Monday, March 21, 2011

Break out the Pipeweed

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and follow Peter Jackson on Facebook.  If you do, you might catch some pre-production pics from his upcoming movies depicting the Hobbit, prequels (yes, the plural is intentional) to the LOTR.

I have mixed feelings about the Hobbit being made.  Personally, from Helm’s Deep on…I thought the LOTR books were pretty much raped.  Gimli was comic relief, Arwen becomes a central figure and Legolas is a circus act.  Forget that Elrond shows up and delivers the Anduril to Aragorn right before the Paths of Dead (which are ripped right out of another Peter Jackson movie Frighteners)  and how “Non-Epic” some of the battles seemed due to the CGI……in the end, it is apparent (and admitted) that Jackson didn’t finish the books.  Come on, no Scourging of the Shire?

All that being said, Jackson is great with set pieces and casting…..and that alone gives me hope.  Martin Freeman as (young) Bilbo is PERFECT (if you can find it, check him out as Watson in the BBC modernization of Sherlock) and the return of Wood (reported as Frodo narrating the story), McKellan (as Gandalf) Serkis (as Gollum) gives some continuity.

My biggest concern is the addition of characters, most notable…..the character Itaril, who is to be a Sylan Elf in Thranuil’s court.  WTF?  Also, the second movie is to focus on the in between stories……ie, a somewhat un-fleshed area of Middle Earth that I am. afraid Jackson will take to much liberty with…thus the inclusion of Galadriel and Saruman to give the behind the scenes feel.

Bonus is the rumor that Leonard Nimoy has been cast as the voice of Smaug.

See………Mixed feelings.

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