Amph One Thread To Rule Them All: The Rings of Power + The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings Trilogies

Darkslayer, Legolas Skywalker, I wouldn't count on seeing Barad-dur or Mordor in TABA.

 

I'm not counting on it either, but it would be very cool to see.

Scene with Legolas encountering the Dwarves

 

Can we close this thread on account of rampant piracy? Is that a thing in the ToS?

 

No it's precisely your conversation that's making it unbearable. This thread used to be a place for intelligent conversation, now it's akin to talking to a toddler about my little pony.

 

At least it's not a Brony talking about MLP.

 

Legolas doesn't think friendship is magic.

Legolas has no friends.

But Legolas has magic....killer... arrows...

So Legolas thinks manslaughter is magic.

 

Um okay?......

 

Slid straight into a puddle of fanwankery.

Pretty sure that's not SLG's complaint here...

 

Luke Evans interview

 

That interview is old.

 

TDOS receives two nominations for Special Effects and Costume Design

http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/hobbit-desolation-smaug-snubbed-bafta-awards-121000570.html

 

Already mentioned in my post (#6685 of this thread).

In other awards news, TDOS has got a nomination from the Art Directors Guild:
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/201...ives-nomination-from-the-art-directors-guild/

And here is an interview with the VFX director, Eric Saindon:
http://www.artofvfx.com/?p=5789

I also came across this very interesting article about Richard Armitage in The Hobbit:
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/12/12/richard-armitage-inspired-by-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug
Honestly, if there were ever one fanfiction on this good Earth I would pay to read, it's RA's imaginings of Thorin's life, in whatever form it presents itself. It would give us such an insight into his characterization, and would be a wonderful gateway into the Dwarven culture besides... Hundreds of pages. The mind boggles.

Additionally, the shooting of additional pick-ups in May this year seems to be confirmed:
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2014/01/10/86156-more-filming-pickups-for-may-this-year/

And last but not least, a Happy Birthday to Fran Walsh (yesterday), whose work on the two Tolkien trilogies cannot be underlined enough, as adapting two monuments such as LOTR and The Hobbit for the silver screen is a thankless task indeed.

Lauré

 

The Toronto Sun? Gross.

 

Especially the padding she had to do to bloat the Hobbit out. Cannot be understated.

 

Also, Fran Walsh is a producer on every Tolkien movie. Those movies have earned $1.5 billion.

"Thankless"

 

I wish I could think of some clever disparaging remark about how horrible these films are and untrue to the source material, but I can't. If appreciating the fleshing out of the appendices from LOTR and borrowing from bits of the Silmarillion in order to create a trilogy out of the Hobbit is wrong then I don't want to be right. As a fan I am grateful beyond words that these movies are being given to us. They're beautiful, they're fun, and I really don't care if they don't sweep the Academy Awards next year...but I'll be cheering if they do.

 

These current movies are ok to mediocre (my opinion of AUJ has gone downhill since the last time I saw it), so the fact that some of the people in this thread are elevating DOS to Citizen Kane status is sad and borderline pathetic.

 

Man, Wolf of Wall Street looks more old-timey than I thought.

 

Yeah all the people whining about how it should've been one movie to be 'true' to the source material... yeah here's how that would've gone.

Gandalf: Bilbo come on a quest with these dwarves to kill a dragon!
Bilbo: Wait what?
Gandalf: No time! Quest has begun! I'm leaving now!
Bilbo: Wait why?
Gandalf: No time!
Dwarves: We are dwarves
Trolls: We're trolls!
Dwarves and Bilbo: Oh no!
Gandalf: I'm back and saved you!
Bilbo: Oh so now will...
Gandalf: No time! Here are Elves!
Elrond: I'm an Elf
Dwarves: No we leave!
Dwarves: Now we are captured by goblins
Gollum: I'm in this movie! And now I'm not
Dwarves: Now we escaped
Beorn: I'm Beorn
Dwarves: Oh look spiders!
Thrandruil: I'm an elf.
Dwarves: Now we're in barrels!
Biblo: What's going on? Who are all of you I can't tell any of you apart.
Dwarves: No time! Look Laketown!
Bard: Hi, I'm Bard.
Dwarves: Look the Lonely Mountain!
Smaug: I'm Smaug
Bard: Oh look Smaug!
Smaug: I'm dead now.
Thorin: Mountain is mine!
Dwarves, Elves, Men: No way!
Goblins and wargs: Battle now!
Beorn: I'm here now!
Bilbo: What happened?
Gandalf: I'm back, did awesome stuff, quest over!
roll credits...

Yeah 1 movie with no padding would've been one of the absolute worst cinematic experiences. No reason for Gandalf always leaving except him at the end saying how he had totally important stuff to do but we didn't get to see it and have tons of characters who get ZERO character development who exist only to fulfill a role in the story. The Dwarves would just be indistinguishable.

Only way to prevent that would be to cut characters and merge others which would get complaints as well.

So between those options... bring on more padding.

 

I like the so-far two films, and I don't necessarily think they should be "true" to the source material. By all accounts, many film adaptations have far surpassed their source material. And I don't think The Hobbit's short length should be compared to the films, as successful, well-received films have been adapted from short stories and novellas. I also believe that Tolkien himself probably would have expanded his first book after LotR if he could have. Lastly, I think the cries of butchery of a lighthearted, fluffy kids' book are hyperbolic.

However, many of Jackson/Walsh/Boyens's more blatant additions (extended action sequences, love triangles, albino CGI orcs, general padding) fall flat, and I don't think these new Middle-Earth films live up to LotR precisely because of those additions.

 

Honestly I think two films would have been fine. But I'm not complaining lol. My only gripe is that they cut cool parts from the books - Gandalf introducing Beorn to the Dwarves, Bombur having to be carried through the forest, etc. for a stupid made-up romance. But I have similar complaints about The Two Towers, and I loved that one.

Can't wait to see TABA

And for the record Legolas Skywalker is one of the most intelligent posters on these boards.

 

Darkslayer,
Luckily, we have the EE to make up for lack of theatrical runtime, and set photos show that they indeed shot more of Mirkwood than shown on-screen (the Bombur episode springs to mind). For that specific example, I understand why they didn't put it in the theatrical version, as it doesn't specifically add anything to the tale as a whole, but makes a fine addition to the EE for those "in the know". And I suppose we may be treated to an extended scene in Beorn's house, as well...

Lauré

 

Yeah, I'm wondering if they reshot the intro to Beorn and his house.

If it had gone exactly like in the book, people would be complaining about how it was a slow beginning, like AUJ again, and momentum-killing.