauron, aka the Necromancer, was active well before Bilbo left the Shire. Gandalf goes to check him out while the Dwarves and Bilbo tromp through Mirkwood. Moreover, the map and key Gandalf gives Thorin – the whole impetus for the quest – were picked up by Gandalf in Sauron’s Mirkwood dungeon.
Damn. I’m rusty. Okay, ignore that lil bit, then, haha. Still think it’d be a cool movie. :-)
Isn’t this where Backov jumps in and tells us what a hack Jackson is, and how he butchered LOTR? It’s like deja vu. Uh, only in reverse…