The Hobbit (film series) - Wikipedia. This article is about the film franchise released between 2. For other films based on The Hobbit, see Middle- earth in film. The Hobbit is a film series consisting of three high fantasyadventure films directed by Peter Jackson. They are based on the 1. The Hobbit by J. Tolkien, with large portions of the trilogy inspired by the appendices to The Return of the King, which expand on the story told in The Hobbit, as well as new material and characters written especially for the films. Together they act as a prequel to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
The films are subtitled An Unexpected Journey (2. The Desolation of Smaug (2. The Battle of the Five Armies (2. The films take place in the fictional world of Middle- earth sixty years before the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, and follow hobbit. Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who is convinced by the wizard. Gandalf the Grey (Ian Mc. Kellen) to accompany thirteen dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon. Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). The films also expand upon certain elements from the novel and other source material, such as Gandalf's investigation at Dol Guldur, and the pursuit of Azog and Bolg, who seek vengeance against Thorin and his ancestors. The films feature an ensemble cast that also includes James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace and Luke Evans, with several actors reprising their roles from The Lord of the Rings, including Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis. The films also feature Manu Bennett, Sylvester Mc. Coy, Stephen Fry, Mikael Persbrandt, Barry Humphries, and Lawrence Makoare. Also returning for production, among others, were illustrators John Howe and Alan Lee, art director Dan Hennah, cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, and composer Howard Shore, while props were again crafted by Weta Workshop, with visual effects managed by Weta Digital. The first film in the series premiered at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand on 2. November 2. 01. 2. One hundred thousand people lined the red carpet on Courtenay Place, and the entire event was broadcast live on television in New Zealand and streamed over the Internet. The second film of the series premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on 2 December 2. The third and final film premiered at Leicester Square in London on 1 December 2. Includes downloads, cheats, reviews, and articles. Rachel's Pages: the SF, F and RPG page. My favorite hard SF RPGs, Harn, 2001: A Space Odyssey, my favorite SF authors, a bit of my own writings, etc. Although critically considered to be inferior to The Lord of the Rings, it was nominated for various awards and won several, though not as many as its predecessor. Frustration arose when Jackson's producer, Harvey Weinstein, discovered that Saul Zaentz had production rights to The Hobbit, but that distribution rights still belonged to United Artists (which had kept those rights, believing that filmmakers would prefer to adapt The Hobbit rather than The Lord of the Rings). Weinstein asked Jackson to press on with adapting The Lord of the Rings. Ultimately, The Lord of the Rings was produced by New Line Cinema, not the Weinsteins, and their rights to film The Hobbit were set to expire in 2. The two studios would co- finance the film and the latter studio (via 2. Century Fox) would distribute the film outside North America—New Line's first ever such deal with another major studio. After completion of the merger of New Line Cinema with Warner Bros. The suit claimed New Line had only paid the Estate an upfront fee of $6. The suit claimed the Estate was entitled to 7. Tolkien films, as established by prior deals. The suit also sought to block the filming of The Hobbit. The suit was settled in September 2. However the Tolkien Trust's 2. New Line Cinema of . This amount was the Trust's estimated share in respect of the gross profit participation due for the films based on . The trustees acknowledge that New Line may now proceed with its proposed film of The Hobbit. Jackson stated that del Toro's . Del Toro has said he was a fan of Jackson's trilogy and had discussed directing a film adaptation of Halo with him in 2. You’ve probably called someone an asshat before. But do you know what an asshat literally is? This Speakerhat is an asshat. It is a hat with two.Though that project stalled, they kept in contact. In taking the job of director, del Toro was now . He also posted that his appreciation of Tolkien was enhanced by his knowledge of the fantasy genre and the folklore research he had undertaken while making his own fantasy films. He watched World War I documentaries and asked for book recommendations from Jackson, who is a collector of World War I memorabilia. Del Toro felt Tolkien's experiences in that war influenced his stories. Completion of the story outlines and treatments ended in March 2. I plan to change and expand the visuals from Peter's and I know the world can be portrayed in a different way. Different is better for the first one. For the second, I have the responsibility of finding a slow progression and mimicking the style of Peter. Del Toro planned on shooting the film in the trilogy's 2. We have every intention to do for animatronics and special effects what the other films did for virtual reality. Gollum would be entirely digital again; as del Toro noted, . However, del Toro did say he considered some of these moments iconic and would require the . He wrote the part of Beorn specifically for American actor Ron Perlman. She revealed that it would have had a different script and visual elements, and would more closely have resembled a fairy tale. On 2. 8 May he explained at a press conference that owing to MGM's financial troubles the Hobbit project had then not been officially green- lit at the time. We have designed all the creatures. We've designed the sets and the wardrobe. We have done animatics and planned very lengthy action sequences. We have scary sequences and funny sequences and we are very, very prepared for when it's finally triggered, but we don't know anything until MGM is solved. They also tried willing the studio to sell their rights to Warner Bros. On 2. 7 July, del Toro responded to these angry fans, saying that . These are very complicated movies, economically and politically. It's an all- immersive journey into a very special place of imagination, beauty and drama. In return, the government agreed to introduce legislation to remove the right of workers to organise trade unions in the film production industry, and to give money to big budget films made in New Zealand. The Employment Relations (Film Production Work) Amendment Bill passed all three readings under urgency on 2. October 2. 01. 0, 6. The government's legislation has been criticised as breaching the International Labour Organization's core ILO Convention 8. It was also argued that the discussion had occurred in a climate of 'hyperbole and hysteria'. One union representative said those on the march were 'patsies' that had been fooled into thinking the production would be taken offshore. MGM expressed interest in a second film in 2. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. There's a lot of sections in which a character like Gandalf disappears for a while. He mysteriously vanishes for a while and then comes back, but we don't really know what goes on. You would be able to see events that were not witnessed in the first. That's why we are thinking of the two instalments as parts of a single narrative. That's why I keep putting down the use of a . I think the concept as such is not relevant any more. I believe that the narrative and characters are rich enough to fit in two films. He noted the second film would need to end by leading directly into The Fellowship of the Ring. While the third film, which as its title indicates, depicts the Battle of the Five Armies, largely made use of footage originally shot for the first and second films, it required additional filming as well. On the title change, Jackson said, . But with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced—after all, Bilbo has already arrived . It was revealed that he had earlier been approached by the producers to play a role in the films, but was forced to turn it down because of scheduling conflicts with the BBC television series Sherlock. At the time, Freeman was quoted as saying, . There are a few times in your career when you come across an actor who you know was born to play a role, but that was the case as soon as I met Martin Freeman. He is intelligent, funny, surprising and brave—exactly like Bilbo and I feel incredibly proud to be able to announce that he is our Hobbit. On the casting of Armitage, Jackson was quoted as saying, . We cannot wait to start this adventure with him and feel very lucky that one of the most beloved characters in Middle Earth is in such good hands. I can't think of anything comparable. On the casting of Turner, Jackson stated, . I'm sure he will bring enormous heart and humor to the role of K. I am thrilled to be working with . On his casting Callen stated, . But now that has all gone. Given that . I auditioned for the original Lord of the Rings way back when I signed with my agent in New Zealand. When I saw the films I thought, 'Man, I so want to do The Hobbit.'. We feel very lucky to be able to welcome him as one of our cast. I look forward to seeing him bring Ori to life. On her casting, Jackson said, . Since seeing him read for the role we can't imagine anyone else playing this character. As Frodo hadn't been born during the events of The Hobbit, the inclusion of Frodo indicated that parts of the story would take place shortly before or during the events of The Lord of the Rings. According to The. One. Ring. net, . Viewers are to learn the tale of 'The Hobbit' as a familiar Frodo gets the tale as well. I don't want to give the producers the impression that I'm sitting waiting. A lot of the crew from The Lord of the Rings was returning to work on The Hobbit. There is really a sense of Peter wanting people around him who totally understand the material and the work ethic. On his potential casting, del Toro stated, . He will be involved in some manner, I'm sure. On his casting, Jackson said, . He's going to be great. Rachel's Pages . I occasionally dream of going back to school for an astrophysics degree or becoming a professional RPG writer. Neither has happened yet, but I'm still interested.. A quick list of my favorite SF and RPG works includes: Blade Runner (the first movie that really caught my imagination); Philip K. Dick's works; The beautiful and complex Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo; most of William Gibson's work; many of Greg Bear's writings, especially / (Slant); Miyazaki Hayao's works, including Nausica. As for a fuller list.. Note, though, that this page doesn't include everything related to SF and RPGs. Manga and anime are on my manga page. I lived in Taiwan for a long time, and gaming in Taiwan also gets its own page; if you are in Taiwan and looking for local gaming resources, please go there. A lot of the art I produce is SF- related, but not all, so see my general drawings and writings page for that kind of thing. Finally, my resources about fandom in Minneapolis are on my Minneapolis page. And, though I wish I didn't have to say it: This page is all my opinion. Take what I say with a grain of salt. This page is big, but that doesn't mean I'm the grand- high poobah of science fiction or RPGs or whatever. Some people have been offended that I didn't include something, or that I stated my opinion. Well, if you disagree, get your own page! Send me a good introduction and I'll probably even link to it. Back to the top of the page or back to RPGs in General. So, why RPGs? RPGs are, for me, one of the most interesting and fun activities out there. When you read a book, you are forced to go along with the author's storyline; you can't tell the main character not to open that crypt or hit that big red button. In RPGs, though, you have exactly that kind of control. And RPGs can, in many ways, be more immersive than reading a book; through immediate, face- to- face interaction, you can experience things with an immediacy that books never approach. Even computer games can't approach the infinite possibilities and social depth in face- to- face, pen- and- paper RPGs. Here are some things of general interest about RPGs: RPG. I hang out on the forums there quite a bit. It's quite a community: almost entirely gamer geeks, of many stripes, but generally intelligent and nice. En. World probably has the biggest RPG forums out there, but it's pretty much all D2. D& D. The Forge has a lot of rather abstruse theory about RPGs, but they've produced some of the most innovative and coolest games out there. If I subscribed to an RPG magazine, it'd be Pyramid. Back to the top of the page or back to Hard- science science fiction role- playing games Hard SF has been one of my main interests in RPGs for many years now. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because I like my SF to specifically concern itself with the ways that technology will change our lives in the future, and because I like fiction that doesn't throw believability out the window. My favorite SF RPGs, and some sites about them, are listed below. Blue Planet. This RPG is probably one the better designed backgrounds of anything available - - sort of the H. The authors' ideas, particularly about biology and ecological issues, are excellent. Their care and consistency in designing Blue Planet is evident everywhere. Blue Planet has been published in two versions: the first by Biohazard Games, the second under license by Fantasy Flight Games. The main difference is the game system; the first edition was percentile- based, while the second has a D1. To be honest, I don't particularly like either edition's game system, but I do prefer the second edition. If you want to buy the game for its setting, which is by far its biggest selling point, either edition will work. Some Blue Planet sites: The site of Bio. Hazard Games. The creators and owners of Blue Planet, Bio. Hazard Games seems to be very interested in quality. Their site is very high quality, as well. A very good Blue Planet fan site, Bleue Planete. This is a site primarily organized in French, but many of the sites pointed to are in English. The site is also quite pretty. There is also an English version, and while it hasn't been updated recently, the current site has no English version at all. ADCreated by the now- defunct Game Designers' Workshop, 2. AD has an excellent star- spanning background with a definite hard- SF feel. My own SF background, Spheres, was partially inspired by 2. AD. Far and away the best 2. AD page is Pentapod's World, which contains vast amounts of information, both game mechanics- related and general. Etranger is all about the military forces of 2. AD. It features, among other things, amazing 3. D starship illustrations by Laurent Esmiol. Andy Slack's 2. 30. AD page has a ton of cool stuff for the game. A lot of it could be adopted for use in other hard SF games, too. He has another page with a lot of other cool things for 2. AD and other games. The rest of the site seems to be down, but there's a page with some very nice maps of the colonies in 2. AD. Jovian Chronicles. Jovian Chronicles, by Dream Pod 9, is one of the best hard SF games out there. It's set in the year 2. Solar System but fragmented into large coalitions, largely around a planetary framework: Mercury is its own rich nation, Earth and the Jovian colonies are the main superpowers, etc. The tech level definitely puts it in the ranks of hard SF: no FTL, no aliens (well, almost), no artificial gravity - - just realistically projected computers, drives, etc. There are mecha, and they don't really make much sense, but they're easy to ignore. The background they've written for the various societies is really excellent and detailed, the vehicle design system is nearly perfect, and the art and feel is great. The game system is also pretty good, both fast and gritty in feel. If I were to run an SF game using a published setting, it would probably be Jovian Chronicles. The main site for Jovian Chronicles is Dream Pod 9's own site - - they're the publishers of the game. The Dream Pod 9 Forum has a section devoted to Jovian Chronicles, and it looks pretty active. Vector. Sphere is the homepage of Marc A. Vezina, one of the main designers of Jovian Chronicles. His page has all kinds of nifty things. Ghislain Barbe, the lead artist for Jovian Chronicles, also has a nifty site. The Jovian APAworks was an Amateur Press Association (APA) devoted to Jovian Chronicles. Lots of interesting articles there. Other SFRPGs. Those three RPGs are the main ones. There are several others that I'm strongly interested in, though: High Colonies. Designed by Eric Hotz, the excellent artist for much of H. The game mechanics weren't terribly inventive at all - - the authors used the same basic combat system, for example, as Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes, which I think was based on Tunnels and Trolls, one of the first RPGs - - but I like the setting. Instead of trying to figure out ways that humanity can have survived into the future without this or that catastrophe, High Colonies assumes that there actually has been a nuclear holocaust and that the sole remnants of humanity live in colonies off the Earth. There isn't much else on the Web about High Colonies. About the only thing I've found is a PDF containing scenarios for the game that were published in Challenge magazine. This was quite a good addition to the GURPS line, detailing a future in which the solar system is divided between the United Peoples of Earth (a UN successor) and Terradyne (a ruthless, off- world corporation). A lot of the ideas contained in the book are tantalizing - - it was one of the first future SF RPG settings without FTL, for example. I've never particularly liked the GURPS mechanics, to be honest, but the writing in their worldbooks is usually quite good, and this book is no exception. I'm glad I bought it when I did! There's very little on the web devoted to Terradyne, so I'll just link to its errata page. This looks like the successor to GURPS Terradyne, a hard- SF future in which almost anything that could happen in the future has happened: AI, nanotech, divergent geneered human species, a very developed solar system, etc. Transhuman Space also has the distinction of being one of the few post- singularity SF RPG settings. I still don't like the GURPS mechanics, and using feet and pounds to deal with the future seems incredibly silly, but the ideas in the book are great. As one of the newer GURPS settings, THS is very well represented on the web: Traveller. In all its incarnations, it's still the Grand Old Dame of SF RPGs, especially since it's now being published as GURPS: Traveller. Even though I don't really go in. Traveller universe, or even sometimes its mechanics, it's too good and respectable not to at least appreciate. There are so many Traveller things on the Web that it's hard to know where to start, but Traveller Central, Citizens of the Imperium and Downport. Albedo. Steve Gallacci's . It's a very hard SF series, placed in a distant system populated by uplifted animals who have awoken to realize that they don't know where they came from. I only have the older edition of the game from Thoughts & Images. The mechanics in this edition aren't amazing, but they're certainly good. It gives a very hard SF feel and seems to reflect the source material well. There is a more recent Albedo RPG, using the Jadeclaw engine, from Sanguine Productions, but I haven't seen it. Albedo is relatively obscure, so there aren't many resources for it on the Web. Sanguine Productions' Albedo page discusses their recent RPG. Universe. This game is extremely dense - - SPI allowed for no flavor text, or (sometimes) even explanations. It's also too psionic- based for my tastes. However, it has a lot of nifty ideas and insights. The planetary mapping system is very cool, for example, and the starships (which are pretty much all modular) make a lot of sense. Universe is also fairly obscure, so there isn't much about it on the Web.
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