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Even though J.R.R. Tolkien first wrote The Hobbit in 1939 and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, director Peter Jackson's first installment of his three-part adaptation of the novel, opened just last month, there still is plenty of things fans may not know about Hobbits. For instance, you may know that Hobbits like to work in fours, but did you know that Hobbits hail from "Little Earth?" Or that they like to make necklaces out of cockroaches?
These are just a few facts compiled by actor Gary Busey, who made a video (via io9) discussing Tolkien's creation while comfortably resting on a hillside. Busey's insights are interesting, and certainly will be new to Tolkien scholars, who may be able to help Busey better understand male/female Hobbit "apparatuses" — the one area of Hobbit lore that Busey confesses to be confused about.
MORE >> Posted 01.15.13 by Ryan -
High fantasy adventures on the big screen are among the most thrilling, enthralling movies to watch because of the fantastical people, places and monsters that populate them. They allow us to escape from our comparatively mundane lives by offering us a glimpse into another world, another reality where magic is real and noble heroes go on quests and do battle with dragons and other fantastical creatures. However, even some of the most fantastic elements of this genre of popular fiction are not the stuff of myth, but of history. In fact, not too long ago, diminutive "Hobbits" living in Indonesia were forced to protect their "Hobbit holes" from the deadly dragons that claimed the island as their own.
Middle-earth on Earth??? >> Posted 12.14.12 by BrentJS -
Are you a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings trilogy? Are you excited for the upcoming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first installment of a three-part adaptation of Tolkien's novel? Are you willing to spend over 40 hours constructing Bilbo Baggins' home of Bag End in your living room using 2600 balloons?
If the answer is no to that last one, worry not: Jeremy Telford of Balloon Guy Entertainment did have the time (and the desire) to create Bag End in his living room, documenting the construction in time-lapse photography so that anyone could watch.
watch the transformation >> Posted 11.15.12 by Ryan -
Those familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien's novels know there is a difference in tone between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but with director and co-writer Peter Jackson in charge of the two-part adaptation of The Hobbit (with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey set to open next December, followed by The Hobbit: There and Back Again in 2013) and adding in characters from his Lord of the Rings movies regardless of whether they were in Tolkien's original text, it would seem that Jackson was looking to make The Hobbit more like The Lord of the Rings. However, in the recent issue of Total Film (via io9), Jackson revealed that The Hobbit will be very different from The Lord of the Rings.
The Hobbit is very much a children's book and The Lord of the Rings is something else; it's not really aimed at children at all. I realized the characters of the dwarves are the difference. Their energy and disdain of anything politically correct brings a new kind of spirit to it. And that's why I thought, OK, this could be fun!
how will the two Hobbit movies be different >> Posted 12.30.11 by Ryan -
If things go as planned, one neighborhood in Wales may be looking an awful lot like The Shire.
Photographer and graphic designer Simon Dale wanted to build a low-cost, eco-friendly house for his family, and ended up with something that would be just about perfect for Bilbo Baggins. The house is dug into a hillside, insulated with hay bales, and covered with a layer of earth and grass for that classic, low-profile Hobbit look. The Daily Mail reports that Dale is using his design to build more houses in Lammas Village, Wales. Hopefully the new houses will be full-on Hobbit-style with round doors and windows.
On his website, Dale estimates the house cost around £3000 (a little over $4,500) in materials and took 1000 man hours. The main tools he used were a chainsaw, a hammer, and a 1-inch chisel. Dale thinks being your own "have-a-go architect" is fun and is convinced that just about anybody could build their own J.R.R. Tolkien–inspired house... But we think it looks pretty complicated. It would, however, be definitely much easier than creating one ring to rule them all.
Posted 09.26.11 by Mandy -
Often when J.R.R. Tolkien is referred to, his name is prefaced with a grandiose appellation such as "the king of high fantasy fiction" or "the father of modern fantasy literature" because of the incredible influence his works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion have had on fantasy literature, movies, and popular culture. In some circles, Tolkien has become as mythic a figure as the elves, dwarves, and hobbits that populate his tales of Middle-earth. It seems fitting then that Tolkien could soon be the star of an adventure movie playing in the same theater where The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey or its sequel, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, are playing.
more about Mirkwood >> Posted 08.18.11 by BrentJS -
We've got another look at the work Peter Jackson and his production team are doing on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. MSN recently posted the movie's newest still image, and it features Dean O'Gorman and Aidan Turner looking lithe and battle-ready as Fili and Kili, the two youngest dwarves featured in J.R.R. Tolkien's acclaimed story.
This image is in stark contrast to the short, stout dwarves featured in Jackson's Lord of the Rings adaptations, which featured John Rhys-Davies as Gimli saying that dwarf men and women are so alike that outsiders cannot tell the difference. This newest image compliments the previous release of two other photos, one of the brothers Ori, Nori, and Dori, the other of Oin and Gloin (Gimli's father).
For the uninitiated, the events in The Hobbit take place some 60 years before those in Lord of the Rings. Jackson's movie is scheduled for release on December 14, 2012.
Posted 07.12.11 by reelz -
In a recent article discussing how Warner Bros. will be picking up the tab for the cost of MGM's production of The Hobbit in exchange for worldwide theatrical distribution of the two-part prequel to The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), Deadline speculated Elijah Wood could be returning as Frodo Baggins, the diminutive hobbit who risked everything to destroy the One Ring in Peter Jackson's epic trilogy. This seemed slightly implausible considering Frodo doesn't appear in The Hobbit book written by acclaimed author J.R.R. Tolkien on which the movies will be based, and the fact that the character wasn't even born yet during the events depicted in the book, but Deadline has now confirmed that Wood will be returning to Middle Earth in both parts of The Hobbit.
how could Wood/Frodo appear in The Hobbit? >> Posted 01.09.11 by BrentJS -
Casting has officially begun on Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of The Hobbit, and Peter Jackson wants to see some of the same faces from his Lord of the Rings trilogy.
In an interview with MTV, Jackson stated that he would like to see Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving return as the elves Galadriel and Elrond, respectively. The story of The Hobbit takes place 60 years before events in Lord of the Rings, and since elves are immortal, Galadriel and Elrond would not have changed much in appearance. The same goes for the wizard Gandalf, and fans are anxious to see Ian McKellen return in that role as well.
There's nothing definitive, however, and Jackson gave an update as to where things stand with Blanchett and Weaving:
We have a process that would start with showing them the script. We're not [beginning] any official process until we have the "official" script that they can read. We already know that McKellen has seen the script, even gotten a copy of his own. So the question now becomes where Jackson, del Toro, et al are in the writing process.... It's two movies, and we've written the first script, which the studio responded well to. And we're now halfway through the second script.
Elrond does make an appearance in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, although Galadriel does not. However, including her does not seem like it would result in excessive artistic license. She is well present in the mythology and could easily be worked in to the story without diverting too much from Tolkien's blueprint.
Posted 12.09.09 by reelz